Imagine This...

AI Can Build Your Next Business—If You Think Bigger

Businesses are overlooking AI’s ability to create entirely new products and businesses. Beth Viner, who leads BCG’s corporate venturing and business building at BCGX, explains how organizations can move beyond efficiency and generate big revenue gains. Companies can combine their historical strengths with AI’s power to meet customer needs in new and unexpected ways.  

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Cities have been struggling since the pandemic. In some—including Los Angeles and San Francisco—office high-rises have become “zombie buildings,” with vacancy rates of 50% or more. But many people still want to live in cities and be part of a vibrant community. BCG’s Santiago Ferrer explores how new forms of transit, from modular pods to self-driving cars, can help reinvigorate moribund downtowns by making them easier to reach and ...

Even the most nimble and successful companies are sometimes forced to replace huge swaths of their workforce when business strategy changes. But layoffs come with costs: hiring and firing workers is expensive. Letting workers go can also damage an institution’s reputation and demoralize the employees who remain. BCG’s Kevin Kelley explains how companies can reduce the need for layoffs by creating teams that are flexible enough to p...

India has been experiencing a rapid transformation over the past decade. The government has made massive investments in physical and digital public infrastructure, and its share of affluent consumers has grown considerably. It’s also young – over half of India’s 1.4 billion people are under the age of 30. In this episode, BCG’s Kanika Sanghi imagines how India’s rising consumer class could change the global economy, from setting tr...

It’s no secret the media business, which has long relied on advertising revenue, is in crisis. It’s not a stretch to imagine that few if any of the major TV networks, newspapers and magazines - the old guard bedrocks of U.S. media - will survive into the next decade. BCG’s Neal Zuckerman imagines a world where every business has a Chief Content Officer. From health insurers to snack-food companies, companies are creating their own ...

How will advances in sustainable materials and modular construction change how homes are designed and built? And how will these innovations address the urgent need for affordable housing? BCG’s Matthias Tauber suggests ways to solve the housing crisis through changes in design, manufacturing, materials, permitting, and financing. Homes of the future will provide more alternatives, often by reimagining shared spaces and resources in...

Join BCG’s Global Chair Rich Lesser, and GENE, BCG’s GenAI conversational agent, for the high points from the speaking halls and hallways of the 2025 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Rich and GENE spotlight what world and business leaders had to say in conversations about geopolitics, economic growth, the path to AI success for business, and more. To learn more about BCG at Davos, visit https://www.bcg.com/a...

BCG's Matthew Sinclair explores the future working relationship between human and machine. Will a coming generation of AI bots be able to generate and iterate ideas as well as or better than people? Will knowledge workers be replaced by machines? BCG’s Matthew Sinclair imagines a future where technology could replace writers, software engineers, and, yes, consultants – although he’s not convinced that businesses should lose the h...

What becomes possible when your AI-enabled headset is as light and comfortable as an ordinary pair of glasses? BCG’s Kristi Woolsey imagines a world with an AI third eye, where your glasses can instantly provide information, warnings or advice. This new generation of smart glasses could also help you learn new skills, whether cooking at home or mastering technical aspects of your job. But Woolsey also warns that we’ll need to put l...

BCG’s Mary Martin imagines a future where restaurants will harness advances in artificial intelligence, data management, and robotics to create a better experience for both customers and staff. This could involve using AI to personalize dining or deploying robots in the kitchen to help the chef with certain repetitive tasks. While these advances will usher in a unique customer experience, restaurants will still need a human touch.&...

By the year 2035, we will likely be able to utilize AI to crunch complex data sets and produce far more accurate predictions of the future, for everything from stock market fluctuations to consumer trends. Already, meteorologists are using AI to improve weather forecasting—for instance, by more accurately predicting when a hurricane will make landfall. But BCG’s Alan Iny says this does not mean that business leaders will be able to...

Quantum computers harness the almost mystical properties of subatomic particles to solve problems that are beyond even the most powerful “classical” computers available today. Will these computers usher in a new generation of custom pharmaceuticals and sustainable materials—or will they be used to crack every password and create global chaos? BCG’s Antoine Gourévitch imagines the coming age of quantum computers and dives deep into ...

How will advances in sustainable materials and modular construction change how homes are designed and built? And how will these innovations address the urgent need for affordable housing? BCG’s Matthias Tauber suggests ways to solve the housing crisis through changes in design, manufacturing, materials, permitting, and financing. Homes of the future will provide more alternatives, often by reimagining shared spaces and resources in...

Imagine walking into an AI-enabled grocery store that knows what you eat, how fit you are, and other personal health data, and can steer you towards healthier choices - and give you discounts on them. BCG’s John Paschkewitz explores a world where governments, insurance companies, and grocery and pharmacy chains join forces to individualize and subsidize products that are better for your health.  We could lead healthier lives, ...

What will it be like to apply for permits, pay taxes, and more when governments embrace artificial intelligence and everyone has a secure digital ID? BCG’s Miguel Carrasco imagines a future where the government moves beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar to bespoke digital assistants that anticipate and streamline everything you need. This could eliminate chronic complaints about government services—that they are slow and cumbers...

What becomes possible when your AI-enabled headset is as light and comfortable as an ordinary pair of glasses? BCG’s Kristi Woolsey imagines a world with an AI third eye, where your glasses can instantly provide information, warnings or advice. This new generation of smart glasses could also help you learn new skills, whether cooking at home or mastering technical aspects of your job. But Woolsey also warns that we’ll need to put l...

What would you do with access to a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites that can provide real-time access to data and surveillance and seamless connectivity? BCG’s Troy Thomas imagines a future where businesses use satellites to guide autonomous vehicles or use satellites to research and manufacture new materials that can be formed only in zero gravity. But, Thomas says, these satellites come with risks, such as privacy and ...

When Mario Rodriguez emigrated from Cuba to the United States at age 14 with his parents — a university professor, and a teacher turned electrical engineer — they had already instilled in him the value of education and a love of learning. That passion has guided him throughout his career — as a program manager with Microsoft; then as part of GitHub, following Microsoft’s 2018 acquisition of the developer platform; and as a cofounde...

By 2030, the best CIO might be a CIB: a chief intelligence bot. And the human CEO might be bolstered by a swarm of CEO bots, able to harness a vast diversity of perspectives. Can you imagine? In this episode, BCG’s Mickey McManus envisions a future where top leaders share the corner office with AI—blending the logical with human intuition. Mickey, a BCG senior advisor and a pioneer in human-centered design, considers how a company ...