Most Innovative Companies

AI technology's energy demands, Amazon's renewable power claims, and insight into energy consumption challenges. Also, discussion on branding trends, marketing campaigns from Etsy and Taco Bell, and Olympic advertising strategies.

Temperatures are hitting all-time highs, with some cities reaching 25 degrees above average. Last week, the Biden Administration announced a proposed rule that would create heat protections for certain workers, including delivery drivers. But with companies like Grubhub and UberEats classifying delivery workers as “independent contractors,” what does that mean for some of the people most vulnerable to extreme heat? ‘Fast Company’ staff writer Jess Bursztynksy gives us the latest on the state of delivery workers’ rights in NYC and beyond. And Dr. Sophia Yen, founder of Pandia Health, talks about changing how people get essential healthcare, using algorithms in telemedicine, and how our political climate impacts women’s healthcare businesses.

Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF has a long history of expertly harnessing pop culture humor to poke fun at big corporations. Their latest project is a game built on top of Venmo, where players buy in for $10 and participate in hourly votes to eliminate each other, and a daily vote to pick a winner. The first player chosen to win by 100% of the votes will win a prize pot of over $119,000. Fast Company Global Design Editor Mark Wilson breaks down MSCHF's history and how they combine artistic commentary with capitalism. And Pinterest Chief Product Officer Sabrina Ellis discusses AI's possible uses on a platform with such a vast library of images. How can Pinterest continue to be a source of inspiration for users, an avenue for shopping, and expand the diversity of its content? And what insights can AI provide into the things that catch our eye?

In a recent viral LinkedIn post, Cap X Media’s CEO Matthew Baltzell poses in a backwards baseball cap and details his experience firing an employee for the first time. He talks about the process, what he learned, and asks for feedback from readers. One commenter wrote, “This LinkedIn post is a disgrace,” while another said, “You brought pain into someone’s life and then turned it into a ‘gold star for me’ moment. They’re certainly appalled by this on other (less weird) social platforms.”But plenty of comments sympathized with Baltzell over the uncomfortable situation, even praising him for sharing it. In fact, deranged behavior like this is a daily occurrence on LinkedIn, where business influencers operate very differently from influencers on other social media platforms. ‘Fast Company’ contributing writer Joe Berkowitz discusses his own forays into LinkedIn’s world of ‘corporate positivity.’ And Andrew Lacey, founder and CEO of medical technology company Prenuvo, talks about how the full-body MRI scanning that his company is offering might change our perspective on preventative healthcare—if the high cost can be lowered by other systemic reforms in healthcare.

Back in April, President Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells the social media app. The company was given about nine months to a year to find an American buyer. So, today we’re going to dive into the race to buy the social media app . . . specifically looking at one billionaire who’s spearheading a bid: former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Fast Company Senior Staff Editor Max Ufberg sat down with McCourt a few weeks ago to discuss his interest in buying TikTok.And then we chatted with Fast Company Senior Staff Editor Jeff Beer about his trip to Cannes and which brand he thinks will win the Titanium award.Also, check out Yaz's interview on the "Rapid Response" podcast: https://www.fastcompany.com/91142303/have-we-hit-peak-apple

A nonprofit founded by right-wing billionaire Charles Koch was a "key contributor" to a recent video produced by the popular content creator MrBeast. The video, titled "We Schooled Hundreds of Teachers," was uploaded on April 30th to "Beast Philanthropy," a second channel MrBeast uses to showcase charity work. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, lists the organization Stand Together as one of the main financial sponsors. Stand Together was founded by Koch in 2003 as The Seminar Network and it describes itself as a "philanthropic community" dedicated to tackling the "country’s biggest problems," which range from education initiatives to what it calls "freedom-minded solutions." But we wanted to focus on how MrBeast’s corporate structure operates, so Fast Company contributing writer Ryan Broderick joined us to chat about it.Then, Fast Company associate editor David Salazar had a conversation with Vault founder David Greenstein and musician James Blake, who was the first artist on Vault and has been vocal about its potential as a new way for fans to engage with their favorite artists. They chatted about experimenting with new ways to monetize music.

Dropout CEO Sam Reich discusses rebranding and growth of Dropout TV, focusing on long-form improv content. The podcast delves into revenue strategies, niche comedy, and maintaining a unique workplace culture. Keith Gill's return to Reddit and the Paramount-Skydance merger are also highlighted.

Last week, an article by ‘Fast Company’ senior writer Ainsley Harris riled up a small but very online part of the tech community. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, Anduril Industries founder Palmer Lucky, Y combinator CEO Garry Tan, and even MrBeast, along with many others, were all reacting to her article, ‘Tech bro podcasts are obsessed with alpha men, and it’s dangerous for the rest of us.’We talked to Ainsley and had her explain why so many ‘techno-optimists’ fell in love with the Great Man Theory, and how that’s problematic.Then, we spoke to Gamefam founder and CEO Joe Ferencz about the rise of Roblox and Fortnite as brand-engagement platforms and how they use these sandbox games to not only create new virtual worlds, but also to advertise different IPs.

By now, we’re used to talking to AI chatbots, and we’re used to googling something to find an answer. Last week, though, Google launched a new feature that combines the two called AI Overviews. The feature—which many users are already trying to turn off—is designed to reduce the number of searches users have to make. But the idea of combining a chatbot, search tool, and encyclopedia has actually been championed and refined by a two-year-old startup called Perplexity. The ambitious startup, which calls itself an Answer Engine, has been funded by the likes of Jeff Bezos and Nvidia. The stakes are high: If Perplexity can pull off its mission, the company could become—according to some—a Google killer. Perplexity’s CEO Aravind Srinivas spoke at our Most Innovative Companies Summit last week, and had some choice words about Google’s new features and the future of his own company. We spoke to executive editor Amy Farley to unpack what he said.Then, we chatted with ‘Fast Company’ senior staff editor Jeff Beer about brand apology ads and E.l.f beauty’s recent study on how there are too many dicks across U.S corporate boards.

The WNBA’s 2024 season comes on the heels of a recent groundswell of interest in women’s basketball. Last year was the WNBA’s most-watched regular season in over two decades and the recently wrapped NCAA tournament has brought a new generation of fans to the sport. The women’s March Madness final averaged 18.7 million viewers, while the men’s final averaged just 14.82 million viewers. Basically, the WNBA is a hot commodity and brands are noticing. Fast Company Staff Editor AJ Hess joined us to explain how this happened and why the stakes for the WNBA are so high this season.Then, in a bit of a role reversal, Josh played the interviewer and asked Yaz about her latest reporting on Oprah. It covered Weight Watchers, diet culture, and our favorite topic on this show, GLP-1s. The impetus for Yaz's article was a Weight Watchers event last week in New York where Oprah was speaking. Yaz explained what happened and what it means for the future of the company.