Cosmic Log
How do you handicap a unicorn race? When it comes to the race for the GeekWire Awards, the category for Next Tech Titan is wide open.
The five-startup field includes at least three Seattle-area companies with a unicorn-class valuation of $1 billion or more. The other two companies seem well on their way to that level (if they’re not there already).
Artificial intelligence is one of the Seattle area’s fastest-growing tech frontiers, so it only makes sense for the field to get its own category at the GeekWire Awards.
Recognizing innovations in AI and its allied technologies, ranging from computer vision to machine learning and natural language processing, has always been a part of the big part of the awards, of course. In fact, some of 2019’s contenders for the top AI prize have shown up as finalists in previous years.
But there’s a new twist this year: We’ve split our traditional “Innovation of the Year” award into two categories, focusing on AI and health. The split shines a tighter spotlight on two areas of technology where the Pacific Northwest stands out.
The five finalists in this new category — Highspot, Mighty AI, Olis Robotics, Textio and Xnor — have already made names for themselves.