In 2024, people generally saw advancements in edge computing, the expansion of the metaverse, and significant stock market gains fueled by investments in the energy infrastructure and construction needed to support the growth of AI. Other market forces, such as shifts in Solana’s price, also may indicate the rise of public interest in and attention to technology, which might accelerate in 2025.
The Growth of Edge Computing
The global edge computing market (valued at $60 billion USD in 2024) might grow to $110.6 billion by 2029 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 13%, according to a recent market report. By making nearly instant decision-making possible based on real-time data, edge computing may have helped make self-driving vehicles a practical reality. Smart vehicles can now basically assess obstacles and make split-second decisions to keep their drivers and passengers safe. In healthcare, edge computing typically makes it possible for clinicians to see data from wearable devices in real time. Farmers and agricultural companies are generally able to use precision technology to monitor and respond to the humidity, temperature and other indicators of the health of the soil.
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One can expect that 2025 might see even more applications of edge computing in healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment. This technology may be bringing the truly “smart city” within reach.
The Expansion of the Metaverse
In 2024, the metaverse had about 600 million users globally, and four out of five users were typically under age 16. Much of the initial expansion of the metaverse was generally driven by efforts to bring virtual and augmented reality to the public in the form of affordable VR headsets and gaming. Some experts speculate that the next driver of metaverse growth might be mobile gaming applications such as Roblox, which reported 88.9 million active users in Q3 2024, 27% more than the previous year. Major platforms — Nike, Gucci, NFL, Mattel and Walmart, to name just a few — have recently created virtual experiences on Roblox, raising interesting questions about the implications for commerce.
The Impact of AI on the Stock Market
Given the pervasiveness of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT in both daily life (in which users often turn to AI bots to help find recipes, research areas of interest, write and edit emails, and even flirt with digital companions) and commerce (where AI bots may now dominate online customer service), it is probably no surprise that the real story of economic growth in 2024 was most likely AI. Of the Russell 1000’s five highest performing stocks in 2024, three were driven by the companies’ focus on artificial intelligence. NVIDIA saw its value nearly double in 2024, after nearly tripling in 2023.
A report from IDC projects that investments in AI may have a cumulative global economic impact of $19.9 trillion through 2030 and could drive 3.5% of global GDP in 2030. As yet, the growth in job opportunities promised by AI companies has yet to materialize, but with the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant reopening to power Microsoft’s data centers, and with other major players making similarly grand moves, the investment in AI seems unlikely to slow any time soon.
A Weathervane: Cryptocurrency Value
Finally, fluctuations and a general upward trend in cryptocurrency value, such as the Solana price, also may offer a way to track the rise of public interest in digital technology over time. A look at the historical data shows especially high gains moving into 2025, with a share price of $180.482 on December 21, 2024 to $257.517 on January 21, 2025. Such market forces might provide a weathervane worth watching.
