Netflix

Not so much a single innovation as the successful application and extension of an innovative business model, Netflix has impressed by building on what it already had. Taking advantage of the growing digital economy, it’s changed the way television, in particular, is accessed and absorbed

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

2014 was the year Regeneron’s Genetics Centre became fully operational, and new research collaborations, including with Columbia University, were announced. The centre will allow Regeneron to continue its work in biopharmaceuticals

Airbnb

In 2014, Airbnb launched its first global marketing campaign – ‘Views’, by agency Pereira & O’Dell – to showcase its offerings around the world. It worked – the company has continued to grow, and Airbnb is now enshrined in tourists’ thinking

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate

Krawcheck’s purchase of women’s networking club 85 Broads, which she rebranded as ‘Ellevate’, has helped open up chances to professional women across the globe. In a world in which equal pay and opportunities have still not been achieved, her efforts are a welcome step

Google

Google’s biggest move this year was to acquire AI-specialist tech company DeepMind for $400m. With funding from Google, DeepMind could prove to be a real pioneer. It has already demonstrated some of its neural network technology, which can teach an AI to ‘learn’ to play simple games in the same way a human brain does

One of the companies that revolutionised the search engine, Google is now pretty much the field on which the internet is played. It’s a long time since Google has been referred to as a single product company, with the firm often considered one of the most innovative and expansive outfits on the planet. 2014 was no different, with Google investing in a variety of sectors. Naturally, a company that looks to so many revenue drivers will have a varied success rate, but Google presses on.

Supplements

Innovation 40 - 2014

Netflix

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Airbnb

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate