Mike Rogoway

Intel buying Israeli quantum computing software startup Classiq for $2.3B. CEO Lip-Bu Tan was among Classiq’s investors. Israeli media reports he recused himself from acquisition talks.

This $100m movie did $11m at the box office this weekend — feels like a significant share of that total came from Portland! :) (The take was well ahead of box office forecasts but far, far short of what it’d need to be profitable. That’s ok. The Knights can afford to indulge themselves.)

Oregon-based Agility Robotics continues its rapid expansions in other states. The company plans to add 35,000 square feet in Pittsburgh for software and AI development.

As recently as 2024, North Plains planned to make room for 100 acres of data centers in the tiny community. New city leadership is taking North Plains in the opposite direction -- preparing Oregon's first permanent ban on data centers. w/@dediosreports.bsky.social

Israeli media reports a suspected gas leak at the same Intel fab where two employees were killed last week when a gas canister exploded.

The governor’s order marks a milestone, putting a halt -- for now -- to the data center industry’s 20 years of uninterrupted growth across Oregon.

Gov. Kotek's data center order drew an immediate rebuke from Amazon. “It would eliminate thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of onsite operational jobs, halt billions of dollars in planned investment, and impact a key source of revenue for many Oregon communities and small businesses."

The Portland company apologized today for its latest AirTag accessory, which it acknowledged could make life easier for stalkers. “In retrospect, the privacy concern was very valid."

Oregon's governor started the year outlining a measured approach to data center regulation. Then last month Kotek said there should be a moratorium, but that it would be up to the Legislature to act. Now...

Well I lost my heart, it didn't take no time But that ain't all, I lost my mind in Oregon

For well over a decade, Hillsboro has been among the most welcoming places in Oregon for data centers -- offering up huge tax breaks and scarce industrial land, while getting very few jobs in return. The city is now pulling up the drawbridge -- fast.

Intel employees had a case before the Supreme Court this morning. Employees had asked the court to reverse a dismissal of their case, arguing Intel hadn't properly managed retirement funds. "But the high court looked unlikely to do so, seeming to unanimously support the lower court decision."

Tomorrow, the Hillsboro City Council takes up severe restrictions on new data center development and a 1,000-foot school buffer. The ordinance allows ~500 acres acres for "existing, approved and vested data centers." The council won't vote tomorrow -- that's scheduled for Oct. 20.

Update: The state says Stratacache has returned all but $2.1 million of its subsidy. The status of that money wasn't immediately clear.

The former Hynix fab in Eugene, mostly empty since 2008, is back on the market after the latest plan to reopen it fell through. Oregon gave an Ohio company a $19m subsidy to help finance the reopening. State records show that money created 4 jobs. (Oregon may be able to claw back the money.)

“To make an audacious dream a reality requires more than a vivid imagination. It also requires the sort of opportunity that our great American universities, both public and private, have historically provided. This is no time to abandon them.” -- Phil Knight

Portland is moving more slowly than other Oregon cities on the data center issue but city council members made it clear Wednesday they'd like to pursue a moratorium. They didn't say how they want to go about it.

Reuters is the latest to report that Hynix is talking with Intel about using some of Intel's Ohio property to make memory chips. (Reuters says it'd be the first time Hynix has made chips in the US. That part isn't true, of course. Hynix used to make chips in Eugene.)

Interesting piece of political advice for Oregon's gubernatorial candidates on data center policy, from Hillsboro's city council president. "The incumbents who just play defense on this are going to lose the frame every time."

The governor’s task force has spent 9 months studying Oregon’s data center industry. Public opinion and political dynamics have changed rapidly during that time. Tech companies have been moving just as fast. Will the task force’s report be relevant when it finally comes out?

Eugene's city attorney asserts the former Hynix fab isn't zoned to be a data center and can't be redeveloped for that use. (One could imagine a developer might challenge the city's interpretation of its zoning law. There have been various plans to put a data center there over many years.)

Oregon's leading politicians have been cautious (or silent) for many years about the data centers proliferating across the state. This afternoon, both the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor converged on the issue within hours of each other -- both calling for a statewide moratorium.

Drazan now says she supports a moratorium, too, and says Kotek shouldn't want for the Legislature to act. "I think that Tina issue a moratorium immediately."

Kotek: “I support a moratorium until we make sure that any data center development is done on our terms.”

Gov. Kotek joins anti-data center rally at the Capitol. Rally organizers want a three-year moratorium on Oregon data centers. The governor will speak later. Previously, she has said she supports local moratoriums but has said Oregon has no mechanism for a statewide moratorium.

Via @billoram.bsky.social www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2026/0...

Oregon cities and counties are beginning to consider data center moratoriums. Washington County isn't one of them. @dediosreports.bsky.social explains why not:

For nearly 50 years, Intel conferred the title of "fellow" or "senior fellow" on its most accomplished scientists. Employees treated the “fellow” designation as a sign of great technical achievement and a signal of researchers’ importance to the company. Now, they'll be "distinguished engineers."

On data centers, Kotek and Drazan are staking out nuanced positions that are somewhat similar to one another. This week's poll suggests Oregon voters want stronger action.

By a 3-to-1 margin, Oregonians say no more data center tax breaks. Two-thirds of voters want a temporary moratorium on new data center construction. via DHM Research

Former Intel President Renée James and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, former head of Intel's PC business, have launched an Oregon startup that aims to bring leading-edge technology to sports recruiting. How'd they move from semiconductors to baseball and softball? Here's that story:

“It is easy to form a certain opinion of a city when you view it only through a spreadsheet. And that it’s easy to dismiss its people when they don’t leap at the chance to give you millions.” — @billoram.bsky.social

Lam Research is one of Oregon's largest manufacturers. Its big Tualatin expansion, in the works for years, appears to be moving forward now. Lam says it'll spend $1.5B on the project through 2041, and add 445 researchers and engineers. Its tax deal doesn't actually require any new jobs, though.

Update: Verrus says it still intends to build its Salem data center.

The Salem City Council has scheduled a special meeting for Monday night. Just one item on the agenda: "Consideration of the initiation of a moratorium on AI data centers and the initiation of amendments to the City zoning code to regulate AI data centers."

Is your Arcimoto e-trike broken down and gathering dust in the garage? A Texas company says it'll fix it for you at a new garage in Eugene, the first in a chain of repair shops that will service electric vehicles from defunct manufacturers.

"Dundon is not merely using the threat of relocation to exert his will on the city of Portland, he now effectively wants the city to pay him to flee town." -- @billoram.bsky.social

Portland has been making Freightliner trucks since the company's founding in 1942. No longer. Daimler Truck North America told employees today it's shutting down its Freightliner and Western Star production lines on Swan Island and moving that work to the Carolinas.

Intel has filed layoff notices in California disclosing plans to eliminate 103 jobs at four sites. No similar notice in Oregon yet. We reported earlier this month that Intel was making significant cuts to its data center group.

Intel finished down 5.9% today at $86.30, its first close under $90 since April. Shares are down 39% from their peak a month ago. And yet...Intel is still 4x higher than where it was at this time in 2025.