Tech roundup


Intel employee headcount reaches an all-time high; Puppet Labs changes its name and hires a new executive; and Portland startup Rezella modifies peer-to-peer commerce.

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Intel’s workforce in Washington County hit a record high at 19,500 employees.

The chipmaker’s headcount has grown by 900 jobs, 5 percent, since last summer, according to numbers Intel provided to Washington County.

The company’s Oregon work force is growing even as its overall headcount remains flat at 107,000, meaning that a growing share of Intel’s work is done in Oregon. Though its headquarters are in Santa Clara, California, Intel’s largest and most advanced operations are in Washington County.

Intel didn’t explain what’s driving the increase but the company is ramping up production in a multibillion-dollar research factory called D1X at its Ronler Acres campus near Hillsboro Stadium. It also has a massive new office building attached to the factory, RA4, where engineers will craft new generations of Intel microprocessors.

(READ MORE: Oregon Live)

Portland-based Puppet Labs is now calling itself Puppet. The company also hired former VMware tech exec Sanjay Mirchandai as its new president and chief operating officer.

The company, among several developments it announced Thursday, also unveiled updates to its Puppet Enterprise 2016 product, along with integrations to popular services by Atlassian and Splunk.

It also released a program called Blueshift, which helps businesses stay ahead of the fast changing IT landscape.

(READ MORE: Portland Business Journal)

Razella, a Portland startup app, eliminates meetups for peer-to-peer commerce.

“There is a large market of people who have stuff they want to sell but aren’t willing to do it because they aren’t willing to go meet a stranger on a corner and they don’t want to give up their privacy like a home address or social profile,” [said Razella co-creator Michael Terrett.]

The app works like this: The seller takes a picture of an item and uploads it to the marketplace along with a description. Based on a buyer’s location, the app dynamically adjusts pricing to include shipping costs.

(READ MORE: Portland Business Journal)

RELATED NEWS: OB recently interviewed Stephanie Duncker about her experiences in the tech industry. Read “Tech Talks” here.


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