As the Forrester research team conducted its analysis for the top 10 emerging technologies this year, one trend became clear: The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is no longer following global tech trends — it is setting them. Once seen as a fast adopter, APAC is now a bold innovator, building new technologies from the ground up.

For example, Japan and South Korea have taken the global lead in humanoid robotics, with lifelike service robots now deployed in hotels, hospitals, and retail. China is pioneering quantum communication networks, already operational in cities like Beijing and Shanghai. India is pushing the frontier of multilingual generative AI, with startups creating foundational language models tailored to all 22 of the country’s official languages. And Singapore is at the forefront of smart city technologies, including AI-led urban planning and edge-powered infrastructure.

Across the region, governments and enterprises are not just embracing emerging technologies — they’re shaping the future of these technologies. Here’s a look at how some of the key emerging technologies are being developed, adopted, and scaled across the region.

Generative AI: Beyond Language To Visual Mastery

GenAI adoption is surging across APAC, especially in multilingual markets such as India and Southeast Asia. Businesses are using genAI not just for content generation but also for localization, visual asset creation, and code development. In Japan, AI-generated anime is gaining traction. In South Korea, genAI helps marketers craft hyperlocalized campaigns at scale. Various e-commerce platforms in China utilize genAI to create personalized product descriptions and dynamically generate images for different customer segments.

Agentic AI: Enabling Autonomous Actions

Unlike traditional automation, agentic AI systems proactively make decisions and adapt in real time. In Australia, financial services firms are experimenting with agentic AI for portfolio management. Logistics companies in Australia are piloting AI agents that can dynamically reroute delivery vehicles based on real-time traffic conditions and delivery schedules. In India, smart campus deployments use agentic systems to optimize energy usage and student services — transforming static systems into intelligent assistants.

IoT Security: Fortifying The Connected World

As IoT devices flood urban and industrial environments, security remains a top priority. Countries such as Singapore and South Korea are strengthening their cybersecurity frameworks to secure smart infrastructure. Industrial internet-of-things deployments in manufacturing hubs across Vietnam and Thailand are seeing increased investments in anomaly detection, Zero Trust architectures, and edge-based threat mitigation.

Synthetic Data: Fueling AI Without Compromise

With growing data privacy regulations and limited access to high-quality datasets, synthetic data is gaining momentum. In sectors such as finance and healthcare, synthetic datasets enable AI training without exposing sensitive information. Chinese and Indian firms are leading efforts in creating public-private sandboxes that use synthetic data to simulate real-world environments for safer AI testing. Healthcare institutions in Japan are exploring synthetic patient data to train AI diagnostic tools while adhering to strict privacy regulations.

Learn More

Want to hear more about the unique emerging technology use cases and adoption trends for APAC? Register for our June 4 webinar on the top 10 emerging technologies for 2025. The webinar will take place at 10:30 a.m. IST to be more convenient for APAC tech leaders.