SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte announced the 2012 Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America.

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Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) clinched the top spot with fiscal year 2011 revenue of $204.24 million and a growth rate of 279,684 percent from 2007 to 2011. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company designs and manufactures electric vehicles and electric vehicle power train components.

"The 2012 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 winners have demonstrated remarkable innovation and spectacular growth," said Eric Openshaw, vice chairman and U.S. technology, media and telecommunications leader, Deloitte LLP. "Some of the most exciting and useful developments of the future are being created by the companies on this list. We congratulate Tesla and all of the winning companies on this impressive achievement."

"Tesla took great strides as a company this past year by successfully delivering Model S, the world's first premium electric sedan to customers, and executing a steep production ramp while creating more than 2,000 jobs in the U.S. We also expanded our partnerships with Toyota and Daimler in order to increase sales of electric vehicles globally," said Deepak Ahuja, chief financial officer at Tesla Motors. "We are honored to be part of a sector that continues to achieve high growth, and are committed to building the best car in the world while setting new standards for efficiency, safety, style, technology, operating cost and performance. We thank Deloitte for this recognition."



The top ten ranked companies are as follows:

2012 Rank Company Sector Revenue Growth City, State (2007 to 2011) --- ------------- 1 Tesla Motors, Inc. Clean technology 279,684 percent Palo Alto, CA --- ------------------ ---------------- --------------- ------------- 2 Palo Alto Networks Communications/ 166,938 percent Santa Clara, CA Networking --- ---------- 3 Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Biotechnology/ 146,443 percent Schaumburg, IL pharmaceutical --- -------------- 4 FireEye, Inc. Communications/ 55,413 percent Milpitas, CA Networking --- ---------- 5 Aerohive Networks, Inc. Communications/ 44,569 percent Sunnyvale, CA Networking --- ---------- 6 Avail-TVN Media and entertainment 38,479 percent Reston, VA --- --------- ----------------------- -------------- ---------- 7 NeoStem Biotechnology/ 31,721 percent New York, NY pharmaceutical --- -------------- 8 Avigilon Corporation Software 29,917 percent Vancouver, BC --- -------------------- -------- -------------- ------------- 9 Recondo Technology Software 25,482 percent Greenwood Village, CO --- ----------- 10 EcoSynthetix Inc. Clean technology 25,327 percent Burlington, ON --- ----------------- ---------------- -------------- --------------

Innovation hot spots continue to sizzle

Deloitte Technology Fast 500 winners hail from cities far and wide across North America - from Portland, Maine; to Denver, Colo.; to Vancouver, British Columbia. Of the dozens of cities represented on the list, some have a particularly strong track record of consistently attracting inventive entrepreneurs and providing them with a supportive environment.

"Creative and cutting-edge cities often have several things in common including access to capital, supportive local governments, and world-class education systems," said Bill Ribaudo, national technology, media and telecommunications leader for audit and enterprise risk services, Deloitte & Touche LLP. "Many of these cities have the resources and culture that startups need to thrive, and so they have become innovation powerhouses and consistently turn out fast-growing companies year over year."

Following is a list of innovative cities with a significant concentration of winners.

Location Percent of List Fastest-growing Company in the Company Region Overall Ranking --- ------- San Francisco Bay area 20 percent Tesla Motors, Inc. 1 ------------- ---------- ------------------ --- Boston 9 percent HubSpot 17 ------ --------- ------- --- New York 6 percent NeoStem 7 -------- --------- ------- --- Los Angeles 6 percent EdgeCast Networks 13 ----------- --------- ----------------- --- Washington D.C. 6 percent Avail-TVN 6 ---------- --------- --------- --- Philadelphia 6 percent MeetMe, Inc. 32 ------------ --------- ------------ --- San Diego 6 percent Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 15 --------- --------- ----------------------------- --- Toronto 5 percent EcoSynthetix Inc. 10 ------- --------- ----------------- ---

Software still dominates

For the seventeenth consecutive year, software companies dominated the list, comprising 40 percent of the overall list with 200 companies. Consistent with prior rankings, the biotechnology/pharmaceutical, internet, and communications/networking sectors also had strong showings. The biotechnology/pharmaceutical sector and internet sectors were tied for second place with 13 percent of the list, and the communications/networking sector came in at a close third place with 12 percent of the list.

Sector rankings are as follows:

Sector Sector make-up Fastest-growing Company in Company City, State of Fast 500 the Sector Overall Ranking --- ------- Software 40 percent Avigilon 8 Vancouver, BC -------- ---------- -------- --- ------------- Biotechnology/ 13 percent Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 3 Schaumburg, IL Pharmaceutical -------------- Internet 13 percent EdgeCast Networks 13 Santa Monica, CA -------- ---------- ----------------- --- ---------------- Communications/Networking 12 percent Palo Alto Networks 2 Santa Clara, CA ------------------------- ---------- ------------------ --- --------------- Clean Technology 7 percent Tesla Motors, Inc. 1 Palo Alto, CA ---------------- --------- ------------------ --- ------------- Medical devices 5 percent MAKO Surgical Corp. 18 Fort Lauderdale, FL --------------- --------- ------------------- --- ------------------- Media and entertainment 4 percent Avail-TVN 6 Reston, VA ----------------------- --------- --------- --- ---------- Semiconductor 3 percent SiTime Corporation 38 Sunnyvale, CA ------------- --------- ------------------ --- ------------- Computers/peripherals 2 percent Layer 7 Technologies 183 Vancouver, BC --------------------- --------- -------------------- --- ------------- Scientific/technical instrumentation 1 percent Obzerv 239 Quebec, QC ------------------------------------ --------- ------ --- ----------

For additional detail on the Technology Fast 500 including the complete list and qualifying criteria, visit www.fast500.com

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

SOURCE Deloitte