Abstract

Thank to smartphones, social media and data mining, collection and elaboration of information has never been so easy and low-cost. Such information produce a big impact on business performance in several industries, in particular in the high-tech. The purpose of this article is to offer a descriptive analysis of some metrics and trends relatively to a set of innovative start-ups in the US high technological industries that exploit data for business growth, and provide a link analysis by products, markets, technologies and applications, to emphasise the emerging innovation trajectories. Given the rising risk for consumers, a short overview of the US regulatory frame concerning privacy and data protection is offered.