Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Matching Grant Applications Open for Recipients of Federal SBIR and STTR Program Awards
Business Oregon, through the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC), has opened the application period for eligible businesses to apply for matching grants if they have won a federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award. Oregon companies that have received federal SBIR/STTR awards after January 1, 2024, can apply for Business Oregon’s SBIR/STTR Matching Grant awards.
Andreessen Horowitz Is Not a Venture Capital Fund
Let’s call the different funds what they actually are. Let’s create honest taxonomies that help founders find the right capital for their stage and ambition. Let’s split the analysis so the benchmarks for traction, valuations, and round sizes are not distorted by the beta-rich consensus crew. Let’s give LPs clarity about what they’re actually buying when they write checks to different types of funds.
‘Knife Town, USA’: How Portland became a hub for designing and manufacturing blades of all kinds – Here is Oregon – hereisoregon.com
Portland’s tight-knit knife industry dates back decades. But outside a circle of “knife nerds,” as industry leader Ron Khormaei puts it, the region’s growing cluster of knife manufacturers and designers have stayed mostly out of the limelight.
Greater Portland Inc. hosts 10 South Korea startups – Portland Business Journal
GPI said it worked with the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation to organize the tour. The Center provides accelerator and other startup services to South Korean entrepreneurs.
Why the US government is taking a stake in Intel | TechCrunch
The deal ensures that Intel gets the grant money it was already awarded, and the Trump administration is claiming that it will be a passive investor that will vote alongside Intel’s interests. But will that actually help Intel?
Global Startup Funding In August Fell To Lowest Monthly Total In 8 Years As Seed And Late-Stage Investors Retreated
The slowdown marks a respite from the frenzied pace of venture investment in the first half of 2025 — especially for fast-growing AI companies — when startup funding increased by more than a third year over year.
How Portland’s Old Town Is Becoming a Footwear Innovation Hub – 3DPrint.com | Additive Manufacturing Business
What makes MiOT different, Claudel explained, is that it’s built for many kinds of users. “Innovation ecosystems thrive on diversity and proximity,” he said. Startups and independent designers will work alongside established brands, suppliers, researchers, and students. For mid-sized companies, being able to make samples locally could be a game-changer. Shared spaces and events will give professionals a chance to collaborate and learn. “There is a clear value proposition for each segment,” Claudel added.
How Graze Sponsored Market Blew Away Benchmarks While Fundraising for Public Media | Graze
The Graze.social NPR/PBS donation campaign’s 168% ROAS is exceptional performance in the nonprofit digital advertising landscape. Industry benchmarks from M+R show that typical Facebook/Meta campaigns achieve only 48% return on ad spend
AI will change how we build startups — but how?
Weirdly, the answer for most of us might be a lot closer to zero than you’d think, particularly beyond the obvious LLM apps — ChatGPT, Grok, etc. Of course people are working on this, but for now, the Home Screen Test says that we have 4×7 grid of apps on our screen, and very few are AI-native. One day shouldn’t it be all 28? Where’s the AI-native Calendar app, or the AI-native Social network, and so on? I remember in the web-to-mobile shift how quickly my engagement went completely to the mobile app versions of messaging, social, email, etc. What’s going on here?
Cornell Study Reveals Who Drove The 2020 Funding Surge For Black Founders — And Why It Didn’t Last
The temporary surge in funding for Black startup founders after George Floyd’s murder was driven largely by investors who had never previously backed a Black entrepreneur, and most showed only surface-level support, new research from Cornell University shows. Funding returned to prior levels within two years.
More Portland startup stories
