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This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis
This Week in Startups
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1390 episodes

  • This Week in Startups

    The Global Expansion of Self-Driving Vehicles

    11/03/2026 | 1h 9 mins.
    This Week In Startups is made possible by:

    Circle - http://circle.so/twist

    Sentry - http://Sentry.io

    Deel - http://deel.com/twist

    Plaud - http://Plaud.ai/twist

    Today’s show:

    It’s self-driving time! We’re going deep on one of the most exciting spaces developing in the world, autonomous vehicles! We’ve got 3 experts on the show to talk to us enlighten us, Ben Seidl of Autolane, Ming Maa of Moove, and Nathan Parker of EdgeCase.

    What’s going on in the world of self-driving? How has the reliability of autonomous vehicles improved? What challenges are we still facing in the industry? Will the US reign victorious, or is China sneaking up? Let’s find out on TWiST!

    Timestamps:

    00:00 intro

    02:21 Uber teams up with Zoox!

    03:02 Does EdgeCase work with Zoox?

    03:03 Operational design domains

    06:47 The challenges of bringing self-driving to new environments.

    00:10:53 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 http://circle.so/twist.

    00:13:26 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!

    00:17:19 How has reliability of autonomous cars improved?

    00:19:18 How Ben Seidl came up with the idea for Autolane!

    00:21:08 Sentry: New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST

    00:27:47 How Moove helps autonmous vehicles go to market!

    00:30:49 Deel: Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.

    00:33:28 The logisitcs of managing fleets.

    00:37:08 Why is it called Autolane and not multi-modal lane?

    00:40:50 Does EdgeCase work with smaller self-driving vehicles as well?

    00:41:52 How autonomous systems will interact with one-another!

    00:43:14 Why AV’s should not talk to other AV’s on the road

    00:45:07 The state of the self-driving market

    00:49:12 Why Tesla isn’t involving themselves in California

    00:50:34 Why the US is leading the way with regulatory clarity in autonomous vehicles

    01:02:51 Ben Seidl says federal regulation is a necessity

    01:05:20 What is holding back self-driving growth in the US?

    01:06:26 What companies make the most money in self driving
    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 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

    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
  • This Week in Startups

    How agents will change banking forever | E2260

    10/03/2026 | 1h
    This Week In Startups is made possible by:
    Northwest Registered Agent - ⁠⁠northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠⁠
    Quo - ⁠⁠quo.com/TWiST⁠⁠
    Gusto - ⁠⁠Gusto.com/twist⁠⁠
    Plaud - http://Plaud.ai/twist
    Athena - https://www.athena.com/jcal

    Today’s show:
    How long until AI models can improve AI models? Once possible, recursive self-improvement by AI technology could accelerate — forever. Thus far, humans (and their coding agents) are still driving AI progress. But a recent project by AI developer extraordinare Andrej Karpathy, called ‘autoresearcher’, is turning heads as it shows that it is possible — in certain contexts — to allow AI agents to run successive coding experiments to improve specific elements of LLM performance. Call it an early demonstration of the future.
    OpenClaw is exploding in China, while here in the United States, AI is polling somewhere underneath the basement. AI in the United States is about as popular as ICE, which could create a political issue for the technology in the coming elections.
    Next? Three demos. First, NetXD’s Suresh Ramamurthi showed off how he has built OpenClaw functionality to move money, Rohan Arun showed off PhoneClaw automation on Android devices from an AR headset, and Eugene Stuckless gave us a taste of what Eir is building. Our takeaway? OpenClaw is still boring its way into our digital lives, one new skill or tool at a time!
    GUESTS:
    Suresh Ramamurthi: ⁠⁠https://x.com/sureshr7⁠⁠
    Rohan Arun: ⁠⁠https://x.com/Viewforge/⁠⁠
    Eugene Stuckless: ⁠⁠https://x.com/eugene_eir_inc⁠⁠

    Timestamps:
    0:00 — ‘Autoresearcher’ and the future of AI improvements
    6:52 — Why people around the world are flocking to OpenClaw
    7:57 — Plaud - If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!
    9:46 — Gusto - Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small business and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at Gusto.com/twist.
    12:57 — The changing American social contract
    20:15 — Quo - 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 quo.com/TWIST
    23:50 — Why China is all-in on AI (and Europe isn’t)
    26:26 — How to keep your job in the AI era
    28:05 — 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 www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
    29:38 — Athena - Get $2,000 off your first EA at https://www.athena.com/jcal
    34:42 — Demo: Suresh Ramamurthi of NetXD
    42:47 — Demo: Rohan Arun of PhoneClaw
    47:35 — Why bringing OpenClaw to your smartphone is what’s next
    49:49 — Demo: Eugene Stuckless of Eir
    56:45 — How can we make smarter, more efficient agents?

    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 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

    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
  • This Week in Startups

    Wisdom of the $TAO: the future is decentralized AI

    06/03/2026 | 1h 8 mins.
    This Week In Startups is made possible by:
    Every Banking - https://Every.io
    https://Lemon.io - Lemon.io/twist
    Wispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twist
    Plaud - https://plaud.ai/twistRo.co - https://Ro.co/Twist

    Today’s show:
    *Sure, we all love open source models, but what about completely decentralized AI? Rather than leaving the big decision-making in the hands of a few elite CEOs, shouldn’t users have a say — and potentially even a stake — in how this incredible technology develops?
    On TWiST, we welcome Ala Shaabana of Crucible Labs, one of the co-founders of Bittensor. It’s an open-source protocol powering a blockchain-based machine learning network. What does that mean? Users mine a crypto token — $TAO — but rather than using up their compute on solving extremely long equations, they devote it to actually powering a range of innovative AI apps (aka subnets).
    Plus we’ve got Mark Jeffrey, co-founder of the Bittensor Fund Stillcore Capital, to show us some of his favorite subnet projects, and walk us through how he trained his AI agent to mine crpyto.
    All that AND two amazing new OpenClaw demos.
    Mark Jeffrey: https://x.com/markjeffrey
    Stillcore Capital: https://stillcorecapital.com/
    Ala Shaabana (Crucible Labs): https://x.com/CrucibleLabs
    Michael Ryaboy (Setup Claw): https://setupclaw.com/
    Pete and Maddie Reese (Bizzby AI): https://bizzby.ai/
    Timestamps:
    00:00 Intro01:28 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!04:11 The booming intersection of crypto, and AI agents05:49 Mark Jeffrey joins the show!06:13 Bittensor explained — how TAO subsidizes AI products07:37 Mark’s top Bittensor projects00:10:40 https://Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io.00:12:20 How subnet tokens work00:17:34 How the Crucible Labs wallet simplifies subnet token allocation00:19:33 https://Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist00:22:42 The importance of private inference and encrypted AI prompts00:29:36 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.00:33:07 How AI is restoring old movies and media!00:40:57 SetUpClaw’s “set it and forget it” AI agents00:45:50 https://Ro.co: Ro’s insurance checker will let you know if your coverage includes GLP-1s for FREE. Go to https://Ro.co/Twist for your free insurance check.00:54:35 “Off-duty” with Lon and Jason

    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 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

    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
  • This Week in Startups

    Is Anthropic Making the Biggest Mistake in AI History | E2258

    05/03/2026 | 1h 20 mins.
    This Week In Startups is made possible by:
    Plaud - Plaud.ai/twist
    LinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twist.
    Deel - https://deel.com/twist
    Iru - https://iru.com/twist!

    Today’s show:
    It’s a packed TWiST Today! WITH US, we’ve got Erik Voorhees of VeniceAI and Logan Allin of Fin Capital on to talk agents, crypto, and… you guessed it, OPENCLAW!
    Where does agentic AI meet the financial system? How will agents transact? And what does privacy look like in a world with omnipresent AI?
    Stick around for some demos! We’ve got George Pickett to demo OpenClaw studio and David Kaufman to show us what he’s building at Siteline!

    Timestamps:

    00:04:31 What was Logan’s original thesis in Circle?

    10:08 LinkedIn Jobs - Thanks to our partners at @LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://⁠linkedIn.com/twist⁠ then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI assistant.

    00:11:52 Logans thoughts on Open vs. Closed Source

    00:15:33 How to maintain privacy in AI

    20:02 Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit https://⁠deel.com/twist⁠ to learn more.

    00:23:29 Why LAUNCH’s token usage is trending higher than payroll!

    00:25:05 How Fin capital uses personality types and AI to assess investments

    00:29:45 Why Erik thinks Anthropic’s defiance of the federal gov. is bravery!

    32:10 Iru - 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!

    00:42:23 How Siteline is helping understand companies and their agent traffic.

    00:57:15 OpenClaw Studio makes OpenClaw as user friendly as possible.

    01:10:09 The layers and layers of Microstrategy’s business model.

    01:11:44 Which AI tools are the most indispensable?

    01:12:25 How Jason uses the Grok button on threads

    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 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

    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
  • This Week in Startups

    How the OpenClaw foundation bullet-proofed its future (w/Dave Morin) | E2257

    03/03/2026 | 1h 14 mins.
    This Week In Startups is made possible by:Circle — http://circle.so/twistHubspot Creators — http://clickhubspot.com/twist2Uber AI Solutions — http://uber.com/ai-solutionsToday’s show: *Dave Morin joined the show today to explain how the OpenClaw Foundation came into existence, and what its goals are. Fear not, Peter Steinberger retains directional control of the project. But if you want to sustain an open-source project over time, you need a corporate entity, well-heeled sponsors, maintainers and more. Morin is helping make sure that OpenClaw can stay true to itself well into the future.TWIST also put the day’s most critical AI stories to Morin for his insight: What’s his take on the Anthropic-DoW fracas? Does Morin think that OpenAI and Anthropic are catching up to OpenClaw in agentic terms? And will OpenAI cede the consumer crown to Anthropic? Next came two amazing demos: Runtools’ CTO Greg Kara showed off a 3D interface for OpenClaw that his team built, allowing ‘Claw users to watch their agents work in real time, and even read over their shoulder. Then PickelWatch founder George Yameen showed off an agnetic workflow using OpenClaw and Claude’s Chrome plugin side-by-side. The gist? Make sure that the agentic service you select is cost-effective. **GUESTS:**Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin?lang=enGreg Kara: https://x.com/GregKara6George Yameen: https://x.com/GeorgeYameen**Timestamps:** 00:00 Dave Morin Joins the Show

    02:31 How Dave Morin got Claw-Pilled

    05:01 Jason’s critical OpenClaw moments

    08:38 How Dave showcases his OpenClaw skills

    10:47 Uber AI Solutions - Your trusted partner to get AI to work in the real world. Book a demo with them TODAY at http://uber.com/ai-solutions

    14:40 How long has the OpenClaw Foundation existed?

    17:21 How much authority does Peter Steinberger retain?

    00:20:21 Hubspot - Check out the guide “Advanced ChatGPT Prompt Engineering: From Basic to Expert in 7 Days.” Download it for free at http://clickhubspot.com/twist2

    19:20 How ‘air traffic control’ works for a project like OpenClaw

    23:15 The economics of open-source maintainers

    25:13 Dave’s physical OpenClaw setup

    27:45 How Jason uses OpenClaw to curate his reading, fashion, and travel

    30:23 Circle - Circle gives you everything you need to build and scale your community-led business. TWIST listeners get $1,000 off the Circle Plus Plan at http://circle.so/twist

    32:18 Why the second wave of ideas is where things get the most interesting

    34:06 Apple’s slow movement and hesitance to depricate products

    39:51 How Jason uses OpenClaw to coach the next generation of executives

    44:52 Are Anthropic and OpenAI catching up to OpenClaw?

    49:40 Introduction to Runtools.AI

    53:49 Runtools.AI demo of 3D OpenClaw environment

    57:06 Introduction to PickleWatch

    57:27 PickelWatch demo of Claude Chrome vs. OpenClaw

    01:03:38 How PickleWatch ups your pickleball swing

    32:56 Jason’s advice for founders on stumbling onto new ideas

    42:16 Jason on the DoW’s handling of the Anthropic mess

    01:11:08 Would Jason fund the tech that Anthropic won’t supply?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp*Follow Lon:X: https://x.com/lons*Follow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/*Follow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/*Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/*Follow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: [https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups](https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups/)TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: [https://twistartups.substack.com](https://twistartups.substack.com/)

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About This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.
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