Vizio Inc

The future of television could be sitting in an Irvine laboratory. To illuminate images, these sets use light-emitting diodes behind the screen, resulting in TVs that can be far thinner, brighter and more eco-friendly than other flat-panel models. LED-backlit TVs -- an evolution of the standard LCD set -- have been on the market since 2004. But the sets in this lab have something that could catapult the technology into the mainstream. A far lower price.

William Wang likes being disruptive, and television shoppers are paying the price -- a lower price. In 2002, when plasma TVs were selling for $10,000, the Taiwanese-born entrepreneur set out to sell one for $2,999. He fulfilled his ambition a year later, shipping a 46-inch model with a $2,799 price tag, about half what other brands then charged. Now his Irvine-based company, Vizio Inc., is the No.