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