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Venmo
Launched by college roommates Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail in 2010, Venmo created a new way for people to split their dining bills or pay their rent. The company, which was purchased by PayPal in 2015, boasts 40 million annual users--a digital customer base larger than that of most major banks. -
Consumer LED lightbulbs
LED bulbs are much more energy-efficient than the incandescent ones that have been used for decades, which waste 90 percent of their energy consumption on generating heat. But until 2010, LED bulbs were bulky, costly, and unfeasible for anything besides large industrial spaces. Then, in the face of federal legislation mandating better efficiency, manufacturers like GE and Philips developed bulbs meant for the everyday consumer. -
Nest Thermostat
Tony Fadell, inventor of the iPod, and former Apple engineer Matt Rogers founded smart thermostat company Nest in 2010. Nest's thermostat lets you preprogram a temperature schedule. It learns your habits over time and, based on motion sensing and devices that are connected to your Wi-Fi, can tell whether someone is home and adjust accordingly. This all lowers the amount of energy your home uses when you're not home, saving customers money and the planet from unnecessary carbon emissions. -
Ring Doorbell
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff was unanimously rejected when he pitched his smart doorbell on Shark Tank in 2013. Five years later, Amazon bought his company for a cool $1 billion. The Wi-Fi enabled doorbell starts recording video automatically when its built-in motion sensors are activated, and a two-way intercom lets homeowners speak with the person at their door via an app. The LAPD has said it sees 50 percent fewer break-ins when Ring is installed. -
The Google Assistant
Google Assistant is perhaps the closest thing yet to what's known as general artificial intelligence. At your command, it can compose messages, make calendar reminders, or scan the internet for answers to questions--sometimes with a dose of humor--and can instantly translate spoken words into 27 different languages. It was invented by Sundar Pichai.
