OPTO Issue 12: Emerging Technology Report examines speculative investment futures across emerging technologies including decarbonization, metaverses, next-generation batteries, wireless electricity, immortality research, and sixth-generation connectivity.

The illustration series translates complex technological and financial concepts into symbolic visual narratives. Monumental architectures, abstract landscapes, and solitary human figures suggest intersections between data, nature, and technology—balancing the promise of exponential growth with the uncertainty of predicting which innovations will transform markets and societies. Words by Peter Taylor-Whiffen.