Lords of the Smart Rings

Top News

• Sandbar launches Stream Ring: We’ve written a few times recently about Oura, the smart ring-maker that has really started to find its stride, and is now valued at a hefty $11 billion. Well, there’s a new player in the smart ring scene, though they’re not using the wearable device to monitor your health and/or wellness. A startup called Sandbar has introduced Stream Ring, an AI smart ring you wear on your index finger and use to record personal audio throughout the day. (Think Norm MacDonald’s old “note to self” bit, only this time, the notes get transcribed into text, and stored for further review in the Stream Ring app.) It also serves as a mini-speaker for playing music, and yes, it’s waterproof, so you can preserve your precious thoughts even on rainy days.

• Synchron raised $200 million: The Neuralink competitor is also working toward “digital telepathy” brain implants allow humans to interact with computer systems using only the power of their minds. But unlike the famed Elon Musk venture, Synchron’s implants are inserted through your blood vessels, eliminating the need for costly and invasive surgical procedures. The company’s initial device, Stentrode, is threaded into place along the user’s circulatory system, and sits in a blood vessel atop the brain, rather than inside the actual organ. The company plans to use the new funds on clinical trials, as they work toward regulatory approval in the US.

• BeeBot or BeeNot? Foursquare mastermind (aww, remember Foursquare…) Dennis Crowley is back with a new social app, and of course it wants to know where you are, right this moment. BeeBot is an AI-powered “DJ” that provides “contextual audio updates” as you move through the world. Crowley describes it as an “app for AirPods,” that turns itself on whenever you have Apple’s signature devices in-ear, and sends you snippets of audio with info dives on the people, places, and events going on around you. Annoying… or helpful? That’s in the ear of the beholder.

TWiST 500

We don’t just WRITE about AI startups here at the TWiST 500 Ticker… we try as best we can to actually dive in and play with as many of these innovative new tools as possible. So we’re using various LLMs and lengthy, carefully-crafted prompts to help our human editors gauge the startups we’re allowing into the TWiST 500. Gemini, GPT-5, and Claude can all — at this point — produce a pretty solid research-led rundown of a new startup, so long as you’re very clear up front about the expectations and ground rules. (For example, we don’t just tell the LLM to give us the size of the market… we tell it we prefer bottom-up market opportunity math, and even give it the exact protocol to follow in its calculations.)

Here are some startups I’ve run through the system this week for TWiST 500 consideration… Watch this space to see how they did once we let the bots and our investment team at them…

• Inception: Diffusion AI models work through refining various iterations of an output, improving and fine-tuning the result with each pass. Most famously, this process powers text-to-image/video models like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and OpenAI’s Sora. But Inception designs diffusion AI models for a wider range of tasks; for example, the company’s flagship Mercury model assists software developers. The company argues that diffusion cuts down on both latency and compute costs, and they’ve raised $50 million in seed funding to test this thesis.

• Metropolis: Fun Fact: The parking garage in Downtown Austin where most of our LAUNCH team leaves their cars all day is a Metropolis-run lot. They use computer vision and AI to spot and monitor your vehicle, allowing you to pay easily via app and generally making the entire parking structure experience frictionless and less time-consuming. The LA-based company raised a whopping $1.6 billion in new funds — on TOP of a $1.1 billion term loan backed by revenue from its current lots — to hire new talent, accelerate product development, and expand into new sectors like retail, drive-thru restaurants, and gas stations.

• Giga: There are many startups in the Voice AI space right now. (Claude lists Giga’s chief competitors as ElevenLabs, Vapi, and Sierra, per my recent query.) BUT there is something to differentiate Giga’s approach: deployment speed. According to co-founder Varun Vummadi, Giga’s AI-powered customer service bots can be deployed at enterprise scale in under two weeks, while competitors could take months for the same installation. DoorDash is an early customer, and now the SF-based company has raised a $61 million Series A round, led by Redpoint. – Lon

A message from Uber AI Solutions

Your trusted partner to get AI to work in the real world. Book a demo with them TODAY at Uber.com/twist

This Week in Startups

E2204: It’s another special VC Roundtable episode, in which Jason and Alex welcome esteemed guest Deedy Das of Menlo Partners and Jay Eum of GFT Ventures. Together they discuss Roelof Botha’s unexpected exit from Sequoia, why being a VC may no longer be the best way to get rich, the growing importance of the pro-sumer market for AI apps, some tasty ChatGPT smile curves, and much more.

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.

TWiST Partner Offers

• 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.

• Crusoe Cloud: Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit crusoe.ai/startup to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.

• Northwest Registered Agent: Starting your business should be simple. With Northwest Registered Agent, you can form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. From LLCs to trademarks, domains to custom websites, they’ve got you covered. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!

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.

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