Category: Tech

The 10 most innovative companies in robotics

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Robotics and automation have already transformed how certain industries work, like the auto industry. But the technology is still being realized in many other sectors, and some of those businesses–like retail, food, and healthcare–became more reliant on automation and robotics during the pandemic. That change is likely permanent. The fact is that there are still many, many jobs that machines can do better than humans. The companies on this year’s list not only have great technology, but they’re applying it in ways that make a difference. 1. DroneSeed For replanting fire-ravaged forests We’ve just seen the worst wildfire season on record in the United States, resulting in more than 8 million acres of land burned. On average, the world loses 18.8 million acres of forest to fires every year. Getting all that forest replanted and back to converting carbon dioxide is crucial to the environment, but in practice, it’s a costly and slow process. Seattle-based DroneSeed uses swarms of large, proprietary drones to carry seeds to burned areas and plant them in spots where they’re most likely to grow well. The seeds are delivered in “vessels” designed to keep the seed hydrated and protected from animals. The company says that it’s seen its contracts jump well into the six figures this year, and it’s now working with the Nature Conservancy and three of the five largest timber companies. Read More …

The 10 most innovative security companies of 2021

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With so many people working from home on their personal devices during the coronavirus pandemic, cybersecurity has gotten more important than ever. Security companies have developed new ways to protect people from malicious activity on their phones and computers—even when they’re on their own—by detecting phishing messages, political misinformation, denial-of-service attacks, and other types of cyberattacks. They’ve also come up with new techniques to help stop fraud by confirming that people are who they say they are without relying so much on passwords and centralized databases that can themselves be targets for criminals. And they’ve built new systems for securing people’s most sensitive business data, whether it needs to be accessible on corporate servers or on individual employee cellphones. Camille François , Chief innovation officer at Graphika. [Photo: Taylor Kay Johnson ] 1. Graphika For tracking disinformation campaigns around the world through the 2020 elections and beyond Researchers at the social network analysis company Graphika made a name for themselves in 2020 by reporting suspected Russian operations targeting conservative voters before the U.S. presidential election, flagging Chinese state efforts targeting Taiwan, and discovering global misinformation around COVID-19. Working with competing companies—including Facebook, Google, and Twitter—helps Graphika spot deceptive activities that aren’t limited to just one site and get posts taken down, rooting out online disinformation. For more on why Graphika is a 2021 Most Innovative Company, click here .  2. Identiq For using cryptography to allow companies to vouch for users without sharing personal data Identiq lets companies verify that new customers are who they claim to be based on digital references from other companies in its network. It has developed cryptographic tools to let companies confirm they’re talking about the same person without having to actually share any data with Identiq or even with each other, meaning fewer opportunities for data breaches or privacy violations. Because data comes from partner businesses’ own systems, it can essentially be kept permanently up to date. For the system to work, Identiq needs a critical mass of business, and a May 2020 virtual summit brought praise from companies like transportation booking company Gett, gift card and payment tech company Blackhawk Network, and international payment company PayU. 3. ZecOps For spotting the hacks that can cause apps to crash—on iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux ZecOps makes automated software that spots when apps crash on computers and phones, then tries to find out what went wrong Read More …

The 10 most innovative companies in media

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As the media industry was rocked by the pandemic in 2020, companies were forced to quickly come up with creative ways to make and distribute content, as well as keep audiences united during a socially divisive time. These companies led the way on those fronts and more. 1. SpringHill Company For marrying entertainment with social justice through Hollywood content LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s marketing and entertainment company has an unapologetic agenda: to make and distribute content that will give a voice to creators and consumers who have been pandered to, ignored, or underserved. Its commitment to this community hasn’t wavered as the company significantly scaled into a content creation powerhouse and raised $100 million in 2020. It was a producer of the Netflix limited series Self-Made , starring Octavia Spencer as Madam C.J. Walker, the Black creator of an early-20th-century beauty empire; and the documentary series The Playbook about legendary coaches, also on Netflix. SpringHill Company also backed James’ More than a Vote initiative to boost voter turnout, and created animated shorts and other digital media to educate and inspire people to get involved in the Presidential election. More content is on the way thanks to a blizzard of new deals with Amazon, Disney, Universal, CNN, Sirius, and more. 2 Read More …

The 10 most innovative Asia-Pacific companies of 2021

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While China remains a powerhouse of innovation in Asia-Pacific—both Tencent and the Alibaba-backed cold-chain logistics startup Cainiao are on our list—companies across the region found game-changing solutions to difficult problems. South Korea’s Seegene helped the world diagnose the novel coronavirus quickly and effectively. India’s MilkMantra allowed the country’s small-scale dairy farmers to bring their products to market, while ensuring quality control. And Australia’s ProAgni has cleaned up the food chain by developing antibiotic-free supplement for cattle and sheep. Read on for more of this year’s best in Asia-Pacific. 1. Seegene For producing a COVID-19 diagnostic test and taking it global, sending more than 55 million test kits to 67 countries The biotech company built a molecular diagnostic test for the COVID-19 virus, which helped South Korea contain the virus in the spring of 2020: 80% of South Korean COVID tests taken in April were made by Seegene. As the coronavirus spread, the company went global, sending over 55 million test kits to 67 countries. 2. Milk Mantra For partnering with USAID to launch an initiative that lets small-scale dairy farmers access their payments digitally Odisha, India-based Milk Mantra sources, packages, and sells dairy products to more than 10,000 independent retailers and subscribers. The company works with farmers to process and test the milk to control product quality. This year Milk Mantra partnered with USAID to launch an initiative to let farmers access their paychecks digitally (previously, some had to travel long distances to access their finances). Milk Mantra also reduced its payment cycle to five days—from 10—to help farmers access their funds faster and avoid disrupting their operations Read More …

Meet Moxie, the robot that could be your child’s or parent’s new best friend

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Consumer robots aren’t really a thing yet, but some specialized robots are starting to edge toward the mainstream. One of those is a big-eyed little robot named Moxie, which its maker, Pasadena, California-based Embodied, designed to be an emotionally intelligent friend to a child. Moxie uses a powerful natural language model to carry on conversation; in fact, it starts getting to know its child friend from the moment it’s turned on. Moxie uses computer vision AI to recognize the child (and others) and to detect eye contact and facial expressions. It’s also a serious child development tool: Moxie tells stories and plays games to inspire creativity. Embodied put Moxies in 100 households as a way of learning some lessons from experience. Some of those kids really needed a friend, as the pandemic kept them home from school and cut them off from their social circle. Embodied CEO Paolo Pirjanian says his company’s small team needed a special blend of IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence) to bring Moxie to life. Thanks to being located right next to Burbank, he says, Embodied was able to recruit people from animation studios to create Moxie’s cartoon-cute look and feel. AI specialists, engineers, and childhood development specialists worked alongside them to build the robot’s personality and skills. New Moxies will start shipping to new homes, and finding new friends, in April Read More …