The week's news · new episode 24 Oct 2026
This Week in Startups
Hosted by Jason Calacanis
Startup and venture news, with founders and investors as guests.
Follow on Apple PodcastsThe regulars
Investors named as guests in the most episode titles on This Week in Startups.
Every episode 1,493 · page 1 of 50
- 1493OpenAI’s $1.25T Raise, Starlink Mobile & Zuck’s Tax Deal | EP 235424 Oct 2026 · 1h 33m▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Plaud - https://plaud.ai/twist Sentry - https://sentry.io/twist Lightfield - https://lightfield.app Rippling - https://rippling.ai/twist Today’s show: Is OpenAI finally priced correctly? Jason argues that the reported $30 billion raise at a $1.25 trillion valuation is finally…
- 1492We asked 3 VCs: would you invest in Elizabeth Holmes’ next startup? | E235322 Oct 2026 · 1h 41mElizabeth HolmesJason CalacanisSlow VenturesSam Lessin▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: DigitalOcean - Head to https://do.co/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today, and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50% Odoo: The all-in-one business platform. Your first app is free! Get started today at https://odoo.com/twist Thanks to our…
- 1491Anthropic Gives Away 5% of Its Shares, Clone’s Muscle Robot, ElevenLabs Steals Podcaster's Voice20 Oct 2026 · 1h 34mElizabeth Holmes▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/twist Rippling: https://rippling.ai/twist Today’s show: Jason can’t stop praising Nathan Fielder’s new A24 hybrid documentary about…
- 1490Flying Cars, OpenAI Spies, Why AI Isn’t Sticking (Superhuman CEO)17 Oct 2026 · 1h 33mShishir Mehrotra▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Lightfield: https://lightfield.app Every.io: https://every.io/ PayPal: https://paypal.com/business Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist GoDaddy: https://www.godaddy.com/ Today’s show: Today’s college grads are showing up to work at Jason’s company unable to write three sentences.…
- 1489The Ex-DeepMind Researcher Taking On China’s Open Source AI14 Oct 2026 · 1h 0m▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Paper: https://getpaper.ai/twist Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/ Odoo: https://Odoo.com/twist Today’s show: Misha Laskin of Reflection AI joins Jason to explain why big companies are done renting their AI from closed labs. Enterprises want to keep their data, cut their…
- 1488The Gadget That's Better in Crowds Than Your Phone + Ring’s Founder Before Amazon Bought It | E234912 Oct 2026 · 1h 20m▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain NetSuite: https://netsuite.ai/twist The Conservation Fund: https://conservationfund.org Today’s show: At packed concerts, festivals, and stadiums, your phone gets…
- 1487Jason Reacts To Japanese Founder Pitches + Fireside Chat With Yuki Shirato10 Oct 2026 · 1h 25mTechstars▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Lightfield: https://lightfield.app Rippling: https://Rippling.ai/twist Upwork: https://upwork.com Today’s show: AssetHub built an AI agent that recreates licensed characters in 3D while respecting copyright rules... But Jason says he needs to think BIGGER. 11 founders pitched…
- 1486What VCs Really Think About Personal AI Agents | E23478 Oct 2026 · 1h 19mBetter Tomorrow VenturesKhosla VenturesMenlo Ventures▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Quo: https://www.quo.com/perks/twist Today’s show: A personal AI agent that’s still invite-only just hit a $10 billion valuation. Guest…
- 1485Jason Mentors The Next Generation + Why AI Is Bad at Teaching (Aristotle Interview) | E23465 Oct 2026 · 1h 11mShan Reddy▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/twist DigitalOcean: https://do.co/twist Sentry: https://sentry.io/twist Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Today’s show: The smarter AI gets, the more it just does the work for you, and the less helpful it becomes as a tutor. Shan Reddy of Aristotle…
- 1484Inside The Startup Building Uncensored AI (Abliteration AI) | EP 23453 Oct 2026 · 53 min▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Every.io: https://every.io/ Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Today’s show: What can AI do with the guardrails OFF? Devon Thomas of Abliteration.ai thinks defenders…
- 1483Justin Kan & Brian Chesky: The Rejections That Built Twitch and Airbnb | E23441 Oct 2026 · 1h 18mBrian CheskyJustin KanGoogle▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist CLA: https://www.claconnect.com/withyou Sentry: https://sentry.io/twist Lightfield: https://lightfield.app Today’s show: Google once interviewed the entire Justin.tv (now Twitch) team and then walked away from an acquisition deal, saying they…
- 1482Jason’s Put a $5K Bounty on His Dream Chrome Extension | E233828 Sept 2026 · 41 min▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Every.io: https://every.io/ Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Sentry: https://sentry.io/twist Today’s show: A product that would have cost $500,000 to build in 2006 now costs less than a used car. Jason put up $5,000 on an idea…
- 1481The 5 Companies Apple Must Buy28 Sept 2026 · 50 minTim Cook▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: PayPal: https://paypal.com/business Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Odoo: https://Odoo.com/twist Today’s show: Wall Street suspects new Apple CEO John Ternus may do something predecessor Tim Cook almost never did: writing a…
- 1480A rogue OpenAI agent hacked Australia’s government. Does this matter? | E234225 Sept 2026 · 1h 26mFirst Round CapitalGoogleY Combinator▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Lightfield: https://lightfield.app Paper: https://getpaper.ai/twist The Conservation Fund: https://conservationfund.org/ Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Athena: https://www.athena.com/jcal Today’s show: An OpenAI agent breached Australia's Medicare statistics portal in June,…
- 1479VCs Would Bet on Open-Source AI Over OpenAI and Anthropic | E234123 Sept 2026 · 1h 27mEverywhere VenturesJeff ClavierPractical Venture Capital▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Rippling: https://rippling.ai/twist Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Harmonic: https://harmonic.ai/twist Today’s show: Anthropic and OpenAI released cheaper models on…
- 1478Elon's New Hyperloop, Trump's AI Rename, and a Model That Won't Talk | E234021 Sept 2026 · 1h 10mElon Musk▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/twist DigitalOcean: https://do.co/twist Lightfield: https://lightfield.app Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Today’s show: Elon revives the Hyperloop, promising a 30-minute commute between Austin and San Antonio. It's the kind of project that could…
- 1477Hugging Face Co-Founder on Open-Source, Microduck, and NVIDIA | E233918 Sept 2026 · 1h 34mThomas Wolf▶
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/ Paypal: https://paypal.com/business Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Harmonic: https://harmonic.ai/twist Today’s show: Hugging Face built a $399 open-source robot duck as a side quest, and sold 16,000 units off a…
- 147690% of AI prototypes never reach production (w/ Temporal's Samar Abbas) | AI Basics15 Sept 2026 · 19 minGoogle▶Show page
About this episode
The TWiST AI Basics series is made possible by Google for Startups! Build context-aware AI workflows using DeepMind models and orchestration tools with Google for Startups' new Startup technical guide on generative media. Get the guide here: https://goo.gle/technical_guide Today's show: The demo works, the vibes…
- 1475Ask Jason: AI Extinction, Grok's Rogue Meme Coin & Weed Farms as Data Centers | E233714 Sept 2026 · 1h 11m▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Quo: http://quo.com/TWiST The Conservation Fund: https://conservationfund.org CLA: https://www.claconnect.com/withyou Today's show: A 27-year-old Anthropic researcher quit last week warning that AI could cause human extinction, and by Friday, a caller's 76-year-old mother was…
- 1474The Pentagon Wants Equity in AI Startups | E233611 Sept 2026 · 1h 13m▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: DigitalOcean: https://do.co/twist Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Upwork: https://upwork.com Today's show: The Pentagon is reportedly in talks to lend AI cloud startup Fluidstack $5. billion, and Jason thinks the real story isn't the loan itself. It's the US government owning…
- 1473Becki DeGraw on founder vesting, advisor equity & the 4-term-sheet play10 Sept 2026 · 23 minGoogleSequoia CapitalWilson Sonsini▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.com/en/ Today's show: One of YouTube's three co-founders left for grad school and walked away with a fraction of what his partners made on the Google sale. Becki DeGraw of Wilson Sonsini joins Jason for Startup Legal Basics to explain the…
- 1472Did OpenAI Steal the Navier-Stokes Solution? | E23359 Sept 2026 · 1h 21mBen LererLerer HippeauRebecca Lynn▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain NetSuite: https://www.netsuite.ai/twist Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/twist Plaud: https://plaud.ai/twist Today's show: An Anthropic researcher quit this week, saying both leading labs are…
- 1471Dr. Mark Hyman on Function Health & GLP-1 microdosing | E23344 Sept 2026 · 58 min▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Rippling: https://rippling.ai/twist Today's show: Your doctor almost certainly isn't testing your insulin. Dr. Mark Hyman sits down with Jason to explain the broken…
- 1470Becki DeGraw on spinouts, IP licensing & clean exits | Wilson Sonsini Startup Legal Basics3 Sept 2026 · 18 minWilson SonsiniWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Wilson Sonsini Today's show: Spinouts are everywhere right now, and most founders get the cap table wrong. Jason sits down with Becki DeGraw, partner at Wilson Sonsini, to break down how to do it right, starting with his 80/20 rule for splitting the new cap table and why…
- 1469VC experts on why Physical AI funding is heating up | E23332 Sept 2026 · 1h 20mGenius VenturesSeven Seven SixKatelin Holloway▶Show page
About this episode
VC experts on why Physical AI funding is heating up | E2333 This Week In Startups is made possible by: partner 1 - link partner 2 - link partner 3 - link Today's show: Are we one step closer to data centers in space? Katelin Holloway of Seven Seven Six and Paige Doherty of Behind Genius Ventures break it down what it…
- 1468Are AI Agents forming "civilizations" or is this just a psy op? | 233231 Aug 2026 · 1h 7mJohn Yu▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Northwest Registered Agent: https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain CLA: https://www.claconnect.com/withyou Rippling: https://rippling.ai/twist Today's show: Hugging Face's $399 Microduck and the art of companies taking on side quests. Then, we get into Dwarkesh…
- 1467Breaking down Nvidia's Hugging Face and Poolside bets | E233128 Aug 2026 · 1h 48mCraig Piggott▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: DigitalOcean: https://do.co/twist Every.io: https://every.io PayPal: https://paypal.com/business Today's show: *Nvidia agreed to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, just days after quietly licensing Poolside's coding model for $6 billion+. On TWiST, Jason lays out why this is…
- 1466Bill Gates foresees massive AI job loss: these VCs disagree | E233026 Aug 2026 · 1h 31mBill GatesBetter Tomorrow VenturesHoxton Ventures▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Lightfield: https://lightfield.app Northwest Registered Agent: https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain Rippling: https://Rippling.ai/twist Today's show: *Bill Gates dropped a 6,000 word warning: AI will be "the greatest equalizer ever invented, or the worst sort…
- 1465You Can't Fire a VC From Your Board: Here's Why | Wilson Sonsini Startup Legal Basics25 Aug 2026 · 25 minWilson Sonsini▶Show page
About this episode
Today's show: Can a founder actually fire a board member? Short answer: almost never. And the reason why may surprise a lot of founders. On this edition of Legal Basics, Wilson Sonsini partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason for a deep dive into who really controls your board, when investors start earning seats, and the…
- 1464China wants you to cheer for the robots taking your job | E232925 Aug 2026 · 1h 20mWarner Bros▶Show page
About this episode
This Week In Startups is made possible by: Odoo: https://odoo.com/twist Quo: https://quo.com/TWiST Conservation Fund: https://conservationfund.org/ how old a movie has to be for me to be able to show a part of it on youtube Generally 10 seconds or less of a film clip can fall under fair use for commentary or criticism…
Who the show talks about
Firms named in its episodes, and people named in descriptions: talked about, rather than on the show.
