GeekWire Awards: From AI safety to robotic ultrasounds, meet the annual winners
From making AI safer for children in critical situations to guiding robotic arms using remote ultrasounds, from sniffing out factory defects to reducing the cost of using large-scale language models – the 2026 GeekWire Prize Winners are building on various frontiers in technology.
The finalists are: mpathic, ElastixAI, Dropzone AI, Dopl Technologies, and Loopr AI.
Now in its 18th year, the GeekWire Awards is the premier event to recognize the top leaders, companies and achievements in Pacific Northwest tech, bringing together hundreds of people to celebrate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. It takes place on May 7 at Showbox SoDo in Seattle.
Last year’s winner was Auger, a startup that makes supply chain software that integrates data, targets inefficiencies and provides real-time insights and automation.
Read on for information about the Inception of the Year winners, selected by a panel of independent judges from public nominations. You can help choose a winner:Cast your vote hereor in the embedded form below. Voting continues today.
Mpathic is a Seattle-based security infrastructure for AI models that work with vulnerable users, including children and people with mental health problems. The company helps basic model developers and LLM-powered application teams stress test model behavior, evaluate responses, and monitor live interactions with defenses that can flag or intervene when AI-generated advice veers into dangerous territory.
Mpathic was founded in 2021 by CEO Grin Lord, a board-certified psychologist and NLP researcher, in an effort to bring more empathy to corporate communication. The company has raised $15 million by 2025 and says its global network of thousands of licensed clinical professionals is growing by the hundreds every week to keep up with demand. Empathic is the No. 188 on the GeekWire 200, a ranking index of the Pacific Northwest’s top startups.
ElastixAI is a Seattle-based startup building an AI platform designed to make running large language models faster, cheaper, and more flexible across edge devices and cloud applications. The platform allows customers to tailor their infrastructure to target specific use cases, and the company says it can help everyone from hyperscalers to businesses integrating AI into day-to-day operations.
The company was co-founded by CEO Mohammad Rastegari, CTO Saman Naderiparizi, and Mahyar Najibi – all veterans of Xnor, a Seattle edge-AI startup acquired by Apple for nearly $200 million in 2020. Founded in early 2025, ElastixAI raised $16 million last May.
Dropzone AI is a Seattle based AI security agent working alongside human analysts in security operations centers, handling repetitive tasks and investigative alerts. The company’s pre-trained agents use extensive language models to simulate the thought process of professional security analysts, helping teams keep up with the growing number of cybersecurity threats.
Dropzone AI was founded by CEO Edward Wu, who previously spent eight years at Seattle-based security company ExtraHop. The company raised $16.8 million in Series A funding last year.
Dopl Technologies is a Seattle startup using telerobotics bringing diagnostic tests and intervention procedures to underserved communities, especially rural patients who would have to travel long distances to reach specialists. Its robotic ultrasound system can be controlled remotely by the sonographer in a separate environment, with advanced haptics and visual tools designed to give the operator a sense of touch – and AI assistance to improve workflow.
Dopl was founded by CEO Ryan James, COO Steve Seslar, and chief medical officer Wayne Monsky, who began researching novel care delivery methods together at the University of Washington in 2017. The company, ranked No.
Loopr is a Seattle startup that sells AI-powered computer vision software which helps manufacturers identify defects and quality problems in real time. Unlike legacy vision systems that require fixed cameras and custom installations, Loopr’s software is hardware-agnostic and can run on tablets, making it accessible across the aerospace, automotive, and chemical industries — where it already works with 10 Fortune 1000 companies.
Loopr was founded in 2021 by CEO Priyansha Bagaria, who was inspired by building disability recognition software for his family’s manufacturing business in India. The company raised $5.4 million in a funding round last August.
Astound Business Solutions is the presenting sponsor of the 2026 GeekWire Awards. Thanks also to gold sponsors Amazon Sustainability, Baird, BECU, JLL, First Tech and Wilson Sonsini, and silver sponsors Prime Team Partners.
The event will feature a VIP reception, dinner and fun social gatherings. Tickets are going fast. A limited number of partial table sponsorships and full sponsorships are available. Contact [email protected] to place your team today.
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