To create the 2024 list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, a team of more than four dozen Fast Company editors and writers sought out groundbreaking businesses across 58 industries and every region of the world. We judged nominations received through our application process, and we assessed other companies that also merited serious consideration.
The 606 organizations that we honor as Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 have met our high bar for demonstrating innovation and the impact of those innovations on business and industry. They lead their fields and are transforming the world.
METHODOLOGY
Fast Company editors and writers judge each Most Innovative Company application according to four criteria: innovation, impact, timeliness, and relevance.
- Innovation: Does the company have a clear innovation (or innovations), and did it demonstrate how this innovation sets it apart from other companies and general current industry trends? Examples of innovations can include products, services, a new business model, a strategic acquisition that signals a reimagining of the business, etc.
- Impact: Did the innovation have a clear, measured impact on the company and its industry? Did the company show how it has measured the impact of its innovation and provide data as evidence of its success? Examples of data can include revenue, revenue growth, user growth, impressions, qualitative impacts on culture or industry, etc.
- Timeliness: Did the innovation happen within the past 12 months? Or—if the innovation is older—did the company provide evidence of meaningful iterative advances this year and how the impact from the innovation has been realized in the past 12 months?
- Relevance: As much as possible, did the company explain how the innovation connects to current events or larger issues faced by industry or society?
Each winner is chosen after multiple rounds of judging and conversations. This monthslong process ensures that every organization chosen to receive a Most Innovative Companies honor meets our high bar for innovation and impact.
“To produce our annual Most Innovative Companies list, we draw on the reporting and expertise of Fast Company’s entire editorial team,” says Amy Farley, Fast Company executive editor. “This program is the cornerstone of our editorial mission.”
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Contributors: Rebecca Barker, Katerina Barton, Jeff Beer, Nate Berg, Jill Bernstein, Saleah Blancaflor, Adam Bluestein, Joanne Camas, Rachel Clarke, Morgan Clendaniel, Kelly Cloonan, Amy Farley, Leila Frankina, Yasmin Gagne, Shalene Gupta, Ainsley Harris, Kristen Hawley, Burt Helm, Julia Herbst, Andrea Paola Hernández, AJ Hess, Mike Hofman, Veronica Irwin, Beth Johnson, Charissa Jones, Stirling Kelso, Nicole LaPorte, David Lidsky, Connie Lin, Ambrose Martos, Harry McCracken, Steven Melendez, Heidi Mitchell, Pavithra Mohan, Paul Mueller, Jy Murphy, Jared Newman, Alex Pasternack, Rob Pegoraro, Adele Peters, Clint Rainey, Aimee Rawlins, Ross Rubin, David Salazar, Ben Schiller, Elizabeth Segran, Patrick Sisson, Liz Stinson, Mark Sullivan, Kristin Toussaint, Jaclyn Trop, Max Ufberg, Talib Visram, Mark Wilson, Jay Woodruff, Christopher Zara, and Stav Ziv
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