Seattle founders are trying to improve space communication, hiring, restaurant marketing, jewelry sustainability, and finding a great bottle of wine.

We’re back with the latest Startup Radar, our regular spotlight on up-and-coming, early stage Seattle-area startups.

Read on for brief descriptions of each company — and a pitch assessment from GPT-powered “Mean VC,” which we prompt to offer both positive and critical feedback.

Check past Startup Radar posts here, and email me at taylor@geekwire.com to flag other companies or startup news.

Aetheon

Founded: 2025

The business: Job-matching platform designed to map real world capabilities to work opportunities. Its software translates lived experiences — such as military service, caregiving, or community work — into market-ready skills. Aetheon is partnering with organizations including the World Economic Forum and Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program to pilot its skills intelligence system. The startup has raised $550,000.

Leadership: Founder and CEO Marie Gill was an exec at Executive Networks, Concertus, and Modifi. She also leads the Green Apron Alliance of Starbucks alumni. Co-founders include Gina Jeneroux, a 37-year veteran of BMO Financial Group, and longtime entrepreneur and product leader Mark Wayman.

Mean VC: “You’ve got real partners and credible operators, but in a saturated ‘skills’ space you need to show exactly where you win (segment, data, or workflow) and hard proof that pilots convert into sizable, repeatable contracts.”

Constellation

Founded: 2025

The business: Space communication software that helps satellite operators avoid losing valuable mission data by predicting when a ground connection is about to fail. Its system spots the problem early and automatically reroutes data through a better path. Constellation is testing its technology with defense and industrial partners.

Leadership: Founder and CEO Kamran Majid is a former software engineer at SpaceX and Xplore. Other co-founders include Raaid Kabir, a former engineer with Prudential Financial and Blue Origin; Omeed Tehrani, a software engineer at Capital One; and Laith Altarabishi, also a software engineer at Capital One.

Mean VC: “The problem and team both look strong, yet unless you can prove fast integration, real willingness to pay, and expansion inside operators, this risks being treated as a clever reliability feature rather than a standalone company.”

Feedia

Founded: 2025

The business: AI-powered marketing manager to help small, independent restaurant owners automate their digital marketing, cut costs, and save time. The startup aims to empower immigrant restaurant owners often underserved due to language barriers. Feedia has 15 pilot users and plans to begin paid subscription trials next quarter.

Leadership: CEO Deyi (Robert) Zhu is a Seattle restaurateur who co-owns the fast-casual chain Master Bing. He previously worked in business development leadership roles at SprintiQ and Beejern. Co-founder Dexuan Zhu is a senior engineer at Sea Group in Singapore.

Mean VC: “Founder-market fit is excellent and the immigrant focus is compelling, but without clear, quantified impact on revenue or hours saved and a very narrow core use case, you’ll blend into the noise of generic “AI for SMB marketing” tools.”

Redyoos

Founded: 2024

The business: Circular jewelry recycling system that recovers precious metals from pre-owned jewelry and returns them to the supply chain. The company partners with groups like Goodwill, Armoire, Starbucks, Dress for Success, and Phoenix Tailings, and is developing an AI-powered product for jewelry appraisal. Redyoos is bootstrapped and generating revenue.

Leadership: Founder and CEO Cleo Escarez was chief operating officer at Boma Silver Jewelry and a former brand manager at Starbucks.

Mean VC: “The circular jewelry angle and partnerships are promising, but your entire story hinges on whether you can beat existing recycling channels on unit economics and make the AI appraisal tool essential rather than decorative.”

Theodora

Founded: 2022

The business: Provides casual wine drinkers with personalized recommendations guided by answers about their taste and budget. Theodora suggests a bottle based on what’s available in a nearby store. The company is bootstrapped and just launched its iOS app this week.

Leadership: Founder and CEO Jess Thevenoz was a former data analyst at Flockjay, Hellosaurus, and CDC Group.

Mean VC: “The consumer problem is relatable and your store-based recommendations are logical, but you still need to prove sticky repeat usage and a path to monetizing retailer or brand value so you don’t become just another short-lived wine app.”

Our latest spotlight on up-and-coming startups in Seattle covers a lot of ground — dog-influenced connections, shareable travel itineraries, personalized exam prep, and streamlined product reporting.

This regular series spotlights early stage startups that are getting off the ground with innovative ideas.

Read on for brief descriptions of each company — and a pitch assessment from GPT-powered “Mean VC,” which we prompt to offer both positive and critical feedback.

Check past Startup Radar posts here, and email me at taylor@geekwire.com to flag other companies or startup news.

AceRocket

Founded: 2025

The business: Learning platform that helps high school students prepare for SAT, ACT, and AP exams through personalized daily practice. Uses AI and an adaptive question engine to tailor each learning path to a student’s performance. The bootstrapped startup has served more than 200 beta users and plans to expand its pilot program later this year.

Leadership: CEO Dong Zhang spent three years at Amazon as a machine learning scientist and two years at IBM as a data scientist.

Mean VC: “AceRocket hits a timeless market with an AI-driven, adaptive prep system that could actually make standardized test study less soul-crushing and more effective. But the test-prep space is dominated by giants with brand trust, so unless you show radically better outcomes — or pivot fast when tests go optional — you’re launching into headwinds, not orbit.”

Boop

Founded: 2025

The business: AI-native social travel companion that automatically turns real trips into shoppable itineraries friends can copy, personalize, and book. Boop wants to create the world’s largest network of itineraries — connecting travelers, creators, and local businesses through personalized recommendations. Boop is backed by Bling Capital, BBG Ventures, and the AI2 Incubator, and just launched its public waitlist.

Leadership: CEO Nancy Li Smith is a longtime product leader with stints at Meta, Microsoft, and more recently BrightAI.

Mean VC: “Boop taps into the perfect intersection of social discovery and travel commerce, with a clear path to viral growth if itineraries truly feel personal and shareable. But unless Boop cracks retention and monetization beyond influencer sparkle, it risks becoming another glossy app people forget between trips.”

Dotted

Founded: 2025

The business: Automates product reporting by pulling live data from tools like Jira, GitHub, and Slack, turning it into leadership-ready narratives. Aims to replace slide decks, free product teams from manual updates, and give executives real-time visibility and control. Dotted is currently in closed beta is building out its B2B early access program.

Leadership: Co-founder Dunni Abiodun spent nearly a decade at Microsoft as a software engineer and manager. Co-founder Eric Neuman was a principal product manager at Axon, and worked at Amazon and Microsoft. Former Microsoft director Jeremy Schreiber recently joined as chief commercial officer.

Mean VC: “Dotted smartly targets a universal pain point — turning scattered product data into clear, executive-ready updates without wasting a PM’s weekend on slides. But automation in reporting is a graveyard of ‘almost useful’ tools, and unless Dotted nails narrative accuracy and context, leaders won’t trust what it writes any more than what they already ignore.”

FurFriends

Founded: 2024

The business: Aims to help locals break the “Seattle Freeze” through dog-friendly social connections. The app organizes puppy playdates and events that help dog owners form real-world friendships. The company plans to launch premium subscription features and partnered with the Seattle Mariners earlier this year for a Bark at the Park event at Victory Hall.

Leadership: Founder Avery Morton is a former senior technical product manager at Amazon and was a product manager at Prodege.

Mean VC: “FurFriends cleverly uses dogs as social catalysts to thaw the ‘Seattle Freeze,’ tapping into a playful, emotionally resonant niche with real community stickiness. But unless you crack consistent engagement beyond the first tail wag, you’ll end up with more ghost towns than dog parks.”