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Top News

• Anthropic acquires Vercept: Anthropic has a big decision to make this week… Accept the Pentagon’s demands and allow Claude to power autonomous weapons systems OR potentially lose not only its Defense Department contracts but collaborators across the US military-industrial complex. But while they weigh those options, the AI giant is still making movies. Anthropic announced today that it’s acquiring the Seattle startup Vercept, and will fold in the startup’s technology, and some of its team members. The Seattle startup integrates AI tools directly into your computer. Their debut product, Vy, allows you to command your machine using natural language alone. In a blog post announcing the deal, Anthropic explained that Vercept’s tech “maps directly onto some of the hardest problems we’re working on.”

• Kalshi alleges “insider trading”: Questions about whether insider trading is happening on prediction markets — and if it should actually matter — have been common on podcasts and social media lately (not to mention this newsletter). Now, for the first time, Kalshi — the largest prediction market in the US — has actually suspended a user for manipulating a market. Artem Kaptur, an employee of top YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast” Donaldson, placed around $4000 into various markets related to his boss’ videos. Kalshi found him after observing that his account had “near-perfect success” on MrBeast trades, even when backing long shot predictions with low odds. (It turns out, guesses about upcoming MrBeast content, his subscriber count, and even details of his personal life are a popular niche on prediction markets.) Kalshi not only froze Kaptur’s account, blocking him from collecting his winnings, he's also been suspended for 2 years, fined $20,000, AND reported to regulators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Plus he got in trouble at work; Beast Industries told NPR that they have a zero tolerance policy for using insider information for personal gain.

• Workday dismisses SaaSpocalypse theory: The iconic company produces HR and administrative software for managing employees, payroll, and teams. So naturally their stock has been tanking this week along with all the other high-profile SaaS companies, on the heels of a viral blog post and widespread speculation that AI agents are about to take over for software and apps en masse. But on a call with analysts on Tuesday, Workday CEO Aneel Bhusri made the case that these fears are overblown. In Bhusri’s view, established, trusted platforms like Workday serve as “true systems of record” that comply with legal and regulatory requirements in a way that no vibecoded solution ever could. Additionally, he noted “Anthropic, Google and OpenAI all run Workday,” suggesting that frontier AI tools are destined to live ALONGSIDE SaaS applications, not replace them entirely.

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London-based startup Wayve designed a neutral network that powers automated cars. Rather than going the Tesla route — employing their tech in their own branded vehicles — they’re planning to license it to large manufacturers, allowing them to focus on making great cars and not figuring out how to keep them from rolling over cats when they drive themselves. (RIP Kit Kat.)

As with Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) protocol, Wayve relies on traditional cameras positioned around the car for data collection, rather than more cumbersome (and costly) LIDAR sensors. Which makes sense; they’re designed to work on a range of modern vehicles, many of which already have cameras and radar systems integrated, but not the big spinning LIDAR inputs you see on top of Waymos.

ANOTHER key difference from Waymo technology: Wayve systems actually learn HOW TO DRIVE from extensive training data, much like how an LLM learns to write and reason by studying millions of documents and interactions. So they don’t require areas to be “pre-mapped.” as a Waymo vehicle does. Ultimately, the aim to produce an AI model — currently named LINGO — that’s so smart about physics, operating a vehicle, and the rules of the road, it can navigate just about any environment all on its own, in real time.

They're a relatively late entrant in the automated driving landscape. Waymo already has millions of robotaxis in operation, hoovering up real-time data. Tesla's FSD system had over 1.1 million subscribers as of late 2025. BUT if Wayve’s system actually ends up working, it’s a cheaper solution with significant appeal for major automakers looking to upgrade their fleets.

The company announced a $1.2 billion funding round this week (which could balloon up to $1.5 billion if they meet certain performance targets), at an $8.6 billion valuation. That's a near-record amount for a European AI startup. Investors include not just the usual suspects like SoftBank and Nvidia, but also Uber, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis, demonstrating just how eager car, taxi, and delivery companies are for this kind of plug-and-play solution. – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2254: It’s another All-OpenClaw All-The-Time episode of TWiST, with special guest builders Oliver Henry and Jeff Weisbein. Oliver’s the creator of Larrybrain, a protocol that he’s using to teach an AI agent how to make autonomous TikTok content that regularly goes viral. Jeff is the Clawd-pilled founder of WizardRFP and WhoCoversIt; he shared his essential guide for getting started AND his personal workflow and agentic framework. This is a must-see episode for newbs just starting their OpenClaw journey.

E2253: Alright, you’ve finally got OpenClaw set up, and you’re not blowing hundreds of dollars a day on tokens any more like a sucker. But how do you get your agents to really do productive work for you, rather than just goofing around and building themselves new interfaces? We’re checking in with new projects from Jordy Coltman, Jesse Leimgruber of OpenHome, and Tremaine Grant of Pulse, to learn how expert builders are getting lots more out of their OpenClaw set-ups.

E2252: OpenClaw Mania continues with Alex and a trio of expert builders: YouTuber Matthew Berman, NextVisit co-founder Ryan Yannelli, and Massive CEO/co-founder Jason Grad. They’re showing off their own personal projects, and also discussing what it’s going to take to get mainstream people as excited about OpenClaw as startup founders and tech nerds. Will there be a killer iPhone app bringing OpenClaw to the masses, or is this another geeky trend that will never hit the monoculture?

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