11 Most Innovative Companies in the World

Ranking the 11 most innovative companies in the world is tough given that the term innovation has become a cliché these days. Thousands of people and startups claim to have innovative ideas and products that will make the world a better place. But if we look beyond the fanfare of startup pitches and fancy claims, we see that innovation and novelty are becoming scarce. According to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the indispensable attributes of any innovative idea are novelty and its direct consequences for human society.

It is often said that vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation and creativity. The defining factor of the human race has been innovation and adaption to change. Constant innovation led to the survival of humans throughout the course of history. The technological revolution is the pinnacle of this innovation cycle. In his book ‘Third Wave’, Steve Case contends that mankind has entered into the third and most important era of innovation. In the third wave, companies have started to address real-world problems faced by humanity. The first was the internet itself and search engines. In the second wave, Case states that we saw the outburst of social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter.

Evolutionary biologist Suzanne Sadedin recently exclaimed that the human race has the ability to avoid extinction due to its power to innovate. But she also warned that there is one thing in the current innovative ecosphere that could be deadly for humankind: Artificial Intelligence.

Related Read: 10 Most Successful Innovative Companies in the World in 2016

We ranked the 11 most innovative companies in the world based on the impact they are having on society and the uniqueness of their ideas. Adding new features to existing apps is not innovation for us. Working on futuristic projects (AI, Robots, IoT), such as efforts to rid the world of diseases and poverty is innovation. We also giv huge weight to companies which showed “disruptive innovation”. Disruption is the climax of change in the modern world. In our list you will see several companies which came up with ideas which changed the very core of human society. Rightfully, some of these companies are also among the 10 Most Interesting Companies in the World.

Check our list of the 11 most innovative companies in the world beginning on the next page.

11. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is perhaps the most innovative company of the 21^st century, one which is directly affecting the very basis of how we connect and the social dynamics of humanity. With the launch of Facebook in 2004, a social media revolution started which gave rise to several other platforms like Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. But Facebook’s innovation didn’t stop at its social platform. The company is also working on products related to the internet of things and plans to launch a new, $200 version of its famous VR headset Oculus Rift. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg started Internet.org to connect over 4 billion people who still don’t have access to the internet. Facebook is also working on Artificial Intelligence, Robots and Machine Learning. It has a dedicated group for these segments, known as Facebook Artificial Intelligence Researchers (FAIR).

10. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is spearheading some of the most innovative and mind boggling projects in the world right now. The electric car revolution currently unfolding in the world was started by Tesla. Analysts and major companies including Tesla’s competitors GM, Ford and Toyota now have a consensus that all-electric cars are the future. Currently, there are over 2 million electric vehicles on the road around the world. Tesla is also changing the home battery landscape. In 2015, it launched Powerwall home and industrial battery packs, which have gained a lot of popularity. Tesla also sells large battery blocks for industrial usage.

9. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Next on our list of the 11 most innovative companies in the world is Alphabet. The company’s famous ‘Moonshot’ projects are enough to describe the unimaginable innovation going on at Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Alphabet plans to transform the internet with its Google Fiber project. Alphabet’s driverless car business Waymo has the most reliable system, with over 90-years-worth of driving experience. Alphabet’s Project Wing is focusing on drones and robots that will make it easier to deliver items. Alphabet is also working on a pill that will have the ability to detect various cancers and several autoimmune diseases by using magnetic nanoparticles. AI is the centerpiece of Google’s innovation. The company’s latest Pixel phone has an AI-based camera that takes pictures based on the expressions and surroundings of the user.

8. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Analysts have started to question Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s innovation and whether the company will be able to sustain its vigor in the coming years amid a lack of new, out-of-the-box ideas. But the fact remains that the company heralded an era of unprecedented change in the world by launching the iPhone in 2007. Today, the smartphone market has a total value of about $355 billion. Apple remains the trend-setter in the smartphone industry. Its latest innovative idea, to remove the headphone jack from iPhones, shocked the world (the world gets shocked rather easily), but a year later, Apple’s fierce competitor Alphabet removed the headphone jack from its devices too. Apple has also started to launch innovative products in new segments like wearables and smart home.

7. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the most important company on the list of the 11 most innovative companies in the world; at least if you’re a gamer. NVIDIA produces some of the fastest GPUs in the world and is a pioneer in the gaming and data center markets. NVIDIA is now making waves in industries like AI and autonomous cars as well. On October 10, NVIDIA announced a new system called “Pegasus,” which is able to autonomously drive smart cars without steering wheels, pedals, or mirrors. NVIDIA’s Volta GPU chips were recently selected by Chinese tech behemoths like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), Tencent and Baidu to power their data centers. Volta chip has over 21 billion transistors. Last year, it was revealed that all of Tesla’s cars are powered by NVIDIA’s Drive PX 2 AI supercomputer.

6. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

What started as an online bookstore is totally changing the retail landscape across the world. Almost every retail company in the U.S is feeling what analysts call the “Amazon Effect”. Earlier this year Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) teased its upcoming innovation in the retail market: Amazon Go. Amazon Go will let customers walk into stores, pick up items and walk out. No checkouts, no long queues. Amazon will use sensors and deep learning to make this experience possible. After becoming the market leader in ecommerce, Amazon pioneered the smart home industry with Amazon Echo, one of the cheapest and most efficient smart home assistants. Amazon has also become a competitor of Netflix with the launch of the Amazon Prime video streaming service. Fast Company ranked Amazon as the most innovative company of 2017.

5. Uber

Uber was the idea of Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, who thought of starting a ride-sharing service after facing a lot of trouble in getting a taxi on a chilly night back in the frigid, pre-global warming December 2008. Uber was the first-ever ride-sharing service which revolutionized the way we commute. According to Goldman Sachs, the ride-hailing industry market will reach $285 billion by 2030. In August 2016, Uber launched a program in Pittsburgh through which users could hail a self-driving car from their smartphones. Last December, the company also started using self-driving Volvo XC90 SUVs for ride-hailing in San Francisco, though the program was later stopped by State authorities. In 2014, Uber launched UberCHOPPER in New York City, a helicopter ride service. The company also has a profitable food delivery app known as “UberEATS”.

4. Airbnb

Airbnb is my favorite company from among those on our list of the 11 most innovative companies in the world. Airbnb revolutionized the hospitality and lodging industry. It was the brainchild of Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, who came up with the idea of renting a mattress to make some extra money to afford the lofty rent of their San Francisco apartment in 2007. Today, the Airbnb platform has more than 3,000,000 lodging listings in 65,000 cities spanning 191 countries. Airbnb has totally disrupted the hotel industry, ranking first on the 2017 CNBC Disruptor 50 list. Last year, Airbnb said it was planning to launch an online flight booking service. This would make the company a direct competitor of online travel companies like Expedia, Priceline and Kayak. The company is also expected to go public in the coming years.

3. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)

The Watson platform defines the explosive innovation of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM). Watson Cloud and AI are now being used by major companies, including Pfizer, GM, GSK, Japan Airlines and Wimbledon. Retail giants like Walmart, Macy’s and Mall of America are using Watson to improve the customer experience. Educational institutes are using IBM’s pattern recognition and natural language-processing to revolutionize teaching methods. IBM recently announced a supercomputer based on Neurosynaptic chips. IBM’s Watson Health platform is making strides in oncology. Blockchain is the new domain where IBM is making waves. According to a recent report by Juniper Research, IBM’s blockchain technology is better than every other company’s. Major banks and companies are signing deals with IBM to use its digital ledger technology.

2. Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) is not just the maker of PDF viewer anymore. The company is tapping into Cloud, 3D sensing, AI, and intelligence graphic designing. Adobe’s Premiere Pro uses Cloud-based AI to recommend movie edits. Advanced versions of Photoshop can reconstruct missing parts of images. Adobe’s Sensei platform for AI allows users to create and monetize 3D videos and digital content. In 2013 Adobe launched its famous “Kickbox” project to help employees come up with innovative ideas and pitch them to senior management and the world without getting stuck in corporate bureaucracy. Fast Company ranks Adobe as one of the most innovative companies of 2017.

1. Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Biogen is the only pharmaceutical company on our list of the 11 most innovative companies in the world. Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) is a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, which IDEA Pharma ranked as the most innovative pharmaceutical company in the world for 2017. Biogen is famous for its innovations in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company is currently conducting phase 1 and phase 2 trials for 13 drugs. Biogen also runs a special incubator to invest and facilitate disruptive biotechnology startups.

Disclosure: None