Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals raises $95M for diabetes therapy – Portland Business Journal
The Series B round was co-led by RA Capital Management and Forbion, with participation from existing investors, including OrbiMed, RiverVest and US Venture Partners, Sparrow announced.
Users Only Care About 20% of Your Application
As successful software inevitably accumulates features and complexity, it creates gaps. Users whose specific 20% gets buried under layers of “improvements” meant for other users start looking for alternatives. This is where opportunities emerge.
New TiE Seattle president on how the $100K H-1B fee could snuff out entrepreneurial flame – GeekWire
Aggarwal, this week named the new president of TiE Seattle, said he’s worried about the impact of the new $100,000 H-1B visa fee introduced last week by President Donald Trump.
Educating the Next Generation of Open Source Project Contributors | Fast Wonder
Collectively, we have experience teaching open source to university students, creating and sustaining open source contribution programs for students in secondary school through to university, and building new open source communities in Africa. In this video, we talked about what we’ve learned, what’s worked, and provided tips for growing the next generation of contributors from within your local communities.
Under Armour to acquire Portland plastic-free apparel startup Unless Collective, bring on founder as exec – oregonlive.com
The Baltimore company on Tuesday said it will acquire Eric Liedtke’s Unless Collective this week. Liedtke, who previously worked for Adidas for 26 years, will become Under Armour’s executive vice president of brand strategy and report directly to CEO Kevin Plank.
Portland Linux/Unix Group General Monthly Meeting: ROCm Deployment on Linux, Ben Koenig » Calagator: Portland’s Tech Calendar
ROCm is a software stack, composed primarily of open-source software, that provides the tools for programming AMD Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), from low-level kernels to high-level end-user applications.
How Jensen Huang is Using Nvidia Cash to Rule the AI Economy — The Information
What’s Nvidia buying by pumping money into the AI economy through its $100 billion OpenAI investment and other deals? Influence, threat deterrence and a gusher of chip sales, that’s what.
The AI services transformation may be harder than VCs think | TechCrunch
Venture capitalists have convinced themselves they’ve found the next big investing edge: using AI to wring software-like margins out of traditionally labor-intensive services businesses. The strategy involves acquiring mature professional services firms, implementing AI to automate tasks, then using the improved cash flow to roll up more companies.
Meet the key players in the Pacific Northwest’s fusion hub
Here’s a round up of Pacific Northwest companies working to harness fusion power, startups that aim to support the sector, and notable research institutions — most of whom are participating in Seattle Fusion Week, which is hosted by CleanTech Alliance.
The art of prototyping – by David Hoang – Proof of Concept
The best prototypes don’t just validate feasibility; they change the conversation about what should exist in the first place.
Ex-Hilos designer launches fashion coworking studio Kinship – Portland Business Journal
“It was really important for me for it to be a collaborative space where it’s not just designers and sewists and pattern makers. You can find your marketer there too, or you can make a friend that’s in photography that can help you on your next shoot, or you can talk to a graphic designer about your branding, and just have this ecosystem where we can all help each other out,” Giladi said.
