Now in its 14th edition, the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2026 report identifies the scientific advances approaching the moment when they are ready to change the world. Technologies are selected for their novelty, development progress and potential impact, through a rigorous process drawing on the expertise of world-leading scientists, technologists and innovation leaders.
Published in collaboration with Frontiers, the 2026 edition features 10 technologies spanning energy, materials, health and computing, already moving from research into real-world deployment. For each technology, the report examines the science, the breakthroughs bringing it within reach and why this is the moment to pay attention. A strategic outlook developed with the Dubai Future Foundation then explores the conditions, investments and decisions needed to bring it to scale responsibly.
Taken together, they illuminate where the frontier is moving, the breakthroughs that could define the decade ahead and what it will take to navigate them well.
The rise of intelligent ops
Monolithic enterprise backbones evolve into living ecosystems of intelligent, modular, and continuously learning applications, blending human oversight with autonomous AI agents and putting the process back at the core. This shift turns operations into adaptive engines of value creation, where resilience and agility become structural rather than aspirational. Intelligent operations position enterprises not just to run better, but to reinvent themselves continuously.
The AI dilemma: Securing and leveraging AI for cyber defense
The technology meant to give businesses an advantage is becoming the target used against them. AT&T’s chief information security officer “What we’re experiencing today is no different than what we’ve experienced in the past. The only difference with AI is speed and impact.” Organizations must secure AI across four domains—data, models, applications, and infrastructure—but they also have the opportunity to use AI-powered defenses to fight threats operating at machine speed.
Throughout this year’s report, you’ll meet technology leaders successfully navigating this sea change. They don’t have all the answers, but there are noticeable patterns as they light the way forward.
- They lead with problems, not technology. Broadcom’s CIO: “Without focusing on a specific business problem and the value you want to derive, it could be easy to invest in AI and receive no return.”13
- Specifically, their biggest problems. UiPath CEO: “Rather than getting stuck in a cycle of perpetual proofs of concept, consider attacking your biggest problem and going for a big outcome.”14
- They prioritize velocity over perfection. Western Digital’s CIO: “We’d rather fail fast on small pilots than miss the wave entirely.”
- They design with people, not just for them. Walmart involved store associates in building its scheduling app, which includes shift swapping, schedule visibility, and employee control. The result: Scheduling time dropped from 90 minutes to 30 minutes, and people actually used the app.
- They treat change as continuous. Coca-Cola’s CIO described their journey as moving from “What can we do?” to “What should we do?”
- That shift—from capability-first to need-first—is what separates productive experimentation from pilot purgatory.
I’ve tracked technology evolution long enough to recognize the patterns. The internet changed everything. Mobile reshaped consumer behavior. Cloud computing was transformative.
AI infrastructure will get smarter and more efficient
AI’s growth isn’t just about building more and bigger datacenters anymore, says Mark Russinovich, chief technology officer, deputy chief information security officer and technical fellow for Microsoft Azure. The next wave is about making every ounce of computing power count.
“The most effective AI infrastructure will pack computing power more densely across distributed networks,” Russinovich says. Next year will see the rise of flexible, global AI systems — a new generation of linked AI “superfactories” — that will drive down costs and improve efficiency, he says.
AI will be “measured by the quality of intelligence it produces, not just its sheer size,” he says.
Think of it like air traffic control for AI workloads: Computing power will be packed more densely and routed dynamically so nothing sits idle. If one job slows, another moves in instantly — ensuring every cycle and watt is put to work. This shift will translate into smarter, more sustainable and more adaptable infrastructure to power AI innovations on a global scale, Russinovich says
AI will conquer space
Space offers superior thermal and energy conditions, making it an ideal location for data centers. The recent collaboration between Nvidia and StarCloud, which resulted in the first AI model trained in orbit, has already demonstrated that this is feasible. Launching rockets remains costly, but if costs continue to fall, new projects will emerge in 2026. Space will become a new computational frontier.
Will the successor to the smartphone arrive?
Many have tried—virtual reality glasses, smartwatches…—but so far, no wearable device has surpassed the versatility of the smartphone. The search for its successor continues, with the notable development that OpenAI has recruited the designer behind the iPhone and iPod, Jony Ive, in an effort to find it.
Hyperloop will take off in China
While countries such as the US and the United Arab Emirates have abandoned the project, China is pushing ahead with the goal of developing a train capable of traveling at over 1,000 km/h. Connecting major cities at such speeds will redefine entire regions and significantly enhance their capacity to compete and innovate.
Generative and agentic AI: Business value and geopolitical impacts
2026 will be a watershed year for generative AI as organisations demand clear return on investment beyond anecdotal time savings. Boards and CFOs are challenging leadership to demonstrate measurable impact on growth and competitiveness. Parallel to this, agentic AI systems—AI that acts with some autonomy—are rising in importance across business functions, from customer service to supply chain analytics. This is shaping both operational strategy and geopolitical competition in technology standards.
Meanwhile, geopolitical competition over AI capability is underway, with nations pursuing sovereign AI strategies to support economic security and guard against external shocks.
Climate change: Quiet in rhetoric, loud in impact
Public attention may be more muted, but climate change remains a mega-threat with real consequences. Natural disasters grew in frequency and severity in recent years, and areas from California to UK flood plains are facing insurance challenges. Climate migration, consumer behaviour shifts and policy tensions over environmental regulation will all be significant in 2026.
Cyber-attack inevitability and digital resilience
Cybercrime and state-linked hacking are now treated as inevitable threats. Organisations are overhauling cybersecurity strategies to emphasise resilience over prevention alone, aligning data governance with national security concerns.Expect cybersecurity debates to persist alongside AI risk discussions, making this one of the top news stories for 2026 for technology and security leaders.
Record debt and economic fragility
Sovereign debt levels in wealthy countries remain elevated. Central banks and governments face questions about their ability to act as backstops for global liquidity—a familiar comfort in past downturns that may be less dependable in 2026. This context makes fiscal and monetary policy discussions central to economic coverage.