2025 will be the year that AI-driven robots will leave the labs and enter our lives.
That’s according to tech investment and advisory firm, GP Bullhound, in their annual tech predictions.
Now in its 18th year, GP Bullhound’s Technology Predictions have a tack record of being nearly 90 per accurate.
The company also believes 2025 will see a surge in the use of agentic AI, which is when technology performs tasks with minimal human intervention.
In a joint statement, GP Bullhound’s Per Roman, managing partner, and Alec Dafferner, partner, said: “As we approach 2025, the technological landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and quantum technology that are challenging assumptions across digital identities, cybersecurity, space, and more.
“Crucially, organisations are moving beyond experimentation and deeply integrating AI into their operational frameworks, optimising workflows, and automating complex decision-making. The commoditisation of AI is becoming an invaluable asset.
“In this period of profound technological change, one certainty stands: businesses that cling to outdated thinking will be left behind. The question is no longer whether AI will change the world – it already has. Now, the challenge is how quickly we embrace this shift and what we’re willing to leave behind to make room for the future.”
GP Bullhound has made the following 10 tech predictions for 2025:
1. Multimodal AI reshapes industries and redefines human-technology collaboration
Multimodal AI, integrating text, images, and audio, will deliver richer user experiences. Early deployments in customer service, education, and entertainment are expected to lead to productivity gains and up to a 20 per cent improvement in operational efficiency for companies investing in this technology.
2. Agentic AI advances in niche use cases, while broader implementation lags
Agentic AI – which will achieve efficiency gains of 15–30 per cent in route optimisation and resource allocation, although fewer than a quarter of large organisations will attempt broad deployments. Persistent scalability and transparency concerns will keep agentic AI mostly in pilot phases, focusing on high-value niches rather than mainstream operations this year.
3. Enabling technologies make quantum practical
Increasing government spending and growing enterprise interest will accelerate real-world quantum sensor pilots. These advancements will move beyond laboratories as financial services quadruple their quantum budgets to tackle complex computations.
4. The year robots leave the labs and enter our lives
Robotics and drone deployments will intensify as the global robotics market approaches $74.1bn. AI-driven IoT integration will produce more adaptive robots and drones in logistics, healthcare, and hospitality, reducing human error rates by up to 50 per cent and significantly boosting output.
5. Evolution of voice user interfaces enhance how we work, live, and learn
Voice assistants will become more context-aware, anticipating user needs without explicit commands. This evolution will support a market projected to grow from $21.16bn to $25.78bn within the year. Healthcare and educational pilots will demonstrate improved patient adherence and better handling of complex queries through voice interfaces.
6. Convergence of digital identity and AI governance will redefine security
Growing adoption of biometric and decentralised ID solutions will accelerate secure authentication as the digital identity market expands.
7. Self-driven AI transforms cybersecurity
As malicious actors use AI at scale, enterprises will adopt AI ‘co-pilots’ for faster threat analysis, shortening response times and paving the way for fully autonomous, human-on-the-loop cybersecurity defenses.
8. Data integration tools drive enterprise AI adoption
AI-augmented data integration platforms will reduce manual tasks by 30 per cent, fuelling smarter decision-making and pushing companies toward a 20 per cent boost in profitability.
9. Cybersecurity mesh enhanced security
Decentralised, AI-powered cybersecurity mesh frameworks will begin replacing perimeter-based defenses, reducing single points of failure and improving breach containment.
10. Growing threats in space demand public-private collaboration
Commercial satellite deployments will accelerate, surpassing previous annual records and intensifying the need for traffic management, debris removal, and enhanced orbital security.