Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Nimbus Aerospace tests quarter-scale prototype in Oregon as hybrid-electric race ramps up – GeekWire
In June and August, the startup conducted two test flights of its NX1 prototype at the Pendleton Airport UAS Range in Oregon. The aircraft, which has a 15-foot wingspan and weighs 200 pounds, flew for 3 minutes 42 seconds in the first flight and 6 minutes in the second.
$10 Million Mystery Check Hangs Over Governor’s Race — Oregon Journalism Project
The carpenters PAC, Building a Stronger Oregon, has so far this year given $500,000 to Gov. Tina Kotek for her reelection campaign; $150,000 to the Senate Democratic Leadership Fund; and another $200,000 to various Democratic candidates. The union is a reliable Democratic donor, but nothing on the scale of $10 million: In 2024, the last election year, it spent less than $500,000.
Work-In Wednesday | Partiful
Work-In Wednesday is a casual coworking day for Portland’s remote workers, freelancers, creatives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone building something who wants to get out of the house and work around other people.
Back to school (err, work) – by Julianne Brands
As I think about what excites me getting back to work, expect me to talk more about engaging with technology in a human-centered way, economic and regulatory policy for AI safety, feeling “allergic to the algorithm,” and remaining at ease as investors, entrepreneurs (and humans) in volatile times.
Oregon Department of Justice Subpoenas Records Concerning Failed Old Town Shoe Startup
The existence of the subpoena, first reported by The Oregonian, means that Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield—and specifically the DOJ’s Charitable Activities Section—has turned its scrutiny toward the shoe manufacturing startup that promised a revitalization of Portland’s Old Town neighborhood. The subpoena, dated July 13, requests records specifically from the Old Town Community Association, the neighborhood association that served as fiscal sponsor of the project.
The 1st World Mental Health Day, hosted by JOYELY | Eventship
Portland’s first citywide gathering for the people who carry mental health work: education, healthcare, community, technology, and everyone else who is…
Anthropic IPO prospectus warns of existential AI risk
The prospectus, which has not been made public, allocated roughly 80 of its 261 pages to risk disclosures — outpacing by a wide margin the 48 pages the company gave to describing its own operations, according to CNBC. Anthropic declined to comment.
(2021) Oregon Venture Fund shares criteria driving investment decisions in software companies by stage
For many founders, one of the most difficult parts of fundraising is figuring out who to pitch — and how. And while many funds provide details on their existing portfolio and their thesis, the particulars of how and why they make decisions remains rather opaque. Now, Oregon Venture Fund is making the effort to provide more transparency in that regard.
The grief, loneliness, and burnout sweeping through the tech industry right now | Molly Graham
Molly Graham is back for round two, and this one is even more powerful. Molly has spent more than 20 years helping organizations and the humans inside them navigate growth and change. She’s held leadership roles at Google, Facebook, Quip, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and is the host of TED’s WorkLife podcast (which she took over from Adam Grant). She also runs Glue Club, a leadership community for senior operators, and writes a popular newsletter called Lessons.
FBI Hackers Say They Won’t Publish Massive Trove of FBI Employee Data
The breach, in which the hackers stole personal information on “all FBI employees and applicants” including physical addresses, job roles, names of spouses, and medical records, represents a significant national security and counterintelligence threat. Criminals in the same ecosystem as the hacking group, called ShinyHunters, have previously used hacked phone data to track and harass the FBI agents investigating them. When 404 Media first broke news of the breach, the group sent the personal data of an agent and their spouse who they said was investigating the group.
AMD to Acquire World Labs to Advance the Future of AI Compute
Acquisition brings leading AI model research expertise to AMD, helping to shape future AI infrastructure and strengthen the open AI ecosystem.
The Future Is for Everyone: Muse for Small Business
Today we’re announcing Muse for Small Business. Muse is one of the most important products we’ve built for the era of personal superintelligence. Now, we’re expanding what it can do.
Investors will have to wait for Oura’s IPO | AP News
The IPO market had a solid start to the year but tailed off in the third quarter, according to research firm Renaissance Capital. Concerns about a possible slowdown in spending on artificial intelligence, the Federal Reserve’s resumption of rate hikes and a surge in bond yields — making borrowing more expensive — all played a factor, Renaissance said.
Instinct: The Personal Agent – Colossus
Noah Shinn is the founder of Instinct. We cover why software collapses into one interface as it gets more capable, how long it takes users to trust an agent with their credit cards, and the compute crunch behind a product growing 10% a day.
You Are No Longer Invited to Dinner – Derek Thompson
In the last 30 years, Americans have seen double-digit declines in practically every measure of socializing. They are less likely to play cards; attend a sporting event; go to the bar; volunteer; or work on a community project.
5 Things Founders Obsess Over That Investors Barely Care About | by Aaron Dinin, PhD | Sep, 2026 | Entrepreneurship Handbook
Unfortunately, the temptation to work on the productive-feeling stuff tugs at founders way more than the temptation to get ignored by customers, so they waste their time obsessing over lots of details that ultimately don’t matter.
OMSI After Dark: Homegrown
Do you find yourself cheering on worms as they make their treacherous journey through the dirt? Or are you unsure how to begin your own garden at home? Having a hard time figuring out what the pH levels of your soil is telling you? Join us at OMSI After Dark: Homegrown if you’re wanting to take your home garden up a notch or if you just love supporting Oregon’s farmers.
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ADX Fest
Explore a special exhibition of work by ADX alumni and members in Gallery X and the Loading Bay, contribute to our interactive Time Capsule installation, participate in hands-on workshops, and experience audiovisual highlights from ADX over the past 15 years.
State of agent skills – Vercel
Using aggregate data from the registry, this report follows a new market through its first million skills: what people teach agents, what gets installed, and where the value is heading.
Airbound: As We May Move – Not Boring by Packy McCormick
Some time in the spring, I started talking to Naman Pushp about writing a deep dive on Airbound. Pretty much every week since, often more than once, we’ve hopped on a Zoom, me in Manhattan and him in Bangalore, to talk about what the world looks like when flight is the way everything and everyone moves, and what it would take to get there.
The Code Nobody Reads – by Addy Osmani – Elevate
What worries me more are the other jobs review used to do. It was how junior engineers learned how senior engineers think. Anything a reviewer used to say in a comment, like “we don’t do it that way here” now needs to be written down in skills. Otherwise the agent never hears it.
Deployment Gap – by Nikunj Kothari – Balancing Act
There’s genuine reason to be excited on the tech side. Robotics is finally having its moment. Self learning, models getting better, BOM cost coming down, robots actually deployed. Humanoid manufacturing costs fell about 40% in a year. One humanoid maker’s robots have logged over 65,000 hours across nine customer facilities. It’s inevitable. But deploying robots will take longer.
Introducing Techstars’ Fall 2026 Accelerator Class
We are excited to introduce the startups selected for our Fall 2026 accelerator programs, which kick off September 8, 2026, across our global network. Over the next three months, these founders will work alongside experienced mentors, receive capital investment, and tap into a network shaped by founders who’ve been exactly where they are now.
Khanna to introduce AI safety bill awaiting technology safeguards
“There’s actually a civilizational extinction risk,” Khanna said Monday in an interview with CNBC. “There’s a safety risk of loss of control, and then there’s a misuse risk, and we need to take both seriously.”
The iPhone Duo may already have its first killer app: a virtual Walkman | TechCrunch
The app, called Duo-Man, takes clever advantage of the Duo’s two screens — a foldable, 7.6-inch inner display when it’s open and the 5.4-inch outer display when it’s shut closed. The app imitates how Walkmans used to function: You can open up the Duo to pick your music and “insert” your cassette tape, then close the device shut to start listening.
Adidas’ Groundbreaking Adizero Gearshift Is the Brand’s Most Dynamic Running Shoe Ever | Gear Patrol
But the Adizero Gearshift is different. Rather than having a solid-state carbon plate, this shoe’s plate is custom-adjustable on the fly. For more casual training and uneven terrain, the plate can be loosened up, making the shoe more flexible. But when you want to push your limits, it can be made more rigid, enhancing the “springboard” effect of traditional carbon plates.
Genentech breaks ground on $750M Hillsboro manufacturing facility – Portland Business Journal
A subsidiary of Swiss drugmaker Roche Group, Genentech is investing $750 million to double the size of its Hillsboro manufacturing operation by adding a new building to its existing 75-acre campus. The project will create 250 manufacturing jobs once it’s complete in 2031.
Introducing dots | OpenAI
Dots are frontier intelligence that have your back. Powered by GPT‑6 Astra, they have their own cloud computer, learn from feedback over time, and can work towards your goals 24/7. Through our ecosystem of plugins, they can readily connect to over 4,000 apps, giving them the tools to help wherever you need them.