Surveilling for Dollars!

Top News

• Neon will pay money to record you: Neon Mobile is currently ranked #2 in the iOS App Store in the social networking category, and it has a… let’s say unique premise. The company pays you to make phone calls, which they record and sell as data to AI companies. In exchange for their total loss of privacy, users receive 30 cents per minute when they call other Neon users, and up to $30 per day just for chatting on the phone with anyone in particular. (There are also benefits for referrals, of course.) Though the Terms of Service suggest Neon reserves the right to record both your inbound and outbound calls, the company’s marketing says it’s only doing that when you phone other Neon users. Is this a fair trade-off, or a sign that Americans are getting increasingly desperate for reliable income streams? Both?!

• xAI cleared for more government work: The General Services Administration (GSA) expanded its agreement with Elon Musk’s xAI, the makers of Grok, opening it up to more federal agencies. xAI will offer Grok’s AI models for the low low price of 42 cents per organization, even less than the $1 annual fee being charged by rivals OpenAI for their GPT suite. Meta, Anthropic, and Google also have government contracts for their AI products now, as part of the Trump administration’s OneGov initiative ramping up adoption of cutting-edge tools.

• Juicebox raises $30M Series A: The startup uses LLMs to help companies find and recruit qualified candidates. That may sound like an EXCEPTIONALLY crowded space, but while most companies with this idea use AI to simply narrow down the field of candidates — allowing human recruiters to take over and actually find the ideal individual to join the team — Juicebox goes a few steps further, analyzing candidates’ websites, online profiles and other publicly available information to generate holistic, and insightful, dossiers. Sequoia partner David Cahn is a true believer, and the iconic VC firm led the company’s $30 million Series A, bringing their total funding to $36 million so far.

TWiST 500

Crypto markets are plunging today in the midst of a large-scale selloff, but it hasn’t entirely dampened the industry’s considerable momentum going into the back stretch of 2025. Unfriendly red candles aside, optimism towards blockchain tech and decentralized markets continues to abound.

For example, long-time crypto exchange (and friends of the pod) Kraken have “quietly” closed a $500 million round, at a hefty $150 billion valuation, as they continue laying the groundwork for a potential 2026 IPO. That’s even more noteworthy when you consider that, up until this year, the company had only brought in $27 million in VC funding TOTAL to date. It’s not so surprising, though, that investors are eager to throw dollars at Kraken. It was launched way back in 2011, making it one of the longest-lasting players in the space. PLUS the exchange is doing strong business; they brought in $411 million in revenue in the second quarter of this year alone.

Another TWiST 500 whale in the crypto space, stablecoin issuers Circle, made headlines this week. They’ve developed a way to potentially reverse stablecoin transactions in cases of alleged fraud or other disputes. The concept would certainly make crypto transactions more appealing to everyday consumers, who live in a world where “give me my money back!” is a very real and frequently actionable request.

But as Coindesk points out, among crypto purists, there’s a strong preference for all transactions being FINAL. (For many, the entire concept of crypto is tied to decentralization. As reversing a transaction relies on a decision by a third-party authority, it violates the entire purpose of the blockchain. For some!) For his part, Circle president Heath Tarbert notes the conflict here, telling Coindesk that “there’s an inherent tension there between being able to transfer something immediately, but having it be irrevocable.”

As tokens and memecoins creep deeper and deeper into everyone’s portfolios, we can likely anticipate more of these kinds of tough, even existential decisions in the coming months and years. – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2183: What is “workslop”? In this TWiST, Jason, Alex, and Lon consider a new study out of Harvard and Stanford that finds many workers are using AI tools, but lazily and ineffectively, ending up creating MORE work for their colleagues. Could this explain the OTHER studies showing a lack of productivity gains from AI adoption? Maybe! Plus YouTube invites back banned creators, Stripe buys back its own shares, and much more.

E2182: We’re Alex-free this Monday, so Jason and Lon work their way through the day’s biggest tech and startup news. First up, did the Trump administration borrow and then super-size Jason’s H-1B visa proposal? It sure sounds like it. PLUS the latest on TikTok USA, the explosion of Scandinavian data centers, a new launch video for AI virtual assistant startup Howie, and much more.

E2181: Lovable CEO Anton Osika joins us for a blockbuster new TWiST, going deep on his journey developing the app that taught the world how to vibecode. Hear Anton discuss how people are using Lovable, how he balances accessibility with driving revenue, why Stockholm has become such a major tech hub, and much more. PLUS Alex and Jason check out Meta’s latest Ray Bans, Beehiiv’s team-up with Discord, and much more!

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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/

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.

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