The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2026 report has been launched by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF). The annual report highlights the most promising innovations expected to create significant impact across economies, industries, and societies in the coming years.

The report was announced alongside the participation of the UAE delegation at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026, also known as Summer Davos. The event is taking place in Dalian, China, from 23 to 25 June and brings together thousands of government officials, business leaders, experts, and decision-makers to discuss global challenges and emerging opportunities.

His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, and Chairman of the Museum of the Future, emphasized the importance of international collaboration in advancing emerging technologies.

He said that global cooperation in understanding and developing new technologies is essential for accelerating human progress and ensuring innovation delivers meaningful benefits to societies. He added that such collaboration helps governments and institutions strengthen competitiveness and build capabilities needed to navigate future transformations.

Furthermore, Al Gergawi noted that the partnership between DFF and WEF focuses on expanding knowledge, accelerating innovation, and identifying opportunities to leverage emerging technologies across critical sectors. These include healthcare, energy, food, education, and scientific research.

He stated that keeping pace with technological change and accelerating the adoption of innovative solutions are key drivers of sustainable development, prosperity, and improved quality of life. He also highlighted that emerging technologies continue to create new opportunities for development, enabling governments to enhance services, improve efficiency, adopt smarter solutions, and address strategic challenges.

The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2026 report serves as a practical guide for governments, businesses, investors, policymakers, researchers, and innovation leaders. It aims to help stakeholders better understand emerging technologies and evaluate their future impact. In addition, it offers insights into how these innovations may evolve, scale, and shape the future.

For the second consecutive year, Dubai Future Foundation contributed to the development of the report. The foundation participated in evaluating and selecting technologies based on their future impact, application potential, and ability to transform key sectors. Meanwhile, research teams from the World Economic Forum led the assessment of each technology’s maturity and future trajectory.

The technologies were selected using three key criteria: novelty, transformative potential, and their expected contribution to a more prosperous and sustainable future.

According to the report, the first technology, Everything-to-Grid Energy, enables assets such as vehicles, homes, factories, infrastructure, agricultural land, and open spaces to contribute to renewable energy generation. Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are used to aggregate and manage distributed energy resources for seamless integration into power grids.

The second technology, Direct Lithium Extraction, enables more efficient extraction of lithium, a critical component in batteries and energy storage systems. It reduces environmental impact, carbon emissions, and water consumption compared to traditional extraction methods.

Passive Radiative Cooling Materials rank third on the list. These advanced materials naturally emit heat without consuming energy and can reflect more than 95% of sunlight. As a result, they can significantly reduce cooling demands in semiconductors, computing systems, and AI-supporting data centres.

The fourth technology, PFAS Destruction Technologies, focuses on eliminating persistent chemical compounds from water supplies. It uses heat, electrochemical processes, and ultraviolet radiation to accelerate the breakdown of harmful substances.

Precision Fermentation Micro-Factories were identified as the fifth technology. They use precision fermentation to efficiently produce proteins and other compounds for food, medicine, and materials. This approach helps reduce pressure on agricultural land, strengthen food security, and improve supply chain resilience.

The sixth technology, Exosome Drug Delivery, uses naturally occurring microscopic vesicles known as exosomes to deliver treatments directly to targeted areas of the body. This improves treatment effectiveness and supports faster patient recovery.

Personalised mRNA Cancer Vaccines were ranked seventh. These vaccines train the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells, helping improve treatment outcomes and reduce the risk of disease recurrence.

The eighth technology, Quantum Simulation for Drug Discovery, enables highly accurate modelling of molecular interactions. Consequently, it can accelerate the discovery and development of new medicines.

World Models in Artificial Intelligence were listed as the ninth technology. These advanced AI systems can analyse real-world environments, human behaviour, and operational systems. Unlike traditional language-focused models, they provide a broader understanding of complex scenarios and applications.

Completing the list is Lattice-Based Cryptography. The technology is designed to protect data against future threats from quantum computing. By relying on complex mathematical structures, it makes decryption extremely difficult, even for advanced computing systems.

The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2026 report highlights how innovation is expected to reshape sectors ranging from healthcare and energy to food production, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, while supporting a more sustainable and resilient future.

Related post

View all