Gen Named One of Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators
Fast Company honors Gen for a culture where employee-led innovation produces new AI-driven safety and financial tools for consumers.
Rhea-AI Summary
Gen (GEN) has been named one of Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators 2026, recognizing its culture of employee-driven innovation focused on real customer problems.
The company highlights empowered, cross-functional teams supported by tools, data and an “always-on” ideas portal and hackathons. Gen points to its Safety Lab, AI Foundry and recent AI-powered offerings such as Norton Genie, Norton Neo, Norton Family Assistant and the Agent Trust Hub as examples of innovations born from employees identifying emerging digital safety and financial needs.
Positive
- None.
Negative
- None.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Recognition reflects Gen's commitment to turning bold ideas into meaningful innovation
The recognition reflects Gen's ability to turn emerging customer needs and challenges into products and experiences that help people protect what matters, manage their finances and move through their digital and financial lives with greater confidence and control.
At Gen, innovation starts with a simple question: What problem are people actually experiencing, and how can we help solve it?
When researchers and product teams identify a threat, a gap, a pain point, they have the freedom to act. Teams form, organize around the opportunity and build the customer case, not just the business case. With access to the tools, data and cross-functional support they need, squads can move ideas from insight to impact.
"AI is accelerating innovation, but speed only matters when it creates something useful for people," said Vincent Pilette, CEO of Gen. "Innovation at scale requires empowered teams, clear ownership, the right tools and data, and a deep understanding of customer needs. We have made meaningful progress, and we still have much more to learn."
Gen's Safety Lab and AI Foundry bring this approach to life. Rooted in safety and transparency, they serve as both a trust layer and an incubator for the company's latest AI innovations, helping business teams develop AI-native solutions grounded in real customer needs.
As AI becomes part of everyday life, Norton Genie becomes our super agent providing cyber safety recommendations and actions. Norton Neo brings intelligence directly into the browser while making security and privacy built in from the start. For parents managing emails, calendars, school platforms and messaging across a dozen services, Norton Family Assistant brings those pieces together, surfacing what needs attention and reducing the coordination burden on families. And as people increasingly rely on agentic AI, Gen's Agent Trust Hub helps assess those agents for malicious instructions and unsafe permissions before they are put to use.
These innovations did not begin in a strategic planning cycle. They began when employees saw a need and had the freedom to pursue a solution.
The same model powers innovation across Gen. Companywide hackathons and an always-on ideas portal invite Genies across all functions to develop new products, automate work, and improve how Gen serves customers. Cross-functional teams then help turn the most promising ideas into experiences that can make a difference for millions of people.
Fast Company's recognition highlights the culture Gen embodies, where innovation comes to life by solving problems people face. Whether Gen employees are developing new ways to help people stay safer online, manage their finances or finding a better way to serve customers, the goal is the same: create useful innovation that helps people navigate the risks, decisions and opportunities shaping their digital and financial lives.
About Gen
Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at GenDigital.com.
Media Contact:
Audra Proctor
press@gendigital.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gen-named-one-of-fast-companys-best-workplaces-for-innovators-302872289.html
SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.
FAQ
What specific innovations does Gen highlight in connection with this workplace recognition?
Gen cites several AI-powered offerings, including Norton Genie for cyber safety recommendations and actions, Norton Neo which builds security and privacy into the browser, Norton Family Assistant to help parents manage digital coordination across services, and the Agent Trust Hub, which helps assess AI agents for malicious instructions and unsafe permissions before they are used.
How does Gen describe the way innovation happens inside the company?
Gen describes innovation as starting from real customer problems identified by researchers and product teams. When they see a threat, gap or pain point, they have freedom to act, forming squads that organize around the opportunity and build a customer case. Companywide hackathons and an always-on ideas portal invite employees across functions to propose solutions, which cross-functional teams then help turn into customer experiences.
What role do the Safety Lab and AI Foundry play in Gen's innovation model?
Gen’s Safety Lab and AI Foundry are described as a safety- and transparency-rooted trust layer and incubator for the company’s AI innovations. They support business teams in developing AI-native solutions that are grounded in real customer needs, helping ensure that new capabilities are both useful and trustworthy.