<p>Global food security is becoming increasingly problematic as a result of environmental change and an expanding human population, as several major crops are not improving quickly enough to meet demand. The prolonged generation times of crop plants are one reason for this sluggish rate of improvement. Conventional crop breeding necessitates a significant investment of time, space, selection inputs, and crossing desired plants afterwards. One of the major obstacles to the advancement of plant breeding and research is the length of the seed-to-seed cycle. A technique known as “speed breeding” that expedites breeding and research programs by significantly reducing generation times. This review will cover the various uses of speed breeding in a variety of crops, such as rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>), sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolor</i>), soyabean (<i>Glycine max</i>), wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i>), groundnut (<i>Arachis hypogea</i>), chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i>), pigeon pea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i>), <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>), fababean (<i>Vicia faba</i>), apple (<i>Malus domestica</i>), kiwi (<i>Actinidia deliciosa</i>) etc. Modern gene-editing techniques and marker-assisted selection can be combined with speed breeding to select and manipulate key crops with superior agronomic qualities early on. The next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been employed by academics to gain deeper insight into the complex biological and chemical mechanisms that govern plants’ responses to their environment. Additionally, AIs can integrate, digest, and evaluate large OMICS data sets, which is a prerequisite for using speed breeding methods to effectively grow crop plants with higher yields and greater adaptability.</p>