Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Business Oregon Awards $1 Million to Support Oregon Innovators
Business Oregon announces the awardees of the 2025 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Matching Grant Program, designed to help Oregon’s small businesses bridge the gap between federal research funding and successful commercialization. Twenty-eight applications were received and 17 awardees were selected to receive a total of $1,099,545.
Solo Founders Report 2025
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the playbook on how to build and scale startups. Tools like generative AI and workflow automation are massive force multipliers, allowing individuals to prototype and launch products faster. The emergence of the world’s first one-person unicorn feels closer than ever before.
How Long Should an Investment Pitch Deck Be? Ideal Length and Content | by James Church | Medium
The short answer: around 15–18 slides. Anything more and you risk losing their attention. Anything less and you might not give them enough to work with.
Is It a Bubble?
I’ve lived through several bubbles and read about others, and they’ve all hewed to this description. One might think the losses experienced when past bubbles popped would discourage the next one from forming. But that hasn’t happened yet, and I’m sure it never will.
Why Write Engineering Blogs – by Cynthia Dunlop
We interviewed a dozen(ish) expert tech bloggers over the past year to share perspectives and tips beyond Writing for Developers. The idea: ask everyone the same set of questions and hopefully see an interesting range of responses emerge. They did.
Why AGI Will Not Happen — Tim Dettmers
The purpose of this blog post is to address what I see as very sloppy thinking, thinking that is created in an echo chamber, particularly in the Bay Area, where the same ideas amplify themselves without critical awareness. This amplification of bad ideas and thinking exhuded by the rationalist and EA movements, is a big problem in shaping a beneficial future for everyone.
AI Santa by Tavus: Talk to Santa
Live video chat with Santa Claus anytime, anywhere! Talk to Santa in real-time across 30+ languages, check if you’re on the Naughty or Nice list, and even have fun testing Santa’s patience—all for free! Perfect for spreading holiday cheer.
Empromptu Raises $2M in Pre-Seed Funding
The round was led by Precursor Ventures, with participation from Alumni Ventures, Founders Edge, Rogue Women VC, South Loop, and Zeal Capital in addition to angel investor Edith Harbaugh, Co-founder of LaunchDarkly.
Does the Job of C.E.O. or Private Investor Come First? Intel’s Chief Is Juggling That Question. – The New York Times
Lip-Bu Tan, who was appointed chief executive of Intel in March, is also a longtime venture capitalist. His dual roles have caused some consternation.
“We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For” – Essays – Yield Giving
It’s easy to focus on the methods of civic participation that make news, and hard to imagine the importance of the things we do each day with our own minds and hearts. Who nurtured a child in the kitchen; who was kind to a stranger in line at a grocery store; who gave fifty dollars to a local food shelter: these are not news stories. But all of it matters.
