The Technologies That the UK Is Betting on in 2025 and Beyond

A country’s prosperity is closely connected to the level of technological innovation and evolution, which means that betting on the right tech is a key part of any thriving country's development strategy. With more and more different tech sectors and cutting-edge innovations competing for attention, picking out the signal among the noise can be a difficult task.

Nonetheless, each government, company, and community has to decide what’s worth investing in each year. Here are the technologies our country is betting on in 2025 and onwards.

Blockchain technology – Crypto, NFTs and more

Blockchain technology could be key in reducing corruption and increasing security in a variety of sectors. This technology isn’t just about Bitcoin, either; there are already vastly different uses of blockchain technology, as well as potential for future sectors. You can already bet on sports with cryptocurrency, use smart contracts to securely sign agreements, verify digital ownership with blockchain technology, and much more.

Blockchain technology could be an important part of creating a more secure banking system. The concept of DeFi, or decentralised finance, has spread in recent years. Another concept called CeFi – from centralised finance – could involve leveraging both the benefits of blockchain technology and the wisdom of the older systems we already have in place. That way, we could reduce the risk of corruption but also ensure there’s still consumer protection and anti-fraud measures.

Clean Energy and Green Tech for Sustainability

In 2025, the Government is increasing the budget for renewable energy by 50%. The UK is already a world leader when it comes to producing clean energy in 2025 and the trend is going to continue beyond. One of the main technologies used for producing renewable energy in the UK is offshore wind farms – we have 500 of them in 2025, and they contribute to 15% of the electrical supply.

But wind farms aren’t enough. Nuclear power is also playing an important part. This source of energy is going to be decisive as we transition away from fossil fuels. Hydrogen power is also a noteworthy part of the plan for reducing emissions.

Artificial Intelligence Agents Increasing GDP

Although the public has mostly been talking about the usefulness of Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Grok, we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg so far. Artificial intelligence agents could turn out to be much more useful than what we’ve seen yet.

An AI agent is simply software using artificial intelligence to perform dedicated tasks. Just like automated factories have largely replaced human workers, these types of AIs could replace information workers and eventually even some workers in advanced and physical fields like health care and engineering.

While these types of AI might not instantly appear as brilliant as models like ChatGPT, they excel at mastering a particular task or set of tasks. If AI agents become widespread, productivity will drastically increase, which is why the UK is going to invest in experimenting with them going forward.

Developments in Important Sectors of Cybersecurity

There is an increasingly urgent need for secure technology that carefully encrypts sensitive data. However, it isn’t just data leakages we must concern ourselves with; insecure technology may allow hackers to take remote control of systems connected to the grid. The security of technology must keep pace with technological advancements in productivity. That’s why the UK is raising its cybersecurity budget in 2025.

Among the sectors in cybersecurity that urgently need to advance to avoid falling behind are IoT (Internet of Things), cloud security, fintech, and other commonly used SaaS applications.

With the rise in the use of LLMs like ChatGPT, another challenge has emerged in cybersecurity. There’s a lot we don’t know about the impact of AI, and even senior developers struggle to thoroughly understand and optimise the code of the machines that write themselves. Although there are concerns about ensuring AI remains secure, machine learning can also serve as a powerful tool for developing more secure systems and detecting threats early.