Voting is closed and the ballots are tallied. Now, the show must go on. The 2020 GeekWire Awards will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, a fully virtual experience showcasing the Pacific Northwest’s leading innovators, special guest appearances and other fun surprises.
It has been a few months since we announced our Awards’ finalists and since COVID-19 delayed our physical show, we wanted to provide a quick refresher on who is in the running for this prestigious event. Read on to brush up on the finalists in a dozen categories, along with pictures of last year’s winners in each category.
And don’t forget to register here for next week’s Awards show, a one-of-a-kind live virtual event presented by Wave Business. While registration is free, we hope you’ll consider supporting our non-profit partner: Technology Access Foundation. Congrats to all of the GeekWire Awards finalists, and thanks to our sponsors for helping to make this first-ever virtual Awards show a reality.
Startup of the Year, presented by BCRA
This team is on the brink of stardom, but more importantly, innovating, executing, and making a difference.
The finalists are:
- Ally
- Armoire
- LevelTen Energy
- Syndio Solutions
- Uplevel
Read more about the finalists.
Deal of the Year: IPO and Acquisitions, presented by WSGR
It’s the Reese’s cup, chocolate-peanut butter combination: A great acquisition or IPO.
The finalists are:
- Adaptive Biotechnologies prices IPO at $20 per share
- Assurance acquired by Prudential for $2.35 billion
- Tableau acquired by Salesforce for $15.7 billion
- Xevo acquired by Lear for $320 million
- Xnor AI acquired by Apple
Read more about the finalists.
Deal of the Year: Funding, presented by WSGR
This deal put plenty of fuel in the tank for an emerging tech powerhouse from the Pacific Northwest.
The finalists are:
- Amperity
- Auth0
- Outreach
- Remitly
- Vacasa
Read more about the finalists.
Innovation of the Year, presented by Wave Business
Step into the future. This breakthrough could change the way we live.
The finalists are:
- Atomo Coffee’s beanless brew
- The Allen Institute for Artifical Intelligence’s Aristo software
- MagniX’s all-electric motor for airplanes
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s vapor detection technology
- Rebellyous Food’s plant-based nuggets
Read more about the finalists.
Health Innovation of the Year, presented by Premera
This pioneering health, life science, biotechnology or medical breakthrough holds great promise for making the lives of people better or improving the health care system.
The finalists are:
- Athira Pharma
- Blaze Bioscience
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Sana Biotechnology
- Sound Life Sciences
Read more about the finalists.
Big Tech CEO of the Year, presented by EY
This leader of a technology company with more than 200 employees has vision, fortitude, creativity, and that impossible to define x-factor.
The finalists are:
- Dan Lewis, CEO of Convoy
- Matt Oppenheimer, CEO of Remitly
- Karl Siebrecht, CEO of Flexe
- Raj Singh, CEO of Accolade
- Yvonne Wassenaar, CEO of Puppet
Read more about the finalists.
UX Design of the Year, presented by Blink UX
A product’s user experience is no longer a nice to have, it’s a business requirement. This startup’s smart UX design makes a digital product shine. (New category for 2020)
The finalists are:
- 98point6
- Karat
- Skilljar
- Spruce Up
- Tagboard
Read more about the finalists.
Geeks Give Back, presented by BECU
This organization’s positive impact is making the community a better place.
The finalists are:
- Fledge
- Future for Us
- Unloop
- UW Center for an Informed Public
- Year Up
Read more about the finalists.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year, presented by ALLtech
Here’s to the future: Look for big things from this entrepreneur, who has already made an impact in the startup world despite being 30 or younger as of March 2020.
The finalists are:
- Kwame Boler & Claudius Mbemba, co-founders of NEU
- Sara Itucas, co-founder of Legalpad
- Michael Petrochuk, co-founder and CTO of WellSaid Labs
- Aran Khanna, co-founder and CEO of Reserved.ai
- Tony Huang, co-founder and CEO of Possible Finance
Read more about the finalists.
Next Tech Titan, presented by Slalom
Place your bets on the next dominant force in the Pacific Northwest.
The finalists are:
- Auth0
- ExtraHop
- Icertis
- Outreach
- Zipwhip
Read more about the finalists.
Startup CEO of the Year, presented by JLL
Managing a fast-growing startup is not easy, but this startup technology executive has passion, drive, smarts and an ability to see around corners. Eligible companies must have 200 employees or fewer.
The finalists are:
- Kristina Bergman, CEO of Integris
- Tushar Garg, CEO of Flyhomes
- Diego Oppenheimer, CEO of Algorithmia
- Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless
- Yifan Zhang, CEO of Loftium
Read more about the finalists.
Hardware/Gadget of the Year, presented by First Tech Federal Credit Union
This hardware, device or gadget demonstrated innovative engineering and an exemplary user experience, making a unique mark on the technology landscape during the past year.
The finalists are:
- Joylux
- Ventec Life Systems
- Picnic
- RealWear
- TerraClear
Read more about the finalists.
A big thanks to our longtime awards presenting partner, Wave Business, for supporting this fun community event. Also, thanks to gold and category sponsors: BECU, BCRA, Blink UX, EY, JLL, Premera, Slalom, WSGR and First Tech Federal Credit Union. And to our supporting sponsors Bader Martin, Flyhomes, Moz, Funko, Killer Visual Strategies and Tagboard. If interested in sponsoring a category or another component of the GeekWire Awards, please contact us at advertising@geekwire.com.
