Now in its third yr, GeekWire’s “Unusual Thinkers” — in partnership with Better Seattle Companions — acknowledges the inventors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs reworking industries and driving optimistic change on the planet.
We met six innovators this yr who’re main startups that handle things like the design of drug candidates; a throwback concept for telephones for teenagers; a brand new strategy to social media; elimination of dangerous chemical substances; spacecraft propulsion; and AI that performs laptop duties in your behalf.
Their colleagues name them “artistic,” “mission-driven,” “laser-focused,” “extremely low-ego,” and “sensible.”
The honorees will likely be celebrated as a part of Thursday’s GeekWire Gala in Seattle.
Make amends for our profiles of every winner under:
Anindya Roy, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Lila Biologics
- Anindya Roy’s path from a village in rural India to co-founding Seattle’s Lila Biologics is a narrative of persistence, curiosity, and boundary-pushing science. After coaching in high U.S. analysis labs, together with the Baker Lab on the College of Washington, Roy now helps flip superior protein-design ideas into actual drug candidates — from most cancers therapies to long-acting injectables — utilizing cutting-edge computational instruments. His journey highlights how unconventional pondering can drive the subsequent wave of biotech innovation. Learn extra.
Chet Kittleson, co-founder and CEO of Tin Can
- Chet Kittleson is on a mission to carry again one thing uncommon in 2025: screen-free, voice-to-voice connection for teenagers. Tin Can‘s shiny, WiFi-enabled landline telephones are designed to let children name one another or trusted contacts — no apps, no social media, no distractions. After elevating $3.5 million and promoting out its first two batches, Tin Can now has prospects in all 50 states and throughout Canada. For Kittleson, each ring is an indication that folks are craving easier, extra significant methods for his or her youngsters to attach — and that this retro-inspired {hardware} may very well be the antidote to display screen overload. Learn extra.
Brian Pinkard, co-founder and CTO of Aquagga
- Brian Pinkard went from “flipping rocks” on path crews within the Colorado Rockies to engineering an answer to one of the cussed air pollution issues we face: “endlessly chemical substances.” Now, at Tacoma, Wash.-based startup Aquagga, he’s utilizing superior chemistry to destroy PFAS contamination at its supply. From hazardous-waste analysis to modular PFAS-destruction programs which have already been examined in Alaska, firefighting-foam cleanup, and municipal wastewater tasks, Pinkard and his workforce are proving that impact-focused engineers can deal with environmental issues others name unsolvable. Learn extra.
Jeff Thornburg, co-founder and CEO of Portal House Programs
- Jeff Thornburg is pushing the boundaries of what satellites can do by constructing a spacecraft that actually rides on daylight. By way of its flagship design, Supernova, Portal House Programs plans to make use of solar-thermal propulsion to provide future spacecraft dramatic, “science fiction”-style maneuverability: fast orbital shifts, lengthy mission lifetimes, and adaptability for each protection and business missions. Backed by a $17.5 million seed spherical and constructing out a big manufacturing facility in Bothell, Wash., Portal is reworking from startup imaginative and prescient to production-ready aerospace participant — and Thornburg’s journey from SpaceX and Venture Kuiper alum to main a next-gen house enterprise reveals simply how far ambition and actual engineering can take you. Learn extra.
Kiana Ehsani, co-founder and CEO of Vercept
- Kiana Ehsani is constructing AI platforms at Seattle-based Vercept not simply to optimize workflows, however to provide individuals again their time to dwell. With Vercept’s flagship software Vy, her workforce has created a system that “sees” laptop screens like a human, information workflows as soon as, after which lets customers automate duties with a natural-language command. Meaning no extra juggling dozens of apps, remembering shortcuts, or writing code — and extra freedom to hike trails, ski mountains, or just step away from the display screen like Ehsani herself does when she’s out in nature. Learn extra.
Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky
- Jay Graber is steering Bluesky not as a standard social-network boss, however as a “pragmatic idealist” constructing a decentralized digital world that places energy again in customers’ arms. As an alternative of locking content material and social graphs behind proprietary partitions, Bluesky is constructed on the open AT Protocol — that means individuals can carry their posts, followers, and id throughout platforms, even when the unique app disappears. Graber envisions Bluesky as much less a product and extra a residing “collective organism,” one that would develop into the muse for a extra open, versatile social web. Learn extra.
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