What’s the hottest tech investment area for businesses in 2023? AI, 5G, the metaverse, and more, according to the chief technology officers we reached out to for this piece.

The tech sector had a tough year, with layoffs, recession fears, and rising energy and material costs, and many companies in the space decided to direct more money to key profit drivers.

When it comes to new tech, businesses of all kinds are making similar plans: Invest in surefire bets—surefire, at least, in the eyes of some Fortune 500 CTOs.

To learn more about what this year might hold, we invited CTOs from major companies in retail, hardware, streaming, and more to write in with their predictions for 2023 in 150 words or less.

• The question we posed was: In 2023, what type of technology do you foresee your company more heavily investing in, and why?

Click here to read the piece, which includes predictions from the CTOs of Nvidia, AT&T, and more.—HF

It’s that season again, when we all try to figure out what the biggest trends of the next year will be, so we can look back and say “I told you so” to everyone we know. Here at the intersection of retail and tech, that means predictions about Web3 and virtual worlds.

Retail Brew asked a range of experts to take a look into their crystal balls and tell us which way the digital winds will blow in 2023.

Metaverse maneuvering: There’s an important distinction between Web3 and the metaverse: Some virtual worlds are built on the blockchain and are considered Web3 metaverses, but not all virtual worlds are built with Web3 technology.

• And Web2 gaming platforms like Roblox, which isn’t built on the blockchain, are likely to hang onto their popularity with brands in 2023, said Conor McNamara, marketing manager at metaverse-focused SaaS company GEEIQ.

“It’s those traditional gaming environments that are really where brands are investing time and money into at the moment,” McNamara explained. “And that’s obviously because [there is] a huge audience in those spaces already.” Keep reading this story from Retail Brew here. —MA

While no one knows exactly what will unfold this year—think about how radically different the world looked at the end of 2022 versus the start—it’s always fun to read through some educated guesses.

To wit: Here’s a quick reading list on tech trends to watch in 2023:

• The Washington Post’s tech trends to watch
• NIST looks ahead to transformative manufacturing tech in 2023
• The tech that will “change your life” in 2023, at least according to the WSJ
• And here’s the tech that will…“invade our lives” in 2023, according to the NYT
• TheNextWeb lays out what to expect for AI in 2023

And if you want to give yourself a refresher on what happened last year, click here to read our 2022 year-in-review piece.—DM

Stat: The biggest barrier for consumers looking to purchase an EV in the US is affordability (or a lack thereof), according to a new survey from Deloitte, reported by Reuters. Regardless, intent to purchase EVs and hybrids is trending up, while interest in internal combustion vehicles is trending down.

Quote: ​​“I think the [satellite connectivity] market has to some degree been validated. And I think you’ll look back on 2022 and say that this was when a lot of people finally said, ‘Oh, this is real.’”—Chris Daehnick, senior solution leader and associate partner at McKinsey, to Emerging Tech Brew

Read: How Big Tech layoffs have led to a new wave of startup founders.

For digital resolutions: A guide to Marie Kondo-ing your digital life.

For tech workers: Tips for finding a stable tech career in 2023.

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• Trends to watch at CES 2023
• Emerging Tech Brew’s 2022 in review
• Three inflection points for emerging tech in 2022