How can technology help address the challenges facing a rural state like Wyoming? This year’s Wyoming Global Technology Summit is bringing entrepreneurs, business founders, policymakers, educators, and leaders together in the Tetons to talk solutions with a focus on leveraging technology for rural growth.
The all-day event creates space to talk about what’s going on in the ever-evolving field and what’s next for the state as it continues to diversify its economy. Now in its tenth year, the event will include panels on topics like nuclear power, vertical agriculture, venture capital, and education in the age of artificial intelligence.
Summit co-founder and chair John Temte grew up in Laramie and then headed to Palo Alto, California to work in the world of tech start-ups. About ten years ago, Temte returned to his home state and started talking with then-governor Matt Mead about ways to expand and strengthen Wyoming’s economy.
The tech-focused summit grew out of those conversations, with the intention of connecting Wyoming-based tech innovators and entrepreneurs to one another and to other national and global leaders in the industry. Temte said he’s especially motivated by the ways the summit can create opportunities for other people to stay in the state and still follow their passions.
“Everybody comes to the summit and they're just excited about helping and encouraging and promoting one another, and hopefully creating jobs so that people in Wyoming will be able to make a good living and stay in Wyoming,” he said.
Temte said the summit is a chance for those in the industry to build useful connections and collectively brainstorm about how the field can continue to move forward in relation to what’s happening on the national and global scale.
“We talk about a lot of emerging trends and about what the future of Wyoming looks like relative to the future of the country and the world,” he said.
Temte said the growing field of Wyoming-based telehealth in places like Cheyenne is just one example of how technology can both help address rural challenges and bring jobs to local economies.
“What are the companies that can be built in Wyoming that are actually recognizing that opportunity to use Wyoming as an example to help Wyoming people? You’ve got to help people to solve a problem if you want to have a company,” he said.
The summit takes place on Thurs. Sept 21 in Teton Village. While the event is ticketed, it is open to the public.
