The Download: AI roadblocks for humanoids and portable rubber dams

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI breakthroughs in robotics won’t change your life any time soon The hype around humanoid robots is reaching fever pitch. Much of it comes from the idea that the same AI…

8 October 2026

Why we’re watching these climate tech companies

This week, we released our 2026 version of our Climate Tech Companies to Watch list. It’s an annual project that the MIT Technology Review team puts together. Our goal is to highlight some of the promising, interesting advances and firms we think are worth paying attention to in the world of climate and energy technology. …

8 October 2026

AI breakthroughs in robotics won’t change your life any time soon

The story is a collaboration between MIT Technology Review and Aventine, a non-profit research foundation that creates and supports content about how technology and science are changing the way we live. A robot shaped like a human—white with a black head and torso—has been popping up on video feeds. Perhaps you’ve seen it dance or…

8 October 2026

Building a safer path to autonomous industrial AI

Industrial AI is entering a new phase. After decades of predictive analytics and other specialized applications, advances in foundation models, physical AI, and agentic AI are making it possible to automate more complex tasks across industrial environments. But unlike AI that operates purely in the digital world, industrial AI can interact directly with physical systems,…

8 October 2026

The Download: weight-loss drugs slowing aging and carbon dioxide batteries

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Weight-loss drugs show signs of slowing biological aging, say drugmakers Popular weight-loss drugs may do more than help people shed pounds. They might also slow the aging process. Drugmakers Eli Lilly…

7 October 2026

Weight-loss drugs show signs of slowing biological aging, say drugmakers

Popular weight-loss drugs may do more than help people shed pounds. They might also melt away the years. Drug giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk say patients taking their drugs age less quickly, according to readouts from molecular “aging clocks.” Such clocks assess a person’s biological age by looking at changes to DNA that accumulate…

6 October 2026

The Download: 10 climate tech companies to watch

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. 10 climate tech companies to watch Each year, MIT Technology Review puts together a list of the most promising climate tech companies in the world. This year, the stakes feel higher…

6 October 2026

WeLion New Energy and its semi-solid-state batteries

WeLion New Energy is on a quest to make safer, better batteries. The company’s semi-solid-state cells could improve safety and offer greater energy density than lithium-ion batteries to power electric cars, boats, and drones. From the EVs that carry commuters home to the ships that transport goods across countries, more and more vehicles around us…

6 October 2026

Here’s how our climate team picked 10 promising companies to watch

As the team at MIT Technology Review set out to choose companies for this year’s edition of our annual list of Climate Tech Companies to Watch, the challenge felt more daunting than any year since we started compiling the list in 2023.  This year is shaping up to be one of the hottest ever recorded.…

6 October 2026