Meituan-Dianping Named the World’s Most Innovative Company by Fast Company

Chinese on-demand service platform Meituan-Dianping overthrows Apple as the world’s most innovative company according to a recent ranking of American business magazine Fast Company.

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Fast Company published its annual 50 most innovative companies in the world for 2019 on Wednesday. The magazine explained that the rankings are based on the “profound impact on both industry and culture” and “showcases a variety of ways to thrive in today’s volatile world.”

Meituan-Dianping, recognized for its “pioneering transactional super apps”, makes its debut on the list this year and takes the top spot. According to Fast Company, the Tencent-backed tech platform accelerates the booking and delivery of services such as food, hotel stays, and movie tickets. In the first half of 2018, it facilitated 27.7 billion transactions, worth about $33.8 billion, for more than 350 million people in 2,800 different cities.

Singaporean ride-hailing company Grab lands second place for forcing Uber out of the region and acquiring its local businesses last year. The company also expanded into food delivery, travel booking and financial services, and plans to add healthcare services from Chinese health giant Ping An.

While the top two spots are taken by non-U.S. companies, American companies still dominate the top ten spots on the list. Swedish company Oatly is the only other non-U.S. company to make it among the top.

Tech giant Apple who topped the list last year dropped all the way down to 17th place. “They (Apple) didn’t really break new ground with their devices, and hardware sales were sluggish,” said Fast Company senior editor Amy Farley.

Featured Image Source: Fast Company