The results of scientific research and development have become the basis for the development of the economy, the most important factor in increasing its competitiveness, the foundation of modern technologies. Therefore, the problem of effective organization of scientific research and the effectiveness of their financing is extremely urgent. The study of the evolution of organizational forms of science allows us to conclude that in firms that do not have government funding, scientific research at the Nobel level is often carried out. The story of the creation of one of these organizations, the world famous Bell Labs corporation, which is a real incubator of progressive scientific and technical ideas, is told. Over the years, Bell Labs employees have made a number of grandiose discoveries: the detection of cosmic radio emission, the invention of a point-contact transistor, quartz clocks, charge-coupled devices, the creation of information theory, the UNIX operating system, programming languages C, C ++, etc.Considerable attention is paid to describing the scientific and technical results of Bell Labs employees who have become Nobel, Turing, Emmy and Grammy laureates, as well as holders of the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation and the IEEE Medal of Honor. In conclusion, some other scientific achievements of Bell Labs employees that have not received the above awards are discussed. The experience of studying the history of the creation and functioning of this company can be useful when organizing innovative research centers in our country.