So long and thanks for all the Skypes

Author

Alex Wilhelm
February 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Top News

  • Goodbye, Skype: Recall the last time that you used Skype. Has it been a minute? If it has, you’re not alone. So much so that Microsoft is killing off the venerable voice and text service later this year. Teams will replace it. You could argue that Microsoft fumbled Skype. Or that it undercut the product it spent billions on by promoting Teams. But it’s safe to say that the Skype era of communications was subsumed by Slack, Teams, and their peers. Pour one out for what Skype was.

  • Public VC firms? Axios reports that General Catalyst “is in the very early stages of considering an IPO.” The move could herald a massive shift in the American venture landscape. While there are publicly traded venture firms in Europe — Molten Ventures comes to mind — the model is less known in the United States. Still, as venture firms build internal funds and permanent capital bases, perhaps it’s time?

  • Waymo accelerates: Alphabet’s self-driving project now serves 200,000 paid rides each week. That’s still a minute fraction of Uber’s volume — which is in turn a fraction of the larger market — but still a 33% gain since we last heard from Waymo towards the end of 2024. Waymo is adding markets and capacity as Tesla gears up for its own competing service. Today on the show, Jason and Alex broke down how much capital it will take for Waymo or any competitor to build a truly massive fleet — but the data is only moving in one direction.

TWiST500

Closing out the week, how about a little news from perhaps the best-known company on the TWiST500? Yes, we’re talking about OpenAI. Again. Again.

Coming on the back of the release of GPT4.5, OpenAI released its Sora video-generating tool in more markets, including the EU and the UK. The move is notable in that Sora spent a long while under wraps and underwent a material hype cycle; seeing it land in new markets means lots of folks can now play with it. That’s news.

But what’s more important is that OpenAI brought Sora to the EU, where regulations are stricter when it comes to AI and other digital services than in the American market. That means that we’ve seen US-based tech companies hold some of their services back from EU shores, due either to pique or real concerns about liability.

But now, Sora is out! That bodes well for startups built here at home to sell into the lucrative European market. More market access means greater TAM, and that’s good for founders and investors alike.

There, some good news. How about that! — Alex


A message from Vanta

Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist

This Week in Startups

E2090: In a packed, epic, extended-length episode, Jason welcomes TWO mega-guests: Superhuman CEO/founder Rahul Vohra and Robinhood CEO/co-founder Vlad Tenev. Together, they trade philosophies of product design, relate their origin stories as founders, provide helpful tips about scaling, marketing, customer feedback and SO MUCH MORE. This is a can’t-miss TWiST.

E2089: We open with Jason’s heartfelt tribute to late Apple founder Steve Jobs on his 70th birthday, with a trip down memory lane to their infamous meeting at the D3 Conference in 2005. Plus Outlier’s new take on AI training data, the dangers of memecoins, Apple’s mega-investment in AI, and much more.

E2088: It’s an interview double-header guaranteed to make you smarter about AI and defense. First up, Jason chats with Bryan Hagris of Castelion about giving America a competitive edge on hypersonic missile technology. Then, Alex chats with Crunchbase CEO Jager McConnell about their big pivot from data to AI-powered predictions.

TWiST Partner Offers

  • Lemon.io: Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

  • 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!

  • Vapi: Add real-time, AI-powered voice conversations to your apps or business in minutes - not months! Go to http://Vapi.ai and use code Twist200 to get $200 in credits - that’s over 1,000 minutes in free calls.

Angel University

Angel University is back! Jason and Mike, President at LAUNCH, are hosting our next live Angel.University workshop in person on Wednesday, April 23rd, in NYC. Jason will be teaching the strategies he’s used to invest $100M+ in 300+ startups over the past decade. Register at: angel.university.

LAUNCH Accelerator

Applications are open for the 34th cohort of the LAUNCH Accelerator; a 14-week program focused on fundraising and growth. We invest $125K in our accepted companies and help them raise their pre-seed or seed round. Submit your application at LAUNCH Accelerator.

Founder University

Applications are also open for Founder University Cohort 10, a 12-week remote pre-accelerator program tailored towards navigating early-startup practices, building an MVP, and growing traction. Submit your application at Founder University— Cohort 10 will kick off Spring 2025!

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