Inside Spokane’s push to build the next great U.S. tech hub

“GeekWire on the Road” in Spokane: Our tradition of exploring emerging U.S. tech hubs is turning its attention to Washington state’s second-biggest city and the larger region of the Inland Northwest. Spokane’s tech community stands out for its determination and resourcefulness, and its experienced business and community leaders bent on bootstrapping this longtime timber and mining town into a thriving tech hub. But the region is also experiencing many of the same underlying forces as other aspiring tech hubs across the country, benefitting from the rise of remote work and struggling with shrinking affordability.

• Read more in the first installment in the series, and check back in the coming weeks and months for more from Spokane.
• Related Interview: Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown on the future of the region’s innovation economy

The ability to sign up for Amazon One palm-recognition technology is now literally in the palm of a user’s hand. Amazon released a new mobile app that allows the initial signup and palm registration to be done via a smartphone photo, rather than an in-store kiosk, thanks to new AI capability. Read more.

The vast majority of women’s workwear doesn't offer pockets big enough to carry a smartphone. Seattle-based clothing startup Point Of View Label , started by two founders with experience at Amazon — Aditi Sinha and Sakina Adeeb —?is aiming to end this “pockets inequality” with stylish designs and smartly designed, spacious pockets — and that’s just the start. Read more.

Tech Moves: VC firm Ascend names Jen Haller partner; Common Room adds Amanda Kleha as board member; and more tech personnel changes.

Hot Links:

• Amazon plans to spend almost $150 billion on data centers in the next 15 years to handle the expected demand for AI applications and other services. (Bloomberg)
• Seattle-based ag-tech startup Orchard raised $3.2 million for its tech that attaches to existing farm equipment to bolster the collection of data about crops. (TechCrunch)
• Oregon’s governor signed a bill into law designed to make it easier and less expensive for consumers to fix broken phones, tablets and other digital devices. (Consumer Reports)
• A new report about Boeing, citing current and former employees and aviation safety experts, says that the aircraft manufacturer favored speed over safety — “a worrying picture about a company long considered to be at the pinnacle of American engineering.” (The New York Times)
• Seattle Children’s received a $50 million gift to support research and treatment of leukemia in one of the largest philanthropic gifts in its 117-year history. (Seattle Children’s)

SPONSOR MESSAGE: Learn how a Seattle-based financial institution leveraged open banking to offer a frictionless loan process for small business borrowers in Washington state.

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