LinkedIn just released its list of the top 10 Seattle startups: One
LinkedIn released the ranking on October 14, 2026, and GeekWire Startups reporter John Cook checked the headquarters behind all ten names at 2:42 pm.
By Dillip Chowdary • Oct 15, 2026 • Source: GeekWire Startups
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn released a ranking titled "The 10 companies on the rise in Seattle" on October 14, 2026. GeekWire Startups's report by John Cook, timestamped 2:42 pm, checked the headquarters behind the ten names. Anthropic is #1, Auger is #2, Whatnot is #3, and Armada is #9. Those four keep headquarters outside the Seattle area: three in California, and Auger in Texas.
This piece names all ten companies, separates Seattle-area headquarters from engineering centers, and records how LinkedIn scored the list. It is for founders, recruiters, and readers who use a regional ranking as a map of where a company sits. LinkedIn weighs employment growth, engagement with company pages, interest in job openings, and the ability to recruit talent from LinkedIn's list of top companies. The data covers July 2025 through June 2026.
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San Francisco-based Anthropic holds #1, with a growing engineering center at Dexter Yard North in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. John Cook writes that picturing Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and his team cutting deals at the Washington Athletic Club, or debating the future of AI over lattes in Kirkland, is a hallucination bigger than most AI models could create. Auger, at #2, is an AI logistics startup co-founded by former Amazon executive Dave Clark. Auger moved its headquarters to Dallas in August and maintains a Bellevue engineering center.
Whatnot, at #3, is a heavily funded video-based shopping startup that set up an engineering center in Seattle last year and is headquartered in the Los Angeles area. Armada, at #9, is a data center upstart whose own LinkedIn profile places the company in San Francisco. With Anthropic, that is three California headquarters on the Seattle ten, plus Auger's Texas headquarters in Dallas. LinkedIn requires a United States headquarters for its U.S. rankings. Its Seattle list, "The 10 companies on the rise in Seattle," still includes companies headquartered in other states.
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Six companies on the ten are based in the Seattle area: Bellevue-based Truveta at #4, Seattle-based Yoodli at #5, Redmond-based Worldscape at #6, Seattle-based Overland AI at #7, Seattle-based Gradial at #8, and Kent-based Stoke Space at #10. The GeekWire 200 ranks the top 200 privately held startup companies in the Pacific Northwest. Truveta, Yoodli, Overland AI, Gradial, and Stoke Space are on that ranking. Worldscape is the one of those six absent from the GeekWire 200. Anthropic, Auger, Whatnot, and Armada are on GeekWire's engineering center list.
| LinkedIn rank | Company | Headquarters | Seattle-area presence in the report |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Anthropic | San Francisco | Engineering center at Dexter Yard North, South Lake Union |
| #2 | Auger | Dallas, after a move in August | Bellevue engineering center |
| #3 | Whatnot | Los Angeles area | Engineering center set up in Seattle last year |
| #4 | Truveta | Bellevue | Bellevue headquarters; on the GeekWire 200 |
| #5 | Yoodli | Seattle | Seattle headquarters; on the GeekWire 200 |
| #6 | Worldscape | Redmond | Redmond headquarters; absent from the GeekWire 200 |
| #7 | Overland AI | Seattle | Seattle headquarters; on the GeekWire 200 |
| #8 | Gradial | Seattle | Seattle headquarters; on the GeekWire 200 |
| #9 | Armada | San Francisco, per its LinkedIn profile | On GeekWire's engineering center list |
| #10 | Stoke Space | Kent | Kent headquarters; on the GeekWire 200 |
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Chainguard is absent from the Seattle ten and ranked #42 on LinkedIn's accompanying report on the top 50 startups in the U.S. The cybersecurity company is headquartered in Kirkland and is fully remote. The Seattle ranking counts employees and hiring in the city, which leaves that remote company off the city cut. One of Chainguard's co-founders calls the Seattle area home. GeekWire claims Chainguard as a Seattle-area startup for that reason. Cook calls the headquarters pattern a new one for GeekWire.
How to install or upgrade LinkedIn just released its list of the top 10
LinkedIn's method for this ranking uses four factors: employment growth, engagement with company pages, interest in job openings, and the ability to recruit talent from LinkedIn's list of top companies. The data covers July 2025 through June 2026. Companies must be headquartered in the United States to qualify for LinkedIn's U.S. rankings. They can make the Seattle list, "The 10 companies on the rise in Seattle," with a headquarters in another state. That rule is how a California or Texas headquarters still occupies a slot among the ten.
Anthropic's headquarters is San Francisco, its Seattle site is the Dexter Yard North engineering center in South Lake Union, and its rank is #1. Auger, co-founded by former Amazon executive Dave Clark, moved its headquarters to Dallas in August, keeps a Bellevue engineering center, and is #2. Whatnot's headquarters is in the Los Angeles area, its Seattle engineering center opened last year, and its rank is #3. Armada, a data center company, lists San Francisco on its LinkedIn profile and is #9.
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Charles Fitzgerald, a GeekWire columnist and angel investor, called the list a "half-assed" effort. Fitzgerald said, "For a Microsoft-owned company, you'd think they'd have better insight into where Seattle is actually located." The split behind that line is four companies: Anthropic at #1 and Armada at #9, both San Francisco; Whatnot at #3, in the Los Angeles area; and Auger at #2, with its headquarters in Dallas since the August move and a Bellevue engineering center still open. Three of the four headquarters are in California, and one is in Texas.
Cook's check rejects picturing Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei cutting deals at the Washington Athletic Club or debating AI over lattes in Kirkland. Anthropic's headquarters is San Francisco, and its Seattle site is the engineering center at Dexter Yard North in South Lake Union. Also on the ten: Truveta in Bellevue (#4), Yoodli in Seattle (#5), Worldscape in Redmond (#6), Overland AI in Seattle (#7), Gradial in Seattle (#8), and Stoke Space in Kent (#10). Five of those six are on the GeekWire 200, and Worldscape is off it.
What to watch after LinkedIn just released its list of the top 10
GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop's question on the ranking is, "What the heck is going on, LinkedIn?" The ten divide into the two lists GeekWire already keeps. Headquarters tracked as Seattle-area companies are Truveta (#4), Yoodli (#5), Worldscape (#6), Overland AI (#7), Gradial (#8), and Stoke Space (#10), with Worldscape off the GeekWire 200 and the other five on it. The engineering center list holds Anthropic (#1), Auger (#2), Whatnot (#3), and Armada (#9). The scores use July 2025 through June 2026.
Chainguard is the company to set beside the ten from the same LinkedIn release. It is #42 on the accompanying top 50 startups in the U.S., a cybersecurity startup headquartered in Kirkland, and fully remote, with a co-founder who calls the Seattle area home. GeekWire claims it as a Seattle-area startup for that reason. The Seattle ranking counts employees and hiring in the city, so a remote company can hold a national rank and miss the city ten. Fitzgerald's "half-assed" verdict and Bishop's question both point at that gap.
Developer Action Items
- ☐ Diff the official changelog for Anthropic / Microsoft / Amazon before you bump — APIs, defaults, and removed flags only.
- ☐ Install through the vendor's documented channel in staging; keep a one-command rollback and time-box the canary.
- ☐ Grep your repo for old flag names, lockfile pins, and plugin versions that the notes mark as breaking.
- ☐ Prefer the first patch cut over the day-zero tag unless you have a reason to be on the leading edge.
- ☐ If GeekWire Startups did not name a region, plan, or SKU, screenshot the official availability line before you promise it to users.
LinkedIn just released its list of the top 10 FAQ
Which four companies on LinkedIn's Seattle top 10 are headquartered outside the Seattle area?
Anthropic is #1 and based in San Francisco, Auger is #2 with its headquarters in Dallas, Whatnot is #3 and headquartered in the Los Angeles area, and Armada is #9 and based in San Francisco according to its LinkedIn profile. Three of the four are in California, and Auger is in Texas.
Which companies on the list are based in the Seattle area?
Bellevue-based Truveta is #4, Seattle-based Yoodli is #5, Redmond-based Worldscape is #6, Seattle-based Overland AI is #7, Seattle-based Gradial is #8, and Kent-based Stoke Space is #10. All of them except Worldscape are on the GeekWire 200.
How did LinkedIn build "The 10 companies on the rise in Seattle"?
The ranking weighs employment growth, engagement with company pages, interest in job openings, and the ability to recruit talent from LinkedIn's list of top companies. The data covers July 2025 through June 2026. Companies must be headquartered in the United States, and a Seattle-area headquarters is not required for the Seattle list.
Why is Chainguard missing from the Seattle ten?
Chainguard ranked #42 on LinkedIn's top 50 startups in the U.S. It is headquartered in Kirkland and fully remote, while the Seattle ranking counts employees and hiring in the city. GeekWire still claims the cybersecurity startup as a Seattle-area company because a co-founder calls the Seattle area home.
What did Charles Fitzgerald and Todd Bishop say about the list?
Fitzgerald, a GeekWire columnist and angel investor, called it a "half-assed" effort and said, "For a Microsoft-owned company, you'd think they'd have better insight into where Seattle is actually located." GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop asked, "What the heck is going on, LinkedIn?"
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Dillip Chowdary
Writes Tech Bytes coverage of AI, engineering, and the tools that actually ship. Editor of Tech Pulse Daily.
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