The 2026 list will be out on January 12—so stay tuned. In the meantime, I wanted to share some technologies from this year’s reject pile, as a window into our decision-making process.
These four technologies Will not done Join our list of 2026 successes, but all were considered closely, and we think they are worth knowing about.
male contraceptive
For men who are sexually active and want to prevent pregnancy, there are several new treatments in the pipeline – potentially providing them an alternative to condoms or vasectomy.
Two of those treatments are now in clinical trials by a company called Contraline. One is a gel that men rub on their shoulder or upper arm once a day to suppress sperm production, and the other is a device designed to block sperm during ejaculation. (Contraline CEO Kevin Eisenfrat was recently named to our Innovators Under 35 list). once a day pill The company is also in early-stage trials with YourChoice Therapeutics.
Although it is exciting to see this progress, it will still be many years before any of these treatments make their way through clinical trials – assuming everything goes well.
world model
World models have become the hottest new thing in AI in recent months. Although they are difficult to defineThese models are typically trained on video or spatial data and aim to create 3D virtual worlds from simple signals. They reflect fundamental principles, such as gravity, that govern our real world. The results can be used in game design or to make robots more capable by helping them understand their physical surroundings.
Despite some disagreement over what exactly constitutes a world model, the idea is certainly gaining momentum. Famous AI researchers are also included yan lekan And fei-fei lee Companies have launched to develop them, and Lee’s startup World Labs Released its first version Last month. And Google made a big splash with this Release of its Genie 3 World Model earlier this year.
Although these models are shaping up to be an exciting new frontier for AI in the coming year, it may be too early to consider them a breakthrough. But definitely see this place.
