Portland, Oregon, startup news - Silicon Florist

The midterms are making so much noise that it's been a slow news week, but slow isn't empty. The feds bet $1.2 million on bacteria spores, a University of Oregon spinout got acquired, and the Oregon governor's race gets one last startup-flavored look before ballots are due.

In this episode, Rick starts with Wildwood, the LAIKA stop-motion love letter to Portland that's pulled in about $20 million so far, and the sad news that the crow statues are coming down. Then it's a podcast with SentoClaw, a Portland startup acting as a security layer for AI agents, a "witness" that checks what an agent is about to do before it does it. VertueLab, formerly Oregon BEST, names PIE alum Leo Ochoa as its new executive director. Then the big one. Rick's final run through the Oregon governor's race, Tina Kotek versus Christine Drazan: what they said about business formation and business growth, how little either said about startups, and the QSBS tax issue that both candidates seem to lean toward fixing. Plus a plea to please vote and walk your ballot to a drop box. Graze, now part of Flipboard, has built an election night tracker for Bluesky. Next comes Caravel Bio, fresh off its Bend Venture Conference win, with a $1,246,984 NSF SBIR Phase II award after a $275,000 Phase I. It uses engineered bacterial spores to hold enzymes, as an alternative to chemical catalysts. Then Azenta acquires SynPlexity, a Eugene company from the University of Oregon's Knight Campus and a Launch Oregon portfolio company. Terms weren't disclosed. Secrets wraps it up with thanks to all 138 patrons, a pen pal sticker club mailing, a beta of the Soqratic chat on Rick's personal site, RSVP w/ me, catch-ups with Jason Bolt of Revant Optics, Juan Barraza of Latino Founders, and Katharine Reinhold of Built Oregon, and a happy Halloween.

LINKS:

- Magical Trail of Crows winds through Portland in advance of Laika film 'Wildwood' — https://nwexaminer.com/p/magical-trail-of-crows-winds-through

- Chatting with SentoClaw — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/28/chatting-with-sentoclaw/

- SentoClaw — https://sentoclaw.ai/

- VertueLab names Leo Ochoa as new executive director — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/27/vertuelab-names-leo-ochoa-as-new-executive-director/

- VertueLab — https://vertuelab.org/

- If you haven't submitted your ballot yet, here's my final recap of the Oregon governor's race from a startup perspective — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/29/if-you-havent-submitted-your-ballot-yet-heres-my-final-recap-of-the-oregon-governors-race-from-a-startup-perspective/

- Tina Kotek's plan — https://www.tinafororegon.com/oregons-future/

- Christine Drazan's plan — https://www.christinefororegon.com/drazan-plan/

- Stressed about the midterms…? Election Night 2026 from Graze will keep you up-to-date on Bluesky chatter — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/20/stressed-about-the-midterms-election-night-2026-from-graze-will-keep-you-up-to-date-on-bluesky-chatter/

- Election Night 2026 from Graze — https://midterms.graze.social/

- Caravel Bio awarded $1.2M NSF SBIR Phase II grant — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/28/caravel-bio-awarded-1-2m-nsf-sbir-phase-ii-grant/

- Caravel Bio — https://www.caravel.bio/

- Azenta acquires SynPlexity, a University of Oregon spinout — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/30/azenta-acquires-synplexity-a-university-of-oregon-spinout/

- SynPlexity — https://www.synplexity.com/

- Soqratic — https://soqratic.com

- RSVP w/ me — https://rsvpw.me/

- Revant Optics — https://www.revantoptics.com/

- Latino Founders — https://www.latinofounder.com

BVC handed out $1M to six Oregon startups. In this episode, we cover a 22-year-old PHP bug that sent the internet scrambling to patch, the North Bank Vancouver Tech Crawl drawing twice the crowd it planned for, Jonathan Maus stepping back from BikePortland after 21 years, and Agility cofounder Jonathan Hurst's AMA on X. Then it's down to Bend, where the Bend Venture Conference handed $1 million to six Oregon startups, and Lake Oswego's Permeta took home $420K of it. Back in Portland, NedSpace, the city's longest-running coworking space, is up for sale and looking for its next owner. Graze built Election Night 2026 to track the midterm chatter on Bluesky, Portland Civic Lab dug into campaign finance, and yes, please vote early. Secrets wraps it up with thanks to all 137 patrons and a few good catch-ups.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro: BVC awards $1M, NedSpace for sale & Agility AMA

00:56 - 22-year-old PHP bug threatens WordPress installs

02:29 - Vancouver Tech Crawl recap with Dave Barkos

03:20 - Jonathan Maus steps back from BikePortland after 21 years

05:13 - Agility Robotics co-founder AMA: Digit, margins & growth

06:44 - Bend Venture Conference recapped: High Desert resilience

09:00 - BVC Winners: $1M awarded across 6 Oregon companies

10:37 - Portland's oldest coworking space is for sale: The NedSpace story

13:13 - Opportunity for a new steward: What NedSpace could become

14:54 - Grays (Flipboard) launches custom Bluesky election night feeds

16:01 - PSA: Vote early and drop your midterm ballots

18:27 - Portland Civic Lab campaign finance tracking

19:30 - Secrets

LINKS:

Bend Venture Conference shares 2026 winners — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/20/bend-venture-conference-shares-2026-winners/

Bend Venture Conference — https://bendvc.com

Longtime coworking space NedSpace seeks new owner — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/20/longtime-coworking-space-nedspace-seeks-new-owner/

Faris Mubarak on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7518342422645460992

Agility hosts AMA with cofounder and Chief Robot Officer Jonathan Hurst — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/21/agility-hosts-ama-with-cofounder-and-chief-robot-officer-jonathan-hurst/

AMA responses from Jonathan Hurst, cofounder of Agility — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/23/ama-responses-from-jonathan-hurst-cofounder-of-agility/

Agility on X — https://x.com/agilityrobotics/status/2113359743351960059

Stressed about the midterms…? Election Night 2026 from Graze will keep you up-to-date on Bluesky chatter — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/20/stressed-about-the-midterms-election-night-2026-from-graze-will-keep-you-up-to-date-on-bluesky-chatter/

Election Night 2026 — https://midterms.graze.social/

Portland Civic Lab campaign finance — https://www.portlandciviclab.org/deep-dives/campaign-finance/data

Portland startup and tech events this week (North Bank Vancouver Tech Crawl) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/19/portland-startup-and-tech-events-this-week-2/

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.co

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

Filming on location in Central Oregon during High Desert Innovation Week and Bend Venture Conference, a rough week and a massive week of Oregon tech news. Intel-alum founded Mueon raises $65M (bringing total funding to $80M) to pioneer modular 3D "cublet" AI compute architecture, cybersecurity and AI identity company C1 (formerly ConductorOne) is acquired by Workday, and the Oregon UAS Accelerator brings its defense and autonomy demo day from Pendleton right to Big Pink in Portland. Let's get into it…

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Opening thoughts from Bend & episode overview

01:59 - Vancouver Tech Crawl reminder (Oct 21 with Dave Barkos)

03:10 - Addis Ventures coffee & donuts gathering with Andrew Chen

04:00 - Muon raises $65M: AI "cublets" & 3D modular chip architecture

07:09 - Workday acquires Portland-rooted cybersecurity startup C1 (ConductorOne)

09:39 - Oregon UAS Accelerator demo day comes to Big Pink in Portland

11:44 - Secrets Segment: High Desert Innovation Week & Bend Outdoor Works

13:39 - Saturday Swimwear wins Bend Outdoor Works demo day

13:52 - Patreon thank you & monthly community sticker club

14:55 - Catching up with Jason Schneider: Oregon ecosystem builder event preview

16:15 - Mitch Daugherty interview on The Long Con (Authentic community building)

17:11 - Closing: Take care of yourselves & keep up the good work

LINKS:

Take the opportunity to crawl your way around the tech community in Vancouver, Washington — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/09/take-the-opportunity-to-crawl-your-way-around-the-tech-community-in-vancouver-washington/

North Bank Vancouver Tech Crawl — https://luma.com/northbankcouvecrawl?coupon=SILICONFLORIST

Andrew Chan of Atas VC brings The Road Show to Portland on October 23 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/15/andrew-chan-of-atas-vc-brings-the-road-show-to-portland-on-october-23/

The Road Show (request to join) — https://luma.com/ycmlzr0z

Atas VC — https://atas.vc

Portland startup Mueon raises $65 million Series A with OVF and Intel Capital in the mix — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/15/portland-startup-mueon-raises-65-million-series-a-with-ovf-and-intel-capital-in-the-mix/

Mueon — https://mueon.com

The Information: Mueon raises $65 million — https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/exclusive-mueon-raises-65-million-rework-data-centers-put-together

C1 – formerly known as ConductorOne — to be acquired by Workday — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/13/c1-formerly-known-as-conductorone-to-be-acquired-by-workday/

Workday to acquire C1 — https://www.c1.ai/news/press-release/workday-to-acquire-c1-ai

Oregon UAS Accelerator cohort to take the stage in Portland — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/15/oregon-uas-accelerator-cohort-to-take-the-stage-in-portland/

Oregon UAS Innovation Showcase — https://oregonuas.org/showcase

Bend Outdoor Worx — https://www.bendoutdoorworx.com

Bend Venture Conference — https://www.bendvc.com/

Chatting with Mitch Daugherty about community — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/14/chatting-with-mitch-daugherty-about-community/

Mitch Daugherty on community and connection (The Long Con) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot54ZfmafTk

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------

Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

Leading the week: Latino Founders opened a 15,000-square-foot Founders Hub on the North Park Blocks, with Senator Ron Wyden on hand for the ribbon cutting. Then Pitch Latino Portland where all ten companies took home $2,000 and crowd favorite Hey Doc Clinic took an extra $10,000, non-dilutive and unrestricted. Then the pitch feedback I kept repeating at OEN's Angel Oregon Tech pitch practice: hook them before you introduce yourself, feed us the logo candy, and don't show up and throw up. Plus the Oregon AI Accelerator's second cohort of 14 companies and the eight Bend Venture Conference Growth Stage companies, with me heading to Bend next week. Quick hits: the North Bank Vancouver Tech Crawl (Oct 21), Demolicious Champion of Champions (Dec 3), and Clarence Bethea's What VCs Won't Say workshop. Then the secrets.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Oregon startup news intro and quick startup stories

04:45 - Latino Founders opens 15,000 sq ft Hub on North Park Blocks

06:51 - Pitch Latino Portland moves to the Newmark Theatre

08:52 - Hey Doc Clinic wins the $10,000 Pitch Latino grand prize

12:50 - 8 Rules for Stage Pitching:

18:37 - Oregon AI Accelerator reveals Cohort 2

20:03 - Bend Venture Conference 2026 Growth Stage finalists

21:28 - Secrets

LINKS:

Take the opportunity to crawl your way around the tech community in Vancouver, Washington — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/09/take-the-opportunity-to-crawl-your-way-around-the-tech-community-in-vancouver-washington/

North Bank Vancouver Tech Crawl — https://luma.com/northbankcouvecrawl?coupon=SILICONFLORIST

Demolicious Champion of Champions 2026 tickets are now on sale — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/05/demolicious-champion-of-champions-2026-tickets-are-now-on-sale/

Demolicious Champion of Champions tickets — https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/31863486/demoliciouschampion-of-champions-portland-mcmenamins-mission-theater

Latino Founders share insights on Latino Entrepreneurship Week on KGW — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/06/latino-founders-share-insights-on-latino-entrepreneurship-week-on-kgw/

Latino Entrepreneurship Week — https://www.latinoentrepreneurshipweek.com/

Pitch Latino Portland 2026 is in the books. Who took home the big check…? — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/09/pitch-latino-portland-2026-is-in-the-books-who-took-home-the-big-check/

Hey Doc Clinic — https://www.heydocclinic.com/

Latino Founders — https://www.latinofounder.com/

Pitching your startup soon…? Here's the feedback I kept repeating — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/07/pitching-your-startup-soon-heres-the-feedback-i-kept-repeating/

Angel Oregon Tech — https://www.oen.org/2026-technology/

Books for Amazon — https://siliconflorist.com/2021/02/03/what-do-i-mean-when-i-say-that-your-startup-story-should-be-books-for-amazon-lets-let-jeff-bezos-tell-it/

Oregon AI Accelerator launches second cohort — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/06/oregon-ai-accelerator-launches-second-cohort/

Oregon AI Accelerator — https://oregonaix.com/

Bend Venture Conference finalizes Growth Stage slate for 2026 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/05/bend-venture-conference-finalizes-growth-stage-slate-for-2026/

Bend Venture Conference — https://www.bendvc.com/

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

Who knew AI would be the thing that reboots the Silicon Forest? This week: a16z says capital is rotating back to hardware, Portland lands at 53 out of 1,000, and I ran a diff between a governor's debate and my earlier coverage and came up with — not much. Plus, I'm giving away copies of Anika Horn's *It Takes a Valley* to premiere watchers and paid Patreon supporters — and if you stick around for the secrets, it's our third anniversary, and I'm cranky.

LINKS:

Struggling to choose between Pitch Latino Portland and What VCs Won't Say…? Now you can do both — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/29/struggling-to-choose-between-pitch-latino-portland-and-what-vcs-wont-say-now-you-can-do-both/

Pitch Latino Portland — https://www.portland5.com/event/pitch-latino

Investor Ready Workshop with Clarence Bethea — https://luma.com/workshopor

Bend Venture Conference finalizes Early Stage slate for 2026 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/28/bend-venture-conference-finalizes-early-stage-slate-for-2026/

High Desert Innovation Week returns to Bend, October 13–16, 2026 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/01/high-desert-innovation-week-returns-to-bend-october-13-16-2026/

High Desert Innovation Week — https://www.hdinnovationweek.com/

Bend Venture Conference — https://bendvc.com/

Portland's Prelude Early Learning secures $2M NIH SBIR grant — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/29/portlands-prelude-early-learning-secures-2m-nih-sbir-grant/

Prelude Early Learning — https://preludeearlylearning.com/

My recap of the latest Oregon gubernatorial debate from a startup perspective — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/02/my-recap-of-the-latest-oregon-gubernatorial-debate-from-a-startup-perspective/

Watch the debate — https://www.youtube.com/live/WNCfGur9iwk

Could the AI era mean a reboot of more traditional Silicon Forest activity…? — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/01/could-the-ai-era-mean-a-reboot-of-more-traditional-silicon-forest-activity/

a16z State of Markets II — https://a16z.com/state-of-markets-ii/

Subsea geothermal startup Endurance Energy drills off the Oregon coast — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/01/subsea-geothermal-startup-endurance-energy-drills-off-the-oregon-coast/

Endurance Energy — https://www.enduranceenergy.com/

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network secures ~$172K grant. Well, that was FAST. — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/01/oregon-entrepreneurs-network-secures-172k-grant-well-that-was-fast/

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network — https://www.oen.org/2026/09/28/oregon-entrepreneurs-network-receives-sba-fast-grant-to-expand-support-for-oregon-innovators/

Portland ranks 53rd in the 2026 rankings of top global cities — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/01/portland-ranks-53rd-in-the-2026-rankings-of-top-global-cities-but-unfortunately-thats-three-spots-shy-of-garnering-a-dedicated-report/

Oxford Economics Global Cities Index 2026 — https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/global-cities-index/

City Observatory — https://cityobservatory.org/what-global-rankings-say-about-successful-cities-and-portlands-performance/

Interested in building more resilient startup ecosystems…? It Takes a Valley — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/10/01/interested-in-building-more-resilient-startup-ecosystems-it-takes-a-valley/

It Takes a Valley — https://bookshop.org/a/128693/9798995796312

Friday night watch party — https://luma.com/nlez8wxy

Matt Schulte for Portland City Council — https://mattschulte.org

Leading the week: Phil and Penny Knight's $1B gift to build a new Knight College of Engineering at the University of Oregon — which, fun fact, walks straight into the territory the state system carved out for Oregon State a century ago, so consider this the moment that rivalry got a very expensive new chapter (with Jensen Huang's OSU gifts as the friendly counterweight). Then Rapta closed an $8M round for its manufacturing intelligence platform, and what caught my eye wasn't the number — it was the all-local cap table: Voyager Capital, Elevate Capital, Portland Seed Fund, and Bend Venture Conference, with Diane Fraiman and Kirk Holland taking board seats. I also did a two-part startup-lens read on the Oregon governor's race — comparing Kotek's and Drazan's actual plans, then sitting through the PBJ/OBI forum where neither candidate said the word "startup" once — and landed on a closing thought that's stuck with me: OBI has a room, we don't. Plus Built Festival felt like a genuine family reunion (save the date — 10th anniversary is October 1, 2027), Selena Deckelmann made TIME's Executives of the Year list, and there's now a Calagator-style map for Portland's pop-up food scene, courtesy of a Canard bar manager who got $40K dev-shop quotes and had a regular build it for free instead.

LINKS:

Selena Deckelmann recognized among 2026 TIME Executives of the Year — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/22/selena-deckelmann-recognized-among-2026-time-executives-of-the-year-tech-and-data/

TIME Executives of the Year: Tech and Data — https://time.com/collection/executives-of-the-year-tech-data/2026/selena-deckelmann/

Looking for Portland pop-ups and food events? Try The List PDX — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/24/looking-for-portland-pop-ups-and-food-events-try-the-list-pdx/

The List PDX — https://thelistpdx.com/

Apply to the Oregon Growth Board — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/22/if-youve-ever-been-interested-in-impacting-how-capital-flows-in-oregon-you-may-want-to-apply-to-the-oregon-growth-board/

Oregon Growth Board — https://www.oregon.gov/biz/aboutus/boards/ogb/pages/default.aspx

Uncle Phil has entered the engineering chat — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/23/uncle-phil-has-entered-the-engineering-chat/

Phil and Penny Knight give $1 billion to launch a UO engineering school — https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2026/09/phil-and-penny-knight-give-1-billion-to-launch-university-of-oregon-engineering-school.html

People seem pretty excited about the $1B donation to the UO Knight Campus — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/24/people-seem-pretty-excited-about-the-1b-donation-to-the-university-of-oregon-knight-campus/

While Rapta's $8M raise is newsworthy, it's who's on the cap table that struck me — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/21/while-raptas-8m-raise-is-newsworthy-its-whos-on-the-cap-table-that-struck-me/

Rapta — https://rapta.com/

Comparing the Oregon gubernatorial candidates' published plans — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/22/comparing-the-oregon-gubernatorial-candidates-published-plans-from-a-startup-perspective/

Kotek's "Building Oregon's Future Together" — https://www.tinafororegon.com/oregons-future/

Drazan's six-part plan — https://www.christinefororegon.com/drazan-plan/

Gubernatorial candidates sit down to discuss one another's plans for Oregon — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/24/gubernatorial-candidates-sit-down-to-discuss-one-anothers-plans-for-oregon/

Built Oregon — https://www.builtoregon.com/

Portland startups have a long, storied history of engineers building tools for other engineers—from Tektronix oscilloscopes to Puppet. This week, we look at how that open-source builder tradition is roaring back with a fresh $2M round for AI agent infrastructure, alongside major hardware and clean energy headlines across the state.

In this episode, we cover Agility Robotics unveiling their new Digit 5 humanoid robot, PIE alum James McDermott raising $2M for AntFly (led by HeavyBit), Mazama Energy raising $135M to tap Oregon geothermal power for AI data centers, Bend Venture Conference early-stage semifinalists, the 10 Latine founders pitching at Pitch Latino Portland, and a very candid Secrets segment.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:46 - Agility Robotics unveils Digit 5 (Humanoid redesign & 20-hr battery)

02:08 - Bend Venture Conference (BVC) early-stage semifinalists

03:15 - Fresh Hop Finder map for craft beer season

03:57 - Built Festival reminder (Sept 25 at The Redd)

04:36 - AntFly raises $2M: Open-source AI retrieval engine backed by HeavyBit

08:08 - Mazama Energy raises $135M: Tapping Oregon geothermal for AI data centers

11:09 - Pitch Latino Portland: 10 Latine founders at the Newmark Theatre (Oct 8)

13:42 - Secrets

LINKS

AntFly: https://antfly.io

Pitch Latino Portland https://www.portland5.com/event/pitch-latino

Built Festival https://builtoregon.com

FashioNXT https://fashionxt.com

Fresh Hop Finder Map https://freshhopfinder.com/

It Takes a Valley by Anika Horn https://bookshop.org/p/books/it-takes-a-valley-how-to-build-thriving-entrepreneurial-ecosystems-that-transform-our-communities/83432271bcd8886b?ean=9798995796312&aid=128693&listref=startup-books

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699

- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ

- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3

- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494

- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457

- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------

For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.

ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------

Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

Talking to venture capitalists often feels like that scene in The Notebook—"What do you want?!" This week, we preview a rare, candid workshop coming to Portland with Clarence Bethea designed to decode "VC speak" and share the quiet parts out loud.

We also break down new local tech developments: YC alum Ravoy raising $27M and building out a Portland engineering presence, Experatas launching AI-driven digital health malpractice tools, the Portland Office of Small Business releasing its first data-driven impact report, and the full speaker lineup for the 2025 Built Festival.

PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS CHAPTERS

00:00 - Why talking to VCs feels like "The Notebook"

01:20 - Experatas: AI-enabled digital health for malpractice reviews

02:56 - Portland Office of Small Business 1st Year Impact Report

06:24 - Startup Stories shoutout: Peter Kirwan & mebot ai

06:55 - What VCs Won't Say: Clarence Bethea workshop at Instrument (Oct 8)

11:15 - YC alum Revoy raises $27M & hires in Portland

14:14 - Built Festival 2025: Celebrating Oregon consumer products (Sept 25)

16:17 - Built Festival speaker & maker highlights (Steelport, TLE, and more)

19:23 - Secrets

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------

For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.

ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------

Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

Leading the week: Kelly Lyons steps into the Innovation Hub's empty chair right as PSU — the Hub's fiscal sponsor — lands $6M for innovation and commercialization, and Rick had the story out before the Hub itself put out a statement. From there, Josh Carter's UpStart Collective marks 4 years and a full floor of Big Pink, a decade after Portland first waved him off. The Bend Venture Conference narrows its Growth Stage field to 15 semifinalists — heavy on Oregon names like Caravel Bio and Looptworks, with a few out-of-state ringers along for the ride — ahead of its October main-stage finale. And if you're building anything, circle September 15: that's the deadline for the Oregon AI Accelerator's zero-equity cohort, the Oregon Innovation Showcase's deeptech call, and Founders Inc's hardware program, all landing the same week. Plus: August's top 10 posts, in case you missed Panthalassa's $2B moment or the news that Portland Startup Week isn't what it used to be.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Oregon startup news intro

02:15 - Oregon Innovation Showcase: Deep tech and hardware applications

03:18 - Oregon AI Accelerator: Cohort 2 applications (Due Sept 15)

04:25 - Founders Inc: Hard tech opportunities in the Bay Area

05:23 - Metro Region Innovation Hub: New Executive Director Kelly Lyons

09:18 - Bend Venture Conference: The 22-year angel investor legacy

11:55 - BVC Growth Stage Semi-Finalists: Tech Category

19:00 - Silicon Florist turns 19: The 20-year celebration preview

24:45 - Upstart Collective: Celebrating 4 years in Big Pink

30:20 - Secrets

LINKS:

Innovation Hub names new director — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/01/portland-metro-region-innovation-hub-names-new-director/

Portland Metro Region Innovation Hub — https://www.portlandmetrohub.org/

Oregon AI Accelerator wants you — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/02/building-with-ai-oregon-ai-accelerator-wants-you/

Oregon AI Accelerator — https://oregonaix.com/

Learn to stop worrying and embrace AI with Scott Hanselman — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/02/learn-to-stop-worrying-and-embrace-ai-with-scott-hanselman/

Steam Circuit — AI Without the Hype — https://www.steamcircuit.com/events/ai-builder-series-ai-without-the-hype-september-5-2026

Oregon Innovation Showcase 2027 call for founders — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/03/interest-in-showcasing-your-innovation-youre-in-luck-oregon-innovation-showcase-2027-is-looking-for-folks-to-feature/

Oregon Innovation Showcase — https://www.oregoninnovationshowcase.org/

Bend Venture Conference reveals Growth Stage semifinalists — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/04/bend-venture-conference-2026-reveals-growth-stage-semifinalists/

Bend Venture Conference — https://www.bendvc.com/

Hardware / deep tech accelerator — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/04/looking-for-a-startup-accelerator-for-your-hardware-or-deep-tech-startup/

Founders Inc Blueprint — https://f.inc/blueprint

Top 10 Silicon Florist posts for August — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/01/top-10-silicon-florist-posts-for-august-2026/

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------

Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

A notable startup acquisition is reshaping the tech landscape. Learn how this deal affects operations following the merger.

This video examines the recent move by a prominent startup that gained major attention during the iPad launch era to purchase a Portland-based company. We break down the core motivation behind this business strategy and what it signals for their future market positioning. If you follow corporate growth trends, this analysis provides clarity on why established companies are consolidating their assets now.

By integrating new talent and infrastructure from the Portland team, the startup aims to streamline its internal operations. We look at the specific goals behind this tech industry news and how such shifts often indicate broader changes in how companies manage their product ecosystems. Understanding these moves helps observers track the trajectory of major players in the space.

Subscribe for weekly startup analysis breakdowns and comment below on which company merger you want us to cover next.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Portland startup news

01:12 - Hatchable helps vibe coding

02:47 - Angel Oregon: OEN Applications Open

04:40 - Steam Circuit: Scott Hanselman Workshop

06:31 - Upstart Collective: 4th Birthday Celebration

07:46 - Flipboard Acquires Graze Social

13:50 - Digs Raises $25.3M Series A

15:46 - $6M Federal Grant for PSU Innovation

19:40 - Secrets

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699

- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ

- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3

- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494

- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457

- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------

For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.

ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------

Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

The Ducks might be #2 in football, but the Beavers are #1 when it comes to startup accelerators. Meanwhile CBRE says Portland slipped to 34th for tech talent, and I spent part of the week sitting across from a consultancy from Ohio who told me, flat out, that we've been lucky, not good — and luck is not a strategy. Nothing sharpens the picture like an outsider holding up a mirror and making you actually look at it.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Oregon startup news

01:28 Quick news bytes

04:53 OSU on TIME's list of startup incubators and accelerators

06:43 Oregon UAS Accelerator

09:14 Yak wins OEN Angel Oregon Tech

11:30 CBRE Tech Talent report for 2026

13:44 Feedback on Oregon's Innovation Plan

24:42 Secrets

LINKS:

OSU Advantage Accelerator on TIME's list — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/18/time-ranks-osu-advantage-accelerator-among-best-startup-accelerators-in-the-us/

TIME America's Best Incubators and Accelerators 2026 — https://time.com/article/2026/08/18/americas-best-incubators-accelerators-2026/

Yak wins OEN Angel Oregon Tech — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/18/yak-walks-away-with-oen-angel-oregon-tech-win/

Yak — https://yaktech.io/

Oregon UAS Accelerator Fall 2026 cohort — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/20/oregon-uas-accelerator-welcomes-17-startups-to-its-fall-2026-cohort/

Oregon UAS Accelerator — https://oregonuas.org/

Portland slips in CBRE Scoring Tech Talent — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/21/portland-has-definitely-slipped-among-tech-communities-but-at-least-were-still-registering/

CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2026 — https://www.cbre.com/insights/books/scoring-tech-talent-2026

What I told the Teconomy team — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/18/for-transparency-here-is-what-i-told-the-teconomy-team-assessing-oregons-10-year-innovation-plan/

Teconomy Partners — https://www.teconomypartners.com/

Darius Monsef on Life After Launch — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/18/former-portland-founder-darius-monsef-sits-down-with-life-after-launch/

Angel Medina on TODOS Media — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/19/chatting-with-angel-medina-about-todos-media/

Panthalassa cofounder explains their solution — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/17/curious-about-panthalassa-listen-to-the-cofounder-and-ceo-explain-their-solution/

Hasaan Hates Portland Kickstarter — https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mischawebley/hasaan-hates-portland

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------

For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.

ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------

Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

Twenty years ago Boeing bought Insitu, the drone company built up in the Columbia Gorge — and this week Boeing basically un-bought it, selling Insitu, along with Wisk and SkyGrid, to Archer, the flying-taxi startup people keep calling "Waymo for air taxis." Then Boeing turned around and invested in Archer anyway — which is either a very tidy circle or proof nobody's actually settled on what to call this stuff yet. "Physical AI" is the phrase everyone's reaching for. I'm not sure it's landed.

From there: 38 Portland-metro companies made the Inc. 5000 this year, and if you squint at the top ten — Studson, Zeal Logistics, Daniel House Club, Omorpho, Portland Gear — almost none of them are software, which says something about what this region's actually good at building. Panic shipped Big Walk, a co-op multiplayer adventure landing on Steam, PS5, and Switch 2. Geoff Jensen made the case at Portland Startup Week — RIP — for solopreneuring in the age of AI. Plus a ViddyScribe founder conversation about AI audio descriptions for the blind, a founder-insight piece from Nicole Schmidt of Source (which came through PIE back in the day), and TiE Oregon's TiE Women 2026 finalists. And, as always, secrets.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Intro

01:29 Quick startup news

04:37 Insitu sells to Archer

07:47 Inc. 5000: Portland's top 10

10:32 Panic ships Big Walk

13:51 The solopreneur advantage

15:54 Secrets

LINKS:

Insitu gets acquired… again — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/12/insitu-gets-acquired-again/

Archer / Insitu press release — https://www.insitu.com/news/archer-to-shape-physical-ai-future-of-aerospace-and-defense-with-acquisition-of-boeings-wisk-aero-insitu-and-skygrid-subsidiaries-boeing-to-invest-in-archer-and-collaborate

Inc. features the 10 fastest growing Portland companies — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/11/inc-features-the-10-fastest-growing-portland-companies/

Inc. 5000 — Portland's top 10 — https://www.inc.com/esther-lian/meet-portlands-top-10-inc-5000-honorees/91385716

Panic publishes a new game — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/10/panic-publishes-a-new-game-from-the-makers-of-untitled-goose-game/

Big Walk — https://bigwalk.game/

The solopreneur advantage — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/14/the-solopreneur-advantage/

Chatting with ViddyScribe — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/11/chatting-with-viddyscribe/

ViddyScribe — https://viddyscribe.com/

Nicole Schmidt of Source — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/12/nicole-schmidt-founder-and-ceo-of-source-shares-advice-for-startup-founders/

TiE Oregon reveals TiE Women 2026 finalists — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/11/tie-oregon-reveals-local-finalists-vying-for-tie-women-2026/

TiE Women — https://www.tieoregon.org/programs/tie-women

Business Oregon survey — closes Aug 15 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/11/reminder-provide-feedback-to-business-oregon-by-august-15-2026/

Oregon Innovation Plan survey — https://teconomypartners.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5A4Wnf2JCrwFrEO

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…

- https://patreon.com/turoczy

- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy

- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social

- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/

- https://pdxslack.com

ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------

For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.

All because of a blog. Weird.

https://siliconflorist.com

Ten years ago Panthalassa asked me to believe that a bobbing metal sphere full of GPUs, cooled by the actual ocean, was a real company — and this week The Information reported they're raising $225 million more at something like a $2 billion valuation, doubling in three months flat. Unicorn? I'm going with narwhal. And that's before we even get to a decade-old idea I started myself, that's now bigger than I ever meant it to be.

From there: Portland Startup Week — the thing I started a decade ago before handing it off to Josh Carter — is becoming Oregon Startup Week, 40-plus events statewide, home base at Big Pink, May 10–15, 2027, and I'm oddly happy watching my own creation outgrow me. Renée James, who ran Intel and then sold Ampere Computing to SoftBank for $6.5 billion, just launched a Lake Oswego startup fixing pay-to-play youth sports recruiting — especially for the girls and women getting priced out of travel baseball and softball. Plus a California company buys an OSU spinout, Oregon State throws a party for five semiconductor spinouts at once, Ray King's Porkbun crosses 4 million domains, Rose City Robotics wins $200K to recycle lithium-ion batteries, Brad Attig's got a guide for supporting rural Oregon founders hit by wildfires, and Silicon Florist quietly turned 19 this week — with a 20th-anniversary save-the-date already on the calendar. And, as always, secrets.

00:00 Oregon startup new intro

00:20 Quick news stories

04:44 Panthalassa

09:43 RIP Portland Startup Week

11:55 Rule42

15:08 Secrets

LINKS:

Panthalassa rides the AI wave to $2B — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/06/panthalassa-rides-the-ai-wave-to-a-purported-2b-valuation/

Panthalassa — https://panthalassa.com/

Portland Startup Week is no more — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/03/portland-startup-week-is-no-more/

Oregon Startup Week — https://www.oregonstartupweek.com/

Rule42 sets sights on recruiting — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/04/a-new-kind-of-processor-rule42-sports-technology-group-sets-sites-on-improving-recruiting/

Rule42 Sports Technology Group — https://rule42.com/

Tandem PV acquires nexTC — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/05/californias-tandem-pv-acquires-nextc-oregon-state-university-spinout/

Tandem PV — https://www.tandempv.com/

OSU celebrates semiconductor spinouts — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/05/osu-celebrates-semiconductor-spinouts/

OSU Today — https://today.oregonstate.edu/all-stories/discovery-industry-oregon-state-spinouts-are-building-future-semiconductors

Porkbun passes 4 million domains — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/05/portlands-porkbun-passes-4-million-domains-under-management/

Porkbun — https://porkbun.com/

Rose City Robotics wins DOE prize — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/03/rose-city-til-batteries-die-rose-city-robotics-lands-lithium-ion-recycling-prize/

Rose City Robotics — https://rosecityrobotics.com/

Supporting rural Oregon entrepreneurs impacted by wildfires — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/08/07/supporting-rural-oregon-entrepreneurs-impacted-by-the-wildfires/

How to support rural Oregon businesses — https://reinventingrural.substack.com/p/how-to-support-rural-oregon-businesses

Every single time I say "quiet week," I somehow end up talking for an hour anyway — so let's just call this one quiet-ish. The thing I actually want to talk about is how cheap it is to support a fellow founder in this community — like, comment, share, cheap — and yet most of us act like it costs something. Everything else this week is quick hits: five Angel Oregon finalists, what the LLMs are actually saying about your startup when you're not in the room, and a fellow Portlander's honest read on what our startup community gets right and wrong.

LINKS:

• Supporting a fellow founder — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/29/supporting-a-fellow-startup-founder-is-basically-free-and-stupidly-simple/
• Angel Oregon Tech finalists — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/28/oregon-entrepreneurs-network-reveals-2026-angel-oregon-tech-finalists/
• OEN Angel Oregon Tech Mixer (Aug 17) — https://oen.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/oen/event.jsp?event=475&;
• What the LLMs say about your startup — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/30/what-are-the-various-llms-telling-folks-about-your-startup/
• Kariops Pulse — https://pulse.kariops.com/
• Business Oregon — 10-Year Innovation Plan feedback — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/30/business-oregon-wants-your-feedback-on-oregons-10-year-innovation-plan/
• Oregon Innovation Plan survey (due Aug 15) — https://teconomypartners.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5A4Wnf2JCrwFrEO
• Tracking the Civic Ledger for Oregon — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/28/tracking-the-civic-ledger-for-oregon/
• Civic Ledger — https://civicledger.oregonjournalismproject.org/
• Chatting with Transcribbit — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/29/chatting-with-transcribbit-about-improving-classroom-engagement/
• Seattle: plane or train? — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/29/is-it-better-to-go-up-to-seattle-by-plane-or-train/
• Josh Carter — Portland's measure-outcomes problem — https://medium.com/@josh_carter/portland-doesnt-have-a-startup-activity-problem-it-has-an-measure-outcomes-problem-2f25c9e8072e

Nineteen stories this week and not one of them wanted to be the headline — which is honestly kind of great. Palo Alto Networks bought a company called Embrace that may or may not count as a Portland startup depending on how you squint (its president and VP of engineering are right here, so I'm counting it), two local apps picked up Apple Design Awards, and then things just kept coming — a plant-poison checker named after somebody's cat, an app that scores your Spotify for yacht-rock content, a whole association of small companies trying to out-organize Big Tech. No anchor, just volume — and I'm genuinely energized by that.

LINKS:

Apple Design Awards 2026 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/20/two-portland-apps-recognized-by-apple-design-awards-2026/

Apple Design Awards — https://developer.apple.com/design/awards/

World Reborn (Apple Game of the Day) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/23/medford-made-world-reborn-lands-apple-game-of-the-day-honors/

Wicked Saints Studio — https://www.wickedsaints.studio/

Palo Alto Networks acquires Embrace — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/palo-alto-networks-acquires-embrace/

Embrace — https://embrace.io/

Lewis & Clark $1M Google grant — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/your-next-cybersecurity-hire-could-come-from-lewis-clark-thanks-to-a-1m-google-grant/

Lewis & Clark announcement — https://www.lclark.edu/live/news/58507-lc-lands-1-million-in-google-funding-for-cybersecurity

Boulder Care $1.8M grant — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/20/boulder-care-lands-1-8m-grant-to-further-opioid-addiction-efforts/

Paige Hendrix Buckner joins the Check Writers Room — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/all-raise-ceo-paige-hendrix-buckner-joins-the-check-writers-room/

Little Tech may be for you — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/23/tired-of-big-tech-holding-all-of-the-power-little-tech-may-be-for-you/

Little Tech Association — https://www.little.tech/

LinkedIn Cities on the Rise — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/linkedin-highlights-both-portlands-among-cities-on-the-rise/

Quilld (branding/rebranding) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/branding-is-hard-rebranding-is-even-worse-quilld-is-here-to-help/

Quilld — https://quilld.ai/

Rami (plants + pets) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/21/helping-houseplants-and-housepets-cohabitate-rami/

Rami — https://getrami.app/

Is it yacht rock? — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/21/looking-to-answer-the-age-old-question-is-that-yacht-rock-playing-theres-an-app-for-that/

Is It Yacht Rock? app — https://madegglabs.com/apps/is-it-yacht-rock/

Lemonvite (ad-free invites) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/tired-of-ads-cluttering-your-invites-look-at-lemonvite/

Lemonvite — https://www.lemonvite.com/

Fan the Flame (Portland Fire app) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/23/portland-fire-fan-youll-want-this-app-burning-a-hole-in-your-pocket/

Fan the Flame — https://fantheflame.app/

funnr (kids' schedules) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/22/managing-your-kids-social-schedule-just-got-funnr/

Chain React 2026 visitor guide — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/24/attending-chain-react-2026-in-portland-heres-a-visitor-guide-to-help-you-make-the-most-of-your-stay/

Y Combinator F26 apps (close July 27) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/24/reminder-y-combinator-applications-for-f26-close-july-27-2026/

Y Combinator apply — https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/

Pitch Latino Portland (apps due July 30) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/23/reminder-pitch-latino-portland-applications-are-due-in-a-week/

Pitch Latino — https://www.latinofounder.com/pitchlatino

DevOps Days Portland (Sept 8–10, code SILICONFLORIST) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/21/need-a-little-more-devops-in-your-life-go-to-devops-days-portland-with-a-discount/

DevOps Days Portland — https://devopsdays.org/events/2026-portland-or/welcome/

Funny how it works — the same week the Silicon Forest lands federal funding worth up to $160 million, the stuff that actually holds a community together is getting quietly built at street level. A machinist in Gresham shipping an AI tool for the shop floor, Latino Founders taking out a 15,000-square-foot building downtown for the entrepreneurs who chose to stay, a Pendleton drone accelerator opening a pipeline clear across the Pacific to Korea. The headline number is great — but honestly, it's the ground game that's got me fired up this week.

LINKS

• Oregon FAST wins NSF Innovation Engine award — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/16/its-a-semiconductor-fast-oregon-consortium-wins-nsf-innovation-engine-award/
• Oregon State University (announcement) — https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-team-nearly-100-partners-awarded-nsf-regional-innovation-engine-award-set-receive-160
• By a machinist for machinists: Swarf — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/15/by-a-machinist-for-machinists-ai-enabled-cnc/
• Swarf — https://swarf.app/landing/
• Latino Founders preps a new home: Founders Hub — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/16/latino-founders-preps-a-new-home-founders-hub-center-for-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/
• Latino Founders — https://www.latinofounder.com/
• Oregon UAS Accelerator partners with Korea Investment Accelerator — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/16/oregon-uas-accelerator-partners-with-korea-investment-accelerator/
• Oregon UAS Accelerator (apply by Jul 19) — https://hub.oregonuas.org/apply
• Bend Venture Conference 2026 opens applications — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/14/bend-venture-conference-2026-opens-applications-for-startups/
• Bend Venture Conference — https://www.bendvc.com/
• Chain React 2026: Putting yourself out there — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/15/chain-react-2026-putting-yourself-out-there/

This week in Oregon startup news, Agility Robotics is headed toward a SPAC IPO w — could be one of the biggest Oregon IPOs this year. Speaking of IPOs… with SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic all going public the Bay Area is getting less and less affordable. And I also spent way too many hours with the 2026 Oregon Prosperity Council Report so you don't have to — 452 pages.

LINKS:

A startup founder's guide to the 2026 Oregon Prosperity Council Report — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/10/a-startup-founders-guide-to-the-2026-oregon-prosperity-council-report-or-what-a-452-page-report-actually-means-for-people-considering-building-companies-here/Oregon Prosperity Council — https://www.oregon.gov/gov/policies/pages/prosperity-council.aspxGeothermal startup Quaise Energy raises $144M based on Oregon efforts — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/07/geothermal-startup-quaise-energy-raises-144m-based-on-oregon-efforts/Quaise Energy — https://startupfortune.com/quaise-energy-raises-144-million-to-drill-for-superhot-geothermal-power/Bay Area brain drain could result in Portland brain gain — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/09/bay-area-brain-drain-could-result-in-portland-brain-gain-emphasis-on-could/The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/technology/san-francisco-home-sales-openai-anthropic-ipo.htmlTechCrunch sits down with Agility CEO — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/06/techcrunch-sits-down-with-agility-ceo/Agility Robotics (TechCrunch) — https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/05/this-humanoid-robotics-company-is-going-public-but-its-ceo-isnt-promising-a-robot-in-your-home-anytime-soon/Bend's Platformr raises more money to ease AWS adoption — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/08/bends-platformr-raises-more-money-to-ease-aws-adoption-and-maintenance/Platformr — https://platformr.cloudDroplet can help — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/07/wish-your-mac-and-iphone-had-a-more-collaborative-relationship-droplet-can-help/Droplet — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/droplet-launch-sidekick/id6754230465Figma schmigma: Scamp simplifies the design handoff — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/08/figma-schmigma-scamp-simplifies-the-design-handoff-between-designers-and-developers/Scamp — https://www.scampdesign.app/Terrified of totally tokenmaxxing…? TokenJam — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/08/terrified-of-totally-tokenmaxxing-tokenjam-helps-you-understand-and-manage-token-spend/TokenJam — https://tokenjam.dev/Chatting with Conello about company culture — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/08/chatting-with-conello-about-company-culture/Chain React comes to Portland — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/10/chain-react-the-us-react-native-conference-will-be-in-portland-at-the-end-of-july/Chain React — https://chainreactconf.com/REMINDER: Oregon UAS Accelerator applications due July 19 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/08/reminder-oregon-uas-accelerator-applications-are-due-july-19-2026/Oregon UAS Accelerator — https://hub.oregonuas.org/apply

FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.

Catch up on the biggest Oregon startup news of 2026 news with a breakdown of the top 10 startup stories defining the year so far. Get the essential details you need to stay informed on the major headlines without the filler. Whether you have been following the news closely or just need a quick catch-up, this summary breaks down the key developments affecting current events today. It is designed for anyone looking to understand the broader context behind the noise.By reviewing these top 10 stories, you will gain a clearer picture of the 2026 trends that are influencing our daily lives. We filter out the speculation to focus on the facts that actually matter, making it easier to track the progress of the year.Subscribe for weekly current events summaries and comment below with which of these 2026 news recap stories you want me to cover in more detail next.CHAPTERS00:00 Oregon startup news00:51 Startup Story 1005:50 Startup Story 9 11:15 Startup Story 813:46 Startup Story 717:10 Startup Story 621:19 Startup Story 525:00 Startup Story 430:50 Startup Story 334:34 Startup Story 250:35 Startup Story 159:27 SecretsFIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0). All because of a blog. Weird.https://siliconflorist.com#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

This week in Portland startup news, we start with the top 10 Silicon Florist posts from H1 2026 — the list readers built by clicking, not me — and the story it tells is worth pausing over: QSBS grabbed the top two slots, Dwayne Johnson's community read landed at number three, and Panthalassa's quiet $140 million Series B slotted in at four. From there, a midyear refresh of the "how to Portland startup community" primer — the front door for anyone who's been circling the edges and hasn't quite found their way in yet. CHAPTERS:00:00 Portland startup news02:05 Small Business resources07:10 Top 10 Oregon startup stories so far18:35 How to Portland startup community22:15 SecretsLINKS:Top 10 Silicon Florist posts, H1 2026 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/01/top-10-silicon-florist-posts-for-the-first-half-of-2026/How to Portland startup community (midyear) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/02/refresher-how-to-portland-startup-community-midyear-2026-quickstart-edition/Portland Startups Slack — https://pdxslack.com/Bricks Need Mortar × Portland Office of Small Business AI Shop Talk — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/06/29/run-a-small-business-curious-about-ai-bricks-need-mortar-can-help/The AI Conversation — register (Jul 16) — https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-ai-conversation-thats-been-missing-for-small-business-tickets-1991933655184Our Place — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/01/helping-you-find-your-people-and-community-with-our-place/Our Place app — https://www.ourplace.community/LocalFirst PDX — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/07/01/portland-loves-local-small-business-localfirst-pdx-makes-them-easier-to-find/LocalFirst PDX site — https://localfirstpdx.com/FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0). All because of a blog. Weird.https://siliconflorist.com#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur

Two weeks straight, we've lost the people who showed us this was even possible — first Josh Baer, and now Om Malik, the guy who made writing about tech a real job. The models keep leaving, and I don't have a clean way to say what that feels like. So this week is a tribute first — and then, because Om would've wanted us to keep going, a hometown robot company walking onto the public markets at $2.5 billion.We start where it hurts: a tribute to Om Malik — GigaOm, True Ventures, the patron saint of thoughtful tech blogging — and why, if you write about any of this, you owe him one. From there we pivot to the kind of news Om loved: Agility Robotics, the OSU spinout building bipedal humanoids, going public via SPAC at a $2.5B pre-money and roughly $620M in proceeds, with Digit logging 65,000+ hours for the likes of Toyota and GXO. I tease the Prosperity Council report — Gov. Kotek's council dropped its final 10 recommendations early, the startup community had a seat at the table, and one rec hits close to home (full breakdown Monday). Plus quick hits on Astrid Scholz and Juan Barraza's TEDxMtHood talk — and in Secrets, some honest reflection on how much more I should be doing for this community, after catching up with Mitch Daugherty, Charles Voloshin, Shay Carrillo, and Skip Newberry.CHAPTERS:00:00 Oregon startup news02:10 Remembering Om Malik06:10 Oregon Prosperity Council report08:15 Agility Robotics IPO12:40 SecretsLINKS:Agility Robotics goes public — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/06/24/agility-robotics-plans-to-go-public-via-spac-at-a-2-5-billion-valuation/Agility Robotics — https://www.agilityrobotics.com/Amy Jermain sits down with Astrid Scholz — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/06/23/amy-jermain-sits-down-with-astrid-scholz-to-talk-growth-hacking/TEDxMtHood: Juan Barraza — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/06/24/tedxmthood-juan-barraza/Remembering Om Malik — https://om.co/Portland Startup Slack — https://pdxslack.comFIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0). All because of a blog. Weird.https://siliconflorist.com#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur