Putting the Open back in OpenAI

Top News

• OpenAI launches open-weight models: The company released two new language models — gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b — that run locally on personal computers, and allow for some level of user customization. Now, these are not QUITE the same thing as open-source models. Rather than releasing the entire pipeline — including their training code and training data — OpenAI made these new models’ weights and parameters publicly available, and they’re also allowing members of the public to download it to their own machines. Co-founder Greg Brockman explains that the new releases are not intended as a replacement for the company’s proprietary models and paid services, but as a compliment, because open-weight models “have a very different set of strengths.”

• Roku launches low-cost ad-free subscription streamer: The set-top box maker already owns the wildly-popular ad-supported Roku Channel platform. The new service, Howdy, runs just $2.99 per month, and includes a mix of Roku originals alongside licensed content from Lionsgate, Warner Bros., and elsewhere. Founder and CEO Anthony Wood suggests that Howdy is intended for dedicated Roku Channel fans who occasionally want an ad-free uninterrupted experience.

• Ghost adds new upgrades and features: The open-source publishing and newsletter platform doesn’t get the buzz and attention of rivals like Substack and Beehiiv but it has nonethless been demonstrating consistent growth. Just three years ago, Ghost’s revenue was at $4 million, with publisher earnings just breaking the $10 million milestone. This week, Ghost reports that it has reached over $8.5 million in annual revenue, while publishers on the platform have earned more than $100 million to date. The new “Ghost 6.0” release includes a fresh analytics suite developed along with TinyBird and a protocol that allows for easy cross-posting to BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon, and elsewhere.

TWiST500

It’s always a fun TWiST 500 roundup day when text-to-voice AI startup ElevenLabs has something new to announce. The last time was back in May, when they launched their first-ever general consumer app, which reads webpages, PDFs, and more aloud in a variety of different voices. (For free!)

Well, this week, the startup is back in the news with a new AI-powered service, Eleven Music, allowing users to generate their own original songs and music from plain text prompts. The Wall Street Journal’s example: “Create a smooth jazz song with a ‘60s vibe and powerful lyrics, but relaxing for a Friday afternoon.”

It’s a major step for the company, which up until now has focused more on generating realistic human voices than catchy singles. Original AI-generated music is also a bit of a fraught landscape at the moment. Just as publishers have filed a string of lawsuits against AI companies, arguing that training on published works and generating new outputs based on that content amounts to copyright infringement, the music industry has attempted to use the courts to block AI companies from training on their artists’ work.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) — which represents many of the world’s largest record labels — filed copyright infringement lawsuits against two AI music startups: Suno and Udio. RIAA argues that training AI models to create music amounts to theft, and they’re asking for $150,000 in compensation for each “new” work.

Much like Anthropic and OpenAI have argued in their lawsuits with publishers, Suno CEO Mikey Shulman makes the case that AI outputs are completely original, and don’t contain any re-used content.

On one level, this makes sense. If an AI-produced song clearly infringes on an artist’s original work, then that artist could already take the producer of the AI version to court. But in practice, these situations are not always so cut and dry. After all, the Udio app rose to mainstream attention earlier this year after being used by a producer named Metro Boomin to generate a Kendrick Lamar-Drake mashup called “BBL Drizzy.”

On one level, this song is a completely original work. Yet the entire APPEAL of the track is that it sounds a bit like Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Without that connection to the real original artists, the song loses its primary gimmick and hook.

ElevenLabs seems poised to avoid this entire conversation. The startup is working with Merlin Network, a digital rights agency that’s connected to independent music labels, along with rights management and music publishing firm Kobalt Music Group. (Eleven tells WSJ they hope to start working with the major labels in the near future.) By getting pre-approval from artists to use their songs for training, ElevenLabs could sidestep all the legal wrangling and get directly on with the business of churning out original tunes. – Lon

A message from AWS Activate

AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. As you build and scale your business, Activate Credits* grow with you to support your changing needs. Apply to AWS Activate today and receive up to $100,000 in credits. Visit aws.amazon.com/startups/credits

*All AWS Activate Credits are in USD and subject to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions.

This Week in Startups

E2160: It’s a packed news-heavy edition of This Week in Startups, with Jason and Alex asking which countries are leading the AI race (in terms of academics), debating whether covert agencies are spying on Meta’s superintelligence team, marveling at BYD’s mega car carrier, criticizing Lina Khan’s inappropriate Figma victory lap on social media, AND a big announcement. We’re bringing Founder University to the MENA region. Now that’s a podcast!

E2159: Alex is back with three more interviews with some of our favorite TWiST 500 founders. Dr. Hon Weng Chong of Cortical Labs walks us through the basics of biological computing. Then, Turing founder Jonathan Siddarth teaches us about LLM benchmarking and why these tests need to get much more difficult FAST. Finally, Brendan Foody of Mercor tells us how they’re using AI to rethink the hiring process.

E2158: It’s another all-star TWiST Investor Panel, featuring special guests Sophia Amoruso of TrustFund VC and Ryan Hoover of Weekend Fund (not to mention the best place to launch your new website, Product Hunt)! They’re going DEEP on the current landscape for startup investment, including discussions of durable vs. brittle revenue, various approaches to follow-on investments and recycling, and the crucial importance of hosting co-working events and jam sessions for founders. Don’t miss this one!

TWiST Partner Offers

• Squarespace: Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to http://www.squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

• Oracle: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or OCI, is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. Save up to 50% on your cloud bill at ⁠https://oracle.com/twist⁠⁠

• Monarch Money: Get control of your overall finances with Monarch Money. Visit monarchmoney.com/twist for half off on your first year.

TWiST wants to hear from YOU!

Along with our partners at Perspective AI, we’ve created a new AI-powered survey inviting our listeners to give us their feedback on the show, and specifically what kinds of topics they want to hear about on future episodes. Please take a few minutes to chat with Perspective’s friendly AI agent and share your thoughts on our podcast! We’d love to hear from you.

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/

Want to Work for This Week in Startups?

We’re looking to fill two in-person sales positions at our Austin, Texas HQ! First, a high-performing Sales Executive to help us seek out and promote clients, sponsorships, branded content, and more. Plus an experienced Sales Manager to lead, coach, and scale our sales executive team, while setting performance goals. Love the podcast and have B2B sales experience? We want to hear from you!

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.