Supertrends
A Powerful Search Engine for Business Innovation Insights

Lars Tvede, an engineer and economist with a long career in tech and finance, has written 18 books and founded 13 companies. Throughout his work, he made a key observation: financial information was readily available and well-structured, accessible at the flip of a switch on Bloomberg terminals. However, there was no such user-friendly solution for mapping and predicting scientific and technological advancements. Navigating this crucial information always proved to be a constant hassle and mess.

So, in 2019, he founded Supertrends to fix this problem. “At first, I thought we could do it in two years, but it took five”, he says with a laugh. However, it is now finished and rolling out.

Supertrends: Mapping Human Innovation

At the heart of Supertrends lies a comprehensive timeline of human innovation. It boasts 16,000 key innovations spanning a staggering 3.3 million years. “Creating this involved 75,000 AI prompts and queries, combined with extensive verification,” explains Lars Tvede. “But Supertrends isn’t just about the past. It predicts the future too, with 4,000 predictions currently mapped on the timeline. Each prediction is meticulously explained and placed in its proper context. And the system keeps evolving, adding an average of three new predictions every day.”

To ensure accuracy and credibility, Supertrends collaborates with a panel of 160 experts – leading entrepreneurs, scientists, and industry association managers. These experts review the AI-generated outputs, refining formulations or predicted breakthrough dates. They also provide justifications for any contextual changes they make. Supertrends even taps into their insights for podcasts and blog content through scheduled interviews.

Behind the Scenes: A Symphony of Automation

Mapping the current scientific and technological landscape involves a sophisticated blend of methods. Every day, an algorithm meticulously scans approximately 5,000 leading science and technology media sources in 30 languages, searching for 3,000 specific keywords. A natural language processing (NLP) model then summarizes these daily findings into around 300 unique feature stories. Other AI models eliminate redundancies within these stories and automatically check if any of them align with the predicted innovations. If a predicted innovation finds real-world confirmation, the system automatically reclassifies it from a prediction to an actual event. As Tvede aptly states, “Millions of small, automated routines run the system every day.”

Supertrends isn’t limited to its internal data. It also taps into a range of external databases, pulling in market statistics, startup information, and more. A key feature is its tagging system, which reveals connections between seemingly disparate data points. This AI-powered system relentlessly analyzes all the information within Supertrends and links each data snippet to its relevant counterparts. For example, the innovation timeline alone boasts roughly 200,000 of these connections, with the system discovering an average of 60 new ones daily

“These relationships,” explains Tvede, “show you what your industry or technology will ultimately depend on in the future. Users are often surprised by how heavily their success relies on progress in other, seemingly unrelated industries.”

Dashboards, chatbots, podcasts, and reports

Supertrends offers users four main ways to access information:

• Dashboards: Customizable dashboards are available for both PC and mobile users. They can be tailored for individual needs or adapted for large corporations, who can even utilize the system under a private label.

• Smart Chatbots: For immediate answers, Supertrends boasts AI-powered chatbots. These chatbots provide quick and intuitive responses to user queries, drawing from verified and curated content. This voice interaction allows users to gain insights on the go, perfect for a quick brush-up before a meeting.

• On-Demand Podcasts: A unique feature is the ability to request customized podcasts. Stuck at the airport with a 22-minute wait until boarding? Simply ask Supertrends for a 22-minute podcast on a specific topic, like the future of hydrogen energy. It’s like a personalized podcast created just for you. Tvede emphasizes that these are essentially an extension of the chatbot functionality, but a clever one catering to users who prefer the podcast format for on-the-go learning.

• Automatic Research Reports: In Tvede’s view, the most valuable output is the automatic research report generator. Users can create well-structured, C-level reports on any chosen theme, such as the future of a specific technology or sector.

Tvede is particularly excited about the automatic research reports: “You get this within less than a minute, even though it is tailored for you.”

Supertrends is beta-testing an added feature. Here its AI system acts like a super-powered perspective mapper, scanning for broad industry perspectives expressed by influential thought leaders. It then translates their perspectives into clear summaries, making it easy to understand who said what and when.

Looking ahead, Supertrends plans to introduce a drag-anddrop data integration feature, allowing users to effortlessly incorporate data directly into their management decision models. Additionally, Supertrends will offer a suite of AIpowered tools specifically designed to develop a startup’s business model through an Ai-guided conversation with its founders. The output will include pitch decks, Q&A sheets, and even a marketing package – all powered by cuttingedge AI. By leveraging its vast knowledge of future trends, Supertrends empowers businesses to stay informed and make data-driven decisions in a rapidly evolving world.