Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
It’s another exit via acquisition for serial founder Raven Zachary. His latest company — the Microsoft Hololens agency he helped cofound, Object Theory — has been acquired by ARound. Small Society, the iOS development shop Raven cofounded prior to Object Theory — a preeminent player in the then burgeoning Portland mobile scene — was acquired by Walmart Labs in 2012.
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In an instant, every company became a remote company. Regardless of culture. Regardless of market. Everyone who managed to survive the instantaneous and cataclysmic downturn was suddenly working from home. And juggling any number of duties in addition to their day job. And just as suddenly, things that used to require a personal touch simply couldn’t.
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We’ve been salivating, virtually, at the potential for alternative realities—be they virtual, augmented, or mixed—for years now. But for all of that anticipation, there has been little to show. Part of this is due to the newness of the platforms and hardware and the challenge of creating palpable experiences in those environments. That’s why it’s nice to see things like Prism from Portland’s Object Theory which truly begin to demonstrate the potential of the medium.
It’s no secret that Portland likes its shiny new technology. We’re among the earliest of adopters and the most curious of hobbyists with all sorts of newfangled stuff. And that means that once a technology enters the popular lexicon, we tend to be fairly well phrased in its applications and potential. So when it comes to technology like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence, folks in Portland have a great deal to say. And they’ll be doing exactly that during the next Portland Business Journal Power Breakfast.
One good story deserves another, so speaking of Oregon Story Board… Virtual Reality isn’t the only reality they’re exploring in Portland. Following up on the grant they garnered from Microsoft, the digital storytelling accelerator now offers Augmented Reality development training specifically designed for the Microsoft HoloLens environment. Read More
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Portland is collaborative as fuuuuuu… well, um, it’s collaborative. And while that’s super helpful for many of us, it’s always nice to see others recognize the value of that collaboration. That’s why it was awesome to see Microsoft select a group of Portland area organizations for one of its exclusive HoloLens grants. Read More
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: the Portland startup scene is grappling with adolescence a little later than a few other startup scenes. We’re a late bloomer, as it were. Mostly because we didn’t have many—if any—successful exits during the dotcom days. So we’re barely getting to the point of founders successfully exiting and then starting their next thing. Read More
We’re in the middle of one of the biggest events in the mobile industry, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. So it’s to be expected that companies are making big announcements. Today, Portland’s Urban Airship highlighted their ongoing efforts with Microsoft Windows Azure, Windows 8, and Windows 8 Phone. Read More
It’s always nice to take a look at what’s happening in other startup scenes. Yesterday, I was up north at the—deep breath—Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure, powered by TechStars Demo Day on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA. All told, 10 new companies came out of the Accelerator, the first based on Azure. Read More