2012 Tech Pioneers force a 'fresh' look at our future

Twenty-five fledgling enterprises around the globe have been singled out by the World Economic Forum as the most innovative technology startups.

The companies named “Technology Pioneers 2012” are all likely to have “a critical impact on how business and society work,” according to the World Economic Forum.

Clean-energy and clean technology firms continue to have a strong showing on this year’s list, as do companies that target the poor and organisations that offer innovative financing mechanisms.

“One particular aspect to highlight this year is the large number of companies that are focusing on having a social impact, such as providing health or financial services to underserved populations, while revolutionizing the business paradigms in their industries,” said Olivier Schwab, head of of the Technology Pioneers program at the World Economic Forum.

The 2012 Technology Pioneers include:

• 1366 Technologies, which has developed a new manufacturing process to reduce the cost of silicon wafers used in solar panels;
• Altobridge, which is working to optimize GSM phone networks in remote areas to make service more affordable;
• Appirio, a cloud computing broker and solutions provider;
• Attero Recycling, an Indian firm that’s developed a zero-landfill process for handling e-waste;
• Biocartis, which is working to make molecular testing more affordable for small- and medium-size labs;
• CloudFlare, a member-based service that speeds up web traffic while reducing threats from bots, crawlers and denial-of-service attacks;
• Diagnostics For All, which is using the capillary action of paper to develop affordable medical tests for developing countries;
• DoubleVerify, which provides tools to boost web security;
• Driptech, which develops easy-to-build but high-end drop-irrigation systems for small farmers in the developing world;
• Dropbox, which enables cloud-based information storage;
• EcoMotors International, a US-based firm that’s developed a diesel motor designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half;
• Electro Power Systems, an Italian firm that’s designed a low-maintenance fuel-cell technology for use in remote areas;
• Financial Inclusion Network and Operations, which has developed a platform for providing microfinancing to India’s poor;
• First Energy, which has developed a cooking stove powered with biomass pellets made from agricultural byproducts;
• Joule Unlimited, which is using a genetically modified microorganism to create biofuels using solar power;
• Kickstarter, a “crowd-funding” platform to help support small startup ventures by artists and entrepreneurs;
• Lending Club, a provider of peer-to-peer financing;
• Living PlanIT, which is working to develop integrated operating systems for smart cities;
• Mocana, which aims to help develop the “internet of things” through its device-independent platform for smart networking;
• Palantir Technologies, which has developed an “engineer-centered” architecture for analyzing data, spotting trends and enabling better decision making;
• Picarro, which makes high-performance gas analyzers for spotting leaks;
• Protean Electric, which aims to improve electric-car performance with small electric motors in a vehicle’s wheels instead of one single bulky engine;
• Solazyme, which is using micro-algae to speed up biofuel production;
• Tabula Digita, which creates educational video games for high-school students; and
• Tethys BioScience, which develops biological markers to improve patient testing.

“This year’s Technology Pioneers have each focused on a significant challenge confronting the global community today and responded with an ingenious solution to a specific problem,” the introduction to the Technology Pioneers Report states. “While the specific contribution may cover only a small part of the spectrum of problems confronting the global community, each of these companies shares one thing in common: they force us to look at the future in a fresh, enterprising manner.”