Are we heading for an M&A explosion?

Top News

• Tech titans congratulate Trump: After winning more quickly, and in more strident fashion than many expected, former and future President Trump received notably warm congratulations from tech titans. Given prior scraps between certain business leaders and the President-elect, the move to publicly assuage his ego is not a shock.

• Startup M&A expected to accelerate: One key complaint in startup-land has been the Biden administration’s position on technology mergers and acquisitions. Now with Trump heading back to the White House, analysts and business leaders alike are salivating at the chance to do deals, free from a government bent on limiting competition. How large, and quickly an M&A boom arrives will be an interesting test of how much the buy, and sell-sides of those potential transactions can come to terms on price.

• Crypto feels victorious: Trump flipped his position on cryptocurrencies during the recent election cycle, going as far as making bitcoin-specific pledges regarding the government and how it will sell — or not — accumulated cryptocurrency. Trump’s various crypto promises will now be put to the test, but the industry is basking in what it considers a massive win. Prices for major crypto tokens rallied in the wake of the election.

TWiST500

Today during our live news taping — come hang with us when we record, it’s fun! — Jason and I took a quick peak at search results from leading providers. Namely, we compared Google, Perplexity, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT search product.

I was the guinea pig in this experiment, going through each search engine with a handful of mirrored queries, and the results were very revealing. In each case, what Google served up was worse than what I could get from the AI companies.

I think the simplest way to frame this up is to note that Google cannot afford to not be what Google is today, even as it experiments with AI search; it is too tied to advertising-based incomes to offer a clear set of results, and is overly hung up on its prior approach to showing results.

It is worth noting that TWiST500 company OpenAI still has its search engine under a partial paywall. Perplexity, another TWiST500 company, does not. It’s almost bonkers how much search did not visually change quickly for so long, and now is changing so quickly all at once. The question is whether the upstarts can crack the incumbent’s wall.

— Alex

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This Week in Startups

E2040: Jason and Alex sit down with Skydio CEO Adam Bry to explore the future of autonomous drones, from life-saving public safety applications to the challenges of competing with Chinese tech. They tackle Skydio's role as the largest US drone maker, cybersecurity risks, and the powerful impact of drone tech in defense and beyond. The episode rounds out with fresh takes on high-skilled immigration, geopolitical tension, and the evolving landscape of search engines and media.

E2039: In this episode, Alex chats with Exowatt’s Hannan Parvizian about tackling the soaring energy demands of AI and data centers. They delve into Exowatt's mission to provide affordable and sustainable power solutions for the tech sector, discussing the innovations and challenges shaping clean energy's future for data-intensive applications.

E2038: Jason and Alex kick off the show discussing election security in America and the complexities of influencing swing states. They explore Decart's AI-generated video game and its potential, followed by a deep dive into viral growth strategies for startups and NVIDIA's market dynamics. The episode wraps with insights into Amazon’s nuclear power deal and the regulatory landscape.

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Meet LA33

Our latest Accelerator cohort—LA33—is here, featuring a new set of standout startups. A number of these companies also attended Founder University! These startups cover a range of sectors, from AI infrastructure to creator marketplaces, all with one thing in common: high potential. Here’s a quick look at the companies to keep an eye on:

• Abacus helps employees in regulated industries like banking find and share information faster.

• BRXai is an AI infrastructure platform for optimizing multi-model integrations and token use.

• Hookhub created a marketplace that connects RV and trailer owners to parking hosts.

• Indigo AI is a productivity desktop app that allows users to automate repetitive tasks. The keyboard shortcuts.

• InviteJet is a marketing tool that helps e-commerce brands connect with customers through calendars.

• Nerd Crawler is a marketplace for comic book creators to sell their artwork directly to fans.

• LayerNext is an AI platform for generating business insights.

• Orchestra is a messaging and project management platform for teams and AI agents.

• PodEngine is a podcast research and media monitoring solution.

• Prosperous AI is an AI-enabled platform for optimizing supply chain workflows.

If you’re an investor who wants a firsthand look at these amazing companies, email [email protected] to attend a pitching session.

LAUNCH Cloud Kitchens Incubator

Applications are open for Cohort 2 of the LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator (LiCK). We're looking for food entrepreneurs who wish to expand into the ghost kitchen space or tech founders with a team and a great idea. The application and more information can be found at https://ck.launch.co/.

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