#AskJcal Request
Got a burning question for JCal? We want to hear it, and he might answer it on an upcoming episode of TWiST.
Send us an audio or video clip of you asking the question. You can hit us up via DM or email your file to [email protected].
And be sure to include your name and a social media link so we can shout you out! (A little plug for your company is okay, too, but let’s not go nuts.)
Top Stories
Dario Amodei urged frontier labs to slow capability gains as AI continues improvement. Anthropic will embed independent evaluators with employee-like access to inspect training, verify safeguards, and report incidents. — Dario Amodei
Sam Altman said OpenAI will not go public in 2026, suggesting investor pressure could complicate safety decisions as increasingly powerful AI requires cooperation between companies and governments. — Yahoo Finance
China dismissed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s AI warnings and calls for stricter chip controls, widening the divide over AI policy ahead of bilateral talks. — Bloomberg
Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube formed a TechNet-led coalition to lobby for streaming-friendly entertainment rules as regulators question sports leagues’ shift from broadcast television to subscription platforms. — Yahoo Finance
Automattic reinstated WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg as CEO after the board’s attempted ouster lasted just 33 hours, leaving the company’s leadership structure unsettled. — TechCrunch
Top Funding Announcements
Z.ai — The Chinese AI developer is raising $5B through a share placement and convertible bonds to fund next-generation models, following a $4B raise in July. — CNBC
Discovery Loop — Jeff Dean’s AI lab is seeking fresh funding at a roughly $50B valuation, after Radical Ventures and Khosla Ventures led its $1B round, to automate large-scale scientific experimentation. — Business Insider
Motive — Secured $1.3B in growth financing from General Catalyst to develop new maintenance tools and expand sales, support, and service teams. — Tech Funding News
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This Week in Startups
Timestamps:
0:00 Remembering 9/11, 25 Years Later
9:10 Are we about to nationalize the AI industry?
9:53 DigitalOcean - Want to see what building on a true AI-native platform looks like? Head to https://do.co/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today — and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50%.
20:30 Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Your first app is free! Get started today at https://Odoo.com/twist
21:45 Apple's foldable iPhone Duo
29:43 Upwork - Upwork helps businesses find highly skilled freelance professionals for specialized work. Post your job for free at https://upwork.com
38:04 Tibo Louis-Lucas returns to TWiST
41:47 The affiliate update email that runs on autopilot
46:40 Why you should "stack" multiple AI subscriptions
52:57 Squad's ideal customer is a solo founder
54:11 Jason digs Hal Jordan on "Lanterns"
1:00:19 Lon reviews Apple's "Dark Matter"
1:03:39 Remembering Robin Williams
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Today’s Fascinating Fact from Harmonic
Automattic is the company behind WordPress, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Tumblr, and other brands. It was founded in 2005, and was a pioneer in the “distributed work force” concept, years before the pandemic made work from home an everyday expectation. Automattic has no central office or HQ, and team members tele-commute from all over the world. The company’s in the midst of a turbulent stretch, with downward pressure on its valuation, layoffs, and high-profile legal disputes along with its recent, short-lived CEO change-up.
Try it yourself at harmonic.ai
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