Top 10 Portland startup stories of 2025

Wow. 2025 just flew by. And looking back at the year of stories, there was a lot of stuff that we all managed to cram into the year. Despite all of the turmoil both locally and nationally. So what Portland startup stories did folks find most compelling in 2025…?

1. The most valuable company in history was founded by an Aloha High and Oregon State grad
   “If you’re in the tech or startup world, you’ve no doubt been inundated with the news about Nvidia becoming the first company in history to reach the $4 trillion valuation mark, this week. But what you might not realize is that founder Jensen Huang has very strong Oregon ties.”
2. Portland, it’s time to move on
   “As someone with more than 30 years of history with this place — Portland has been my home for three decades, but I had visited often prior to that — I’m among the worst offenders when it comes to ‘getting nostalgic’ about Portlandy things. But I always appreciate when folks shake me out of that ‘Remember when…’ stupor and bring me back to reality. Which is why I loved this post from Angel Medina.”
3. Oregon is the bestest most wonderfulest place to be the most amazingest awesomest entrepreneur ever
   “If social media is to be believed, Oregon is the best place in the universe to be an entrepreneur. Every few weeks, a new ‘report’ comes out that ranks Oregon or Portland among the top places for entrepreneurship. And then those stories get shared ad nauseam on social media, aggregating thousands of likes and comments and reshares. And then, once that tempest in a teapot starts to die down, another ‘ranking’ comes out. And it starts all over again.”
4. Jon Maroney moves on from Oregon Venture Fund
   “I remember Jon Maroney as a founder. And as a peer as we both ran accelerator programs. So of course, I remember him joining Oregon Angel Fund in the role designed for community engagement and deal flow. Of course OAF changed too — as many thing do — to Oregon Venture Fund. And now, OVF is going to experience another change. Jon Maroney is moving on to his next challenge.”
5. Portland Startup Week 2025: What’s currently on the docket…?
   “So you’ve been hearing some rumblings about a ‘Portland Startup Week.’ But you’re not quite sure what that is or why you should care. Well, I might be able to help. Portland Startup Week 2025 is a weeklong celebration of the Portland startup community through events and gatherings that bring the community together. And, after a long hiatus, it’s now back in 2025. And will take place May 12–16, 2025.”
6. Former Nike folks formed Fiveonefour, fomenting $10.8M in fresh financing
   “I’m always one to be contemplating the potential startup community impact of local corporations. Especially when the economy is forcing those organizations to reduce the size of their workforce. But I’m often challenged to come up with good startup examples that have come out places like Nike and Intel. Now, I’ve got a new one: Fiveonefour.”
7. ConductorOne raises $79M led by Greycroft
   “I thought the VC stuff was supposed to slow down this time of year…? But honestly, I’ll take it. ConductorOne — a startup with a significant Portland presence — just raised a $79 million Series B with some upper tier investors like Greycroft, Accel, and Felicis taking part in the round.”
8. REMINDER: Silicon Forest Tech Summit 2025 is 10 days away — and now in Portland
   “If you were on the fence about attending the Silicon Forest Tech Summit because you weren’t sure you’d have time to make the journey out to Hillsboro, get ready to be happy. The event is 10 days away — and now it’s relocated to Portland. So you should just get off of the fence and go.”
9. Let’s get you connected with your Oregon startup peers
   “If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: ‘Why is it so hard to connect with people in the Portland startup community…? Am I missing a regular event or something.’ Unfortunately, no. The answer isn’t as easy as that. But it does stem from the sort of secret hack that people tend to meet one another one-on-one for conversations. Rather than leaning on traditional ‘networking’ events.”
10. Portland startup Customer.io reaches $100M ARR milestone
    “If you’ve ever talked to me about Portland startups, you’ve heard my bit about startups and founders that are “aggressively humble.” They don’t brag. They don’t boast. They just quietly keep their heads down and do the work. And often, it’s amazing work. Take Customer.io, one of those quiet startups that just crossed $100,000,000 in annual recurring revenue.”