A look at Quincy, a rural Washington farming town of 8,500 that benefited from a data center boom as its poverty rate fell from 29.4% in 2012 to 6.2% in 2024
THE SO WHAT
Quincy’s drop in poverty from 29.4% to 6.2% alongside a data center buildout is a concrete example of AI-era infrastructure reshaping local economies. If you’re siting compute or robotics facilities, expect municipalities to negotiate hard on community benefits because they now have case studies of what’s possible.
READ THE SOURCE
MORE FROM THE WIRE
Deep & Emerging TechAnycubic Kobra 4 Combo 3D printer hits an all-time low price — and it's even cheaper than it is at Amazon
Native 4-color printing at a new price floor pushes multi-material from pro shops into hobbyist garages. If you build hardware or prototyping-heavy products, assume your users will have more capable printers at home and design accessories, mods, and communities accordingly.
Deep & Emerging TechMountain West Groups Partner to Support Quantum and Photonics Innovation
The NSF-backed MOU between Innosphere, MPQA, and Headwaters Tech Hub is about building a regional quantum-photonics supply chain, not just research grants. Hardware startups in the Mountain West now have a clearer path to shared labs, talent, and early customers—map yourself into that ecosystem if you’re anywhere near quantum or photonics.
Deep & Emerging TechQuanta Computer and Quantinuum Partner on Scalable Quantum Computing Hardware
A Fortune Global 500 OEM teaming with Quantinuum to build an “industrial foundation” for large-scale quantum is a step toward standardized quantum hardware supply. For enterprises, the takeaway isn’t to move workloads yet—it’s to start tracking which vendors are likely to become your quantum OEMs in 5–10 years.
Deep & Emerging TechRobeauté Bets on Rice-Sized Microrobots for Brain Disease
Rice-sized microrobots navigating the brain for targeted drug delivery would shift some neurosurgery from macro to micro interventions. Healthtech operators should watch this as a potential new interface layer—imaging, planning, and post-op monitoring workflows will need to adapt if this moves beyond trials.