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Since 2001, the MIT Technology Review releases its highly anticipated list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies, a curated selection of innovations poised to reshape our world. This year’s list includes groundbreaking technologies from generative AI search to green steel and long-acting HIV prevention meds.
At the recent SXSW 2025 conference in Austin, Texas, MIT Technology Review Executive Editor Niall Firth walked the audience through this year’s top 10 and offered insight into the near-misses that were considered but ultimately left off the list.
Firth emphasized the importance of looking beyond the obvious. “We’re in the business of helping explain the future, turning facts into understanding,” he said. “We tell you what’s going to happen now so you can plan for what is going to happen next.”
What made MIT’s 2025 breakthrough technologies list
- Vera C. Rubin Observatory: Coming online this year in Chile, it will capture a decade-long scan of the southern sky using the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy. Expect big insights into dark matter — and maybe even more.
- Generative AI search: Think of this as a smarter Google. Instead of just links, it gives you summarized answers pulled from multiple sources. “We picked this one (generative AI search) because obviously all of us search the internet every single day, and this represents the biggest change in decades,” Firth said.
- Small language models: They may be smaller than their large-scale counterparts, but they’re faster, cheaper, and more efficient — ideal for focused tasks.
- Cattle burping remedies: Cow burps matter. They release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. New feed additives are cutting these emissions drastically, now available in dozens of countries.
- Robotaxis: They’ve graduated from beta mode. In cities around the world, driverless taxis are now available to the public — with full-scale rollouts underway.
- Cleaner jet fuel: New fuels from waste materials could power airplanes while cutting back on fossil fuel use.
- Fast-learning robots: Thanks to advances in generative AI, robots are learning tasks quicker than ever — a leap toward more general-purpose machines.
- Long-acting HIV prevention: A new injection that lasts six months showed 100% protection against HIV in women and girls during trials. It could help turn the tide against the virus.
- Green steel: A Swedish startup is leading the charge in producing steel with renewable hydrogen, slashing carbon emissions from one of the dirtiest industries.
- Stem-cell therapies that work: Experimental therapies are now helping patients with epilepsy and type 1 diabetes, showing that stem cells may finally be living up to their early promise.
Technologies that didn’t make MIT’s list
- Virtual power plants (VPPs): These are energy systems that connect solar panels, wind turbines, grid batteries, and even electric vehicles to create a more flexible and efficient power grid. In theory, they can help prevent blackouts and reduce energy waste. In practice, they’re still in early stages — and while the U.S. already has around 500 VPPs providing up to 60 gigawatts of capacity, MIT says the technology still needs scale and smoother regulation to make a true breakthrough.
- Useful AI agents: Those handy digital assistants meant to schedule your meetings, order your groceries, and coordinate your life are coming along fast, but MIT says they’re not ready for primetime. Despite major strides from companies like Salesforce and Anthropic, most AI agents still struggle with complex instructions and reliability.
- Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs): Often described as futuristic electric helicopters designed for urban air mobility. While companies like EHang and Archer have made progress, including securing regulatory approvals, no eVTOL has yet entered commercial operation. So for now, they remain a vision of the future.
Keep an eye on the tech outliers
MIT’s list is more than just a collection of cool ideas — it’s a barometer for where the world is headed. It focuses on tech that’s passed key hurdles — whether it’s regulatory approval, mass adoption, or major scientific validation.
As Firth said, it’s about what will “have a profound impact on the economy and people’s lives.” Some of these technologies are already here; others are just beginning to show their potential; and a few, like VPPs and AI agents, may find their way onto the list next year.
While MIT’s list highlights the most immediate breakthroughs, the outliers serve as a reminder that innovation is an ongoing process. As these overlooked technologies evolve, they may soon reshape industries and even make next year’s list.