Inhoudsopgave van Spring 2023 - Fast Company

BACK IN AUGUST 2019, THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE, A 50-year-old consortium of CEOs, announced a world-changing idea. “Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity,” the statement began. Signed by 181 CEOs, it went on to redefine the purpose of a corporation as serving not just shareholders but all stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers, and communities. “We believe the free-market system is the best means of generating good jobs, a strong and sustainable economy, innovation, a healthy environment, and economic opportunity for all,” it proclaimed. The statement sent ripples through the corporate establishment, but the ideas behind it were hardly unique to this group, or all that new. What was significant was that these leaders, in…

ON A DREARY FEBRUARY DAY IN NEW York City, the Queens-based fashion designer Telfar Clemens is 3,000 miles away, sitting in a thatched-roof bungalow overlooking a beach in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Escondido. Beside him, his business partner and co-creative director, Babak Radboy, is wearing a faded orange tee and round wire glasses, rolling a cigarette. Clemens himself is shirtless, wearing a gold necklace and black shorts, both emblazoned with his brand's logo, a T encircled by a C. The pair look cozy together. “My Wikipedia page used to say that Babak and I were a couple, and that we had a son together,” Clemens recalls, laughing. (Radboy is actually married to Telfar's stylist, Avena Gallagher, and their 8-year-old son, Malcolm, sits behind him playing a video game.)…

Companies today face increased scrutiny—from cus tomers, investors, media, and regulatory agencies—on their approaches to environments I, social, and governance (ESG) issues. But meaningful data, the kind that can shape strategies, has long been hard to find. Clarity Al—a global technology plat form with a focus on sustainability—has changed such thinking. Harnessing machine learning and artificial intel ligence to collect and analyze huge volumes of data, the firm, headquar tered in New York City, can present a detailed and customizable sustainabil ity picture of a company, investment funds, or even, in some cases, a govern ment. This groundbreaking approach has earned Clarity Al a place on Fast Company's 2023 list of the world's Most Innovative Companies. Angel Agudo, Clarity Al's vice president of product, shares his insights on how the…

Semiconductors are tiny but essential components in our daily lives, making possiblethe electronic wizardry found in everything from smartphones and cars to medical devices and military equipment. But the global share of semiconductors manufactured in the United States has fallen from 37% in 1990 to just 12% today. Purdue University wants to reestablish the U.S, among the global leaders in this increasingly critical industry. The esteemed public research institution, with its main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana, launched its Semiconductor Degrees Program in May 2022. This suite of degrees and credentials represents the country's first large-scale interdisciplinary program designed specifically to train the next generation of semiconductor engineers—and has earned Purdue a place among Fast Company‘s list of the world's Most Innovative Companies for 2023. New Purdue president Mung Chiang…

THESE ADDITIONAL WINNERS AND ALL THE FINALISTS WERE SELECTED BY FAST COMPANY EDITORS. WORLD-CHANGING COMPANY OF THE YEAR Dell Technologies A series of projects including solar-powered shipping containers that bring digital tools to the developing world, and a laptop designed to be easily disassembled and repaired or recycled ADVERTISING Native Sportscasters We Believers and Corona A campaign to broadcast Mexico's World Cup soccer games in six native languages AGRICULTURE Plant-grown dairy proteins Nobell Foods A new technique that grows a dairy protein in soybeans to make ultra realistic plant-based cheese AI AND DATA Automated Damage Identification Service Scale AI A free AI tool to automatically detect new damage to buildings in Ukraine APPS Match Group and Garbo Partnership Match Group and Garbo A program allowing online daters to access background…

The very first home movies were captured with 8mm and Super 8 cameras—which is to say, on actual celluloid film. Home recordings then had a huge surge in growth fueled by videotape used in any one of several popular formats, including VHS, Hi-8, and MiniDV. Today, of course, everything is digital, frequently shot and viewed on our smartphones. And the movies from our past—reels of film and VHS tapes holding countless hours of memories—sit boxed up in basements and attics. iMemories—a cloud-based streaming service—can help rescuethase treasured moments and preserve them far new generations. Founded in 2005, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company is popular with users who send theirtapes and films (in sturdy packaging] to be digitized [and later returned] and have these memories saved in the cloud [to be viewed…

GO TO JUST ABOUT ANY fast-food restaurant in the late morning, and you'll see older adults enjoying a cup of coffee with friends. Head there in the late afternoon, and you'll encounter teens getting into (just a little) mischief after school. These scenes exist because our fast-food restaurants are more than a place to grab an inexpensive bite. They're social necessities. But that's not the case in Fort Worth, Texas, where a high-tech new McDonald's will take your order via an app and deliver your fries via a conveyor belt. What it won't do? Provide you with a chair, a table, or even access to a bathroom. The café includes only a kitchen, a counter and kiosks for ordering, and two drivethrough lanes. The McDonald's store is a prototype of…

It's one thing for a company to make a commitment to sustainability. To actually make lasting positive impacts— especially when said company must tame significant environmental footprints and high operational costs—is another thing altogether. Western Digital decided that an innovative rethinking of its processes could yield long-term benefits to both planet and company. “We're a relatively conservative company,” says Josh Parker, senior director of corporate sustainability at Western Digital. “We only want to make commitments if we have a very high confidence we're going to be able to achieve them.” In 2021, the leadership team of the San Jose-based data storage company made an ambitious decarbonization commitment. Today, that commitment has yielded a nearly 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—while sustainability continues to inform the revamping of its global manufacturing…

FOR TOKYO-BORN HIROKI KOGA, THE IDEA TO SELL HIGH end strawberries stemmed from a case of homesickness. After getting an MBA in the United States, Koga got the idea to re create the fruit he remembered eating on special occasions as a boy. He started cold-calling chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants to get their support for his product. Eventually, he raised $50 million to set up Oishii's vertical farming operations, in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2019. What's your best habit, and your worst? I'm in bed by 9 p.m. and up by 5 a.m., then I get on the tread mill; running is my meditation. My bad habit is that I have a sweet tooth and when I find a new sweet treat, I can't stop thinking about it. Right…

Cheeto starts as cornmeal thats then mixed with water to create a batter. The batter moves through a small tube into a machnine called an extruder, EXPOSING THE CORNMEAL MIXTURE to extreme heat and pressure that forces it to pop into that familiar Cheeto shape. From there, the Cheeto moves to the fryer, giving it that crucial crunch. It's then slathered with cheese powder and spices, bagged, boxed, and delivered to store shelves. Of course, that leaves out an important step: the magic dust, which is sprinkled on by marketing and advertising executives. The PepsiCo-owned Frito-Lay has spent hundreds of millions of dollars figuring out how to position Flamin’ Hot Cheetos—and it's worked. The brand has become an edible meme and a full-on phenomenon, ubiquitous from grocery stores to tween…

In 2022, producers of the NBC reality-competition show American Song Contest were faced wi th the huge (and costly) task of filming contestant stor ies in all 50 states, along with five U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. A project like this would typically involve flying a production team around the country, while wrestling with sprawling budgets, long lead times, and weeks on the road for the crew. Instead, NBC turned to Hometeam, a content-production company founded by Brandon Bloch, Harrison Winter, and Lagan Sebert in 2020. While other production companies pressed pause during the pandemic, the Hometeam founders—who met in Brooklyn but now lead a globally distributed remote team—had the idea of putting to use their relat ionships with filmmakers around the globe. “We had this aha moment,” Bloch says.…

The GameChanger smartphone app, first released for iOS in 2009, was created with a simple goal: to make life easier for youth baseball coaches tasked with recording the myriad facets, [e.g., pitches, hits, fielding] of every game. Since then, the app has evolved into a sophisticated technology platform in an expanding number of sports, offering coaches, parents, and athletes new ways to compile data, share experiences, and celebrate accomplishments. More recently, the New York-based technology company, which was purchased by Dick's Sporting Goods in 2016, has added video streaming and AI-powered services [while forging partnerships with leading U.S. youth sport leagues]—the kind of forward thinking that has earned GameChanger a spot among Fast Company's list of the world's Most Innovative Companies. Mere, president Sameer Ahuja discusses how GameChanger has grown—and…

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the lethality of drones—or what the U.S. Department of Defense calls “unmanned aircraft systems” [UAS]-on the modern battlefield. Soldiers have few defenses against these small, fast, and agile threats—and almost none against vast swarms. Epirus, a technology company that takes its name from a mythological bow, has recently demonstrated the effectiveness of using powerful bursts of high-power microwave energyto bring down large numbers of drones. The Torrance, California-based company brought its industry-leading knowledge of power management to their Leonidas anti-drone systems. The huge electricity requirements of high-power microwaves [as well as lasers, the other so-called directed-energy weapon] used to involve bulky gear that made portability difficult. Epirus uses its proprietary Al-powered technology to direct energy with a precision once unimaginable. With this increased efficiency,…

Genetic diseases—which include cancers, cystic fibrosis, and hemophilia—claim tens of thousands of lives each year and inflict immeasurable anguish on families and loved ones. And while most companies continue research into improved treatments, biotech firm Metagenomi is applying cutting-edge technologies to look for cures. Founded by pioneers in the field of metagenomics, the Emeryville, California– based firm is developing a suite of next-generation gene editing tools based on the science that also inspired the company name. M etagenomics is the study of genetic samples recovered from a wide range of natural environments— particularly those rich in microbes—that can be leveraged for discovering and developing novel gene editing technologies. Creating an industry-leading toolbox of gene-editing systems that can be tailored to correct a wide range of disease-causing genes has earned Metagenomi…

For more than 40 years, BAL has helped client companies and their employees navigate the complex labyrinth of corporate immigration laws. The pandemic—and a rash of hastily applied travel bans, workauthorization restriction s, and regulatory changes—gave their ef for ts a heightened urgency. The Dallas-based legal firm's single cost center operating model and proven case-management plat form have already positively impacted the immigration journey of nearly two million people from almost every country in the world. This culture of innovation that allows for quick pivots—as well as changes with lasting impact—has earned BAL a place among Fast Company's 2023 list of the World's Most Innovative companies. Here, BAL CEO Jeremy Fudge discusses the technologies that are helping the firm grow—and how streamlining processes are shaping its future. 1 How did…

Until recently, banks charged their customers billions of dol lars in overdraft fees. These fees—which had a devastating impact on low-income households—were a huge source of revenue for larger financial institutions. Ally Financial, a financial services company with the nation's largest all-digital bank and an industry-leading auto financing busi ness, decided that collecting these fees wasn't worth the impact they had on the economically vulnerable. And in 2020, FDIC member Ally Bank eliminated overdraft fees on all accounts. This industry-first reversal (that inspired other banks to follow)—and the com pany's continuing focus on promoting financial equity—has earned Allya place on Fast Company's list of the world's Most Innovative Companies. Below, Ally chief marketing and pub lic relations officer Andrea Brimmer explains how the elimination of overdraft fees fits into the…

ON THE EIGHTH AND ninth floors of a pristine building in a research park in Salt Lake City, employees in gray uniforms tread under gold light fixtures, past abstract artwork, and around plush couches in the waiting area where they check patients in. This isn't a high-end spa, though the gentle intake process was designed to mimic exactly that kind of environment. It's the Metrodora Institute, a $35 million clinic and research facility cofounded last year by Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Metrodora is dedicated to treating women with neuroimmune axis disorders: diseases including endometriosis, GuillainBarre syndrome, long COVID, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and more, in which the immune system appears to attack the nervous system. It opened to the public in March, and by the end of the year it expects…

THEY'RE FIGHTING BACKAND IT'S WORKING. “WHEN DO THE HUMAN RIGHTS tribunals begin for … Larry Fink?” Jason Isaac asks the standing-room-only audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's annual summit. Isaac, who's the director of the conservative think tank's Life:Powered initiative, which evangelizes that greater access to fossil fuels will solve world poverty, is holding court during a panel titled “ESG = Everyone's Suffering Guaranteed” and singling out the chairman and CEO of $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock. For years, Fink and his company have encouraged businesses to embrace a “sense of purpose” beyond making money for shareholders, and to consider how climate change could affect their potential for growth, in the belief it'll help BlackRock's millions of customers accumulate wealth for retirement. But to Isaac, “the policies they're pushing…

FOOD EGG WHITES CAN EXPAND SIX to eight times in volume when whisked or whipped, and they help to bind ingredients together. They make our foods fluffy, foamy, or even sticky. Those functionalities are a product of specific proteins-the most abundant of which is called ovalbumin—which can't easily be replicated with plant-based alternatives. Ovalbumin is “one of nature's wonders,” says Maija It konen, CEO of biotech company Onego Bio. But eggs are also, she notes, rife with environmental and ethical issues: Cage-free hens account for just 34% of all egg-laying flocks, and though responsible for fewer emissions than proteins like beef, 86% of eggs are still produced in carbon-intense industrial-farm settings, totaling some 200-plus million metric tons of CO2 each year. Onego Bio, which launched in February 2022 after it…

WORLD-CHANGING COMPANY OF THE YEAR Fuseproject GAF PepsiCo Salesforce Siemens UNICEF USA GENERAL EXCELLENCE Carbon Insetting Program Organic Valley Cool Community Project GAF ElectrifyNYC City of New York Expansion of paid apprenticeship program Bitwise Industries GoVoteGA Empowrd app ProGeorgia Medtronic Labs Medtronic nuGen zero-emission mining truck First Mode Passive cooling cart for street vendors Trane Technologies T7X, all-electric front loader Bobcat Turning plastic into building materials CRDC Global The World's Whitest Paint Purdue University ADVERTISING Real Deal on Fentanyl Joan Creative and the Ad Council Regen Fries McCain and Gravity Road AGRICULTURE Bioalbumen, an animal-free egg white Onego Bio BioTrim Trendi Carbon credits for rice growers Orbia Enzymes that reduce fertilizer use Elemental Enzymes Hyperlocal food sourcing Big Wheelbarrow Ponova Terviva AI AND DATA Frontier Hewlett Packard Enterprise Fully homomorphic…