"Hey, Siri... or Google... anyone, really."

Top News

• Apple taps Google: Bloomberg reports that Apple will use a 1.3 trillion parameter model from Google to power Siri until it can build a model of its own that can handle the work. The deal could be worth as much as $1 billion per year, and Google’s selection represents a setback for OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which were vetted by Cupertino. Apple also serves its users Google search products, though the money flows in the opposite direction in that case. Apple has long been praised for its hardware prowess. Hardware that is, increasingly, powered by code from Mountain View.

• Ripple raises $400M: The company behind the well-known XRP digital token has raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation thanks to Citadel and Fortress. While Ripple is historically associated with XRP, the FT reminds us, the company also has a stablecoin in the market. Ripple USD, or RLUSD as it’s commonly known, grew from around $50 million in supply to start the year to just over $1 billion in the fourth quarter.

• OpenAI’s business results soar: In the wake of RevenueGate, OpenAI is sharing more information regarding its growth. While the AI giant’s revenue growth has been well-documented (perhaps $12 or $13 billion ARR today), OpenAI is best known for its consumer results. So in the face of market complaints that it’s writing (compute) checks that it (OpenAI’s future cash flow) can’t cash, the company is making sure to underline that it also has a thriving B2B business. Specifically, they’ve hit the one million business customer milestone, and now have seven million “ChatGPT for Work” seats sold, up some 40% in two months.

TWiST 500

Never bet against Bret Taylor.

The former Googler, Benchmark entrepreneur-in-residence, Friendfeed founder, Twitter board member, and CTO of Facebook — not to mention current OpenAI board member — is seeing success with his latest startup, TWiST500 members Sierra. Forbes reports that Sierra’s agentic customer support bots are on track to reach $100 million worth of annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of the fiscal year in January.

Notably, Sierra is not a fully-derisked asset for its backers. The company’s $10 billion valuation means that, by the time it reaches nine-figure ARR, it will still feature a 100x ARR multiple. Sierra will need to double, then double again to get that number down to something approaching public-market preparedness.

But let’s not worry. (Recall what we just said about betting against Taylor!)

Kidding aside, some startups and investors are indeed taking that bet. Intercom’s Fin agents compete with Sierra’s own offerings. Dixa is in the mix, too, along with PolyAI. Why are so many companies competing in and around the same voice agent market? Because major enterprises are finding material savings from the product category.

Salesforce reported that it’s saving $100 million per year thanks to AI customer service. And recent IPO Navan told investors that its “AI-powered virtual agent chatbot,” called Ava, is handling about half of its “user interactions” without the need for “human intervention,” helping bolster its gross margins ahead of listing.

AI agents are too brittle today to take on most kinds of work. But in some cases they are already up to the task. Expect their surface area to expand in 2026. — Alex

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This Week in Startups

E2203: Starcloud has sent its first chips into orbit… so we’re debating whether or not we’ll one day keep our datacenters up there… and also wondering whether or not wifi connections work in the vacuum of space. (See, we ask the IMPORTANT questions.) PLUS will OpenAI ever be able to earn back the trillions it’s dropping on power and GPUs? Can ChatGPT still help me identify this rash? AND why Jason thinks Netflix should consider picking up CNN along with the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery.

E2202: Producer Oliver makes an actual appearance on the pod to give us a deep dive Suno AI demo, showing Jason and Alex just how easy it is to compose and produce an original song based purely on text prompts. PLUS we’re checking out Higgsfield AI and their incredible face-swapping technology, debating when OpenAI will finally go public, and offering a STRONG WARNING to anyone relying on OpenAI’s APIs to build their business.

E2201: Grammarly CEO Shishir Mehrotra joins us to explain why his company is swapping names, taking on the mantle of Superhuman, the email helper it recently acquired. It just goes to show that, sometimes, a brand upgrade is still called for, even after you have 40 million active daily users. PLUS find out why Jason is off to Tokyo and everyone’s thoughts on 1x’s tele-operated chore-bot, Neo.

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• AWS Marketplace: If you’re ready to really accelerate your sales cycle, AWS Marketplace is your next stop. Just head to https://aws.amazon.com/startups to learn more.

Founder U and Angel University in Japan!

Jason’s coming to Tokyo on Nov 14 to launch a partnership with JETRO — bringing Founder University and Angel University to Japan, and connecting Japanese founders and investors with the global ecosystem. This event kicks off a ten-week program that we're starting in January, all culminating in an Immersion Week and Demo Day in SF. Register here: https://luma.com/cm0x90mk

We’re Hiring a Program Manager!

LAUNCH is seeking a program manager to help organize and manage the Japanese versions of Founder University and Angel University. Candidates must be fluent in both English and Japanese, and should plan on splitting their time between Tokyo and our home base in Austin, Texas. If you’re interested in this exciting opportunity, reach out to [email protected]!

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.

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