Artificial intelligence is reshaping how businesses operate, but the systems meant to control AI are struggling to keep up. 

Wassoc is a finalist for the Inland Northwest Business of the Year Awards, in the small-business category.

Colbert-based Omniscia AI is a finalist for the Inland Northwest Business of the Year Awards, in the small-business category. 

As artificial intelligence quietly becomes an everyday tool across industries, Spokane Falls Community College is moving toward educating students on how to work alongside it in their future careers. 

Salt Lake City-based Inherent Biosciences Inc., a health care diagnostic startup, is growing its presence in the Spokane area since first expanding here in 2024 through $1.25 million in grants from Health Sciences & Services Authority of Spokane County.

With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in recent years, Omniscia Health Inc., which does business as Omniscia AI, has expanded beyond its health care roots and landed customers in the financial services and sports sectors, positioning the Colbert-based startup for scaled growth this year, says CEO Brandon Tanner.

Random-access memory, or RAM, components essential in consumer and commercial computers have tripled or even quadrupled in price since early 2025 due to an explosion of artificial intelligence data center construction across the country, and local computer supply and information technology companies are feeling the squeeze.