GeekWire Awards: Billionaire deals, rare IPO, pharma deal, and intense competition for Deal of the Year

The finalists for Deal of the Year at the 2026 GeekWire Awards include two major acquisitions, a landmark licensing agreement, a major funding round, and a rare IPO — collectively representing billions of dollars in sales.

The award, presented by Wilson Sonsini, recognizes transactions that have made a significant impact on technology and innovation in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. This year’s Deal of the Year winners are Kestra Medical Technologies, Omeros, Protect AI, Statsig, and Temporal.

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.

Seattle startup Lexion was last year’s Deal of the Year winner after being acquired by Docusign for $165 million, the successful exit of an AI-enabled contract management company, which started in 2018 at the Allen Institute for AI in Seattle.

Read on for information about the Feast of the Year finalists, selected by a panel of independent judges based on public nominations. You can help choose a winner: Cast your vote hereor in the embedded form below. Voting continues until April 10.

Statsig was discovered by OpenAI for $1.1 billion in stock deal announced in September, in an unexpected exit from Bellevue, a product testing platform based on Wash. The deal also landed Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji, a former engineering lead at Facebook, in the newly created role of CTO of applications at OpenAI.

Founded in 2021, Statsig powers A/B testing, flagging, and real-time decisions for large companies. It had raised more than $153 million, including a Series C round of $1.1 billion at a cost of $1.1 billion a few months before the acquisition, with the support of Sequoia and Madrona. Statsig now forms the core of Bellevue’s new OpenAI developer office.

Kestra Medical Technologies raised $202 million in its IPO in March 2025, pricing shares above expectations for a strong start for the Kirkland, Wash.-based maker of wearable cardiac devices. Shares began trading on the Nasdaq more than 30% above the IPO price.

Founded in 2014, Kestra makes devices that detect and respond to sudden cardiac arrest. Its IPO marked the end of a long dry spell with no traditional IPOs for Seattle-area tech companies since 2021.

Company Omeros CorporationThe Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company has struck a $2.1 billion deal with pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk for zaltenibart, its clinical-stage drug candidate in development for rare blood and kidney disorders. Announced in October, the deal gives Novo Nordisk exclusive worldwide rights to develop and market the drug.

Founded in 1994 by orthopedic surgeon Gregory A. Demopulos, who still serves as CEO, Omeros went public in 2009 and recently received FDA approval for its lead drug Yartemlea, the first treatment for a rare post-transplant complication.

Protect the AIa Seattle startup that helps companies protect machine learning systems, has agreed to be acquired by cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks in a deal announced in April. Terms were not disclosed, but sources familiar with the deal said it was valued north of $500 million.

Founded in 2022 by former engineering leaders at Amazon and Oracle, Protect AI serves Fortune 500 companies across finance, healthcare, and government. Palo Alto Networks said the deal will strengthen its ability to defend against new AI-driven attack environments.

For a while raised $300 million in a $5 billion Series D round in February, doubling its value from a few months ago. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company builds open source software and cloud services that help companies run complex workflows with reliability — what it calls “long-lasting performance.” The rise of AI agents has increased demand for its platform, with customers including OpenAI, ADP, and Block.

Founded in 2019 by co-founders Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev, who previously built the internal orchestration engine at Uber, Temporal has raised $650 million to date, with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Madrona.

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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