Month: April 2024

You might not realize the role that Portland — and to that extent a couple of particular Portland writers — played in the era that was Web 2.0. One of them was Adam DuVander who served as the editor of Programmable Web, the repository for a wealth of the information on the APIs that drove Web 2.0. And the other was the first writer hired at TechCrunch who then wound up as co-editor at ReadWriteWeb, Marshall Kirkpatrick.

Looking to learn more about what’s happening in AI startups in town…? Well, you’re in luck. Following on the success of their first PDX AI Demo Night, Oregon Venture Fund has brought together another group of AI startups to share what they’re building. And you’re invited.

We may not have won the Google Fiber nod, but Portland, Oregon, is still among the first cities featured on Google Arts & Culture. Why did they choose Portland…?

Last night, folks gathered for the TiE Oregon Westside Pitch 2024 competition, which featured companies in both Pre-Seed and Seed categories. And after all was said and done, three companies rose to the top.

While Portland was a little later to the whole AI thing than I expected, it seems to be racing to catch up — with momentum on the topic growing by leaps and bounds over the last few months. And no local organization seems to be more in tune with that than AI Portland, which has been working to bring the whole community together to figure out what’s what with AI. And their next event promises to be a must-attend one: AI Literacy for All.

Getting your foot in the door with Venture Capital can be a challenge. Especially around here. That’s why I always love seeing Portland Seed Fund working to engage folks. And opportunities like the Rogue Women Venture Fellow Cohort, which offers “aspiring individuals a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the venture capital industry while contributing to a more inclusive entrepreneurial landscape.”

Facteus — formerly known as ARM Insight — has been around these parts for a long time. But that’s not preventing them from recognizing the opportunity with AI. And as the largest provider of consumer transaction data insights, they’ve got a unique set of alternative data to offer the market.

Portland startups have always seemed to have a certain affinity for maps. I mean, Dora level map affinity. One of the first startups I began tracking was Platial. One of the first side projects I covered was Unthirsty. Heck, at one point, we even had a map designed for folks who knit. More recently, I’ve noticed a resurgence in this predilection toward cartography with companies like BuzzCutt. And now Everywhere Is Queer.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a significant footprint in the Portland tech community. All thanks to their acquisition of Elemental back in the day. So I’m always wary of cuts at AWS negatively impacting our community. GeekWire is reporting that AWS is cutting “hundreds of jobs.”