Top News | Coinbase hears an Echo: The crypto exchange has been on a shopping spree lately as it attempts to capitalize on the wave of enthusiasm from both investors and the Trump administration. The company’s eighth (!) acquisition this year is Echo, a startup that helps crypto companies quickly raise capital from enthusiasts directly on the blockchain, via both private and public token sales. (Private sales involve small groups of “qualified” investors, like venture capitalists, while public sales are open to all.) Coinbase hopes to use Echo — a project that emerged from established crypto trader Jordan Fish — to offer early-stage investment opportunities to a wider audience. Perplexity comes to Samsung TVs: A new agreement between the AI giant and the iconic electronics makers brings Perplexity AI models to a number of TVs and devices. Samsung has already introduced its Vision AI Companion, which serves as a kind of personal assistant on the company’s smart TVs, recommending new programs, optimizing picture and sound, providing real-time translations, and so forth. Perplexity’s products will serve as an “answer engine,” responding to mid-show queries, and performing quick research deep-dives that helps viewers engage more deeply with the content. It’s another example of AI companies putting their models where consumers are already spending time, rather than relying on direct traffic to their apps and chatbots. Nexos.ai closes Series A: Lithuanian entrepreneur Tomas Okmanas is best known as the co-founder of Nord Security, the company behind the iconic virtual private network NordVPN. His new project (already a friend of the pod) — Nexos.ai — also has a security and privacy focus, but this time he’s addressing AI-related concerns. As Okmanas recently told TechCrunch, he views enterprise AI — requiring employees to upload sensitive internal data for LLM use and training — as a potentially disastrous source of corporate data leaks. Nexos serves as “Switzerland for LLMs,” a neutral intermediary that enables productivity gains from AI without risking your valuable data. The startup emerged from stealth a few months ago with an $8 million seed round; this week, they closed a $35 million Series A.
| TWiST 500 | We love all of our TWiST 500 companies equally… but perhaps OpenAI the most equally of all. (They certainly give us the most news to write about in these pages.) | Today’s mega-announcement? The company Sam Altman built is finally releasing its long-awaited browser, known as ChatGPT Atlas. It’s available RIGHT NOW on MacOS… versions for Windows, iOS and Android are apparently coming soon. | AI is not an added feature on Atlas but core to the entire experience. ChatGPT is built in to the sidebar, and available on every page no matter what you’re looking at. As investor Olivia Moore notes, there’s a permanent “Ask ChatGPT” button available wherever you happen to roam, and this includes the ability to have the bot assist with your writing and make edits directly in your text. ChatGPT can also access the browser history, allowing it to perform searches and find information you’ve looked at in the past. | Potentially even more exciting is the addition of “Agent Mode,” which allows Atlas to take some actions on a user’s behalf or, at the very least, suggest next steps. Conceptually, this is very similar to what’s on offer in Perplexity’s Comet browser, though as we’ve noted in the past, it doesn’t ALWAYS work entirely as advertised and often will require human intervention to complete most multi-step tasks. | Google, of course, has Gemini AI embedded in its Chrome browser, which also acts as a kind of virtual assistant, though it has generated less hype than the Perplexity or OpenAI versions to date. Alphabet shares dipped slightly following OpenAI’s announcement, as Browser War competition continues heating up. – Lon | A message from 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. | This Week in Startups | E2195: Is AI a bubble, or is the market just extremely frothy? Jason suggests implosion is not imminent, and we’re merely going from macchiato levels back down to a flat white. Hear his reasoning on a brand-new TWiST. PLUS… Alex and Lon join for a discussion of AI slop and why people are so bad at recognizing it, and a preview of Jeremy Strong’s already-iconic performance as Mark Zuckerberg in the hotly-awaited “Social Network” sequel. | E2194: What is the deal with Deel? The HR and hiring startup is growing SO FAST, investors are willing to overlook the SpyGate allegations! Plus is the Mag 7 about to become the Mag 70? Why is legendary investor Roelof Botha so down on the potential of venture capital? How can startups use capital as a weapon? What are Claude’s new and improved skills? We answer these questions and more on a brand-new TWiST. | E2193: On a special edition of TWiST, Jason sits down for a 90-minute 1-on-1 chat with long-time friend and legendary venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, as part of a wide-ranging conversation in the AI hype cycle, the significance of “neural networks” in nature, the return of nuclear power, the absurdity of discussions around “AI safety,” and much much more. | TWiST Partner Offers | Goldbelly: Goldbelly ships America’s most delicious, iconic foods nationwide! Get 20% off your first order by going to Goldbelly.com and using the promo code TWiST at checkout. Gusto: Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small business and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at Gusto.com/twist. Zite: Zite is the fastest way to build business software with AI. Build apps, forms, websites and portals that connect to the tools you already use. Go to zite.com/twist to get started.
| Founder U is Coming to the MENA Region! | Our 12-week pre-accelerator—designed to help early-stage founders build and grow—kicks off this fall in Saudi Arabia. The first cohort launches in Riyadh on November 3rd, followed by in-person and virtual sessions throughout the program. Founders in MENA: this is your chance to turn your idea into a business and get world-class insights on building a successful startup. Apply today: https://mena.founder.university/ | 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. | The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker. |
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