Dive deep into the technological shifts that are redefining global business with our latest podcast episode, exploring insights from the authoritative McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2025. This annual report highlights the most significant technology breakthroughs, talent trends, use cases, and their potential impact on companies across various sectors.

Our discussion unpacks the "baker’s dozen" of frontier technology trends identified by McKinsey, grouped into three pivotal categories:

• The AI Revolution:

  • Agentic AI: Discover how this rapidly emerging trend is creating "virtual coworkers" capable of autonomously planning and executing multistep workflows, moving beyond simple chatbots to truly act in the world.
  • Artificial Intelligence: Understand AI as a powerful technology wave on its own and a foundational amplifier that accelerates progress and unlocks new possibilities across all other trends, from bioengineering to optimising energy systems.

• Compute and Connectivity Frontiers:

  • Application-Specific Semiconductors: Learn about the purpose-built chips, like GPUs and ASICs, that are essential for handling the immense computational demands of AI training and inference, driven by exponentially higher demands for computing capacity.
  • Advanced Connectivity: Explore how evolving networks, including 5G, emerging 6G, and low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, are enhancing global communication and enabling new data generation.
  • Cloud and Edge Computing: Uncover how distributing workloads across hyperscale data centres and local nodes optimises performance, reduces latency, and addresses surging demand for AI computing.
  • Immersive-Reality Technologies: Delve into the advancements in augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), including smart glasses and haptic feedback, that are transforming experiences in gaming, training, and healthcare.
  • Digital Trust and Cybersecurity: Understand the critical technologies, like AI trust systems and blockchain-based tokenisation, that build and maintain stakeholder confidence amidst increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats and data risks.
  • Quantum Technologies: Get insights into the fundamental leap beyond traditional computing, as quantum computing, communication, and sensing promise to solve complex problems exponentially faster and secure communications.

• Cutting-Edge Engineering:

  • Future of Robotics: Explore the advancements in robots capable of autonomous or semi-autonomous tasks, from industrial settings to service roles, driven by AI foundation models.
  • Future of Mobility: Examine how autonomous vehicles (AVs), electric vehicles (EVs), drones, and urban air mobility are improving efficiency, safety, and sustainability in transportation systems.
  • Future of Bioengineering: Learn about the convergence of biology and computing that's leading to breakthroughs in gene editing, personalized medicine, and sustainable food production.
  • Future of Space Technologies: Discover how satellite systems, launch vehicles, and Earth observation are reshaping global connectivity and data-driven insights, with costs falling due to reusable rockets.
  • Future of Energy and Sustainability Technologies: Understand the innovations transforming the global energy landscape towards clean electrons, electrification, and clean molecules, addressing surging electricity demand and decarbonisation goals.

We’ll discuss the overarching themes that cut across these trends, including the rise of autonomous systems, new human-machine collaboration models, scaling challenges in global infrastructure, intensifying regional and national competition for technological leadership, and the imperative for responsible innovation. Hear about the stabilised and rebounding equity investments in frontier technologies in 2024, and the dynamic shifts in talent demand across these fields, with insights into critical skill gaps.