One of the five finalists for Next Tech Titan at the 2023 GeekWire Awards will join an elite class of companies.
Past winners of this category have gone on to raise big funding rounds or go public, further cementing the Pacific Northwest as a leading global tech hub.
The finalists in this year’s cohort represent a range of industries: supply chain and logistics; electric vehicle battery manufacturing; TV advertising statistics; gaming; and recruiting.
Last year’s winner was Highspot, a startup that sells enterprise software to help make salespeople more efficient. The company ranks No. 6 on the GeekWire 200, our ranking of top Pacific Northwest startups.
The GeekWire Awards recognize the top innovators and companies in Pacific Northwest technology. Finalists in this category and others were selected based on community nominations, along with input from GeekWire Awards judges. Community voting across all categories will continue until May 1, combined with feedback from judges to determine the winner in each category.
We'll announce the winners on May 18 at the GeekWire Awards, presented by Astound Business Solutions. There are a limited number of table sponsorships available to attend the event. Contact our events team at events@geekwire.com for more information.
Submit your votes below and keep scrolling for descriptions of each finalist for Next Tech Titan, presented by Stifel.
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Flexe
What they do: The Seattle startup offers retailers flexible logistics and cost savings through access to a network of distribution facilities and carriers. The company offers same-day delivery and other capabilities, helping customers compete with Amazon.
CEO background: Karl Siebrecht, former CEO of AdReady, was previously president of aQuantive’s Atlas technology division, and later became a Microsoft general manager. He was a finalist for CEO of the Year at the 2022 GeekWire Awards.
Related coverage: Flexe is Seattle’s newest unicorn: Warehousing startup lands $119M, reaches $1B valuation
Group14 Technologies
What they do: The Woodinville, Wash.-based startup manufactures battery materials. It developed a silicon-carbon composite material that can replace the graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries, improving their performance by 50% and providing faster recharging times.
CEO background: Rick Luebbe was previously the CEO and co-founder of EnerG2, a University of Washington spinoff that was acquired by German chemical company BASF.
Related coverage: Go inside Group14, the $3B startup with a secret tech for better batteries
iSpot.tv
What they do: The Seattle-area startup measures the reach and impact of television advertising, helping more than 450 brands measure TV advertising across various viewing formats in real time.
CEO background: Sean Muller was previously chief operating officer at MediaNet Digital; chief technology officer at Demand Media; and chief technology officer at eNom. He also co-founded The Wedding Tracker and EduClick. He was nominated as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 in the Media & Advertising category in the Pacific Northwest.
Related coverage: Goldman Sachs will invest $325M in iSpot, helping to break Nielsen’s lock on TV ad measurement
Rec Room
What they do: The Seattle game development studio is behind Rec Room, a free app described as a “universally accessible online community.” Users can create a cartoony virtual avatar to participate in a variety of activities, many of which were designed by the application’s community.
CEO background: Nick Fajt spent several years at Microsoft, including as a producer and program manager on HoloLens. He was nominated as a Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2017 GeekWire Awards.
Related coverage: Seattle VR startup Rec Room raises $145M, reaches $3.5B valuation
SeekOut
What they do: The Seattle startup helps companies recruit and screen potential candidates to hire by scouring data from a range of sources including GitHub and published papers. The platform has built-in diversity filters to help reduce unconscious bias; an automated messaging tool; and a search engine that understands past hiring patterns and needs based on job descriptions.
CEO background: Anoop Gupta is a former technical assistant to Bill Gates who previously led Microsoft’s Unified Communications Group. He won CEO of the Year at the 2022 GeekWire Awards.
Related coverage: Latest unicorn sighting in Seattle: SeekOut lands $115M to expand recruiting software
Thanks to gold-level and category sponsors: Wilson Sonsini, JLL, Blink, BECU, Baird, Fuel Talent, RSM, Talent Reach, WTIA, Meridian Capital, Bank of America, and T-Mobile. And thanks to silver level sponsors: First Tech, Remitly, Fuel Talent, and SolluCIO Partners.
If interested in sponsoring a category or purchasing a table sponsorship for the event, contact us at events@geekwire.com.
