To earn Best Workplaces for Innovators recognition, all of this years winners completed an application that addressed questions about projects, investment, company-wide programs, and workplace culture. Fast Company editors evaluated every application and conducted additional research to generate a score for each company. A separate judging panel reviewed the 125 top-ranked companies to select the overall winner. The judging panel included Tomas Chamorro-Prémuzic, chief innovation officer, Manpower Group; Jana Rich, founder, Rich Talent Group; Stefan Seiler, group head of human resources, UBS; Jordan Taylor, cofounder and CEO, Medley; and Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief, Fast Company. Applications for categories were judged solely by Fast Company editors.
The flexible workplace for innovation category recognizes best workplaces for innovators that adapt to employees needs to foster creativity.
Cirrus Logic, Austin
In addition to formal recognition, employees at the semiconductor company who secure patents receive a custom guitar or a donation to their chosen charity.
Elastic, San Francisco
Rather than sifting through mountains of data to find what they need to do their jobs, Elastic employees use ElasticGPT, an internal AI search platform developed during an employee hackathon.
Gamefam, Los Angeles
To empower game creators on platforms like Roblox and Fortnight, Gamefam added a creator fund to bring the next big ideas in games to its Gen Alpha and Gen Z audiences.
Instrument, Portland, OR
The design and tech company allows employees to work anywhere in the U.S. and offers stipends for wellness and professional development.
Scribd Inc., San Francisco
A series of cross-functional teams called pillars replace the traditional hierarchical model at Scribd, where employees collaborate in a variety of ways that work best for them.
Tailscale, Toronto
An engineer frustrated with VPN and firewall configurations worked with teams across Tailscale to create tsnet, a tool that embeds the companys secure network into other apps, saving time for employees and customers alike.
Tractor Beverage Co., Greenwood Village, CO
Employee-owned beverage company Tractor Beverage brings its remote employees together each year at Farm Camp, an immersive retreat that fosters innovation through shared experiences on the farm.
Uplight, Boulder, CO
Eight legacy energy companies joined to create Uplight, and its employees have worked to unify and build unique solutions, like a new system that forecasts energy usage a day ahead and staggers its dispatch.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The international category recognizes best workplaces for innovators based in regions beyond North America that have invested in human capital and innovation infrastructure in their home markets.
BandLab, Singapore
Generous time-off policies protect space for ideation, helping employees develop products for the companys music-creation platform.
Carbonaires, London
Leveraging internal innovations and outside expertise, the climate fintech company created a tool to customize investment portfolios for businesses pursuing decarbonization.
ESR, Shenzhen, China
The real estate asset management company tripled the size of its R&D team last year to continue nurturing new ideas, such as its new MagSafe wireless mouse.
FibreCoat, Aachen, Germany
A high-tech spin-off from RWTH Aachen University, the materials technology company employs students from that university, one of whom innovated a new product and eventually became the companys R&D lead.
Henkel, Düsseldorf, Germany
An ERG for people with disabilities at the global conglomerate led to the first laundry detergent with smart codes that people with low vision and blindness can scan to find product information.
Itaú Unibanco, So Paulo
In its 100th year, Brazil’s largest private bank continues to cultivate innovation, most recently with a “super app” for customers to manage their finances and transactions.
Laborit, So Paulo
Transcending traditional problem-solving, Laborits Círculo method brings employees together for a multiday immersive innovation session that uses principles of philosophy, neuroscience, and social psychology to solve todays challenges.
Ledger, Paris
Collaborative employee teams at the crypto hardware company developed Ledger Voucher, a reward mechanism that recognizes internal talent making waves in crypto.
Omnea, London
A hybrid policy and the ability to work from anywhere two weeks per quarter help inspire employees to find innovative solutions to complicated procurement processes.
Sanofi, Paris
Last year, the multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company unveiled a state-of-the-art facility to manufacture next-generation vaccines and medications.
Siemens, Munich
One of just two companies that has made the Best Workplaces for Innovators ranking all seven years, the German engineering giant operates Siemens Educates America with 70 training partners, and last year it generated 5,250 inventions and 2,900 patents.
Uncommon Creative Studio, London
The global creative agency offers benefits that encourage creativity and freedom: flexible work schedules and generous parental leave, for example.
Xero, Te Aro, New Zealand
The global accounting software company offers a range of leave benefits, including a 90-day work-from-anywhere policy.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The AI, automation, and machine learning excellence category recognizes best workplaces for innovators that have thrived through innovative uses of new technologies.
Adobe, San Jose
The company’s Adobe Incubations, launched in 2024, develops and scales new products, such as a multiplayer mood board to enhance the conceptual process.
Alibaba Group, Hangzhou, China
Trade innovations, such as a new B2B AI search engine called Accio, help Alibaba Group move toward its mission to make it easy to do business anywhere.
Architech, Toronto
The cloud software firm held a three-month, company-wide hackathon where employees from different groups created AI-powered solutions to inefficiencies in their processes.
Generate:Biomedicines, Somerville, MA
Using generative AI models to program biology, the biotech company’s collaborative team aims to tackle diseasesand parts of virusespreviously considered undruggable.
IBM, Armonk, NY
A longtime leader in computing, IBM has spent the past year advancing its quantum computing technology and Granite, an artificial intelligence model that prioritizes open access and responsibility.
Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ
The 139-year-old company invested $17 billion in R&D last year, which funded its internal incubators and innovation hubs.
Lenovo, Morrisville, NC
Last year, Lenovo invested 3.6% of revenue in R&D, maintaining 18 R&D facilities and four AI innovation centers around the world.
Pella, Pella, IA
The centenary window and door company pushes employees at every level to innovate solutions, for instance, an engineer that made a new quality-control camera to make manufacturing more efficient.
Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati
After more than 185 years of innovation, Procter & Gamble has revolutionized its molecule discovery and product development process with its AI-powered Molecular Discovery Suite (MDS).
RIOS Intelligent Machines, Menlo Park, CA
The first AI platform for industrial engineering, developed by RIOS Intelligent Machines, aims to incorporate perceptive and focused technology solutions to help improve the work experience for engineers.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The Innovative Team of the Year recognizes groups of employees at Best Workplaces for Innovators that have gone above and beyond, driving important innovations in their workplace.
Winner: Badge
Lewes, DE
Cofounded by Tina P. Srivastava and Charles Herder, cybersecurity startup Badge aims to revolutionize biometric authentication with its trademarked Identity Without Secrets system, which eliminates the need to store user credentials. The companys cryptography team worked with a CISO Council of outside experts to reduce the time for user authentication from multiple seconds to 22 milliseconds, a latency reduction that not only enhances user experience but also places less stress on computer resources. Since 2024, the team has secured more than 15 patents, and Badge technology is used by Microsoft, Cisco, Okta, and Ping Identity.
Finalists:
Hebbia, New York
Hebbias engagement team is redefining what it means to serve enterprise customers in the age of AI. The team helps customers scale usage across functions and regions, customizing AI strategy from the ground up.
Match Group, Dallas
Operating a portfolio of dating sites (including Tinder, Match, OkCupid, and Hinge), the company combines design and technical experimentation in its Art x Science Lab, innovating everything from prototyping systems to user games.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
This category recognizes companies that have implemented innovative and effective strategies to boost employee morale and engagement during challenging times.
FutureThink, New York
Quarterly Kill a Stupid Rule sessions empower employees at the business services and management consulting firm to streamline workplace processes.
Land O’Lakes, Arden Hills, MN
In the face of pandemic-era disruptions, leaders at the member-owned agricultural cooperative advocated to bring flexible work to its manufacturing team.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The large companies category recognizes best workplaces for innovators with 1,000+ employees that have outpaced their cohort in fostering cultures of innovation.
American Red Cross, Washington, D.C.
The 144-year-old American Red Cross is embracing AI to save time and money generating questions for two of their training exams, babysitting and basic life support.
Ardurra, Miami
The engineering and consulting firm operates an Innovation Hub that functions as an internal incubator where employees can submit ideas that are evaluated by a diverse Shark Tank-style panel of senior experts.
Chipotle, Newport Beach, CA
Last year, Chipotle doubled down on its Cultivate Next venture fund, committing $100 million to the initiative, which is designed to make early-stage investments in companies that align with Chipotles mission of fostering sustainability, innovation, and culinary excellence.
Fidelity Information Services, Jacksonville, FL
Giving employees a chance to create and collaborate at an annual 48-hour innovation event, Fidelity Information Services filed more than 300 new patents last year.
Jazwares, Plantation, FL
The toy company behind popular brands like Squishmallows inspires innovation with employee education programs and a twice-yearly initiative that brings new product ideas directly to company leaders.
Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ
Embracing future leaders within their ranks, the pharmaceutical giant has invested in leadership skill development and developed new learning opportunities for employees, such as on-demand content and an app.
Salesforce, San Francisco
Salesforce encourages employees to research and develop AI tools. The latest, Agentforce, allows clients to customize their own AI agents for business tasks.
Symbotic, Wilmington, MA
To streamline fulfillment of small-quantity orders, the robotics company developed an AI-driven system that can slash costs and improve efficiency in warehouses.
TIAA, New York
The centenarian financial services company is embracing new technologiessuch as its new generative AI platform, TIAA gAItto streamline customer experiences across the expansive business.
T-Mobile, Bellevue, WA
The telecommunications company collaborated across its networkand across employee teamsto develop T-Priority, a new 5G solution that improves first responders call connectivity.
Trimble, Westminster, CO
A 24-hour hackathon led a Trimble engineer to develop the global tech companys first internal AI program.
Wealthsimple Technologies, Toronto
Alternative investment funds with a low barrier to entrythe brainchild of a cross-functional team at Wealthsimple Technologieshave helped thousands of Canadians access wealth management services.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The North America category recognizes best workplaces for innovators based in the North America region that have invested in human capital and innovation infrastructure in their home markets.
Alex Lee, Hickory, NC
This family-owned grocery company encourages employees to submit ideas each month to solve business challengesand winning ideas are not only developed through the Xcelerate pipeline program, but they also earn employees a cash prize and recognition.
Allied Steel Buildings, McGregor, TX
Borrowing from recent advancements in robotics and automation has helped employees at the construction manufacturing company revolutionize their assembly production of pre-engineered custom steel buildings, dramatically increasing efficiency.
Ampsight, Sterling, VA
Exploratory research from one of the tech company’s data scientists led to an idea for an imagery intelligence assistant that, once nurtured in the companys AmpArena internal incubator, quickly exceeded expectations.
Curinos, New York
A hackathon series and an incubator for college students are examples of the ways the fintech company helps innovate in the financial data intelligence field, bringing creative uses of AI to the forefront.
De-Yan Studio, New York
Supporting 220 projects per year, De-Yans Hyperion accelerator gives employees the chance to innovate from the ground up on creative marketing campaigns.
FutureThink, New York
Quarterly Kill a Stupid Rule sessions empower employees at the business services and management consulting firm to streamline workplace processes.
Haskell, Jacksonville, FL
Going beyond the typical hackathon format, Haskells Big Pitch event brings more than 1,000 employees together to compete for a cash prize and patent for their innovative idea.
Highnote, San Francisco
Developing simulations to anticipate the impacts of account aging and delinquency has helped the financial company empathize with clients and think of next-step solutions.
Homebase, San Francisco
To make training new workers less tedious, payroll and scheduling platform Homebase created Batting Cage, an AI-powered sales training platform that has already been integrated in company onboarding.
Maxar Intelligence, Westminster, CO
The company’s new drone navigation system, which protects against GPS jamming, sprang from an idea from the sales team.
Radio Flyer, Chicago
Radio Flyer, the classic red wagon company, encourages employees to branch into new territory, yielding fresh ideas like an electric cargo bike that can make simple trips an adventure.
TomoCredit, San Francisco
The fintech company gives employees the time and space to test new ideas and develop projects, such as 1:1 calls that a team member pitched after recognizing some customers were looking more for guidance than product information.
Waystar, Louisville, KY
Integrating AI across Waystars software is helping the healthcare tech company meet new challenges in healthcare payment, such as rising rates of denied claims, which providers spend about $20 billion to overturn each year.
Wisk Aero, Mountain View, CA
Each generation of Wisks electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircrafts has brought the company closer to autonomous electric flight, inspiring employees to think bigger with inventor training and patent incentives.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The small and mighty category recognizes best workplaces for innovators with fewer than 100 employees that have outpaced their cohort in fostering cultures of innovation.
Burq, Richmond, VA
After merchants complained that rigid, one-size-fits-all workflows didnt capture their complex logistics needs, the delivery management platform company created a customizable delivery workflow that has had a 99.5% success rate since being implemented last year.
Juris Digital, Denver
A team member at the legal marketing company realized many law firm websites struggled to engage visitors and decided to leverage AI to enhance user experience and guide content creation, a feature that has since helped clients sign million-dollar cases.
Laborit, So Paulo
Transcending traditional problem-solving, Laborits Circle method brings employees together for a multiday immersive innovation session that uses principles of philosophy, neuroscience, and social psychology to solve todays challenges.
Output, Los Angeles
Conversations between Outputs sound designers and engineers led to Co-Producer, an AI-driven plug-in that listens to a musicians session and finds samples for their track.
Protelo, Folsom, CA
Investments in research and new product offerings attract professionals to the ERP consulting group Protelo, which saw a 15% increase in staff last year.
Third Plateau, San Francisco
Working with nonprofit leaders, the social impact and philanthropy consulting firm has helped direct more than $2 billion to a variety of causes while encouraging their remote employees to rethink their impact and pitch new ideas at yearly retreats.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
The midsize companies category of Best Workplaces for Innovators honors companies and organizations with 100 to 999 employees that have outpaced their cohort in fostering cultures of innovation.
Arkadium, New York
The online game company Arkadium not only invests in the professional development of its employees, but it also offers opportunities for creators worldwide through its Arkadium for Developers program.
Barbarian, New York
By creating customizable best practices and acquiring companies that enhance the client experience, the creative agency increased revenue 65% between 2023 and 2024.
GlossGenius, New York
An idea that emerged from a company hackathon yielded a new goal-setting and analytics feature, which has helped beauty and wellness clients who use the business management platform to increase revenue by an average of 51%.
Hover, San Francisco
Hover employees bring tech solutions to the construction world, such as Hover Instant Design, a tool that started at a company hackathon and now helps homeowners visualize their renovation projects.
Notable, San Mateo, CA
To help reduce burnout in healthcare, Notable developed Flow Builder, an interface to create AI agents for employees to avoid repetitive tasks and focus on patients.
Octus, New York
Generous professional development stipends give employees the tools they need to imagine the next shifts at the fast-growing financial insights company.
Pipedrive, New York
With inclusive options for taking PTO, such as leave for new pet parents and those going through breakups, the sales tech company fosters a sense of belonging that that helps power innovation.
Raft, McLean, VA
The defense tech company reinvests up to 15% of annual revenue into research and development.
Step Up for Students, Jacksonville, FL
A cross-functional team at the educational technology nonprofit developed MyScholarShop, a first-of-its-kind platform allowing families to shop directly from preapproved vendors using their scholarship funds.
Tailscale, Toronto
The remote-friendly software company promotes flexible office hours and hybrid work policies, focusing more on output than rigid work schedules.
Zest AI, Burbank, CA
Prioritizing both personal and professional growth, Zest AI provides its employees with a $1,000 annual education stipend, frequent workshops, and spaces to share experiences and spark collaborations.
This story is part of Fast Companys 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards. Explore the full list of companies that are key hubs for fostering innovative talent. Read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
