Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Investing with OVF is a treat not a trick! — Oregon Venture Fund
Oregon Venture Fund is raising its next annual fund. OVF 2026, our 20th annual fund, enables one to invest in local founders and companies that are going to create the jobs of the future. With a 19-year track record, we’ve identified some tricks of the trade and believe you will enjoy the opportunity to invest with our professional team.
The Bat Signal is Up — and the Infra Guys Are Asleep
The reason AWS won wasn’t just better compute. It was proximity. They got close to founders early, earned trust through access and mentorship, and then let time do the rest. Startups that built on AWS became enterprises that stayed on AWS. And existing enterprises followed startup adoption a few years later. Stripe ran the same playbook for payments — different product, same loop.
Customer.io crossed $100M: A note from the CEO | Customer.io
You sent 64 billion messages in the past 12 months through Customer.io across push notifications, email, in-app messages, SMS, and webhooks. Messages that converted browsers into buyers, turned trial users into advocates, and rescued at-risk users into loyal fans. In September, your success became ours: Customer.io crossed $100M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
AI Workers Are Putting In 100-Hour Workweeks to Win the New Tech Arms Race – WSJ
“We’re basically trying to speedrun 20 years of scientific progress in two years,” said Batson, a research scientist at Anthropic. Extraordinary advances in AI systems are happening “every few months,” he said. “It’s the most interesting scientific question in the world right now.”
Alleging ‘secrecy,’ ACLU and Eugene resident sue city for Flock camera records • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Seth May, a member of the anti-surveillance group Eyes Off Eugene, filed the suit on Monday in Lane County Circuit Court following a months-long battle seeking records related to nearly 60 undisclosed locations of cameras created by the American manufacturing and security software company Flock Safety.
Big companies v. startups
The claim that big companies have boring work is too broad and absolute to even possibly be true. It depends on what kind of work you want to do.
Karpathy is wrong. Write that post, build that slide deck!
But here’s the nuance he missed: if you’re an engineer, writing — or creating a slide deck, or teaching something — is one of the most powerful ways to build understanding.
Spit On, Sworn At, and Undeterred: What It’s Like to Own a Cybertruck | WIRED
WIRED is here to learn how it feels to be out in public in such a politically charged vehicle. Has the past year or so changed anyone’s minds about owning the truck? Do owners like the attention—or are they adding bumper stickers decrying Elon Musk?
Even successful ventures can use a little help from their friends | OregonNews
PBISApps is a different kind of business, with a different kind of mission. No one personally profits from it. Instead, through royalty reinvestment, royalties go back into the venture to provide the things that clients expect from a software company, including security, service and training.
Momentum != Moat – by Kyle Harrison – Investing 101
Bryan’s emphasis on momentum revolves around ARR growth. He refers to run-rate as one signal of early traction. But the critical distinction is that a focus on how quickly something is growing ensures several key flaws with the current venture model will be solidified in a given cohort of companies.
Enshittification – Cory Doctorow at Powell’s Books
I got to see one of my favorite authors and bloggers present at Powell’s Books, professor Cory Doctorow. On tour for his latest release “Enshittification” – a term he coined that describes perfectly what is happening to our internet and the digital neurocenter of our society.
AI 64 | Redpoint Ventures
Software spend historically represented a small fraction of enterprise budgets relative to payroll and services. As LLMs replace workflows previously done by people, the addressable market for AI expands significantly. If cloud software is a $600B market, AI unlocks an opportunity at least 3x larger.
This Halloween I Order In – CamiKaos
What locally owned Portland places have you seen with magical Halloween treats, edible, artistic, or otherwise? Tell me. I want to trick-or-treat Portland! Drop them in the comments! Local-owned businesses only!
