The internet companies of the Big Five, or "FAAMG"—Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google (Alphabet)—have over $4 trillion in total market capitalization.
Such formidable technology behemoths frequently devour potential competitors' ideas, technology, or entire businesses.
Mergers and acquisitions have become a key tactic in maintaining their secure grip on tech supremacy due to their financial weight. Read on to learn more about the three most innovative technology companies that lead the world today.
Tesla
Tesla, Inc. is involved in designing, producing, manufacturing, selling fully-electric cars, and creating energy and storage systems. They also offer service centers for their vehicles, supercharger stations, and self-driving capabilities.
The 13th annual report by the Boston Advisory Company, which identifies the most innovative companies in the world, has rated California-based electric car manufacturer Tesla ninth in its rankings.
Tesla is the lone automaker, who made the Top 10 list for the group, which is dominated by tech companies, such as Google, Amazon, and Apple.
The full study of the company, titled "The Most Innovative Companies 2019: The Growth of AI, Platforms, and Ecosystems", has paid particular attention to the use of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology in the businesses it listed.
Apple
Apple has the fewest acquisitions (over $1 billion) out of the Big Five companies. The most significant acquisition was for Beats Electronics, which it acquired in 2014 for $3 billion.
Apple recently revealed in a recent turn of events that it will purchase the majority of Intel's mobile modem business. This $1 billion deal will enable Apple to build all of its devices in-house, and better prepare the iPhone for the 5G push ahead.
As of mid-January, Apple was estimated at over $900 billion, and they can now be combined with the best-selling Apple Watch Series 3, which has GPS and cellular connectivity, for a compelling, new customer experience. Developers welcomed ARKit, the augmented-reality platform for Apple.
Amazon
Amazon.com, Inc. is committed to the delivery of retail shopping services online. It operates through North America, internationally, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) business segments.
The North America segment includes retail sales and subscriptions of consumer products through North America-focused websites such as www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca.
The International segment provides retail sales of consumer goods and subscriptions through websites that have an international focus.
The Amazon Web Services division is active in global sales for start-ups, companies, government agencies, and academic institutions of computing, storage, databases, and AWS service offerings. The firm was founded in July 1994 by Jeffrey P. Bezos and has its headquarters in Seattle, WA.
Amazon: Innovations
As of 2017, Amazon has more than $20 billion in acquisitions and investments. This includes buying Whole Foods, which Amazon bought for $13.7 billion, and is the biggest acquisition the company has made to date.
From purchases to Smart Assistant Alexa's AI to Wi-Fi enabled doorbell ring, recent additions clearly demonstrate the company's intention to cement its presence in homes for people.
Amazon Prime
Amazon started offering store discounts to Prime customers after acquiring Whole Foods to bundle their home offerings and provide a more holistic customer experience.
Amazon gave customers quick and free shipping (apart from the annual subscription fee, of course) on thousands of products with Prime.
Amazon's smart decision to tie its streaming video service to Prime, which (1) offers additional value for customers, and (2) allows consumers to adopt Amazon's streaming service. Amazon's streaming service has original content and has set the stage for the company's new potential development.
Conclusion
Aside from these top 3 most innovative tech companies, there are many more innovations that continue to change the world. You should watch out for these companies because they are going to continue to evolve technology in huge ways.