Cursor’s $9B Round, AI-Powered Toys & CloudNuro’s SaaS Fix | E2121
This Week in Startups
Investing in SPACs: The Cursor Case
This chapter examines the intricacies of SPAC investments through the lens of Cursor, a coding application that has recently achieved a $9 billion valuation. Discussions focus on the company's growth trajectory, revenue potential, and the strategic implications of investing in competitive tech markets.
Today’s show: Cursor’s explosive growth, hitting $200M in ARR and a massive $9B valuation. They also explore the buzz around Magical Toys’ new AI-powered dinosaur, where LLMs meet playtime. The conversation turns to “vibe coding” and how AI dev tools are changing the way product teams build. Plus, Jason shares stories from his Formula 1 poker table, Uber’s latest autonomous vehicle partnerships get analyzed, and we bring you highlights from our Founder Fridays pitch showdown, featuring Kippy from Sydney and MomSub from Chicago. Stick around to hear how Cloud Neuro is tackling SaaS sprawl.
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Jason kicks off the show!
(3:52) Rise in popularity of F1 and Netflix's impact
(10:23) Uber stock, partnerships, and self-driving technology
(10:47) Northwest Registered Agent. Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
today!
(13:50) Aurora Innovation's SPAC and Cursor's valuation discussion
(19:07) Revenue quality concerns for startups
(20:17) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist
(21:37) User engagement versus churn in startups
(23:06) AnySphere's ARR and impact of faster development on tech
(30:29) Fidelity Private Shares℠ - Visit https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com! Mention our podcast and receive 20% off your first-year paid subscription.
(32:11) Anker's portable solar solutions and off-grid living innovations
(37:41) Jason's investment insights on Warner Brothers and Disney
(38:27) Skype's decline and the rise of Zoom and Microsoft Teams
(42:04) Founder Friday bracket final matchup and pitches
(51:08) Interview with Fateen Anam Raffid from Magical Toys
(59:24) Dino AI toy demonstration and future plans
(1:04:20) Interview on CloudNuro's SaaS spend management
(1:10:01) SaaS compliance, vendor-customer relationships, and AI spend management
(1:16:09) CloudNuro's data-driven foundation and AI governance
(1:18:46) Company growth, competitive landscape, and Chicago's entrepreneurial ecosystem*
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Links from episode:
Magical Toys: https://www.magicaltoys.com
CloudNuro: https://www.cloudnuro.ai/
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Follow Fateen:
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Follow Shyam:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shyam-kumar-7b18524/:*
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Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
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Follow Jason:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
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Thank you to our partners:
(10:47) Northwest Registered Agent. Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
today!
(20:17) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist
(30:29) Fidelity Private Shares℠ - Visit https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com/ Mention our podcast and receive 20% off your first-year paid subscription.
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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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