There are lots of big companies thriving in various industries today. However, there are only a select number of companies who can be distinguished as the smart ones compared with the rest in the busines. When a smart company is subject under further analysis, they are usually the ones who have made technological innovation accessible. With this, competitors may want to rethink or improve their strategies should they decide to compete with them, who have already established strong leads in the markets that they have been dominating.

Recently, the Technology Review magazine of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has released its top fifty smartest companies. These companies, who came from different fields of industry, had presented impressive strides in its field of business. 

AngelList, Upworthy, Kickstarter and Box were the most notable few who had managed to snag a coveted spot in the list. MOnsanto, IBM, Qualcomm, General Electrics and BMW were also in the list despite being industry veterans in their own respective fields. Interestingly, there is a real development in the Biotech field, as eight companies have been noted to have made technology advances.

On the other hand, it was to note that not all buzz-worthy companies are expected to dominate in the power list. Amazon for example, is ranked number ten despite its business diversity and might have been plagued with the IPO (initial public offering) interest in its rival, Alibaba.com, and worker union concerns surrounding its warehouses. Also, Apple is noticeably absent in the list. The company made the list in 2012, less than a year after founder and CEO Steve Jobs died of complications stemming from his pancreatic tumor.

Listed below are top five of the smartest companies in 2014 tabulated by MIT:

5. Salesforce.com - This company is best known for its customer relationship management (CRM) software product. The company, which started in the cloud computing business, has expanded in the social enterprise arena through acquisitions. At present, it is the most innovative company in the US.

4. Samsung - Apple's biggest competition is a multinational conglomerate company in Seoul, South Korea. Originally established as a trading company back in 1938, the company has since ventured into various fields of business like textiles, food processing, insurance, retail, securities. The company is currently known for its developments in electronics like mobile phones and semiconductors. Currently, they are one of the leading companies in the smartphone market.

3. Google - Google is a US-based multinational company that specializes Internet-related products and services such as online advertising technologies, cloud computing, search and software. Founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page during their PhD years at Stanford University, their recent innovation in advertising has led them to retain their presence in the list.

2. Tesla Motors - The company headed by visionary Elon Musk designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicle cars and power train components. They are popular with placing together the pieces in making a mass-market electronic car/

1. Illumina - Illumina is a new entrant in the list. A multinational company that manufactures, develops and markets integrated systems in analyzing genetic variations and biological function, the company is best known for its role in the Human Genome Project (HGP), of which its goal is to determine the makeup of human DNA.