In space, we can hear you now

Top News

• Verizon bets on next-gen connectivity: Venerable Internet connectivity company Verizon is partnering with AST SpaceMobile to bring space-based cellular coverage starting in 2026. And the company announced today that it will buy the remains of Starry Internet, which focused on using millimeter waves to beam Internet to entire buildings. Added to Verizon’s existing fiber-and-tower connection options, and the future is looking more plugged-in than ever. (Which is bullish for AI usage, if you want to think of it in that way.)

• EU startups push back against surveillance: The proposed ‘Chat Control’ project in the EU is accumulating opposition. Germany came out against the effort to scan private messages, including encrypted information, and it’s not alone. A collection of European tech companies (large and small) have put together an open letter demanding that the EU reject “measures that would force the implementation of client-side scanning, backdoors, or mass surveillance of private communications.” The tech collective argues that protecting children matters — chat control is framed as a way to detect CSAM online — but that the way Chat Control goes about the issue is misguided.

• Everyone loves applied AI: Crosby (legal applied AI) just announced a $20 million round. As we covered in the Ticker, Further (insurance-related AI) raised $25 million the other day. And Heidi Health (medical AI), Alvys (logistics AI), Einride (self-driving AI), Periodic Labs (science applied AI), Alex (recruiting AI) all recently raised capital. This is why so many of the world’s venture capital dollars are flowing into the AI realm today — if a startup isn’t putting AI to work, they are all but invisible.

TWiST 500

Polymarket will raise up to $2 billion from the NYSE’s parent company in a funding round that raises its valuation to somewhere between $9 billion and $10 billion. The move gives the prediction market a potential revenue stream (its new shareholder wants to lever its data) and a war chest par excellence.

But the new capital is actually only a fraction of the story. As part of its announcement, the TWiST500 company also disclosed that it raised $55 million before the election last year at a $350 million valuation, and $150 million earlier this year at a $1.2 billion valuation. Investors in those rounds — Blockchain Capital and Founders Fund led, respectively — are now awash in paper gains.

Just as Polymarket itself may be set up for torrid growth. Today on the podcast, Jason wagered that Polymarket’s upcoming launch in the United States will see it triple its volume in the first year it’s available Stateside. I took the under on the bet because we needed someone to take the other side, but the question of how big Polymarket can get — and how quickly — is not idle. The company has thus far taken either nothing or very little from its trading volumes. For users, not paying a vig to the company has been great, but if Polymarket intends to grow into its new valuation, it will need gobs of top line. And if you have more volume on which to apply a take rate, you can afford to charge a little bit less per trade.

That the NYSE and its parent want to lean on Polymarket’s crypto expertise as they dig into tokenization more deeply is good strategic rationale for Polymarket’s skyrocketing value, which you’d normally expect from a company hauling in hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly revenue. — Alex

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This Week in Startups

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.

E2187: Jason and Alex took a look at Sora 2 on this week’s TWiST, and wondered aloud about whether or not we should actually consider this content “Slop” or not. (The debate rages on.) Plus are Synthetic Performers like Tilly Norwood the future of Hollywood, or pure hype, why Jason thinks the death of the Boomers will be a huge boost for crypto, and our thoughts on the coming Wealthfront IPO.

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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/

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