This Week in Startups

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.ai
Plaud Pin: https://www.plaud.ai
Athena Executive Assistants: https://www.athenawow.com
WHOOP: https://www.whoop.com
"Future Shock" by Alvin Toffler: https://www.amazon.com/Future-ShockAlvin-Toffler/dp/0394425863
Victor on TWiST, E1776: https://youtu.be/jxET4fq_2eA
Nick 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/twist
Northwest Registered Agent- https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
Every.io - https://Every.io
Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twist
Today’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 Intro
1:09 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 target
9:00 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.io
14:40 Quinnipiac poll: Americans use more AI but trust it less
17:31 AI's PR crisis: Dario vs. Jensen, and who's communicating well
18:02 Jason's "Invest America" proposal: give workers equity stakes
19:55 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/twist
21:39 Larsen: Silicon Valley is walking into the same trap as China offshoring
29:04 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/twist
29:50 Polymarket: 24% chance of a federal AI data center moratorium
33:57 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 boats
1:25:07 Anthropic vs. OpenAI: where would you put your entire net worth?
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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Quo - https://quo.com/TWiST
LinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twist
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Today’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 hire

Stop Googling fixes; just ask your agent how to use it

Put your agents on fixed schedules

Add shared memory so you don’t have to repeat yourself

Let 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=20
Follow Mike: https://x.com/mihalich1988
MoltWorld: https://moltworld.io/
Follow Haakam: https://x.com/haakamaujla
AgentMail: https://www.agentmail.to/
Jason’s post about talking to journalists: https://x.com/Jason/status/2037573025458016659
NYT responds: https://x.com/NYTimesPR/status/2037648223771263082
Translated Japanese tweets: https://x.com/melonneet40/status/2038020624015315289, https://x.com/rambling_28/status/2038041455999246422
Japanese people singing “Country Roads”: https://x.com/harukaawake/status/2038081269830222259
Trailer for “Nuremberg” (now on Netflix in the US): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvAy9C-bipY
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:24 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 showcase
6:15 Google AI PM Shubham Saboo's Top 5 OpenClaw tips
10:14 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 hire
17:31 Tip #2 — Talk to your agents constantly
19:02 Tip #3 — Put your agents on a schedule
19:51 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 memory
29:33 Tip #5 — Let your agents self-improve
29:51 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 journalists
38:24 How biased IS the New York Times?
47:02 DEMO: Co-founder Mike Nosov shows us MoltWorld
51:14 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 X
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Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp
Follow Lon:
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Follow Alex:
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Follow Jason:
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Check 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 McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Wispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twist
Circle - http://circle.so/twist
Deel - http://deel.com/twist

Today’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-scale
OpenOats on Github: https://github.com/yazinsai/OpenOats

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:59 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 abundance
24:35 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 Bitcoin
30:15 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-scale
47:16 Jason addresses his tao investment
48:48 Why brand is the moat for startups
49:47 When will a better, more exciting version of Bitcoin, can come along?
52:20 Yazin of OpenGranola Joins the show
53:36 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 agents
1:13:50 The economics of the new harry potter series and HBO/ Warner Brothers
1:23:33 Why Jason wants government surveillance on Disney adults…

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Follow Lon:
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Follow Alex:
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LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Check 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 McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Luma AI - https://lumalabs.ai/twist
Every.io -  https://every.io
Lemon.io - https://Lemon.io/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twist
Today’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 Intro
2:19 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 show
9:28 Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist
17:16 How Metanova tackles the multi-billion dollar cost of drug discovery
20:48 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io
30:20 Bitcast joins the show
31:23 Luma AI - Luma builds accessible, professional-grade AI tools for creatives. Try Luma Agents for free at https://lumalabs.ai/twist
32:30 Mining crypto with YouTube
36:48 Why Bitcast is focused on the crypto space to start
39:11 How healthy is the creator economy?
47:26 When will the AI bubble collapse?
53:44 Score joins the show
54:42 How Score will make vision AI more accessible
57:16 VLMs v. LLMs
1:01:14 Demo of the Manako platform
Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
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Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp
Follow Lon:
X: https://x.com/lons
Follow Alex:
X: https://x.com/alex
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Check 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 McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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