Cree, Inc. has been identified as one of 2014’s 50 Smartest Companies in MIT Technology Review’s annual list of the world’s most innovative technology companies. The honorees are nominated by MIT Technology Review’s editors, who look for companies that have demonstrated original and valuable technology over the last year, are bringing that technology to market at significant scale and are clearly influencing their competitors. The companies on the list represent the disruptive innovations most likely to change our lives.
Jason Pontin, publisher and editor in chief of MIT Technology Review, states, “At times it seems impossible to keep pace with important emerging technologies. This issue celebrates organizations at the forefront, displaying ‘disruptive innovation’ that will prove to surpass the competition, transform an industry and change our lives.”
Cree was selected as one of MIT Technology Review’s 2014 50 Smartest Companies because of its transformational leadership in the lighting industry. Guided by a culture that thrives on relentless innovation, Cree launched several leadership products during the past year that have significantly contributed to the changing LED lighting landscape. Cree changed the consumer lighting market with the introduction of the Cree® LED Bulb, a light bulb that works as good as or better than traditional incandescent bulbs at a price that has given consumers a reason to switch to LED. At $99, the Cree XSPR™ LED street light delivered all the benefits of LED lighting at up-front cost parity to outdated and uninspiring traditional street lights. Most recently, Cree introduced SmartCast™ Technology, the first self-programming wireless lighting-control system to bring the energy saving benefits of lighting controls to the masses with the touch of one button, at half the cost of traditional lighting controls.
“Cree is honored to be part of MIT Technology Review’s 2014 50 Smartest Companies list,” said David Elien, vice president, corporate marketing and business development. “As the industry’s only fully vertically integrated pure-play LED lighting company, this prestigious recognition validates Cree’s long-standing belief that a cultural commitment to continuous innovation results in the creation of breakthrough products that transform markets.”
Cree and the other honorees will be featured in the March/April edition of MIT Technology Review, published online on Feb. 18 and available on newsstands worldwide starting March 4.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications.
Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.
For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including customer acceptance of new products; the risk that we may be unable to manufacture these new products with sufficiently low cost to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2013, and subsequent filings.
Cree® is a registered trademark, and XSPR™ and SmartCast™ are trademarks of Cree, Inc.
About MIT Technology Review
MIT Technology Review leads the global conversation about technologies that matter. An independent media company owned by MIT, it produces publications read by millions of business leaders, innovators, and thought leaders around the globe, in six languages and on a variety of platforms. The company publishes MIT Technology Review, the world′s most respected technology magazine; daily news features, analysis, and opinion; and Business Reports, which explain how technologies are transforming industries. It produces live events such as the annual EmTech MIT, international EmTech conferences and Summits. The company's entrepreneurial community organization, MIT Enterprise Forum, hosts 400+ events a year around the world.