MIT Technology Review Innovators
Every year, MIT Technology Review recognises 35 young innovators who are doing pioneering work across a range of technical fields including biotechnology, materials science, artificial intelligence, computing, and more.
It was great to hear that Tian Xie, Principal Research Manager at Microsoft Research AI for Science, was included in this years list. Tian recently led the development of MatterGen, Microsoft’s generative AI model for materials discovery.
I spent a day photographing him and his work for Microsoft at the Research lab in Cambridge.
The honourees are chosen through a rigorous multi-step process. The 2025 honourees represent bold thinkers reshaping our world—from pioneers redefining reproduction and developing male birth control, to innovators working to uncover how large language models work, prevent hallucinations, and harness AI for scientific discovery, to trailblazers paving the way for clean energy. Each honourees’ story showcases the problems they set out to solve, the challenges they’ve encountered, and the innovations they are bringing to life.
Over the years, the 35 Innovators Under 35 list has featured many people who have gone on to achieve notable success. Past honorees include Andrew Ng; Mark Zuckerberg; Julie Shah (of MIT’s Interactive Robotics Group); Helen Greiner (the cofounder of iRobot); Larry Page and Sergey Brin (the cofounders of Google); and Jonathan Ive (the former chief designer at Apple)—visionaries whose work helped shape the modern world.
You can read more about MatterGen at
