Cloudflare wants to further protect creators

Top News

• Cloudflare arms sites against AI model companies: After releasing a tool that helped websites and smaller companies block AI data scraping, the former startup is taking its push to protect content owners a step further. TechCrunch reports that Cloudflare plans to “launch a marketplace in the next year where website owners can sell AI model providers access to scrape” their site. Today it’s an AI auditing tool to see who is scraping you — but there’s more to come. Recall that two TWiST500 companies — Human Native and TollBit — are working on related technology.

• Letta breaks stealth: With $10 million in fresh funding and a shiny new $70 million valuation, Letta just left stealth. The company, a spinout of Berkeley’s Sky Computing Lab, is the commercial face of the open-source tech MemGPT. The founders of Letta are two of the names behind MemGPT, which was described in a paper as a “system that intelligently manages different memory tiers in order to effectively provide extended context within the LLM's limited context window, and utilizes interrupts to manage control flow between itself and the user.”

• Israeli startups are resilient: Startups in Israel raised $9 billion during the last year, during which the country has been at war with Hamas. Israel’s startup ecosystem has been a leading light for years — but there was concern that the nation’s startups might struggle to raise due to the conflict. Not so, it turns out. The numbers are around flat compared to the preceding year, according to the Israel Innovation Authority.

Nuclear Energy Joins the TWiST500

Today during a live news taping — you follow TWiST on YouTube, right? — Jason and I added two new companies to our run tally of the most exciting and potentially lucrative startups in the world. Both startups are players in the next-gen nuclear energy push.

The context here is that Microsoft is teaming up with a mothballed nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island to help power its data center buildout. AI, and data center number-crunching more generally, has greatly accelerated the pace at which many national grids need to add capacity. One way to meet that need is to bring nuclear power back online.

The other is to grow capacity. Enter Last Energy and X-Energy. The two companies have raised around $350 million as a pair, according to Crunchbase, including $275 million combined in their most recent known rounds.

And unlike a host of other startups that we’ve discussed here, both of our new entrants are building something that has seen real liquidity. Rival nuclear power companies NuScale Power, Nano Nuclear, and Oklo have already gone public. And if Oklo sounds familiar, it should. Sam Altman backed Oklo, and sits on its board. Why might Altman be so interested in nuclear power? You can answer that question.

We’ll be curious to see whether major tech companies start snapping up yet-private nuclear startups. After all, show me the tech company that doesn’t think it needs more computing power, and I’ll show you a company heading to zero. — Alex

A message from Squarespace

Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to http://www.squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

This Week in Startups

E2012: Jason and Ryan Hudson of Pie.org discuss his experience with Honey, focusing on consumer trust, merchant reactions, and conversion rates. Ryan also covers Pie's vision for consumer ad control, demonstrating their browser extension and exploring the economic and legal implications of ad blocking. The conversation also touches on Apple's privacy stance, funding advice for founders, and the importance of company values.

Startup Legal Basics: Wilson Sonsini partner Becki DeGraw covers the challenges faced by distressed companies, including VCs stepping down from boards and the complexities of insider-led down rounds and pay-to-play scenarios. She highlights the legal actions and stockholder lawsuits involved in successful turnarounds, the importance of conducting market checks during financing, and ethical issues in the startup ecosystem.

E2011: Comma’s Harald Schäfer chats with Jason about their approach to self-driving technology, including cost, installation, and open-source contributions. Harald compares strategies between Comma, Waymo, and Tesla FSD, discusses Lidar vs. camera-based systems, and explores the global adoption of self-driving technology. They also cover future predictions, developments in China, and the role of AI in robotics.

TWiST Partner Offers

• OpenPhone: Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠

• LinkedIn Jobs: A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply.

• Beehiiv: Supercharge your newsletters with AI tools, referral programs, and ad network capabilities—all in one platform. Get a 30-day free trial and get 20% off your first three months at http://beehiiv.com/twist.

Founder University

Applications are open for Founder University Cohort 9, a 12-week remote pre-accelerator program tailored towards navigating early-startup practices, building an MVP, and growing traction. Submit your application at Founder University — Cohort 9 begins on October 25th!

The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker.