Most Innovative Companies 2017

This year marks the 10th edition of the Fast Company World's Most Innovative Companies ranking. Our reporting team sifts through thousands of enterprises each year, searching for those that tap both heartstrings and purse strings and use the engine of commerce to make a difference in the world. Impact is among our key criteria.

Honorees by Rank

01Amazon

For offering even more, even faster and smarter

02Google

For developing a photographic memory

03Uber

For accelerating autonomous driving

04Apple

For baking in its advantages

05Snap

For bringing crackle and pop to a new way of seeing the world

06Facebook

For launching the right ads at the right moment

07Netflix

For making surfing fun again

08Twilio

For giving apps a voice

09Chobani

For stirring it up in the grocery store

10Spotify

For enticing artists with data

01 - 10

11Alibaba Group

For creating new hubs for commerce

12Tencent

For reinventing messaging, again

13Xiaomi

For elevating hardware design

14BBK Electronics

For igniting new smartphone markets

15Huawei

For iterating fast

16Dalian Wanda

For staging its own dream factory

17Airbnb

For putting a world of experiences at our fingertips

18BuzzFeed

For feeding a viral fever

19Open Whisper Systems

For bringing secure communication to the masses

20Illumination Entertainment

For creating a monster out of a Minion

11 - 20

21IBM

For embedding Watson where it's needed most

22Vivint Smart Home

For opening the door to the connected home of the future

23Slack

For fighting drudge work with bots

24Glossier

For collaborating with customers to create cult cosmetics

25Kenzo

For ripping up the seams of fashion marketing

26Clique Media Group

For parlaying fashion advice into retail gold

27Hypebeast

For uniting sneakerheads into a lucrative demographic

28RewardStyle

For giving influencers a must-have accessory

29GoFundMe

For finding the value in good deeds

30TaskRabbit

For making work

21 - 30

31Microsoft

For building new worlds in the classroom

32Orbital Insight

For seeing the big picture in satellite imagery

33One Medical

For changing the face of primary care

34Farmers Business Network

For cultivating a new hybrid of data and agriculture

35Adobe

For pushing creativity to the cloud

36Casper

For making money in our sleep

37Thinx

For turning periods into exclamation points

38Resy

For feeding our desire to be VIP diners

39Marriott

For prioritizing loyalty

40Medtronic

For streamlining diabetes care

31 - 40

41Nvidia

For powering the future

42Pledge 1%

For seeding early-stage philanthropy

43The Home Depot

For growing without building

44Headspace

For giving us all a much-needed moment of Zen

45Related Companies

For creating a thrilling new West Side story

46Celmatix

For forecasting fertility

47MailChimp

For giving little guys the marketing savvy of an 800-pound gorilla

48Beyond Meat

For exceeding beefy expectations

49Simplify Networks

For sharing wireless by the byte

50Drone Racing League

For speeding into the mainstream

41 - 50

Honorees by Sector

Advertising and Marketing

01Facebook

For launching creative new advertising products for the smartphone

02Kenzo

For putting real art into advertising

03FX Networks

For building buzz with backward teasers and unknown actors

04R/GA

For designing work spaces and digital experiences

05NetScout

For turning a B2B marketing strategy into a buzzy feature film

06Ingo Stockholm

For using technology to give tourism a personal touch

07Droga5

For taking risks with new kinds of content

08Wieden+Kennedy

For seeing unlimited potential in TV commercials

0920th Century Fox

For using fart jokes for movie-marketing magic

10Venables Bell & Partners

For creating brand-defining campaigns for REI, Reebok, and more

Africa

01Andela

For nurturing first-class coders

02MFS Africa

For facilitating cross-currency payments

03Gro Intelligence

For tilling agricultural data

04Wilderness Safaris

For using luxury travel to fuel conservation

05iROKO

For streaming Nigeria's Nollywood

06WeFarm

For helping farmers spread their knowledge

07SafeMotos

For letting Rwandans hail a safer ride

08Podozi

For devising cosmetics for diverse complexions

09Njorku

For making job searching simpler

10Zuvaa

For bringing African-inspired apparel to global shoppers

AI/Machine Learning

01Google

For developing a photographic memory

02IBM

For embedding Watson where it's needed most

03Baidu

For accelerating mobile search with artificial intelligence

04SoundHound

For giving digital services the power of human speech

05Zebra Medical Vision

For using deep learning to predict and prevent disease

06Prisma

For making masterpieces out of snapshots

07Iris AI

For speeding up scientific research by surfacing relevant data

08Pinterest

For serving up a universe of relevant pins to each and every user

09TrademarkVision

For advancing brand protection with AI-powered image recognition

10Descartes Labs

For preventing food shortages by predicting crop yields

Architecture

01West 8

For meeting the rising tides

02Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners

For putting community at the center of design

03Amanda Levete Architects

For merging architecture with topography

04Nelson Byrd Woltz

For planting the neighborhood of the future

05Raad Studio

For designing below ground

06Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

For expanding the range of materials available to architects

07CannonDesign

For taking a quantitative approach to architecture

08Adjaye Associates

For honoring the full scope of American history

09Hollwich Kushner (HWKN)

For making adaptive reuse sexy

10REX

For mastering the experimental facade

Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality

01Snap

For giving users control of their own augmented reality

02Google

For using VR to measure your living room

03Facebook

For gathering IRL friends in VR

04Nvidia

For providing the power to process VR

05Niantic

For introducing Pikachu to the real world

06HTC Vive

For developing the industry-leading VR system

07Sony

For baking VR into PlayStation

08Wevr

For giving A-list directors VR cameras

09NextVR

For enveloping viewers in live events

10Osterhout Design Group

For using smart glasses to augment industrial work

Biotech

01Medtronic

For simplifying diabetes management

02Celmatix

For mining fertility data to assist conception

03Johnson & Johnson

For incubating medical startups

0423andMe

For donating data in the name of research

05Abbott

For making heart surgery safer with dissolvable stents

06Color

For democratizing genetic testing

07PatientsLikeMe

For united people with chronic diseases

08Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

For collaborating on a cancer cure

09Braeburn Pharmaceuticals

For getting under opioid addicts' skin

10Illumina

For taking the cost of DNA sequencing to new lows

China

01Alibaba Group

For creating new hubs for commerce

02Tencent

For reinventing the messaging app--again and again

03Xiaomi

For taking the edge off of hardware design

04BBK Electronics

For igniting new smartphone markets

05Huawei

For iterating fast to create high-quallity phones

06Dalian Wanda

For staging its own dream factory

07Ctrip

For becoming an all-in-one travel platform

08Didi Chuxing

For riding off with the Chinese rideshare business

09Baidu

For accelerating artificial intelligence

10iCarbonX

For funding the future of medical research

Consumer Electronics

01Amazon

For priming its consumers for a lifetime of purchases

02Google

For homing in on the voice-assistant space

03Apple

For remembering the core of its products: the chips

04Xiaomi

For expanding its Mi brand into an internet-of-things ecosystem

05Eero

For taking the fight to crappy Wi-Fi

06Microsoft

For threatening Apple's position as designers' favorite device maker

07Dolby

For going beyond audio to bring more clarity to screens, too

08Tile

For fending off the key-finding competition by putting its tech into vehicles and more

09Kano

For standing out in the coding-for-kids crowd by tapping into the IoT

10IFTTT

For streamlining its hoard of app recipes

Data Science

01Netflix

For constantly tweaking imagery and verbiage to get deeper inside viewers' heads

02Spotify

For parlaying its users' listening habits into smart advertising ops

03WeWork

For reimagining its co-working spaces as giant computers that generate (human) data

04Foursquare

For unlocking a treasure trove of geo-location information

05NASA

For letting us see CO2 on the move

06The Guardian

For holding cops accountable with exhaustive infographics on police killings

07Esri

For creating maps to help address global issues, from natural disasters to social injustice

08DNAFit

For crunching users' genome data to tell them how and when to eat and exercise

09University Interscholastic League

For launching the largest database of concussion data

10ReverbNation

For creating an algorithm to find the next pop star

Design

01Snap

For creating a glasses-camera people want to wear

02Airbnb

For putting new experiences at our fingertips

03Adobe

For using the cloud to create software that's endlessly adaptable

04Intuit

For making tax preparation a friendly experience—really!

05Carnival Corporation

For bringing high-tech wearables to the high seas

06L'Oréal

For pioneering the use of stretchable electronics in the skin-care industry

07Ammunition

For creating uncompromising work for unconventional clients

08Frog

For providing design work to startups—then funding them

09Work & Co

For building next-gen products that shape companies' strategy

10Dyson

For using nuclear technology to create the ultimate hair dryer

Education

01Microsoft

For building new worlds in the classroom

02Duolingo

For letting friends compare notes as they learn a new language

03Georgia Institute of Technology

For becoming the nation’s largest computer science master’s program, while charging a fraction of the typical cost

04iCivics

For using digital games to teach kids their rights and responsibilities as U.S. citizens

05AdmitHub

For using chatbots to improve college outcomes

06Newsela

For helping kids make sense of the news—at their own reading level

07Pluralsight

For recognizing that on-the-job learning needs to be on-demand

08Osmo

For designing educational games that magically integrate physical and digital

09Panopto

For making lectures more interactive

102U

For proving that students are willing to pay top dollar for online learning

Energy

01Tesla Motors

For creating the power infrastructure of the future

02GE

For building the U.S.'s first offshore wind farm

03Otherlab

For making energy education interactive

04Powerhive

For establishing solar microgrids in Africa

05LO3 Energy

For harnessing the blockchain to sell clean energy

06Google

For buying enough renewables to cover its energy output

07Verdigris

For using AI to make construction efficient

08Green Mountain Power

For turning Vermont (even) greener

09Sonnen

For selling energy between batteries

10Etho Capital

For offering a fossil-fuel-free ETF

Enterprise

01Twilio

For letting businesses reach customers like customers reach their friends

02Open Whisper Systems

For developing unmatched encryption tools in a time of unprecedented uncertainty

03Slack

For playing nice with hundreds of bots without sacrificing the simplicity of its platform

04MailChimp

For offering SMBs enterprise-level marketing moxie

05Salesforce

For assembling a SWAT team of professional cloud consultants

06Atlassian

For putting teamwork back at the center of the productivity conversation

07Dropbox

For figuring out how to delight consumers and businesses

08Microsoft

For getting its mojo back with collaboration—and, with LinkedIn, contacts and content

09Jopwell

For giving enterprises a software solution to help them improve employee diversity

10Clara Labs

For sneaking its AI scheduling assistant into the enterprise

Finance

01Goldman Sachs

For becoming a consumer lender

02Digit

For turning saving money into a mindless task

03IEX

For helping human investors compete with computers

04Ethereum

For creating a more developer-friendly public blockchain

05Ant Financial

For banking on economic growth in rural China

06Quantopian

For crowdsourcing investment algorithms

07Robinhood

For adding premium perks to trading

08Venmo

For expanding beyond peer-to-peer transactions

09Visa

For empowering payment via wearables

10Forerunner Ventures

For investing in the future of commerce

Fitness

01Headspace

For providing us all a moment of Zen

02Related Companies

For making healthy living a lifestyle choice

03Peloton

For spinning a fitness revolution in your living room

04Bandier

For reimagining the retail experience

05Under Armour

For transforming from an underdog to a global force

06Nike

For lacing up for diversity--on and off the field

07Halo Neuroscience

For maximizing athletic performance

08Wearable X

For using fabric to realign the body

09Sweat With Kayla

For turning an Instagram following into an empire

10Sworkit

For personalizing workout routines

Food

01Chobani

For expanding its tastes to win the dairy aisle

02Farmers Business Network

For taking the guesswork out of farming

03Resy

For using software to turn a restaurant meal into an entertainment event

04Beyond Meat

For putting a veggie burger in the meat case

05Starbucks

For redesigning the loyalty program without skimping on perks

06Domino's

For baking technology into every aspect of pizza night

07Sweetgreen

For dishing up healthy food and frictionless checkout

08World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator

For taking a Silicon Valley approach to fight world hunger

09SOSV

For betting on the artificial future of food

10PicoBrew

For creating an eco-friendly Keurig of beer for homebrewers

Gaming

01Twitch

For playing on its gaming strengths to become a bastion of streaming creativity

022K

For developing a 1960s-era shooter, ripe with racial relevance

03Activision Blizzard

For extending its destiny with rich expansion packs and robot-fighting heroes

04Nintendo

For Switch-ing its focus to mobile and modularity

05Respawn Entertertainment

For returning agency to single-player storylines with its dazzling Titanfall follow-up

06Sony

For defending the throne with eSports, affordable VR and a focus on 4K

07reSTART Life

For creating a treatment center for gaming-addled teens

08Turner

For launching its own eSports league on TV, drawing new fans to the scene

09Get Schooled

For gamifying the college-admissions process

10Netmarble

For helping Marvel make millions from mobile games

Health

01One Medical

For making primary care affordable and convenient

02Apple

For mining data to build health apps

03AliveCor

For mobilizing heart monitoring

04GE Healthcare

For reducing pain points at health care facilities

05Kaiser Permanente

For investing in virtual office visits

06Propeller Health

For helping asthma and COPD patients breathe easier

07Verily

For putting health data to work

08Omada Health

For using technology to treat diabetes

09Global Kinetics Corporation

For collecting data from wearables to treat Parkinson's

10Levita Magnetics

For cutting down on surgical incisions

Hollywood

01Dalian Wanda

For staging its own dream factory

02Illumination Entertainment

For dazzling global audiences with its animated features

03FX Networks

For taking risks on new voices

04Alibaba Group

For boldly making its own pictures

05WME-IMG

For taking its agenting prowess into live events and more

06The Walt Disney Company

For finishing first at the box office

07Hulu

For reinventing itself as a live-streaming provider

08Fulwell 73

For turning James Corden's hits into series commitments

09Madison Wells Media

For fusing movies, VR, and theater

10Scopely

For marketing The Walking Dead back to life

India

01Zoomcar

For finding new uses for idle cars

02Byju's

For taking STEM education mobile--and into the countryside

03Paytm

For accelerating a digital economy

04Noora Health

For helping mothers help their babies

05Rivigo

For loading trucks with algorithmic efficiencies

06WaterQuest Hydroresources Management

For locating vital underground rivers

07SirionLabs

For letting software enforce the fine print

08UpGrad

For training a new generation entrepreneurs

09SkyQuest

For giving inventors a marketplace

10Livspace

For customizing home design

Israel

01Unbotify

For telling man from machine

02Waze

For using traffic data to make cities more liveable

03Argus Cyber Security

For keeping hackers out of your car

04EarlySense

For keeping an eye on patients when medical staff isn't around

05Freightos

For bringing a flight-booking style platform to the world of cargo services

06WeissBeerger

For perfecting the pint

07Itamar Medical

For diagnosing sleep apnea at home

08Neomatix

For keeping the big wheels turning

09Colu

For localizing currency

Latin America

01Start-Up Chile

For creating (and retaining) new business in Chile

02JetBlue

For helping Cuban tourism soar

03Descomplica

For taking online education to the masses

04Creditas

For lowering Brazilians' interest rates

05Satellogic

For using nanosatellites to give the earth a checkup

06The Center for Molecular Immunology

For developing a lung-cancer treatment it can finally share with the U.S.

07Mercado Libre

For building an ecommerce empire

08The Community

For giving multicultural advertising mass appeal

09Contabilizei

For decoding tax laws for freelancers

10GeniusFoods

For turning mangos into food supplements

Live Events

01WME-IMG

For building the most multi-faceted events empire in the land

02Twitch

For evolving from live-video gaming to live-eating, live-illustrating, and more

03Twitter

For becoming the place to find out what's happening right now

04Tait

For letting concert-goers--even those in nosebleed--get in Formation

05CJ 4DPlex

For producing a theater experience that appeals to every sense

06TodayTix

For making it easier (and cheaper) than ever to access the hottest tickets in town

07Greencopper

For becoming the go-to app developer for music festivals

08Tock

For helping restaurants forecast foot traffic (and cut down on food waste)

09Tough Mudder

For taking its messy obstacle course global (and to TV screens)

10Social Tables

For giving event-planners a better way to bring it all together

Media

01BuzzFeed

For feeding a viral fever with Tasty

02The Washington Post

For turning a legacy brand into a digital frontrunner

03Vice Media

For beaming its voice around the world

04Refinery29

For expanding online and IRL

05The Wirecutter

For generating revenue with reviews

06Vox Media

For doubling down on quality content while expanding

07Cheddar

For keeping cord cutters connected to financial news

08ProPublica

For holding local officials accountable

09Radiotopia

For giving power to podcasting enthusiasts

10Lenny

For captivating millennial women--on email

Music

01Spotify

For using data to find the right tunes

02Parkwood Entertainment

For making "Lemonade" out of a fractured landscape

03Bandcamp

For defying the death of downloads

04OVO Sound

For making Drake an early winner of the streaming wars

05Songkick

For personalizing concert listings

06Kobalt Music

For sniffing out artists' royalties across the web

07Instagram

For becoming BFFs with pop stars

08Atlantic Records

For racking up the gold (and platinum)

09Moog Music

For finding digital relevance for analog synths

10ReplyYes

For using chatbots to sell vinyl records

Not-for-Profit

01Pledge 1%

For setting the standard for corporate giving

02GiveDirectly

For offering aid in the form of cash

03The Movement for Black Lives

For transitioning from a protest to a political force

04DataKind

For informing nonprofits using data

05New Story

For building more houses, faster

06Hive

For giving refugees a voice

07Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

For uniting doctors and engineers

08Good Ventures

For charting a new approach to grant making

09Charity Network

For using star power to fuel digital giving

10Fund for Public Housing

For filling in the funding gaps

Retail

01Amazon

For priming its consumers for a lifetime of purchases

02Casper

For making money in our sleep

03The Home Depot

For growing without building

04Clique Media Group

For parlaying fashion advice into retail gold

05RewardStyle

For giving influencers a platform for commissions

06Hypebeast

For uniting sneakerheads into a lucrative demographic

07Pirch

For bringing the appliances store to life

08Ulta Beauty

For beautifying the in-store makeup-buying experience

09T.J. Maxx

For bringing a delightful sense of urgency back to offline shopping

10Beautycounter

For lobbying for safer cosmetics

Robotics

01DJI

For flying drones high above the competition

02Universal Robots

For teaching robots to work side by side with human developers

03Anki

For breathing life into artificially (and emotionally) intelligent toys

04ABB Robotics

For building smarter back-end services for industrial robots

05iRobot

For ushering consumer robotics into Asia

06CyPhy Works

For positioning its drone to become the go-to for parcel delivery

07Stanford University

For finding sunken treasures with a deep-diving humanoid

08Sphero

For giving kids the Force by teaching them to code

09Blue River Technology

For using bots to increase farmers' yield

10Foxconn

For automating its operations in China

Space

01Orbital Insight

For analyzing data from a constellation of satellites

02Spire Global

For delivering better weather intel

03SpaceX

For reigniting our interest in rockets

04Blue Origin

For making the private space race competitive

05Kymeta

For propelling internet service to new heights

06China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp

For launching China back into space

07Rocket Lab

For giving small satellites liftoff

08Astroscale

For safely redirecting space debris

09Stratolaunch Systems

For turning a plane into a launchpad

10Moon Express

For bringing us back to the moon

Sports

01Sacramento Kings

For creating the modern-day fan experience

02FocusMotion

For expanding what wearables can do

03Drone Racing League

For helping the ultimate 21st century sport take flight

04FieldLevel

For opening doors throughout college recruiting

05The Players’ Tribune

For turning athletes into storytellers

06PlaySight Interactive

For bringing game-changing analytics to practice

07Twitter

For combining live video and conversation

08Wasserman

For creating a fertile ecosystem of athletes and brands

09GolfTEC

For demystifying the golf swing with data

10ESPN

For playing the long game

Style

01Kenzo

For ripping up the seams of fashion marketing

02Thinx

For turning periods into exclamation points

03Gucci

For using statement pieces to buck the luxury sales slump

04Adidas

For outfitting the post-athleisure world

05Tom Ford

For taking "see now buy now" to new heights

06Cole Haan

For fusing dress shoes with the comfort of a sneaker

07Cuyana

For pioneering a movement that encourages customers to buy “Fewer, Better Things.”

08Coach

For breathing new life into a legacy brand

09M.Gemi

For eliminating the middleman to sell opulent shoes at mid-tier prices

101 Atelier

For turning shoppers into high-end handbag designers

Transportation

01Uber

For putting self-driving cars on the street

02Nvidia

For making autonomous automobiles capable of deep learning

03General Motors

For introducing an affordable and accessible electric vehicle

04Velodyne

For giving automobiles the sense of sight

05TransLoc

For delivering on-demand mass transit

06Swiss Federal Railways

For moving mountains--and making its trains even more efficient

07Zipline

For using drones to save lives

08United Airlines

For flying biofuels into the future

09Tesla Motors

For creating a next-gen driving ecosystem

10Boom Supersonic

For reengineering supersonic flight

Travel

01Airbnb

For putting a world of sophisticated experiences at our fingertips

02Marriott

For prioritizing loyalty while becoming a mega company

03Vail Resorts

For cultivating powder hounds from across the globe

04Ctrip

For becoming the all-in-one travel platform for Chinese travelers

05GoEuro

For pulling planes, trains, and automobiles into a booking platform

06Norwegian Air

For ushering in a new era of affordable transatlantic travel

07AccorHotels

For embracing bold hospitality brands

08Beautiful Destinations

For evolving into a creative agency that optimizes for wanderlust

09Carnival Corporation

For bringing high-tech wearables to the high seas

10Lola

For giving travel agents a welcome AI boost

Video

01Facebook

For mainstreaming live video

02Snap

For empowering users to star in their own reality shows

03YouTube

For enabling creators with deeper content and better comments

04BuzzFeed

For serving up a delicious video platform in Tasty

05The Walt Disney Company

For programming its ABC app like a network

06Twitter

For live streaming must-see news and sports

07Naritiv

For telling brand and influencer stories on Snapchat

08Hulu

For expanding via its own skinny bundle

09WeChat

For streaming NBA and ESPN to the sports-obsessed masses in China

10Turner