GeekWire Awards: Breakthrough tech for healthcare and data centers highlight Innovation of the Year

From the research lab to the healthcare clinic and all the way above Earth — the Pacific Northwest continues to produce game-changing innovation.

The finalists for Innovation of the Year at the 2026 GeekWire Awards — Alpenglow Biosciences; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; RevealDx; Starcloud; and VerAvanti — include companies and organizations thinking outside the box to develop cutting-edge technology that help power data centers, modernize healthcare diagnostics, and more.

Now in its 18th year, the GeekWire Awards is the premier event recognizing the top leaders, companies and breakthroughs in Pacific Northwest tech, bringing together hundreds of people to celebrate innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. It takes place May 7 at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle.

Microsoft’s Majorana 1, a new quantum processor based on a novel state of matter, won Innovation of the Year honors last year.

This category is presented by Astound Business Solutions.

Continue reading for information on Innovation of the Year finalists, who were chosen by a panel of independent judges from community nominations. You can help pick the winner: Cast your ballot here or in the embedded form at the bottom. Voting runs through April 10.

Seattle-based Alpenglow Biosciences, which spun out of the University of Washington in 2018, has developed tools to quickly create multi-dimensional images from biological tissue samples and analyze the results. The company recently announced a partnership with PathNet, a leading U.S. pathology laboratory, to help commercialize use of the startup’s 3D microscope technology in clinical settings.

Alpenglow is led by CEO and co-founder Dr. Nick Reder, who helped launch the company to solve problems he experienced as a medical resident in pathology at the UW.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, known as PNNL, is a 60-year-old institution managed by the U.S. Department of Energy that performs research in areas including energy, chemistry, data analytics and other science and technology fields. More than 210 companies have their roots at the laboratory, and 3,213 patents have been issued for research that started at PNNL.

Some of the latest work from the lab includes research on quantum computing; the application of new AI models for scientific discovery; the intersection of robotics and lab experiments; and tiny fish monitoring technology.

RevealDx is a Seattle-based startup that develops software aimed at improving the way healthcare professionals diagnose lung cancer. The company’s product uses machine learning techniques to assess the probability that lung nodules found on chest CT scans are cancerous — an alternative to more invasive procedures. RevealDx recently received FDA clearance for its RevealAI-Lung imaging software.

The company is led by CEO Chris Wood, who previously founded Seattle health tech company Clario Medical Imaging and was CTO at Intelerad Medical Systems.

Starcloud is building out a space-based data centers, powered by grids of massive solar panels that offer an alternative to data centers on Earth amid a surge in energy demand from the AI boom. The Redmond, Wash.-based company, previously known as Lumen Orbit, graduated from Y Combinator in 2024. NVIDIA showed off Starcloud’s data center at the beginning of Jensen Huang’s keynote at the chip giant’s recent GTC conference.

Starcloud is led by CEO and co-founder Philip Johnston, a former associate at McKinsey & Co. who also co-founded an e-commerce venture called Opontia.

VerAvanti, a Bothell, Wash.-based medical technology company founded in 2013, develops ultra-thin imaging scopes that can be used for diagnosis in cardiology, neurosurgery, and peripheral artery work. The company raised a $31.5 million round last year and later announced a $5 million investment from a Middle Eastern family office that operates as a medical device distributor.

VerAvanti is led by CEO Gerald McMorrow, who previously helped launch Verathon, another medical device company that sold in 2009 for $300 million.

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, sit-down dinner and fun entertainment mixed in. Tickets go fast. A limited number of half-table and full-table sponsorships available. Contact [email protected] to reserve a spot for your team today. Create your own user feedback survey