Month: July 2025

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

VC investment in Portland metro nearly doubles in Q2 – Portland Business Journal

For the first half of 2025, investors have pumped $438.2 million into companies across 62 deals in the Portland metro. This data includes investment in Southwest Washington companies. That’s compared to $205.6 million invested in the first half of last year, also across 62 deals.

I’m always one to be contemplating the potential startup community impact of local corporations. Especially when the economy is forcing those organizations to reduce the size of their workforce. But I’m often challenged to come up with good startup examples that have come out places like Nike and Intel. Now, I’ve got a new one: Fiveonefour.

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

Oregon falls to 39th in CNBC ranking of top states for business – Portland Business Journal

Oregon fell to 39th place in CNBC’s 2025 rankings of America’s Top States for Business, which assess states’ economies, cost of doing business and livability. It’s a new low for Oregon, which ranked 28th last year and 17th in 2017. The plummet did not come as a shock to at least one economic development leader.

A good number of events on the calendar for this week — including the annual summer gathering for TAO and a unique opportunity to vibe code.

I was pretty excited about the PDX Digital Corps when I first heard about it. The brainchild of Ron Bronson, the former Director of Design & Strategic Initiatives at 18F, an innovative government organization that was unceremoniously shuttered by DOGE. But it was never meant to last. By design.

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

New legislative caucus hopes to tap into Oregon’s trade potential • Oregon Capital Chronicle

Unlike the U.S. as a whole, Oregon has a trade surplus, meaning it sends more goods abroad than it receives. It has the sixth highest rate of exports per capita — largely because of its location along the Pacific Ocean. In 2024, it exported $34 billion worth of products, mostly computers and electronics, transportation equipment, machinery, chemicals and agricultural products.

If you were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to grab a ticket to the new and improved — and double in size — Pitch Black Showcase, well get ready to be happy. Maybe. Happy that tickets are on sale. Maybe not so happy if they’ve already sold out. I mean, they were already halfway gone, yesterday.

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

Applications Now Open for the 2025 Bend Venture Conference — Bend Venture Conference

The 2025 Early Stage competition will be open exclusively to Oregon-based companies, strengthening BVC’s mission to spotlight and support local innovation. Additionally, a cash award will be reserved for one standout startup headquartered in Central Oregon, emphasizing the region’s ongoing commitment to homegrown entrepreneurship.

Another Portland startup I just happened to connect with recently that’s super interesting is StrateSea. (You may have seen them on stage at the Oregon Venture Fund’s regular AI demo event.) The startup is leveraging AI to make sense of the untold piles of subsea data from hydrographic sonar.