Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Business taxes surge in Portland, statewide – Portland Business Journal
Portland businesses together paid 82% more in combined city, county and Metro taxes in fiscal year 2023 compared to 2019, a result of new and increased levies and a growing tax base, according to a new study.
Innovation District at OSU-Cascades | Campus Expansion | OSU-Cascades
OSU is seeking a Master Developer to help shape the Innovation District and construct the first two buildings in phase one of the project. Building 1 is proposed as ~100,000 square feet of multi-family residential space, and Building 2 is planned as ~60,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space.
Shoot 360 aims for 100 locations in next 18 months – Portland Business Journal
A Beaverton-based, technology-driven basketball company is planning a rapid expansion. Shoot 360 already has nearly 70 franchise locations in North America and in a few Asian cities. The goal is to get to 100 in the next 18 months.
Reflect, Evaluate, Proceed: Exploring Fund Structures — Oregon Venture Fund
Currently, we raise an annual fund each year and a 5-year fund every five years and both invest in parallel in the same portfolio. This enables accredited investors the option of investing in one annual fund with one capital call for a minimum of $50K. If they choose to invest in a subsequent annual fund, they have the option, but not the obligation to do so. Alternatively, investors have the option every five years to invest in a 5-year fund that enables investors to commit a minimum of $50K per year for five years and receive one K1 instead of five –ie, instead of one for each year. The model has served our investors well, but because we want to be sure, we conducted a research project to identify whether a better fund structure exists for our size and purpose.
Intel is getting a $2 billion investment from SoftBank
The investment, equal to about 2% of Intel, makes SoftBank the fifth-biggest shareholder, according to FactSet. It’s a vote of support for Intel, which hasn’t been able to take advantage of the artificial intelligence boom in advanced semiconductors and has spent heavily to stand up a manufacturing business that’s yet to secure a significant customer.
SoftBank Group and Intel Corporation Sign $2B Investment Agreement :: Intel Corporation (INTC)
Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said: “Semiconductors are the foundation of every industry. For more than 50 years, Intel has been a trusted leader in innovation. This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.”
Trump administration might convert Intel’s subsidies into ownership stake, Bloomberg reports – oregonlive.com
Instead of investing in Intel directly, the government would take an ownership stake in exchange for paying out money the company had already been promised by the Biden administration under the CHIPS Act. Monday’s report said the move could give the federal government a 10% stake in the country’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturer.
With a New Media Conglomerate on the Scene, Oregon’s News Landscape is Shrinking – Portland Mercury
Carpenter Media’s purchase of Pamplin and EO Media Groups has been marked by labor fights, layoffs, and the discontinuation of a Portland print edition in a series of cost-cutting efforts.
Don’t Ship Your Pitch Deck to Your Website. Here’s How to Translate Your Story for Customers
Your customers don’t want to read your pitch deck. Marketing expert Emily Kramer explains how to turn your investor talking points into your website messaging.
Q&A: Why Secondary Funds Still Can’t Keep Up With Investor Demand
With IPOs and M&A exits scarce, it’s no surprise that GPs and LPs are turning to secondary transactions as “a creative lifeline to unlock liquidity and reset fund timelines,” notes Gus Resendiz, partner at law firm Foley & Lardner.
With a special session looming in Oregon, specifics remain hazy
With an Aug. 29 special session fast approaching, Republican leaders are adamant they won’t make anything easy on the majority party. That includes, apparently, an insistence that Democrats’ transportation funding bill be read on three consecutive days in each chamber, a constitutional requirement that is often waived in special sessions.
Oregon, 18 states sue federal energy agency over new funding caps on sustainable energy projects • Oregon Capital Chronicle
The states filed their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy and its leader, Chris Wright on Friday in U.S. District Court in Eugene. States argue that a new rule mandating that “indirect” and “fringe” costs for State Energy Program projects — such as staff salaries, health insurance and pensions — cannot exceed 10% of overall project costs is arbitrary, against the law, and will lead to needless job losses and project terminations. Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy did not respond to a request for comment by Monday evening.
How to Think About GPUs | How To Scale Your Model
This chapter takes a deep dive into the world of NVIDIA GPUs – how each chip works, how they’re networked together, and what that means for LLMs, especially compared to TPUs.
Tech’s AI deals are leaving behind zombie companies, investors say
Windsurf is part of a growing crop of AI startups whose founders and top researchers have been poached by megacaps like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon through high-priced talent grabs that are helping the biggest companies skirt regulatory scrutiny. While the deals often produce big payouts for founders and AI leaders, they can leave investors, other employees and the remaining company in limbo.
More Oregon — and Vancouver, Washington — startup stories
