Benchmarking the future of PeaceTech

“Every generation of technology arrives with a promise of peace and a capacity for harm. This one is no different — except that the choice between the two is being made right now, and mostly by default.”

Vast sums flow into technologies of war; comparatively little flows in the opposite direction — technologies designed from the outset to save lives, protect human dignity, prevent violence, and rebuild trust. That is PeaceTech, and this report is its annual benchmark.

This inaugural 2026 edition draws on almost five years of the Kluz Prize for PeaceTech, together with extensive desk research, the Prize’s ongoing scan of the field, and Kluz Ventures’ investment experience.

The defining characteristic of PeaceTech is not technological sophistication but measurable societal benefit. A genuine PeaceTech application should demonstrate a credible peace dividend — a concrete contribution to one or more of the following:

• Saving lives — helping to reduce death and injury in conflict and crisis
• Preventing violence — heading off escalation before it turns lethal
• Protecting civilians — shielding non-combatants and the displaced from harm
• Reducing human suffering — easing the humanitarian toll of conflict
• Strengthening humanitarian response — making relief faster, safer, and better-coordinated
• Rebuilding trust — restoring the relationships and institutions conflict destroys
• Strengthening resilient societies — hardening the systems on which peaceful life depends
• Safeguarding human dignity — keeping the human person at the centre of every application
• Ethical oversight — using independent, multi-stakeholder mechanisms to ensure ongoing accountability

To separate a real peace dividend from a marketed one, every technology should be able to answer five questions:

• Outcome — What measurable peace outcome does it create?
• Beneficiary — Who benefits — and who is excluded?
• Measurement — How will that impact be measured over time?
• Evidence — What evidence supports the claim today?
• Net effect — Could misuse outweigh the expected benefit?

The full report covers the nine trends in depth with real-world use cases, the investment case, a risk–opportunity matrix, and a look ahead to PeaceTech in 2035.