Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Unprecedented hack of tech firm by AI model raises new safety concerns – The Washington Post

OpenAI and Hugging Face, the company hacked by the AI model, did not release full technical details from the incident that would allow outsiders to fully reconstruct what happened. Hugging Face said in a company blog post that it had fixed vulnerabilities exploited in the attack but was still working to assess whether customer data was affected.

Okay okay okay. You’ve procrastinated long enough. It’s time to get to work on that Pitch Latino Portland application. Because you’re never going to get on stage if you don’t apply. And you have to apply by July 30, 2026. Hence the urgency.

Oregon Venture Fund portfolio company Wicked Saints Studio landed a noteworthy honor this week. Their game World Reborn was selected as the Apple “Game of the Day” for July 22, 2026.

Remember the good old days of apps that had a single use…? Not the modern day “cram every damn thing into a single app” sort of mentality. The very specific — often niche — apps that did one thing. And did them exceptionally well. That time…? Well, the advent of vibecoding is bringing back some of that energy. And I am here for it. Like Fan the Flame, an app specifically for our WNBA Portland Fire fans.

There is no denying the power of “Big Tech.” It permeates our modern existence. Whether we like it or not. And that gives them a ton a power. Which can be disconcerting. At best. But what if smaller startups and tech companies could band together to create a similar — potentially opposing — force…? That’s the idea behind Little Tech Association.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Founder Foundations – Info Session | Metro Region Innovation Hub

Learn more about Founder Foundations, our new 6-week primer built for first-time, idea-stage founders in the Portland Metro Area. Designed for those ready to trade professional experience for entrepreneurship, the program will give you real insight into what it actually takes to build a company.

Portland has long been a hub of cybersecurity activity. From big players like Tripwire to more discrete startups like GadgetTrak. And now, we’ve got a college that promises to churn out even more innovative thought leaders. Lewis & Clark has secured a $1 million grant from Google.org for a cybersecurity clinic.

Way way back in the day. Like last century and turn of the century. I used to be a marketing guy. Often brand management fell to me. As did repositioning and rebranding. I used to speak on these topics on a regular basis. And when I did, I always tried to emphasize that 1) It’s not easy work, and 2) Brand touches every part of the business.