10 Breakthrough Technologies Archive
2023
Every year, we pick the 10 technologies that matter the most right now. You’ll recognize some; others might surprise you. We look for advances that will have a big impact on our lives and then break down why they matter. Read the full list here or scroll through the technologies that made it below.
2022
Every year, our reporters and editors survey a wide range of topics, from medicine to energy to digital technologies, to select advances that will affect our lives in meaningful ways. Read the full list here or scroll through the technologies that made it below.
2021
The 2021 list marks 20 years since we began compiling an annual selection of the year’s most important technologies. Some, such as mRNA vaccines, are already changing our lives, while others were still a few years off. Read the full list here or scroll through the technologies that made it below.
2020
Here is the 2020 list of technological advances that we believe will make a real difference in solving important problems. How do we pick? We avoid the one-off tricks, the overhyped new gadgets. Instead we look for those breakthroughs that will truly change how we live and work. Read the full list here or scroll through the technologies that made it below.
2019
We asked Gates to choose the 2019 list of inventions that will change the world for the better. Read the full list here or scroll through the technologies that made it below.
