This Week in Startups

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. LinkedIn Jobs. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Notion. Notion combines your notes, docs, and projects into one beautifully designed space with AI built right in. Try it for free today at https://notion.com/twist * Todays show: In today’s episode, Jason and Alex explored the curious return of Enron, the latest developments in Bitcoin and MicroStrategy, and the evolving cryptocurrency landscape. They closed with an analysis of China's uneven investment climate and its effects on venture capital activity. * Timestamps: (0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show (2:30) Hunter Biden's pardon and implications for presidential power (7:51) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (9:31) Enron's return and potential crypto play (14:47) Crypto regulation changes under the new administration (24:43) Investment strategies in Bitcoin and the impact of hiring decisions (26:51) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist (28:25) Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy's strategy on Bitcoin (37:31) Notion - Try it for free today at https://notion.com/twist (39:22) Diversification in investments and Michael Saylor's promotional tactics (43:28) NFTs vs. traditional investments (46:47) Sequoia's global deals search (55:11) Consumer confidence, US and China economies, and debt discussion (1:02:09) Nearshoring trend, credit card delinquencies, and potential bankruptcies (1:06:02) Bernie Sanders' stance on defense spending and populism (1:08:02) Dogecoin leaderboard (1:17:07) Bitcoin predictions and Bitcoin valuation * Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com * Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * 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 * Thank you to our partners: (7:51) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (26:51) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist (37:31) Notion - Try it for free today at https://notion.com/twist * 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 * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

Todays show: Jason and Alex welcomed Alex Kendall to the show. He's the founder and CEO of Wayve, an AI company working on self-driving. You might recall that Wayve raised $1 billion earlier this year, but TWIST wanted to know how the company intends to commercialize -- and how soon. From there, it was back to the bitcoin mines. Figuratively, as the hosts dug into MicroStrategies' bitcoin buying bet. Precisely why it is trading at such a NAV premium remains occluded to the show, but we did chase down its debt terms. Next week: More TWiST500! * Timestamps: (0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show (2:32) Introduction of guest Alex Kendall Co-Founder & CEO of Wayve (3:00) Alex Kendall on Wayve's autonomous driving approach and AI technology (8:29) LiDAR vs. camera-first solutions debate (10:19) Cloud Devs - Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talent today. (12:23) Economic viability and strategy of autonomous vehicles (17:49) Timeline for Wave's technology deployment and future market scenarios (19:58) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist (22:34) Autonomy subscription models and AI driving behavior challenges (30:01) Kyte - Download the Kyte app today and use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental. (33:00) AI driving culture and Twist 500 update (37:05) MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy and market concerns (41:33) Bitcoin convertible debt analysis (49:03) Deciphering complex business models and historical examples (51:24) Evaluating new financial terms and investor advice (52:29) Final thoughts and invitation to Michael Saylor * Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Mentioned on the show: Check out Wayve: https://wayve.ai/ Check out MicroStrategy: https://www.microstrategy.com/ TWiST Episode #1251 with Do Kwon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZL8iPKsHQ * Follow Alex Kendall: X: https://x.com/alexgkendall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgkendall/ * 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 * Thank you to our partners: (10:19) Cloud Devs - Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talent today. (19:58) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist (30:01) Kyte - Download the Kyte app today and use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental. * 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 * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ DevSquad. Most dev agencies only offer developers. Why? Because product management is hard. Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at https://devsquad.com/twist * Todays show: Jason and Alex are joined by Dune's CEO to discuss wealth taxes and their impact on startups, highlighting the need for nations to support digital innovation. Then, they dive into MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy, OpenAI's browser plans, and the 2025 IPO class, including excitement for CoreWeave's debut! * Timestamps: (0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show (6:07) Impact of taxes on startup formation and Norway's economic background (10:17) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (11:53) Norway's wealth tax implications and policy changes (18:09) Exodus of top taxpayers and the paradox of Norway's wealth tax (20:14) Wall of shame for tax critics (27:41) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ (28:41) Dune Analytics' revenue growth and new index product launch (36:47) DevSquad - Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at https://devsquad.com/twist (38:15) Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy's Bitcoin investment strategy (49:01) Market irrationality and risks associated with Bitcoin investments (55:01) Crypto wealth diversification and new investment structures (1:02:20) OpenAI's new browser project and its impact on search (1:05:51) Increasing reliance on browsers and Bluesky's potential (1:15:37) CoreWeave's IPO and the future of GPU clouds (1:18:22) Bitcoin market dynamics and predictions * Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com * Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Mentioned on the show: https://www.microstrategy.com/press/microstrategy-announces-third-quarter-2024-financial-results-and-announces-42-billion-capital-plan_10-30-2024 https://x.com/ASvanevik/status/1857568015929455050/photo/1 https://bsky.jazco.dev/stats https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2550877 http://launch3.squarespace.com/blog/l019-bitcoin-p2p-currency-the-most-dangerous-project-weve-ev.html;jsessionid=EE99D323A0E532A507C8E2CD1EF05BAF.v5-web008 * Follow Fredrik: X: https://x.com/hagaetc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredrikhaga Check out Dune: https://dune.com * 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 * Thank you to our partners: (10:17) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (27:41) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ (36:47) DevSquad - Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at https://devsquad.com/twist * 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 * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… LinkedIn Ads. To redeem a $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups Zendesk. A service-first CRM company with support, sales, and customer engagement products designed to improve customer relationships. Qualifying startups can join the Zendesk for Startups Program and get six free months of Zendesk products. Visit https://zendesk.com/startups today to get started. Beehiiv. Power your newsletters with AI tools, referral programs, and ad network features—all in one platform. Get 30 days free and 20% off your first 3 months at https://www.beehiiv.com/twist * Todays show: Alex is joined by Joff Redfern and Derek Xiao of Menlo Ventures to discuss the significant role AI plays in modern workflows. We look behind the numbers of their recent report: “2024: The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise” while exploring AI spending trends in enterprises, with a focus on its impact on the healthcare and legal sectors. The conversation highlights popular AI use cases, the role of large language models in content creation, and workflow automation. We delve into advances in generative AI applications, enterprise spending, strategies for AI startups, training AI for market verticals, and the future of artificial general intelligence. * Timestamps: (0:00) Joff Redfern and Derek Xiao join Alex (4:08) Yahoo's evolution and Anthropic's recent funding (6:23) AI spending trends in enterprises (10:14) LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (12:20) AI's impact on healthcare and legal sectors and its rapid adoption (19:25) Popular AI use cases in enterprises (20:56) Zendesk - Get six months free at https://www.zendesk.com/startups (23:17) The role of LLMs in content creation and workflow automation (27:04) Advances in generative AI applications and agentic systems (30:43) Beehiiv - Get 30 days free and 20% off your first 3 months at https://www.beehiiv.com/twist (32:14) Enterprise generative AI spend, ROI, and budget expansion (38:45) Selecting generative AI tools and AI-first startup opportunities (47:43) Competition and strategies for AI startups (50:10) Training AI for market verticals and the future of AGI (53:03) Recap of enterprise AI spend and trends * Want to host or join the next Founder Fridays? Check out https://www.founderfridays.tech Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Links from the show: Check out Menlo Ventures: https://menlovc.com/ Menlo’s report “2024: The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise”: https://menlovc.com/2024-the-state-of-generative-ai-in-the-enterprise/ * Follow Joff: X: https://x.com/mejoff LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mejoff/ * Follow Derek: X: https://x.com/derekgxiao LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekgxiao/ * Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm * Thank you to our partners: (10:14) LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (20:56) Zendesk - Get six months free at https://www.zendesk.com/startups (30:43) Beehiiv - Get 30 days free and 20% off your first 3 months at https://www.beehiiv.com/twist * 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 * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916