Spy vs. Spy vs. OpenAI

Author

Lon Harris
July 08, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Top News

  • OpenAI tightens security over espionage fears: The Financial Times reports that OpenAI has accelerated an already-in-progress security clampdown, limiting staff access to new products and “sensitive algorithms,” keeping proprietary technology on offline computers, requiring explicit approval for external connections, and even scanning employee fingerprints in office areas. The new protocol is reportedly a direct response to China’s DeepSeek, which OpenAI has accused of improperly copying its models via a process known as “distillation.”

  • AirGarage raises $23 million: The platform manages and operates 300+ parking facilities across the US, collecting data that increases efficiency (allowing, for example, real-time dynamic pricing). Their $23 million Series B was led by Headline Growth; the company was founded in 2017 and has previously raised $41 million. The hope is that, some day, it can expand into other kinds of asset management benefiting from real-time data collection, such as office space or hotel rooms.

  • Xpanceo raises $250M for smart contacts: The Dubai-based startup has developed cutting edge contact lenses that are capable of zooming and night vision, and also provide real-time biometric health data. A Series A round was led by Hong Kong’s Opportunity Venture (Asia) Ltd. and values the firm at around $1.35 billion.

TWiST500

The TWiST 500 includes a diverse range of companies, big and small, but some of them are definitely more compelling to the mainstream media than others, dominating headlines and news coverage.

One startup that consistently fights out of its class, in terms of attention from reporters, is Bluesky, the social networking app that famously positioned itself as an alternative to Elon Musk’s everything app, X. The ‘Sky has around 3.5 million daily active users, but every new feature announcement is guaranteed to make the front page.

This week, Bluesky turned on Activity Notifications, the familiar bell icon users can hit so they’ll receive an update whenever a particular account posts. (It’s a long-standing and frequently used Twitter/X feature.)

The timing here makes sense. Bluesky has made growing its presence among frequent sports viewers a top priority, and notifications on accounts like, say, ESPN help keep fans informed about when a major live event is about to begin.

Another TWiST 500 All Atar that dominates news coverage is Replit. It’s understandable why, considering what a hot streak the vibe coding company has been on, growing 10x in just under 6 months.

The latest positive news for Replit is a newly-signed strategic partnership with Microsoft, which will make the product available through the Azure Marketplace enterprise cloud app store, allowing third parties to sign up or renew their subscriptions automatically. Replit will also integrate their technology in with various Microsoft cloud services.

Microsoft already has a vibe coder of its own — Github’s Copilot — but according to TechCrunch, it provides different kinds of services and use cases from Replit, so there won’t be a tremendous amount of overlap. Overall, it’s great news for Microsoft and Replit, and maybe slightly less positive for Replit’s key rival, Anysphere’s Cursor. – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2148: Jason’s back in Austin, and he and Alex are running down a huge holiday weekend in tech news. Exits are heating up with $67.7B in Q2 activity, QSBS got a major expansion in the Big Beautiful Bill, Robinhood is pushing boundaries with its tokenized SPV innovation, PLUS Jason’s thoughts on Elon Musk’s new “America Party” and a brand new NFL-themed Polymarket.

E2147: Alex hosts another blockbuster panel of insiders, with Astasia Myers from Felicis, Matt Turck of First Mark Capital, and D.A. Wallach from Time BioVentures joining for a deep-dive on the biotech Great Depression, the post-Q2 startup landscape, revenue durability and product market fit in AI, supporting founders from academia, innovations in fertility and pre-natal treatments, and much much more.

E2146: Jason’s away, but Alex is hosting founders from not just one or two but FOUR of our favorite startups! First up, Grammerly CEO Shishir Mehrotra AND Superhuman founder Rahul Vohra join together to talk about their companies coming together, and how they plan to use AI to reshape the future of work. PLUS Manu Sharma from data labeling innovators LabelBox AND Jeff Cardenas from humanoid robot startup Apptronik. Now that’s a packed show!

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LAUNCH Accelerator

Our current Accelerator batch is graduating! Watch 11 strong startups pitch to Jason and our investor-judges. We are livestreaming the event on Monday, July 28th at 12:30 PM PT. Register here.

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Founder University

Applications are open for Founder University Cohort 11, 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 Summer 2025!

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