From Asteroid Mining to Democratizing Quantum: World Economic Forum Announces 2025 Technology ...

8h ago | Source: World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum selects 100 start-ups from 28 countries to join its Technology Pioneers community.
The new cohort marks a global surge of emerging technologies, from smart robotics and spatial AI to flying taxis and scalable quantum solutions.
Now in its 25th year, the community has recognized over 1,200 start-ups that have gone on to transform industries and societies worldwide.
For more information on the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025, visit wef.ch/amnc25 and share on social media using the hashtag #amnc25, or #2025?????#. Read more about the 2025 Technology Pioneers here.

The World Economic Forum today announces the 2025 cohort of its Technology Pioneers community, a group of 100 early-stage companies from 28 countries driving innovation across industries and borders. Now in its 25th year, the programme celebrates its strongest cohort yet, marked by broader geographical representation, greater diversity beyond Silicon Valley and the rise of more ambitious frontier technologies.

Reflecting wider shifts in the innovation landscape, many of the companies spotlighted are using artificial intelligence (AI) to reach greater scale and sophistication with fewer resources. Several are venturing into less explored frontiers – from asteroid mining and flying electric taxis, to leveraging satellite imagery to transform agriculture and harnessing energy from supernova explosions to locate critical minerals beneath the Earth’s surface.

The geography of innovation is also evolving. While the United States remains the top contributor to the community, Europe’s share has surged to 28% – up from 20% last year – reflecting the rise of strong tech ecosystems across the region. China and India are also emerging as major tech innovation hubs.

“There has never been a more exciting time to dive headfirst into tech innovation. But no one gets far alone – you need a community to move your mission forward,” said Verena Kuhn, Head of Innovator Communities, World Economic Forum. “As we mark 25 years of the Technology Pioneers programme, this global community continues to connect start-ups to the networks and ecosystems they need to scale.”

This year also marks the 25^th Anniversary of the Technology Pioneers programme. Since its inception in 2000, the community has championed early-stage innovation and recognized more than 1,200 companies, many of which have gone on to reshape industries worldwide. Alumni include household names such as Google, PayPal, Dropbox and SoundCloud, underscoring the community’s role as a launchpad for ideas and impact.

The 2025 cohort stands out for its concentration of companies developing breakthrough technologies to address pressing global challenges. These include advanced robotics, customisable space launch services, micro nuclear reactors and more accessible quantum computing applications. These pioneers will contribute cutting-edge insights to Forum initiatives over a two-year engagement programme and will also be invited to participate in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025, taking place on 24-26 June in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China.

More information on past winners and informTation on the community can be found here.

The 2025 Technology Pioneers include:

Australia

Cauldron – Commercializing advanced continuous fermentation technology to unlock price parity for mainstream bio-manufactured goods.

Brazil

Brain4care – Using AI-based technology to enable timely medical interventions for patients with neurological conditions.

Canada

Ideon Technologies – Harnessing the energy from supernova explosions in space to image deep beneath the Earth’s surface, transforming how mining companies recover critical minerals.
Miru – Developing dynamic electrochromic windows that deliver high functionality, experience and energy efficiency for the automotive, transportation and architectural sectors.

Greater China

Deep Principle – Integrating advanced AI models and quantum chemistry to accelerate the discovery and development of chemical materials.
GS Biomats – Developing furan bio-based material, a renewable alternative to petroleum-based chemicals, for various uses including biomedical applications.
HiNa Battery – Producing more sustainable, high-performance, low-cost sodium-ion batteries.
KaiOS – Providing affordable internet and access to financial services to unserved populations, primarily in South Asia and Africa.
Lightstandard – Making large language model computing faster and more energy-efficient with photonic computing.
Noematrix – Focusing on researching and developing embodied intelligence systems and related tools and platforms, which are compatible with diverse hardware.
Novlead – Designing a molecular technology platform providing available, accessible and affordable nitric oxide solutions for major clinical needs.
Shengshu Technology – Building generative AI infrastructure that develops native multi-modal large models such as images, 3D and video.
TRANSTREAMS – Engineering chips and solutions to address the computing power shortages in China during the era of AI-generated content.
Turing – Providing cutting-edge computing infrastructure and comprehensive AI solutions to drive the future of intelligent computing.

Colombia

Plurall – Supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in emerging markets with fast, accessible working capital and digital payment solutions, leveraging AI models for risk assessment, collections and embedded lending.

Denmark

Arcadia eFuels – Developing and deploying technology to produce electro-sustainable aviation and diesel fuels using renewable electricity, seawater, and captured CO2.

Egypt

Thndr – Offering a digital investment platform with a range of flexible funding methods and educational resources to empower investors.

France

Ascendance Flight Technologies – Decarbonizing aviation with a hybrid electric propulsion system and hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.
Beyond Aero – Building the first electric business aircraft powered by hydrogen propulsion, as a sustainable alternative to traditional business jets.
CO2 AI – Helping large and complex organizations measure their environmental impact, identify credible levers and decarbonize at scale through AI.
Jimmy – Developing a micro nuclear reactor to provide carbon-free, competitive heat for industrial processes.
Nabla – Reducing clinician burnout by automating clinical documentation with AI.
Orakl Oncology – Creating a biology and AI-powered simulation platform to revolutionize oncology drug development.
Phagos – Deploying a sustainable alternative to antibiotics using bacteriophages and AI.
Quobly – Making scalable, cost-competitive, large-scale quantum computers.
Sweetch Energy – Enabling osmotic power generation by harnessing the salinity gradient between freshwater and seawater.

Germany

Accure – Providing predictive battery analytics software to enhance safety, optimize performance and extend the lifetime of battery systems.
Black Forest Labs – Building generative deep learning models for media, particularly images and videos.
eleQtron – Developing quantum computers by leveraging trapped-ion technology.
Tozero – Pioneering the delivery of recycled lithium in Europe by sustainably recovering critical materials from battery waste.

India

Agnikul – Providing affordable and customizable space launch services.
CynLr – Building robots with intuitive vision and enabling manufacturers and logistics providers to build fully automated factories.
Dezy – Leveraging AI-powered diagnostic technology to build affordable and accessible dental care.
Digantara – Providing crucial operational support to commercial space operators and space surveillance intelligence to global space agencies.
Equal – Providing an integrated solution that combines identity verification with consent-driven financial data sharing.
Exponent Energy – Making 15-minute rapid charging for electric vehicles affordable and scalable through an innovative battery management system, charging algorithms, thermal management and a charging network.
Freight Tiger – Building India’s largest software-enabled freight network to help businesses move goods with full visibility, efficiency and lower costs.
GalaxEye – Creating a comprehensive, multi-sensor Earth observation system.
SolarSquare – Helping homes switch to solar in India with its full-stack solar panel systems.
The ePlane Co. – Developing flying electric taxis designed for intra-city transportation.

Ireland

Equal1 – Democratizing quantum computing by leveraging existing semiconductor technologies.

Israel

Fermata – Providing computer vision solutions for farmers to reduce crop losses and pesticide use.
Illumex – Empowering organizations to run governed and reliable AI agents through unified business data language and to democratize data access to every user.
LightSolver – Building a photonic supercomputer by harnessing the power of coupled lasers.
NanoSynex – Offering a rapid and accurate diagnostic platform for bacterial resistance.
ZutaCore– Developing waterless direct-to-chip liquid cooling for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data centres.

Italy

Arsenale Bioyards – Building new lab-to-production infrastructure enabling fast, low-cost biomanufacturing at an industrial scale.

Japan

Sagri – Leveraging satellite data and AI to transform agriculture through land use optimization and sustainability.

Republic of Korea

Hylium Industries - Providing safe and innovative liquid hydrogen solutions for carbon-free mobility.
NARA Space – Building South Korea’s first microsatellite constellation for methane point source detection.
Robocon – Developing robotics and smart factory solutions for the construction and steel industries.

Luxembourg

Tokeny Solutions – Building the compliance infrastructure for digital assets in blockchain and fintech.

Mexico

Allie – Creating closed-loop optimization systems for manufacturing that autonomously adjust production parameters in real time.

Nigeria

Cybervergent – Providing a platform to automate cybersecurity compliance and risk governance.
Sabi – Powering the sourcing and distribution of physical goods and critical commodities in Africa.
ThriveAgric – Empowering smallholder farmers across Africa by linking them to finance, data-driven best practices, and access to local and global markets.

Saudi Arabia

Intelmatix – Making enterprise AI accessible through industry-specific, context-aware AI agents.

Singapore

Manus – Automating a wide range of practical tasks for personal and professional use with a general AI agent.
Rize – Decarbonizing rice cultivation in Asia through scalable agricultural innovations.

Spain

Crisalion Mobility – Offering sustainable air and ground mobility solutions.
INBRAIN Neuroelectronics – Developing brain-computer interfaces to treat neurological disorders.

Sweden

Graphmatech – Developing advanced materials infused with graphene to make large-scale industries more innovative and resource efficient.
Lovable – Using AI to help users create software and web apps without coding expertise.

Switzerland

HAYA Therapeutics – Developing RNA-based medicines to treat heart, lung and tissue diseases.
Neural Concept – Accelerating product design through 3D generative engineering and AI.

Uganda

Numida – Using credit models and digital underwriting to provide loans to micro businesses.

Ukraine

Respeecher – Enabling scalable voice cloning across languages and contexts.

United Kingdom

CuspAI – Using frontier AI to accelerate the discovery and development of materials with specific functionalities.
Obrizum – Offering personalized digital learning services at scale through an AI-powered platform.
Oxford Ionics – Building high-performance quantum computers using trapped-ion technology.

United States

Ammobia –Fuelling the world with cost-effective, lower-carbon ammonia production.
Archetype AI – Pioneering a new form of Physical AI capable of perceiving, understanding and reasoning about the world through analysing real-time, multimodal sensor data.
Arine – Integrating cutting-edge AI, clinical expertise and advanced data analytics to deliver medication-based care interventions at the population level.
AstroForge – Making critical minerals more accessible to humanity by mining asteroids.
BforeAI - Using behavioural AI to predict and automatically pre-empt malicious campaigns and stop cyberattacks before they occur.
Candidly – Developing an AI-powered platform to help borrowers manage and overcome educational loans.
Claryo – Helping warehouse operators maximize operational efficiency by leveraging spatial generative AI.
Distyl AI – Enabling enterprises to seamlessly integrate AI agents into operations.
Emvolon – Converting methane emissions into carbon-negative fuels for hard-to-abate sectors onsite.
Exowatt – Delivers solar power on demand by storing energy and converting it into electricity as needed, helping data centres and the grid run on clean energy 24/7.
Foundation Alloy – Commercializing solid-state metals technology to make higher performance metals using less energy.
HAIQU – Developing a new application execution stack for all modalities of near-term quantum computers.
Hertha Metals – Developing technology to decarbonize primary steel production.
Hyfe – Turns food processing waste into chemicals that replace petroleum in everyday goods.
Lumu Technologies – Providing cybersecurity operations capabilities to help businesses control the impact of cybercrime.
One Bio – Using biotechnology to add anti-inflammatory plant-based fibres to everyday foods.
Oberon Fuels – Developing innovative carbon-neutral fuels for maritime, propane, and hydrogen sectors.
Osmo – Combining frontier AI and olfactory science to digitize scent and enhance well-being.
Outtake – Securing digital identities by detecting and removing harmful AI-generated content.
Parallel Learning – Providing licensed therapy and instruction to students with learning differences through a digital platform.
Pavilion – Increasing efficiency in US public procurement with an AI-enabled government marketplace.
Reality Defender – Offering multimodal detection of AI-generated media to prevent fraud and disinformation.
RoboForce – Building AI-powered robotic systems designed for high-risk or repetitive work, to enhance efficiency, productivity and safety across industries.
Rubi Laboratories – Using biocatalysis to transform CO2 into essential materials like cellulose.
Shiru – Leveraging AI to identify and develop naturally occurring functional ingredients.
Starcloud – Constructing data centres in space to solve the AI energy challenge.
Waterplan – Delivering an AI-powered platform to measure, manage and mitigate water risk.
Workera – Providing AI-driven workforce skills intelligence and upskilling pathways.
Workhelix – Helping companies identify AI transformation opportunities and measure return on investment.

Uruguay

Prometeo – Creating a single, borderless banking application programming interface to connect companies with financial institutions across the Americas.

About the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025

The 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions will take place from 24 to 26 June 2025 in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, under the theme “Entrepreneurship for a New Era.” The meeting will convene over 1,500 leaders from business, government, civil society, academia, international organizations, innovation and media to explore entrepreneurial solutions to global challenges.

About the Technology Pioneers

Launched in 2000, the Technology Pioneers community marks its 25th anniversary in 2025 as a leading platform for early-stage companies from around the world that are shaping the future through breakthrough technologies and innovations. These companies are selected for their potential to have a significant impact on business and society and are invited to engage with public and private sector leaders through the World Economic Forum’s global platform.

The Technology Pioneers community is part of the Innovator Communities within the Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Innovator Communities convene the world's leading global start-ups across different growth stages from early-stage Technology Pioneers to growth-stage Global Innovators and unicorn companies valued at more than $1 billion.