Insights on Business Schools, MBA and Master's Programs

The disruption from Deepseek with a $10 million fund and 10,000 of Nvidia's older generation A100 GPUs have questioned the model of pursuing hardware innovation as the path for achieving AGI. Regardless, Q4 2024 Technology trends highlight the huge investments BigTech has already deployed in hardware, the strategic need to accelerate CleanTech to tackle the surge in AI carbon footprint, and finally, good news for the Technology job market. 

In this in-depth analysis of Technology Industry Trends for Q4 2024, we cover:

Venture Capital 2025 Q1 Trends

Global venture funding surged to $121B, the highest quarterly total since Q2’22, even as deal volume declined for the fourth consecutive quarter to 5,846 deals

Read: Venture Capital 2025 Q1 Trends

Venture Capital 2024 Q4 Trends

With global investment reaching a seven-quarter high in Q4 2024, driven by record-breaking deals, the quarter underscored the growing dominance of AI across regions and sectors.

The fourth quarter of 2024 marked a pivotal moment in venture capital (VC) markets, characterized by a pronounced shift in focus toward artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies. 

With global investment reaching a seven-quarter high, driven by record-breaking deals, this quarter underscored the growing dominance of AI across regions and sectors. However, the broader landscape revealed nuanced challenges, including liquidity constraints, declining deal volumes, and disparities in regional investment trends. 

Private Equity (PE) has seen a notable recovery after a period of downturn during 2022-2023, primarily due to macroeconomic challenges such as high inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical instability. However, Q4 2024 reflects a more optimistic outlook, driven by favorable financial conditions and a shift in deal-making strategies. 

The fourth quarter of 2024 demonstrated robust financial performance across major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, CitiGroup, and BlackRock. The banks posted record profits, driven by high interest rates, strong trading activities, and strategic acquisitions. However, rising geopolitical tensions, economic & policy uncertainties around deglobalization, and ESG costs all could influence future financial performance.

Wharton's reversal of the GMAT score from marching ahead on the 740 route to clawing back to the 720s with a 728 in 2023 changed with a 738 resurgence in 2024, targeting Harvard's consistent 740 average.

We have shortlisted the deadlines for the top master’s program in Management, Business Analytics, and Finance.

•    Top Master in Management (MiM) – Deadlines
•    Top Master of Business Analytics (MSBA)  - Deadlines
•    Top Master’s in Finance – Deadlines

1) Consulting – A Strong $190,000 

Despite a slowdown in Consulting, the industry attracted a $190,000 base salary, converting 32.1% of the total offers at MIT Sloan MBA. The compensation was similar to the offer at Harvard. Only Stanford was ahead of the curve. The trend has been consistent in recent years.

1) Consulting Dip

Consulting witnessed a dip in hiring and a drop in median base salary from $188,000 to $175,000 base salary. However, Management Consulting, the largest sub-function, employed 31% of graduates with a median base salary of $182,500, surpassing last year’s $180,067.