Meta Superintelligence is TBD

Top News

• Teething pains at TBD: The FT reports that Meta’s new superintelligence project is enduring a few bumps as it gets to work. One recent hire, ChatGPT co-creator Shengjia Zhao, nearly walked from the new group, known as ‘TBD.’ Turbulence is nothing new to a fast-moving corporate team, of course. The question before Meta, however, is what happens when you assemble a kitchen with chefs accustomed to having their own line cooks, and few other equals.

• Alibaba challenges Nvidia in China: Chinese ecommerce and cloud giant Alibaba is building a new, more flexible chip to power its AI compute needs. Huawei offers silicon that compete with offerings from Nvidia, but Alibaba and its domestic cloud peers are “resisting official suggestions that they should help the national champion, because they consider Huawei a direct rival in cloud services,” the WSJ reports. Amazon and Google have built their own chips, so the move is not de novo. Still, investors were excited to know that Jack Ma’s company wouldn’t be left stuck between using old Nvidia gear or subsidizing a rival.

• Meta changes chatbot rules: After Meta was criticized for allowing sensual conversations between its AI chatbots and minors, the company took steps to change its internal policies. Now, TechCrunch reports, the company is going even further. In the future, Meta chatbots will be trained not to “engage with teenage users on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations.” How that wasn’t the company’s posture from day one is inscrutable, but better late than never.

TWiST500

There’s a new push for the American government to work more closely with AI — on the double. Foundation model companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google intend to offer their services to government agencies for a pittance as they scramble for market share.

The addition of products from major American AI companies to the General Services Administration’s ‘Multiple Award Schedule,’ or MAS, earlier this month set them up to enter government workflows. (Once a vendor is included in the MAS, it can sell to different agencies with pre-approved pricing.)

However, xAI was missing from the GSA schedule until this week, following a public issue with its Grok chatbot. That’s changing. The White House recently pushed for xAI to receive MAS status, and Wired reports that the calls for change had their desired impact.

For xAI, which came to market later than its rivals, the ability to win federal contracts is a big deal. In general, Elon Musk’s AI venture is having a good week. The company’s new, quick coding model is seeing rapid uptake by developers, as we discussed on the show today, to pick an example.

It feels odd discussing federal contracting in a startup context, but as we expect AI to impact much of modern life that it is also showing up in public budgets shouldn’t surprise. Now the fun question: Which AI model shop will win the most federal demand? That could be a nine, or even ten-figure question and answer. — Alex

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This Week in Startups

E2170: On Wednesday’s new TWiST, Jason and Alex survey the flood of AI-powered note-taking apps and debate whether there’s any more need for Granola now that Notion has its own native version. PLUS another death has been linked to ChatGPT… is it too easy to get around OpenAI’s safeguards? Is it time for Apple to just buy its way to AI success? Will the US Navy clear a path for more defense tech startups? PLUS a check-in with Colin Russ, whose viral X thread suggested companies may be posting fake jobs to manipulate the H-1B visa process. Check it out!

E2169: It’s an all-new TWiST! Jason and Alex start off by talking about cycles of cynicism, and how even the most amazing technological innovations are always greeted by raised eyebrows, doubt, and trepidation. Then it’s on to a huge news day, with updates about Intel, AirBnB’s co-founder joining the government, the Netskope IPO, Perplexity’s rev share deal with publishers, and much much more.

E2168: On today’s TWiST, some of the fallout from Terra and Luna’s $60 billion implosion, more hints about a potential September rate cut, Canva’s making a major comeback (and feuding with Figma), PLUS OpenAI officially crossed $1 billion in monthly revenue. Finally, Jason and Alex consider Uber’s latest robotaxi push, and why it has already sparked protests from Wuhan to Boston.

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Angel University is Back!

Jason and Mike Savino are hosting our next virtual Angel University workshop on Tuesday, October 7. Jason will share proven strategies he’s used to invest $200M+ in over 500 startups. Whether you’re new to angel investing or looking to sharpen your skills, this is your chance to learn directly from one of the most active angel investors in the world. Register now at angel.university!

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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