A buyer can't change its Stripes

Top News

• Stripe maybe not buying PayPal: On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Stripe was considering a purchase of all or parts of PayPal, and the Ticker dutifully followed. But now, Semafor counters that, in fact, the iconic fintech app is not considering a sale, to Stripe or anyone else. Instead, Semafor suggests — based on discussions with insiders — that they're working with banks on plans to stave off an activist campaign or “unwanted takeover bid.” PayPal, of course, was riding high in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, processing over $900 billion in payments across 2020. But activity on the app has seen a massive decline, with rivals like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, Block, Square, and many others swooping in to steal away customers with more modern, easier-to-use, and widely-available options.

• Citadel analyst pushes back on Citrini: Substack’s Citrini Research set off a bit of a stock market panic this week with its post “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis," envisioning a dystopian future brought about by rapid AI advancement. Now, analyst Frank Flight of Citadel Securities has responded with his own take, “The 2026 Global Intelligence Crisis.” He argues that the data coming in doesn’t actually support the core thesis that AI will replace the human labor force, pointing out that job postings for software engineers appear to be up 11%. He also points out that AI faces a number of likely bottlenecks on its way to universal adoption, from the cost of compute to government regulation. In some ways, it’s a similar argument to the one Zvi Mowshowitz made in his own viral Substack post the other day. Citrini focuses exclusively on negative consequences to AI, he argues, but not the surplus time, money, and productivity that millions will potentially gain from agents that can legitimately do anything on their behalf.

• Sweden's Einride preps for public debut: The startup builds autonomous trucks and “pods” with no space for a human driver, exclusively designed to carry freight. They’re the latest company to join the SPAC revival, raising a $113 PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) ahead of a public debut some time in the next few months. (In English: Instead of an IPO, Einride will go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company — or SPAC — called Legato Merger Corp.) The total raise so far is $213 million. Proceeds from the SPAC will go toward developing Einride’s self-driving tech and expanding their trucks and pods to more markets across North America, Europe, and MENA.

TWiST 500

We try not to overdo OpenAI news in this space. Sure, they're TECHNICALLY part of the TWiST 500. But they make the front page more frequently than Congress at this point…

So let’s start with Mistral. The French AI model-maker announced a new collaboration with high-profile consulting group Accenture. Mistral will provide models and products to Accenture, which in turn will help clients leverage them throughout their operations. Prior big-fish Mistral deals include IBM, Cisco, SAP, and Dutch chip maker ASML Holdings.

OK, so, about OpenAI… The Information and others are reporting that the much-touted potential $50 billion Amazon investment in the AI giant could be tied to an IPO announcement. Apparently, Amazon plans to put $15 billion into OpenAI, then an additional $35 billion if the company either goes public OR achieves “AGI.” (Unclear how that’s being defined, naturally.) The deal could reportedly also involve OpenAI making use of Amazon’s “Trainium” chips. Seeking Alpha adds that OpenAI’s current fundraising round will likely also include participation from Nvidia, and is in the range of $100 billion total.

Less grand in scope is OpenAI's newly-announced collaboration with fast food giant Burger King. The Home of the Whopper will give employees an AI chatbot in their headsets, named “Patty” of course. She’ll provide helpful real-time tips on procedure and meal preparation (“how many slices of bacon on this burger,” for examples) while also giving staffers “friendliness" ratings on their interactions with customers. Whether you find these sorts of advances chillingly dystopian or a helpful productivity boost may depend on whether or not you (1) sell AI tools or (2) manage a Burger King. – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2255: We’ve got Tyler Yust, a 22-year-old developer (and aerospace engineer!) who was one of the very first contributors to the OpenClaw project. Get an inside look at how everyone’s favorite open-source AI agent came to be, from one of the brilliant minds who was there from the very beginning. Plus, Jason and Deedy Das of Menlo Ventures explain why the SaaSpocalypse fears are probably overblown, and we’re checking out two more amazing OpenClaw projects.

E2254: It’s another All-OpenClaw All-The-Time episode of TWiST, with special guest builders Oliver Henry and Jeff Weisbein. Oliver’s the creator of Larrybrain, a protocol that he’s using to teach an AI agent how to make autonomous TikTok content that regularly goes viral. Jeff is the Clawd-pilled founder of WizardRFP and WhoCoversIt; he shared his essential guide for getting started AND his personal workflow and agentic framework. This is a must-see episode for newbs just starting their OpenClaw journey.

E2253: Alright, you’ve finally got OpenClaw set up, and you’re not blowing hundreds of dollars a day on tokens any more like a sucker. But how do you get your agents to really do productive work for you, rather than just goofing around and building themselves new interfaces? We’re checking in with new projects from Jordy Coltman, Jesse Leimgruber of OpenHome, and Tremaine Grant of Pulse, to learn how expert builders are getting lots more out of their OpenClaw set-ups.

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• Sentry: Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST

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