All my SpaceXs live in Texas

Top News

• SpaceX acquires xAI: Elon Musk has long been compared to Marvel Comics’ Tony Stark. (He even shows up for a brief cameo in “Iron Man 2.”) Now he’s taking one major step toward the formation of his own “Musk Industries” with the acquisition of his AI company (Grok makers xAI) by his rocket company (SpaceX). Though financial details of the deal were not disclosed, rest assured, the newly-formed result will be the most valuable private company on Earth, worth well over $1 trillion. (It won’t be private for long, though. Musk reportedly plans to raise about $50 billion via IPO later on this year.) SpaceXai will also be particularly well positioned to realize Musk’s grand plan of building data centers in space that, much like Marvel competitor DC Comics’ Superman, rely on the Earth’s Yellow Sun for power. The deal also gives xAI a lifeline; Bloomberg reports that the ex-Twitter owner is burning around $1 billion each MONTH.

• FitBit founders return with Luffu: This week, Fitbit duo James Park and Eric Friedman unveiled their latest health and wellness app, Luffu, which uses AI to build what it has termed an “intelligent family care system.” This works by proactively monitoring health information about the entire family (including pets) from medical portals, calendars, wearable devices, documents, and elsewhere, looking for patterns and then making bespoke recommendations. (Recommendations like “you need to get more sleep!” or “remind grandma to take her meds!”) The system can also provide natural language answers to questions from families or caregivers. With Boomers aging and their adult children stepping in to watch over them, Park and Friedman are particularly inspired to solve pain points around caregiving.

• Skyryse developing semi-autonomous helicopters: LA-adjacent SoCal destination El Segundo (aka “The Gundo”) remains a hotbed for defense tech and military startups. From this fertile ground — formerly known as the spot where A Tribe Called Quest left their wallet — comes Skyryse. They’ve developed the semi-autonomous flight control system SkyOS for use in aircraft, including the US military’s iconic Black Hawk helicopters. What do we mean by “semi-autonomous”? These choppers will not fly entirely by themselves. Instead, SkyOS automates some of the more complex and dangerous aspects of flying, while keeping a human in the loop. This helps out not just with safety but training; the idea is that pilots will learn from the system over time, making them more effective in an actual crisis situation. Skyryse closed out a $300 million Series C round this week, at a $1.15 billion valuation.

TWiST 500

AND SPEAKING of hot defense tech projects, we turn our attention to TWiST 500 up-and-comers Overland AI. They’ve secured a new $100 million round to continue developing their line of military vehicles and land-based robots, including the ULTRA autonomous tactical vehicle. (The company focuses exclusively on tech that will aid the US military’s ground forces. Hence the name.)

In addition to building their ULTRA vehicle, Overland is also working on a “kit” that will give some of its autonomous functionality to other vehicles. While many startups have tried and failed to develop the specific kinds of technology required for real-life military and combat operations, Overland has been working closely with the Pentagon as part of an ongoing Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program. That means their team is embedded within Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command units, giving them access real-world scenarios for training and feedback.

Bloomberg reports that this training extends to some simulated resupply and reconnaissance missions. Overland tech aided the 36th Engineer Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas, with an autonomous breaching experiment that would have previously been assigned to human combat engineers. (These often include hazardous tasks such as clearing mines which we’d definitely prefer assigning to robots than flesh and blood humans.)

The new round was led by investor Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC. He’s of course a co-founder of Palantir and an early investor in Anduril, putting him at the epicenter of the defense technology industry. Just a few weeks ago, Lonsdale led another round in an obscure Nigerian defense startup, Terrahaptix, which produces long- and mid-range drones, along with autonomous sentry towards and ground vehicles. Potentially look out for them on our next TWiST 500 update. – Lon

A message from Crusoe Cloud

Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit https://www.crusoe.ai/savings to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.

This Week in Startups

E2244: In our final TWiST Tokyo update, Jason welcomes The League founder Amanda Bradford and Uber veteran Will Barnes to discuss the TOP priorities for early stage founders. These are the areas where they can’t afford to lose focus for even a week. Find out why it’s so important to keep a close eye on your expenses, why trust and reliability are so crucial, even for an MVP, why distribution should always be top of mind, and more vital lessons from the trenches.

E2243: SpaceX and xAI are MERGING into what will be the world’s most valuable private company (at least until a planned IPO later this year). Get Jason’s thoughts on why this makes sense, and how Elon Musk will turn humanity into a Kardashev II-level civilization, on TWiST. PLUS, we’re running down all of the LAUNCH Team’s favorite OpenClaw Skills that have exponentially increased our productivity.

E2242: Another show, another Clawdbot/Moltbot/OpenClaw deep dive. In this edition, LAUNCH researchers Oliver Korzen and Lukas Durand join Jason to show off all the ways they’re using Moltys to automate behind-the-scenes tasks for the pod and Jason’s other companies and projects. PLUS investor and entrepreneur Rahul Sood joins us to discuss all the potential security risks associated with OpenClaw and how to keep yourself (roughly) safe.

TWiST Partner Offers

• Quadratic: Bringing the productivity boost of AI into your spreadsheets. Visit quadratic.ai/twist to sign up and use the code TWIST to get one free month of their pro tier subscription.

• Deel: Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit deel.com/twist to learn more.

• Northwest Registered Agent: Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

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.