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The True Cost of Trump’s Cuts to NOAA and NASA

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Thursday, March 13, 2025

If you’ve ever avoided a hurricane, ducked a tornado, evacuated ahead of a wildfire, or merely relied on a weather forecast to take an umbrella to work, you likely have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to thank. As America’s—and indeed the world’s—leading weather and climate watchdog and the parent organization of the National Weather Service (NWS), NOAA runs a standing army of personnel and hardware on and off the planet to keep an eye on the Earth’s often stormy temperament. The agency owns or operates 13 weather satellites; manages more than 200 deep-water buoys; and gathers weather and climate information from a storm of data provided by no fewer than 10,600 state, local, and federal governments, as well as universities and private companies nationwide. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But NOAA is now threatened. As the Associated Press and others have reported, the agency’s already stretched workforce of 13,000 people is facing a deep cut of more than 1,000 of those employees mandated by the Trump Administration—a move that follows an earlier purge of about 1,300 in late February. The personnel reductions not only imperil NOAA’s ability to carry out its core chore of tracking and warning about upcoming severe weather events, they also hamper its ability to conduct basic research into climate change—carried out to help humanity better prepare for the sweeping environmental upheaval already evident in a steadily warming world. “NOAA does a lot of work with climate,” says Keith Seitter, former executive director of the American Meteorological Society and currently a professor of environmental studies at the College of the Holy Cross. “That’s critically important in terms of planning for our future, knowing how to adapt to the changing climate, and understanding what we need to get ready for. In all of those things, NOAA is a really key player.” The current cuts to NOAA were equal parts ill-timed and foreseeable. Project 2025, the conservative manifesto whose policies are increasingly being adopted by the Trump Administration, includes a section on page 674 of the 900-plus page document headed “Break Up NOAA.” On the next page the agency is described as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” But NOAA and others are right to be alarmed. Recent months have seen climate-linked wildfires in Los Angeles and elsewhere; an increase in so-called atmospheric rivers—long, narrow bands of airborne water vapor that lead to local flooding and are growing worse in a warming world; and, in other spots in the U.S. and elsewhere, increasing droughts. Last year was also the first in which the world crossed the threshold of 1.5°C of warming over pre-industrial levels that the Paris Climate Accord declared a benchmark to be avoided, lest the planet tip into irreversible climate catastrophe. Environmentalists warn that the Earth is running a fever and, with the latest NOAA firings, we’ve begun sacking the doctors. “These layoffs put us at significant risk,” says Alice Hill, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. “They actually increase the risk to Americans if we consider how best to prepare for the worst extremes that climate change brings about. The first step in resilience or adaptation is early warning.” Read more: L.A. Fires Show the Reality of Living in a World with 1.5°C of Warming When it comes to weather and climate, it’s not just NOAA that’s been slashed; NASA is bleeding too. In a March 10 email to reporters, the space agency announced that in response to federal instructions to reduce its workforce, it was shuttering the office of technology, policy, and strategy, and the office of the chief scientist—a move that affects climate studies. “NASA does cutting edge research and science,” says Hill. “It observes sea level rise from space. It’s got the best global surface temperature analysis. All of that contributes to our understanding of how climate change is unfolding, and with that understanding, decision-makers can make choices that leave people safer.”  Some of the NASA cuts could also hit American corporations in the pocketbook. According to Hill, studies show that 74% of Fortune 100 companies “routinely use NASA Earth Science data to support business operations, logistics, and risk management.” Some of those decisions involve grounding airplanes and bringing cargo vessels into safe harbor well ahead of dangerous storms. It’s the cuts to NOAA, however, with the agency’s exclusively earthy portfolio—as opposed to NASA’s literally other-worldly one—that are likely to do the most damage. Seitter cites not just the firehose of climate and weather data that NOAA collects, but the way it’s computed and modeled as one more vital service that could be at risk.  “All of that data needs to be quality controlled, verified, and then assimilated into these massive weather prediction models,” he says. “NOAA is responsible for all of that work, and that’s not insignificant. It’s a huge part of the investments that are made in NOAA every year.” Jeopardize those prediction models and you jeopardize both lives and treasure. Rice points to Chamber of Commerce estimates showing that every $1 spent on climate resilience and preparedness saves $13 in damages and cleanup costs. Cuts to NOAA will lead to a domino effect across the agency’s entire org chart. It’s not just the NWS that’s nested within NOAA. The agency oversees five other smaller departments, including the Office of Marine and Aviation operations, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the National Ocean Service.  “There is the ocean side of NOAA,” says Seitter, “and those are the folks that monitor fisheries and work with communities to make sure that we have adequate fish reserves for feeding our country. That may be less dramatic compared to severe weather, but those are also really important functions.” NOAA also works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), another institutional function that could be hurt by staffing cuts. “[FEMA] coordinates with people in the National Weather Service and other folks in NOAA to make sure that they’re using their facilities in the best possible way, that they’re pre-positioning their assets so that they can take advantage of having the right stuff in the right places before [a] storm hits,” says Rice. Read more: Mass Layoffs at NOAA Spark Concerns Over Weather, Climate Research Cutting the workforce that makes any of this possible hurts the world beyond the U.S. Most countries don’t have the sweeping satellite and buoy technology that America takes for granted. Which means they must rely on U.S. data and forecasting to brace and prepare for extreme weather events. And, Rice points out, the more sophisticated AI becomes, the more meteorology will rely on it to predict and track storms—one more development that will require American innovation and initiative. “NOAA would be in a great position to be leading the charge for better AI in terms of a public good for weather forecasting,” she says. All of the losses that come with slashing NOAA’s staffing and budget will do precious little to achieve the ostensible goal of the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. Eliminate NOAA’s entire 13,000-person staff and you have cut just 0.43% of the federal government’s three million-strong workforce. As for pocketbook savings, NOAA’s $6.6 billion annual budget represents just 0.097% of the $6.75 trillion Washington spent in fiscal year 2024. Compare that to the cost of climate change: In 2024 alone the U.S. experienced 27 weather or climate disaster events, each with losses exceeding $1 billion. Predicting extreme weather events, preventing catastrophic losses of life and property, and better understanding the climate trends that pose such a danger to humanity are a whole lot cheaper than cleaning up the mess—and tending to the dead—after a disaster strikes.

Environmentalists warn that the Earth is running a fever and, with the latest NOAA firings, we’ve begun sacking the doctors.

US-WEATHER-FIRE

If you’ve ever avoided a hurricane, ducked a tornado, evacuated ahead of a wildfire, or merely relied on a weather forecast to take an umbrella to work, you likely have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to thank. As America’s—and indeed the world’s—leading weather and climate watchdog and the parent organization of the National Weather Service (NWS), NOAA runs a standing army of personnel and hardware on and off the planet to keep an eye on the Earth’s often stormy temperament. The agency owns or operates 13 weather satellites; manages more than 200 deep-water buoys; and gathers weather and climate information from a storm of data provided by no fewer than 10,600 state, local, and federal governments, as well as universities and private companies nationwide.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

But NOAA is now threatened. As the Associated Press and others have reported, the agency’s already stretched workforce of 13,000 people is facing a deep cut of more than 1,000 of those employees mandated by the Trump Administration—a move that follows an earlier purge of about 1,300 in late February. The personnel reductions not only imperil NOAA’s ability to carry out its core chore of tracking and warning about upcoming severe weather events, they also hamper its ability to conduct basic research into climate change—carried out to help humanity better prepare for the sweeping environmental upheaval already evident in a steadily warming world.

“NOAA does a lot of work with climate,” says Keith Seitter, former executive director of the American Meteorological Society and currently a professor of environmental studies at the College of the Holy Cross. “That’s critically important in terms of planning for our future, knowing how to adapt to the changing climate, and understanding what we need to get ready for. In all of those things, NOAA is a really key player.”

The current cuts to NOAA were equal parts ill-timed and foreseeable. Project 2025, the conservative manifesto whose policies are increasingly being adopted by the Trump Administration, includes a section on page 674 of the 900-plus page document headed “Break Up NOAA.” On the next page the agency is described as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.”

But NOAA and others are right to be alarmed. Recent months have seen climate-linked wildfires in Los Angeles and elsewhere; an increase in so-called atmospheric rivers—long, narrow bands of airborne water vapor that lead to local flooding and are growing worse in a warming world; and, in other spots in the U.S. and elsewhere, increasing droughts. Last year was also the first in which the world crossed the threshold of 1.5°C of warming over pre-industrial levels that the Paris Climate Accord declared a benchmark to be avoided, lest the planet tip into irreversible climate catastrophe. Environmentalists warn that the Earth is running a fever and, with the latest NOAA firings, we’ve begun sacking the doctors.

“These layoffs put us at significant risk,” says Alice Hill, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. “They actually increase the risk to Americans if we consider how best to prepare for the worst extremes that climate change brings about. The first step in resilience or adaptation is early warning.”

Read more: L.A. Fires Show the Reality of Living in a World with 1.5°C of Warming

When it comes to weather and climate, it’s not just NOAA that’s been slashed; NASA is bleeding too. In a March 10 email to reporters, the space agency announced that in response to federal instructions to reduce its workforce, it was shuttering the office of technology, policy, and strategy, and the office of the chief scientist—a move that affects climate studies.

“NASA does cutting edge research and science,” says Hill. “It observes sea level rise from space. It’s got the best global surface temperature analysis. All of that contributes to our understanding of how climate change is unfolding, and with that understanding, decision-makers can make choices that leave people safer.” 

Some of the NASA cuts could also hit American corporations in the pocketbook. According to Hill, studies show that 74% of Fortune 100 companies “routinely use NASA Earth Science data to support business operations, logistics, and risk management.” Some of those decisions involve grounding airplanes and bringing cargo vessels into safe harbor well ahead of dangerous storms.

It’s the cuts to NOAA, however, with the agency’s exclusively earthy portfolio—as opposed to NASA’s literally other-worldly one—that are likely to do the most damage. Seitter cites not just the firehose of climate and weather data that NOAA collects, but the way it’s computed and modeled as one more vital service that could be at risk. 

“All of that data needs to be quality controlled, verified, and then assimilated into these massive weather prediction models,” he says. “NOAA is responsible for all of that work, and that’s not insignificant. It’s a huge part of the investments that are made in NOAA every year.”

Jeopardize those prediction models and you jeopardize both lives and treasure. Rice points to Chamber of Commerce estimates showing that every $1 spent on climate resilience and preparedness saves $13 in damages and cleanup costs.

Cuts to NOAA will lead to a domino effect across the agency’s entire org chart. It’s not just the NWS that’s nested within NOAA. The agency oversees five other smaller departments, including the Office of Marine and Aviation operations, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the National Ocean Service. 

“There is the ocean side of NOAA,” says Seitter, “and those are the folks that monitor fisheries and work with communities to make sure that we have adequate fish reserves for feeding our country. That may be less dramatic compared to severe weather, but those are also really important functions.”

NOAA also works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), another institutional function that could be hurt by staffing cuts. “[FEMA] coordinates with people in the National Weather Service and other folks in NOAA to make sure that they’re using their facilities in the best possible way, that they’re pre-positioning their assets so that they can take advantage of having the right stuff in the right places before [a] storm hits,” says Rice.

Read more: Mass Layoffs at NOAA Spark Concerns Over Weather, Climate Research

Cutting the workforce that makes any of this possible hurts the world beyond the U.S. Most countries don’t have the sweeping satellite and buoy technology that America takes for granted. Which means they must rely on U.S. data and forecasting to brace and prepare for extreme weather events. And, Rice points out, the more sophisticated AI becomes, the more meteorology will rely on it to predict and track storms—one more development that will require American innovation and initiative. “NOAA would be in a great position to be leading the charge for better AI in terms of a public good for weather forecasting,” she says.

All of the losses that come with slashing NOAA’s staffing and budget will do precious little to achieve the ostensible goal of the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. Eliminate NOAA’s entire 13,000-person staff and you have cut just 0.43% of the federal government’s three million-strong workforce. As for pocketbook savings, NOAA’s $6.6 billion annual budget represents just 0.097% of the $6.75 trillion Washington spent in fiscal year 2024. Compare that to the cost of climate change: In 2024 alone the U.S. experienced 27 weather or climate disaster events, each with losses exceeding $1 billion. Predicting extreme weather events, preventing catastrophic losses of life and property, and better understanding the climate trends that pose such a danger to humanity are a whole lot cheaper than cleaning up the mess—and tending to the dead—after a disaster strikes.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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The most innovative companies in space for 2025

The list of Most Innovative Companies in space for 2025 reflect global efforts over the last year diversify and secure launch and orbital services, which are increasingly seen as critical components of national security. SpaceX, the number-one U.S. launch company and satellite operator, demonstrated dazzling technical achievement with the successful launch of its Starship and the “chopstick catch” landing of its Super Heavy booster stage. But New Zealand- and U.S.-based Rocket Lab is playing an agile game of catchup, sending 12 of its Electron rockets into space last year—making it the number three launch provider globally—and inking major contracts with commercial and government customers. In Europe, French company Arianespace, a subsidiary of Ariane Group, successfully test-launched its new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket, operated on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA), marking a significant step toward independent European access to space. And Iceye, headquartered in Helsinki and Irvine, California, expanded its constellation of Earth-monitoring synthetic aperture radar (SAR) microsatellites, providing night and day high-res coverage of critical locations for customers including reinsurance giant Swiss Re, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Ukraine. Other advances across the space ecosystem include the successful deployment of a next-generation satellite “bus” by Apex, and the successful launch of cutting-edge weather-monitoring satellites by Muon Space. Questek engineered novel “superalloys” critical to For SpaceX’s Super Heavy boosters, while Stardog’s “hallucination-free” AI helped to advance key programs for NASA. Skylo introduced seamless, accessible satellite connectivity for some of the world’s biggest cellular providers, including Verizon, Qualcomm, and Google, ensuring the ability  to send an emergency text from anywhere. And in the “big audacious goals” category, in February 2024, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, became the first private company to land an unmanned craft on the Moon’s surface.1: Rocket LabFor keeping the space race competitiveYou might not know it from the constant flow of SpaceX headlines, but there is another key company when it comes to space launches. In 2024, Rocket Lab sent 12 missions into space, breaking the company’s record of 10 launches set in 2023, and making the company the no. 2 U.S. launch provider.Rocket Labs’ agility and precision made them the chosen partner to launch NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission, designed to study heat lost to space from the Earth’s polar regions, which will improve climate models to better predict ice, sea level, and weather changes. This mission involved launching four small cube satellites into criss-crossing polar orbits, on two separate launches within just 11 days of each other. For Astroscale Japan, Rocket Lab launched an experimental debris-observation satellite last February to intersect the orbit of a spent rocket section. To make the rendezvous, Rocket Lab had just 20 days to prepare the launch parameters—and one day’s notice of the exact takeoff time, which had to be precise within 30 seconds.  The company also has a growing business building satellites and small spacecraft, with four already built and launched, and some 40 more under constructions, including two for NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars, to study the planet’s magnetosphere. In December, Rocket Lab inked a $515 million contract with the U.S. Space Development Agency to build 18-satellites for a planned constellation of 90 that will provide voice- and data-transmission service for military personnel in the field. The company’s next chapter hinges on its second rocket, the medium-lift, semi-reusable Neutron, which it plans to test launch later this year. With a larger capacity than Electron, the Neutron would compete directly with SpaceX’s Falcon and help Rocket Lab to serve a broader range of customers and ultimately to launch its own satellite constellations.Read more about Rocket Lab, honored as No. 9 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.2: IceyeFor making high-resolution, high-impact imagery accessible as quickly as possible.With the launch of 9 satellites in 2024, Finnish space startup Iceye now has the world’s largest commercial constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which can see through cloud, darkness, and even tree cover and deliver remarkably crisp and detailed mages of virtually any spot on Earth, several times a day.With a relentless focus on miniaturization—which brings down costs—and precision, the company, which closed a $93 million financing round in April and secured another $65 million in December, has scaled the production of its small satellites, which offer cutting-edge high-resolution imagery that is relied upon by partners including the U.S. Department of Defense, FEMA, NASA, and the nation of Ukraine.While Iceye has built several satellites for commercial and state customers, the greater part of its business is selling data as a service from its own constellation of roughly 20 satellites. This provides a remarkable level of Earth coverage—Iceye can image anywhere in the world as often as every two hours, providing near-real time pictures of things like illegal logging and natural disasters. (Some insurance companies are now using data from Iceye to issue automated payments to customers in areas confirmed to be impacted by flooding, for example.)But defense is what’s driving business for the moment. Iceye has played a key role in the “space defense” of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In November, it signed a contract with German defense company Rheinmetall to provide Ukraine with additional high-resolution satellite imagery under German funding. Rheinmetall will also integrate Iceye’s capabilities into its next-generation battlefield systems. With vertically integrated manufacturing in Finland, a U.S. facility in Irvine, and a European-North American supply chain with no rare materials, Iceye aims to launch more than 20 satellites in 2025 and subsequent years.Read more about Iceye, honored as No. 20 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.3: SpaceXFor catching a rocket with a pair of chopsticksIn a spectacular feat of engineering, this year SpaceX successfully demonstrated the ability to launch—and then catch—a rocket. On October 13, the company’s reusable Starship megarocket launched on its fifth test flight. About seven minutes after liftoff, the vehicle’s first-stage booster, which is about 233 feet tall and weight about 440,000 pounds when it came back to Earth, was caught in midair by two mechanical “chopstick” arms, while the upper stage of splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned.Along with that major accomplishment, SpaceX has kept up the pace of launches and innovative new rockets that push the boundaries of the space industry. After moving its headquarters from California to Texas, SpaceX has successfully launched 128 rockets in 2024, including 123 launches of Falcon 9s, two Falcon Heavys, and three of its new Starships (after the first three, launched in 2023, blew up).That far outpaces the launch cadence any domestic or international competitor. In September 2024, SpaceX operated the Polaris Dawn mission on behalf of Shift4, whose all-private crew of astronauts flew a SpaceX CrewDragon spacecraft in an elliptic orbit that took them 870 miles away from Earth (the farthest anyone has been since NASA’s Apollo program) to conducted a space walk.4: Intuitive MachinesFor making the moon its missionIn February 2024, the Odysseus lander— a hexagonal cylinder shape that’s roughly the size of an old British telephone booth—touched down on the surface of the moon. When it did, it became the first privately built and operated spacecraft to achieve a lunar landing. But that remarkable achievement was just the first step for the company behind it, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which now aims to become a moon-landing powerhouse, providing everything from landers to communications and navigation services to buggies.The Odysseus hitched a ride toward the moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in February 2024. Once in space, it set off toward the moon on its own and landed on the Moon’s south pole region, marking the United States’ first return since Apollo 17. And although Odysseus ended up on its side after touching down on the Moon’s surface in February, the mission was deemed a success by the company and, perhaps more importantly, by NASA. Odysseus had carried six payloads from the space agency, and it has received data from five of its active payloads. (A sixth payload, a laser retroreflector, will be tested in the coming months.) A second lunar lander, which landed in March, 2025, also ended up on its side before it could gather any data.But these missions are just the start of what could be a long run of supporting lunar exploration: In August, NASA awarded Intuitive a $116.9 million contract to deliver six more science and technology payloads, including one from the European Space Agency, to the Moon’s south pole. This mission will deploy a range of equipment for prospecting on the Moon, including a drill, a hopper, and a rover. In September, the company—which reported nearly $60 million revenue last quarter—was the sole awardee of a contract with NASA valued at up to $4.82 billion over the next decade, to deploy a constellation of lunar data relay satellites around the Moon. The company is also one of top competitors bidding on a Moon moon terrain vehicle—a prototype of its fully electric crab-walking motorized vehicle is currently being evaluated at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.5: ArianespaceFor expanding European space launch capacity with a more cost-efficient heavy rocketin July 2024, French aerospace company Arianespace, a subsidiary of Ariane Group, successfully launched the new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket,  operated on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). The launch marked a significant step towards securing Europe’s independent access to space—a pressing concern since the war in Ukraine cut off access to Russia’s Soyuz rockets—allowing nations on the continent to launch their satellites and payloads without relying solely on offshore commercial providers, namely SpaceX.Ariane Group served as lead contractor and design authority for the Ariane 6, coordinating more than 600 companies in 13 European countries that contributed. The Ariane 6 is intended to replace the Ariane 5, which had its final launch on July 5, 2023. The Ariane 5’s high production costs made it uncompetitive with commercial launch providers.The Ariane 6 is designed to cut launch costs in half compared to its predecessor. The demo mission was a partial success, accomplishing the launch and deployment of three of its five payloads into orbit. But a technical failure left the upper stage in orbit instead of returning to Earth. (The company says a software fix will prevent this problem in the future.)A second Ariane 6 launch is planned for late February 2025 [NEW]. It will be the rocket’s first commercial mission, carrying the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite into orbit for the French military. In December 2024, Arianespace successfully launched a new version of its Vega rocket, intended for lighter loads than the Ariane 6, capable of transporting more than two tons and putting satellites into orbits at different altitudes. Four launches with Vega-C are planned for next year, followed by five more in 2026.6: QuesTek InnovationsFor making the materials that power space explorationThis Evanston, Illinois-based materials engineering firm, a specialist in high- performance metal alloys, has worked with NASA for two decades and last year played an essential role in constructing the latest launch vehicles produced by private space companies. QuesTek developed a top-secret superalloy for SpaceX that is more resilient and heat resistant than anything previously launched into space and is critical to the Raptor engines of the Starship’s Super Heavy booster.Last summer, QuesTek announced it had worked to develop two new superalloys for use in 3D printing of reusable rockets with space equipment manufacturer Stoke Space. The alloys will sharply reduce the amount of material used in rocket building, decreasing rocket weight and lowering the cost of launches while allowing for rapid design changes without the need for retooling7: Muon SpaceFor creating satellites that measure clouds and fight firesSilicon Valley-based end-to-end space systems provider Muon Space aims to design, build, and operate low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations designed for specific commercial and government projects.Less than a year after the June 2023 launch of its first satellite Muon Halo, this March the company successfully deployed a prototype weather satellite designed to capture cloud data for the the U.S. Air Force. The military is actively seeking so-called “cloud characterization data” and weather imagery to supplement data collected by its own sensor satellites to help its operations. Detailed cloud data is essential for more accurate weather prediction, as clouds control solar radiation, precipitation, and wind patterns, directly impacting temperature regulation and forecast accuracy.In addition raising a $56 million Series B round in August, Muon received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant through the U.S. Space Force in December. The award will help accelerate Muon’s development of its commercial wildfire monitoring mission, FireSat, a constellation of small satellites designed to spot wildfires, in partnership with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance (whose backers include Google Research and the Environmental Defense Fund).By evolving the FireSat’s infrared detection abilities, Muon’s satellites will be able to monitor cloud cover as well as wildfires, serving both civil and defense uses. Muon Space plans a 2026 launch of its first three FireSat constellations, which will have the ability to observe every point on Earth twice a day.8: StardogFor giving NASA a voice assistant that speaks the truthStardog deploys “100%-hallucination-free” generative AI, powered by proprietary organization “knowledge graphs” for enterprises and government agencies including NASA and the US Department of Defense. In 2024, it rolled out its Voicebox AI data assistant for defense and intelligence customers. The system uses a “semantic parsing layer” on top of its generative AI to filter out AI “lies,” showing end-users results that are only tied directly back to an organization’s own data.The Stardog co-founders began their relationship with NASA when they custom-built data analytics applications for the agency in 2006. They were instrumental in development of “Concourse”, an application that facilitates avionics software assessments in support of the Artemis Orion Spacecraft certification, in 2021.Now, to support NASA’s Gateway program, which is building a lunar-orbit space station, Stardog integrated the “knowledge graph” it had created for NASA—which connects all data sources within the organization—with data from NASA’s Cross-Program Hazard System, to improve safety and give NASA a better decision-making process around risk, enabling the agency to respond quickly with critical fixes and interventions.9: ApexFor helping satellites and other spacecraft get exactly where they need to goIn March 2024, Apex successfully deployed Aries SN1, the company’s first production model of an off-the-shelf satellite bus for “secondary payloads”—that is, moving satellites and other spacecraft into precise positions after their initial launch.The Aries can be manufactured in various preconfigurations designed for diverse mission needs, leveraging the benefits of serial production to help drive down the costs of these types of missions.The first 220-pound Aries, which can carry payloads of up to 330 pounds, was used to move satellites as part of a strategic partnership with defense contractor Anduril. In 2025, Anduril will launch its own self-funded mission, also powered by Apex’s Aries bus, featuring upgraded mission data processing and new infrared imaging capabilities, marking the next phase of their collaboration. Apex, which raised $95 million in series B funding in summer 2024, has said it expects to deliver its next vehicle, the Nova, a satellite bus that can host payloads from about 400 to 1,100 pounds, next year.10: SkyloFor making “out of service range” a thing of the pastThanks to Skylo, cellphone customers will no longer be out of luck when they’re out of range. The company’s service network enables phones and other connected devices to seamlessly switch from cellular to satellite connectivity without requiring any expensive satellite components. It is a major leap forward in terms of continuous, comprehensive, and affordable connectivity. As a result of this innovation, users no longer have to worry if they are in cellular coverage range in order to make an emergency call or text.The Mountain View-based company, founded in 2017 by a team from Stanford University’s space lab, doesn’t own spectrum or satellites of its own. Rather, it works with satellite operators with “bent pipe” networks, in which satellites essentially bounce signals originating on Earth back down to company ground stations (rather than sending cellular frequencies from space), allowing smartphones and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. That means the satellites can handle all kinds of transmission technologies, including narrow band IOT, which uses a single narrowband radio frequency to connect devices over long distances, even in remote areas.Qualcomm is already using Skylo technology in its advanced IoT chips, and in August 2024, Verizon announced it was partnering with Skylo to offer its customers satellite-based messaging and location-sharing services, starting this fall. The carrier also announced that starting next year, thanks to Skylo, users will be able to text anywhere via satellite.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

The list of Most Innovative Companies in space for 2025 reflect global efforts over the last year diversify and secure launch and orbital services, which are increasingly seen as critical components of national security. SpaceX, the number-one U.S. launch company and satellite operator, demonstrated dazzling technical achievement with the successful launch of its Starship and the “chopstick catch” landing of its Super Heavy booster stage. But New Zealand- and U.S.-based Rocket Lab is playing an agile game of catchup, sending 12 of its Electron rockets into space last year—making it the number three launch provider globally—and inking major contracts with commercial and government customers. In Europe, French company Arianespace, a subsidiary of Ariane Group, successfully test-launched its new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket, operated on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA), marking a significant step toward independent European access to space. And Iceye, headquartered in Helsinki and Irvine, California, expanded its constellation of Earth-monitoring synthetic aperture radar (SAR) microsatellites, providing night and day high-res coverage of critical locations for customers including reinsurance giant Swiss Re, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Ukraine. Other advances across the space ecosystem include the successful deployment of a next-generation satellite “bus” by Apex, and the successful launch of cutting-edge weather-monitoring satellites by Muon Space. Questek engineered novel “superalloys” critical to For SpaceX’s Super Heavy boosters, while Stardog’s “hallucination-free” AI helped to advance key programs for NASA. Skylo introduced seamless, accessible satellite connectivity for some of the world’s biggest cellular providers, including Verizon, Qualcomm, and Google, ensuring the ability  to send an emergency text from anywhere. And in the “big audacious goals” category, in February 2024, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, became the first private company to land an unmanned craft on the Moon’s surface.1: Rocket LabFor keeping the space race competitiveYou might not know it from the constant flow of SpaceX headlines, but there is another key company when it comes to space launches. In 2024, Rocket Lab sent 12 missions into space, breaking the company’s record of 10 launches set in 2023, and making the company the no. 2 U.S. launch provider.Rocket Labs’ agility and precision made them the chosen partner to launch NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission, designed to study heat lost to space from the Earth’s polar regions, which will improve climate models to better predict ice, sea level, and weather changes. This mission involved launching four small cube satellites into criss-crossing polar orbits, on two separate launches within just 11 days of each other. For Astroscale Japan, Rocket Lab launched an experimental debris-observation satellite last February to intersect the orbit of a spent rocket section. To make the rendezvous, Rocket Lab had just 20 days to prepare the launch parameters—and one day’s notice of the exact takeoff time, which had to be precise within 30 seconds.  The company also has a growing business building satellites and small spacecraft, with four already built and launched, and some 40 more under constructions, including two for NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars, to study the planet’s magnetosphere. In December, Rocket Lab inked a $515 million contract with the U.S. Space Development Agency to build 18-satellites for a planned constellation of 90 that will provide voice- and data-transmission service for military personnel in the field. The company’s next chapter hinges on its second rocket, the medium-lift, semi-reusable Neutron, which it plans to test launch later this year. With a larger capacity than Electron, the Neutron would compete directly with SpaceX’s Falcon and help Rocket Lab to serve a broader range of customers and ultimately to launch its own satellite constellations.Read more about Rocket Lab, honored as No. 9 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.2: IceyeFor making high-resolution, high-impact imagery accessible as quickly as possible.With the launch of 9 satellites in 2024, Finnish space startup Iceye now has the world’s largest commercial constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which can see through cloud, darkness, and even tree cover and deliver remarkably crisp and detailed mages of virtually any spot on Earth, several times a day.With a relentless focus on miniaturization—which brings down costs—and precision, the company, which closed a $93 million financing round in April and secured another $65 million in December, has scaled the production of its small satellites, which offer cutting-edge high-resolution imagery that is relied upon by partners including the U.S. Department of Defense, FEMA, NASA, and the nation of Ukraine.While Iceye has built several satellites for commercial and state customers, the greater part of its business is selling data as a service from its own constellation of roughly 20 satellites. This provides a remarkable level of Earth coverage—Iceye can image anywhere in the world as often as every two hours, providing near-real time pictures of things like illegal logging and natural disasters. (Some insurance companies are now using data from Iceye to issue automated payments to customers in areas confirmed to be impacted by flooding, for example.)But defense is what’s driving business for the moment. Iceye has played a key role in the “space defense” of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In November, it signed a contract with German defense company Rheinmetall to provide Ukraine with additional high-resolution satellite imagery under German funding. Rheinmetall will also integrate Iceye’s capabilities into its next-generation battlefield systems. With vertically integrated manufacturing in Finland, a U.S. facility in Irvine, and a European-North American supply chain with no rare materials, Iceye aims to launch more than 20 satellites in 2025 and subsequent years.Read more about Iceye, honored as No. 20 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.3: SpaceXFor catching a rocket with a pair of chopsticksIn a spectacular feat of engineering, this year SpaceX successfully demonstrated the ability to launch—and then catch—a rocket. On October 13, the company’s reusable Starship megarocket launched on its fifth test flight. About seven minutes after liftoff, the vehicle’s first-stage booster, which is about 233 feet tall and weight about 440,000 pounds when it came back to Earth, was caught in midair by two mechanical “chopstick” arms, while the upper stage of splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned.Along with that major accomplishment, SpaceX has kept up the pace of launches and innovative new rockets that push the boundaries of the space industry. After moving its headquarters from California to Texas, SpaceX has successfully launched 128 rockets in 2024, including 123 launches of Falcon 9s, two Falcon Heavys, and three of its new Starships (after the first three, launched in 2023, blew up).That far outpaces the launch cadence any domestic or international competitor. In September 2024, SpaceX operated the Polaris Dawn mission on behalf of Shift4, whose all-private crew of astronauts flew a SpaceX CrewDragon spacecraft in an elliptic orbit that took them 870 miles away from Earth (the farthest anyone has been since NASA’s Apollo program) to conducted a space walk.4: Intuitive MachinesFor making the moon its missionIn February 2024, the Odysseus lander— a hexagonal cylinder shape that’s roughly the size of an old British telephone booth—touched down on the surface of the moon. When it did, it became the first privately built and operated spacecraft to achieve a lunar landing. But that remarkable achievement was just the first step for the company behind it, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which now aims to become a moon-landing powerhouse, providing everything from landers to communications and navigation services to buggies.The Odysseus hitched a ride toward the moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in February 2024. Once in space, it set off toward the moon on its own and landed on the Moon’s south pole region, marking the United States’ first return since Apollo 17. And although Odysseus ended up on its side after touching down on the Moon’s surface in February, the mission was deemed a success by the company and, perhaps more importantly, by NASA. Odysseus had carried six payloads from the space agency, and it has received data from five of its active payloads. (A sixth payload, a laser retroreflector, will be tested in the coming months.) A second lunar lander, which landed in March, 2025, also ended up on its side before it could gather any data.But these missions are just the start of what could be a long run of supporting lunar exploration: In August, NASA awarded Intuitive a $116.9 million contract to deliver six more science and technology payloads, including one from the European Space Agency, to the Moon’s south pole. This mission will deploy a range of equipment for prospecting on the Moon, including a drill, a hopper, and a rover. In September, the company—which reported nearly $60 million revenue last quarter—was the sole awardee of a contract with NASA valued at up to $4.82 billion over the next decade, to deploy a constellation of lunar data relay satellites around the Moon. The company is also one of top competitors bidding on a Moon moon terrain vehicle—a prototype of its fully electric crab-walking motorized vehicle is currently being evaluated at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.5: ArianespaceFor expanding European space launch capacity with a more cost-efficient heavy rocketin July 2024, French aerospace company Arianespace, a subsidiary of Ariane Group, successfully launched the new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket,  operated on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). The launch marked a significant step towards securing Europe’s independent access to space—a pressing concern since the war in Ukraine cut off access to Russia’s Soyuz rockets—allowing nations on the continent to launch their satellites and payloads without relying solely on offshore commercial providers, namely SpaceX.Ariane Group served as lead contractor and design authority for the Ariane 6, coordinating more than 600 companies in 13 European countries that contributed. The Ariane 6 is intended to replace the Ariane 5, which had its final launch on July 5, 2023. The Ariane 5’s high production costs made it uncompetitive with commercial launch providers.The Ariane 6 is designed to cut launch costs in half compared to its predecessor. The demo mission was a partial success, accomplishing the launch and deployment of three of its five payloads into orbit. But a technical failure left the upper stage in orbit instead of returning to Earth. (The company says a software fix will prevent this problem in the future.)A second Ariane 6 launch is planned for late February 2025 [NEW]. It will be the rocket’s first commercial mission, carrying the CSO-3 reconnaissance satellite into orbit for the French military. In December 2024, Arianespace successfully launched a new version of its Vega rocket, intended for lighter loads than the Ariane 6, capable of transporting more than two tons and putting satellites into orbits at different altitudes. Four launches with Vega-C are planned for next year, followed by five more in 2026.6: QuesTek InnovationsFor making the materials that power space explorationThis Evanston, Illinois-based materials engineering firm, a specialist in high- performance metal alloys, has worked with NASA for two decades and last year played an essential role in constructing the latest launch vehicles produced by private space companies. QuesTek developed a top-secret superalloy for SpaceX that is more resilient and heat resistant than anything previously launched into space and is critical to the Raptor engines of the Starship’s Super Heavy booster.Last summer, QuesTek announced it had worked to develop two new superalloys for use in 3D printing of reusable rockets with space equipment manufacturer Stoke Space. The alloys will sharply reduce the amount of material used in rocket building, decreasing rocket weight and lowering the cost of launches while allowing for rapid design changes without the need for retooling7: Muon SpaceFor creating satellites that measure clouds and fight firesSilicon Valley-based end-to-end space systems provider Muon Space aims to design, build, and operate low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations designed for specific commercial and government projects.Less than a year after the June 2023 launch of its first satellite Muon Halo, this March the company successfully deployed a prototype weather satellite designed to capture cloud data for the the U.S. Air Force. The military is actively seeking so-called “cloud characterization data” and weather imagery to supplement data collected by its own sensor satellites to help its operations. Detailed cloud data is essential for more accurate weather prediction, as clouds control solar radiation, precipitation, and wind patterns, directly impacting temperature regulation and forecast accuracy.In addition raising a $56 million Series B round in August, Muon received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant through the U.S. Space Force in December. The award will help accelerate Muon’s development of its commercial wildfire monitoring mission, FireSat, a constellation of small satellites designed to spot wildfires, in partnership with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance (whose backers include Google Research and the Environmental Defense Fund).By evolving the FireSat’s infrared detection abilities, Muon’s satellites will be able to monitor cloud cover as well as wildfires, serving both civil and defense uses. Muon Space plans a 2026 launch of its first three FireSat constellations, which will have the ability to observe every point on Earth twice a day.8: StardogFor giving NASA a voice assistant that speaks the truthStardog deploys “100%-hallucination-free” generative AI, powered by proprietary organization “knowledge graphs” for enterprises and government agencies including NASA and the US Department of Defense. In 2024, it rolled out its Voicebox AI data assistant for defense and intelligence customers. The system uses a “semantic parsing layer” on top of its generative AI to filter out AI “lies,” showing end-users results that are only tied directly back to an organization’s own data.The Stardog co-founders began their relationship with NASA when they custom-built data analytics applications for the agency in 2006. They were instrumental in development of “Concourse”, an application that facilitates avionics software assessments in support of the Artemis Orion Spacecraft certification, in 2021.Now, to support NASA’s Gateway program, which is building a lunar-orbit space station, Stardog integrated the “knowledge graph” it had created for NASA—which connects all data sources within the organization—with data from NASA’s Cross-Program Hazard System, to improve safety and give NASA a better decision-making process around risk, enabling the agency to respond quickly with critical fixes and interventions.9: ApexFor helping satellites and other spacecraft get exactly where they need to goIn March 2024, Apex successfully deployed Aries SN1, the company’s first production model of an off-the-shelf satellite bus for “secondary payloads”—that is, moving satellites and other spacecraft into precise positions after their initial launch.The Aries can be manufactured in various preconfigurations designed for diverse mission needs, leveraging the benefits of serial production to help drive down the costs of these types of missions.The first 220-pound Aries, which can carry payloads of up to 330 pounds, was used to move satellites as part of a strategic partnership with defense contractor Anduril. In 2025, Anduril will launch its own self-funded mission, also powered by Apex’s Aries bus, featuring upgraded mission data processing and new infrared imaging capabilities, marking the next phase of their collaboration. Apex, which raised $95 million in series B funding in summer 2024, has said it expects to deliver its next vehicle, the Nova, a satellite bus that can host payloads from about 400 to 1,100 pounds, next year.10: SkyloFor making “out of service range” a thing of the pastThanks to Skylo, cellphone customers will no longer be out of luck when they’re out of range. The company’s service network enables phones and other connected devices to seamlessly switch from cellular to satellite connectivity without requiring any expensive satellite components. It is a major leap forward in terms of continuous, comprehensive, and affordable connectivity. As a result of this innovation, users no longer have to worry if they are in cellular coverage range in order to make an emergency call or text.The Mountain View-based company, founded in 2017 by a team from Stanford University’s space lab, doesn’t own spectrum or satellites of its own. Rather, it works with satellite operators with “bent pipe” networks, in which satellites essentially bounce signals originating on Earth back down to company ground stations (rather than sending cellular frequencies from space), allowing smartphones and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. That means the satellites can handle all kinds of transmission technologies, including narrow band IOT, which uses a single narrowband radio frequency to connect devices over long distances, even in remote areas.Qualcomm is already using Skylo technology in its advanced IoT chips, and in August 2024, Verizon announced it was partnering with Skylo to offer its customers satellite-based messaging and location-sharing services, starting this fall. The carrier also announced that starting next year, thanks to Skylo, users will be able to text anywhere via satellite.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

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The most innovative companies in automotive for 2025

You know the dream: electric vehicles that can drive straight from New York to Chicago without needing to top off the battery. Robotaxis at your beck and call. Amphibious cars. The promise of next-generation travel hasn’t fully materialized yet, but legions of companies around the world are focused on bringing the vision to life.This year’s list of the most innovative automotive companies recognizes both the upstarts and the incumbents advancing the next era in mobility. As the industry grapples with the larger questions of how to create viable solid-state batteries or commercialize robotaxi service, the companies listed here are focused on the incremental steps toward a fully autonomous future.The result is EV technology that makes the erstwhile novelty car more powerful, more affordable, and more ubiquitous. China’s largest car company, BYD, became the world’s second-biggest EV maker in 2024 due to the rollout of its ultra-affordable models such as the $11,000 Seagull as it grows its global footprint.Meanwhile, Southern California-based startup Rivian is disrupting the domestic EV industry with ultraefficient battery packs that can carry its pickup trucks and SUVs more than 400 miles on a full charge.Some companies, like Northbrook, Illinois-based UL Solutions, are focused on making batteries safer and more reliable, while others focus on what to do with the batteries once they reach the end of their life cycle. Mercedes-Benz, which returns to the list for the second consecutive year, became the first car manufacturer to close the loop with an in-house battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim, Germany.Of course, digital and connected features are becoming crucial to the user experience, and Nvidia, Qualcomm, and LG Electronics are racing to develop the computing power for faster processing and seamless service.But for now, keep your eyes peeled on the road for Waymo, which tops our list this year, as it rolls out commercial robotaxi service around the U.S. and possibly in a city near you.1. WaymoFor making robotaxis part of the streetscapeAfter 15 years, the original Google moonshot looks like it’s finally starting to reach escape velocity. Launched in 2009 as Google’s self-driving car unit, Waymo had its share of false starts before it began offering a limited version of its driverless ride-sharing service to customers in Phoenix in 2020. But in recent months, Waymo has emerged as the company ushering robotaxis out of the sci-fi realm and into reality. It’s paving the way for autonomous vehicles in five major U.S. cities, setting the bar for safety, transparency, and regulation for all other competitors, especially Tesla. And it’s making the general public comfortable with what now seems will be an inevitable part of the urban landscape. With wide-scale operations in San Francisco and Phoenix (and a limited rollout in Los Angeles), Waymo has been growing quickly—even with its emphasis on scaling responsibly. It is partnering with Uber and rolled out service in Austin in March, with plans to launch in Atlanta. Waymo also unveiled its Generation 6 automated driving system, an enhanced-technology suite designed handle tougher weather conditions. In October, the Waymo One taxi fleet reached 1 million autonomous miles driven. Waymo has made real what seemed unimaginable 15 years. It’s proven that Alphabet’s moonshot strategy can work.Read more about Waymo, honored as No. 1 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.2. BYDFor making EVs that are ultra-affordable, ultrafast, and even amphibiousAfter almost 30 years as a battery supplier to mobile phone manufacturers, BYD has found explosive growth as an EV maker, catapulting over competitors to become a global juggernaut. The Warren Buffett-backed Chinese company shifted to building cars nearly two decades ago, applying its expertise in producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to develop reliable, sub-$35,000 EVs. But the mid-2023 launch of BYD’s most affordable model—the four-figure Seagull compact car—ignited BYD’s exponential sales run. Boasting an all-electric range up to 252 miles, the Seagull became China’s top seller in August 2024 and solidified BYD’s status as the country’s largest automaker. But BYD isn’t focused only on affordability. Shipments of its first supercar, the $238,000 Yangwang U9, began in February. Today, BYD is running neck and neck with Tesla for the top spot among global EV makers and it is the undisputed champion of the plug-in hybrid sector, with 40% of that market. Last year, BYD delivered more than 3.8 million passenger vehicles in 2024—surpassing its full-year target of 3.6 million. The year also saw the company’s rapid expansion across Asia and into Mexico, South America, Europe, and Australia. In November, BYD produced its 10 millionth battery-powered vehicle, becoming the first automaker to reach that milestone, and announced a new Blade EV battery to power its future long-range EVs. The next-generation Blade technology is expected to increase driving range as well as battery life cycle. Whether BYD brings its cars to the U.S. is a question of geopolitics, but at least one top analyst says social media has helped spread the word among Gen Z and millennial shoppers, who are open to buying Chinese vehicles. “It’s only a matter of time before BYD is selling retail passenger vehicles in the U.S. market,” says Ed Kim, chief analyst at AutoPacific. “American consumers want them, and awareness of them is strong.”Read more about BYD, honored as No. 5 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.3. UL SolutionsFor developing cutting-edge automotive battery and energy storage testingEV batteries can catch fire or explode in the event of a collision, mechanical failure, or weather catastrophe, making battery safety crucial as more electric vehicles hit the road. Northbrook, Illinois-based safety science company UL Solutions has emerged as a key player in the space, conducting rigorous tests to determine how EV batteries handle a host of hazards, from thermal runaway to electric shock. The company launched an initial public offering in April 2024 at a roughly $7 billion valuation, and four months later, it opened a 90,000-square-foot advanced battery lab in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company’s largest-ever laboratory investment puts performance and safety testing under one roof. The state-of-the-art lab is one of the most extensive electric and hybrid vehicle and industrial battery testing laboratories in the U.S., conducting electrical, mechanical, and environmental testing against standards and goals set by the International Electrotechnical Commission, United Nations, Society of Automotive Engineers, and others. The company grew revenue 7.2% to $2.9 billion in 2024, thanks to business from customers in more than 110 countries. It plans to construct a new Advanced Automotive and Battery Testing Center in South Korea to serve more customers across the Asia Pacific region and to add EV charger testing.4. NvidiaFor powering the autonomous vehicle revolutionNvidia dominates the market for the semiconductors that power AI platforms in automotive and a range of other industries. Its GPUs are well-suited to the demands of AI model training, making Nvidia’s technology crucial to the creation and widespread adoption of self-driving cars. Top automakers from around the world (including BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, and Volvo) utilize the latest technologies from Nvidia (Drive AGX, Drive Orin, Drive Thor) to power their autonomous driving systems, and in early January 2024, Nvidia secured its pole position in the race to build better autonomous driving systems when it announced at CES that the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, would be deploying its technology to build its next-generation vehicles. All this has put Nvidia on a tear, with revenue and market cap surging. In November, Nvidia replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.5. Mercedes-BenzFor advancing battery chemistry and developing a recycling economyMercedes-Benz is pulling ahead in the race to build a sophisticated battery economy. In October 2024, the automaker opened a state-of-the-art battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany. The factory—Europe’s first to house an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process within a single plant—makes Mercedes the first automaker to close the ponderous battery recycling loop with its own in-house facility. Mercedes says the factory’s integrated process boasts a recovery rate of more than 96%, enabling a true circular economy of battery materials from old cars. The batteries come from test vehicles and production ramp-ups, as well as from returned vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. The plant will play a significant role in the battery life cycle, from shredding of battery modules to processing active battery materials to recovering scarce raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. The downstream hydro-metallurgical process handles the “black mass,” the active materials that make up the electrodes of the battery cells. The factory, which began production in October 2024, is expected to generate enough material to produce more than 50,000 new battery modules annually. The knowledge gleaned from the project could help scale up production volumes in the medium- to long-term. Meanwhile, the automaker continues to roll out new EVs. In April, Mercedes-Benz launched an electric version of its rough-and-tumble G-Wagen truck, showing that electrification is possible for virtually any vehicle.6. RivianFor disrupting the EV industry with ultraefficient battery packsIt’s tough to start a car company. Just ask any of the fledgling EV companies that folded last year. The road has been rocky for Rivian, but the startup EV maker proved its staying power in June with the introduction of the second-generation R1S utility vehicle and R1T pickup truck. Together, the vehicles are challenging Tesla, General Motors, and other automakers thanks to their hearty, long-range power trains that are designed, engineered, and manufactured in-house. The second-generation battery packs offer up to 420 miles of range, while a new lithium iron phosphate-based battery pack can achieve an EPA-estimated 270 miles. Despite challenging sales, supply shortages, and layoffs, the company continues to plow ahead as a leader in the battery-electric sphere. In March, Rivian introduced a new midsize platform for smaller and more affordable vehicles, and followed that with the opening of its Rivian Adventure Network of DC fast chargers to all EVs. In October, the company announced that Volkswagen will invest $5.8 billion as part of a joint venture focused on developing vehicle software. In November, Rivian secured a $6.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to revive its plans to build an EV factory in Stanton Springs, Georgia.7. LG Vehicle SolutionFor bringing entertainment into the carLG is leading the lucrative race to bring entertainment into the car. In 2024, the South Korean juggernaut showed that it can adapt its expertise in consumer electronics for in-vehicle use, tailoring its user-friendly entertainment technology for automotive customers including Hyundai and Kia. In May, LG debuted a new infotainment platform with the launch of the Kia EV3 compact utility vehicle. The system brings LG Channels, an expansive network of entertainment, news and other content, into the car, eliminating complex app-based logins. The following month, the company rolled out its AlphaWare suite of customizable software to help automakers integrate advanced software and connectivity features across their lineups as seamlessly as possible. The comprehensive system addresses five key areas powering the vehicle, such as PlayWare for infotainment and VisionWare for safety. In November, LG presented its vision for the future of automotive interiors: a Digital Cockpit gamma featuring a 12.3-inch transparent OLED screen displaying real-time navigation, current speed, and points of interest, as well as a 14.2-inch retractable plastic OLED display embedded in the center console. A handy AI-based virtual assistant can detect driver fatigue, order a coffee from a shop nearby, and help you pay for the transaction through the screen’s built-in fingerprint-recognition sensor.8. QualcommFor creating a scalable cloud-based platform for the automotive industryQualcomm is expanding beyond mobile phones, transferring its expertise in chip technology to the automotive industry as cars become a new computing space. The system-on-chip technology that Qualcomm has honed for mobile phones is becoming crucial for the automotive industry as it evolves toward centralized computing. In October, the chipmaker announced a significant advance in automotive semiconductor technology with the launch of a scalable platform based on its fastest CPU. Qualcomm’s ultrafast Oryon CPU will power the latest version of its Snapdragon Digital Chassis, comprised of Snapdragon Cockpit Elite, which supports in-vehicle experiences like entertainment, and Snapdragon Ride Elite, which provides automated driving capabilities. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis can handle parallel AI workloads, such as processing data from multiple sensors and cameras to prevent a collision. It also allows different systems—such as infotainment and safety systems—to operate independently, which enables the car to process different types of data faster to make better-informed decisions. The cloud-connected platforms give customers like General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, BMW, Ford, Honda, and Hyundai the flexibility to develop features such as customizable dashboards and over-the-air updates after the car has been purchased. In February, Qualcomm reported robust Q1 2025 growth, with automative bringing in $961 million, representing 61% year-over-year growth. 9. MichelinFor creating sustainable tires to support next-gen EVsTires, perhaps the last part of a car to modernize, are finally undergoing a paradigm shift. Since 1960, cars have grown larger and heavier—increasing 21% in height, 14% in width, and 3% in length—putting more pressure on the tire, the humble component that supports the entire car. Now EVs, with their heavy batteries, are increasing weight by roughly 20%, an industrywide shift that necessitates more durable and more sustainable tires to support the extra heft. “Everything on electrification is pushing the market for bigger tires,” says Bruno de Feraudy, Michelin’s senior vice president of original equipment. Michelin’s Pilot Sport EV tires have been on the market since 2021, and at the 2024 Le Mans race in June, the company demonstrated a sustainable, track-oriented tire for the all-electric Porsche Cayman GT4 ePerformance race car. The motorsports tire at Le Mans is composed of 71% sustainable renewable and recycled raw materials, while the average tire uses 200 components that are difficult to recycle. These sustainable tires make greater use of rubber, recycled carbon black, oils such as sunflower oil and bio-sourced resins, silica from rice husks, and recycled steel.10. Formula 1For pioneering the hybrid technology powering passenger carsFormula 1 has shot to the cultural forefront with the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive, now in its seventh season, but it’s also the world’s foremost test bed for the hybrid technology that trickles down into passenger cars. In June 2024, its governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), announced the racing series’s most ambitious plans for going carbon neutral. The regulations, which go into effect in 2026, call for each team to build a power unit that derives half its power from a V6 turbo engine and half from its battery and electric motor. FIA’s ever-changing regulations breed innovation by requiring teams to continually reengineer their cars and push technology to the limit. Each car competing in Formula 1, arguably the world’s most technically advanced sport, features thousands of sensors taking more than 1 million data points per second to optimize performance as the driver hurls the car up to 225 miles per hour. The sport has more eyes on it than ever, gaining momentum stateside with the recent addition of Grand Prix in Miami and Las Vegas.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

You know the dream: electric vehicles that can drive straight from New York to Chicago without needing to top off the battery. Robotaxis at your beck and call. Amphibious cars. The promise of next-generation travel hasn’t fully materialized yet, but legions of companies around the world are focused on bringing the vision to life.This year’s list of the most innovative automotive companies recognizes both the upstarts and the incumbents advancing the next era in mobility. As the industry grapples with the larger questions of how to create viable solid-state batteries or commercialize robotaxi service, the companies listed here are focused on the incremental steps toward a fully autonomous future.The result is EV technology that makes the erstwhile novelty car more powerful, more affordable, and more ubiquitous. China’s largest car company, BYD, became the world’s second-biggest EV maker in 2024 due to the rollout of its ultra-affordable models such as the $11,000 Seagull as it grows its global footprint.Meanwhile, Southern California-based startup Rivian is disrupting the domestic EV industry with ultraefficient battery packs that can carry its pickup trucks and SUVs more than 400 miles on a full charge.Some companies, like Northbrook, Illinois-based UL Solutions, are focused on making batteries safer and more reliable, while others focus on what to do with the batteries once they reach the end of their life cycle. Mercedes-Benz, which returns to the list for the second consecutive year, became the first car manufacturer to close the loop with an in-house battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim, Germany.Of course, digital and connected features are becoming crucial to the user experience, and Nvidia, Qualcomm, and LG Electronics are racing to develop the computing power for faster processing and seamless service.But for now, keep your eyes peeled on the road for Waymo, which tops our list this year, as it rolls out commercial robotaxi service around the U.S. and possibly in a city near you.1. WaymoFor making robotaxis part of the streetscapeAfter 15 years, the original Google moonshot looks like it’s finally starting to reach escape velocity. Launched in 2009 as Google’s self-driving car unit, Waymo had its share of false starts before it began offering a limited version of its driverless ride-sharing service to customers in Phoenix in 2020. But in recent months, Waymo has emerged as the company ushering robotaxis out of the sci-fi realm and into reality. It’s paving the way for autonomous vehicles in five major U.S. cities, setting the bar for safety, transparency, and regulation for all other competitors, especially Tesla. And it’s making the general public comfortable with what now seems will be an inevitable part of the urban landscape. With wide-scale operations in San Francisco and Phoenix (and a limited rollout in Los Angeles), Waymo has been growing quickly—even with its emphasis on scaling responsibly. It is partnering with Uber and rolled out service in Austin in March, with plans to launch in Atlanta. Waymo also unveiled its Generation 6 automated driving system, an enhanced-technology suite designed handle tougher weather conditions. In October, the Waymo One taxi fleet reached 1 million autonomous miles driven. Waymo has made real what seemed unimaginable 15 years. It’s proven that Alphabet’s moonshot strategy can work.Read more about Waymo, honored as No. 1 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.2. BYDFor making EVs that are ultra-affordable, ultrafast, and even amphibiousAfter almost 30 years as a battery supplier to mobile phone manufacturers, BYD has found explosive growth as an EV maker, catapulting over competitors to become a global juggernaut. The Warren Buffett-backed Chinese company shifted to building cars nearly two decades ago, applying its expertise in producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to develop reliable, sub-$35,000 EVs. But the mid-2023 launch of BYD’s most affordable model—the four-figure Seagull compact car—ignited BYD’s exponential sales run. Boasting an all-electric range up to 252 miles, the Seagull became China’s top seller in August 2024 and solidified BYD’s status as the country’s largest automaker. But BYD isn’t focused only on affordability. Shipments of its first supercar, the $238,000 Yangwang U9, began in February. Today, BYD is running neck and neck with Tesla for the top spot among global EV makers and it is the undisputed champion of the plug-in hybrid sector, with 40% of that market. Last year, BYD delivered more than 3.8 million passenger vehicles in 2024—surpassing its full-year target of 3.6 million. The year also saw the company’s rapid expansion across Asia and into Mexico, South America, Europe, and Australia. In November, BYD produced its 10 millionth battery-powered vehicle, becoming the first automaker to reach that milestone, and announced a new Blade EV battery to power its future long-range EVs. The next-generation Blade technology is expected to increase driving range as well as battery life cycle. Whether BYD brings its cars to the U.S. is a question of geopolitics, but at least one top analyst says social media has helped spread the word among Gen Z and millennial shoppers, who are open to buying Chinese vehicles. “It’s only a matter of time before BYD is selling retail passenger vehicles in the U.S. market,” says Ed Kim, chief analyst at AutoPacific. “American consumers want them, and awareness of them is strong.”Read more about BYD, honored as No. 5 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.3. UL SolutionsFor developing cutting-edge automotive battery and energy storage testingEV batteries can catch fire or explode in the event of a collision, mechanical failure, or weather catastrophe, making battery safety crucial as more electric vehicles hit the road. Northbrook, Illinois-based safety science company UL Solutions has emerged as a key player in the space, conducting rigorous tests to determine how EV batteries handle a host of hazards, from thermal runaway to electric shock. The company launched an initial public offering in April 2024 at a roughly $7 billion valuation, and four months later, it opened a 90,000-square-foot advanced battery lab in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company’s largest-ever laboratory investment puts performance and safety testing under one roof. The state-of-the-art lab is one of the most extensive electric and hybrid vehicle and industrial battery testing laboratories in the U.S., conducting electrical, mechanical, and environmental testing against standards and goals set by the International Electrotechnical Commission, United Nations, Society of Automotive Engineers, and others. The company grew revenue 7.2% to $2.9 billion in 2024, thanks to business from customers in more than 110 countries. It plans to construct a new Advanced Automotive and Battery Testing Center in South Korea to serve more customers across the Asia Pacific region and to add EV charger testing.4. NvidiaFor powering the autonomous vehicle revolutionNvidia dominates the market for the semiconductors that power AI platforms in automotive and a range of other industries. Its GPUs are well-suited to the demands of AI model training, making Nvidia’s technology crucial to the creation and widespread adoption of self-driving cars. Top automakers from around the world (including BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, and Volvo) utilize the latest technologies from Nvidia (Drive AGX, Drive Orin, Drive Thor) to power their autonomous driving systems, and in early January 2024, Nvidia secured its pole position in the race to build better autonomous driving systems when it announced at CES that the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, would be deploying its technology to build its next-generation vehicles. All this has put Nvidia on a tear, with revenue and market cap surging. In November, Nvidia replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.5. Mercedes-BenzFor advancing battery chemistry and developing a recycling economyMercedes-Benz is pulling ahead in the race to build a sophisticated battery economy. In October 2024, the automaker opened a state-of-the-art battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany. The factory—Europe’s first to house an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process within a single plant—makes Mercedes the first automaker to close the ponderous battery recycling loop with its own in-house facility. Mercedes says the factory’s integrated process boasts a recovery rate of more than 96%, enabling a true circular economy of battery materials from old cars. The batteries come from test vehicles and production ramp-ups, as well as from returned vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. The plant will play a significant role in the battery life cycle, from shredding of battery modules to processing active battery materials to recovering scarce raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. The downstream hydro-metallurgical process handles the “black mass,” the active materials that make up the electrodes of the battery cells. The factory, which began production in October 2024, is expected to generate enough material to produce more than 50,000 new battery modules annually. The knowledge gleaned from the project could help scale up production volumes in the medium- to long-term. Meanwhile, the automaker continues to roll out new EVs. In April, Mercedes-Benz launched an electric version of its rough-and-tumble G-Wagen truck, showing that electrification is possible for virtually any vehicle.6. RivianFor disrupting the EV industry with ultraefficient battery packsIt’s tough to start a car company. Just ask any of the fledgling EV companies that folded last year. The road has been rocky for Rivian, but the startup EV maker proved its staying power in June with the introduction of the second-generation R1S utility vehicle and R1T pickup truck. Together, the vehicles are challenging Tesla, General Motors, and other automakers thanks to their hearty, long-range power trains that are designed, engineered, and manufactured in-house. The second-generation battery packs offer up to 420 miles of range, while a new lithium iron phosphate-based battery pack can achieve an EPA-estimated 270 miles. Despite challenging sales, supply shortages, and layoffs, the company continues to plow ahead as a leader in the battery-electric sphere. In March, Rivian introduced a new midsize platform for smaller and more affordable vehicles, and followed that with the opening of its Rivian Adventure Network of DC fast chargers to all EVs. In October, the company announced that Volkswagen will invest $5.8 billion as part of a joint venture focused on developing vehicle software. In November, Rivian secured a $6.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to revive its plans to build an EV factory in Stanton Springs, Georgia.7. LG Vehicle SolutionFor bringing entertainment into the carLG is leading the lucrative race to bring entertainment into the car. In 2024, the South Korean juggernaut showed that it can adapt its expertise in consumer electronics for in-vehicle use, tailoring its user-friendly entertainment technology for automotive customers including Hyundai and Kia. In May, LG debuted a new infotainment platform with the launch of the Kia EV3 compact utility vehicle. The system brings LG Channels, an expansive network of entertainment, news and other content, into the car, eliminating complex app-based logins. The following month, the company rolled out its AlphaWare suite of customizable software to help automakers integrate advanced software and connectivity features across their lineups as seamlessly as possible. The comprehensive system addresses five key areas powering the vehicle, such as PlayWare for infotainment and VisionWare for safety. In November, LG presented its vision for the future of automotive interiors: a Digital Cockpit gamma featuring a 12.3-inch transparent OLED screen displaying real-time navigation, current speed, and points of interest, as well as a 14.2-inch retractable plastic OLED display embedded in the center console. A handy AI-based virtual assistant can detect driver fatigue, order a coffee from a shop nearby, and help you pay for the transaction through the screen’s built-in fingerprint-recognition sensor.8. QualcommFor creating a scalable cloud-based platform for the automotive industryQualcomm is expanding beyond mobile phones, transferring its expertise in chip technology to the automotive industry as cars become a new computing space. The system-on-chip technology that Qualcomm has honed for mobile phones is becoming crucial for the automotive industry as it evolves toward centralized computing. In October, the chipmaker announced a significant advance in automotive semiconductor technology with the launch of a scalable platform based on its fastest CPU. Qualcomm’s ultrafast Oryon CPU will power the latest version of its Snapdragon Digital Chassis, comprised of Snapdragon Cockpit Elite, which supports in-vehicle experiences like entertainment, and Snapdragon Ride Elite, which provides automated driving capabilities. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis can handle parallel AI workloads, such as processing data from multiple sensors and cameras to prevent a collision. It also allows different systems—such as infotainment and safety systems—to operate independently, which enables the car to process different types of data faster to make better-informed decisions. The cloud-connected platforms give customers like General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, BMW, Ford, Honda, and Hyundai the flexibility to develop features such as customizable dashboards and over-the-air updates after the car has been purchased. In February, Qualcomm reported robust Q1 2025 growth, with automative bringing in $961 million, representing 61% year-over-year growth. 9. MichelinFor creating sustainable tires to support next-gen EVsTires, perhaps the last part of a car to modernize, are finally undergoing a paradigm shift. Since 1960, cars have grown larger and heavier—increasing 21% in height, 14% in width, and 3% in length—putting more pressure on the tire, the humble component that supports the entire car. Now EVs, with their heavy batteries, are increasing weight by roughly 20%, an industrywide shift that necessitates more durable and more sustainable tires to support the extra heft. “Everything on electrification is pushing the market for bigger tires,” says Bruno de Feraudy, Michelin’s senior vice president of original equipment. Michelin’s Pilot Sport EV tires have been on the market since 2021, and at the 2024 Le Mans race in June, the company demonstrated a sustainable, track-oriented tire for the all-electric Porsche Cayman GT4 ePerformance race car. The motorsports tire at Le Mans is composed of 71% sustainable renewable and recycled raw materials, while the average tire uses 200 components that are difficult to recycle. These sustainable tires make greater use of rubber, recycled carbon black, oils such as sunflower oil and bio-sourced resins, silica from rice husks, and recycled steel.10. Formula 1For pioneering the hybrid technology powering passenger carsFormula 1 has shot to the cultural forefront with the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive, now in its seventh season, but it’s also the world’s foremost test bed for the hybrid technology that trickles down into passenger cars. In June 2024, its governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), announced the racing series’s most ambitious plans for going carbon neutral. The regulations, which go into effect in 2026, call for each team to build a power unit that derives half its power from a V6 turbo engine and half from its battery and electric motor. FIA’s ever-changing regulations breed innovation by requiring teams to continually reengineer their cars and push technology to the limit. Each car competing in Formula 1, arguably the world’s most technically advanced sport, features thousands of sensors taking more than 1 million data points per second to optimize performance as the driver hurls the car up to 225 miles per hour. The sport has more eyes on it than ever, gaining momentum stateside with the recent addition of Grand Prix in Miami and Las Vegas.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

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The most innovative companies in applied AI for 2025

It’s been gradual, but generative AI models and the apps they power have begun to measurably deliver returns for businesses. Organizations across many industries believe their employees are more productive and efficient with AI tools such as chatbots and coding assistants at their side. Numerous AI startups found traction offering such solutions during 2024. Glean, for example, puts cutting-edge AI search capabilities in the hands of employees so that they can tap into various apps and platforms to find documents and corporate intelligence. Contextual AI lets organizations put a company’s proprietary intelligence into a secure data store, then lets them build AI apps that can call on that data. Enterprises are also using AI apps to protect softer corporate assets, such as reputation. Blackbird.AI offers a web app that enterprises use to monitor how their brand name is portrayed in social media posts, videos, links, and memes. Other standout AI apps focuse on specific industries. Google DeepMind put drug discovery ahead by years when it improved on its AlphaFold model, which now can model and predict the behaviors of proteins and other actors within the cell. Harvey has found its legs within the legal industry by offering an AI legal assistant that can write briefs, summarize and compare cases, and more. Coding assistants grew considerably–both in capability and usage–during 2024. Anysphere’s Cursor tool, for example, helped advance the genre from simply completing lines or sections of code to building whole software functions based on the plain language input of a human developer.1. GleanFor arming employees with the tools to get their jobs doneCompanies contain a lot of information that’s crucial for employees to know, but it’s spread out across an array of workplace apps: Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, and more. Five-year-old Glean offers a user-friendly AI-powered search tool that allows employees to find information and generate answers across more than 100 data sources.In June 2024, the company transformed its existing enterprise AI assistant and search engine into a platform called Work AI platform. It allows employees of all technical backgrounds to quickly generate personalized, accurate answers—and even create their own no-code tools to make the agents work better for the specifics of their jobs and businesses. The Work AI suite also includes a Glean Actions tool, which enables the AI assistant to directly take action on an employee’s behalf within a company’s connected applications. Actions could involve reading data from an application and executing a specific task, creating Jira tickets, publishing new content, or searching for code.In September, Glean doubled down on its user-friendly proposition by making it even easier for non-technical employees to get the most from its tools with next-generation prompting features. These features include a Prompt Builder feature, which allows users to create their own directives for the AI assistant, and a Prompt Library, which includes suggested prompts from Glean, as well ones that a company has shared in its own prompt library.According to a November 2024 report in The Information, Glean was generating around $100 million in annual recurring revenue, more than tripling that metric over the past year. The company closed two funding rounds in 2024: $200 million in February and $260 million in September at a $4.6 billion valuation. Its 200+ customers include Reddit, Instacart, Pinterest, Duolingo, and Databricks.Read more about Glean, honored as No. 6 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.2. AnysphereFor giving developers a coding partner with contextual awarenessCursor AI has emerged as a standout in the growing field of AI code editors. The company behind it, Anysphere, made the smart design choice of building the UX based on Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code, a familiar programming environment. Cursor also can access a developer’s or company’s existing code base as a way of fine-tuning code suggestions.Cursor acts like a coding partner that’s aware of the context in which code is being created. It offers code auto-completions, and not just of single lines–it can generate entire sections of code, and then explain the reasoning behind them. Or the developer can explain a new feature or function in plain language and the AI will code a prototype of it.Anysphere says Cursor now has more than 40,000 customers. Developers in online forums say that after using Cursor, they can’t go back to GitHub Copilot. In August, the startup raised a $60 million A round at a $400 million valuation from Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, OpenAI, Google’s Jeff Dean, OpenAI’s Noam Brown, and the founders of Stripe, GitHub, Ramp, and Perplexity. Four months later it raised a Series B round that closed in January 2025 with $105 million invested, raising its valuation to $2.6 billion.Read more about Anysphere, honored as No. 26 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.3. Blackbird.AIFor arming NATO and others with AI that detects AI disinformationBusinesses and other organizations must constantly be aware of how their name is being used in the digital environment, and be able to react quickly if their brand and reputation are distorted by misinformation or disinformation. In 2024 Blackbird.AI released its Compass platform, which lets individual users reality check or get greater context around suspicious claims made in social media posts, videos, links, or memes. The user pastes the content into the Compass tool, which checks it against thousands of trustworthy online sources.In October 2024 Blackbird.AI launched “Compass Vision,” a new AI-based tool for identifying AI deepfake images and videos. Customers can access Compass Vision directly through Blackbird.AI’s platform, or they can use its API to integrate it with their existing threat intelligence and social listening systems. As companies continue to more aggressively protect their market value and brand equity in the digital space, the market for “narrative intelligence” services is likely to grow to as much as $70 billion annually, Blackbird.AI believes. The company has already positioned itself well, and expects its revenues to double or triple over the next year. Blackbird.AI has raised more than $20 million in venture capital so far.4. Google DeepMindFor unfolding the mysteries of structural biochemistryGoogle DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and director of research John Jumper won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their parts in discovering and developing the AlphaFold AI models, which can predict the complex structures of virtually all known proteins. Proteins control and drive all chemical reactions within the bodies of organisms, including humans, so the tool is of great interest to researchers in drug development, material science, and environmental science.In 2024 DeepMind expanded its AlphaFold AI system to model how proteins interact with other cell structures, including DNA, RNA, and small molecules that are often used in drugs. The new system, called AlphaFold 3, can model the ways in which proteins “read” our DNA and then carry out the instructions in the body. It lets drug researchers quickly model how new drug compounds might react with certain receptor sites in the body, which could accelerate the exploratory phase of drug development. Traditionally this work has been done experimentally, in a wet lab. Google DeepMind developed AlphaFold 3 in collaboration with London-based Isomorphic Labs, an AI-based drug discovery lab it spun out into an independent unit within Google parent company Alphabet. Isomorphic is now working with Novartis and Eli Lilly. While drugs based on AlphaFold’s breakthroughs are yet to come, it’s already instigated a revolution in structural biochemistry.5. DeepLFor translating everyday business communications into 33 languages, including traditional Chinese and ArabicFast and accurate translation are crucial for multinational corporations, and generative AI has been a natural complement to existing services. One service provider, DeepL, has emerged as a standout for the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of its AI. The company already serves more than 150,000 businesses, governments, and other organizations across the legal, tech, media, manufacturing, and retail industries, including known names such as Nikkei, Panasonic Connect, Zendesk, and Morningstar.In November 2024 the company released DeepL Voice for Meetings, which lets participants speak in their preferred language during meetings and video calls, with real-time captions of others’ comments in their chosen language. DeepL Voice for Conversations does the same thing, but for one-on-one conversations happening on mobile devices. In July 2024, DeepL deployed a new large language model of its own, which its says significantly outperforms LLMs from OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft for translation. DeepL also added Traditional Chinese and Arabic languages to its platform, bringing total supported languages to 33. Beyond translation, DeepL launched a new tool called DeepL Write, designed to help professionals improve their business writing skills.In May 2024 DeepL raised a $300 million funding round and saw its valuation rise to $2 billion–doubling its valuation after its previous funding round a year earlier.6. PerplexityFor turning generative AI into a rival to traditional search, especially for election coveragePerplexity is one of the biggest success stories of the current AI boom. Its “answer engine” has revitalized web search, using a combination of homegrown large language models (LLMs), third-party models (from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek and others) and web crawlers to return custom answers that are highly relevant and fastidiously cited. The San Francisco-based company saw its user base grow throughout 2024, as it added new features and functions to its platform. Perplexity began experimenting with ads and referrals on its platform late in 2024, and launched “Shop like a Pro”, an AI-powered shopping assistant that lets users research and even purchase products within Perplexity. Users of the Perplexity mobile app users can even snap pictures of items to see related products and buying information.Perplexity’s most surprising creation during 2024 may have been the AI-powered Election Information Hub it launched before the November 2024 U.S. elections. The hub offered voters real-time updates, candidate information, and ballot measure summaries, along with AI-generated analysis based on reliable data from The Associated Press and Democracy Works. Perplexity’s clear, verifiable approach to election coverage gained significant attention during the run-up to the elections.7. Contextual AIFor making the next generation of AI more accurate and efficientTo avoid hallucinations and keep answers on point, AI developers use what’s called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), where large language models are fed relevant information used to respond to specific queries. Cofounded by CEO Douwe Kiela, who pioneered RAG while at Meta, Contextual AI emerged from stealth mode in June 2023 with a mission to use the power of RAG to build more accurate LLMs for enterprises.In March 2024, the company introduced RAG 2.0, a system that trains LLMs and the RAG ystem together, resulting in Contextual Language Models that are tuned for specific purposes for which they outperform leading commercial and open source models. Contextual also worked with the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence to develop OLMoE, an AI system introduced in September that uses an approach called “mixture of experts,” in which a specialized subsection of the model is called on to answer a given question, leaving most of the other model parameters at rest. This can increase a model’s accuracy while making it faster and more energy efficient.Contextual, which counts HSBC, Qualcomm and The Economist as customers, announced in August 2024 that it raised an $80 million Series A round to fund further development of its enterprise-grade AI systems.8. HarveyFor giving lawyers a trustworthy AI agentUsing large language models in legal work has long been a tantalizing possibility. But fears over inaccuracies due to AI hallucinations have caused the legal field to move slowly in their adoption of them. Harvey has managed some real innovations aimed at making its AI legal assistant more reliable and transparent about its work. The Harvey Assistant can read and analyze cases and other data faster than a human lawyer or legal assistant, and can draft documents, analyze information, and answer questions about hundreds of complex legal files.Harvey gave the Assistant some important upgrades in August 2024. It added a series of specialized modes tailored to different kinds of legal work, it trained its AI to refine and expand on its initial responses, and it improved the system’s outputs and processing speed. Harvey says the new version of Assistant reduces AI hallucinations by 60% and improves the accuracy of cited sources by 23%. In a move to demystify the way the assistant comes up with its answers, Harvey released a report called “BigLaw Bench” describing its model training and evaluation methodologies.The company more than tripled its employees during 2024, and added more than 100 new customers in 15 countries. With a new $100 million funding round in July 2024, the company saw its valuation rise to $1.5 billion.9. Khan AcademyFor empowering students and their teachers with a free AI writing coachIn 2023, Khan Academy launched Khanmigo, an experimental AI tutor designed to give students one-on-one help in tasks such as practicing math problems, brainstorming project ideas, and analyzing literature. Since then, thousands of students and teachers have started using the tool, and Khan Academy has been busy adding new tools and features to the platform.During 2024, the non-profit built some important new functionality into its Khanamigo Writing Coach, which had originally been designed to act as a writing tutor for students. The tool now helps teachers, too, giving them access to detailed reports on student progress. It generates high-level insights on the writing challenges of individual students, and even helps teachers identify difficulties that multiple students in the class are facing. All this addresses a real challenge in English education–the time constraints teachers face when providing feedback on writing.Khan Academy cites a real-life example of a teacher with 100 students who typically needed 17 hours to review the first drafts of a two-page essay assignment, assuming the teacher spent 10 minutes on each paper. In an era when AI offers to do our writing for us, Khanamigo Writing Coach is instead focused on helping students break through barriers to effective written communication—and on helping teachers guide them along the way.10. SpeakFor supercharging English-language learning with live conversational roleplaysSpeak’s AI English tutor app, which is widely used in Korea and Japan, has been around for years. But the company took a big step forward during 2024 with a little help from OpenAI. The app already offered an English tutor that could teach and converse, but the conversations felt slow and unnatural. That’s because Speak’s system had to transcribe the user’s speech, run it through a text-based LLM workflow, then synthesize the AI character’s speech. Each of these steps created gaps and errors in the back-and-forth, which was disruptive to the learning process.Then Speak became one of the first companies to get access to OpenAI’s Realtime API, using it to power its “Live Roleplays” feature. The Realtime API is unique in that it’s powered by AI that treats both text and voice in the same way–as common tokens within a multi-modal model. So no conversions are necessary, making the model’s response time super-fast.As a result, Speak’s tutor can generate its voice responses with almost no delay. This makes exchanges between student and AI tutor feel much more fluid and natural. And that’s very important, because the best and fastest way to learn another language is through real life conversations. Speak may not be exactly real-life, but with OpenAI’s help it’s a lot closer to real-time.11. PikaFor making a state-of-the-art video generator that’s accessible to nonprofessionalsPika’s founders, Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng, dropped out of Stanford’s artificial intelligence PhD program in 2023 to pursue a big idea. The world needed a world-class video generation app that was designed for regular people–not just professional creators, film-makers and AI early adopters.The duo and their new company got the attention of the AI industry with the release of the second version of their model, Pika 1.5, and the accompanying app, in September 2024. People soon began pumping out videos using the app’s motion control and effects such as Pikaffects, with which users can melt, inflate, crush, squish or explode pretty much anything. This unleashed a wave of videos that were perfect for social media sites like TikTok.In December 2024, the company dropped its Pika 2.0 model, which introduced the ability to dress up videos with people, objects, and places from photos they upload to the app. Just a month later, it launched its 2.1 model, which added an Advanced Motion Control feature, which made animation or high-motion video more fluid and natural-looking.Pika is still a very young company, but it’s already taken a place in the top tier of AI video generators, along with OpenAI’s Sora, Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha, and Google’s Veo.12. CanvaFor bringing Gen AI design to the largest organizationsCanva has the most popular app in the design and creative category, with more than 100 million downloads in the Google Play store alone. The company has been busily adding AI features to its app, and many of its users are embracing them. In 2024, Canva continued expanding its Magic Studio suite of AI tools. The suite, which is aimed at designers within organizations big and small, now includes 12 native AI products built on proprietary models from Canva and its partners, including OpenAI, Google and Runway. They include a “text to graphic” generation tool, AI photo editing, and a feature that assembles a highlight reel of the best clips from a longer video.Canva also strengthened its AI hand in 2024 by acquiring Leonardo.Ai, a generative AI platform specializing in image and video that’s used by 19 million creatives globally. Canva was quick to begin powering its own new features using Leonardo’s powerful Phoenix foundation model, starting with the new Dream Lab image generator it launched in October. Canva did meet with some backlash when it raised the prices of its Teams plans because of the new AI features. Still, Canva it says its growth has continued to accelerate, reaching 220 million monthly active users by year-end, the last 20 million of those added in the fourth quarter alone.13. SalesforceFor letting customers design no-code AI agents that can handle customer service, marketing, and moreSalesforce moved rapidly to embrace AI agents during 2024, pivoting from its former “Einstein” AI platform to Agentforce, a new platform that lets Salesforce customers design their own no-code agents to handle customer service, sales, marketing, scheduling and other tasks. Agents go beyond chatbots by being able to perform work-related tasks without the constant supervision of humans. They can, for example, analyze data, make decisions, and work through tasks step by step on the user’s behalf.For example, Salesforce offers an agent called Sales Development Representative (SDR) that can engage with sales prospects at any time of the day, answer questions, schedule sales meetings, and even manage objections. In the second half of 2024 Salesforce released two major versions of the Agentforce platform. The vision is big—agents could be as significant a shift for business software as the move to the cloud 25 years ago—and while it’s still early, the first adopters of the technology include some big names, such as Disney, OpenTable, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Wiley.On an early December earnings call, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said his company is “unleashing this new era of digital labor for every business and industry.” He added that even though the Agentforce platform had only been available since late October, his company had already “signed 200 deals” to give companies access.14. OsmoFor teaching AI how to smellThe startup Osmo, which was spun out of Google Research in 2022, has developed a way of giving AI the sense of smell. The company–which is backed by Google Ventures, Lux Capital, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–developed an AI system that can identify and recreate odors. It uses a number of sensitive sensors to detect molecules in the air that create odors, then feeds the sensor data to its AI models, which can represent the molecules digitally, as tokens within a neural network. The system can also create totally new scents, such as might be used in perfumes.Beyond the obvious application in the fragrance industry, Osmo has already tested its system for the detection of counterfeit goods, which usually have a very different olfactory signature than legit products. From July through September of 2024, Osmo deployed its system of sensors and models for four weeks at a fulfillment center for an online marketplace, where it gave hundreds of boxes of shoes the smell test. In the end Osmo proved there to be a measurable smell difference between authentic and counterfeit shoes, and that its system can ID the fakes quickly and accurately. It’s likely that many meaningful applications for Osmo’s AI haven’t yet been realized, such as in security work, disease detection or–you guessed it–Smell-o-vision.15. EvolutionaryScaleFor applying AI to design new proteins that the world needsEvolutionaryScale is an AI company that develops advanced artificial intelligence models for biological research, particularly focusing on proteins. The company’s main product is ESM3, an generative AI model for biology that can reason over the sequence, structure, and function of proteins. ESM3 can be used to generate new protein designs that would take millions of years to evolve in nature, and that can be realized through synthetic biology methods, the company says. Such proteins could be useful in environmental science and materials science. In 2024 ESM3 generated a new Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), a type of protein responsible for the glowing effect seen in jellyfish and the vibrant fluorescent colors of coral. As a result of its unique properties, GFP has become an important tool in molecular biology, helping scientists to see molecules inside cells. EvolutionaryScale also published a paper in Nature that detailed how a team of scientists utilized a variant model called ESMFold to unveil deep and distant evolutionary relationships within the flavivirus family, which includes viruses such as hepatitis C, dengue, and Zika. In 2024 the company raised a $142 million round from noted AI investors Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, along with Lux Capital, Amazon, and Nvidiz’s venture capital arm, and others.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

It’s been gradual, but generative AI models and the apps they power have begun to measurably deliver returns for businesses. Organizations across many industries believe their employees are more productive and efficient with AI tools such as chatbots and coding assistants at their side. Numerous AI startups found traction offering such solutions during 2024. Glean, for example, puts cutting-edge AI search capabilities in the hands of employees so that they can tap into various apps and platforms to find documents and corporate intelligence. Contextual AI lets organizations put a company’s proprietary intelligence into a secure data store, then lets them build AI apps that can call on that data. Enterprises are also using AI apps to protect softer corporate assets, such as reputation. Blackbird.AI offers a web app that enterprises use to monitor how their brand name is portrayed in social media posts, videos, links, and memes. Other standout AI apps focuse on specific industries. Google DeepMind put drug discovery ahead by years when it improved on its AlphaFold model, which now can model and predict the behaviors of proteins and other actors within the cell. Harvey has found its legs within the legal industry by offering an AI legal assistant that can write briefs, summarize and compare cases, and more. Coding assistants grew considerably–both in capability and usage–during 2024. Anysphere’s Cursor tool, for example, helped advance the genre from simply completing lines or sections of code to building whole software functions based on the plain language input of a human developer.1. GleanFor arming employees with the tools to get their jobs doneCompanies contain a lot of information that’s crucial for employees to know, but it’s spread out across an array of workplace apps: Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, and more. Five-year-old Glean offers a user-friendly AI-powered search tool that allows employees to find information and generate answers across more than 100 data sources.In June 2024, the company transformed its existing enterprise AI assistant and search engine into a platform called Work AI platform. It allows employees of all technical backgrounds to quickly generate personalized, accurate answers—and even create their own no-code tools to make the agents work better for the specifics of their jobs and businesses. The Work AI suite also includes a Glean Actions tool, which enables the AI assistant to directly take action on an employee’s behalf within a company’s connected applications. Actions could involve reading data from an application and executing a specific task, creating Jira tickets, publishing new content, or searching for code.In September, Glean doubled down on its user-friendly proposition by making it even easier for non-technical employees to get the most from its tools with next-generation prompting features. These features include a Prompt Builder feature, which allows users to create their own directives for the AI assistant, and a Prompt Library, which includes suggested prompts from Glean, as well ones that a company has shared in its own prompt library.According to a November 2024 report in The Information, Glean was generating around $100 million in annual recurring revenue, more than tripling that metric over the past year. The company closed two funding rounds in 2024: $200 million in February and $260 million in September at a $4.6 billion valuation. Its 200+ customers include Reddit, Instacart, Pinterest, Duolingo, and Databricks.Read more about Glean, honored as No. 6 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.2. AnysphereFor giving developers a coding partner with contextual awarenessCursor AI has emerged as a standout in the growing field of AI code editors. The company behind it, Anysphere, made the smart design choice of building the UX based on Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code, a familiar programming environment. Cursor also can access a developer’s or company’s existing code base as a way of fine-tuning code suggestions.Cursor acts like a coding partner that’s aware of the context in which code is being created. It offers code auto-completions, and not just of single lines–it can generate entire sections of code, and then explain the reasoning behind them. Or the developer can explain a new feature or function in plain language and the AI will code a prototype of it.Anysphere says Cursor now has more than 40,000 customers. Developers in online forums say that after using Cursor, they can’t go back to GitHub Copilot. In August, the startup raised a $60 million A round at a $400 million valuation from Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, OpenAI, Google’s Jeff Dean, OpenAI’s Noam Brown, and the founders of Stripe, GitHub, Ramp, and Perplexity. Four months later it raised a Series B round that closed in January 2025 with $105 million invested, raising its valuation to $2.6 billion.Read more about Anysphere, honored as No. 26 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.3. Blackbird.AIFor arming NATO and others with AI that detects AI disinformationBusinesses and other organizations must constantly be aware of how their name is being used in the digital environment, and be able to react quickly if their brand and reputation are distorted by misinformation or disinformation. In 2024 Blackbird.AI released its Compass platform, which lets individual users reality check or get greater context around suspicious claims made in social media posts, videos, links, or memes. The user pastes the content into the Compass tool, which checks it against thousands of trustworthy online sources.In October 2024 Blackbird.AI launched “Compass Vision,” a new AI-based tool for identifying AI deepfake images and videos. Customers can access Compass Vision directly through Blackbird.AI’s platform, or they can use its API to integrate it with their existing threat intelligence and social listening systems. As companies continue to more aggressively protect their market value and brand equity in the digital space, the market for “narrative intelligence” services is likely to grow to as much as $70 billion annually, Blackbird.AI believes. The company has already positioned itself well, and expects its revenues to double or triple over the next year. Blackbird.AI has raised more than $20 million in venture capital so far.4. Google DeepMindFor unfolding the mysteries of structural biochemistryGoogle DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and director of research John Jumper won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their parts in discovering and developing the AlphaFold AI models, which can predict the complex structures of virtually all known proteins. Proteins control and drive all chemical reactions within the bodies of organisms, including humans, so the tool is of great interest to researchers in drug development, material science, and environmental science.In 2024 DeepMind expanded its AlphaFold AI system to model how proteins interact with other cell structures, including DNA, RNA, and small molecules that are often used in drugs. The new system, called AlphaFold 3, can model the ways in which proteins “read” our DNA and then carry out the instructions in the body. It lets drug researchers quickly model how new drug compounds might react with certain receptor sites in the body, which could accelerate the exploratory phase of drug development. Traditionally this work has been done experimentally, in a wet lab. Google DeepMind developed AlphaFold 3 in collaboration with London-based Isomorphic Labs, an AI-based drug discovery lab it spun out into an independent unit within Google parent company Alphabet. Isomorphic is now working with Novartis and Eli Lilly. While drugs based on AlphaFold’s breakthroughs are yet to come, it’s already instigated a revolution in structural biochemistry.5. DeepLFor translating everyday business communications into 33 languages, including traditional Chinese and ArabicFast and accurate translation are crucial for multinational corporations, and generative AI has been a natural complement to existing services. One service provider, DeepL, has emerged as a standout for the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of its AI. The company already serves more than 150,000 businesses, governments, and other organizations across the legal, tech, media, manufacturing, and retail industries, including known names such as Nikkei, Panasonic Connect, Zendesk, and Morningstar.In November 2024 the company released DeepL Voice for Meetings, which lets participants speak in their preferred language during meetings and video calls, with real-time captions of others’ comments in their chosen language. DeepL Voice for Conversations does the same thing, but for one-on-one conversations happening on mobile devices. In July 2024, DeepL deployed a new large language model of its own, which its says significantly outperforms LLMs from OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft for translation. DeepL also added Traditional Chinese and Arabic languages to its platform, bringing total supported languages to 33. Beyond translation, DeepL launched a new tool called DeepL Write, designed to help professionals improve their business writing skills.In May 2024 DeepL raised a $300 million funding round and saw its valuation rise to $2 billion–doubling its valuation after its previous funding round a year earlier.6. PerplexityFor turning generative AI into a rival to traditional search, especially for election coveragePerplexity is one of the biggest success stories of the current AI boom. Its “answer engine” has revitalized web search, using a combination of homegrown large language models (LLMs), third-party models (from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek and others) and web crawlers to return custom answers that are highly relevant and fastidiously cited. The San Francisco-based company saw its user base grow throughout 2024, as it added new features and functions to its platform. Perplexity began experimenting with ads and referrals on its platform late in 2024, and launched “Shop like a Pro”, an AI-powered shopping assistant that lets users research and even purchase products within Perplexity. Users of the Perplexity mobile app users can even snap pictures of items to see related products and buying information.Perplexity’s most surprising creation during 2024 may have been the AI-powered Election Information Hub it launched before the November 2024 U.S. elections. The hub offered voters real-time updates, candidate information, and ballot measure summaries, along with AI-generated analysis based on reliable data from The Associated Press and Democracy Works. Perplexity’s clear, verifiable approach to election coverage gained significant attention during the run-up to the elections.7. Contextual AIFor making the next generation of AI more accurate and efficientTo avoid hallucinations and keep answers on point, AI developers use what’s called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), where large language models are fed relevant information used to respond to specific queries. Cofounded by CEO Douwe Kiela, who pioneered RAG while at Meta, Contextual AI emerged from stealth mode in June 2023 with a mission to use the power of RAG to build more accurate LLMs for enterprises.In March 2024, the company introduced RAG 2.0, a system that trains LLMs and the RAG ystem together, resulting in Contextual Language Models that are tuned for specific purposes for which they outperform leading commercial and open source models. Contextual also worked with the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence to develop OLMoE, an AI system introduced in September that uses an approach called “mixture of experts,” in which a specialized subsection of the model is called on to answer a given question, leaving most of the other model parameters at rest. This can increase a model’s accuracy while making it faster and more energy efficient.Contextual, which counts HSBC, Qualcomm and The Economist as customers, announced in August 2024 that it raised an $80 million Series A round to fund further development of its enterprise-grade AI systems.8. HarveyFor giving lawyers a trustworthy AI agentUsing large language models in legal work has long been a tantalizing possibility. But fears over inaccuracies due to AI hallucinations have caused the legal field to move slowly in their adoption of them. Harvey has managed some real innovations aimed at making its AI legal assistant more reliable and transparent about its work. The Harvey Assistant can read and analyze cases and other data faster than a human lawyer or legal assistant, and can draft documents, analyze information, and answer questions about hundreds of complex legal files.Harvey gave the Assistant some important upgrades in August 2024. It added a series of specialized modes tailored to different kinds of legal work, it trained its AI to refine and expand on its initial responses, and it improved the system’s outputs and processing speed. Harvey says the new version of Assistant reduces AI hallucinations by 60% and improves the accuracy of cited sources by 23%. In a move to demystify the way the assistant comes up with its answers, Harvey released a report called “BigLaw Bench” describing its model training and evaluation methodologies.The company more than tripled its employees during 2024, and added more than 100 new customers in 15 countries. With a new $100 million funding round in July 2024, the company saw its valuation rise to $1.5 billion.9. Khan AcademyFor empowering students and their teachers with a free AI writing coachIn 2023, Khan Academy launched Khanmigo, an experimental AI tutor designed to give students one-on-one help in tasks such as practicing math problems, brainstorming project ideas, and analyzing literature. Since then, thousands of students and teachers have started using the tool, and Khan Academy has been busy adding new tools and features to the platform.During 2024, the non-profit built some important new functionality into its Khanamigo Writing Coach, which had originally been designed to act as a writing tutor for students. The tool now helps teachers, too, giving them access to detailed reports on student progress. It generates high-level insights on the writing challenges of individual students, and even helps teachers identify difficulties that multiple students in the class are facing. All this addresses a real challenge in English education–the time constraints teachers face when providing feedback on writing.Khan Academy cites a real-life example of a teacher with 100 students who typically needed 17 hours to review the first drafts of a two-page essay assignment, assuming the teacher spent 10 minutes on each paper. In an era when AI offers to do our writing for us, Khanamigo Writing Coach is instead focused on helping students break through barriers to effective written communication—and on helping teachers guide them along the way.10. SpeakFor supercharging English-language learning with live conversational roleplaysSpeak’s AI English tutor app, which is widely used in Korea and Japan, has been around for years. But the company took a big step forward during 2024 with a little help from OpenAI. The app already offered an English tutor that could teach and converse, but the conversations felt slow and unnatural. That’s because Speak’s system had to transcribe the user’s speech, run it through a text-based LLM workflow, then synthesize the AI character’s speech. Each of these steps created gaps and errors in the back-and-forth, which was disruptive to the learning process.Then Speak became one of the first companies to get access to OpenAI’s Realtime API, using it to power its “Live Roleplays” feature. The Realtime API is unique in that it’s powered by AI that treats both text and voice in the same way–as common tokens within a multi-modal model. So no conversions are necessary, making the model’s response time super-fast.As a result, Speak’s tutor can generate its voice responses with almost no delay. This makes exchanges between student and AI tutor feel much more fluid and natural. And that’s very important, because the best and fastest way to learn another language is through real life conversations. Speak may not be exactly real-life, but with OpenAI’s help it’s a lot closer to real-time.11. PikaFor making a state-of-the-art video generator that’s accessible to nonprofessionalsPika’s founders, Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng, dropped out of Stanford’s artificial intelligence PhD program in 2023 to pursue a big idea. The world needed a world-class video generation app that was designed for regular people–not just professional creators, film-makers and AI early adopters.The duo and their new company got the attention of the AI industry with the release of the second version of their model, Pika 1.5, and the accompanying app, in September 2024. People soon began pumping out videos using the app’s motion control and effects such as Pikaffects, with which users can melt, inflate, crush, squish or explode pretty much anything. This unleashed a wave of videos that were perfect for social media sites like TikTok.In December 2024, the company dropped its Pika 2.0 model, which introduced the ability to dress up videos with people, objects, and places from photos they upload to the app. Just a month later, it launched its 2.1 model, which added an Advanced Motion Control feature, which made animation or high-motion video more fluid and natural-looking.Pika is still a very young company, but it’s already taken a place in the top tier of AI video generators, along with OpenAI’s Sora, Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha, and Google’s Veo.12. CanvaFor bringing Gen AI design to the largest organizationsCanva has the most popular app in the design and creative category, with more than 100 million downloads in the Google Play store alone. The company has been busily adding AI features to its app, and many of its users are embracing them. In 2024, Canva continued expanding its Magic Studio suite of AI tools. The suite, which is aimed at designers within organizations big and small, now includes 12 native AI products built on proprietary models from Canva and its partners, including OpenAI, Google and Runway. They include a “text to graphic” generation tool, AI photo editing, and a feature that assembles a highlight reel of the best clips from a longer video.Canva also strengthened its AI hand in 2024 by acquiring Leonardo.Ai, a generative AI platform specializing in image and video that’s used by 19 million creatives globally. Canva was quick to begin powering its own new features using Leonardo’s powerful Phoenix foundation model, starting with the new Dream Lab image generator it launched in October. Canva did meet with some backlash when it raised the prices of its Teams plans because of the new AI features. Still, Canva it says its growth has continued to accelerate, reaching 220 million monthly active users by year-end, the last 20 million of those added in the fourth quarter alone.13. SalesforceFor letting customers design no-code AI agents that can handle customer service, marketing, and moreSalesforce moved rapidly to embrace AI agents during 2024, pivoting from its former “Einstein” AI platform to Agentforce, a new platform that lets Salesforce customers design their own no-code agents to handle customer service, sales, marketing, scheduling and other tasks. Agents go beyond chatbots by being able to perform work-related tasks without the constant supervision of humans. They can, for example, analyze data, make decisions, and work through tasks step by step on the user’s behalf.For example, Salesforce offers an agent called Sales Development Representative (SDR) that can engage with sales prospects at any time of the day, answer questions, schedule sales meetings, and even manage objections. In the second half of 2024 Salesforce released two major versions of the Agentforce platform. The vision is big—agents could be as significant a shift for business software as the move to the cloud 25 years ago—and while it’s still early, the first adopters of the technology include some big names, such as Disney, OpenTable, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Wiley.On an early December earnings call, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said his company is “unleashing this new era of digital labor for every business and industry.” He added that even though the Agentforce platform had only been available since late October, his company had already “signed 200 deals” to give companies access.14. OsmoFor teaching AI how to smellThe startup Osmo, which was spun out of Google Research in 2022, has developed a way of giving AI the sense of smell. The company–which is backed by Google Ventures, Lux Capital, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–developed an AI system that can identify and recreate odors. It uses a number of sensitive sensors to detect molecules in the air that create odors, then feeds the sensor data to its AI models, which can represent the molecules digitally, as tokens within a neural network. The system can also create totally new scents, such as might be used in perfumes.Beyond the obvious application in the fragrance industry, Osmo has already tested its system for the detection of counterfeit goods, which usually have a very different olfactory signature than legit products. From July through September of 2024, Osmo deployed its system of sensors and models for four weeks at a fulfillment center for an online marketplace, where it gave hundreds of boxes of shoes the smell test. In the end Osmo proved there to be a measurable smell difference between authentic and counterfeit shoes, and that its system can ID the fakes quickly and accurately. It’s likely that many meaningful applications for Osmo’s AI haven’t yet been realized, such as in security work, disease detection or–you guessed it–Smell-o-vision.15. EvolutionaryScaleFor applying AI to design new proteins that the world needsEvolutionaryScale is an AI company that develops advanced artificial intelligence models for biological research, particularly focusing on proteins. The company’s main product is ESM3, an generative AI model for biology that can reason over the sequence, structure, and function of proteins. ESM3 can be used to generate new protein designs that would take millions of years to evolve in nature, and that can be realized through synthetic biology methods, the company says. Such proteins could be useful in environmental science and materials science. In 2024 ESM3 generated a new Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), a type of protein responsible for the glowing effect seen in jellyfish and the vibrant fluorescent colors of coral. As a result of its unique properties, GFP has become an important tool in molecular biology, helping scientists to see molecules inside cells. EvolutionaryScale also published a paper in Nature that detailed how a team of scientists utilized a variant model called ESMFold to unveil deep and distant evolutionary relationships within the flavivirus family, which includes viruses such as hepatitis C, dengue, and Zika. In 2024 the company raised a $142 million round from noted AI investors Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, along with Lux Capital, Amazon, and Nvidiz’s venture capital arm, and others.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

Business
Chemicals
Culture

The most innovative companies in manufacturing for 2025

Advances in manufacturing (faster, cheaper, smarter) don’t always result from one big technological breakthrough: Much of the work of innovation involves building on what people have accomplished before.By taking advantage of improvements in sensing hardware and software analytics capabilities, Blackline has built a better toolkit for detecting hazardous gases in industrial workplaces. In much the same way, Kraft Heinz has enlisted machine-vision systems and digital-twin modeling to improve quality and throughput in its vegetable-ingredient supply chain.Stratasys and Ursa Major, meanwhile, have leveraged advances in additive manufacturing to make 3D printing scale up to such high-performance missions as building rocket engines and other spacecraft components—both areas in which they have to square up against incumbents that have had lengthy head starts.Building an online-marketplace platform with software and services isn’t new, but Gelato and Keychain have taken that concept to the businesses of on-demand printing and consumer packaged goods. In each of those markets, suppliers face the problem of being relatively invisible to potential customers, and the platforms these two startups have launched can help remedy that imbalance. Of course, some innovation has to come in-house. Both P2 Science and HT Materials Science have drawn on their own inventions in chemistry to create cleaner and greener cosmetics and to make heating and air-conditioning systems more efficient and less thirsty for water. And since HT counts factories among its clients, future occupants of this list may rank among the beneficiaries of its work.1. Dirtt Environmental SolutionsFor customizing offsite modular constructionBased in Alberta, Canada, Dirtt Environmental Solutions creates custom interiors for commercial facilities in various sectors. Dirtt has introduced innovative smart-manufacturing processes and project-management tools that set new standards for the offsite modular-construction industry. Working with design firm Gensler, the company delivered a flexible workspace for Google’s new 1-million-square-foot headquarters in New York City, which opened in February 2024. The design allows teams to customize their own office area, easily transforming a large conference room into multiple smaller offices, for example. In November, Dirtt introduced COVE (Clinical Observation Vertical Exam). Designed for the healthcare industry, the prefabricated treatment area is half the size of a traditional examination room, increasing the number of nonemergency patients who can be examined. This past year Dirtt also released a dozen significant upgrades to its ever-evolving core platform, ICE, which enables clients, architects, designers, and contractors a cloud-based view of projects to collaborate and make changes in real time. One of the upgrades is Material Tracking and Optimization, which can identify when leftover material can be used elsewhere in a project, leading to a 4% yield improvement in materials reuse so far. Dirtt saw profitability increase more than 37% year-over-year through the first three quarters of 2024.2. P2 ScienceFor making cosmetic ingredients more beautifulThe cosmetics industry can look ugly in its reliance on fossil-fuel by-products and other unsustainable ingredients, but P2 Science, a green chemistry company, is working to give it more than a glow-up with a line of plant-centered ingredients. In September 2024, P2 launched two new liquid polymers, Citropol DE-4 and Citropol V6, which are derived from upcycled forest terpenes (translation: natural by-products of pulp and paper manufacturing). Citropol DE-4 creates rich textures for use in skincare and haircare products, replacing less-sustainable petrochemical compounds or oils derived from coconuts or palm leaves. Citropol V6 enhances product “spreadability” with a nongreasy feel and replaces the synthetic compound cyclomethicone, which some studies have linked to reproductive problems. The company’s custom-designed PICE (Process Intensified Continuous Etherification) bioreactor production line at its manufacturing site in Connecticut runs on 100% renewable energy, and P2 says it can double output in 12 weeks at moderate costs when necessary. P2 projects that it will see 175% revenue growth in 2024 compared to 2023. and as of September 2024, counts more than 100 launches of products with P2 components from 90 brands (including Living Proof, BASF, and Chanel) in 25 countries.3. KeychainFor harnessing AI to help CPG brands find the right manufacturing partnersFor consumer packaged goods companies, the road from new product idea to store shelf is torturous. The process traditionally has taken anywhere from a few months (for an extension of an established product) to a few years (for entirely new products that may require special manufacturing equipment.) At a time when socially amplified consumer trends are shifty and supply chains sometimes dicey, Keychain expedites the product-development process with a comprehensive database of 24,000-plus vetted manufacturing partners across 40 product categories. Brands can quickly identify qualified manufacturers capable of complying with increasingly complex food rules, such as zero-gluten requirements, limits on sugar or other ingredients, or allergen-free production. The unique AI-powered platform provides real-time insights on production availability, schedules, and costs. Founded in August 2023, Keychain launched in February 2024 and has been adopted by such notable brands as Cadbury, Hersey’s, Utz, and Dr. Pepper. The service is free for brands and retailers; manufacturers can also have a free basic profile but pay Keychain an annual subscription that ranges from $5,000 to $100,000 for a more robust presence on the platform. In November 2024, Keychain announced that brands had submitted more than $200 million worth of projects to the platform in the previous month. That same month, the company closed a $15 million round of financing with investors that included General Mills and Schreiber Foods.4. Blackline SafetyFor protecting industrial workers from hazardous gasesAccording to the AFL-CIO, hazardous workplaces kill or disable 125,000 American workers every year. Hazardous gases pose a significant source of danger in many industries, especially oil and gas, manufacturing, and construction. Blackline makes fixed and portable devices that provide on-the-spot, real-time measurements of hazardous gases such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, methane, and ammonia in industrial and other workplaces. In September 2024, Blackline released its EXO 8 monitor, a rugged 27-pound device about the size of a cinderblock that can be mounted on a tripod or even set on the ground to monitor air quality with an automated setup process that doesn’t require human-tended calibration. It features real-time cloud connectivity via 4G or 5G wireless as well as the option of satellite uplink through an add-on module. The device can be loaded with sensors for eight different hazardous gases and features a gamma-radiation sensor that offers three times the range of competing devices. Blackline says it has 2,200 customers across 75 countries—with a “net dollar retention” of 128%, meaning these customers are spending more than their initial outlay to expand their use of Blackline’s offerings. The company has achieved 30 consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth, and in September it was named by the Globe and Mail as one of Canada’s top growth companies for the sixth consecutive year.5. HT Materials ScienceFor identifying an additive that makes HVAC systems more efficientThe digital revolution giveth, and the digital revolution taketh away: On the one hand, smart technologies are improving energy efficiency; on the other, data centers and crypto-mining operations and fulfillment operations consume a massive and growing amount of energy that’s expected to double by 2030. About 40% of that consumption is attributable to energy required to keep operations cool. Dublin-based startup HT Materials Science doesn’t make heating/ventilation/air-conditioning systems, but it does make the HVAC hardware already installed at commercial and industrial sites significantly more efficient. The company accomplishes this with its proprietary drop-in additive called Maxwell, which suspends microscopic particles of aluminum oxide in water or a mixture of water and glycol to improve heat transfer. Adding just a tiny bit to an HVAC system’s water or water-glycol mix helps juice efficiency by up to 20%. HTMS has strategic partnerships with a number of prominent companies, including Regeneron, Johnson & Johnson, and Saudi Aramco, and in May 2024 it was accepted into Amazon’s Sustainability Accelerator to deploy Maxwell at a trio of fulfillment centers in the U.K. With support of the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova, the company is also developing a data-center coolant based on graphene to increase efficiency in those power-hungry, heat-intensive facilities.6. StratasysFor speeding up 3D printingMinnesota-based Stratasys has been a key player in the additive manufacturing industry for decades, and its origins can be traced to a frog. In 1988, Scott Crump created a toy frog for his daughter using a glue gun with a mixture of polyethylene and candle wax. It’s unclear how much the frog inspired the little girl, but the process inspired Crump to devise the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology that would later revolutionize 3D printing. Crump and his wife founded Stratasys in 1989 to commercialize FDM and grew the company into a leader in the polymer 3D printing market. Near the end of 2023, Stratasys introduced the F3300 FDM 3D Printer, capable of printing up to twice as fast as previous printers while reducing materials and labor costs by about 45%. It has since been adopted by Toyota, BAE, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2024, the company add the Origin Two printer, optimized for short-run production, and launched a project with Northrop Grumman to test 3D printing on the moon. And in March 2024, Stratasys also established a first-of-its-kind Industrial Customer Advisory Board, whose 12 members include Boeing, Toyota, and TE Connectivity, to guide its development of additive manufacturing technologies in such areas as sustainability, quality and reliability, and data characterization. The company has obstacles to overcome—its third-quarter earnings saw narrowing losses but also news of a 15% reduction in employees—but the company looks well positioned to capitalize on growing adoption of additive manufacturing across numerous industries.7. Kraft HeinzFor redefining the food industry supply chain to reduce waste and forecast demandCompanies don’t thrive for more than a century without evolving with technology. Henry James Heinz founded his “catsup” company in 1876; the J.L. Kraft and Bros Company began selling cheese door-to-door in Chicago in 1909. After the two giants merged in 2015, Kraft Heinz began automating its supply-chain management system. Those enhancements helped Kraft Heinz weather COVID-19 supply chain chaos, but the pandemic revealed the risks that upstream disruptions continue to pose for procurement of ingredients and packaging materials. Since 2022, Kraft Heinz has been working to put software smarts to work across its food supply chain through a variety of initiatives: Lighthouse, a software stack to eyeball supply-chain metrics; Connected Worker, a digital platform to process and integrate insights from the company’s factories; and Digital Twin, software to model production processes in real time to watch for efficiency shortfalls and find opportunities for improvement. The combination of these projects has yielded impressive results, Kraft Heinz says: a 40% reduction in supply-chain waste (8.5% in 2024 alone), a 20% increase in sales-forecast accuracy coupled with a 35% increase in inventory-forecast accuracy, and a 6% product-yield improvement across North American factories. In 2024, the company added an AI-powered computer vision system to assess ingredient quality, which has already yielded a 12% increase in the efficiency of inspecting cucumbers on their way to pickling. Combined with other operational improvements, Kraft Heinz says this work has yielded more than $1.1 billion in gross efficiencies from 2023 through the third quarter of 2024.8. PellaFor inventing a safer way to install windowsPella has been making windows and doors for 99 years, but it wasn’t until 2024 that the privately held company pivoted to a new way to build windows and have them attached. Its Steady Set windows are built to be installed from the inside of a structure rather than the outside. That was something that 85% of window installers said they wanted, Pella representatives realized from going to job sites to watch and learn. The obvious upside for construction crews is that they can fit a window while standing on a floor indoors instead of on a ladder outdoors—Pella reports that crews installing Steady Set windows have 74% less ladder work and spend up to 72% less time outdoors. But Steady Set windows can also be installed more than three times faster than traditional outside-fit windows. And many windows are small enough that a single worker can put it into place, rather than the two workers typically required. Steady Set won a Best of IBS prize at the 2024 International Builders’ Show, and since its debut there last February, the company reports that 15% of new-construction wood window projects have now adopted Steady Set. The company estimates 2024 revenue to reach $2.2 billion, a 10% jump from 2023, and Pella’s workforce has shown year-over-year growth of 6%.9. Ursa Major TechnologiesFor building rocket engines via additive manufacturingUrsa Major is targeting a simple problem: Rockets take much longer to build than they do to fly, especially when military applications are involved and conflict demands the rapid expenditure of missiles. To speed up manufacturing times, the company is leveraging additive-manufacturing techniques. Its Lynx production system allows quick 3D printing of parts for the solid rocket motors used in such munitions as anti-tank weapons—and also enables swift shifts from building one type of solid rocket motor (SRM) to another. Lynx can churn out parts fast enough to restore U.S. defense stocks that have been drawn down by aid deliveries to Ukraine; for example, one Lynx cell can print 1,600 solid-rocket motor casings for anti-tank weapons a year, more than three-quarters of the DOD’s surge-production rate for the Javelin anti-tank missile.The U.S. Navy was impressed enough to sign a $12.5 million contract with Ursa Major in September 2024 to develop three SRM prototypes and then further develop Lynx. And 2024 also saw Ursa Major’s liquid-fueled rocket efforts notch notable achievements: Its Hadley engine, built for hypersonic applications, had its first flight on Stratolaunch’s Talon TA-1 vehicle, and its Draper engine had its first ground-based “hot fire” test less than 12 months after the start of that project.10. GelatoFor facilitating customized ecommerce for online creatorsThe creator economy has grown into a $250 billion global industry that could exceed half a trillion dollars by 2027. Once associated mainly with content creators, the sector has expanded to include artisans and micro-businesses that produce physical objects for sale. But very often these online businesses cater to far-flung audiences that may not be located anywhere near printing services that can fulfill the custom orders that drive this part of the economy. Gelato has built the world’s largest network—spanning 32 countries—for local production and distribution of customized products. In March 2024, the Oslo-based company introduced GelatoConnect, an enterprise software platform that helps digital printers capitalize on the burgeoning creator market while simultaneously expanding access to printing for creators. It streamlines workflows for printers by automating the production process while integrating procurement, production, and logistics into a single platform. A study by McKinsey supported Gelato’s claims that the platform will typically increase profit margins for printers by 3% to 7%—some companies that have adopted GelatoConnect cite efficiency gains of up to 25%. In the third quarter of 2024, seven major U.S.-based digital printers (the Anstadt Company, Bennett Graphics, CBiPrint, DPI Direct, GSB Digital, Hudson Printing Company, and Quantum Group) deployed the platform. To date, the private company has raised more than $284 million from a number for venture groups, including DN Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Insight Partners.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

Advances in manufacturing (faster, cheaper, smarter) don’t always result from one big technological breakthrough: Much of the work of innovation involves building on what people have accomplished before.By taking advantage of improvements in sensing hardware and software analytics capabilities, Blackline has built a better toolkit for detecting hazardous gases in industrial workplaces. In much the same way, Kraft Heinz has enlisted machine-vision systems and digital-twin modeling to improve quality and throughput in its vegetable-ingredient supply chain.Stratasys and Ursa Major, meanwhile, have leveraged advances in additive manufacturing to make 3D printing scale up to such high-performance missions as building rocket engines and other spacecraft components—both areas in which they have to square up against incumbents that have had lengthy head starts.Building an online-marketplace platform with software and services isn’t new, but Gelato and Keychain have taken that concept to the businesses of on-demand printing and consumer packaged goods. In each of those markets, suppliers face the problem of being relatively invisible to potential customers, and the platforms these two startups have launched can help remedy that imbalance. Of course, some innovation has to come in-house. Both P2 Science and HT Materials Science have drawn on their own inventions in chemistry to create cleaner and greener cosmetics and to make heating and air-conditioning systems more efficient and less thirsty for water. And since HT counts factories among its clients, future occupants of this list may rank among the beneficiaries of its work.1. Dirtt Environmental SolutionsFor customizing offsite modular constructionBased in Alberta, Canada, Dirtt Environmental Solutions creates custom interiors for commercial facilities in various sectors. Dirtt has introduced innovative smart-manufacturing processes and project-management tools that set new standards for the offsite modular-construction industry. Working with design firm Gensler, the company delivered a flexible workspace for Google’s new 1-million-square-foot headquarters in New York City, which opened in February 2024. The design allows teams to customize their own office area, easily transforming a large conference room into multiple smaller offices, for example. In November, Dirtt introduced COVE (Clinical Observation Vertical Exam). Designed for the healthcare industry, the prefabricated treatment area is half the size of a traditional examination room, increasing the number of nonemergency patients who can be examined. This past year Dirtt also released a dozen significant upgrades to its ever-evolving core platform, ICE, which enables clients, architects, designers, and contractors a cloud-based view of projects to collaborate and make changes in real time. One of the upgrades is Material Tracking and Optimization, which can identify when leftover material can be used elsewhere in a project, leading to a 4% yield improvement in materials reuse so far. Dirtt saw profitability increase more than 37% year-over-year through the first three quarters of 2024.2. P2 ScienceFor making cosmetic ingredients more beautifulThe cosmetics industry can look ugly in its reliance on fossil-fuel by-products and other unsustainable ingredients, but P2 Science, a green chemistry company, is working to give it more than a glow-up with a line of plant-centered ingredients. In September 2024, P2 launched two new liquid polymers, Citropol DE-4 and Citropol V6, which are derived from upcycled forest terpenes (translation: natural by-products of pulp and paper manufacturing). Citropol DE-4 creates rich textures for use in skincare and haircare products, replacing less-sustainable petrochemical compounds or oils derived from coconuts or palm leaves. Citropol V6 enhances product “spreadability” with a nongreasy feel and replaces the synthetic compound cyclomethicone, which some studies have linked to reproductive problems. The company’s custom-designed PICE (Process Intensified Continuous Etherification) bioreactor production line at its manufacturing site in Connecticut runs on 100% renewable energy, and P2 says it can double output in 12 weeks at moderate costs when necessary. P2 projects that it will see 175% revenue growth in 2024 compared to 2023. and as of September 2024, counts more than 100 launches of products with P2 components from 90 brands (including Living Proof, BASF, and Chanel) in 25 countries.3. KeychainFor harnessing AI to help CPG brands find the right manufacturing partnersFor consumer packaged goods companies, the road from new product idea to store shelf is torturous. The process traditionally has taken anywhere from a few months (for an extension of an established product) to a few years (for entirely new products that may require special manufacturing equipment.) At a time when socially amplified consumer trends are shifty and supply chains sometimes dicey, Keychain expedites the product-development process with a comprehensive database of 24,000-plus vetted manufacturing partners across 40 product categories. Brands can quickly identify qualified manufacturers capable of complying with increasingly complex food rules, such as zero-gluten requirements, limits on sugar or other ingredients, or allergen-free production. The unique AI-powered platform provides real-time insights on production availability, schedules, and costs. Founded in August 2023, Keychain launched in February 2024 and has been adopted by such notable brands as Cadbury, Hersey’s, Utz, and Dr. Pepper. The service is free for brands and retailers; manufacturers can also have a free basic profile but pay Keychain an annual subscription that ranges from $5,000 to $100,000 for a more robust presence on the platform. In November 2024, Keychain announced that brands had submitted more than $200 million worth of projects to the platform in the previous month. That same month, the company closed a $15 million round of financing with investors that included General Mills and Schreiber Foods.4. Blackline SafetyFor protecting industrial workers from hazardous gasesAccording to the AFL-CIO, hazardous workplaces kill or disable 125,000 American workers every year. Hazardous gases pose a significant source of danger in many industries, especially oil and gas, manufacturing, and construction. Blackline makes fixed and portable devices that provide on-the-spot, real-time measurements of hazardous gases such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, methane, and ammonia in industrial and other workplaces. In September 2024, Blackline released its EXO 8 monitor, a rugged 27-pound device about the size of a cinderblock that can be mounted on a tripod or even set on the ground to monitor air quality with an automated setup process that doesn’t require human-tended calibration. It features real-time cloud connectivity via 4G or 5G wireless as well as the option of satellite uplink through an add-on module. The device can be loaded with sensors for eight different hazardous gases and features a gamma-radiation sensor that offers three times the range of competing devices. Blackline says it has 2,200 customers across 75 countries—with a “net dollar retention” of 128%, meaning these customers are spending more than their initial outlay to expand their use of Blackline’s offerings. The company has achieved 30 consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth, and in September it was named by the Globe and Mail as one of Canada’s top growth companies for the sixth consecutive year.5. HT Materials ScienceFor identifying an additive that makes HVAC systems more efficientThe digital revolution giveth, and the digital revolution taketh away: On the one hand, smart technologies are improving energy efficiency; on the other, data centers and crypto-mining operations and fulfillment operations consume a massive and growing amount of energy that’s expected to double by 2030. About 40% of that consumption is attributable to energy required to keep operations cool. Dublin-based startup HT Materials Science doesn’t make heating/ventilation/air-conditioning systems, but it does make the HVAC hardware already installed at commercial and industrial sites significantly more efficient. The company accomplishes this with its proprietary drop-in additive called Maxwell, which suspends microscopic particles of aluminum oxide in water or a mixture of water and glycol to improve heat transfer. Adding just a tiny bit to an HVAC system’s water or water-glycol mix helps juice efficiency by up to 20%. HTMS has strategic partnerships with a number of prominent companies, including Regeneron, Johnson & Johnson, and Saudi Aramco, and in May 2024 it was accepted into Amazon’s Sustainability Accelerator to deploy Maxwell at a trio of fulfillment centers in the U.K. With support of the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova, the company is also developing a data-center coolant based on graphene to increase efficiency in those power-hungry, heat-intensive facilities.6. StratasysFor speeding up 3D printingMinnesota-based Stratasys has been a key player in the additive manufacturing industry for decades, and its origins can be traced to a frog. In 1988, Scott Crump created a toy frog for his daughter using a glue gun with a mixture of polyethylene and candle wax. It’s unclear how much the frog inspired the little girl, but the process inspired Crump to devise the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology that would later revolutionize 3D printing. Crump and his wife founded Stratasys in 1989 to commercialize FDM and grew the company into a leader in the polymer 3D printing market. Near the end of 2023, Stratasys introduced the F3300 FDM 3D Printer, capable of printing up to twice as fast as previous printers while reducing materials and labor costs by about 45%. It has since been adopted by Toyota, BAE, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2024, the company add the Origin Two printer, optimized for short-run production, and launched a project with Northrop Grumman to test 3D printing on the moon. And in March 2024, Stratasys also established a first-of-its-kind Industrial Customer Advisory Board, whose 12 members include Boeing, Toyota, and TE Connectivity, to guide its development of additive manufacturing technologies in such areas as sustainability, quality and reliability, and data characterization. The company has obstacles to overcome—its third-quarter earnings saw narrowing losses but also news of a 15% reduction in employees—but the company looks well positioned to capitalize on growing adoption of additive manufacturing across numerous industries.7. Kraft HeinzFor redefining the food industry supply chain to reduce waste and forecast demandCompanies don’t thrive for more than a century without evolving with technology. Henry James Heinz founded his “catsup” company in 1876; the J.L. Kraft and Bros Company began selling cheese door-to-door in Chicago in 1909. After the two giants merged in 2015, Kraft Heinz began automating its supply-chain management system. Those enhancements helped Kraft Heinz weather COVID-19 supply chain chaos, but the pandemic revealed the risks that upstream disruptions continue to pose for procurement of ingredients and packaging materials. Since 2022, Kraft Heinz has been working to put software smarts to work across its food supply chain through a variety of initiatives: Lighthouse, a software stack to eyeball supply-chain metrics; Connected Worker, a digital platform to process and integrate insights from the company’s factories; and Digital Twin, software to model production processes in real time to watch for efficiency shortfalls and find opportunities for improvement. The combination of these projects has yielded impressive results, Kraft Heinz says: a 40% reduction in supply-chain waste (8.5% in 2024 alone), a 20% increase in sales-forecast accuracy coupled with a 35% increase in inventory-forecast accuracy, and a 6% product-yield improvement across North American factories. In 2024, the company added an AI-powered computer vision system to assess ingredient quality, which has already yielded a 12% increase in the efficiency of inspecting cucumbers on their way to pickling. Combined with other operational improvements, Kraft Heinz says this work has yielded more than $1.1 billion in gross efficiencies from 2023 through the third quarter of 2024.8. PellaFor inventing a safer way to install windowsPella has been making windows and doors for 99 years, but it wasn’t until 2024 that the privately held company pivoted to a new way to build windows and have them attached. Its Steady Set windows are built to be installed from the inside of a structure rather than the outside. That was something that 85% of window installers said they wanted, Pella representatives realized from going to job sites to watch and learn. The obvious upside for construction crews is that they can fit a window while standing on a floor indoors instead of on a ladder outdoors—Pella reports that crews installing Steady Set windows have 74% less ladder work and spend up to 72% less time outdoors. But Steady Set windows can also be installed more than three times faster than traditional outside-fit windows. And many windows are small enough that a single worker can put it into place, rather than the two workers typically required. Steady Set won a Best of IBS prize at the 2024 International Builders’ Show, and since its debut there last February, the company reports that 15% of new-construction wood window projects have now adopted Steady Set. The company estimates 2024 revenue to reach $2.2 billion, a 10% jump from 2023, and Pella’s workforce has shown year-over-year growth of 6%.9. Ursa Major TechnologiesFor building rocket engines via additive manufacturingUrsa Major is targeting a simple problem: Rockets take much longer to build than they do to fly, especially when military applications are involved and conflict demands the rapid expenditure of missiles. To speed up manufacturing times, the company is leveraging additive-manufacturing techniques. Its Lynx production system allows quick 3D printing of parts for the solid rocket motors used in such munitions as anti-tank weapons—and also enables swift shifts from building one type of solid rocket motor (SRM) to another. Lynx can churn out parts fast enough to restore U.S. defense stocks that have been drawn down by aid deliveries to Ukraine; for example, one Lynx cell can print 1,600 solid-rocket motor casings for anti-tank weapons a year, more than three-quarters of the DOD’s surge-production rate for the Javelin anti-tank missile.The U.S. Navy was impressed enough to sign a $12.5 million contract with Ursa Major in September 2024 to develop three SRM prototypes and then further develop Lynx. And 2024 also saw Ursa Major’s liquid-fueled rocket efforts notch notable achievements: Its Hadley engine, built for hypersonic applications, had its first flight on Stratolaunch’s Talon TA-1 vehicle, and its Draper engine had its first ground-based “hot fire” test less than 12 months after the start of that project.10. GelatoFor facilitating customized ecommerce for online creatorsThe creator economy has grown into a $250 billion global industry that could exceed half a trillion dollars by 2027. Once associated mainly with content creators, the sector has expanded to include artisans and micro-businesses that produce physical objects for sale. But very often these online businesses cater to far-flung audiences that may not be located anywhere near printing services that can fulfill the custom orders that drive this part of the economy. Gelato has built the world’s largest network—spanning 32 countries—for local production and distribution of customized products. In March 2024, the Oslo-based company introduced GelatoConnect, an enterprise software platform that helps digital printers capitalize on the burgeoning creator market while simultaneously expanding access to printing for creators. It streamlines workflows for printers by automating the production process while integrating procurement, production, and logistics into a single platform. A study by McKinsey supported Gelato’s claims that the platform will typically increase profit margins for printers by 3% to 7%—some companies that have adopted GelatoConnect cite efficiency gains of up to 25%. In the third quarter of 2024, seven major U.S.-based digital printers (the Anstadt Company, Bennett Graphics, CBiPrint, DPI Direct, GSB Digital, Hudson Printing Company, and Quantum Group) deployed the platform. To date, the private company has raised more than $284 million from a number for venture groups, including DN Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Insight Partners.Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.

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Costa Rica Suspends Permits in Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge to Protect Environment

Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber ordered the suspension of all concessions and permits in the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area in Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean. The Court also suspended previously granted permits, aiming to prevent serious and irreparable environmental damage to the refuge’s maritime-terrestrial zone—a coastal area safeguarded under environmental laws. These precautionary measures […] The post Costa Rica Suspends Permits in Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge to Protect Environment appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber ordered the suspension of all concessions and permits in the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area in Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean. The Court also suspended previously granted permits, aiming to prevent serious and irreparable environmental damage to the refuge’s maritime-terrestrial zone—a coastal area safeguarded under environmental laws. These precautionary measures will remain in effect until case 2019-12745 (file 14-019174-0007-CO), filed by environmental advocates, is reviewed or until a new ruling is issued. The decision halts the issuance of new concessions and the execution of existing ones granted by the Municipality of Talamanca on 20.1 hectares of forested land within the refuge. It also nullifies Directive 09-2023 of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), which had redefined the refuge’s boundaries under Law No. 9223, in force since 2014. Additionally, the Court imposed a total moratorium on logging and forest harvesting permits by MINAE and the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), suspending even prior approvals like permit 011-2024-ACLAC-SLT, linked to businessman Allan Pacheco Dent. The Case The ruling stems from a legal battle involving Pacheco Dent, whose company, Playa Manzanillo S.A., owns two properties between Playa Grande and Punta Uva. Initially, Pacheco Dent sought permission from the Amistad-Caribe Conservation Area (ACLA-C) to cut 94 trees for a road as part of an urban development project. After this request was denied, a private forestry regent he hired submitted a new application to cut 29 trees in an area classified as “wooded pastures” and 50 more under a certificate of origin, claiming the land held a forest plantation rather than native forest. In February 2025, the Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Pacheco Dent and others for land-use change violations and offenses against natural resources, citing activities on properties within the refuge’s original boundaries—before Law 9223 excluded several hectares in 2014. The case highlights ongoing tensions over development in this ecologically sensitive region. The post Costa Rica Suspends Permits in Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge to Protect Environment appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Business
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Modern Nature

By 2050, 10 billion people may inhabit Earth. Do we need GMOs to Feed the World? Is organic production the answer? Modern Nature takes the viewer on a worldwide odyssey to find answers. Includes perspectives from philosopher Noam Chomsky, physicist Vandana Shiva and street farmer Ron Finley.

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The Custodians of the Andean Gold

In the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, more than 3 800 meters above sea level, live alpaca and vicunia breeders. Quechua and Aymara families protect their animals live off of the sale of the animals’ fiber. Gold mining is another activity that predates the Conquest and is widespread among families living in the border area between Peru and Bolivia. The difficult compatibility on the same territory of these two production activities increases the need for environmental protection and workers' rights. It has become indispensable to support producers so that this activity does not disappear with the migration of native peoples, abandoning traditions and animals.

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Let's talk about it! (International Politics is NOT a child's play)

The effects of the Human impact in the World can't be resolved through conflicts and wars. We need to talk about it!

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1948 and Counting

Reports on Costa Rica's ability to manage without a military since 1948, despite invasions based in Nicaragua. Addresses the role of private armies serving multinational corporations, and whether the country's civil guard is a military by another name. Places Costa Rica in the context of Central and Latin American populist struggles against US backed regimes in El Salvador, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras. Touches on the colonial history and explores whether Costa Rica depends on US military backing, and whether it is able to maintain independence from the US.

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Wake Up People!

Environmental activists have been camping in Sodros for more than four months with the purpose of stopping the trees from being cut down. In the past few days Chinese company CRBC workers have been showing up at the site accompanied by the police and gendarmerie forces. The activists have been requesting to see the permits and the documentation for the work they are planning to conduct from the CRBC workers. The CRBC workers haven’t shown any of the permits. Also, the work has begun without a construction board being clearly visible, which is mandatory by law.

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