The past 20 years has witnessed the emergence of some of the biggest and most influential technology companies on the planet. With so many fantastic tech companies producing many of the gadgets and games we love, it is not an easy task to select the five most influential but there is one brand which stands out and that is Apple Inc.
Apple have been in existence since 1976 and was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. However, it was not until the late 1990s and early 2000s that Apple became a serious player in the consumer electronics market and having opened a chain of Apple retail stores in 2001, the company released the first iPhone in 2007. Looking at the Fortune Global 500 list of technology sector companies for 2020, Apple sits top with revenue of $260.174 billion. You are unlikely to walk down a high street without seeing someone using an Apple device and the company has become one of, if not the most influential tech companies of the past two decades.
Who else can match Apple?
Hot on the heels of Apple, we have Samsung Electronics. Based in Suwon, South Korea, Samsung was founded in 1969 but much like Apple, they have developed mobile phones and tablets alongside televisions and other home electronics to become one of the giants of the tech industry. Over the past two decades, Samsung has become the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphones, beginning with the Samsung Solstice in 2009. The Fortune Global 500 list of technology sector companies for 2020 has Samsung’s revenue at a whopping $197.705 billion.
It is all very well having a fantastic selection of electronic devices but without games, they would quickly lose their appeal for many people. International Game Technology is a good example of an online gaming company that has introduced innovative online games and services. Known for producing some of the leading online slots and gambling technology, if you have been searching for the best casino bonus, you are likely to use it when playing an ITG casino game. Going back to 2018, ITG generated $4.83 billion in revenue.
Hardware and Software are the future
Another of the five most influential tech companies of the past two decades is Foxconn. This company is a Taiwanese-based multinational electronics contract manufacturer. For the average consumer, this may be a new name but Foxconn are responsible for the manufacture of much of the popular technology available today, including the iPad. iPhone, iPod, Kindle, Nintendo Switch, Xiaomi devices, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The company employs over 700,000 people and in 2020 generated $178.869 billion in revenue.
Finally, we come to Alphabet Inc. and again, for the average person this may be a new name but Alphabet Inc. is the parent company of Google. Founded in 2015, this is the youngest of the influential tech companies and they have only been in business for 5 of the past 20 years. However, as the holding group is a collection of companies, including Google, it makes it impossible not to include them in the list.
