The diffusion of novel technologies plays a crucial role in stimulating economic growth, but when a novel technology appears it is difficult to predict its later diffusion trajectory in terms of follow-on inventions. This column shows how the antecedents of a novel technology characterise its diffusion pattern by identifying the diffusion trajectories for a large sample of novel technologies using large-scale patent information. Riskier types of novel technologies, while having a larger technological impact, are taken up more slowly.