Orca AI is proud to have been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026, joining the ranks of Google, Nvidia, Adidas, Walmart, and more. The company has earned the standing of No. 1 in the Europe, Middle East and Africa  category.

This year’s list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations. Alongside the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 720 honorees across 59 sectors and regions.

“We are very proud to have earned this accolade from Fast Company. Shipping rarely makes headlines unless something goes wrong or in times of crisis, but behind the scenes there’s a tremendous amount of work going on to make global trade safer, more resilient and better prepared for a changing risk environment,” said Yarden Gross, CEO and Co-founder of Orca AI.

“What makes this recognition particularly meaningful is that it reflects not just technological innovation but real-world impact – helping protect crews, cargo and the flow of global commerce that societies depend on every day. It’s a strong validation that what we are building delivers tangible value, improving safety outcomes across a largely invisible but critical industry.”

Forging path towards autonomous navigation

Orca AI is the creator of an advanced maritime operations platform designed to enhance the safety and efficiency of navigation. Recently, the company introduced Co-Captain, the world’s first collaborative navigation tool, enabling vessels to share data with each other in real time. By connecting ships at sea, Co-Captain helps crews anticipate hazards earlier, respond more effectively to emerging risks and navigate with greater confidence. In recent months, vessels operating in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz have used this capability to mitigate the impact of GPS disruptions.

At the same time, the rollout of a full 360° field-of-view has significantly expanded what crews can see around the vessel, enabling earlier detection of smaller and more complex objects in busy or low-visibility environments.

Together, these innovative capabilities represent a critical step towards autonomous shipping. Vessel autonomy depends on a ship’s ability to understand its surroundings, operate safely in uncertain conditions, and learn from shared data across fleets. By combining real-time situational awareness with collaborative, data-driven decision-making, Orca AI is helping to lay the operational foundation on which scalable, safe autonomy will be built.

As a leading industry player in this space, Orca AI is an active member of the DFFAS+ (Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ships) consortium in Japan, where under the auspices of the Nippon Foundation it is making a valuable contribution to the country’s ambitious development and real-world validation of autonomous vessel operations.

The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. To determine honorees, Fast Company’s editors and writers review companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world.

“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is about spotlighting organizations that don’t just adapt to change—they drive it,” said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “The companies we honor this year are redefining what leadership looks like in 2026, pairing bold ideas with measurable impact and turning breakthrough innovation into real-world value. They are setting the pace for their industries and offering a blueprint for what sustained innovation can achieve.”