From space robots to AI storytelling, the latest edition of GeekWire’s startup radar features a diverse mix of early stage tech companies out of Seattle.
We’re excited to include Anthony Bontrager, managing director at West River Group, who provided his quick assessments — the “VC View” — on each startup.
Read more about the companies below. Check out past startup radar spotlights here and email me at [email protected] to flag other companies and startup news.
AlsonAI
Founded: 2024
The business: Generative AI storytelling platform that helps people turn ideas into illustrated books with one click. AlsonAI just launched out of beta this week after testing its product. The company is bootstrapped.
Leadership: Nafisa Muzaffar spent more than a decade at Amazon building products across Kindle, Prime, and AWS. She said she founded AlsonAI to make “storytelling as accessible and scalable as online shopping.”
VC View from Anthony Bontrager: “Content is and always will be king. I like Alson’s workflow which makes it very easy to go from content ideation to creation — this should help drive adoption. However the barrier to entry is low, which begs the question: Can Alson achieve escape velocity quickly and prove this is a venture scale company?”
InnoMat
Founded: 2024
The business: AI-powered platform for R&D and supply chain teams that helps with material selection based on specifications. The idea is to accelerate development cycles and reduce costs. The company is bootstrapped and plans to join the LAUNCH Accelerator this year.
Leadership: CEO and co-founder Charlie Sun is a former military aircraft material researcher. Co-founder Justin Ye is a materials professor at Miami University.
VC View: “AI-enabled prototyping is rapidly gaining traction as it embodies all of AI’s promises — speed, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, you name it. To take that one step further and actually use AI to select the appropriate materials based in different variables offers profound benefits to multiple industries. Some serious competitors to contend with, but supply chain innovation is a particularly exciting space right now, so the timing should be good for them.”
LoftxAI
Founded: 2025
The business: AI agents for rental property managers to assist with back-office operations such as revenue management, corporate accounting, and market research. The company’s software can perform tasks, conduct research, and produce business reports.
Leadership: CEO and co-founder Avinash Belur held product management roles at Google, Meta, Expedia, and Microsoft. Co-founder Vallur Narasimhan spent more than a decade at Expedia.
VC View: “There are a lot of companies attacking this market from different vectors; meaning they will run into challenges differentiating themselves beyond just AI. The co-founder CEO has a great background and could surprise us all.”
Orbital Robotics
Founded: 2024
The business: Building autonomous space robots that service, assemble, and protect spacecraft in orbit. The company’s robots use AI-powered software that enables precise control. Orbital plans to start with spacecraft refueling.
Leadership: CEO and founder Aaron Borger spent two years as a software engineer at Blue Origin and previously co-founded a fintech startup called Kara Market Intelligence. COO Doug Kohl is an aerospace veteran who also worked at Blue Origin. Orbital has several other longtime space and robotics leaders as advisors.
VC View: “I think this is a really cool concept and something that doesn’t get a lot of airtime — how do we manage and maintain the multitude of space craft orbiting earth? This is a complex and highly capital intensive play, although the capital involved has come down over the past decade. I’d like to know more about how they differentiate themselves from others who are operating in (or around) this space. Team background is impressive.”
Read the full article here
