We already know mobile is eating the world as we pass 2.5 billion smartphones on earth and head towards 5 billion. And not only is the s-curve of innovation for mobile passing PCs, but it’s moving into the deployment phase. Which means the questions have shifted from “Will this work?” and “Who will win?” … to “What can we build with this?” So what happens when this new kind of scale for technology — and new kinds of computers (with cameras and sensors in everything) changes other industries, like cars and commerce for example? What happens as companies like GAFA move from “mobile-first” to “AI-first” with machine learning and more? And what can we build as we stand on the shoulders of giants?

In this update of Mobile Eating the World — delivered at a16z’s recent inaugural summit event — Benedict Evans takes us on a journey along the s-curves of mobile and beyond...