McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2025: Key Frontier Technologies Transforming Business
As the global technology landscape undergoes rapid and profound transformation, McKinsey & Company has released its annual Technology Trends Outlook 2025 report, shedding light on the frontier technologies set to reshape industries and business models in the coming years. The extensive 108-page report, authored by Lareina Yee, Michael Chui, Roger Roberts, and Sven Smit, provides a comprehensive analysis of 13 pivotal technology trends that are driving innovation, competition, and strategic investment across sectors.
The Transformative Power of Frontier Technologies
With innovation accelerating at an unprecedented pace, companies and governments worldwide face an intensifying race to secure leadership in the development and deployment of strategic technologies. The McKinsey outlook identifies 13 frontier technology trends—ranging from artificial intelligence advancements to quantum computing and sustainable energy solutions—that hold the potential to transform global business ecosystems. These technologies reflect the blurring boundaries between digital and physical realities, and between centralized and decentralized organizational models, presenting executives with both challenges and opportunities to scale emerging solutions and build trust in technology adoption.
Research Methodology: A Data-Driven Approach
McKinsey’s analysis is grounded in robust quantitative research across six dimensions: search engine queries, news articles, patents, research publications, equity investment, and talent demand. Data sources include Google Patents, The Lens for research publications, Factiva for news coverage, Google Trends for searches, PitchBook for equity investments, and McKinsey’s proprietary platform for labor market insights.
Each technology trend is measured using an indexed score from 0 to 1 across these vectors, with innovation scores derived from patents and research output, and interest scores from news and search activity. Equity investment data is scrutinized to understand financial trends in venture capital, mergers, and public offerings. Talent demand is assessed by analyzing job postings, primarily from English-speaking markets. The methodology also integrates expert interviews to assign enterprise-wide adoption scores (ranging from nascent innovation to full-scale deployment), helping businesses gauge where each technology currently stands on its path to maturity.
Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence and Agentic AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) remains the powerhouse among these technology trends, not only as a standalone force but also as a multiplier accelerating progress in other domains. This year, McKinsey combines applied AI, generative AI, industrial machine learning, and next-generation software development into one expansive AI category, emphasizing its foundational role in driving innovation.
A notable addition to this year’s outlook is agentic AI—an emerging technology category representing AI systems that independently plan and execute complex, multistep workflows, functioning as “virtual coworkers.” While agentic AI’s current investment and interest levels are still developing, its rapid growth signals significant potential to revolutionize enterprise technology and consumer applications through enhanced automation and decision-making capabilities.
Semiconductors and Computing Power: Enabling New AI Frontiers
The explosive growth in AI capabilities is fueling demand for more powerful and efficient computing hardware. McKinsey highlights application-specific semiconductors as a critical trend, responding to the challenges of computing intensity, heat management, energy consumption, and cost in AI training and inference. This surge in semiconductor innovation, visible in patent activity and investment, is creating new competitive landscapes and ecosystems that will underpin future technology advancements.
Other Frontier Technologies: Varied Profiles and Strategic Implications
The report also explores other significant technologies, such as quantum computing, which, despite being nascent, holds transformational potential in fields like cryptography and material sciences. Quantum technology is currently at early stages of commercial impact but is drawing increasing attention from major technology companies.
Beyond AI and quantum tech, the report covers advancements in robotics and autonomous systems, sustainable energy solutions, and more, each exhibiting distinct patterns of innovation, investment, and enterprise adoption. These varied profiles offer business leaders—from cautious adopters to aggressive innovators—valuable insights on tailoring strategies based on industry context and competitive positioning.
Themes Across Frontier Technologies: Autonomy, Responsibility, and Collaboration
This year’s trends point to a future where technology becomes more adaptive and collaborative, addressing critical global challenges such as climate change and digital safety. The emergence of autonomous systems—both physical robots and digital agents—underscores a shift toward technology that can act with increasing independence, working alongside humans to augment productivity and creativity.
Moreover, the imperative for responsible AI development, governance, and workforce adaptation is rising in importance, as leaders strive to harness technology’s benefits while managing risks and fostering trust among stakeholders.
Looking Ahead: Preparing for a Technology-Driven Future
McKinsey’s Technology Trends Outlook 2025 offers business leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs an invaluable roadmap to understand and navigate the evolving technology ecosystem. With AI at the core, and dynamic developments in semiconductors, autonomous systems, quantum computing, and sustainability technologies, the business landscape is poised for profound transformation.
Executives are encouraged to assess which frontier technologies align with their strategic goals, invest thoughtfully in scaling innovations, and engage in multidisciplinary collaboration to unlock new value in a complex and rapidly changing environment.
Additional Resources:
For those interested in specific applications of agentic AI, McKinsey will host a webinar titled Agentic AI and the Future of Travel: What Executives Need to Know on Tuesday, November 18, featuring Kelly Ungerman and Jules Seeley. The session will explore how travel and hospitality sectors can harness agentic AI’s potential while preserving the personal and inspiring elements of travel. Register here.
For more detailed insights and the full report, visit McKinsey & Company’s website.
