With every generation of mobile network, new functionality was unlocked for users. 5G promises to be on a completely different level, with Qualcomm citing the economic impact at $12 Trillion by 2035. How much of it is hype to justify the massive infrastructure investment, only time will tell. But as 5G starts rolling out in various markets including the US and UK, I list a few big market opportunities for TME (Technology, Media and Entertainment) startups, some of our areas of focus at Remagine Ventures.
First some context
- 1G delivered analog voice.
- 2G introduced digital voice
- 3G brought mobile data (the picture era)
- 4G LTE ushered in the era of mobile Internet (the video era), for the first time data delivery didn’t depend on the physical network, as it was optimised in the cloud which enabled the introduction of OTT (over the top) services like Netflix, Youtube, Spotify, Whatsapp, etc.
So what is 5G?
If 5G was just about faster download speeds, it wouldn’t justify the level of interest from governments and industry players. According to Qualcomm:
The 5G Smart Network is a software-defined, programmable platform that integrates distributed compute, storage with high-speed communication…
5G will be a new kind of network, supporting a vast diversity of devices with unprecedented scale, speed and complexity,
Why ‘smart network’? Because 5G will allow a separation between the infrastructure itself and the software that powers it – making possible faster and cheaper provision of services, on demand.
If you’re interested in the technical aspects of 5G, and how packets will pass, I encourage you to read the Qualcomm 5G microsite.
In In practical terms, 5G will enable the following use cases:
- Faster Mobile Broadband everywhere: this not only applies to smart phones, but also to IOT devices, AR/VR, cloud gaming, streaming etc.
- A software defined network offers the ability to change configuration based on needs, so potentially managing latency and number of connections per device based on device needs (or other reasons).
- Mission-Critical communications: imagine everything is controlled on the same network… this is where smart cities use cases come in. “ultra-reliable/available, low latency links — such as remote control of critical infrastructure, vehicles, and medical procedures”
- Massive Internet of Things: 5G will seamlessly connect a massive number of embedded sensors in virtually everything through the ability to scale down in data rates, power and mobility to provide extremely lean/low-cost solutions. This also relates to sensors on cars and Mobility as a Service.
What opportunities does 5G hold in entertainment?
According to a report by Intel/Ovum, 5G is forecasted to bring $1.3 trillion in revenue to the media and entertainment industries by 2028. The report also predicts that 57 % of global wireless media revenue will be generated thanks to the higher broadband capabilities of 5G networks.
Video/Streaming: The most significant source of data demand from mobile networks is video. By 2021, 78% of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video. Being able to download gigabytes in seconds, means that we will be able to more easily consume content directly on our devices.
- Opportunities for startups: personalisation of content, curation and search of short form content, video monetisation, in stream engagement, video shopping, automatic video tagging, etc. Also interesting applications in 3D video, volumetric video capture, computer vision on video, etc…
- Shoutout to the Remagine Ventures portfolio: Vault AI uses predictive analytics to accurately forecast scripted and non-scripted content.
Content: the use of AI for content creation (especially video) has significantly reduced production costs and the speed of new content creation. With new technologies like Synthetic video, it’s possible to generate video without a camera or expensive equipment, leveraging GANs (generative adversarial networks).
- Opportunities for startups: tools for automated content creation, content +commerce plays, new abundance of content across verticals: health, education, sports (think Peloton classes), hobbies, etc.
- Shoutout to the Remagine Ventures portfolio: HourOne is the world’s first synthetic video platform at scale powered by artificial intelligence.
Live Sports: While it’s a subset of content, sports is a key area of focus for some of the corporates delivering 5G. In sports, resolution quality matters, and 5G enables higher resolution (4K, 8k) streaming rate and higher depth (HDR). Take Verizon for example, which recently announced a partnership with the NFL to launch 5G network in 13 stadiums across the USA. This applies also to motor sports (Formula 1), eSports, and new sports (like drone racing). This has also contributed to the rise of “multicasts”, airing single games on multiple TV, digital and social channels at the same time.
- Opportunities for startups: cameras to capture and stream any sport in any venue, advanced analytics for the game, automatically detect highlights in real time to switch casts, monetisation of live streams, fan engagement in the venue, think about 200,000 people watching the game live and making predictions on their phone, instant replays using technology like Intel’s Truview technology.
- Shoutout to the Remagine Ventures portfolio: MinuteMedia is charging ahead with their user generated content for sports driven by fans and Madskil is helping streamers get engaged fans to interact with their streams.
Cloud gaming: Superfast broadband will revolutionise gaming. No longer will users need expensive consoles to play top quality games, as cloud gaming initiatives like Google Stadia (launching next month) will do to games what Spotify did to music. Microsoft is not far behind with xCloud, and Apple and Amazon and Sony already announced plans to joined the race. Mobile games revenue, including AR and cloud gaming, is forecast to
exceed $100 billion annually in 2028 alone.
- Opportunities for startups: It will be hard to compete with the large platforms on cloud gaming tech , as they own their own cloud infrastructure, but eSports is a massive opportunity in this space. As cloud gaming platforms enable one click streaming of a video session, there are countless opportunities about enriching that experience for users, enabling monetisation, etc.
AR/VR/XR: immersive media technology is not fully available. Headsets are expensive and we are only scratching the surface on the use of AR tech on mobiles, although Niantic and Pokemon showed that it can be a massive business. Intel predicts that AR games will make up more than 90% of 5G AR revenues by 2028, nearly $36 billion globally. In total, it is estimated that 5G will generate more than $140 billion in cumulative revenues for AR/VR applications between 2021 and 2028.
- Opportunities for startups: the opportunities here range from applied tech (i.e. specific consumer apps leveraging AR/VR/XR) to platform tech (tools for content creation in these formats).
- Vertical applications: AR games, virtual experiences (tours, education, entertainment, sports, etc), AR for sports leveraging computer vision… Opportunities exist in the creation of virtual goods (AR), special viewing experiences (first row in the concert/game), contextual information to enrich real life (rich maps, rich social interaction).
Haptics and gaming rigs and controls: Have you seen Ready Player One? imagine you can receive real time feedback from the game to deliver a truly interactive experience for the user. Get hit in the game, and you’ll feel it on your clothes (wearing a haptic suit/vest). Car companies are also realising that in a world of autonomous vehicles, consumers will have more time for play in the car, and so the car might also becoming a gaming rig.
- Opportunities for startups: There are interesting (though capital intensive) opportunities in LBE, location based entertainment, experiences like The Void. These create immersive and realistic experiences where the user wears a VR headset, a haptic vest and a weapon. LBEs are now gradually entering theme parks, including Disney World.
Advertising and Smart Displays: 5G will enable smart signage, cameras connected to fast broadband that will be able to leverage computer vision in real time to collect smart analytics and personalise the content to the people passing by. This also includes future applications like holographic displays — think about McFly in Back to the Future II crouching in the middle of the street when he passes by the Jaws movie ad.
- Opportunities for startups: holographic displays, computer vision applied to simple devices, advanced analytics.
5G is already available in several markets including the US and the UK. While entertainment is one of the key use cases for 5G there are countless more opportunities for startups around data optimisation, cloud, and analytics. At Remagine Ventures, we focus on backing ambitious entertainment tech founders early in their journey. If we can be of help, or provide feedback, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Credit: this post was amended to include contributions from Noam Ben Haim on live sports.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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