Methodology

For the list, companies completed an application that included questions about projects, investments, company-wide programs, and workplace cultures.

Editors at Fast Company then evaluated each application and conducted additional research to determine a score for each company. A separate judging panel reviewed the top 125 companies to reach a consensus on the rankings. Any applications for specific categories were judged exclusively by Fast Company editors.

The best healthcare workplaces for innovators

Overall, 13 healthcare-related companies across several different industries made the list of best workplaces for innovators, including:

Biotech

• Formation Bio (No. 7): Formation Bio developed AI tools to help navigate its data warehouse and provides enterprise accounts with major AI providers to every employee alongside a library of dozens of AI use cases.
• Kymera Therapeutics (No. 54): Kymera features an open mic at weekly strategy meetings as well as "Shark Tank"-style pitch events that allow employees to share their ideas.
• Agilent Technologies (No. 59): Agilent invested more than $450 million in research and development in fiscal year 2025.
• Daiichi Sankyo (No. 61): Daiichi supports employee autonomy and collaboration by utilizing structured times for uninterrupted work, asynchronous workflows, and intentionally staggered meeting lengths.

Healthcare and medical

• Tampa General Hospital (No. 20)*: Tampa General recently opened a large research and development center; it also hosts an Innovation Week, recognizes weekly innovators, and makes significant investments through its venture arm.
• AllyGPO (No. 40): AllyGPO runs a weekly innovation stand-up where anyone in the company can pitch an idea.
• Athenahealth (No. 57): Athenahealth has invested $898 million in research and development over the past three years and runs company-wide codefests and hackathons.
• Billed Right (No. 84): Both BR Academy and BR Engage support continuous learning and collaboration.
• Headway (No. 91): Headway's "Sigmund" AI documentation tool, which drafts clinical notes from therapy sessions, was developed at a company-hosted hackathon.

Nonprofit

• ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (No. 24)*: A rapid-response innovation pod at ALSAC/St. Jude's partnered with a content creator to document a 50-state trip and St. Jude's needs as part of an online fundraiser that generated $11 million in donations.

Other

• University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences (No. 39): The University of Pittsburgh's investment in research and development for health sciences has grown by 37% over the last five years and reached over $1 billion in fiscal year 2025.
• Whoop (No. 71): The wearable tech company has a fund that helps facilitate in-person coffee chats and encourages its employees to prioritize balance by rewarding them for positive Whoop device metrics such as healthy sleep.
• Waystar (No. 94): Frontline workers at the company developed an AI-powered tool to spot issues with payer rejection of insurance claims. Last year, the tool helped prevent $15.5 billion in denials.

*Denotes an Advisory Board member

Related resources

• 4 imperatives for the future of clinical innovation
• Top 5 takeaways from our Clinical Innovation Summit
• Truly personalized care is possible. Here's how to make it a reality.
• 2 ways labs can embrace innovation to drive revenue and accelerate growth
  
• 4 ways health systems can redefine innovation
• Topic: Clinical innovation