Lost in the vastness of SpaceX

Author

Alex Wilhelm
December 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Top News

  • SpaceX may list in 2026: As SpaceX works on a tender offer at a valuation as high as $800 billion, The Information reports that the space launch and satellite Internet company is “aiming for an initial public offering in the second half of next year.” If SpaceX does list in 2026, its flotation would be one of the largest in history, by valuation measurements. And if SpaceX does raise primary capital when it goes public, its IPO could become one of the largest public offerings in history in terms of funds raised. Starlink would go public as part of the offering, per Katie Roof. This is one S-1 we cannot wait to read.

  • Meta buys Limitless: Venture-backed AI pendant company Limitless is being purchased by the social giant Meta, which is investing heavily into building its own AI models and consumer AI products. As part of the deal, Limitless will stop selling its hardware, offer existing subscribers a free year of paid access, and provide a data offramp for current hardware owners. While several companies have tried to build AI hardware — OpenAI is working on its own device, recall — few, apart from Meta’s computationally infused sunglasses, have proved sustainably popular.

  • Netflix will buy WBD: Ever wanted HBO on your Netflix? Good news! With a winning bid worth $72 billion, Netflix will soon own the studio and streaming portion of Warner Bros Discovery, which includes HBO and other IP like the DC Comics universe. Netflix will fund the purchase using a blend of equity and debt, with financing already in place. Lon and Jason discussed the impact of the deal on movie theaters during the show today, as Netflix is not incredibly interested in supporting in-person movie watching. If you are not a theater fan, however, the ability to consolidate your streaming budget may appear attractive.

TWiST 500

The New York Times is suing Perplexity for copyright infringement. The suit follows the Chicago Tribune's lawsuit against Perplexity earlier this week, also for copyright infringement.

Perplexity, an AI search engine and browser-builder that’s also a member of the TWIST500, has proved a magnet for legal complaints during its quick rise to a $20 billion valuation and nine-figure revenues. Cloudflare has complained that Perplexity doesn’t follow the normal rules of the Internet. Reddit sued the company for scraping. And Amazon sent Perplexity cease-and-desist letters over its agent-based commerce features a few weeks back.

Jason and I share the view that AI companies should compensate data sources when they utilize their information. (I would add that the need for payment is doubly vital in RAG contexts, but that’s perhaps splitting hairs too finely.) What matters is that Perplexity doesn’t appear to agree. The Times sent the company letters demanding that it stop using its content sans an agreement, a deal that never came together.

Perplexity will prove a useful test case for the differing perspectives on the rules of the road for AI models, the use of online material, and even user-directed AI agents behaving as if they were actual persons using the Internet instead of machines. AI startups want to pay as little as possible for the data they use, while their legal rivals are demanding what they consider fair compensation. We’ll sort it out in court.

What’s at stake? The gross margins of many an AI startup. If they wind up having to pay per RAG query to online sources, their revenue costs could rise sharply. And that might dent their shine in the eyes of their venture backers. — Alex

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This Week in Startups

E2218: Jason spends the full hour with Athena founder and chairman Jonathan Swanson, discussing their shared history from the Thumbtack days, and the decision to leave marketplaces behind and go all-in on virtual assistants. Together, they discuss how delegation can not just massively increase your productivity, but allow you to tackle all sorts of projects and goals that would have been unthinkable otherwise. Plus Jonathan gives us his tips on avoiding the “Cardinal Sins of Delegating.”

E2217: On a special Tuesday edition of TWiST, we welcome two awesome guests from noteworthy TWiST 500 startups. First, Monumental CEO Salar al Khafaji walks us through how his company makes construction robots “play nice” with one another on work sites. THEN we’ve got Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan showcasing the next generation of autonomous marine craft, and filling us in on why it’s so hard to defend against tiny, agile drones. Finally, Jason takes some of YOUR pressing Founder Q’s.

E2216: Now that Bitcoin is dipping ever-downward, what does that mean for Michael Saylor’s Strategy strategy? Jason and Alex run the numbers on TWiST, and remain pretty skeptical about the company’s central, increasingly convoluted, digital debt-based financial scheme. PLUS is Tether “too good to be true,” as an investment? Why the US may have waited too long to pass stablecoin regulations. And Jason’s response to the NYT “exposé” about his Bestie David Sacks.

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LAUNCH 35 Public Demo Day

Our 35th LAUNCH Accelerator cohort is graduating in just a few weeks and we’d love for YOU to attend their Public Demo Day!

Investor Networking Lunch in SF

Jason and LAUNCH are hosting an investor networking lunch, followed by pitches from our latest Accelerator batch. Join us for Dim Sum in San Francisco on Friday, December 5th. (Or forward this to your investor friends.)

  • Date/Time: Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 12-3PM PT

  • Format: Dim sum lunch, followed by founder pitches & investor networking

  • Location: TBA (Chinatown area)

Spots are limited, please RSVP here. The LAUNCH team will email you confirmation once your registration is accepted. You must be an accredited investor or work for a VC Fund to join.

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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