The 2023 GeekWire Awards took place at Showbox SoDo in Seattle, bringing together the top innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, and educators in the Pacific Northwest. The event was presented by Astound Business Solutions and sponsored by various companies at different levels. Guests were encouraged to dress comfortably, with a suggestion of “business casual.” Paid surface lots were available for parking, and attendees were required to show their IDs for entry.
The program schedule included a VIP pre-party by invitation only, sponsored by Baird, and a welcome reception sponsored by Wilson Sonsini. The evening included a cocktail hour, a seated dinner, and the awards program, which began at 7:40 p.m. Several awards were handed out, including Startup of the Year, Next Tech Titan, Deal of the Year, CEO of the Year, Startup CEO of the Year, Innovation of the Year, Health Innovation of the Year, Sustainable Innovation of the Year, Workplace of the Year, UX Design of the Year, and Geeks Give Back awards.
The finalists for Startup of the Year included Shipium, Kevala, Overland AI, Pictory, and SingleFile. The Next Tech Titan finalists were Statsig, Zuper, Submittable, Rec Room, and MotherDuck. Deal of the Year finalists included Recurrent, Rhythms, Oleria, Icosavax, and Treasury4. The CEO of the Year finalists were Gaurav Oberoi, Ozan Unlu, Nancy Xiao, Vijaye Raji, and Linda Lian. Startup CEO of the Year finalists included Emily Pesce, Rathna Sharad, Valerie Daggett, Carla Grandori, and Katherine Sizov.
Innovation of the Year finalists included TEAL, Read AI, Allen Institute of AI, Protect AI, WhyLabs, and Hiya. Health Innovation of the Year finalists included Proprio, adyn, AdaptX, A-Alpha Bio, and CalmWave. Sustainable Innovation of the Year finalists were Carbon Robotics, Electric Era, Tidal Vision, Aquagga, and Banyu Carbon. Workplace of the Year finalists included Lexion, Syndio, Likewise, Humanly, and Arrived. UX Design of the Year finalists were Digs, Copper, Row Zero, WellSaid Labs, and Solo.
Geeks Give Back honorees included Coding for Cancer, TrueMedia, and Housing Connector. The Public Policy Champion for Innovation Award was presented to Washington State Sen. Joe Nguyen. The event featured a night of celebration for the tech community in the Pacific Northwest, highlighting the achievements and contributions of individuals and companies in the industry. Guests were encouraged to use the hashtag #GeekWireAwards when sharing scenes from the festivities on social media.
