Today on This Week in Startups: Lon Harris is back, and we’re diving into all things Super Bowl—especially the tech takeover in this year’s commercials. We break down the biggest ad moments, from Squarespace to Uber Eats, Instacart, and even Harrison Ford’s Jeep spot. Plus, we dig into Google Trends after the ChatGPT ad, the unexpected appeal ofThe Banshees of Inisherin, and Matthew McConaughey’s latest move with Salesforce. That’s not all—France is making bold AI moves, OpenAI is getting into chip development, and we’ve got aFounder Fridays competition coming up!
*
Timestamps:
(0:00) Jason, Alex and Lon “kick off” the show!(5:09) Breakout Super Bowl commercials(9:23) Rocket's Super Bowl ad and its impact
(10:21)Lemon.io. Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time athttps://Lemon.io/twist(13:00) High-risk hobbies of the rich and famous(15:23) We all loved the new Squarespace ad and its effectiveness(19:07) The appeal of "The Banshees of Inisherin" and ChatGPT Super Bowl ad(20:17) OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first six months athttps://www.openphone.com/twist
(21:34) Google Trends analysis of ChatGPT ad impact(22:19) A look at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowll half-time show and his popularity(24:15) Rating the ChatGPT Super Bowl ad(31:01) Coda. Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months athttps://www.Coda.io/twist(32:42) Uber Eats and Instacart Super Bowl ads & Harrison Ford's Jeep commercial(39:49) Matthew McConaughey's role with Salesforce and A-list actors in 2025(44:14) France's AI investment and strategy(47:10) AI in customer service and SaaS pricing(52:34) IT unemployment and AI's impact on tech support(56:45) Upcoming earnings reports from key tech companies(1:02:12) OpenAI's custom chip development with TSMC(1:02:35) Founder Fridays: A new initiative for founders and competition format*
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
Join Founder Fridays here:https://www.founderfridays.tech/
*
Follow Alex:
X:https://x.com/alex
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
*
Follow Lon:
X:https://x.com/Lons
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lonharris/
*
Follow Jason:
X:https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
*
Thank you to our partners:
(10:21)Lemon.io. Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time athttps://Lemon.io/twist(20:17) OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first six months athttps://www.openphone.com/twist(30:31)Coda. Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months athttps://www.Coda.io/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