So long and thanks for all the chips...

Top News

• NYT raises alarm on Taiwan chips: A widely-shared piece from today’s Times suggests that a Chinese incursion into Taiwan could be imminent, and that Western tech companies are not fully prepared for the consequences. Speaking at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid out the concern: “97% of…high-end computer chips are made in Taiwan,” representing the “single biggest threat to the world economy.” A 2022 report commissioned by the Semiconductor Industry Association speculates that China cutting of supplies of Taiwanese chips could trigger “the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression.” By most accounts, US tech companies only have enough semiconductors on hand to operate for “several months” before collapsing. The biggest impediment to correcting the problem: US companies would have to commit to buying new chips produced in the US, which are more costly than their Taiwanese counterparts.

• Pentagon puts Anthropic on a deadline: The standoff between the newly-renamed Department of War and one of its major AI providers rages on this week. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had a reportedly “tense meeting” with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday to discuss the impasse — while the US military wants unfettered (legal) access to Anthropic’s Claude, the company opposes plans to use the tech for mass domestic surveillance or completely autonomous weapons. The debate remains unresolved at this hour. Hegseth has given Anthropic until Friday evening to update its policies, or he plans to label the company a “supply chain risk.” That would require other Pentagon contractors to certify that they’re also not utilizing Anthropic models.

• Subject secures $28M venture round: The company produces an AI-powered platform for teachers of grades 6-12, helping schools to broaden their course offerings and support students in a variety of languages without sacrificing “academic rigor.” They’re already partnered with more than 1,000 schools across the US, in more than 360 districts and organizations, and their courses and tools have been accredited by major educational players like the NCAA and the College Board. The new round was led by Vistara Growth; existing investors include True Equity and Kleiner Perkins.

TWiST 500

Now here’s a (memorable) name we haven’t heard for a while… SambaNova!

The TWiST 500 AI chip startup not only announced a fresh $350 million funding round but they also dropped a brand-new chip: the SN50. The company claims it runs five times faster than comparable processors, and will be available for sale later this year through a partnership with Intel (which is also an investor).

That Intel relationship runs pretty deep, actually. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also serves as the chairman of SambaNova, and Bloomberg suggests the latest collaboration could presage an overall acquisition at some point. (Tan reportedly recused himself from the deal negotiations to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.) SoftBank — already a fan of some older SambaNova products — is expected to be the first customer to deploy SN50s in an active system.

Samba’s one of several companies (from innovative startups like Cerebras and Groq to hyperscalers like Amazon and Google) trying to carve out some space in a high-end US chip market that has been largely dominated by Nvidia. Considering the big Times story about the potential loss of Taiwan as the West’s primary chip supplier, there’s bound to be even more attention on this vertical than usual.

SambaNova declined to provide an updated valuation, but Bloomberg reports that it’s in the neighborhood of $2 billion. That’s significantly less than the $5 billion the company was valued at in 2021, when SoftBank first invested. Potentially explaining their shyness to provide the new number. – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2254: It’s another All-OpenClaw All-The-Time episode of TWiST, with special guest builders Oliver Henry and Jeff Weisbein. Oliver’s the creator of Larrybrain, a protocol that he’s using to teach an AI agent how to make autonomous TikTok content that regularly goes viral. Jeff is the Clawd-pilled founder of WizardRFP and WhoCoversIt; he shared his essential guide for getting started AND his personal workflow and agentic framework. This is a must-see episode for newbs just starting their OpenClaw journey.

E2253: Alright, you’ve finally got OpenClaw set up, and you’re not blowing hundreds of dollars a day on tokens any more like a sucker. But how do you get your agents to really do productive work for you, rather than just goofing around and building themselves new interfaces? We’re checking in with new projects from Jordy Coltman, Jesse Leimgruber of OpenHome, and Tremaine Grant of Pulse, to learn how expert builders are getting lots more out of their OpenClaw set-ups.

E2252: OpenClaw Mania continues with Alex and a trio of expert builders: YouTuber Matthew Berman, NextVisit co-founder Ryan Yannelli, and Massive CEO/co-founder Jason Grad. They’re showing off their own personal projects, and also discussing what it’s going to take to get mainstream people as excited about OpenClaw as startup founders and tech nerds. Will there be a killer iPhone app bringing OpenClaw to the masses, or is this another geeky trend that will never hit the monoculture?

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