Sick of carrying a folder of SIMs as he traveled the world, Scott King reckoned he could do better - and did. ZapMe gives users a single number that's always available in any country - and always routes to their mobile. It's a great beginning - in a market filled with regulators and massive competitors. How can you build a successful startup in suc…

Register for Founder University Japan’s Kickoff: https://luma.com/cm0x90mk Today’s show: *The key to avoiding long airport delays? Low-altitude sea planes! Why didn’t you think of that? We’ve got an awesome line-up of TWiST 500 founders giving us an inside glimpse inside their startups on this Friday special edition. FIRST: Billy Thalheimer of REGE…

Register for Founder University Japan’s kickoff! https://luma.com/cm0x90mk Today’s show: *On TWiST, Jason welcomes an all-star VC panel — Deedy Das of Menlo Partners and Jay Eum of GFT Ventures — for a deep dive into the shocking scale of early-stage AI raises, a transitional moment for investors, the growing importance of the “prosumer” market, Ch…

👉 Register here to join the Founder University Japan kickoff! https://luma.com/cm0x90mk Today’s show: *Starcloud has started sending AI chips into orbit. So is this where the datacenters the power AI will one day live? And does wifi work in the vacuum of space? We’re asking the TOUGH questions. PLUS Jason and Alex are doing a deep dive on all this …

Jevon LeRoux's startup Keeyu uses 'agentic' AI to revolutionise how online businesses work with their customers. The outcome of deep domain knowledge, LeRoux wants Keeyu to be a platform for the whole business - well beyond the sales channel. Can he get there? And what does it take to succeed an AI-centred startup?Big thanks to SxSW Sydney - where …

What will be OpenAI’s IPO price? Place ya bets! | EXXX *Polymarket’s sharps are already placing bets on when ChatGPT maker OpenAI will go public… and Jason and Alex want in on this action. They’re placing side wagers on how the House that Sam Altman built will be valued once it finally goes public. PLUS find out why Amazon is Jason’s stock pick for…

Today’s show: *Why rebrand an app with 40 million daily active users? On TWiST, Grammarly CEO Shishir Mehrotra swings by to explain why he’s renaming his company after the mail app he just purchased, Superhuman. Plus he’s giving us a first look at the startup’s new AI assistant, Superhuman Go, digging into their new agent-centered strategy, looking…

Today’s show: Jason’s been skeptical on Apple lately, but he’s BLOWN AWAY by his new iPhone Air.Hear why JCal thinks Cupertino’s latest release is “completely inspiring,” and why he’s sure it’s the next step on the road to Apple Glasses. We’re chatting with LAUNCH founder Zach Handshoe of spacial video startup SpatialGen about designing products fo…

Today’s show: Australia has accused Microsoft of employing a dark pattern… Hear why Jason says these kinds of sneaky tactics aren’t usually worth it. It’s a brand-new Monday TWiST and it’s PACKED with news. In addition to Australia’s allegations against MSFT, we’re looking at Chinese drone fails and wondering how live experiences will change in the…

TWISTA swims across the ditch to talk with Steve Leftly, founder of Kiwi startup Myovolt - (https://myovolt.com/). Straddling the line between medtech and consumer wearable, Myovolt offers both pain relief and faster rehabilitation for folks with muscle strains and injuries. But building a startup with a medical focus means regulations, certificati…

Today’s show: *Working from 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week, might seem like TOO INTENSE a commitment for some, but Jason argues that elite performance — and the mega-compensation that goes along with it — sometimes requires personal sacrifice. While 72-hour weeks might lead to burnout for some, it really comes down to individual choice. PLUS Jason and…

Today’s show: *Amazon’s dropping a LOT of employees for AI and robots… are Jason’s darkest predictions coming true? Legendary investor Elad Gil joins Jason and Alex for the full show today! Together, they’re digging into the Amazon news, looking back at Jason’s predictions from just last month, and theorizing about just how many people will lose th…

Are AI tools in the classroom just time-savers, or can they have genuine educational value?In a must-watch TWiST 500 interview, Alex chats with Magic School founder (and former principal) Adeel Khan about how AI tools can make teachers more effective, and keep students inspired, without just doing all the work for them. He talks about turning an AI…

Today’s show: *Is the AI bubble going to POP? And if so, how much of our economy is it going to take down with it?On a new TWiST, Jason, Alex, and Lon debate the size and scale of the AI bubble, whether poppage is imminent, and just who we can blame for the last few economic crises. (HINT: Not the tech industry!)PLUS why Jason STILL thinks the curr…

After a bit of a pause, THIS WEEK IN STARTUPS AUSTRALIA returns with its annual preview of Spark Festival - sparkfestival.co - with Spark Festival board member and TWISTA 'guardian angel' Murray Hurps, and communications director Paul Wallbank. We go through the festival, then pivot to an examination of the state of the startup community, following…

Deel’s growth overshadows SpyGate, Claude learned new skills, and the great “momentum is moat” debate | EXXX Today’s show: *Deel’s growing fast enough that investors are overlooking the espionage allegations and jumping on board anyway. (LAUNCH now owns a lil taste of Deel, so Jason is on board!) PLUS is the Mag 7 about to become the Mag 70… Why le…

Today’s show: *On a very special TWiST, Jason’s joined by “one of the greatest investors in in the history of VC,” Steve Jurvetson of Future Ventures. Together, they look back at some of Steve’s earliest investments and learnings, the promise and ultimate failure of nanotech, breaking down the AI hype cycle, the primacy of neural networks, the retu…

Today’s show: *Eric Glyman of Ramp joins us to share the fintech unicorn’s growth secrets AND their Lab full of research data. On TWiST, Jason and Alex chat with Eric about Ramp’s counter-intuitive mission — helping startups spend LESS money — PLUS they take a deep dive into the company’s treasure trove of startup trend data. Why is there a huge sp…

Figure’s 03 Chore-bot, Jake Paul Sora takeover, ChatGPT app integrations, and more | E2191 Today’s show: Figure’s butler-bot could be cleaning up after you soon than you think! On a Friday TWiST, Jason and Lon are checking out the Figure 03 demo reel, checking out the humanoid robot that could soon be hanging out in your house, doing your chores. L…

Today’s show: *Zach Dell of Base Power joins us at the top of today’s show to talk about building batteries in Austin, that $1 billion investment, and why an “all of the above” energy strategy is the only way forward. PLUS Jason and Alex’s thoughts on that Tesla non-upside down car announcement, growing resentments toward AI datacenters, Chinese ro…

Everything’s going great here at This Week in Startups — and we’re expanding! As we launch a brand new podcast next year, we’re looking to bring on two new creative roles: Video Editor — Full-time or part-time, remote or in-person (Austin). If you love startups and tech and you’re skilled at editing, this is your shot. Send your portfolio to editor…

Today’s show: Is Sora not just a copyright-killer but a TikTok-killer? Hear our review! The “This Week in Startups” team has been playing around inside OpenAI’s viral app, which just hit #1 in the iOS Store. See all of Lon’s creations, explore the land beyond the Uncanny Valley, and find out why the hottest new social app could stand to be a bit mo…

Today’s show: Sora 2 will generate a video of whatever you like and respects no IP (unless they opt out) On a brand new TWiST, Jason and Alex check out Sora 2, the latest text-to-video app from TWiST 500 mainstays OpenAI, and look at some of the video videos that have already emerged from the TikTok-style scrolling video app. (TikSlop?) THEN we’re …

Today’s show: How do you get investors excited about jets when they’re hyper-focused on new AI tools? In a fresh TWiST 500 interview, Alex sits down with Blake Scholl of Boom Supersonic to talk about the Overture, the world’s fastest plane that recently broke the sound barrier over the Mojave Desert. (That’s a first for a private company, rather th…

Today’s show: Friend’s new AI pendant just wants to be your new pal. So why do New Yorkers hate them? On a brand-new TWiST, Jason and Alex consider the Friend AI pendant, which listens to everything you say all day and then sends you snarky texts about it. WIRED says it’s unhelpful and will make your friends hate you. New Yorkers are so sick of the…

Today’s show: Factory, a Sequoia-backed producer of AI agents for programming, raised $50 million at a $300 million valuation. So Jason and Alex are wondering… how much capital is TOO MUCH? We’re going deep on a question that often perplexes founders: How would weigh a HUGE potential market against STIFF pre-existing competition. PLUS that Neon app…

Today’s show: What is “workslop”? And is it already slowing you down at the office? On a new This Week in Startups, we’ve got full co-host quorum with JCal, Alex, AND Lon tackling a meaty docket of news at the cross-section of tech, startups, and pop culture. For starters: A new Harvard/Stanford study suggests that AI isn’t massively improving work…

Today’s show: New proposal on H-1B visas… and it’s pretty similar to Jason’s pitch from last month! On a new TWiST, Jason and Lon wonder if the White House is watching the pod and borrowing some of our best ideas! Specifically, the new $100K H-1B visa proposal sounds a lot like Jason’s suggestion from August… with a few significant tweaks. PLUS we’…

Today’s show: On an action-packed TWiST, Alex and Jason check out Meta’s latest wearables, which promise to fix the “constantly staring down at your phone” problem and prevent you from blocking that little light letting others know you’re filming them. Think the upgrade is worth $799 of your hard-earned money? PLUS, Lovable CEO Anton Osika stops by…

Today’s show: Jason sits down with Wilson Sonsini partner Chris Paniewski for part two of our Startup Legal Basics series on AI law — this time tackling the question every founder is asking: who owns the output of AI systems? Chris has advised on some of the biggest AI deals in history, and in this episode he helps break down how intellectual prope…

Today’s show: Hear why Eric Jackson thinks Opendoor is the new Carvana, and how he’s planning to bring Drake on board as an investor (plus Jason’s Bestie Chamath). On a brand-new TWiST, Jason and Alex are chatting with Jackson of EMJ Capital about his hunt for elusive 100 baggers (stocks that return 100-to-1). PLUS we’re chatting with Weave Robotic…

Today’s show: On a special edition of TWiST, Alex presents a trio of TWiST 500 interviews. First up, Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine on the company’s new Really Simple Licensing (or RSL) initiative, and how it’s helping to compensate writers for their content. THEN, Human Native CEO Dr. James Smith joins for an even deeper dive on AI licensing, why a w…

Today’s show: There are new LAUNCH Accelerator and Founder U cohorts this week, and Jason’s running down some of his favorite new startups. PLUS Alphabet is the latest member of the $3T club, why Eric Schmidt was SO RIGHT about remote work, Robinhood is opening up private companies to more investors, Polymarket adds earnings reports, how Jason wage…

Today’s show: On Friday’s TWiST, Jason, Alex, and Lon look back at some highlights from this week’s big All-In Summit in Los Angeles, including a fiery, no holds barred presentation from Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Elon Musk delving into the key challenges facing Optimus, and Tucker Carlson debating Mark Cuban on Ukraine. PLUS… why schools may start bl…

Jason sits down with Wilson Sonsini partner Chris Paniewski for a special Startup Legal Basics on one of the thorniest questions in tech right now: how copyright law applies to AI training data. Chris has worked on some of the biggest AI deals ever — including Scale AI’s $14B+ partnership with Meta and OpenAI’s $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive’s desig…

Today’s show: In this founder-focused episode of This Week in Startups, we sit down with Republic’s Kendrick Nguyen to learn more about the company’s efforts to make the private markets accessible to the common investor. Best known for its work in equity crowdfunding, the Valor-backed startup now offers access to secondary shares, tokenized assets,…

Today’s show: In this TWiST founder triple-shot, Alex digs into the real-world rollout of AI agents: Paid.ai’s Manny Medina explains agent economics and value-based pricing, iTruckr’s Camilo Ramirez shows agents booking loads and coordinating drivers, and Tenax’s Elise Myrans demos computer vision + drones that score a single home’s wildfire/flood …

Today’s show: Jason heard Lina Khan on The Bulwark and got a little fired up. Plus Google doesn’t have to invest in Chrome… or basically do much of anything… Atlassian picked up not just any browser company but THE Browser Company… Follow-up thoughts on that MIT “companies aren’t using AI” study… AND Jason’s “two stock markets” theory. It’s a can’t…

Today’s show:Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw returns to Startup Legal Basics with Jason. This time, they dive into the “have” companies — the breakout startups with multiple term sheets, competitive valuations, and unusual deal terms. From founder voting proxies to mandatory follow-on investment clauses, Becki breaks down the creative “off-menu…

Today’s show: Jason and Alex are joined by Nuro’s Dave Ferguson to unpack the Lucid–Uber–Nuro deal aiming to launch fully driverless Gravity SUVs on Uber by 2026. They dig into why off-the-shelf sensors and Nvidia’s Thor chip drive costs down, how mapping 150 cities improves safety, and why lidar still matters for night and edge cases. Plus: lesson…

Today’s show: Find out why it’s important to “get curious,” and more deep founder insights on a new TWiST. Jason and Alex are back with a look at Robot vs. Human violence spilling out into the streets, Elon Musk’s vision for humanoid robots, and a reconsideration of Apple’s open-source AI models. Is the hardware giant not getting enough credit for …

Today’s show: *“KPop Demon Hunters” is one of the year’s biggest smashes… AFTER Sony sold it off to Netflix for cheap! Hear about what went wrong with one of the year’s worst deals… PLUS Grok is counting on SPEED to help it outpace rivals… How Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) ran into trouble on the podcast circuit… Nvidia’s big earnings report, and why …

Today’s show:Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw returns to Startup Legal Basics with Jason to break down what’s happening in today’s startup market. From excess dry powder on the VC side to companies struggling to “grow into” their valuations, Becki shares what founders need to know about deal terms, pay-to-play provisions, and the shift from the …

Today’s show: On a brand-new TWiST, Jason and Alex are asking why there are SO MANY note-taking AI apps? Plus another death has been linked to ChatGPT… is it too easy to get past chatbot guardrails? Why Donald Trump Jr. is joining Polymarket…. How the US Navy could catch up with its international rivals… AND should Apple just buy a big AI company t…

Today’s show: On an upbeat and optimistic new TWiST, Jason and Alex are debating why any new innovation or technology gets hit with a wave of bitter cynicism. PLUS Jason defends the government taking shares of Intel, explains the importance of interoperability, and predicts how AirBnB’s Joe Gebbia will upgrade the US government’s website design. Al…

Today’s show: Terra’s collapse, Powell’s pivot, and OpenAI’s explosive growth all collide in this TWiST deep dive. Do Kwon has pled guilty after Terra/Luna’s $60B implosion, Fed Chair Powell hints at a September rate cut, and OpenAI has officially crossed $1B in monthly revenue (on a $12B run rate). Jason and Alex unpack what this means for founder…

Today’s show: In this TWiST 500 double feature, Alex sits down with two breakout founders: Chalk’s Marc Freed-Finnegan & Tollbit’s Toshit Panigrahi! First, Chalk’s CEO Marc Freed-Finnegan is tackling one of AI’s biggest bottlenecks—data freshness. Instead of relying on stale batch jobs, Chalk delivers real-time pipelines for inference compute, auto…

In this AI Basics episode, Jason sits down with Matt Rouif, Co-founder & CEO of Photoroom — the AI photo editing app with 300M+ downloads and 5B images processed annually. They break down: Why Photoroom built its own specialized AI models How they grew from a scrappy startup to $50M+ in revenue Lessons in product-led growth (from eBay sellers to Do…

Today’s show: We’re back with two insightful new TWiST founder interviews. First up: Dean Leitersdorf of Decart tells us about squeezing maximum productivity out of your GPUs. But it’s not all talk: he also shows us the incredible open world model that can magically transform live footage. THEN! Jason and Alex chat with Syncere AI founder Aaron Tan…