Portland’s Tech Scene In 2027: A Guide To The Silicon Forest
Daria Pohrebniak
Marketing Director - Reverb
10.21.2026
Quick answer: The Portland tech scene is built on hardware. The “Silicon Forest” grew out of Tektronix, founded in 1946, and Intel, which opened its first Oregon plant in 1976 and is still Oregon’s largest employer. Today the metro mixes semiconductor giants in Hillsboro and Beaverton with software firms, a startup community centered in downtown Portland and the Central Eastside, and support groups such as the Technology Association of Oregon, the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network and the Portland State Business Accelerator.
Portland rarely tops lists of US tech hubs, but the region has deeper technical roots than most. It has made oscilloscopes, microprocessors and chip design software for decades, and engineering jobs make up a much larger share of local employment than they do nationally. This guide covers how the Silicon Forest came to be, which tech companies in Portland anchor the region today, where startups get help, what the talent pool looks like and how to find local tech vendors.
Company facts below come from each company’s own website, and statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other primary sources, checked in October 2026.
A Short History Of The Silicon Forest
The name Silicon Forest echoes Silicon Valley and refers to the cluster of high tech firms in the Portland metro, especially in Washington County to the west of the city. According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, the story starts after World War II.
Tektronix And The First Wave
Howard Vollum, a Reed College graduate, and Jack Murdock, an appliance store owner, founded Tektronix in 1946. By the early 1950s Tek was based in Washington County, and it went on to become the world’s leading maker of oscilloscopes. Other early companies included Electro Scientific Industries (which grew from Brown Engineering, founded in 1944), Floating Point Systems, which made array processors, and Mentor Graphics, which built computer aided engineering software. Tektronix still lists its North America regional headquarters on its Beaverton campus.
Intel Arrives In Hillsboro
Intel opened its first Oregon plant in 1976, in Aloha in Washington County, and later grew into Oregon’s largest private employer. OPB describes its Hillsboro campus as the company’s research and development hub. Intel says it has invested more than $59 billion in Hillsboro since 1974. The Oregon Encyclopedia also notes that Oregon’s 1984 repeal of its unitary tax helped attract Japanese chipmakers and electronics firms such as Shin-Etsu Handotai, NEC, Fujitsu and Epson, which deepened the cluster.
Growth, Software And Recent Shifts
Tech employment in the Portland area nearly doubled from about 34,000 in 1988 to 61,000 by 2000, according to the Oregon Encyclopedia. Software, web and design companies grew up alongside the hardware base. The last few years have been harder. OPB reported in November 2025 that Intel’s Oregon workforce had fallen to about 18,000 from a peak of around 23,000, with more than 3,100 Oregon job cuts announced in 2025. Siemens, which owns the former Mentor Graphics business, announced in April 2026 that it plans to sell most of its 53 acre Wilsonville campus while keeping one building. Those changes have released experienced engineers into the local market, which matters for anyone hiring.
Major Tech Companies In Portland
These are some of the best known tech companies in Portland and its suburbs, with locations confirmed on their own websites.
Company
Metro Location
What It Does
Intel
Hillsboro and Aloha
Semiconductors; Oregon is its research and development hub
Nike
Beaverton (world headquarters)
Athletic footwear and apparel, with large digital and engineering teams
Lattice Semiconductor
Hillsboro (headquarters)
Low power field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); founded in 1983
Tektronix
Beaverton (North America regional headquarters)
Test and measurement equipment; founded in 1946
Siemens EDA
Wilsonville
Chip and electronics design software (formerly Mentor Graphics)
Digimarc
Beaverton
Product digitization, digital watermarks and authentication
Smarsh
Downtown Portland
Software for managing risk in electronic communications
Nike deserves a note. It is not usually counted as a tech company, but its Beaverton campus hosts more than 11,000 employees, according to the company, and it hires heavily for software, data and product engineering. Many Portland developers have spent time there or at its vendors.
Beyond these anchors, the Silicon Forest has a long tail of software companies, product studios and agencies, plus satellite offices of national tech firms. For service providers, see the vendor section below.
Startup Support In Portland
Portland’s startup support is smaller than in larger hubs but well connected. The groups below were active in 2026.
Technology Association Of Oregon (TAO)
TAO is the main trade group for tech companies in Oregon and SW Washington. It works on policy advocacy, events and member benefits, and runs communities for AI and data, cybersecurity, fintech, healthtech, people and culture, and women and allies. It also hosts the annual Oregon Technology Awards, held on May 5, 2026 at the Hilton Downtown Portland.
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN)
OEN describes its mission simply: “OEN helps Oregon entrepreneurs grow and thrive.” It runs Angel Oregon investment programs for technology, consumer packaged goods and life sciences, SBIR and STTR grant assistance, and the Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards. OEN reports more than 625 members and more than 5,000 participants across its programs in 2025.
Portland State Business Accelerator
Located at 1825 SW Broadway near Portland State University, the accelerator offers affordable office space, wet lab space, mentor office hours, pitch practice and monthly CEO meetings for technology and science startups. It is part of Propel PSU, which links it with the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and its intellectual property office.
Oregon AI Accelerator
Launched in late 2025 with seed funding from Google, the Oregon AI Accelerator is administered at Portland State University through the Metro Regional Innovation Hub, with OHSU, Oregon State University, OEN, TAO and TiE Oregon as partners. According to PSU, its pilot was a three month, equity free program for 20 early stage AI startups, with a chance to compete for up to $50,000 in grant prizes. The first cohort ran from February to May 2026.
Events And Community
Portland Startup Week, held May 11 to 16 in 2026, brings together founders, investors and service providers each spring. TiE Oregon runs founder mentoring and pitch events, and OHSU’s innovation office spun out four startups in fiscal year 2025, according to its impact report. Life science founders can also look at the Oregon Bioscience Incubator, which partners with OEN on Angel Oregon Life and Bioscience.
The Portland Tech Talent Pool
The metro has more technical workers than its size suggests. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2025 data, computer and mathematical jobs made up 4.0% of Portland metro employment versus 3.4% nationally, and architecture and engineering jobs made up 3.0% versus 1.7%. That engineering share, nearly double the national rate, reflects the semiconductor industry. BLS data shows about 18,000 software developers in the metro, with a median annual wage of about $156,000.
Local universities feed the pipeline. Portland State University’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science offers undergraduate and graduate computer science programs, and Oregon State University in Corvallis and OHSU add engineering and biomedical talent. Recent layoffs at Intel and other large firms have also put experienced hardware, firmware and test engineers into the job market.
Pay is high but below the Bay Area and Seattle. BLS reports a mean hourly wage of $61.84 for computer and mathematical occupations in the Portland metro, against $57.73 nationally. For more on salaries, rent and taxes, see our guide to the cost of living in Portland, Oregon.
Where Tech Clusters In The Portland Metro
Hillsboro and the Sunset Corridor: the heart of the Silicon Forest, home to Intel’s campuses and Lattice Semiconductor’s headquarters, plus suppliers along the US 26 corridor.
Beaverton: Nike’s world headquarters, Tektronix and Digimarc, along with many software and engineering firms.
Downtown and Old Town: software companies, agencies and coworking spaces, with the Portland State Business Accelerator at the south end of downtown.
Pearl District: converted warehouses that house design studios, agencies and product teams.
Central Eastside: a historic industrial district east of the Willamette River where startups, makers and hardware companies share space with light industry.
Wilsonville: south of the city, home to Siemens EDA’s remaining Oregon operations.
Office space is easy to find in most of these areas. CBRE reported 26.5% overall office vacancy in Portland in Q3 2026, so new teams have choices.
How To Find Tech Vendors In Portland
Whether you are a startup building a first product or an established company adding capacity, Portland has a deep bench of technical service firms. We have compiled verified lists for the most common needs:
When you compare vendors, ask for work in your industry, check who will actually do the work, and confirm whether the team is in Portland or offshore. Local meetups run by TAO and events during Portland Startup Week are also good places to meet firms in person. If you are just getting set up, our guide on how to start a business in Portland, Oregon covers registration and local taxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is Portland Called The Silicon Forest?
The name plays on Silicon Valley and Oregon’s forests. It describes the cluster of electronics and semiconductor companies that grew up around Tektronix and Intel, mostly in Washington County west of Portland.
What Is The Largest Tech Employer In Portland?
Intel. The company calls itself Oregon’s largest employer, and OPB reported about 18,000 Intel workers in Oregon in late 2025, down from a peak of around 23,000. Its operations are centered in Hillsboro and Aloha.
Is The Portland Tech Scene Good For Startups?
It is a reasonable place to start, especially for hardware, AI, health and B2B software companies. Costs are lower than in the Bay Area or Seattle, office space is plentiful and groups such as OEN, TAO and the Portland State Business Accelerator offer support. Local venture capital is thinner than in larger hubs, so many founders raise from out of state.
Which Neighborhoods Have The Most Tech Companies?
Large hardware companies sit in Hillsboro and Beaverton. Software firms, startups and agencies cluster in downtown Portland, the Pearl District and the Central Eastside.
Conclusion
The Portland tech scene is older and more hardware focused than many people expect. Tektronix and Intel built the Silicon Forest, and companies such as Lattice, Siemens EDA and Digimarc keep that engineering depth in place, while Nike and a growing software community add digital and product talent.
The region is going through change as large employers cut back, but that has also widened the talent pool and lowered office costs. For founders and buyers of tech services, Portland offers experienced people, active support groups and a strong local vendor base at West Coast prices that are still below its larger neighbors.
