Mike Rogoway

Exclusive: Vista Equity Partners and Intel to lead investment in AI chip startup SambaNova, sources say Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners is leading a new funding round of over $350 million in artificial intelligence chip startup SambaNova Systems, marking a rare departure from its traditional f...

Reuters says Intel's deal to buy SambaNova is off.

The chipmaker would invest $100m-$150m instead, according to Reuters.

(Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is, of course, an SambaNova investor and the company's chairman.)

The NBA has Portland at a distinct disadvantage. With employment and business activity down and its national reputation damaged, the city can ill-afford to lose a major franchise.

Portland -- and MultCo, and the state -- do have leverage. It'll be interesting how and if they coordinate to use it.

‘Save Lloyd’ pushes back as owners move forward with teardown of mall and its ice rink The master plan dedicates about 23% of the Lloyd Center redevelopment for courtyards, plazas and green space, including a 2.3‑acre urban park.

Here's the concept for the new Lloyd Center. We also now know the main mall will shut down at some point this year, and yes, the whole thing is slated for demolition, including the ice rink:

‘What a thrill’: Former Power general manager comments on the reincarnation of the WNBA in Portland Portland Power general manager Linda Weston said she's watching the start of the Fire's return to the WNBA with admiration.

Fun to see Linda Weston reflect on the early days of professional women's basketball in Portland, and her take on the Fire's launch.

“The more you can build community, the better."

via @nikstreng.bsky.social

Nike says its factory workers make nearly double the minimum wage. In Indonesia, workers say, ‘It’s not true’ The Oregonian/OregonLive spoke with roughly 100 workers in Nike’s second-largest production hub. None said they made anywhere near twice the minimum wage.

For decades Nike has repeated a mantra: Workers in its Asian factories make double the minimum wages.

@matthewkish.bsky.social shows that isn't so.

That leaves many workers struggling to get by, some earning as little as $150 a month.

ICE detains family seeking emergency care for child at Portland hospital The Venezuelan parents and their 7-year-old daughter entered the U.S. legally.

The family has a pending asylum claim. Read my story to find out more: ICE detains family seeking emergency care for child at Portland hospital www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

Intel shares plunge after company admits being caught shorthanded on chip supply The chipmaker was “caught massively off guard," raising questions about its comeback strategy.

Wall Street analysts say the gaffe raises doubts about Intel's ability to deliver on its turnaround plan.

Intel’s middling financial results are reality check for chipmaker and its shareholders Shares fell 13% after executives acknowledged they don't have enough chips to meet customers' demand.

Intel shares had been on a tear but the stock slid 13% this afternoon after executives admitted they had badly underestimated demand from data centers.

“We are working aggressively to address this and better support our customers’ needs going forward," CEO Lip-Bu Tan told investors.

Do you rent (or do you have friend who rents) on Burnside Street in Portland?

I'd like to chat with you (or said friend) for a story, preferably by the end of the month.

Please shoot me an email -- jbach@oregonian.com -- to set up a time to talk.

Thanks!

@oregonian.com

Oregon startup AheadComputing raises another $30 million for new chip architecture It's one of several young Oregon companies focused on new semiconductor technologies.

Another $30M for chip architecture startup AheadComputing, which has grown from 80 employees last spring to 118 now. Most work at its Beaverton HQ.

AheadComputing is among several young companies in the Portland area focused on semiconductor innovation.

Intel shares up 11% this morning at $53.87.

January is the first time in 2+ years that the stock has topped $50.

Intel is being buoyed by analyst upgrades, optimism over foundry work with Apple and expectations that AI demand will spill over to Intel's CPUs.

Intel reports Q4 numbers tomorrow.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek names panel to study data centers’ impact: ‘We must have frank conversations’ The workgroup will consider data centers’ impact on climate and energy, but the industry’s huge tax breaks aren’t on the agenda.

Gov. Tina Kotek has named a panel of climate and energy professionals to study data centers' impact on Oregon's environment and energy supply, and to issue recommendations.

The panel won't, however, make recommendations about the enormous tax breaks that bring data centers to Oregon.

Google execs say they are all about transparency.

Their track record says otherwise. They tried to keep their water use secret. The Oregonian had to sue to make that information public.

This was one Google executive’s response when I pressed him about the lawsuit.

Portland police responding to report of shooting by federal immigration agent The report prompted Portland City Council to pause a public meeting.

via @shanedkavanaugh.bsky.social

💯

For sure. But he was a little gassed on that last drive

Lip-Bu Tan's connection to ACM Research adds to mounting questions about how he is balancing his technology investments with his day job as Intel's CEO.

Semiconductor equipment firm says it will employ 50 at new Hillsboro facility The company makes its tools in China but is moving to expand in North America.

ACM opened a sales and service office in Oregon two years ago, near Intel's major research fab.

Exclusive: Intel has tested chipmaking tools from firm with sanctioned China unit, sources say Chipmaker Intel , has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by U.S. sanctions, according to two sources with direct know...

Reuters: Intel has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by U.S. sanctions.

Reuters weighs in on the same issue: www.reuters.com/business/int...

Also: Intel has laid off 59 more workers in the Bay Area, according to new filings in California. Most of those cuts are at the HQ in Santa Clara.

NYT looks at potential conflicts between Lip-Bu Tan's role as Intel's CEO and his side gig as a chip industry investor.

It proves there *is* a market for this!

I was thinking it was perhaps some long-running inside joke (that I wasn't insidery enough to get.)

I really admire the state's determination, every year, to pitch Oregon's almanac and directory as a thoughtful Christmas gift.

But how many people *really* want a "legacy" Blue Book from, say, 2007, under the Christmas tree?

Former Intel President Renée James sold her chip startup Ampere to SoftBank this year for $6.5B.

At the Oregon Leadership Summit this morning, James says she's starting a *new* company. She didn't offer any specifics but asked Oregon lawmakers why she should do it here, given taxes/regulation/etc

Both see major economic issues facing the state. But by and large, they're not the same ones.

(Except for taxes, which the Oregon Business Plan casts much more narrowly)

...with how Eric Fruits of the Cascade Policy Institute sees things:

oregonbusinessreport.com/2025/12/econ...

Fascinating to compare how the Oregon Business Plan views the state's economic issues (and potential solutions...

oregonbusinessplan.org/wp-content/u...

I’ll send this to our dig ops folks. I’m not running into anything like that. Just a static furniture ad