Week ending Oct 17, 2025 - Portland startups news

This week in Portland Oregon startup news, a Portland startup raises $10M more, Oregon senior Senator Ron Wyden calls out Flock on the heels of an Amazon Ring partnership, Bend Venture Conference 2025 is in the books, a bunch of upcoming startup and AI events, and more. Let’s get into it…PORTLAND OREGON STARTUP STORIES00:00 Portland Oregon startup news intro00:50 Unofficial winners of the Bend Venture Conference 202502:25 Portland VC investments double in Q303:45 Senator Ron Wyden calls out Flock06:00 Knapsack raises $10M08:10 Two AI events 09:40 Maxwell Folley starts something new10:55 Startup applications due14:33 Portland Retro Gaming Expo17:25 SecretsPORTLAND OREGON STARTUP LINKS- Senator Wyden’s letter to Flock https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-slams-surveillance-tech-company-for-ineffective_protections-for-oregonians-against-abuses-by-federal-agencies-and-out-of-state-law-enforcement- TiE Oregon Collegiate Competition https://www.tieoregon.org/pitch-oregon/collegiate-startup-challenge- Y Combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/apply- Oregon UAS Accelerator https://oregonuas.org/pages/oregon-uas-innovation-challenge- Portland Retro Gaming Expo https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- 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