Forecasting Trends for Individuals Under 30 in 2025 and Beyond: Electrical Vehicle Charging Marketplaces, Grant Funding vs. Venture Capital, and Artificial Intelligence's Influence

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Reflect on the past year. Could you have imagined all the events that would unfold in 2024?

The solar eclipse had countless cities across the country gazing at the sky simultaneously. The Summer Olympics took place in Paris─and the village became viral due to its cardboard beds. Brat Summer (inspired by U30 alum *Charli XCX) dominated TikTok... and politics. Sean “Diddy” Combs was indicted. Donald Trump was shot, miraculously survived, and was reelected president. And the *CEO of UnitedHealthcare was assassinated─stirring up controversy and discussion that will undoubtedly persist into 2025.

In the realm of Our Website's 30 Under 30, we had some updates of our own: We unveiled the 2024 30 Under 30 Europe list. We covered YouTube star Emma Chamberlain’s $20 million coffee company and her return to the video platform. 2018 Education lister Katie Fang clinched a massive $80 million investment deal. Podcaster and U30 alum Alex Cooper graced the front page of Our Website, accompanied by a story on her now $125 million-worth empire. And Shaboozey took the stage at our annual 30 Under 30 Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio (and sat down for a chat with us about how he’s shaking up the music industry*).

With the understanding that prediction is an uncertain endeavor, this year’s Under 30 honorees (view the entire list here) shared their insights on the future.

Alexander Isaacson─cofounder of electric vehicle charging company Xeal and the face of the Under 30 2025 Transportation & Mobility category─ has major plans for the next few years: “Limitless possibilities are what I envision for electric vehicles,” he says. Beyond the road benefits, like fuel efficiency and autonomous driving capabilities, EVs could have a significant impact on various industries.

He explains, “Electric vehicles will not put strain on the grid or utilities, but rather, they'll be an asset. If you charge overnight and (already have a full battery), you could (discharge it back to the grid or other vehicles). And you build this kind of distributed marketplace where we can do more without adding physical resources, but instead, optimize the entire system.”

Retail & Ecommerce’s Sonia Yang, cofounder of Treet, has equally ambitious and environmentally-focused aspirations for her software startup, which helps facilitate second-hand and resale offerings for clothing brands and shoppers. She believes that, in the next 10 years, all fashion companies will have a “circularity program.”

“It will become the norm for consumers to think, ‘Can I sell my clothes back to the brand?’ And when shopping in-store, there will be a resale or pre-owned section,” she says. “We're already seeing this in leading retailers. So, we have no doubt that everyone will follow suit.”

On the contrary, Maya Kuppermann is building Temelio, a Social Impact startup that manages millions of grant dollars for foundations─making the process more efficient and swift. She has observed that, given the decrease in VC numbers lately, many businesses are turning to grants and other forms of investment, which could actually benefit them: “VC can have negative downstream impacts when it causes startups to grow at all costs. That’s not always the best choice for customers or the team. So in a strange way, this environment could be one of the best to build in.”

She anticipates that, due to this, her work in grant-making will become even more critical: “Foundations have the power to accomplish what governments cannot—they can act faster and deploy capital rapidly. They'll have a significant impact on how we address climate change, homelessness in the country. We'll rely on them more in the coming years than we have in the past, which is nerve-wracking, but also exciting.”

And we can’t fail to mention AI. “I keep an eye on where the most talented people are building and follow them constantly,” says Molly Mielke, our Venture Capital callout and the sole partner at her fund, Moth Fund. “In the past year or two, so many talented people I know have been building in AI─so that's where I've spent a significant amount of time. I plan to continue doing so, no matter where it leads me.”

Yet, as expected, the AI conversation has polarized reactions within the Under 30 cohort. While creatives like Shaboozey argue that AI can be a valuable tool in creative processes, Social Media creator Drew Afualo prefers to steer clear of it.

I don't utilize AI in my personal business or see myself doing so for any profit. I think technology advancements are fascinating, but I also believe they can harm art. AI can never replicate the human experience or human cognitive abilities. I added a humorous twist with an Afualo-type joke: "But I don't want to offend AI, they might come get me."

This Emerging IVF Startup Facilitated the Birth of a Child for the First Time

Medical professionals swear by the IVF technology developed by Gameto, co-founded by Under 30 alumna Dina Radenkovic. Now it's available for public use: This month, the first child born using the IVF process was delivered in Peru. Discover more about Radenkovic and her plans to expand internationally, here.

Lister Lowdown:

-4AM Skin, founded by 2025 Retail & Ecommerce listers Jade Beguelin and Sabrina Sadeghian secured a place in Sephora's 2025 Accelerate program last week. Participation in the six-month program includes mentoring in early-stage financing, supply chain management, digital marketing, and more. Previous graduates have had their products sold on Sephora shelves after the accelerator, although it's not guaranteed. For 4AM, they focus on "long-term, sustainable growth" rather than immediate success.

-Atlas Card closed a $27 million Series B investment round last week, led by Michael Gilroy and Gokul Rajaram's Marathon. The fintech startup offers a credit card and mobile app. Perks include hard-to-get reservations, reduced rates at luxury hotels, and invites to exclusive concerts and sports events. Atlas Card was launched in 2023 by Patrick Mrozowski, who was named to the Under 30 list in 2022 as the co-founder of debit card company Point (Atlas' precursor).

-Cofounders and Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry listers Adi Bathla and Rashmi Sinha secured a $20 million investment from Left Lane Capital, Soma Capital, and Agalé Ventures last month. The startup utilizes AI to help automotive repair shops identify and tackle complex vehicle issues.

On Our Radar

-Curious about what happened in 2024 and what to anticipate in 2025? Here's a roundup of the social media trends that made 2024 memorable (including the "finance man" and the "conscious baby"), as well as predictions for 2025 (such as corporations' growing involvement in popular trends and more livestream content). (Ad Age)

-NBC Studios is going green. The iconic neon sign outside the Rockefeller Center entrance could be swapped with LED bulbs instead. People are upset. As reported by Curbed, "Neon is an architectural material... and it should be treated that way," argues Marc Rinaldi, but Tishman Speyer defends the LED conversion as part of their energy-efficient initiatives for Rockefeller Center. (Curbed)

-Have a look at the 7-Eleven power struggle: Junro Ito, the son of Masatoshi Ito, who helped build 7-Eleven into a global phenomenon, now works for Seven & i—the parent company of the popular convenience store. In August, Seven & i rejected a $38 billion bid for the slurpee maker. A $47 billion offer followed, and then a $50 billion proposal from Ito himself. Will he manage to keep it in the family? Or will another price soon be right? (New York Times)

Under 30 On Air

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In 2025, predictions suggest significant advancements in electric vehicles, with Alexander Isaacson, co-founder of Xeal, envisioning a future where EVs are not just fuel-efficient but also an asset to the grid. He envisions a world where discharging excess battery power back to the grid or other vehicles becomes common practice, creating a distributed marketplace.

Furthermore, the Under 30 cohort of 2025 has shared their insights on the future, including Retail & Ecommerce's Sonia Yang, who anticipates that fashion companies will implement 'circularity programs' within the next 10 years, making it the norm for consumers to sell their clothes back to brands. This shift towards sustainability is expected to transform the industry.

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