In the Business of Innovation: Six Companies that are Making Headway in Tech

With technology bounding ahead at full steam, it is only fair to assume that the driving power behind such advances is simple innovation. At the head of this explosion are countless companies employing incredible ways to keep pushing the boundaries of our current limitations.

Samsung

Operating in Silicon Valley, Samsung’s Open Innovation Center is solely dedicated to working with software startups, providing them everything they need to get started and succeed. Other giants are pushing hardware, but Samsung understands that the programs are what give these devices life.

Kickstarter

An innovative idea in its own right, Kickstarter is the most successful crowdfunding platform to date. Aside from this, it gives potentially revolutionary inventions and ideas access to a means of funding that they would not have otherwise. Some of the most successful ideas have earned millions in funding.

Google Glass

Google has long since been heralded as a leader of pushing the envelope technologically. With their latest release, Glass is being used to develop crowdsourced internet connections no matter where you are. Applications are also being developed to task users with real world problems, employing the masses to fix various issues in the world.

GE

Their Ecoimagination Challenge is unique in that it combines innovation with ecological responsibility. Already having earned $25 million in 2012, the program is well on its way to supporting ideas that will help us progress in a way that does not harm the environment any further.

Hudson Robotics

Advancing the abilities of laboratories, Hudson has developed microplate handling robots that move SBS-footprint plates, negating the risk of incorrect human handling. In addition, these Hudson robots are designed to be compatible with third-party instruments, making them ideal for all types of work no matter the complexity.

HubSpot

Still growing at a tremendous rate, HubSpot is debatably more innovative for its corporate structure than it is for its inventions. The company is completely flat and is led by “mini-CEOs” who are not afraid to embrace change. There is also no vacation policy and they have a completely transparent culture.

Innovation comes in all forms. While most see it as a means by which technology advances, this is not always the case. Pushing the envelope of one aspect of society means having to push all aspects. Little by little, companies are coming to embrace and test new states of being that are radically changing the landscape of the future.