Tech has found its way into every aspect of our lives and dominates almost all industries, including transportation, healthcare, entertainment, and education. Technological advancements have the potential to impact and transform the way consumers, industries, and businesses operate. Such a drastic and disruptive shift is primarily caused by innovative or cutting-edge technology. Cutting-edge technology includes technology that uses the latest, highest-level information technology development. By identifying emerging cutting-edge technologies, we can gauge the future trajectories of emerging and profitable industries and invest accordingly.
AI And Revival Of Enthusiasm In Tech
After a turbulent last year in investments, the tech industry has quickly recovered. Generative AI has been the major catalyst for this recovery and has found numerous applications in our daily lives, organizations, and larger industries. Leading the AI revolution, generative AI has rekindled the enthusiasm of consumers and investors alike. Many companies in the tech industry are developing cutting-edge generative AI models and products including NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).
The graphic processors by NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) are considered vital in the development of generative AI applications including ChatGPT. The popularity of generative AI has fueled the demand for graphics chips by the company. On August 8, Reuters reported that NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) has announced a new configuration, GH200, for its advanced AI chips named Grace Hopper Superchip that will be available in the second quarter of 2025. This new configuration will have a higher-bandwidth memory that will speed generative AI applications further. This new chip design combines an H100 GPU with a central processor designed by the company. By providing a higher memory bandwidth, the company is facilitating generative AI applications to run smoothly without connecting to separate chips and systems. The company is correspondingly estimated to have continual growth in the future.
Another company at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technology like AI is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company has invested significantly in Open AI, the name behind ChatGPT. The company is empowering innovation and constantly rolling out new technologies and features. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has added ChatGPT to Azure cloud services and Bing. The company is growing rapidly, as evidenced by its earnings for the last quarter. On July 25, the company reported earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported earnings per share of $2.69 and beat EPS estimates by $0.14. The company's revenue for the quarter amounted to $56.19 billion, up 8.34% year over year and ahead of Wall Street estimates by $698.86 million. Here are some comments from the company's earnings call mentioning the role of AI in its growth and plans for the future:
"We had a solid close to our fiscal year. The Microsoft Cloud surpassed $110 billion in annual revenue, up 27% in constant currency, with Azure all-up accounting for more than 50% of the total for the first time. Every customer I speak with is asking how and how fast they can apply next-generation AI to address the biggest opportunities and challenges they face and do so safely and responsibly. To that end, we remain focused on 3 key priorities: first, helping customers use the breadth and depth of Microsoft Cloud to get the most value onto their spending; second, investing in leading the new AI platform shift by infusing AI across every layer of the tech stack; and third, driving operating leverage."
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) is also working on AI. On August 24, the company released a free AI model called Code Llama that will help in writing computer code. The large language model (LLM) uses text prompts to generate code. Code Llama has immense potential to catalyze the coding process and enhance productivity. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) has released three versions of Code Llama with 7 billion, 13 billion, and 34 billion parameters respectively addressing different serving and latency requirements. This model could greatly benefit software engineers working in different domains. The platform supports several coding languages including Java, Python, and C++.
Tech Industry Outlook
According to a report by McKinsey, the absolute investments in tech amounted to $1 trillion in 2022. The large investment, despite a tumultuous overall situation, implies the strong faith of the investors in the growth of the tech industry. Furthermore, the decline in investments in technologies like cloud and edge computing in 2022 does not necessarily correspond to a decline in interest. The drop in investments is also an indicator that these techs are maturing and are becoming more profitable. Profitable industries can scale further with marginal investments. Therefore, the decline in investments in some technologies last year is an unreliable indicator of those technologies' future.
The tech industry has shown persistent growth over the years. With several nascent technologies on the horizon, the future of tech looks bright. The global tech industry is massive, and it is not easy to gauge the actual size of the entire industry. According to MGI Research, global tech spending is estimated to grow from $8.51 trillion in 2022 to $11.47 in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.75%. The pandemic highlighted the digital gap that exists today, accelerating the growth of this sector. Innovations and the reduction in time of the tech commoditization cycle, the time required for a product to become mainstream, contribute to continuing expansion. The interplay of technology with our daily lives is one of the strongest tailwinds for constant growth.
One of the biggest challenges the tech industry faces today is the lack of competent labor. Tech companies have been laying off people at one end while having a surge in demand for competent workers on the other. According to a reportby McKinsey & Company, despite the fall in job postings globally by 13% from 2021 to 2022, the job postings in tech grew by 15%. Increased automation has amplified the demand for specialized and competent tech workers. Another major challenge is increased government regulations and scrutiny. Growing privacy concerns have caused this ripple. The governments have become more vigilant and have imposed stronger laws. The heightened mistrust has even led to the banning of platforms like ChatGPT in many countries. These strict laws restrict overall technology growth.
The world is changing rapidly under the technology revolution. The tech industry is constantly coming up with innovations. In addition to AI, there are many other technologies that are on track to become significantly valuable. Let's now take a look at the most profitable cutting-edge technologies that could make you rich.
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Our Methodology
To make a list of the 15 most profitable cutting-edge technologies that will make you rich, we initially made a list of the latest disruptive technologies. We extracted these technologies from four main sources, including reports by McKinsey and Deloitte and articles from Forbes and MIT Technology Review. Using a consensus method, we made a list of cutting-edge technologies mentioned in at least two sources. We then identified the main industry those technologies come under.
To find the "most profitable" technologies we built on the hypothesis that the most profitable technologies would have the highest valuation in the future. We have used projected valuations over the next 7-10 years for each technology. We have used market analysis reports by Grand View Research and Precedence Research to collect these valuations. We have ranked the technologies by their projected valuations in ascending order.
15 Most Profitable Cutting-Edge Technologies That Will Make You Rich
15. Sustainable Technology
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $79.65 Billion
Increased awareness about climate change and global warming would increase the demand for sustainable technology. Sustainable technologies operate using various forms of sustainable energies. Some of the most prominent sustainable technologies include electric cars, vertical farming, and solar panels.
14. Edge Computing
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $155.90 Billion
Edge computing is one of the most profitable cutting-edge technologies that will make you rich. Edge computing processes data closer to where it is being generated. The closer proximity improves the processing speed and allows larger volumes of data to be processed. Edge computing is a nascent technology with noteworthy prospects.
13. Robotics
Forecasted Valuation 2032: $283.19 Billion
Robotics includes the design, manufacturing, conception, and operations of robots. Robotics has gained massive popularity, and many governments and companies are investing heavily in it. Robotics includes the use of robots in the provision of various services and industries. Industrial robotics, especially, is getting popular with the rise of AI and AutoML.
12. Smart Transportation
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $285.12 Billion
Smart transportation merges modern technologies, location-based services, and computer vision into the transportation sector. Smart transportation includes traffic management systems and autonomous or self-driving cars. The traffic management segment is the largest in smart transportation. As the cities become increasingly congested, the demand for smart transportation will also increase further.
11. Extended Reality
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $345.9 Billion
Extended reality includes all immersive technologies, including virtual, augmented, and mixed realities. Extended reality was initially used in gaming; however, it now has numerous applications, including training, healthcare, public safety, and aerospace. The popularity and use of extended reality are constantly growing, making it one of the most profitable cutting-edge technologies that will make you rich.
Some of the companies developing extended reality products and solutions include NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).
10. Next Generation Computing
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $451.2 Billion
Next-generation computing is the development of 'computers of the future' that will be able to meet the changing needs of enterprises and average users. Next-generation computing includes developing technologies like quantum computing, neuromorphic computing, and trusted computing. The adoption of AI and machine learning offers great growth opportunities in next-generation computing.
9. Cybersecurity
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $500.70 Billion
Cybersecurity means the protection and prevention of cyber threats. The rise in usage of other technologies like the cloud and the emergence of e-commerce platforms have made them more prone to cyber threats. Thus, cybersecurity will also keep on becoming more popular with time. It is one of the most profitable cutting-edge technologies that will make you rich.
8. Space Technology
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $731.8 Billion
With the advancement in science, one of the most significant technologies that have emerged is space tech. The popularity of space tech has been constantly rising, especially with the emergence of private companies like SpaceX. The industry encompasses various applications like space tourism, space exploration, satellite manufacturing, and launch services.
7. Blockchain
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $1.431 Trillion
Blockchain is a digital database shared among a computer network's nodes. Blockchains are used to maintain a decentralized record of transactions, especially in cryptocurrency, and to make data immutable. The legalization of cryptocurrency has further added to the popularity of blockchain technology. Blockchain is one of the most profitable cutting-edge technologies that will make you rich.
6. Cloud Computing
Forecasted Valuation 2030: $1.554 Trillion
Cloud computing is simply the delivery of different services through the internet. Businesses employ cloud computing services to increase efficiency. Cloud computing enables enterprises to access services that would have cost much more if built from scratch.
Prominent companies that are working on cutting-edge technologies and are leading the tech sector include NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).