Deel’s growth overshadows SpyGate, Claude learned new skills, and the great “momentum is moat” debate | E2194
This Week in Startups
Velocity to Trillion-Dollar Companies and the Mag7→Mag70 Thesis
Jason argues many AI-era companies can reach trillion-dollar scale quickly, predicting a large expansion beyond today's Mag7.
Deel’s growth overshadows SpyGate, Claude learned new skills, and the great “momentum is moat” debate | EXXX
Today’s show:
*Deel’s growing fast enough that investors are overlooking the espionage allegations and jumping on board anyway. (LAUNCH now owns a lil taste of Deel, so Jason is on board!)
PLUS is the Mag 7 about to become the Mag 70… Why legendary investor Roelof Botha thinks VC is not an asset class… How startups can use capital as a weapon… AND Anthropic gave Claude more skills, which they hope will help pay their bills.
Timestamps:
(00:01:34) Jason’s excited for ski season and checking his favorite powder app, OpenSnow
(00:04:02) Why Jason’s done with meetings; he’s pulling a Doug Leone!
(00:06:27) Jason can tell the market’s heating up because people are starting to lose their minds.
(00:09:31) How much will global AI tools one day be worth? Alex is crunching the numbers.
(10:00) Miro - Help your teams get great done with Miro. Check out miro.com to find out how!
(00:15:22) PREDICTION: The Mag7 is about to become the Mag70
(20:00) Alphasense - Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at https://www.alpha-sense.com/twist
(00:25:36) Deel’s big raise… Why major growth overshadows spying allegations
(30:00) LinkedIn Ads: Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. Launch your first campaign and get $250 FREE when you spend at least $250. Go to http://LinkedIn.com/ThisWeekinStartups to claim your credit.
(00:33:31) Why Roelof Botha says VC is a “return-free risk,” and not an “asset class.”
(00:40:49) The two reasons why VC firms end
(00:44:18) How startups can use capital as a weapon
(00:57:52) Anthropic gave Claude Skills to pay the bills
(01:00:51) Jason’s vision for what Grammarly could become
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:
Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Thank you to our partners:
Miro - Help your teams get great done with Miro. Check out miro.com to find out how!
Alphasense - Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at LinkedIn Ads: Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today.
Launch your first campaign and get $250 FREE when you spend at least $250. Go to http://LinkedIn.com/ThisWeekinStartups to claim your credit.
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
The AI-powered Podcast Player
