Can government be the catalyst for breakthrough innovation?

Big breakthrough innovations are on the horizon, and they could be coming from an unlikely place. We’re talking about the sort of ideas that would reshape how we move, the medical treatments we receive, and how we adapt to the changing climate and generate new kinds of energy—and they could all stem from a space not typically associated with innovation: the government. Rethinking the public sector’s role in innovation—and how it works together with private industry—may be key to solving the world’s most pressing challenges and improving people’s lives.In this episode of Take on Tomorrow, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke talk to Rafael Laguna de la Vera, Director of Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), about why governments should be funding innovation across industries. Plus: Frederik Blachetta, Public Sector Data & AI Leader from PwC Germany, talks to us about how business can work alongside government to drive positive change.Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.

Throughout this special series, we’ve been exploring what happens to business and society when people try to do things differently. But without the funding to pay for that change, real progress can stall. In this episode, we’ll look at the way projects are financed and how it’s unlocking innovation and new partnerships across industries. Hosts Femi Oke and Lizzie O’Leary are following the money into the world of data centers—massive investments requiring trillions of dollars—to uncover how this backbone of our digital lives is built and paid for. We’ll hear from Udhay Mathialagan, Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group and the CEO of their Global Data Center Group, about why the company’s focusing on the infrastructure that runs AI systems. Plus: Eric Janson, Global Private Equity and Principal Investors Leader, PwC US, helps us dig into creative financing models, the evolving role of financial services, and why capital is the quiet force reshaping entire industries. Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC. 

Farmers produce, traders distribute, manufacturers process, retailers sell, and governments regulate. And it all comes together so that we can eat each day. But this delicate, complex global system is under immense pressure. Drought and heat stress threaten crops. Geopolitical crises, population growth, and global food waste mean the hunt is on for new solutions. In the decade ahead, feeding the world will require fundamentally different partnerships. So what new business models, products, and services will emerge?    In this episode of our special Take on Tomorrow series, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke speak to Mihir Pershad, the founder and CEO of Umami Bioworks, a food technology startup that develops lab-grown seafood such as cultivated eel and tuna. Meanwhile, Carla DeSantis, PwC US Consumer Packaged Goods Leader, explains how humanity can completely reimagine food.  Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.   

The way we move people and things is changing—transportation is becoming more electric, more autonomous, and more informed by advanced technology. These shifts present significant opportunity, both for new players to enter the mix and existing companies to reinvent themselves—with great potential benefit for society.     In this episode of our special Take on Tomorrow series, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke explore the future of mobility with Robin Chase, transportation entrepreneur and cofounder and former CEO of Zipcar. They’re also joined by Heiko Seitz, PwC’s Global eMobility Leader, from PwC Middle East, who takes us through the electric vehicle revolution, and why companies need to rethink their business models if they want to capture the opportunities in this space today and in the years ahead.  Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.   

What if we completely rethought the way we build? What if the places where we live and work helped cut emissions, and we could drastically improve energy efficiency with a new kind of construction? What if most construction wasn’t even done on-site? These changes, some of them already underway today by businesses establishing new kinds of partnerships, are redefining an age-old industry.   In this episode of our special Take on Tomorrow series, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke speak to Emanuel Heisenberg, CEO and founder of Ecoworks, about how adding a “second skin” to existing structures could revolutionize their use in ways that are good for the planet and the pocketbook. Plus, Greg Oberti, a partner in Capital Projects & Infrastructure at PwC Canada, explains the kinds of cross-industry partnerships being forged and how new opportunities are taking shape that will create value in the decade ahead.  Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.   

People need to be cared for—but the way we approach healthcare treatments hasn’t changed much in recent years. Now, in the age of AI, and with the emergence of more collaborative partnerships, we’re seeing a shift. And it brings a new opportunity for providers to make effective, affordable, preventative, and personalized care a priority—the kind of care that puts the patient at the center.  In this episode of our special Take on Tomorrow series, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke talk to Ali Hashemi, health-tech investor and cofounder and CEO of meta[bolic], to explore how this approach to holistic and efficient care is transforming the treatment of diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Meanwhile, India Hardy, Global Health Industries Partner with PwC UK, shares insight into the field’s unique possibilities and what’s driving the need to reinvent how we care in the decade ahead.  Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.   

The way we power society is transforming, and it’s not happening in a silo. As energy demand and geopolitical tensions both rise, and the shift toward new ways to fuel and power our lives picks up speed, how should businesses rethink the opportunities and challenges ahead? Where can they find new value? And what could the world look like with more collaboration and innovative solutions that have never been tried before?  In this episode of our special Take on Tomorrow series, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke talk with Thomas Raffeiner, CEO and founder of The Mobility House, a technology company using a new solution to power cars—and the grid itself—that may completely change how we move. Plus, Jeroen van Hoof, PwC’s Global Energy, Utilities & Resources Leader, from PwC Netherlands, tells us about the paths that businesses and society can open when they think about new ways of working—and moving—together. Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.   

This special series of Take on Tomorrow, PwC’s award-winning podcast, unpacks how the global economy will change over the decade ahead and what that means for business and society. We’ll explore how business will navigate—and shape—the challenges and opportunities ahead, including emerging technology, climate impacts, and new ways of collaborating across industries.  Though basic human needs will stay the same, the way they’re met—by business, government, and others—will rapidly evolve. We look at distinct domains, each centered around a fundamental and universal human need: how we move, how we make and build things, how we feed and care for ourselves, and how we fuel and power society, as well as the way governments, capital, and technology will enable this industry reconfiguration. Along the way, we’ll meet the innovators driving the efforts to tackle society’s greatest challenges and learn how businesses can capture the value that’s in motion and the exponential possibilities that come with it. Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.

There are strong forces at play right now—deep and profound trends such as technological disruption and social instability, that are changing our lives and the world around us. Business leaders can’t ignore these megatrends. But what actions are they taking? How can they plan amid a constantly shifting landscape? We’ve gathered insights from thousands of CEOs around the world to try to learn what they’re thinking about the big issues—from GenAI to climate change to the need for reinvention—and what it all could mean for the global economy. And we’ve mined the results to see what they can reveal about the future—what it will take for companies to prosper, and how to avoid being left behind.In this episode of Take on Tomorrow, recorded live in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, PwC’s Sarah von Fischer is joined by Carol Stubbings, PwC’s Global Chief Commercial Officer, and Paul Griggs, PwC US Senior Partner. The trio discuss the findings of PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey and ask: what does it take to thrive in an uncertain world?   Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC. 

AI is being embedded in everything we do, from the way our cities operate to how we live and work. Information, decision-making, and problem-solving are all being transformed. Enter the “AI agent,” here to help people work smarter and more productively. But will people trust this rapidly evolving technology? And what happens if that trust erodes? Business and society are working to navigate the myriad challenges AI presents—and to answer a big question: how can we work to build responsible AI in the age of agentic AI?   In this episode, recorded live at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, PwC’s Sarah von Fisher is joined by PwC’s Matt Wood, Global and US Commercial Technology & Innovation Officer. They discuss what the age of agentic AI looks like and what leaders can do to make sure the technology is deployed ethically, and with accountability and transparency—as AI becomes more engrained in our everyday lives.  Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2024 PwC.