World Economic Forum Recognizes Leading Technology Pioneers

New York (USA) – August 27, 2014 – Celebrating the power of technology and innovation, the World Economic Forum announced today the selection of 24 companies at the forefront of their industries. As Technology Pioneers, they have demonstrated the ability to harness creativity to design and create transformative solutions. These cutting-edge companies will be honoured during the Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2014, which will take place from 10 to 12 September in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China.

Among the notable recipients are companies that are significantly improving diagnostics and health treatment; providing electricity to the off-grid underprivileged; pioneering low-cost computing; developing new visual, audio and sensor technologies; and embedding Internet of Things services. This year’s Technology Pioneers will join the World Economic Forum’s growing community of pioneers, disruptors and innovators.

The Technology Pioneers for 2015 are: AutoGrid Systems, Avegant, BlaBlaCar, Cambrian Innovation, Canonical, Couchbase, Eta Devices, Genomatica, Guardant Health, Health Catalyst, HiBot Corporation, Ionic Security, Jasper Technologies, Kakao Corporation, Labcyte, LearnUp, Mera Gao Power, Newlight Technologies, Organovo, Proterra, Raspberry Pi Foundation, Silicor Materials, SmartThings, and Vaxxas.

“The impact of technology continues to accelerate in all domains of society,” said Fulvia Montresor, Director, Head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum. “To better understand the breadth and depth of this impact, CEOs and other leaders have come to depend on their interactions with the Technology Pioneers and their diverse and innovative solutions.”

The Technology Pioneers 2015 will be recognized for their achievements in a ceremony on 11 September at the eighth Annual Meeting of the New Champions. The Meeting is the foremost gathering in Asia on science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will bring together more than 1,500 leaders from business, government and research from over 90 countries. In addition to the Technology Pioneers, participants will also include the Forum’s Global Growth Companies, Young Global Leaders, Young Scientists, Social Entrepreneurs and Global Shapers, as well as its Members and Partners.

Each year since 2000, the World Economic Forum has chosen a select number of Technology Pioneers from hundreds of applicants. Candidate companies are nominated by Members, constituents and collaborators of the World Economic Forum and by the public. The 82-member selection committee – comprising distinguished technology and innovation experts, academics and venture capitalists – reviews each application before making its recommendation to the World Economic Forum.

Previous Technology Pioneers include AirBnb (2014), Cyberdyne (2014), Nest Labs (2014), MC10 (2013), Azuri Technologies (2013), Tobii Technology (2013), Dropbox (2012), Kickstarter (2012), Solazyme (2012), Spotify (2011), Twitter (2010), Proteus Digital Health (2009), Wikimedia (2008), Mozilla Corporation (2007), MBA Polymers (2006) and Google (2002).

More information about the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers programme can be found at http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers.

About The World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation in the spirit of global citizenship. It engages with business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is independent, impartial and not tied to any interests. It cooperates closely with all leading international organizations (www.weforum.org).