Platform Capitalism
The growing emergence of digital platforms has seen the rise of companies such as Alphabet (Google), Uber and Deliveroo grow to global dominance. These companies are becoming ever prominent in society, highlighted by how ordinary terms have been replaced by brand equivalents such as to search the web is now ‘to Google it’ and ordering takeaway is now ‘I’ll get a Deliveroo’. These companies are disrupting the global economic market through technology-driven innovation, in which investment opportunities are rife. In this blog I look at the founding concepts of these companies through Srnicek’s work on platform capitalism and how this has presented investment opportunities within the different types of platforms. PLATFORMS All companies mentioned are built on digital platforms, which monopolise and utilise data. For example, Google uses vast data amassed from Internet users and analyses it to produce highly segmented audiences that are more valuable to advertisers. As such, Go...