Top News | Say hello to Kimi K2: While the world digests Grok 4 and looks towards GPT-5, a new family of models from Chinese foundation AI model company Moonshot AI are raising eyebrows. Not only are Moonshot’s Kimi-K2 Base and Instruct models impressive in terms of their benchmark results, they are also open-source. And not Meta’s quasi-open source so far as we can tell — you can check K2’s weights and code here. We’re big AI bulls here at TWiST, and what we love more than anything is watching the state of the art become ever more advanced. Cheers, Moonshot. Don’t blame the startup: Recent, tragic flooding in Texas took the lives of dozens of citizens, including children. While the nation sorts out how to better protect itself in the future, some folks have pointed a finger at Rainmaker, a cloud-seeding startup that wants to use “precipitation enhancement” to help solve global freshwater deficits. TechCrunch reports that despite conspiracy theories, Rainmaker was not responsible for the flooding. The satellites need phones: There are a number of space startups on the TWiST500, and many of them are building and interacting with satellites. Often this means beaming information from satellites to Earth, or vice versa. But what about satellite-to-satellite communications? Enter Apolink, a YC-backed startup that just snagged $4.3 million to create “real-time connectivity network for satellites in low Earth orbit.” The in-orbit economy is accelerating, but there’s still ample problems that need solving and startups are stepping into the breach.
| TWiST500 | Remember Manus? The viral AI agent that took Twitter by storm earlier this year? The parent behind Manus, Butterfly Effect, was a Chinese company. But now it’s apparently not, or at least it’s working as hard as it can to no longer be one. | The Information and SCMP report that Butterfly Effect is moving its incorporation, its staff, and its founders to Singapore. Presumably, the move is due — at least in part — to Butterfly’s backing from American venture capital firm Benchmark, which took part in a $75 million investment earlier this year at a time when cross-border investments between China and the United States are fraught. (Doubly so when AI is involved!) | The move may also be predicated on a desire by Butterly Effect to sell into international markets. While the Chinese domestic market is certainly large, it pales next to the entire world, and if you have to choose to either play at home or all over the world, you can understand why the startup might wish to change its address. | China’s AI breakouts frequently become associated with the state. DeepSeek’s founder attended a high profile meeting with ranking Chinese officials, for example, and the company is reportedly assisting the nation’s military. Thus, it’s unlikely to see much commercial adoption in the United States, a leading market for both building, and using, AI technologies. | For Singapore, Butterfly Effect spreading its wings and landing on its shores is a win. What nation wouldn’t want more technology companies with potentially bright futures setting up shop inside its borders? For China, seeing the company behind Manus take flight is likely less welcome. | But perhaps now Manus can raise even more money. Could it be the next AI unicorn? It’s on the TWIST500, so we’re pulling for it. — Alex | A message from INBOUND | Connect with visionary leaders like Dario Amodei and Amy Poehler at INBOUND 2025 September 3-5 in San Francisco, the epicenter of tech innovation, and transform your business strategy for the AI era. Use code TWIST10 for 10% off your General Admission ticket at inbound.com/register. | This Week in Startups | E2149: It’s a brand-new TWiST, and Jason and Alex are considering all the news that matters to founders and investors. Today that includes Tesla’s plans to introduce Wifi hotspots within their rides, Nvidia’s historic $4 trillion valuation, Perplexity’s slick new AI powered browser bringing the fight to Google’s Chrome, Waymo’s new “teen” accounts, and lots more. Plus Tim Ranzetta stops by to talk about financial education and his nonprofit, Next Gen Personal Finance. | E2148: Jason’s back in Austin, and he and Alex are running down a huge holiday weekend in tech news. Exits are heating up with $67.7B in Q2 activity, QSBS got a major expansion in the Big Beautiful Bill, Robinhood is pushing boundaries with its tokenized SPV innovation, PLUS Jason’s thoughts on Elon Musk’s new “America Party” and a brand new NFL-themed Polymarket. | E2147: Alex hosts another blockbuster panel of insiders, with Astasia Myers from Felicis, Matt Turck of First Mark Capital, and D.A. Wallach from Time BioVentures joining for a deep-dive on the biotech Great Depression, the post-Q2 startup landscape, revenue durability and product market fit in AI, supporting founders from academia, innovations in fertility and pre-natal treatments, and much much more. | TWiST Partner Offers | Squarespace: Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to http://www.squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Monarch Money: Get control of your overall finances with Monarch Money. Visit monarchmoney.com/twist for half off on your first year. Bolt: Don’t be left behind. Build apps quickly without knowing how to code with Bolt.new. Try it free at Bolt.new/twist.
| LAUNCH Accelerator | Our current Accelerator batch is graduating! Watch 11 strong startups pitch to Jason and our investor-judges. We are livestreaming the event on Monday, July 28th at 12:30 PM PT. Register here. | Want to Work for This Week in Startups? | We’re looking to fill two in-person sales positions at our Austin, Texas HQ! First, a high-performing Sales Executive to help us seek out and promote clients, sponsorships, branded content, and more. Plus an experienced Sales Manager to lead, coach, and scale our sales executive team, while setting performance goals. Love the podcast and have B2B sales experience? We want to hear from you! | SF Live-Work Space Now Available | Need a flexible living and working environment in San Francisco? This thoughtfully designed loft-style residence at 787 Bryant St., the heart of the vibrant SOMA district and the city’s creative hub, is now available for rent or purchase. Check the listing for more details. | Founder University | Applications are open for Founder University Cohort 11, a 12-week remote pre-accelerator program tailored towards navigating early-startup practices, building an MVP, and growing traction. Submit your application at Founder University— Cohort 10 will kick off Summer 2025! | The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker. |
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