Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
The 2026 Global Intelligence Crisis – Citadel Securities
Despite the macroeconomic community struggling to forecast 2-month-forward payroll growth with any reliable accuracy, the forward path of labor destruction can apparently be inferred with significant certainty from a hypothetical scenario posted on Substack: The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis.
Jimi Hendrix’s Analog Wizardry Explained – IEEE Spectrum
Hendrix’s mission was to reshape both the electric guitar’s envelope and its tone until it could feel like a human voice. He tackled the guitar’s constraints by augmenting it. His solution was essentially a modular analog signal chain driven not by knobs but by hands, feet, gain staging, and physical movement in a feedback field.
The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs
If writing is work, there is also the vocation about it, the sense that should never be forgotten that it’s not just labor, but a privilege.
Oregon will partially disconnect state tax code from new federal code to curb revenue loss • Oregon Capital Chronicle
The federal disconnect bill would preserve a net $291 million in tax revenue for the state during the next 18 months that would otherwise have gone uncollected had the state stayed married to the federal tax changes. It also includes new state-level tax credits for businesses that boost in-state hiring, and for low- and moderate-income Oregonians.
The Bot That Finished Second – NEWS.KMIKEYM.COM
K5M Guy was a Claude-powered AI agent and I fronted it the $50. I was in Portland and the bot was running on a Mac mini of mine in LA. I couldn’t see its screen. I could only message it on Telegram. The players knew from the start it was a bot and I added my Telegram screen to the Zoom call so everyone could watch the chaos unfold.
OpenClaw creator’s advice to AI builders is to be more playful and allow yourself time to improve | TechCrunch
Peter Steinberger, the creator of the viral AI agent OpenClaw who has since been hired by OpenAI, has some advice for those experimenting with AI technology, including AI agents. From his own experience, the best way to build today is to explore, be playful, and not expect to be an expert at what you do right away.
Launch Mid-Valley Startup Bootcamp Returns March 27–29, 2026 to Empower Growth-Focused Founders
The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) is proud to partner again for the Launch Mid-Valley Startup Bootcamp, a three-day immersive experience designed to accelerate business growth, March 27–29, 2026 at Linfield University in McMinnville.
How This GV Investor Looks For The Next Stripe And Other ‘Compounding’ Startups In Fintech And AI
Crunchbase News recently spoke with Sakach to find out more about her investment thesis, her thoughts on what defines winning fintech and AI companies, how AI is affecting traditional software businesses, and how she determines what truly is a large opportunity.
Tests Are The New Moat | Daniel Saewitz
Now, as AI grows more and more capable, we’re figuring out what can be generated with AI and what can’t. The coalescing point of open source software sticks to me as becoming more valuable than any: tests.
Software companies buying software: a story of ecosystems and vendors · Erik Bernhardsson
I also imagine this blog post feels very “obvious” if you take a step back. We have two hundred years of technological shifts going back to the industrial revolution and Adam Smith. Supply chains have been refactored countless times since then. From that perspective, what’s happening isn’t exactly weird — it’s expected. It just took some time.
Write the Docs West Coast Supermeetup, Thu, Mar 12, 2026, 6:00 PM | Meetup
Write the Docs PDX has teamed up with Write the Docs Seattle and Write the Docs Bay Area to bring you a stellar 90 minutes of community building and knowledge sharing. We’re really excited to welcome two notable thought leaders in the field of technical documentation, Tom Johnson and Dave Nunez. We’ll also make space for introductions and hellos in breakout rooms.
Distributed & Resilient Power Roundtable: The Bend Conversation, Tue, Mar 3, 2026, 5:00 PM | Meetup
The energy transition isn’t coming – it’s already here. And Central Oregon has more to do with that than most people realize. Bend has quietly become home to a remarkable concentration of energy professionals – executives, operators, and advisors working across power generation and distribution, from solar, wind, and storage to fuel cells, hydrogen systems, natural gas infrastructure, microgrids, grid software, and utilities.
Overwatch Imaging plots AI-driven growth, hiring – Portland Business Journal
The company, which makes sensor systems and data management software for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, is benefiting from the explosion of interest in artificial intelligence. The growth means that, unlike a large swath of tech companies, Overwatch is hiring.
Palo Alto AI chip startup SambaNova partners with Intel, raises $350M – Portland Business Journal
The Palo Alto-based startup was reportedly looking for a buyer last year after failing to raise fresh capital, but the company announced the megaround and an Intel Corp. partnership on Tuesday.
Intel layoffs drive Oregon tech job losses in 2025 – Portland Business Journal
Computer and electronic product manufacturing, which includes semiconductors, was the biggest driver of job losses in 2025 through Q3, shedding more than 4,000 jobs or 10.3% of the 2024 workforce.
What Comes Next Is Bigger Than SaaS Ever Was
When intelligence becomes infrastructure, every industry gets rebuilt around autonomous execution. This is creating a massive opportunity.
