Temporal, a Bellevue-based software company whose platform helps AI agents run reliably, is No. 1 in GeekWire’s Fall 2026 GeekWire 200 update, replacing fusion company Helion. The ranking’s top tier reflects two distinct kinds of Pacific Northwest startup activity: AI and software infrastructure, alongside capital-intensive companies making rockets, drones, radar, autonomous vehicles and other advanced machinery.
What changed at the top of the GeekWire 200
GeekWire describes the GeekWire 200 as its ranking of the region’s top privately held tech startups. In the Fall 2026 update, Temporal moved into first place and Helion moved to second. Stoke Space is No. 3, while Brinc, Overland AI, Carbon Robotics, Echodyne and Dropzone also appear in the top ten.
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The positions sit alongside very different kinds of company signals. GeekWire reports financing, annualized revenue and customer names for Temporal; funding and a planned delivery timeline for Helion; and production, factory or test-site expansion among several hardware companies. Those details offer context, but they are not a common performance score.
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Temporal leads
GeekWire reports that Temporal raised $550 million at a $12.55 billion valuation. It also reports annualized revenue above $250 million, growing by more than 200% in a year, and names OpenAI, Nvidia and Netflix among its customers. These are figures reported by GeekWire in 2026, not independently audited measurements. Temporal’s place at No. 1 makes it the update’s clearest software-infrastructure example: its product is intended to help AI agents and other applications run reliably.
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AI appears in more than one category
AI is not limited to a single type of startup in the ranking. GeekWire points to companies applying it in security operations, agriculture, construction, coding and enterprise software. Dropzone, an AI security-operations company, is No. 10 after rising three places; GeekWire says its headcount more than doubled over the prior year. Carbon Robotics, No. 8, makes laser-weeding equipment and is adding a feature that lets farmers tailor its AI model to particular crops and fields.
Advanced machinery is a substantial part of the top ten
GeekWire says six of the top ten companies build advanced machinery. The group spans fusion reactors, rockets, drones, radar, military vehicles and weed-zapping robots. These businesses are different from software startups in the kinds of milestones highlighted: manufacturing capacity, test infrastructure, contracts and physical production can be as important to their stories as capital raised.
Energy and space
Helion, the fusion-energy company now at No. 2, raised a Series G round that GeekWire reports had grown to $500 million, and it had more than 800 employees. GeekWire also notes questions about the company’s timeline to deliver fusion power to Microsoft by 2028; the ranking does not resolve whether that milestone will be met.
Stoke Space is No. 3 after climbing three places. The rocket developer had raised roughly $1 billion, according to GeekWire, and is expanding its Moses Lake test site to a planned 550 acres. Starcloud, another company noted in the update, raised $250 million at a reported $2.3 billion valuation.
Drones, radar and autonomous vehicles
Brinc, No. 6, makes public-safety drones. GeekWire reports a $125 million funding round led by Motorola Solutions and says the company is moving to a Seattle headquarters and factory with three times its current production space.
Overland AI, No. 7, develops autonomy for military ground vehicles. GeekWire describes it as the first ground-autonomy company to prime a military production deal and reports a $19.7 million Marine Corps contract.
Rank #4
Echodyne, No. 9, makes compact radar used for applications including drone detection. It rose 33 places, and GeekWire reports that it opened a $40 million factory in Woodinville to meet demand.
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GeekWire says its index combines objective data, editorial insight and AI analysis of GeekWire coverage. It dates the index to 2013 and says investors, job seekers, service providers and others have used it to follow the regional technology community.
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The article describes eligible companies as privately held, generally founded within roughly the past 15 years, headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, and led by leadership based in the region. Companies generally leave the ranking after agreeing to be acquired or going public. A startup seeking consideration should first appear in GeekWire’s broader Startup List; the article says there is no need to submit it separately if it is already listed there.
What the rankings can—and cannot—tell you
GeekWire is explicit that the index is not scientific and that individual rankings should be taken “with a grain of salt.” The update does not publish a full scoring formula, dataset, weighting system or company-level validation records. A position therefore should not be read as a precise measure of a company’s quality, revenue, investment merit or likelihood of success.
The useful takeaway is about the mix of businesses represented and the activity GeekWire chose to highlight—not a like-for-like comparison of their prospects. A funding round, a factory opening, an expansion plan and a product milestone describe different things, and none alone establishes how a company will perform.
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For the ranking, methodology and company details, see GeekWire’s Fall 2026 GeekWire 200 update.
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