First edition (2025 report calls itself the fifth edition; 2026 the sixth). Published June 2021 as an online interactive ('The top trends in tech') plus an 18-slide executive-summary PDF; the interactive is JavaScript-rendered and was not read. 10 trends: 7 industry-agnostic, 3 industry-specific. No equity-investment, job-posting or adoption figures per trend (momentum score only, in charts). Forecast entries are the dated figures on slide 7 'Effects of technology trends up to 2050'. rank = trend number as printed; forecast entries carry their trend's rank.
Self-learning, reconfigurable robots will drive automation of physical processes beyond routine activities to include less predictable ones
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enhanced coverage and speed of connections across long and short distances will enable new services (eg, remote patient monitoring), business models (eg, connected services), and next-generation customer experiences (eg, live VR)
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Wide availability of IT infrastructure and services through cloud computing could shift demand for on-premise IT infrastructure and reduce the need for IT setup and maintenance
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High computational capabilities allow new use cases, such as molecule-level simulation, reducing the empirical expertise and testing needed for a range of applications
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As AI matures and continues to scale, it will enable new applications (eg, more rapid development cycles and detailed customer insights)
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Software 2.0 creates new ways of writing software and reduces complexity
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Trust architectures help commercial entities and individuals establish trust and conduct business without need for intermediaries, even as zero-trust-security measures address growing cyberattacks
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“-omics” enable rapid analysis of genetic materials and open up possibilities (eg, for rapid vaccine development, personalized medicine, and gene therapy)
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next-generation materials may change industry economics and reconfigure companies within them
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As clean technologies come down the cost curve, they become increasingly disruptive to traditional business models
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50% of today’s work activities could be automated by 2025
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>75% of enterprise-generated data will be processed by edge or cloud computing by 2025
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~10% of global GDP could be associated with blockchain by 2027
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Up to 80% of global population could be reached by 5G coverage by 2030
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>$1 trillion value potential of quantum-computing use cases at full scale by 2035
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>75% of global energy will be produced by renewables in 2050
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