GeekWire Awards: The machines of the future, from self-driving earth movers to space robots
An emerging class of startups is pushing the boundaries of what machines can do in the physical world — retooling bulldozers to dig on their own, launching drones that ring police cars and making 911 calls, outfitting grocery store workers with spatial computing badges, building robotic arms for spacecraft, and servicing satellites in orbit.
Those are the innovations represented by the Hardware/Robotics/Physical AI of the Year winners at the 2026 GeekWire Awards.
The finalists are: AIM, Augmodo, Brinc, Orbital Robotics, and Starfish Space.
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.
Read on for information about the Hardware/Robotics/Physical AI of the Year finalists, selected by a panel of independent judges from public submissions.
You can help choose a winner: Cast your vote here or in the embedded form below. Voting continues until April 16.
AIM Smart Devices restores heavy earth moving equipment such as bulldozers and excavators to operate autonomously, using sensors and an edge computing system to create real-time 3D maps of the machine’s surroundings and navigate without a human driver.
Originally focused on mining and construction, the company recently expanded into defense, winning $4.9 million in US Air Force contracts to build and maintain military bases and airfields.
The Seattle-area startup announced $50 million in funding by 2025 and was founded in 2021 by experienced engineers at Waymo, SpaceX, Google, Stripe, Tesla and Apple. CEO Adam Sadilek leads the company.
Augmodo manufactures wearable “Smartbadge” devices for retail store employees which use computer vision and 3D mapping to collect real-time inventory data as workers move between aisles, tracking empty shelves, overstocking and product availability. This method is designed as a cheaper and more efficient method than robotic scanners.
The Seattle startup, founded in 2023, raised $37.5 million in a Series A round on top of a previously announced seed round of $5.4 million. CEO Ross Finman previously founded Escher Reality, which was acquired by Niantic Labs, and spent more than four years at the maker of “Pokémon Go”. The company recently hired a new CTO for Microsoft HoloLens and Amazon Alexa and has grown its team nearly fivefold.
Brinc build police, fire and emergency dronesrecently launched the Guardian, the world’s first Starlink-connected aircraft. The Guardian can launch automatically for a 911 call, fly up to eight miles at 60 mph for more than an hour, and deliver payloads such as defibrillators and emergency medicine.
The company’s products are used by more than 900 public safety agencies and more than 20% of SWAT teams in the US.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Blake Resnick, the Seattle-based company has raised $75 million in a round that includes a strategic alliance with Motorola Solutions, bringing total funding to $157.2 million. The company now employs 160 people and is moving into a new 35,000-square-foot headquarters and factory in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood.
Orbital Robots is developing AI-powered robotic arms for spacecraftto face the challenge of turning objects in orbit where every movement of the arm causes the spacecraft itself to move in response.
A startup based in Puyallup, Wash. we are also working to build a coalition to maintain NASA’s aging Hubble Space Telescope by building a robotic spacecraft to boost it into a more stable orbit.
Established in late 2024, the company has raised nearly $310,000 and is working with a strategic space business on the US Space Force’s orbital rendezvous project. Co-founders Aaron Brger, Doug Kohl, Riley Mark and Sohil Pokharna are former Blue Origin engineers.
Starfish Space build a satellite-powered spacecraft designed to automatically launch, dock and re-orbit satellites — including satellites that were not designed to be serviced in orbit. Its Otter spacecraft can extend the lifespan of satellites by raising them to higher orbits or moving them to lower orbits for safe disposal.
The Tukwila, Wash.-based company, founded in 2019 by former Blue Origin engineers Austin Link and Trevor Bennett, recently raised more than $110 million in a Series B round, pushing total funding past $150 million.
Starfish has completed three on-orbit demonstration missions and has Otter missions under contract with the US Space Force, NASA, SES and others, with its first mission expected to launch this year.
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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