GeekWire Awards: Finalists for AI Innovation of the Year are on the cutting edge of tech
From self-driving vehicles to detecting audio deepfakes to computer vision for warehouses — companies across the Pacific Northwest are using groundbreaking advancements in AI technology to solve problems for customers. The six finalists for AI Innovation of the Year at this year’s GeekWire Awards span multiple industries and use cases. The finalists are: Allen Institute for AI; Enzzo; Groundlight; Hiya; Overland AI; and Rhythms. The winner in this category last year was the Allen Institute for AI, for its OLMo open-source large language model. Read more about each organization, and cast your vote below. Allen Institute for AI: The Seattle-based… Read More
From self-driving vehicles to detecting audio deepfakes to computer vision for warehouses — companies across the Pacific Northwest are using groundbreaking advancements in AI technology to solve problems for customers.
The six finalists for AI Innovation of the Year at this year’s GeekWire Awards span multiple industries and use cases. The finalists are: Allen Institute for AI; Enzzo; Groundlight; Hiya; Overland AI; and Rhythms.
The winner in this category last year was the Allen Institute for AI, for its OLMo open-source large language model.
Read more about each organization, and cast your vote below.
Allen Institute for AI: The Seattle-based nonprofit in January released a supersized version of its Tülu 3 AI model, aiming to further advance the field of open-source artificial intelligence and demonstrate its own techniques for enhancing the capabilities of AI models. Ai2 said its new model rivals or exceeds the performance of OpenAI’s GPT 4o and DeepSeek v3 out of China — showing that the U.S. can produce competitive, open-source artificial intelligence, free from the influence of big tech companies, according to the organization.
- Read more: Allen Institute for AI challenges DeepSeek on key benchmarks with big new open-source AI model
Enzzo: The Seattle startup spun out of Pioneer Square Labs last year with a mission to accelerate hardware development. Its software uses AI models to help hardware product makers quickly generate product definitions and goals; a set of user personas; detailed requirements; competitive insight; risks and mitigations; product use cases; and more. The company is led by veteran entrepreneur and tech leader Ford Davidson, who most recently spent time at Meta and Amazon in product leadership roles.
- Read more: Enzzo, a PSL spinout led by Seattle startup vet, raises $3M to use AI for hardware development
Groundlight: This Seattle startup aims to help companies monitor their businesses with AI and computer vision technologies. Its software can tap into a company’s network of cameras to gather real-time data and allow customers to get instant answers from natural language prompts — such as, “is there a truck in the loading dock?” It can also be used to keep raccoons from invading your house, as GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop detailed last year. Longtime tech industry leaders Leo Dirac and Avi Geiger co-founded Groundlight in 2020. It’s ranked No. 180 on the GeekWire 200, our list of top-ranked Pacific Northwest startups.
Hiya: In an example of using AI against AI, Seattle-based Hiya last year launched its Deepfake Voice Detector as a free Google Chrome extension that can identify deepfake audio and video content. The company needs just a second of audio to determine if a voice is authentic or generated by a voice cloning tool. Hiya also offers caller ID, call blocking, and spam protection services. The company launched in 2016, spinning out from Whitepages, and is ranked No. 23 on the GeekWire 200. Hiya is led by Seattle tech vet Alex Algard.
- Read more: Phone spam-fighting startup Hiya rolls out Chrome extension that detects deepfake audio content
Overland AI: Founded in 2022 out of the University of Washington, Overland develops technology for the U.S. military that enables a human operator to control multiple robotic vehicles navigating off-road terrain, including in environments with no GPS. Last year the company won a two-year contract worth up to $18.6 million with the U.S. Army and Defense Innovation Unit to develop its OverDrive technology platform for the U.S. Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle. The company, ranked No. 42 on the GeekWire 200, is led by CEO Byron Boots, a highly regarded robotics researcher who leads the UW’s Robot Learning Laboratory and is a professor at the UW’s computer science school.
Rhythms: Seattle tech veteran Vetri Vellore launched this startup in 2023, with a big vision to help companies improve their productivity and backing from investors who funded his former venture. The company, ranked No. 64 on the GeekWire 200, uses AI to analyze a company’s “rhythms,” or habits and patterns — monthly business reviews, quarterly retrospectives, weekly cross-functional meetings, etc. Vellore previously founded and led Ally, which helped companies monitor their Objectives and Key Results (OKR), and was acquired by Microsoft in 2021.
- Read more: Seattle founder Vetri Vellore, who sold last startup to Microsoft, raises $26M for new AI company
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 March 23, combined with feedback from judges to determine the winner in each category.
We'll announce the winners on April 30 at the GeekWire Awards, presented by Astound Business Solutions. There are a limited number of half-table and full-table sponsorships available to attend the event. Contact our events team at events@geekwire.com to reserve a spot for your team today.
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Astound Business Solutions is the presenting sponsor of the 2025 GeekWire Awards. Thanks also to gold sponsors JLL, Baird, Wilson Sonsini, Baker Tilly and First Tech, and supporting sponsors ALLtech and Showbox Presents.
