Intro

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Tech Domains. Don’t miss our “Jam Session with JCal” contest! To apply and get more details go to https://jamwithjcal.tech brought to you by .tech domains.

Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://vanta.com/twist

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

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Todays show:

Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to discuss news that a16z has built out a GPU cluster that it rents to its portfolio companies (4:22), Q2 venture trends (31:02), robotics startups (57:39), new TWIST500 companies (1:11:51), and more!

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show

(4:22) Venture capital firms building AI GPU clusters and a16z's “oxygen”

(10:09) .Tech Domains - Apply for the Jam Session with JCal contest today at https://jamwithjcal.tech

(11:13) Where this leads the industry

(20:21) Michael Ovitz's influence and venture capitalists' work ethic

(30:10) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist⁠

(31:02) Q2 venture capital funding trends and strategies for struggling companies

(37:00) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠

(38:23) Global AI funding trends and current state of venture capital

(57:39) Teleoperation robots, remote work arbitrage, and ethical considerations

(1:11:51) Robotics companies' funding, the future of AI and robotics, and the TWIST500

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Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/

Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com

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Mentioned on the show:

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/andreessen-horowitz-is-building-a-stash-of-more-than-20-000-gpus-to-win-ai-deals?rc=g3wfdp

https://infogram.com/global-quarterly-ai-funding-through-q2-2024-1h0n25okznz5l4p

https://infogram.com/global-venture-dollar-volume-q2-2024-1hnp27eewj9on4g

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/business/robots-japan-supermarkets-spc-intl/index.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/overemployed

https://www.athena.com/#Elite-Assistants

https://nypost.com/2024/04/09/us-news/nyc-restaurants-use-zoom-cashiers-from-philippines

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Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/

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Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Thank you to our partners:

(10:09) .Tech Domains - Apply for the Jam Session with JCal contest today at https://jamwithjcal.tech

(30:10) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist⁠

(37:00) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠

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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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Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916