Come on in, the Slop's fine!

Top News

• Sora soars to new heights: The viral OpenAI app — which allows users to generate 10-second video clips of just about anything, then share them on a TikTok-style feed — has hit 1 million downloads in just five days post-launch. That’s according to a post from the company’s Sora chief, Bill Peebles, who notes that the app reached the milestone even faster than their flagship chatbot, ChatGPT. But while Sora has been a hit with users, it’s less popular among the publishers and media companies whose IP is routinely being remixed by eager fans. Hollywood’s top talent agency, CAA, released a statement this week accusing OpenAI of exposing artists to “significant risk,” while Reuters reports that Disney already opted out of having its characters appear in Sora altogether.

• SoundCloud gets social: The venerable music streaming app may be well past its heyday — when it was at the center of independent music sharing, and “SoundCloud Rap” was its own distinct genre — but they’re still releasing new features and trying to win over fresh fans from higher profile rivals. On Thursday, Soundcloud announced the addition of social playlists based on your friends’ favorite artists and songs. There are also new notifications on your homepage about what songs are currently being enjoyed by your “crew.” These are all good ideas for ways to boost engagement, but SoundCloud’s got a lot of ground to make up, and other music platforms have also had similar ideas. Spotify added a direct messaging feature of their own over the summer, encouraging you to pester your friends with fresh recommendations.

• Come on, bro, I’ve got Tigris blood: Most AI companies are using the same Big 3 cloud storage providers as every other startup: AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. But these companies’ set-ups weren’t necessarily designed for the way AI infrastructures actually work. Many AI-focused startups and enterprises are opting for distributed networks spread across multiple regions as a more effective compute layout and structure. Enter Tigris, a network of localized data storage centers offering the ability to “move with your compute,” that’s daring to take on what co-founder and CEO Ovais Tariq called “Big Cloud.” The company comes from a team with significant data storage experience; they previously developed the storage platform currently in use over at Uber. Now they’ve raised a $25 million Series A led by Spark Capital for the bold new undertaking.

TWiST 500

It’s a big news day in the world of tech, providing us an opportunity to check in with three TWiST 500 favorites that we haven’t written about in a while!

• Reflection AI: The model-makers want to be the DeepSeek of the US, producing high-level, fast, efficient, and open-source models that can keep the West competitive in the global AI race. Co-founder and CEO Misha Laskin is not exactly shy about the comparison, telling the New York Times this week that the company aims to fill “a DeepSeek-shaped hole in the US.” Now, despite the general hesitance about open-source models more generally, Reflection scored $2 billion in new funding, in a round led by — who else? — Nvidia.

• n8n: The German startup helps teams to develop and deploy their own AI agents, allowing them to automate repetitive tasks via a drag-and-drop interface, with little-to-no coding required. Unlike a lot of competitors in the agentic space, n8n is declining to zero in on a specific sector or industry, preferring to release general purpose tools that everyone can enjoy. So far, the approach seems to be working. The company raised a new $180 million funding round at a $2.5 billion valuation, and already has active contracts with some big-time enterprise clients, including Vodafone.

• Discord: The social and community platform reports that the personal information — including potentially government-issued ID photos — of more than 70,000 users was exposed during last week’s breach. A group that reportedly got into Discord via its Zendesk instance claims to have 1.5 TB worth of age verification photos, and 2.18 TB of photos overall. It’s another reminder of a key disadvantage with “age verification” schemes, which are increasingly popular among local and national governments: requiring companies to gather and keep databases of user photos creates a tantalizing prize for hackers and other bad actors worldwide.

A message from NexosAI

Stop Shadow AI in its tracks with the unified platform for secure AI adoption and productivity. Try it with a free 14-day trial at https://nexos.ai/twist.

This Week in Startups

E2190: Zach Dell joins Jason and Alex LIVE from the floor of Nasdaq, to talk about Base Power’s new $1 billion investment, and the challenges of making their batteries deep in the heart of Texas. Plus, it turns out Tesla is not releasing an upside-down fan car… We’re checking out what they actually announced. Also, is Tim Cook LEAVING Apple? And who might replace him? We consider the possibilities.

E2189: On TWiST, we’re considering the latest OpenAI mega-deal with AMD, and ponder just who is paying who for what in all of these extremely circular compute-for-cash agreements. PLUS Jason thinks Tesla might FINALLY be releasing the infamous Roadster 2, Jeff Bezos’ long-ago “datacenters in space” prediction might be company true, we investigate what Figure’s robots are REALLY doing for BMW, and Jason and Alex try their hand at Y Combinator’s new interactive gaming feature, YC Arena.

E2188: The TWiST Team has spent some serious time playing with the Sora app now, and they have PRESSING feedback for Team OpenAI. Hear all about their experiences in the #1 iOS Store app, PLUS the latest on the Brave browser, why Jason would sell his OpenAI shares as quickly as possible, Apple pulls the ICEBlock app amid criticism, AND one founder’s elite coffee shop trick that landed him three VC intros.

TWiST Partner Offers

• Vanta: Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. Get $1,000 off for a limited time at http://www.vanta.com/twist.

• 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.

• Sentry: Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. - New users get 3 months free of the Business plan which covers 150k errors. Go to http://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST

Founder U is Coming to the MENA Region!

Our 12-week pre-accelerator—designed to help early-stage founders build and grow—kicks off this fall in Saudi Arabia. The first cohort launches in Riyadh on November 3rd, followed by in-person and virtual sessions throughout the program. Founders in MENA: this is your chance to turn your idea into a business and get world-class insights on building a successful startup. Apply today: https://mena.founder.university/

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.