Prior to the pandemic, we saw the rollout of contactless payment options through mobile devices. With the increase in people wanting to limit what they touch, an option to pay for goods and services that does not require any physical contact is likely to continue to gain traction.

Machine vision interfaces are already used today to apply social media filters, and to offer autonomous checkout at some stores. Expect there to be an expansion of voice and machine vision interfaces that recognise faces and gestures to limit the amount of physical contact altogether.

New startups and scaleups must surrender to the new normal; the business landscape has changed fundamentally. Tomorrow’s climate will be different but no less rich in possibilities for those who are prepared.