There was no shortage of opportunities to qualify for the Deal of the Year category at the GeekWire Awards, given the frenetic pace of IPOs, acquisitions, and gigantic funding rounds across the Pacific Northwest technology scene over the past year. “Deal mania” was a phrase used to describe the flurry of transactions.
Today in GeekWire Awards voting, we recognize a handful of the top deals. There were so many happening over the past 12 months that we’ve again split the Deal of the Year category into two parts: Fundings (of $100 million or less) and Acquisitions/IPOs/Mega Financing Rounds.
Last year’s winner was Auth0, which was acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion, and Rad Power Bikes, which raised a $150 million round.
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 April 22, combined with feedback from judges to determine the winner in each category.
We'll announce the winners on May 12 at the GeekWire Awards, presented by Astound Business Solutions. Contact events@geekwire.com for more information.
Read on to learn more about this year’s Deal of the Year finalists, and submit your vote below for the category, sponsored by Wilson Sonsini.
Create your own user feedback surveyDeal of the Year: Fundings ($100 million or less)
- Esper: DevOps for device fleets: Esper raises $60M to manage devices used in retail, healthcare, schools
- Place: Real estate startup Place comes out of nowhere with $100M round, led by Goldman at $1B valuation
- Shelf Engine: ‘We make our customers rich’: Shelf Engine raises $41M to help grocery giants manage their orders
- Symbl: Seattle-based Symbl landed $17 million for its “conversational intelligence” software used by developers to build speech, text, and video services.
- Tomo: Tomo, a ‘PayPal for the mortgage industry’ fintech startup, lands $40M at $640M valuation
Deal of the Year: IPOs/Acquisitions/Mega Financing Rounds
- Ally: Microsoft acquires collaboration software startup Ally to bolster employee experience platform Viva
- ExtraHop: Seattle cybersecurity startup ExtraHop to be acquired by private equity firms in $900M deal
- Rec Room: Seattle VR startup Rec Room raises $145M, reaches $3.5B valuation
- Remitly: Remitly prices IPO at $43/share; Seattle fintech giant valued at nearly $7B
- Zipwhip: Twilio to acquire Seattle business texting startup Zipwhip for $850 million
A big thanks to Astound Business Solutions, the presenting sponsor of the 2022 GeekWire Awards.
Also, thanks to gold-level and category sponsors: Wilson Sonsini, ALLtech, JLL, DreamBox Learning, Blink UX, BECU, Baird, Fuel Talent, RSM, Aon, Meridian Capital, and WTIA. And thanks to silver level sponsors: J.P. Morgan Chase, Material+, and Tomo.
If interested in sponsoring a category or purchasing a table sponsorship for the event, contact us at events@geekwire.com.
