How power is blazing a trail for America’s space efforts

As more and more hardware goes into Earth orbit, and eventually to the moon and Mars, where will the power to run all those machines come from? A gathering at Seattle’s Museum of Flight is assessing the state of advanced power and propulsion for space missions and what role Pacific Northwest nuclear startups will play.

Silicon Valley Bank leader lands a new gig. Seattle-area tech mainstay Minh Le is leaving SVB after 14 years — and not long after the bank’s recent collapse. He will remain in Seattle and is joining St. Louis-based Stifel Bank as managing director. “It’s been a wild last few weeks,” Le wrote on LinkedIn.  

More personnel changes: Payscale hires execs; Factor adds CEO; WatchGuard names SVP; and other Tech Moves. 

Fresh cash for Seattle-based income verification startup. Payscore raised $2.2 million for its software that helps property managers and other consumer lenders better understand a customer’s ability to make payments.  

Hot links:

• Not cleared for takeoff: Amazon’s dream of drone package delivery is reportedly struggling to cope with technical and regulatory setbacks. (Wired) 

• Amazon labels: The tech giant is slapping “Small Business” badges on items sold by large companies and overseas merchants. (The Information)

• Tech vet killed: Bob Lee, the former CTO of Square, was stabbed to death in San Francisco on Tuesday morning. (TechCrunch)

• “Everybody hates Concur. Brex wants to replace it.” Fintech giant Brex is coming after Concur, the Seattle-area travel expense company owned by SAP. (The Verge)