Big Tech

Big Tech, also known as the tech giants or tech titans, are the largest and most powerful technology companies in the world. It most commonly refers to the five dominant companies in the U.S. technology industry—Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, and Meta (Facebook)—which are also some of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization, making up about a quarter of the S&P 500. Other large technology companies, such as Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, and SpaceX, are sometimes included but usually referred to separately. The term Big Tech is similar to terms for other powerful industries, such as Big Media, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Tobacco. Careers in Big Tech, particularly in technical fields such as software engineering and product management, are considered highly competitive.

History

In the late 20th century, IBM, Microsoft, and Apple dominated the worldwide information technology industry. After the dot-com bubble wiped out most of the Nasdaq Composite stock market index, surviving tech startups expanded their market share and became dominant in their markets. The term Big Tech began to appear around 2013, when some economists speculated that a lack of regulation could lead to concentrated market power. The concept of Big Tech is similar to how the largest oil companies were called Big Oil following the 1970s energy crisis, and the largest cigarette producers were called Big Tobacco, as Congress attempted to regulate those industries. It is also similar to how, at the beginning of the 21st century, the mainstream media became dominated by a small number of corporations called Big Media or the media giants.