The 2024 GeekWire Awards celebrated the new entrepreneurs shaping the future of innovation in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. The event brought together a sold-out crowd at Showbox SoDo in Seattle, with over 60 finalists competing across various categories including Startup of the Year, Next Tech Titan, Workplace of the Year, and more. Artificial intelligence was a recurring theme throughout the evening, with many finalists and winners utilizing this technology in their innovations.
The theme of the night, “Land Before Tech,” paid homage to the innovation of yesteryear with dinosaurs and table centerpieces made of outdated gadgets like VHS tapes and Polaroid cameras. The event featured a performance by Robert McPherson, who sang a song about previous tech trends set to the tune of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The evening highlighted the transformational impact that advances in technology, particularly generative AI, have had on various industries.
The winners of the awards included Pictory for Startup of the Year, Washington State Sen. Joe Nguyen for Public Policy Champion for Innovation, Electric Era for Sustainable Innovation of the Year, Rhythms for Deal of the Year, and Allen Institute for AI for Innovation of the Year. Other winners included CalmWave for Health Innovation of the Year, Copper for UX Design of the Year, and Zuper for Next Tech Titan. The event also recognized Geeks Give Back honorees such as Coding for Cancer, Housing Connector, and TrueMedia.org for their contributions to their respective fields.
The winners of the Workplace of the Year award was Likewise, while Rathna Sharad of FlavorCloud received the Startup CEO of the Year award. CEO of the Year was awarded to Ozan Unlu of Edge Delta for his leadership in the software industry. The event also featured speeches from the winners, highlighting the hard work of their teams and the impact of their innovations on their respective industries. The GeekWire Awards provided a platform to recognize and celebrate the achievements of tech entrepreneurs and innovators in the Seattle area.
Special thanks were given to sponsors of the 2024 GeekWire Awards, including Astound Business Solutions, Wilson Sonsini, JLL, Blink UX, BECU, Baird, and others. The event showcased the vibrant tech ecosystem in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, highlighting the creativity, innovation, and dedication of the individuals and companies driving the region’s tech industry forward. Overall, the 2024 GeekWire Awards served as a platform to celebrate and honor the achievements of the tech community in the region.
