--- title: 'Silicon Florist links arrangement for July 21, 2026' date: '2026-07-21T13:47:44-07:00' type: post word_count: 1661 char_count: 16047 tokens: 2160 categories: - Portland --- # Silicon Florist links arrangement for July 21, 2026 Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today: [(2010) Jive Software lands an additional $30 million, bringing more Kleiner Perkins money to Portland](https://siliconflorist.com/2010/07/21/jive-software-lands-additional-30-million-bringing-kleiner-perkins-caufield-byers-money-portland/) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So when Jive announces that they’ve secured another $30 million in funding, I’m going to cover it. Because some of that cash is going to come through the Portland office. And because the investor—juggernaut Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers—just happens to be the firm that just dropped $5 million in Puppet Labs’ proverbial pockets. [Safety and alignment in an era of long-horizon models | OpenAI](https://openai.com/index/safety-alignment-long-horizon-models/) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During limited, monitored internal use, we observed unwanted behavior that our existing deployment evaluations had not captured. Because the deployment was limited and monitored, we were able to identify these problems, pause access, create new evaluations based on what we observed, strengthen the model and its safeguards, and then restore access under continued monitoring. [Big Tech AI Spree Revives Accounting Devices That Toppled Enron](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/big-tech-ai-spree-revives-accounting-devices-that-toppled-enron) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enron Corp. exploited US accounting rules to hide from investors and lenders hundreds of millions in debt it had bundled into off-balance sheet entities — obligations that contributed to one of the biggest corporate collapses in US history. Twenty-five years later, new risks have emerged as some of the world’s most valuable companies create similar financing vehicles that can mask how much debt they’re taking on, as the technology industry looks to spend more than $3 trillion to power artificial intelligence systems. [Intel to co-develop and manufacture Fortinet’s next-gen firewall ASIC on Intel 4 — node gets its first named external customer | Tom’s Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/intel-to-co-develop-and-manufacture-fortinets-next-gen-firewall-asic) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intel and Fortinet have announced a strategic collaboration to develop the Fortinet Security Processor 6 (SP6), the next generation of the custom silicon behind Fortinet’s FortiGate firewalls. Intel will contribute chip design, advanced packaging, and manufacturing to the SP6 program, making Fortinet the first cybersecurity vendor named as an Intel silicon customer. [Hackers are exploiting recently patched WordPress bugs, putting millions of websites at risk | TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/20/hackers-are-exploiting-recently-patched-wordpress-bugs-putting-millions-of-websites-at-risk/) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hackers are breaking into websites that run vulnerable versions of the popular blogging software WordPress, according to several cybersecurity firms. One estimate puts the number of vulnerable WordPress websites at tens of millions as of Monday. [Why I Stopped “Creating Content” · Refactoring English](https://refactoringenglish.com/blog/why-i-stopped-creating-content/) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I talked about my personal blog, I just called it a blog. There was never a situation where “content” would have conveyed a richer meaning. My website visitors aren’t “traffic”; they’re readers. They don’t “generate engagement”; they send me comments or questions. When I started writing my book, I never called it an “info product.” It’s a book, and I’m its author. [AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They’re Free of AI Slop](https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “The world’s best AI training data is sitting on a shelf,” ISBNdb, a company that produces what it claims is “the world’s largest book database,” and that offers high-volume book acquisition services for AI companies, says on its site. “Books represent curated, peer-reviewed, domain-specific human knowledge, structured in a way no web crawl can replicate. Dense, edited, authoritative.” [Intel layoffs shake Oregon’s economy amid federal shift – Axios Portland](https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/09/23/intel-oregon-future-layoffs-investment?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_portland&stream=top) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If highly paid, highly skilled workers (who make an average annual income of $110,000) leave the Hillsboro and Aloha area for other jobs, Oregon’s economy and tax revenue could take a big hit. [Legally or not, the US government is controlling global access to the world’s most powerful AI](https://theconversation.com/legally-or-not-the-us-government-is-controlling-global-access-to-the-worlds-most-powerful-ai-286118?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter%20%20July%2021%202026%20-%203877239468&utm_content=Daily%20Newsletter%20%20July%2021%202026%20-%203877239468+CID_ab82ba021b40c43a98ad4d8a5addb3e4&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=Legally%20or%20not%20the%20US%20government%20is%20controlling%20global%20access%20to%20the%20worlds%20most%20powerful%20AI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a legal scholar who studies technology law and policy, I see two fundamental questions arising from this incident: Can the U.S. government act as a gatekeeper to AI models? And did it do so lawfully in this instance? [Why a sabbatical can change everything – by Lenny Rachitsky](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-take-a-sabbatical?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=10845&post_id=207182275&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ieqz&triedRedirect=true) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life makes it hard to get off the default path and back onto a road of your own design. Sometimes that looks like leaving your job, like I did. Other times, it means reconnecting to why you’re doing the work you’re already doing. Either way, in my experience and that of many friends, significant time away from your day-to-day is necessary for the mental, physical, or emotional shift that will reveal what’s next. What you need is what today’s guest author DJ DiDonna calls “Big Time Off.” [The Productivity-Experience Paradox – Annie Vella](https://annievella.com/posts/the-productivity-experience-paradox/?utm_source=tldrnewsletter) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Measuring productivity is tricky. For starters, as an industry, we can’t really agree on what it even means, let alone how to measure it well. DORA defined it as “the extent to which an individual feels effective and efficient in their work, creating value and achieving tasks.” in their 2024 Accelerate State of DevOps report, and that sounds about right to me. [Portland Python User Group July 2026](https://www.meetup.com/pdxpython/events/315771484/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=braze_canvas&utm_campaign=mmrk_alleng_event_announcement_prod_unfiltered_v7_en&utm_term=promo&utm_content=lp_meetup&dispatch_id=6a5efb17f83102d03b61d74e9155ef3c) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this talk, we’ll look at building applications and data pipelines that operate on unstructured or multimodal data using the open-source Ray framework. Ray provides abstractions for running distributed, scalable, stateful code as well as higher-level constructs for orchestrating data pipelines where you can supply your own business logic. [Hanyang University graduate entrepreneurship school partners with Oregon Angel Partners to support startups’ U.S. expansion](https://www.digitaltoday.co.kr/en/view/83413/hanyang-university-graduate-school-of-entrepreneurship-partners-with-oregon-angel-partners-to-support-us-expansion-for-startups) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hanyang University’s Graduate School of Entrepreneurship said on Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. investment firm Oregon Angel Partners on July 15 at the Hanyang Institute of Technology to support South Korean startups entering the U.S. market. The agreement was designed to expand a foundation for ongoing exchanges and cooperation between South Korean and U.S. startup ecosystems. [Oregon’s Fairchild Moment — Oregon Venture Fund](https://www.oregonventurefund.com/perspectives/oregons-fairchild-moment) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fairchild analogy isn’t perfect. Fairchild produced dozens of companies over several decades, and Oregon is still early in that journey. And Intel, fresh off a $5B investment and strategic partnership with Nvidia, appears alive and well, with its stock up 5X over the past year. [Community Calls With Marshall Kirkpatrick: How Hawkeye Curates Your Ecosystem Intelligence and Drafts Your Newsletter and Magazines · Zoom · Luma](https://luma.com/iuk3y87k?tk=ikyiBH) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you interested in community building, knowledge sharing, learning, communication, and relationship building? If so, you may enjoy seeing the many capabilities of this new system. (And you can meet other people working in tech, sustainability, and other fields who are interested in looking at the world this way, too.) [AI Portland: Great crowd, great views, great coffee!](https://mailchi.mp/434f34bb2be8/recap-thanks-navigating-the-ai-revolution-event-12934760) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Huge thanks to Instrument for hosting us. The space speaks for itself: soaring ceilings, that sculptural ceiling installation, floor-to-ceiling views of the West Hills. Deadstock Coffee kept everyone caffeinated, and there were plenty of treats to go around. [Away Days Brewing’s Soccer Fest filled an old downtown bank – Portland Business Journal](https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2026/07/20/away-days-brewing-soccer-fest-world-up.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=me&utm_content=PO&ana=e_PO_me&j=46675279&senddate=2026-07-21&utm_term=ep2&empos=p2) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the course of this year’s five-week World Cup, the team at Away Days Brewing estimates they have brought about 18,000 people into downtown Portland as part of their Soccer Fest event. [Oregon USA — Pacific Gateway for Aviation & Manufacturing](https://oregonusa.org/) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oregon USA convenes decision-makers around Oregon’s aviation, UAS, advanced manufacturing, and investment opportunities — beginning with the Oregon–South Korea Aviation Delegation Visit in July 2026. [PKI Solutions moves to downtown Portland office – Portland Business Journal](https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2026/07/15/pki-solutions-new-hq-downtown.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=me&utm_content=PO&ana=e_PO_me&j=46613063&senddate=2026-07-16&utm_term=ep3&empos=p3) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Moves like this bring more talent, innovation and community support to Portland’s urban core, and it’s great to see PKI Solutions contributing to the city’s economic vitality and future,” said Skip Newberry, Technology Association of Oregon president and CEO in a written statement. [Weird Networking PDX 2.0 · Luma](https://luma.com/zu6ovvyr) ------------------------------------------------------------ Networking is weird by nature, so why not lean into it? Join us for a silly, satisfying, and incredibly dope hangout at a fun venue near you. Anyone but soulless corporate shills are welcome. [Against Claudefishing – by Chris Best – The Substack Post](https://post.substack.com/p/against-claudefishing) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When content made by no one takes over parts of the internet that are supposed to be human, it pollutes the commons and makes it hard to discover and hear human voices. When readers have to wonder if what they’re reading is real, it undermines trust in authorship and threatens the livelihood of writers—including those who use AI tools thoughtfully to produce work they believe in. Platforms that reward fakeness will create a race to the bottom.