Apple no longer the biggest innovator

For the first time in years, Apple is no longer number one in the list of the most innovative companies in the world as compiled by Boston Consulting Group. The new champion is Google, followed by Amazon. Both companies are heavily invested in artificial intelligence.

A.I. as a driving force

In the worldwide overview of more than 2,500 major “innovation leaders”, Apple fell down to number three this year. Google (or its parent company Alphabet) and Amazon are numbers one and two, respectively. Microsoft and Samsung complete the top five. Down the list are Netflix, IBM, Facebook, Tesla and Adidas.
 

While tech companies take up the first nine spots in the top 10, the top fifty list consists for more than fifty percent of more “traditional” companies, the researchers point out. “A quick scan of BCG’s 50 most innovative companies for 2019 shows that top innovators are also AI leaders and that many others — including plenty of companies from traditionally nondigital industries — are actively leveraging AI,” states the 2019 innovation report.
 

“Today, everything is about digital technology and external innovation,” claims Ramón Baeza, senior partner of BCG and co-author of the report. “All of the ten highest-ranking companies—and many in the top 50—use AI, platforms, and ecosystems to enable themselves and others to pursue new products, services, and ways of working.”
 

Nine out of ten respondents indicate their company is investing in artificial intelligence. “As significant as the impact of AI will be on business processes, however, its biggest potential lies in developing new products and services that can evolve into major revenue streams over time,” believes Baeza’s colleague Michael Ringel.”46% of AI leaders say that 16% or more of sales are AI-generated, compared with only 10% of AI laggards”.