Beth Comstock leads GE Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of General Electric, alongside her role as chief marketing officer. Previously, she was president of Integrated Media at NBC Universal. She also held roles at CBS and Turner Broadcasting. Comstock is a member of Nike’s board and trustee president of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
What is the future of your sector?
Comstock said: “The future of our sector will be driven by the convergence of hardware – complex physical technologies – with software, where data, people and brilliant machines are all connected with each other. We call this the industrial internet, and it is already here. It is leading a new wave of innovation, as well as opportunity for collaboration between start-ups and big companies. Not only that, but the industrial internet will also create new jobs and make businesses more efficient. It is a rising category, one that is already changing the venture capital landscape, particularly in Silicon Valley, where software has ruled. But the age of physical and digital is here, and it will create a big opportunity for new startups and investors.
“We are also seeing change driven by the advanced manufacturing sector. Digital technology has transformed manufacturing, making it smarter, leaner and more efficient. The new manufacturing techniques will improve how products are created and scaled, pushing the pace of innovation faster. We are already seeing creativity in this space, and it is exciting to think about which start-ups now will become the successful manufacturing companies of tomorrow.”