After a year that produced no end of surprises, it may seem like folly to forecast what will happen in 2021. We decided to do it anyway.

Our reporters checked in with their sources to make more than 40 predictions on the most important companies and issues they cover. We forecast which hot financial technology and open-source startups will go public, AT&T’s plans for CNN, Alibaba’s future takeover target and the next “other bet” for Google.

It turns out that, despite the pandemic, we nailed many of our predictions from last year. In a separate story, we will say how we did and what that accuracy says about tech trends that are proving resilient in a global disaster.