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.