Fast company’s 50 most innovative companies in 2011 has hit the newsstands! In 2025 the world will be ruled by the kinds of companies on this list and have chosen a unique path. This is a list full of surprises, even though our No. 1 pick is no surprise at all. Apple itself was once written off; but the company restored innovation to its proper place, and as you’ll see when you open the gatefold to the right, our entire economy has benefited as a result.
- Apple : For dominating the business landscape, in 101 ways. Forget Apple’s ascension to the most valuable tech business. Forget the iPhone 4’s drama-defying success. If all Apple had going for it were the iPad, it would still be atop our list. Most impressive of all, though, is how Apple’s platforms have enabled an ecosystem of creativity, from gaming to finance to chipmaking. Click the interactive image above for a sampling of 100 innovative Apple-affiliated achievers changing our life, our work, and our world, by day and at night.
- “Apple-style-span” style=”font-family:For five years of explosive growth that have redefined communication. As @kanyewest says “MONSTER”
- FACEBOOK: For 600 million users, despite Hollywood. “You have part of my attention. You have the minimum amount.” That’s Jesse Eisenberg playing a supersmart and supercilious Mark Zuckerberg in last year’s Golden Globe winner for best picture. The line might also capture the Facebook founder’s attitude toward The Social Network — nowhere near the top story in the company’s news feed. In 2010, Facebook grew its U.S. user base by 145%, beating out Google as the top Internet destination; topped 600 million active users worldwide; and scored a $450 million investment from Goldman Sachs that values the company at $50 billion
- NISSAN : For creating the Leaf, the first mass- market all- electric car. Not long ago, Nissan was being pilloried for a lineup with few hybrid options, as well as CEO Carlos Ghosn’s stubborn insistence on investing in unproven all-electric technology. Among the skeptics: his own employees. But with the Leaf, Ghosn has proven the naysayers shortsighted, and grabbed the lead for Nissan in the race toward truly sustainable transportation. Ghosn sat down with Fast Company to talk about the Leaf, the imperative to embrace change, and the hope of emerging market
- GROUPON: For reinvigorating retail–and turning down $6 billion. Andrew Mason is the unlikely CEO of last year’s unlikeliest breakout business. The 30-year-old Midwestern music grad has transformed the bottom-feeding coupon trade into a billion-dollar force that even sexy Google lusted after. A savior for small businesses, Groupon is the most exciting thing to happen to retail since eBay.
To read the entire list of the 50 most innovative companies click here
