Macroeconomic trends heading into 2023 are a source of anxiety in the tech industry, but they don’t tell the whole story when it comes to climate-tech investing.

Zoom in: Along with the urgency of the climate crisis, investors expect that countries, companies, and individuals seeking less expensive, more reliable energy will continue to fuel growth in cleantech.

• With nearly $300 billion in dry powder for climate-tech startups toward the end of last year, per Climate Tech VC, there appears to be plenty of funding for these technologies in 2023.

“We have not seen any slowdown in activity, in interest, in company formation, or in talent coming into climate tech,” Sarah Sclarsic, co-founder and managing partner at investment firm Voyager, told Emerging Tech Brew.

Some context: 2021 was a record-setting year for climate-tech funding. The dollar amounts and deal counts for 2022 are still being tallied, but estimates range widely, from climate-tech funding dropping at about the same rate as VC investments overall, per PitchBook data shared with us, to the sector growing by nearly 90% year over year.

So what do investors expect this year to hold? Click here to read what they told us.—GD

Tell someone in the tech industry that you’re going to CES in Las Vegas, and chances are they’ll respond with raised eyebrows and a knowing sigh. That’s because CES is billed as the world’s biggest and most influential tech conference—and the four-day event is typically equal parts exciting and overwhelming.

Last week was my third time reporting on the ground from CES, and something felt different—it seemed like the conference was finally back in full force, after one all-virtual year and one year with significantly reduced attendance.

• This year’s event drew in 115,000+ attendees and 3,000+ exhibitors from 20+ countries.

While there...I chatted with execs at a range of companies about their biggest tech takeaways from 2022—and their tech investment priorities for this year. Here are three points execs made that stuck with me.—HF

While we’re here: Check out the rest of our 2023 CES coverage.

Last week, with the consumer-tech bonanza that is CES in full swing, we checked in with all of you on your appetite for new tech in 2023.

Let’s dig in: Nearly one-third (32%) of our ~1,500 respondents said that compared to last year, they plan to spend less on new tech purchases in 2023.

• Nearly the same share (31%) said they plan to spend the same, while one-quarter (25%) said they expect to spend more.
• The remaining 13% said IDK.

Big picture: 2021 was the boomiest of boom times for the tech world, but the times, they are a-changed, and now consumer tech heavyweights from Samsung to Lenovo are facing headwinds driven by inflation and interest rate hikes.

One example…In Q3 of 2022, PC shipments declined by nearly 20%—the PC market’s biggest drop in more than two decades, per Gartner.

And another…IDC estimated that smartphone shipments fell 9% in 2022, although it still anticipates a  ~3% recovery this year.—DM

The week’s poll: Do you think generative AI is a fad or a revolutionary technology?

Fad
Revolutionary
Somewhere in between IDK

Stat: Black startup founders accounted for just 1% of all venture investment in 2022, per Crunchbase data reported by TechCrunch.

Quote: “The structural trends are still so strong that we are still predicting a healthy growth for ASML.”—ASML CFO Roger Dassen, to Emerging Tech Brew

Read: MIT Tech Review’s 10 breakthrough technologies for 2023.

For an innovation leaderboard: Samsung topped a list of companies ranked by the number of patents granted to them by the US last year.

For an emissions update: US CO2 emissions ticked up last year despite climate momentum, per preliminary estimates from the Rhodium Group.

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

• ASML’s CFO predicts growth despite rocky chip market
• GM’s vision for computerized cars
• Top CTOs predict the key tech trends for 2023