Yesterday, I sat through all of the weekly recaps for 2025. At 2x. (I’m a glutton for punishment, but not enough to watch it in real time.) I tried to take notes here and there to capture some of the highlights, so that you don’t have to sit through the whole thing. And here’s what I came up with…
Fundraising and exits
- Ampere Computing acquired by SoftBank for $6.5B all-cash deal in March
- Hydrolix raised $80M Series C with 8x YoY revenue growth
- Sturdy secured $6M led by Voyager Capital
- Disputed AI raised $1.1M from angel investors
- Mercury raised $300M at $3.5B valuation
- Araceli Biosciences raised $11.2M for AI-enabled drug discovery
- Voyager Capital saw three portfolio company exits in Q1 (Lytics, Act-On, DeepSurface) — but one got scuttled
- Q1 2025 Portland VC funding reached $170M vs $58M in Q1 2024
Notable product launches and companies
- Dayo launched app rewarding reduced social media usage, reaching #6 on Product Hunt
- Graze Social raised $1M for BlueSky feed curation tools
- Faceplant opened plant-based burger restaurant targeting McDonald’s with $3.99 burgers
- Birch Biosciences (YC alum) developing enzyme tech for PET plastic recycling
- Portland Digital Corps launched to support nonprofits with tech solutions
Community events
- Portland Startup Week 2025 (May) featured 80+ events
- AI Portland hosted Zero to One Build Challenge hackathon
- Regular events established:
- Monthly Demolicious pitch competitions
- Startup Cafe at Metro Region Innovation Hub
- Show Up for Small Business gatherings
Organizational changes
- Katharine Reinhold appointed Executive Director of Built Oregon
- Matt Dittrich named President of TIE Oregon
- Pat Cheung joined Metro Region Innovation Hub as Navigator
- Mitch Daugherty launched Portland Office of Small Business
- Karmen Olson named Board Chair of Built Oregon
Community infrastructure
- Propel PSU opened new entrepreneurship space
- NedSpace under new ownership focusing on creative pursuits
Notable trends
- AI adoption accelerating across Portland startups
- Increased focus on sustainability/climate tech
- Growth in biotech/healthcare startups
- Rising interest in consumer-facing applications
- Stronger connections developing between Portland/Seattle ecosystems
Key metrics
- Silicon Florist published 5,500th post since 2007
- PDX Startup Slack reached 7,000 members
- Oregon Startup Database launched with 100+ profiles
- Demolicious expanded to Seattle market
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