Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) announced the 15 semifinalist companies advancing in the Growth Stage tracks for the 23rd Bend Venture Conference (BVC), taking place in downtown Bend from Thursday, October 15 to Friday, October 16, 2026.
The Bend Venture Conference is the Pacific Northwest’s largest angel investment conference and a hub for entrepreneurship in the region. Since its inception, BVC investors have awarded more than $14 million to startups. Every BVC, a new Growth Fund is formed to invest in standout Growth Stage companies competing at the conference.
Following the close of applications, investors and partners reviewed each submission to select the top startups advancing in the Early, Growth Industries and Growth Tech tracks. Growth Industries is for companies whose core differentiation is brand, physical products, science, or engineering. This includes outdoor and lifestyle brands, food and agriculture, consumer products, biotech and life sciences, hardware, and climate-focused hardware and physical solutions. Growth Tech is for companies whose core differentiation is technology. This includes software, AI and platform-driven companies across climate, health, finance, education, enterprise and other sectors.
The semifinalists for the Growth Stages will be further narrowed down in early October, with finalists advancing to present on the main stage at the Tower Theatre at the BVC on October 16.
EDCO’s Venture Catalyst, Wendy Morgan, said: “This year’s Growth Tech and Growth Industries semifinalists represent an exciting range of companies, industries and founders. What stands out is not only the innovation behind these companies, but the potential they have to build meaningful, scalable businesses. We’re excited to connect these founders with investors, expertise and relationships that can help them take the next step.”
In alphabetical order, the semifinalists for Growth Industries are:
- Aquagga (Tacoma, Washington) – Destroys deadly forever chemicals (PFAS) from industrial waste streams and groundwater.
- Crease Beast (Lewes, Delaware) – Provides innovative shoe care solutions designed to maintain the appearance and longevity of your sneakers.
- CTNS Co., Ltd. (Seattle, Washington) – An intelligent battery pack integration platform company that standardizes battery packs, autonomously manufactures them with AX and manages them with data.
- Galena Innovations, Inc. (Nampa, Idaho) – The first integrated AI-powered diagnostic and treatment platform to predict and prevent spontaneous preterm birth.
- Looptworks (Portland, Oregon) – The only operational U.S. textile-to-textile recycling platform to help brands/states with policy compliance and circularity with certified recycled fiber.
- Momotaro Apotheca (Portland, Oregon) – Women’s health company with certified organic products treating recurrent infections.
- Osheru, Inc. (Bend) – Crafts innovative medical devices for surgeons to delight patients with outstanding outcomes as they grow their practices.
- Penderia Technologies (Eugene, Oregon) – Believes data from sensors improves clinical care and has developed implantable sensors from University of Oregon research for use in orthopedic procedures.
In alphabetical order, the semifinalists for Growth Tech are:
- Caravel Bio (Portland, Oregon) – The world’s best protein engineering platform.
- Cura (Eugene, Oregon) – Modernizing 911 — the access, the call, the response — one press, for anyone, from anywhere.
- Permeta (Lake Oswego, Oregon) – Uses proprietary AI to transform permitting and regulatory operations for the energy industry.
- SHAED (Minneapolis, Minnesota) – Commercial vehicle procurement is fragmented across thousands of disconnected dealers, upfitters and fleets. SHAED is the B2B platform that connects them.
- Slay Development Works (Bend) – Performance engineering system for mountain biking, using athlete and terrain digital twins to predict race performance and prescribe the training to win.
- Synter (Portland, Oregon) – AI Agents for growth marketing.
- Zing Drone Solutions (Pendleton, Oregon) – Specializes in drone threat detection and remote ID compliance solutions.
These companies represent the breadth of innovation and entrepreneurial talent competing at BVC this year. Final amounts to be awarded are dependent on investment commitments received from third-party investors and the ability of the winning companies and the investors to agree on the terms and conditions of the investment.
