This Week in Startups

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Sentry - https://sentry.io/twist Deel - https://deel.com/twist Netsuite - https://netsuite.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:*TAO just had its worst week since launch. One of Bittensor’s most prominent subnet operators allegedly dumped $10 million in tokens and walked away. We’re digging into what we know, how this could change the Bittensor community… and why dedicated builders still believe in this ecosystem.Jason and Lon are joined by Stillcore Capital Partner Mark Jeffrey to break down the Covenant AI and Templar controversy in real time. Then they’re joined by three prominent subnet founders: Ken Miyachi of BitMind (Subnet 34) and Will Squires of Steffen Cruz of MacroCosmos (which owns Subnets 1, 9, and 13). Together, they’re investigating how Bittensor incentives work, how real products are still emerging from the TAO ecosystem, and what governance fixes could arise to prevent the next (alleged) rug pull.Timestamps:0:00 Mark Jeffrey joins the show! https://x.com/markjeffrey2:18 How Mark Jeffrey learned about Bittensor. https://bittensor.com/6:17 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!7:22 Mark Jeffrey's Bittensor investments. https://stillcorecapital.com/9:25 Check out our discussion with Nova: https://youtu.be/gjRt4eUyiYc?si=HopdmmSarxECark110:16 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST10:41 Check out Ridges! https://www.ridges.ai/11:53 How trading alpha tokens works on Bittensor12:44 Subnet drama: what happened? https://x.com/covenant_ai/status/204238015283195130016:01 Do subnet owners have too much power?18:33 Check out our conversation with Sam Dare (2268): https://youtu.be/TN2RmNuX4-k?si=c58Byh7Fsw1ttnAY19:10 How Sam Dare should've handled walking away (per Mark Jeffrey)20:02 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.23:29 Who should subnets be owned by?24:02 Ken Miyachi from BitMind joins the show https://x.com/kenmiyachi30:56 Netsuite - Get the free business guide Demystifying AI at https://www.netsuite.com/twist31:06 Ken's $3M raise & investors (Arch, Canonical, Mechanism)33:18 Token vs. equity: how to think about a subnet investment.41:57 Will Squires and Stefan Kruse of MacroCosmos join the show https://x.com/willsquires https://x.com/sczsteffencruz56:29 Stefan on the Covenant drama: "disappointing, but solvable"1:02:11 Off-duty with J-Cal, Mark Jeffrey, and Lon Harris1:02:48 Bieber vs. Carpenter: does Coachella owe you a spectacle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp5O72WUqTk https://x.com/FashionXGirl_/status/20432512705095929361:15:20 Jason says Staples should pay the "Staples baddie" $1M/year https://www.tiktok.com/@blivxxSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Pilot - https://pilot.com/TWISTSquarespace -https://squarespace.com/TWISTNorthwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/TWISTPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistCrowdHealth - ⁠https://JoinCrowdHealth.com/twist⁠Today’s show:TAO, the token associated with the Bittensor network, fell sharply last night after a major project declared it was taking its business elsewhere. Covenant AI had used Bittensor subnets 3, 39, and 89 before its abrupt and controversial decision to depart for other digital shores.Gareth Howells, a co-founder of Vidaio (Bittensor Subnet 85), joined Jason and Alex to share the community perspective regarding Covenant’s decision to leave Bittensor, a choice that was especially bitter given that its recently-released Covenant-72B model trained using the network’s decentralized capabilities was hailed at the time as a demonstration of the crypto-AI hybrid’s potential. (Covenant’s Sam Dare was a recent guest on TWiST.)Howells walked us through Vidaio’s product (AI models for high-quality video work, like upscaling) Then it was time to bring new fan-favorite Ole Lehmann on. Ole took an Andrej Karpathy concept, and turned it into a skill that you can use in either OpenClaw or Claude Cowork. GuestsOle Lehmann: https://x.com/itsolelehmannThe AI Solopreneur newsletter: https://aisolo.beehiiv.com/Vidaio: https://vidaio.io/Vidaio on X: https://x.com/vidaio_Timestamps:0:00 Drama in the Bittensor space! Was there a rugpull?1:01 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!1:47 Gareth Howells of subnet85 joins the show: https://x.com/GarethHowells9:56 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/TWIST11:37 Gareth reacts to the Covenant situation… Did Sam sell tokens?14:33 How VidAIo (subnet85) optimizes video as cheaply as possible. https://vidaio.io/20:06 Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://squarespace.com/TWIST21:12 Demo: Gareth shows upscaled footage of our very own Lon Harris27:09 Who is actually doing the computing on Bittensor?28:15 How Bittensor recruits tech talent from emerging markets29:42 Pilot - Visit https://pilot.com/TWIST and get $1,200 off your first year.30:58 Jason's explains the Bittensor network. https://docs.bittensor.com/37:28 Jason addresses "pump and dump" allegations40:46 Ole Lehmann joins the show https://x.com/itsolelehmann45:31 Jason's $1,000 "bounty" for enhanced show notes49:35 Check out Ole's newsletter at aisolo.beehiiv.com !59:50 CrowdHealth - CrowdHealth lets you ditch the bureaucracy with a peer-to-peer funding platform for your healthcare. Get started for $99 per month for your first three months by using the code TWIST at https://JoinCrowdHealth.com/twist.1:00:46 Off Duty with Alex and J-Cal!1:04:46 Reacting to the Maul trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkVepshZhGcSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Anthropic just built a model so dangerous, they’re not even going to release it (for now). On TWiST, Jason, Alex, and Neurometric CEO Rob May discuss whether or not this is just another frontier model or a potential weapon of mass internet destruction.Claude Mythos Preview is already in the hands of over 40 Anthropic partners — including Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google — as part of its “Project Glasswing” security council.Together, they’ll test how quickly and easily the model can thwart today’s most elite cybersecurity protocols, and try to develop fresh protocols to keep our most sensitive and critical software systems safe and intact. Once Mythos or a similarly powerful model hits the streets… it’s all over!Plus, we’re checking out the real-time SaaSpocalypse monitor Death By Clawd, and chatting with its creator, Gyani, about how it feels to have your startup one-shotted by Anthropic’s latest model.GuestsRob May: https://x.com/robmayNeurometric: https://www.neurometric.ai/Neurometric SLM Marketplace: https://marketplace.neurometric.ai/Death by Clawd: https://deathbyclawd.com/Nick O’Neill: https://x.com/chooserichThis Week In Startups is made possible by:LinkedIn Jobs - LinkedIn.com/twistGrasshopper Bank - Grasshopper.bank/twistRender - Render.com/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:Timestamps:0:00 Anthropic's new, powerful 'Mythos' model3:50 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!5:26 Neurometric's Rob May joins the show10:04 Sam Altman's talent exodus10:50 Render - Go to https://render.com/twist to apply for the Render Startup Program. You'll get anywhere from $500 to $100,000 in free credits.11:50 Has Anthropic Passed OpenAI?15:44 When will Claude release Mythos? Polymarket: https://polymarket.com/event/claude-mythos-released-by18:32 The AI race turns existential19:16 Would Anthropic's model give the CIA the ability to hack a foreign government?20:04 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.21:19 Should AI be nationalized?29:43 Subsidizing secret AI development.30:15 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist31:29 How much of the military's $1.5T will go to AI cybersecurity?35:17 Nick O'Neill's "not sponsored" call-in.38:24 What is an SLM?42:01 Tactical/Practical: How can you tune SLMs45:43 How Neurometric can afford 100M free tokens per month for its users?49:04 What is "harness engineering"?50:58 Tactical/ Practical: Every Reddit rant is a startup idea1:00:25 Why Meta is the most un-innovative AI company in the world.1:03:43 Gyani of Deathbclawd joins the show — Is your company COOKED?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Anthropic just pulled the plug on Claude subscriptions for OpenClaw and every third party agentic tool. So Jason and Lon welcome back three of our top TWiST OpenClaw experts to break down what it means, how much it’s going to cost now, and whether this is truly the end of the subsidized AI era.And they all brought demos! We’re checking out ClawChief from Ryan Carson, Alex Finn’s agent Henry, and Yazin Alirhayim’s Sidecast protocol, inspired by a special request from JCal!HostsJason Calacanis: http://x.com/jasonLon Harris: https://x.com/lonsGuestsRyan Carson: https://x.com/ryancarsonClawchief: https://github.com/snarktank/clawchiefAlex Finn: https://x.com/AlexFinnCreator Buddy: https://www.creatorbuddy.io/Yazin Alirhayim: https://x.com/yazinsOpenOats / Sidecast: https://github.com/yazinsai/OpenOatsFurther ReadingThe Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande: https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0312430000Marc Andreessen on AI job loss: https://x.com/pmarca/status/2040919227641856307OpenAI acquires TBPN: https://openai.com/index/openai-acquires-tbpn/This Week In Startups is made possible by:Gusto - https://Gusto.com/twist Vanta - https://vanta.com/twist Shopify - https://shopify.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:Timestamps:0:00 Welcome back to TWiST0:32 Jason's thinks Andor is as good as Empire Strikes Back…2:30 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:26 Check out the checklist manifesto! https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/03124300006:36 Our guests Ryan Carson, Alex Finn, and Yazin Alirhayim, and join the show10:28 Gusto - Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small businesses and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at https://Gusto.com/twist.10:46 People are automating their coworkers and getting them fired…18:32 Anthropic Bans OpenClaw20:06 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist24:06 How "caveman talk" makes AI works better27:31 Alex thinks $2000/ month subscription plans are inevitable for AI.29:31 Why is nobody using the leaked Anthropic Model?30:30 Shopify: Turn those What If's into sales with the ecommerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist32:37 Open models have been 6 months behind for the past few years35:53 Why did OpenAI acquire TBPN?42:01 Tactical/ Practical: The product itself is the most important thing44:31 Demo or Die! Yazin is back to show off OpenOats55:05 Ryan's "Claw Chief" https://github.com/snarktank/clawchief/blob/main/skills/executive-assistant/SKILL.md?plain=11:02:14 Alex's big announcement, "Henry intelligent machines"1:12:33 Alex Finn DESTROYS Higgsfield's marketing strategy1:15:35 Throwback to "Pay Per Post"Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel - deel.com/twistGrasshopper Bank - grasshopper.bank/twistRender - render.com/twistPlaud - Plaud.ai/twistAn AI “holding company” rebuilt dozens of YC Winter ‘26 startups in one weekend. Now we’re bringing the founder responsible into Jason’s Courtroom to defend himself.PLUS a live demo of Boardy, the AI that acts like a virtual board member and makes crucial introductions. Find out why he gets to have so much agency, how creator Andrew D’Souza used him to raise his own $17 million round, and how this company ever plans to actually make money.Plus Jason celebrates Apple’s 50th anniversary with a fiery rant about milking the ghost of Steve Jobs… Why OpenAI is acquiring a tech podcast… Jason’s favorite weighted vest for rucking… AND Lon’s Off Duty weekend streaming picks.GuestsMarik Hazan:⁠ https://x.com/MarikHazan⁠Feltsense:⁠ https://feltsense.com/⁠Andrew D’Souza:⁠ https://x.com/andrewdsouza⁠Boardy:⁠ https://www.boardy.ai/⁠Timestamps:0:00 Jason's direction for TWiST and thoughts on legacy media5:14 Marik of Feltsense joins the show6:10 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!7:10 Marik's viral YC replicator stunt9:45 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.20:39 Grasshopper bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.21:33 Feltsense founder goes on trial!25:26 Jason dunks on Bank of America's app27:59 TBPN acquired by OpenAI29:28 The All In Podcast is worth $1B!30:13 Render - Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.33:02 Andrew D'Souza joins the show along with his agent, Boardy!43:17 So how does Boardy make money?48:32 Lon is becoming more and more "AI-pilled."50:41 Tactical/ practical: "If we have data, let's look at data. If all we have are opinions, let's go with mine." -Jim Barskdale, former CEO of Netscape1:01:00 Tactical/ practical: hire a PR firm to report on your competitors' wrongdoings.1:02:58 Jason calls out Apple for being DISGRAZIAD!1:15:09 Lon's TV pick of the week: "Something Very Bad is Going to Happen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMc_pWm7G7o1:19:52 Become an Angel Investor at https://thesyndicate.com/Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:⁠ https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com⁠Check out the TWIST500:⁠ https://www.twist500.com⁠Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:⁠ https://rb.gy/v19fcp⁠Follow Lon:X:⁠ https://x.com/lons⁠Follow Alex:X:⁠ https://x.com/alex⁠LinkedIn:⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm⁠Follow Jason:X:⁠ https://twitter.com/Jason⁠LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis⁠Check out all our partner offers:⁠ https://partners.launch.co/⁠Great TWIST interviews:⁠ Will Guidara,⁠⁠ Eoghan McCabe⁠,⁠ Steve Huffman⁠,⁠ Brian Chesky⁠,⁠ Bob Moesta,⁠⁠ Aaron Levie⁠,⁠ Sophia Amoruso⁠,⁠ Reid Hoffman⁠,⁠ Frank Slootman⁠,⁠ Billy McFarland⁠Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:⁠ https://substack.com/@calacanis⁠Follow TWiST:Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/TWiStartups⁠YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups⁠TikTok:⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups⁠Substack:⁠ https://twistartups.substack.com⁠

This Week in AI, JCal sits down with three CEOs building the infrastructure, intelligence, and interfaces for the next era of AI: Jeremy Fraenkel (CEO, Fundamental), Victor Riparbelli (CEO, Synthesia), and Nick Harris (CEO, Lightmatter). We break down what's actually happening beneath the AI hype: the data modality LLMs completely missed, why copper is the real bottleneck in AI data centers, OpenAI shutting down Sora, the build vs. buy debate for AI tools, and how close we really are to AGI.AI's Biggest Blind Spot, Tabular Data: LLMs transformed text, images, and code, but 70-80% of enterprise data lives in rows and columns.Copper Can't Keep Up: Nick explains why AI data centers are hitting a wall. GPUs compute faster than they can communicate. Lightmatter's photonic chips push 1.6 terabits per fiber and can 3x training speed.Why OpenAI Killed Sora & Anthropic's Focus is Winning: Victor breaks down why even OpenAI had to learn the lesson of focus, and why Claude Code has every founder talking.Vibe Coding Your Own CRM vs. Buying Salesforce: Jeremy reveals Fundamental built their own internal CRM using vibe coding. The panel debates when building beats buying and when it's a distraction.The Omnipresent CEO: Jason shares how he's using AI agents for root access to Slack, Gmail, and Notion, resurrecting former employees as AI personas, automating SDR workflows, and summarizing employee inboxes while they're on vacation.Are We Already at AGI?: Nick says the rate of progress is a double exponential. Jeremy argues AGI is a moving goalpost. Victor warns of "Future Shock" and societal disruption.🔗 Learn more about Fundamental: https://fundamental.tech🔗 Learn more about Synthesia: https://www.synthesia.io🔗 Learn more about Lightmatter: https://lightmatter.coThis Week In AI is made possible by:PayPal Open - One Platform for all Business: paypalopen.comTimestamps:00:00 Welcome & intro to Jeremy Fraenkel, Victor Riparbelli, and Nick Harris01:47 What is Fundamental? Large tabular models explained07:01 Victor Riparbelli on Synthesia & why OpenAI killed Sora11:09 Claude Code dominance & the Lightspeed founder retreat12:08 Nick Harris on Lightmatter, photonics & the new Moore's Law14:38 Copper vs. fiber: why AI data centers are hitting a wall18:44 Reinventing video: interactive, real-time, personalized21:32 The economics of a custom AI movie23:55 Why Amazon, Google & Meta are building their own chips28:06 Tables have a bandwidth problem too32:27 When will compute be as cheap as storage?36:10 The future of software: every company gets a custom stack38:06 Vibe coding your own CRM vs. buying Salesforce45:57 Jason's quest for root access to Slack50:18 The omnipresent CEO: Doctor Manhattan meets Jesus CEO52:13 Resurrecting former employees as AI personas53:25 Victor's executive changelog for a 650-person company55:07 Whisper Flow & the Plaud Pin1:00:03 AGI: is it already here?1:03:37 Jeremy: we've only solved half the brain1:06:30 70% of Americans fear AI will impact jobs1:08:47 Future Shock & keeping the rope tight*Mentioned in the show:*Wisper Flow: https://wisperflow.aiPlaud Pin: https://www.plaud.aiAthena Executive Assistants: https://www.athenawow.comWHOOP: https://www.whoop.com"Future Shock" by Alvin Toffler: https://www.amazon.com/Future-ShockAlvin-Toffler/dp/0394425863Victor on TWiST, E1776: https://youtu.be/jxET4fq_2eANick on TWiST, E1787: https://youtu.be/FPW2nnEqfMsSubscribe to This Week in AI on Apple: https://thisweekinai.ai/spotifySubscribe to This Week in AI on Spotify: https://thisweekinai.ai/appleThanks for watching!🤖 If you want to stay ahead of the curve on all things AI, make sure to join our community across all platforms:📩 Get the Weekly Newsletter: https://thisweekinai.ai/📺 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinAIPodcast📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinaipodcast

This Week In Startups is made possible by:PaperOS - https://PaperOS.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent- https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistEvery.io - https://Every.ioPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:Silicon Valley just lined up its biggest liquidity event in years: SpaceX filed confidentially for an IPO that could target a $1.75 trillion valuation — potentially the largest public offering in history. Meanwhile, a new Quinnipiac poll shows that 62% of Americans aren't excited about AI, and 70% think it will destroy their jobs. The disconnect between Sand Hill Road and Main Street has never been wider, and this panel is here to argue about what to do about it.Jason Calacanis and co-host Alex Wilhelm are joined by Delian Asparouhov, Partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of Varda Space Industries; Salen Churi, General Partner at Trust Ventures, focused on regulated industries and physical infrastructure; and Larsen Jensen, Founder and GP of Harpoon Ventures and former Navy SEAL.They dig into the SpaceX IPO and what it means for LP liquidity, founder formation, and venture capital's comeback story; the gap between Silicon Valley's AI optimism and public hostility; whether defense tech is in a bubble after $49 billion flooded the sector in 2025; the Marc Andreessen "zero introspection" thesis for founders; America's reindustrialization challenge and the rare earths supply chain crisis; and Artemis’s path to putting boots back on the Moon.Timestamps:00:00 Intro1:09 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:50 SpaceX files confidentially for IPO: $1.75T valuation, June target9:00 Will the SpaceX IPO reinvigorate venture capital?10:25 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io14:40 Quinnipiac poll: Americans use more AI but trust it less17:31 AI's PR crisis: Dario vs. Jensen, and who's communicating well18:02 Jason's "Invest America" proposal: give workers equity stakes19:55 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist21:39 Larsen: Silicon Valley is walking into the same trap as China offshoring29:04 PaperOS - Whether you're raising a round, launching a fund, or managing a venture portfolio, PaperOS can unlock simplicity and scale across your empire of capital, contracts, and companies. Claim your $10,000 credit at https://paperos.com/twist29:50 Polymarket: 24% chance of a federal AI data center moratorium33:57 Marc Andreessen on zero introspection (David Senra podcast clip)46:48 Is defense tech in a bubble?1:10:32 Saronic raises $1.75B for autonomous drone boats1:25:07 Anthropic vs. OpenAI: where would you put your entire net worth?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Quo - https://quo.com/TWiSTLinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twistIru - https://iru.com/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:Google project manager Shubham Saboo is running 6 AI agents on a Mac Mini that handle all of his side business autonomously, from research, to social posts, to newsletters.He joins Jason and Lon to walk us through his 5-step framework for designing an efficient AI agent team:Start with one agent and onboard them like a new hireStop Googling fixes; just ask your agent how to use itPut your agents on fixed schedulesAdd shared memory so you don’t have to repeat yourselfLet agents run self-reviews and rewrite their own instructions.Get the walkthrough to put this entire plan into practice on today’s episode. PLUS fresh demos of the “Minecraft”-inspired virtual workspace MoltWorld and AgentMail, which is Gmail for your AI pals, and Jason explains the thinking behind his viral, controversy-stirring “don’t talk to journalists” tweet.Follow Shubham: https://x.com/Saboo_Shubham_“How I Built an Autonomous AI Agent Team That Runs 24/7” on X: https://x.com/Saboo_Shubham_/status/2022014147450614038?s=20Follow Mike: https://x.com/mihalich1988MoltWorld: https://moltworld.io/Follow Haakam: https://x.com/haakamaujlaAgentMail: https://www.agentmail.to/Jason’s post about talking to journalists: https://x.com/Jason/status/2037573025458016659NYT responds: https://x.com/NYTimesPR/status/2037648223771263082Translated Japanese tweets: https://x.com/melonneet40/status/2038020624015315289, https://x.com/rambling_28/status/2038041455999246422Japanese people singing “Country Roads”: https://x.com/harukaawake/status/2038081269830222259Trailer for “Nuremberg” (now on Netflix in the US): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvAy9C-bipYTimestamps:0:00 Intro1:24 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:05 We're Claw-pilled once again; it's an all AI Agent showcase6:15 Google AI PM Shubham Saboo's Top 5 OpenClaw tips10:14 Quo (formerly OpenPhone) gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at https://quo.com/TWiST.13:26 Tip #1 — Onboard your agent like a new hire17:31 Tip #2 — Talk to your agents constantly19:02 Tip #3 — Put your agents on a schedule19:51 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist.23:41 Tip #4 — Add cross-agent memory29:33 Tip #5 — Let your agents self-improve29:51 Iru unifies identity, endpoint security, and compliance into one platform. TWiST listeners get 20% off when they book a demo at https://iru.com/twist!34:03 Why Jason says founders should avoid journalists38:24 How biased IS the New York Times?47:02 DEMO: Co-founder Mike Nosov shows us MoltWorld51:14 But what's the utility of this?1:05:15 DEMO: Haakam Aujla presents AgentMail (YC S25)1:09:59 How does AgentMail make money?1:17:03 How Grok Translations are creating cross-cultural dialogue on XSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Wispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twistCircle - http://circle.so/twistDeel - http://deel.com/twistToday’s show:AstroForge is building low-cost, replicable spacecraft to mine platinum group metals from near-Earth asteroids — a $60 billion annual market for materials that are running out on Earth. Founder and CEO Matt Gialich joins the show to talk about the company's ambitious mission, what went wrong on their first two flights, and why Mission 3 could still change everything.PLUS Sam Dare from Templar stops by to talk about training AI models on a decentralized blockchain, and why it’s so much cheaper and more efficient than the conventional “data center full of GPUs” method. AND a demo of OpenOats from creator Yazin Alirhayim of his open source Granola alternative.Astroforge: https://www.astroforge.com/Templar: https://www.tplr.ai/Epoch AI decentralized training post: https://epoch.ai/gradient-updates/how-far-can-decentralized-training-over-the-internet-scaleOpenOats on Github: https://github.com/yazinsai/OpenOatsTimestamps:0:00 Intro0:59 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:05 We aplaud Plaud!3:18 Astroforge is mining… asteroids?!6:11 How creating an abundance of Platinum will impact Humanity!9:56 Wispr Flow: Stop typing. Dictate with Wispr Flow and send clean, final-draft writing in seconds. Visit https://wisprflow.ai/twist to get started for free today.21:16 Circle: The easiest way to build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand. TWiST listeners get $1,000 off the Circle Plus Plan by going to https://circle.so/twist.22:01 How Astroforge uses capitalism to unlock abundance24:35 J-Cal subscribed to… A socialist magazine?26:19 Sam Dare of Templar joins the show!27:47 What is TAO doing that's uniquely different from Bitcoin30:15 What is the incentive mechanism that Templar uses?30:44 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.37:49 How much does it cost to run templar's model?45:16 Can decentralized training over the internet scale? https://epoch.ai/gradient-updates/how-far-can-decentralized-training-over-the-internet-scale47:16 Jason addresses his tao investment48:48 Why brand is the moat for startups49:47 When will a better, more exciting version of Bitcoin, can come along?52:20 Yazin of OpenGranola Joins the show53:36 How OpenGranola has local LLM's taking notes for you and giving you real time insights in your meeting!1:01:45 Jason's callout for a sidebar that shows all inputs from agents1:13:50 The economics of the new harry potter series and HBO/ Warner Brothers1:23:33 Why Jason wants government surveillance on Disney adults…Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Luma AI - https://lumalabs.ai/twistEvery.io -  https://every.ioLemon.io - https://Lemon.io/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:What do drug discovery, the creator economy, and AI vision models have in common? In the case of Metanova, Bitcast, and Score, the answer is Bittensor. Yes, each of the three companies leverages the Bittensor network to get more work done, more quickly, in a completely decentralized fashion.Metanova uses its subnet to run developer competitions to find exciting molecular candidates, parsing through a mountain of possibilities to pluck out the most promising for further investigation.Bitcast uses its subnet to collect visibility demand from brands, which is served by video creators. The company is focused on the crypto niche to start, but will expand in time to other technology topics.Score uses its subnet to generate highly performant, specialized vision models, which it then sells to customers through a platform (Manako).In each case, the Bittensor’s economic engine unlocks global creativity to tackle tasks that were previously time-consuming, fragmented, or expensive to complete. Let’s see how quickly each company can scale and whether startups building on Bittensor can grow faster than their non-decentralized peers.Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:19 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:40 What is Bittensor?7:22 Metanova Labs joins the show9:28 Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist17:16 How Metanova tackles the multi-billion dollar cost of drug discovery20:48 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io30:20 Bitcast joins the show31:23 Luma AI - Luma builds accessible, professional-grade AI tools for creatives. Try Luma Agents for free at https://lumalabs.ai/twist32:30 Mining crypto with YouTube36:48 Why Bitcast is focused on the crypto space to start39:11 How healthy is the creator economy?47:26 When will the AI bubble collapse?53:44 Score joins the show54:42 How Score will make vision AI more accessible57:16 VLMs v. LLMs1:01:14 Demo of the Manako platformSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week in AI sneak peak! If you enjoy the episode find us on Spotify, Apple podcasts and YouTube by looking up "This Week in AI" or by going to thisweekinai.aiThis week Jason sat down with Jake Loosararian and Chris Lattner on Episode 6 of This Week in AI. Jake is the CEO and co-founder of Gecko Robotics, a company deploying purpose-built robots and AI for mission-critical infrastructure inspection across energy, defense, and manufacturing. Chris is the CEO and co-founder of Modular, building a universal software layer that lets developers run AI models across Nvidia, AMD, and Apple silicon without being locked into any single hardware vendor.We explore the GPU shortage, why China's chip smuggling reveals the stakes of the AI cold war, how purpose-built robotics are beating humanoids on ROI, the case for American reindustrialization, and why the next decade could be the best ever for private equity in capital-intensive industries.Purpose-Built Robots vs. Humanoids: Jake has been building mission-critical robots for 13 years. He explains why general-purpose humanoids still have too little ROI for industrial use, and why specialized robots that find and fix problems are winning in the field.The GPU Shortage Is Real: Chris breaks down why you can't just go buy 100 Blackwell chips today, why Nvidia's Cuda creates massive lock-in, and how Modular is building a unified software layer across all major chip architectures.Google TPUs Are the Sleeper: Chris ranks Google as the number one threat to Nvidia's dominance, ahead of Amazon's Trainium and AMD.China's Chip Smuggling & the AI Cold War: A Supermicro co-founder allegedly smuggled $2.5B in Nvidia chips to China using fake serial numbers and a hairdryer. The Best Decade for Private Equity: Jake makes the case that capital-intensive, commoditized infrastructure assets: waste-to-energy, water treatment, old power plants will all generate incredible returns.Self-Driving State of Play: Chris, a former Tesla Autopilot lead, gives his read on Waymo's lead, Tesla's small Austin pilot, and why the real signal is when Tesla starts filing for fully autonomous permits in California.Learn more about Gecko Robotics: https://www.geckorobotics.comLearn more about Modular: https://www.modular.com/This Week In AI is made possible by:*PayPalOpen* - One Platform for all Business: paypalopen.com*Timestamps:*00:00 Welcome & intro to Jake Lu (Gecko Robotics) and Chris Lattner (Modular)01:34 Gecko's 13-year journey & the Cantilever platform05:15 Chris Lattner on Modular: replacing Cuda & unifying AI hardware11:10 Nvidia lock-in, AMD's Rock & why the software stack is broken19:49 The GPU shortage: how real is it?22:13 Who challenges Nvidia? Google TPUs, Amazon Trainium & AMD ranked28:17 China chip smuggling: $2.5B in Nvidia GPUs & the AI cold war37:43 Self-driving update: Waymo, Tesla's Austin pilot & Chris's Tesla history42:20 Figure's humanoid package sorting — real or demo magic?43:47 The best decade for private equity in capital-intensive assets51:04 Reindustrialization, the trades boom & making manufacturing cool58:39 Building tech companies outside Silicon Valley1:06:46 Breaking news: Brett Adcock launches Hark from Figure1:10:15 Closing thoughts: grit over hype, customers over valuationsSubscribe to This Week in AI on Apple: https://thisweekinai.ai/spotifySubscribe to This Week in AI on Spotify: https://thisweekinai.ai/appleThanks for watching!🤖 If you want to stay ahead of the curve on all things AI, make sure to join our community across all platforms:📩 Get the Weekly Newsletter: https://thisweekinai.ai/📺 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinAIPodcast📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinaipodcast📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinaipodcast✖️X: https://x.com/ThisWeeknAIFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonFollow Oliver:https://x.com/oliverkorzen

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistLinkedIn Jobs - https://linkedIn.com/twistSentry - https://sentry.io/twistPlaud - http://Plaud.ai/twistRo.co - http://Ro.co/TwistToday’s show:Hustle Fund general partner Elizabeth Yin joined Jason and Alex to discuss how rapid advances in AI have changed the venture capital game, and how the same AI updates are changing how founders build. Founders may need less capital than before, which could reduce their reliance on venture dollars over time.Ceel founder Ryan Mahdavi joined next to help Jason and Alex dig into the Delve story. Well-funded Delve was publicly criticized for allegedly overselling their compliance tool’s capabilities and not being honest with customers. Delve has responded to the allegations, though Mahdavi said that he had his doubts about the competing startup even before the news story broke.Next, TWiST invited Brick founder Seg Sheng on to explain his startup’s plan to use a combination of physical hardware and artificial intelligence to help buildings and data centers reduce their energy bills. Given how much juice the AI era demands, Brick could be onto something big.And to close out the show, Gavin Zaentz and Pranav Ramesh from LeadPoet (Bittensor Subnet 71) to show off their technology (the pair put in motion a lead hunt for Brick while on-air). It’s a packed show with something for everyone. Let’s go!Timestamps:0:00 Intro1:18 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:45 Elizabeth Yin from Hustle Fund on how AI tools have changed her workflow9:21 How founders use AI to learn how to suck less10:34 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST13:17 Ryan Mahdavi from Ceel joins to explain the Delve SOC 2 scandal18:39 Is Silicon Valley's "bend the rules" culture at fault?20:38 Red and pink flags, and how investors can spot potential fraud21:41 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist23:45 How to not do securities fraud: a simple guide26:50 Ryan asks: How did the company get through diligence?31:03 Northwest Registered Agent — Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist32:25 Were there early warning signs about issues with Delve?33:26 On Delve's use of tactical donuts36:55 What about the Delve board? If there is one?45:24 Seb Sheng stops by to tell us about how Brick Data saves companies massively on energy costs49:38 Who are Brick's customers and how much are they paying?54:16 Lightning Round: A quick history of Brick56:02 Why Jason is so bullish on $TAO56:45 Ro.co: Ro's insurance checker will let you know if your coverage includes GLP-1s for FREE. Go to https://Ro.co/Twist for your free insurance check.1:06:35 How do LeadPoet's "miners" track down the best leads?1:13:09 How Bittensor subnets map to traditional startup forms1:17:15 How can agents build up authority if they can't get hired for their first job?1:21:03 Jason: "I think the game of Bitcoin has ended…"1:23:22 Why Jason likes to place a bet, then learn1:24:16 The inherent risks in crypto investmentSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistCircle - https://circle.so/twistNetsuite - https://www.netsuite.com/twistToday’s show:Zipline founder Keller Cliffton started his company with a simple premise: build automated logistics that serve everyone equally. The only problem? It was literally illegal in the US.In this live recording from LaunchFest in San Francisco, Keller shares how Zipline went from a 20-person team working on a cow farm in Rwanda to operating the largest commercial autonomous system on Earth. They now complete 130 million autonomous miles with zero accidents, while reducing maternal mortality by 51% in the regions they serve.PLUS we’ve got Rahul Vohra from Superhuman taking us through his entire founder journey, and discussing with Jason why “difficult” founders are often the smartest investments.Timestamps:0:00 Intro1:16 Keller Cliffton starts off the show3:05 Starting Zipline in Africa8:40 The magic of sky maps13:55 Building the drone was just the beginning15:11 Making a huge difference in maternal mortality23:48 The threats of Little Evil Jimmy and dogs29:37 The shift from Rwanda to Dallas31:14 Netsuite - Get the free business guide Demystifying AI at https://www.netsuite.com/twist32:28 The moral clarity of the mission41:17 The challenge of staying focused46:43 Rahul Vohra of Superhuman joins Jason49:40 Building Rapportive in Cambridge51:48 Scaling to millions of users via APIs1:11:46 How getting acquired made Rahul fearless1:12:31 The boldness of taking on Gmail1:22:12 Making everyone pay for the product1:31:24 Inside the Grammarly-Superhuman dealSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel - https://deel.com/twistLinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twist.Iru - https://iru.com/twistToday’s show:We’ve got a treat for you today on TWiST! Jason is live from LAUNCH Fest in San Francisco, where he’s joined by Robinhood founder Vlad Tenev.The era of AI is here. Robinhood found success in the midst of the last great technological shift. What lessons did Vlad take from this, and how can founders apply these to this next transformative period? What elements are the same and what elements have changed?Let’s get inside the mind of one of the greatest founders of the last decade!Timestamps:0:00 Why Jason runs events like LAUNCH Fest.3:25 The early days of Jason and Vlad.5:54 Why getting users before monetizing creates a bigger business.9:49 Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.11:03 Finding ways to launch a product multiple times.13:49 How Robinhood identified its initial customers.20:09 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist.21:04 Robinhood's "give to get" and waitlist mechanics explained.25:07 Navigating mistakes that feel existential (they're not!)27:36 Leaning into negative press.30:30 Iru - Iru unifies identity, endpoint security, and compliance into one platform. TWiST listeners get 20% off when they book a demo at https://iru.com/twist32:13 Tackling competition in the AI era.37:20 How Vlad hires and develops talent.42:16 What is good design in an era of vibe coded slop?46:46 Vlad's top lessons from the last 10 years.Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisGreat TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Caldera + Lab - https://CalderaLab.com/TWISTNorthwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistLemon - https://Lemon.io/twistToday’s show:Computers that read your mind? Jets that are all wings? Continuously tracking your body’s vital signs to live longer? We’ve got all that and more on the show today.First, we sat down with the CEO of Paradromics, Matt Angle, to dig into the progress that his brain-computer interface startup has made. Yes, there are more companies working on BCIs than just Neuralink. Paradromics, in particular, is looking for early clinical trial subjects as it works to bring its technology out of the lab and into the market.If you ever wanted to know more about how BCIs work and how long it will be until we can all benefit from the tech, this is the interview for you.Next, we got JetZero CEO Tom O'Leary on the phone to tell us all about his startup’s jet. No, it’s not competing with Boom, a startup that wants to build a supersonic passenger airliner. Instead, JetZero is building jets that are mostly wing, allowing them to fly with far greater fuel efficiency. Best of all? The future JetZero planes can fit right into normal airports.Finally, we chatted with Nutrisense CEO Dan Zavorotny. While keeping tabs on your glucose levels may not be the sexiest topic in the world, the data that continuous monitoring can bring is incredibly valuable health information. Mix that signal with coaching, and Nutrisense reckons its combination of software, data, and dieticians can really improve health outcomes for its customers.If you needed a break from pure-play AI news, TWiST has you covered!Timestamps:0:00 Introduction1:47 Paradromics3:26 How do BCIs read your mind?9:58 Lemon - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at Lemon.io/twist19:54 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at northwestregisteredagent.com/twist27:24 JetZero29:07 The advantages of more wing30:13 Caldera Lab - Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading your routine, Caldera Lab makes skincare simple and effective. Head to CalderaLab.com/TWIST and use TWIST at checkout for 20% off your first order.55:30 NutrisenseSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisGreat TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Legendary British ad man Rory Sutherland invented a fake business on a podcast, a coffee shop appealing to the busy commuter called “Flat White or F**k Off.”But it’s one thing to have a post go big on TikTok or Instagram… but to turn that viral moment into an actual COMPANY is a very different challenge.On TWiST, Jason and Lon chat with Charlie Hurst, Tom Noble, and Will Sudlow, founders of the online brand “Flat White or F**k Off,” about how they took a funny little slogan and turned it into a string of popular social media accounts, a line of merch, a pop-up café, and let’s face it, an entire lifestyle.PLUS we’ve got Mog and Dubs from Subnet 75 — Hippius! Hear how they’re using the blockchain for decentralized storage, and providing server space much cheaper than their famous hyperscaler rivals.This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistLinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twist.Wispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twistNorthwest Registered Agent  - https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistTimestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:01:28 Plaud - If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!00:03:22 What is "decentralized cloud storage"?00:05:42 How Hippius came together00:09:57 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist.00:11:38 Incentivizing miners00:14:25 How many people are contributing?00:18:42 But where does the value accrue?00:20:18 Wispr Flow - Stop typing. Dictate with Wispr Flow and send clean, final-draft writing in seconds. Visit https://wisprflow.ai/twist to get started for free today.00:29:55 Northwest Registered Agent. Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist00:35:53 The best places to eat in Dubai00:38:06 The inspo behind "Flat White or F Off"00:42:16 From social media to IRL business00:53:06 The secrets of experiential marketing00:57:28 Hospitality's "Rule of 3s"00:59:33 Inside the Flat White London pop-up01:13:11 Lon and Jason's Oscar picks01:26:06 Lon went "Inside the Manosphere"Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Circle - http://circle.so/twistSentry - http://Sentry.ioDeel - http://deel.com/twistPlaud - http://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:It’s self-driving time! We’re going deep on one of the most exciting spaces developing in the world, autonomous vehicles! We’ve got 3 experts on the show to talk to us enlighten us, Ben Seidl of Autolane, Ming Maa of Moove, and Nathan Parker of EdgeCase.What’s going on in the world of self-driving? How has the reliability of autonomous vehicles improved? What challenges are we still facing in the industry? Will the US reign victorious, or is China sneaking up? Let’s find out on TWiST!Timestamps:00:00 intro02:21 Uber teams up with Zoox! 03:02 Does EdgeCase work with Zoox? 03:03 Operational design domains 06:47 The challenges of bringing self-driving to new environments. 00:10:53 Circle: The easiest way to build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand. TWiST listeners get $1,000 off the Circle Plus Plan by going to http://circle.so/twist. 00:13:26 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 00:17:19 How has reliability of autonomous cars improved? 00:19:18 How Ben Seidl came up with the idea for Autolane! 00:21:08 Sentry: New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST 00:27:47 How Moove helps autonmous vehicles go to market! 00:30:49 Deel: Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more. 00:33:28 The logisitcs of managing fleets. 00:37:08 Why is it called Autolane and not multi-modal lane? 00:40:50 Does EdgeCase work with smaller self-driving vehicles as well? 00:41:52 How autonomous systems will interact with one-another! 00:43:14 Why AV’s should not talk to other AV’s on the road 00:45:07 The state of the self-driving market 00:49:12 Why Tesla isn’t involving themselves in California 00:50:34 Why the US is leading the way with regulatory clarity in autonomous vehicles 01:02:51 Ben Seidl says federal regulation is a necessity 01:05:20 What is holding back self-driving growth in the US? 01:06:26 What companies make the most money in self driving Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - ⁠⁠northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠⁠Quo - ⁠⁠quo.com/TWiST⁠⁠Gusto - ⁠⁠Gusto.com/twist⁠⁠Plaud - http://Plaud.ai/twistAthena - https://www.athena.com/jcalToday’s show:How long until AI models can improve AI models? Once possible, recursive self-improvement by AI technology could accelerate — forever. Thus far, humans (and their coding agents) are still driving AI progress. But a recent project by AI developer extraordinare Andrej Karpathy, called ‘autoresearcher’, is turning heads as it shows that it is possible — in certain contexts — to allow AI agents to run successive coding experiments to improve specific elements of LLM performance. Call it an early demonstration of the future.OpenClaw is exploding in China, while here in the United States, AI is polling somewhere underneath the basement. AI in the United States is about as popular as ICE, which could create a political issue for the technology in the coming elections.Next? Three demos. First, NetXD’s Suresh Ramamurthi showed off how he has built OpenClaw functionality to move money, Rohan Arun showed off PhoneClaw automation on Android devices from an AR headset, and Eugene Stuckless gave us a taste of what Eir is building. Our takeaway? OpenClaw is still boring its way into our digital lives, one new skill or tool at a time!GUESTS:Suresh Ramamurthi: ⁠⁠https://x.com/sureshr7⁠⁠Rohan Arun: ⁠⁠https://x.com/Viewforge/⁠⁠Eugene Stuckless: ⁠⁠https://x.com/eugene_eir_inc⁠⁠Timestamps:0:00 — ‘Autoresearcher’ and the future of AI improvements6:52 — Why people around the world are flocking to OpenClaw7:57 — Plaud - If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!9:46 — Gusto - Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small business and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at Gusto.com/twist.12:57 — The changing American social contract20:15 — Quo - Quo (formerly OpenPhone) gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at quo.com/TWIST23:50 — Why China is all-in on AI (and Europe isn’t)26:26 — How to keep your job in the AI era28:05 — Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist29:38 — Athena - Get $2,000 off your first EA at https://www.athena.com/jcal34:42 — Demo: Suresh Ramamurthi of NetXD42:47 — Demo: Rohan Arun of PhoneClaw47:35 — Why bringing OpenClaw to your smartphone is what’s next49:49 — Demo: Eugene Stuckless of Eir56:45 — How can we make smarter, more efficient agents?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: ⁠⁠https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com⁠⁠Check out the TWIST500: ⁠⁠https://www.twist500.com⁠⁠Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: ⁠⁠https://rb.gy/v19fcp⁠⁠Follow Lon:X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/lons⁠⁠Follow Alex:X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/alex⁠⁠LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm⁠⁠Follow Jason:X: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Jason⁠⁠LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis⁠⁠Great TWIST interviews: ⁠⁠Will Guidara,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Eoghan McCabe⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Steve Huffman⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Brian Chesky⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Bob Moesta,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Aaron Levie⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Sophia Amoruso⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Reid Hoffman⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Frank Slootman⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Billy McFarland⁠⁠Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: ⁠⁠https://substack.com/@calacanis⁠⁠Follow TWiST:Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TWiStartups⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups⁠⁠Substack: ⁠⁠https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Every Banking - https://Every.iohttps://Lemon.io - Lemon.io/twistWispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twistPlaud - https://plaud.ai/twistRo.co - https://Ro.co/TwistToday’s show:*Sure, we all love open source models, but what about completely decentralized AI? Rather than leaving the big decision-making in the hands of a few elite CEOs, shouldn’t users have a say — and potentially even a stake — in how this incredible technology develops?On TWiST, we welcome Ala Shaabana of Crucible Labs, one of the co-founders of Bittensor. It’s an open-source protocol powering a blockchain-based machine learning network. What does that mean? Users mine a crypto token — $TAO — but rather than using up their compute on solving extremely long equations, they devote it to actually powering a range of innovative AI apps (aka subnets).Plus we’ve got Mark Jeffrey, co-founder of the Bittensor Fund Stillcore Capital, to show us some of his favorite subnet projects, and walk us through how he trained his AI agent to mine crpyto.All that AND two amazing new OpenClaw demos.Mark Jeffrey: https://x.com/markjeffreyStillcore Capital: https://stillcorecapital.com/Ala Shaabana (Crucible Labs): https://x.com/CrucibleLabsMichael Ryaboy (Setup Claw): https://setupclaw.com/Pete and Maddie Reese (Bizzby AI): https://bizzby.ai/Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:28 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!04:11 The booming intersection of crypto, and AI agents05:49 Mark Jeffrey joins the show!06:13 Bittensor explained — how TAO subsidizes AI products07:37 Mark’s top Bittensor projects00:10:40 https://Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io.00:12:20 How subnet tokens work00:17:34 How the Crucible Labs wallet simplifies subnet token allocation00:19:33 https://Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist00:22:42 The importance of private inference and encrypted AI prompts00:29:36 Wispr Flow: Stop typing. Dictate with Wispr Flow and send clean, final-draft writing in seconds. Visit https://wisprflow.ai/twist to get started for free today.00:33:07 How AI is restoring old movies and media!00:40:57 SetUpClaw’s “set it and forget it” AI agents00:45:50 https://Ro.co: Ro’s insurance checker will let you know if your coverage includes GLP-1s for FREE. Go to https://Ro.co/Twist for your free insurance check.00:54:35 “Off-duty” with Lon and JasonSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaud - Plaud.ai/twistLinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twist.Deel - https://deel.com/twistIru - https://iru.com/twist!Today’s show:It’s a packed TWiST Today! WITH US, we’ve got Erik Voorhees of VeniceAI and Logan Allin of Fin Capital on to talk agents, crypto, and… you guessed it, OPENCLAW!Where does agentic AI meet the financial system? How will agents transact? And what does privacy look like in a world with omnipresent AI?Stick around for some demos! We’ve got George Pickett to demo OpenClaw studio and David Kaufman to show us what he’s building at Siteline!Timestamps:00:04:31 What was Logan’s original thesis in Circle?10:08 LinkedIn Jobs - Thanks to our partners at @LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://⁠linkedIn.com/twist⁠ then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI assistant.00:11:52 Logans thoughts on Open vs. Closed Source00:15:33 How to maintain privacy in AI20:02 Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit https://⁠deel.com/twist⁠ to learn more.00:23:29 Why LAUNCH’s token usage is trending higher than payroll!00:25:05 How Fin capital uses personality types and AI to assess investments00:29:45 Why Erik thinks Anthropic’s defiance of the federal gov. is bravery!32:10 Iru - Iru unifies identity, endpoint security, and compliance into one platform. TWiST listeners get 20% off when they book a demo at https://⁠iru.com⁠/twist!00:42:23 How Siteline is helping understand companies and their agent traffic.00:57:15 OpenClaw Studio makes OpenClaw as user friendly as possible.01:10:09 The layers and layers of Microstrategy’s business model.01:11:44 Which AI tools are the most indispensable?01:12:25 How Jason uses the Grok button on threadsSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com