In the past 20 years several emerging topics in Chemistry have stimulated the enthusiasm and creativity of researchers. One of them is certainly that of dendritic molecules. Originally, the interest about dendrimers was in the synthetic challenge represented by the construction of macromolecules with controlled structure following the idea of ‘branching branches’. With the successive development of reliable and convenient strategies for the preparation of dendrimers, the interest moved progressively from synthesis and structure to functions. This collection of papers will enable the readers to appreciate the progresses made on photoactive and electroactive dendrimers, and to glimpse some of the scientific challenges and applicative opportunities in this research area.