Finalists for the 2023 GeekWire Innovation of the Year award, clockwise from upper left: the Yoodli team; Byron Boots of Overland AI; Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev of Temporal; Ghostwriter developer Patrick Husting; and Sam Browd of Proprio.

If there’s any doubt that 2023 is the Year of Artificial Intelligence, this should put it to rest.

Novel and clever inventions and implementations of AI, robotics, automation, and productivity are the common thread among the five finalists in the 2023 GeekWire Awards category of Innovation of the Year: Ghostwriter, Overland AI, Proprio, Temporal, and Yoodli.

This category recognizes breakthrough innovations with the potential to change the way we live and work.

Last year’s winner was First Mode, developer of a hydrogen fuel cell generator that can power massive trucks, retrofitting big vehicles to provide a clean source of energy. 

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 here or below and keep scrolling for descriptions of each finalist for Innovation of the Year, presented by GeekWire Awards title sponsor Astound Business Solutions.

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Ghostwriter: Developed by entrepreneur Patrick Husting, this add-in for Microsoft Office beat Microsoft to the punch by integrating ChatGPT into the company’s flagship productivity suite weeks before Microsoft announced plans to do so itself. After starting with Microsoft Word, Ghostwriter has since expanded to other Microsoft Office apps.

Overland AI: Founded by University of Washington machine learning, applied physics, and robotics experts, this company focuses on technology for off-road autonomous vehicles. The goal is to help companies that use vehicles on complex terrain address safety issues and labor shortages. “Overland AI believes that autonomy is not just for roadways and warehouses,” CEO Byron Boots said.

Proprio: This company wants to reinvent surgery with technology that enables surgeons to see key structures on a screen in 3D in real time. The system helps clinicians place incisions and guide placement of hardware, such as devices that can help straighten a spine. The system has been tested primarily for spine and cranial surgery, some of the biggest sources of revenue for hospital systems.

Temporal: With a focus on improving the productivity of software developers, Temporal has landed some big-name customers for its service, including Datadog, Descript, Netflix, Snap, and others. Temporal’s platform replaces ad-hoc systems with the goal of giving developers more time to code, reducing the time they need to focus on scalability and reliability.

Yoodli: This startup, a spinout from the Allen Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI2), offers an AI-powered platform that coaches users to improve their public speaking skills by analyzing audio and video of them delivering speeches and presentations. After landing a $6 million funding round in August, the company secured a partnership with a giant in the field, Toastmasters.

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