Yarn & Fiber

2017-08-23

AMSilk named one of the 50 most innovative companies worldwide by Technology Review

AMSilk GmbH, the world's first industrial supplier of synthetic silk biopolymers, has been chosen by the German edition of MIT Technology Review as one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world. Now in its fourth year, this exclusive list honors companies that have achieved a technological breakthrough with their industry-changing products. AMSilk was recognized for its bioengineered spider silk, a new material which opens completely new possibilities for applications throughout the medical, cosmetic and textile industries.

Together with AMSilk, among the 50 most innovative companies recognized this year are industry giants including the Chinese online-retail giant Alibaba, Amazon, Continental, Daimler, Microsoft and Tesla.

AMSilk among the three finalists in the “Technology” category

As a first time honoree, AMSilk was named among the three finalists in the “Technology” category. The company will participate in the solemn prize awarding ceremony at the StartupNight in the Berlin Representation Office of Deutsche Telekom on September 8.

“Being honored as one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world makes us very proud. This award shows that AMSilk’s synthetic silk is not only a highly innovative product, but that it has the potential to disrupt industries and provide substantial added value for our partners, “said AMSilk CEO Jens Klein.

“We are looking forward to the prize awarding ceremony in Berlin and to the exchange of ideas with other innovation makers of the international business world.“

Robert Thielicke, editor-in-chief of Technology Review, added: “Since its foundation, Technology Review has been looking for companies and people which move at the limit of the feasible. This method might be subjective to a certain extent. But what would objective criteria be? The expenditure for research? The number of patents? In this case AMSilk would not have been considered although the company has achieved what has long been regarded as impossible: to learn from nature and produce the spider silk artificially. Now it is possible to produce incredibly robust, skin friendly and at the same time environmentally friendly clothes.”