This Week in Startups

Vinny and Sunny join Jason for another AI roundtable to demo ChatGPT's web browsing capabilities (1:44), discuss AI's effect on productivity and the workforce (13:53), demo Opus Clip and ChatGPT's Zillow plugin (33:44), and more! (0:00) Vinny and Sunny join Jason (1:44) GPT-4 web browsing demo (9:10) Inside.com's AI strategy (12:22) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://lin...

AstroForge CEO Matthew Gialich joins Jason to discuss his startup's lofty goal of mining Platinum Group Metals from asteroids (1:11). They discuss the recent launch of their Brokkr-1 space vehicle, the company's road map to gather PGMs successfully from space, and SpaceX's impact on the space industry (5:42). Then, Founder University's Kelly Schricker gives a presentation on how to set up a fundra...

Airbnb CEO and Co-Founder Brian Chesky joins Jason to tell the story of Airbnb's early startup struggles (1:29) and discuss how the company has restructured operations to heighten focus on the product and its customers (16:05). They dive into addressing customer complaints, hyper-focused marketing, the AI opportunity for Airbnb, and much more (40:26). (0:00) Airbnb's Brain Chesky joins Jason (1:29...

First up, Jason breaks down Uber's huge Q1 results! (1:21) Then, Unlearn. AI CEO Charles Fisher joins to discuss the advancements his company is making in fast-tracking clinical trials (9:49), how machine learning is used in drug development (16:24), Unlearn's business model (35:24), and more! (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (1:21) Uber's Q1 earnings (8:31) QuickNode - Get one month free by using...

Jason is joined by Semafor Co-Founder and EIC Ben Smith to dive into his new book and explore the current state of media. They break down BuzzFeed vs Gawker, why media unions might not work (29:35), the future of journalism (36:54), and much more! (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (1:55) Semafor's Ben Smith joins Jason (4:27) Ben's career in media (6:19) The previous era of publishing (9:13) The sig...

Sunny and Vinny are back to break down ChatGPT's latest innovation: the Code Interpreter. They demonstrate its capabilities with two separate datasets on EVs in America and US Bank Failures (10:58) before discussing how platforms like ChatGPT will revolutionize organizational efficiency (31:19). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:06) ChatGPT's new code interpreter (9:24) OpenPhone - Start your fre...

TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to break down the big tech's Q1 earning reports (0:53). They discuss Google's culture of entitlement, Microsoft's AI momentum, Meta's year of efficiency, how Amazon may be in for a few quarters of pain, and Snap's double-digit drop (21:11). (0:00) Nick kicks off the show (0:53) TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason (1:23) Reflecting on SVB contagion (3:48) Fir...

Billy McFarland joins Jason to discuss the lessons he has learned from his Fyre Fest fraud, before discussing the festival's origin story and what led him to winding up in jail (1:36). This leads to an all-encompassing conversation about Billy's early days as an entrepreneur, his experience in prison, and if he is a changed man (13:46). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (1:36) Reflecting on Fyre Fes...

Vinny and Sunny join Jason to discuss the three phases of AI adoption and the emergence of new business models (1:55), which leads to a conversation about Grimes open-sourcing her AI-generated vocals before debating whether the government should regulate AI (24:57). They wrap with a conversation about AI's technical constraints, OpenAI's transparency issues, and the future of startups (39:31). (0:...

Jason starts the show by breaking down Spotify's latest earnings report before discussing pop star Grimes taking to Twitter to announce a new business model for her AI-generated music (1:44). Then, Cafe X CEO Henry Hu joins Jason to discuss their latest equity crowdfund and being resilient, surviving a downturn, and more (18:22). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (1:44) Spotify Earnings (8:25) Squar...

Tome CEO Keith Peiris joins Jason to demo Tome's AI-powered text-to-presentation platform (10:25). They discuss concerns about the pace of AI and the prevalence of 10x engineers (35:55), before Velocity Growth's Jen Bryan breaks down how to get started with paid ads (47:19). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:013) Tome CEO Keith Peiris joins Jason (5:27) Creating a pitch deck with Tome (8:48) Micr...

Jason recaps SpaceX's Starship rocket launch (2:06) and discusses BuzzFeed's 15% RIF and Fox News settling its Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit (9:11). He also covers Reddit's announcement to charge large AI companies for data and Tiger Global's $12.7B fund markdown (19:40). The show ends with another edition of Ask Jason (34:41). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:06) Recapping Jason's experience...

Jason hosts another pitch competition featuring two startups from our Founder University program! Apply for Founder University: https://course.founder.university⁠ (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (3:35) Jason and Presh describe who Founder University is for (8:35) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at ⁠https://vanta.com/twist (9:52) Alexandra Bellensweig pitches HumHum (22:15) Presh's thoughts on Hum...

Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela joins Jason to discuss their suite of generative AI video editing tools (3:03), Runway's AI Film Festival and the rapid evolution of filmmaking (22:21), Runway's ability to lower the barrier to entry for aspiring filmmakers (36:05), and more! (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (3:03) What is Runway? (6:39) Runway's text-to-video demo (11:08) Clumio - Start a free backu...

Rachel is back to help Jason break down the news! First, they cover Google reportedly "panicking" over Samsung potentially switching to Bing as its device-default search engine, how Google can beat OpenAI/Microsoft," and Project Magi" (1:43). Then, they discuss some recent AI-generated viral hits and what it means for the future of the music industry (21:48) before wrapping up on the possibility t...

Uizard CEO Tony Beltramelli joins Jason to demo Uizard's AI-powered UI designer (6:01) and discusses how he iterated on Uizard's product-market fit and the competition it faces (21:20). Then, Kelly Schricker from Founder University breaks down how to choose a CRM and how to build one yourself in Notion (42:54)! (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:21) CEO of Uizard, Tony Beltramelli, joins Jason (6:...

Hyfe CEO Joe Brew joins Jason to discuss quantifying cough to prevent the spread of disease. They break down how Hyfe's technology works (2:48), how his company diagnoses diseases via audio and qualifying health data (14:47), before Presh joins to demonstrate how to easily create business content for your startup with ChatGPT (40:16). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:48) How does Hyfe work? (9:0...

Vinny and Sunny join Jason to discuss AI's blistering pace and compare its development to other product launches (2:47). They also break down the anxiety artists and developers feel from AI automation (14:47), the rise of AutoGPTs, Twitter's reported LLM project, and more (37:01). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:47) The blistering pace of AI (9:44) Developer builds Flappy Bird in 1-hour (11:24)...

Copy.ai Founder Paul Yacoubian joins Jason to break down the evolution and progress that OpenAI has made with its GPT LLMs (2:38) before discussing the radical shifts that AI will cause across most industries (20:46). They end the show with a demo of Copy.ai and the legal issues surrounding training datasets (48:54). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:38) The evolution of GPT-2 to GPT-3 (8:16) Mer...

Jason breaks down an AI experiment conducted by Google and Stanford researchers, where they created a simulated Sims-like video game with characters driven by AI (2:27). Then, he discusses Bloomberg announcing its own financially-focused LLM and what it means for analysts (21:58). He wraps with two quick hits about San Francisco's dire commercial real estate situation and the collapse of an instan...

The man behind the anonymous accounts "prayingforexits" on Instagram and "@mrexits" on Twitter joins Jason for a jam-packed episode. Topics covered: what founders can learn from Logan Roy (2:29), what recent ZIRP fraudsters have in common (21:39), where GPT-4 ranks in terms of revolutionary product launches (31:28), AI's impact moving forward, the state of VC (1:02:29), and so much more! (0:00) Ja...

Jason breaks down the valuation tension surrounding YC demo days (2:36), how to get better prices on YC-equivalent startups (8:59), Garry Tan's response to complaints (15:18), and more! Then, Jason reacts to a law firm's leaked expectations list that went viral (29:29) before wrapping with some thoughts about Substack (41:59). (0:00) Jason tees up Friday's topics! (2:36) Understanding the valuatio...

Satya Patel joins Jason to discuss the economics of being a self-funded GP and the structure of their fund (6:51). Then, they have an all-encompassing discussion about the challenges of running Google today, the state of VC, and much more (15:44). Before wrapping, they discuss their investing frameworks and when and when they will not break them (43:29). (0:00) Nick kicks off the show (1:21) Satya...

Jason hosts another pitch competition featuring three startups from our Founder University program! Apply for Founder University: https://course.founder.university (0:00) Nick kicks off the show (1:07) Introducing Founder University (7:14) Pitch 01: Xinyue Ma of Sticker (11:56) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (13:00) Jason's feedback for Sticker (15:07) Pitch 02: Joseph...

First up, Jason touches on Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund disclosing which VC firms it has made LP investments in (2:48), which leads to him pondering the human rights issues and if founders care where their money comes from (18:52). Jason caps off the show by breaking down the SEC's charges against Frank founder Charlie Javice for allegedly closing a $175M acquisition based on over 4M fake...