Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Fast forward to today, and I’m rebuilding it at Cuppin.com. What started as a fun way to use a domain we’d been sitting on became an education in how dramatically coffee culture has evolved. Here’s the thing: we’ve been designing for coffee companies this whole time at Needmore. But working with coffee businesses versus being deep in home brewing culture? Totally different worlds.

Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the VC-backed startups that became unicorns so far this year. While most are AI-related, a surprising number are focused in other industries like satellite space companies like Loft Orbital and blockchain-based trading site Kalshi.

Domestic research costs are now fully deductible under new Section 174A. Foreign R&D must still be amortized over 15 years. Companies with capitalized domestic R&D expenses from 2022–2024 can elect a catch-up deduction, which could significantly improve cash flow for firms engaged in innovation.  Additionally, eligible small businesses may elect to retroactively apply full expensing to tax years beginning after 2021, allowing them to amend prior returns and recover previously amortized costs.

AI startups received 53% of all global venture capital dollars invested in the first half of 2025, according to new data from PitchBook.

Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act went live on Tuesday. That’s when large companies that sell paper or packaging in Oregon had to start paying into the system.

Inc.’s Best Workplaces List of 2025 highlights businesses making exceptional efforts to invest in their employees. Of the 514 companies on this year’s list, five are in the Portland area. They’re distinguished by their commitment to employee benefits, growth opportunities, and core team values.

Entrepreneurs and investors in small businesses will cheer a change in qualified small business stock, or QSBS. Created during the Clinton administration and expanded under President Barack Obama, the program is designed to encourage investments and creation of small companies. Under current law, investors or owners of a qualifying C Corp for more than five years get reductions in capital gains taxes when they sell. A qualifying company is defined as a “small business” if its total assets are $50 million or less. When a business is sold, owners or investors are exempt from capital gains taxes up to $10 million, or 10 times the original basis of the investment, whichever is greater.

Funding to startups at the intersection of AI and apparel spiked to $162 million in 2022 — when China-based Zhiyi Tech, which helps clothing brands spot and predict fashion trends, raised $100 million alone — and has clocked in around $100 million annually since then.

One of the most diverse cities in Oregon is growing faster than ever following the implementation of a groundbreaking restaurant strategy eight years ago. Here’s how it happened, and what’s next.

How to become passionate about delivering shareholder value

I wish my job was more secure, and my colleagues were happier, but I do really like the fact that my work is now much more tightly connected to the company’s strategy.