#48 Microsoft

Last year, Microsoft felt a tingle of cultural relevance it hadn't experienced since the 2001 Xbox launch. The source? Bing. Like Xbox, the new search engine first surprised a Microsoft-weary populace primarily by not sucking outright. Then it beat Twitter and CNN in page views. Google's 65% market share is still massive, but with Microsoft's new control over Yahoo's 17% piece of the search pie, Bing might just become a verb in its own right.

	WHEN FOUNDED 1975	HEADQUARTERS Redmond, WA	CEO Steven Balmer	NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 93,000

Microsoft

total revenues for most recent fiscal year
$56.3 Billion

what the company is most famous for
Windows operating system, which is on nearly 90% of all computers and handhelds.

why it's innovative
With its artful and elegant Bing, Microsoft is chipping away at Google's massive search market share.

web
Microsoft.com

facebook
http://www.facebook.com/microsoft

twitter
http://twitter.com/microsoft

Fast Company
Microsoft's Class Action [September 2007]