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
