High tech industry

High technology, often abbreviated to high tech (adjective forms high-technology, high-tech or hi-tech) is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology available.

As of the onset of the 21st century, products considered high tech are often those that incorporate advanced computer electronics. However, there is no specific class of technology that is high tech—the definition shifts and evolves over time—so products hyped as high-tech in the past may now be considered to be everyday or even outdated technology.

The opposite of high tech is low technology, referring to simple, often traditional or mechanical technology; for example, a calculator is a low-tech calculating device.

Perhaps the first occurrence of the phrase is in a 1958 The New York Times story advocating "atomic energy" for Europe: "... Western Europe, with its dense population and its high technology ..." A 1968 occurrence is about technology companies along Boston's Route 128:

It is not clear whether the term comes from the high technologies flourishing in the glass rectangles along the route or from the Midas touch their entrepreneurs have shown in starting new companies.

By 1969, Robert Metz was using it in a financial column:

[Arthur H. Collins of Collins Radio] controls a score of high technology patents in variety of fields."

Metz used the term frequently thereafter; a few months later he was using it with a hyphen, saying that a fund "holds computer peripheral... business equipment, and high-technology stocks," and in a 1971 article in its first occurrence in the abbreviated form "high tech."

Because the high-tech sector of the economy develops or uses the most advanced technology known, it is often seen as having the most potential for future growth. This perception has led to high investment in high-tech sectors of the economy. High-tech startup enterprises receive a large portion of venture capital; However, if investment exceeds actual potential, as has happened in the past, then investors can lose all or most of their investment. High tech is often viewed as high risk, but offering the opportunity for high profits.

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