Bad news if you love TikTok

Author

Alex Wilhelm
December 06, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Top News

  • TikTok ban moves forward: Hopes at social media giant TikTok and parent company Bytedance that its forced divesture or ban would get thrown out by the courts were partially dashed today. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit “denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law.” You can read the court document here; it takes the First Amendment argument head-on and still finds TikTok’s protest wanting.

  • Crafting government policy: Craft Ventures’ David Sacks has been tapped by the incoming presidential administration to be its “White House A.I. and Crypto Czar.” Precisely what that role will entail, possible divestment by Sacks himself, and other details are yet to be fully detailed. But the move elevates a well-known Silicon Valley player into an ostensibly impactful role in the government. Folks critical of the Biden administration approach to crypto regulation are excited.

  • It’s new AI model week: After OpenAI released its full o1 model to customers, Meta dropped a new model called Llama 3.3 70B. It’s notable because it’s not a larger model, but Meta reckons it’s top shelf. Meta claims that the new model “delivers the performance of our 405B model but is easier & more cost-efficient to run.” If so, it’s a win for folks in the market for a model that won’t break the bank to lever.

TWiST500

Today on the show — after excellent chats with Deedy from Menlo and Coffeezilla himself — Jason and I added Dune to the TWiST500. It’s one of several additions that we have queued up, so expect more on that front come Monday.

Meanwhile, why Dune? A few reasons. First, because it’s a data platform, and I’m bullish on those, full stop. More to the point, it’s carved out a powerful niche as a central repository for crypto information, providing a window into an ever-more complex web of technology and capital. And it made it through the last crypto winter with cash in the bank.

When we had Dune co-founder Fredrik Haga on the show the other day, I asked him if his company was still a unicorn (emphasis added):

I mean, who knows? We haven't been to the capital markets for a while, but, we're we have, you know, we have our very had our very, like, humble upbringing, so we've we've stayed pretty lean. We have a little money in the bank still. We've been doing great this year. It definitely was, you know, a few rough years, previously.

Any company that survives a secular downtrend and comes out with cash and strong market positioning for the next cycle is primed to be a big freaking winner. Onto the list goes Dune! — Alex

A message from Notion

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This Week in Startups

E2054: Jason and Alex kick things off with a look at SEC leadership changes and corporate security concerns before welcoming Mike Sherbakov (Veteran fund) and Herbert Dwyer (EMPEQ founder) to discuss EMPEQ's tech. Jason and Alex highlight updates from Twist500, including a feature on Hugging Face's recent progress. They also have a quick look at the state of EU startup culture and wrap up with a great discussion on capitalism's role in safety nets.

E2053: Jason and Alex dive into Michael Saylor’s pitch for Microsoft to adopt Bitcoin, discussing its potential for digital transformation and how it stacks up against traditional investments. They break down asset-heavy vs. asset-light business models, analyze Tesla’s compensation package in light of a Delaware court ruling, and explore corporate incorporation trends focusing on Delaware’s role in governance.

E2052: Jason and Alex tackle the latest headlines, starting with Hunter Biden's pardon and its broader implications for presidential power. They discuss crypto regulation shifts, Michael Saylor's Bitcoin strategy, and Sequoia's global investment search. Plus, they explore nearshoring trends, credit card delinquencies, and Bernie Sanders' populist stance on defense spending. They wrap up with Bitcoin predictions and a deep dive into Dogecoin's leaderboard.

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  • Fundrise: Fundrise provides access to diversified portfolios of private real estate to all investors with their industry leading, easy to use platform. Sign up today at https://www.fundrise.com/TWIST

  • DevSquad: Most dev agencies only offer developers. Why? Because product management is hard. Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at http://devsquad.com/twist.

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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