, Columnist
Other People’s Money Was the Tech Innovation of the Decade
Disruptive companies couldn’t disrupt without an unprecedented flood of investors’ cash.
There’s no end in sight.
Photographer: Mary Turner/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Technology changed every molecule of life in the 2010s.
Airbnb, Uber and other young companies morphed the physical complexion of cities and how they work. The growing prevalence of e-commerce, fast internet connections and smartphones in everyone’s pockets shifted how we shop, behave and are entertained — with both good and bad ripple effects. Even the stodgiest industries were forced to shake up what they do in reaction to new competitors and changing expectations of their customers. Governments have new ways to reach citizens and fresh fears from the ways technology empowers them.