The startup scene in United States

The City of Bend’s 2025 sector analysis says firms with 1 to 25 employees accounted for 79% of Bend business establishments and 33% of jobs in 2022. ECOnorthwest prepared the analysis for the City using local stakeholder input.

Bend Research began operating in Bend in 1975. Bend Magazine reports that the company developed patented technologies across industrial and pharmaceutical applications, and that it had five direct local spinoffs. The magazine also quotes investor Dino Vendetti estimating that about a dozen regional biotech startups could be traced to Bend Research. OSU-Cascades says its energy systems engineering program spun off licensed-technology companies Onboard Dynamics and Espiku, which it reported as based in Bend.

Hydro Flask’s official brand story identifies Bend as the company’s origin. The Los Angeles Times reported that Helen of Troy acquired Hydro Flask in 2016 for about $210 million. On September 10, 2026, Lonza announced plans for a commercial spray-drying facility in Bend, projecting completion by 2029 and more than 80 new jobs.

Stakeholders cited in the City’s sector analysis identified incubator and accelerator capacity, housing affordability, manufacturing land costs and availability, and road, water, and sewer capacity as constraints in Bend and its regional context.