Tech vets ready for a road trip — with AI as a copilot | Pfizer shutting down new Seagen facility

Tech vets ready for a road trip — with AI as a copilot: The popular travel app Sēkr is now part of Peace Vans, a Seattle business that specializes in classic Volkswagen van repairs and restorations and modern camper van build-outs. Peace Vans owner Harley Sitner, (above, right) has brought on his longtime friend Jordan Schwartz, a software entrepreneur who led Seattle startup Pathable, as chief product officer. The goal is to refresh Sēkr with AI tools that improve the vanlife experience and lead to more human connections on the road. Read the story.   

How Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile and others use big bets to build durable businesses: This week on the GeekWire Podcast, our guests are John Rossman and Kevin McCaffrey, authors of the new book, "Big Bet Leadership." It's a playbook for business leaders to systematically make bets in a way that reduces risk and increases long-term flexibility. The book draws lessons from a variety of companies, including tech titans in Seattle and Silicon Valley.

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Pharma giant Pfizer, fresh off its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, said it will shut down construction on a new 270,000 square-foot manufacturing facility Seagen was building north of Seattle near its headquarters. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Nvidia is reportedly working on a PC gaming handheld of its own, potentially competing with the popular SteamDeck from Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve. (TechRadar)

• Oh, snap. Amazon has started putting a “frequently returned” label on Apple’s Finewoven case for iPhone 15, based on complaints that it’s uncomfortable to hold and scratches easily. (Gizmodo)

• Spotify’s new standalone audiobook subscription service, at $9.99/month, is new competition for Amazon’s Audible. (TechCrunch)