Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community

People always ask me, “What is the one ‘must attend’ event in the Portland tech community…?” And while there are awards shows and pitch competitions galore, if I’m forced to only pick one, it’s actually pretty easy: Silicon Forest Tech Summit.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

How Venture Capitalists Can Become Strong Board Members

A board member’s core responsibility is to surface reality clearly and at the right moment.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Why every exec should be vibecoding – by Elena Verna

The future looks more like this: senior leaders and execs who stay part-time ICs. People who still build, ship, review, and create, not just talk about it.

I’ve been talking about the hardware renaissance that’s beginning to take shape around here. You see, as AI computing resources become more and more scarce, I hypothesize that we’re going to see people working to advance the technology to make things more efficient and effective. And a local startup helmed by Intel alums is definitely running that playbook. AheadComputing just raised $30 million bringing it to $53 million raised in total.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

How Wicked Saints Studios Turned A Mission-Driven Game Into A Creator-Embedded Campaign For Real-World Connection

The approach reflects Wicked Saints’ broader thesis that games can be designed not just for engagement, but for activation. Founded in 2020, the studio was created to address a problem its co-founder and CEO, Jessica Murrey, encountered repeatedly across journalism, public-service media, and global peacebuilding: social-impact initiatives are effective at raising awareness, but far less reliable at helping people believe they can take action.