IBM

Founded in 1911, IBM is one of the oldest technology companies in the US, with sprawling interests across many sectors. It’s also one of the world’s largest employers, with more than 352,000 staff around the world. Over the years, IBM has gotten rid of many of its less-than-profitable businesses, including printers and PCs, and right now, is in the middle of yet another transformation. As it announced in October 2020, the company is getting rid of its legacy IT infrastructure businesses to focus on the sectors it believes are its future: namely hybrid cloud computing services and artificial intelligence. Since it completed its acquisition of open-source software firm Red Hat in 2019, the company has focused more on its hybrid cloud platform, a high-margin business. It also continues to build out its AI research, often focused around its Watson brand. Though, in both arenas, the company faces stiff competition from younger tech giants, like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.