Technology news can feel like a never‑ending hype cycle. Every week there is a “revolutionary” gadget or platform that promises to change everything, then quietly disappears.
The World Economic Forum’s “Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025” tries to cut through that noise by asking a harder question, which tools are new, backed by serious science, and close to real‑world impact.
Top 10 emerging technologies 2025: From AI watermarks to living therapies
For this edition, experts from the Forum, Frontiers, and global councils nominated more than 250 candidate technologies. Each one had to show early adoption, high potential impact, and development by multiple groups.
An AI Trend Analyzer then scanned millions of open‑access papers from the last decade to see which topics showed sustained growth instead of short‑lived buzz.
Next, panels of over 300 scientists and futurists refined the list and applied a STEEP lens, checking social, technological, environmental, economic, and policy readiness for each idea.
Only 10 technologies passed all filters, forming a portfolio that touches energy, health, food systems, and digital trust.
Energy and materials, lighter batteries, salt power, and new nuclear
Structural battery composites turn parts of a car, plane, or drone body into energy storage, merging strength and battery function in one material. This could cut weight, save energy, and simplify recycling once safety and durability issues are solved.
Osmotic power systems harvest “salt power” from the natural mix between fresh and salty water using advanced membranes. Deployed at river mouths or treatment plants, they could add predictable renewable power where wind or sun are not ideal.
Next‑generation nuclear energy covers safer, smaller fission reactors and advancing fusion designs. These aim to deliver low‑carbon baseload electricity with better safety systems and less waste, but still face high costs, regulation, and public concern.
Together, these three point to a future where structures store energy, rivers become power sources, and nuclear leaves its old image behind, if policy and investment line up correctly.
Biology and health, living drugs, GLP‑1s, nanozymes, and smart sensors
Engineered living therapeutics use modified microbes or cells that live inside the body and release drugs in a targeted, long‑term way. They could transform chronic care by reducing injections and side effects, though safety and regulation remain big hurdles.
GLP‑1 drugs, known for diabetes and obesity, now show promise for slowing or modifying neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, opening a metabolic route to brain health. Large clinical trials still need to confirm durability and risk profiles.
Nanozymes are synthetic nanomaterials that act like enzymes but can be cheaper, more stable, and tunable. They are moving fast in cancer therapy, biosensors, pollution cleanup, and food safety, with a projected multibillion‑dollar market by 2034.
Autonomous biochemical sensing devices detect molecules such as DNA fragments, toxins, or biomarkers without constant human supervision. Embedded in wearables, farms, or water systems, they could enable early warnings in health and the environment.
Sustainability and data, green nitrogen, collaborative sensing, and AI watermarks
Green nitrogen fixation aims to make fertilizer without the high emissions of the Haber‑Bosch process, using biological or electrochemical pathways. This could cut agricultural emissions, reduce energy use, and support food security if scaled affordably.
Collaborative sensing networks link many small sensors in homes, vehicles, and cities, combining their data in real time. With help from AI, they can monitor air quality, traffic, noise, or infrastructure health to support safer, more efficient urban life.
Generative AI watermarking embeds robust, often invisible markers into AI‑created text, images, and video. That allows tools to check if content is synthetic and track its source, supporting digital authenticity, academic honesty, and intellectual property.
These three technologies show how climate, cities, and online trust are now linked through data, chemistry, and smart infrastructure rather than separate debates.
Why these technologies matter for the next five years
The report emphasizes that all 10 technologies are still emerging, so none is a magic bullet yet. But each has pilot projects, investment, and scientific momentum that point to realistic deployment within three to five years.
For policymakers and businesses in countries such as Colombia, this list works as an early road map. It signals where to invest in skills, regulation, and infrastructure so local industries and researchers can join, not just import, the next wave of solutions.
A short list that hints at a bigger shift
Behind the technical details, the 2025 Top 10 Emerging Technologies report tells a simple story. The most promising innovations blend fields, AI with biology, chemistry with energy, sensors with policy.
For readers, it offers not just a set of buzzwords, but a guide to where science and markets are quietly aligning. Paying attention now can help societies turn these tools into cleaner energy, better health, safer cities, and a more trustworthy digital world.