Uncut Geminis

Top News

• Gemini gets an image upgrade: A viral AI image generator posted by a user named “nano-banana,” which has spent the last few weeks blowing up on the crowd-sourced benchmarking platform LMArena, turns out to have been Google all along. Users were actually testing out Gemini’s new AI image model — formally known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image — before it rolled out to subscribers this week. According to Google, the new model makes it easier and more effective to adjust, tweak, and fine-tune images based on natural language prompts than ever before.

• Anthropic reaches copyright settlement: The TWiST 500 AI company (and the minds behind the pod’s digital associate, Producer Claude) have reached a settlement with a group of authors in a much-watched class action copyright lawsuit. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit paused proceedings as the two sides finalize a historic deal, one of multiple ongoing cases pitting AI companies against content owners and publishers. This particular case concerns Anthropic’s use of two pirated content databases to train its models.

• Study: AI job displacement is here: A new study published by researchers from Stanford University confirms what we’ve all long suspected: Americans are already losing job opportunities to AI models. The study found that employment has dropped a startling 13% among workers in fields that are directly competitive with AI apps, such as accountants, administrative assistants, and of course developers. For workers outside those specific careers, employment trends have remained essentially steady, or even improved. It’s one of a few recent reports suggesting that “losing jobs to AI” has moved out of the purely theoretical and is now a daily reality.

TWiST500

We try to avoid delving TOO deeply into politics here in the TWiST Ticker. You’re here for startup news, after all, not bloviating from the right or left-wings.

But sometimes, a TWiST 500 story interacts with the proceedings of the federal government in a way that’s worth noting. For example, Axios reports that TWiST 500 prediction market Polymarket has received new funding from 1789 Capital, which counts presidential son Donald Trump Jr. among it leadership team. (Don Jr. will join Polymarket’s advisory board, according to the Axios report.)

This is intriguing on a number of levels. Most notably, Americans (like the Trumps) remain formally blocked from participating on Polymarket, though the wheels are already in motion on this. (You’ll recall that Polymarket use was blocked in the US during a federal investigation in the closing days of the Biden administration.) P-Market picked up the derivatives exchange QCEX, which could give it a legal opening to once more doing business in the US, especially now that the government’s inquiries into the company have concluded. (Axios suggests this financing deal has been in the works for a while, but the parties were holding back until there was a clear path for Polymarket resuming US operations.)

Also noteworthy: Trump Jr. has a pre-standing relationship with Polymarket’s key rival, Kalshi. He’s a strategic advisor over there, though it’s an unpaid role and not rooted around an actual investment.

Getting such a high-profile figure on the team seems like a pretty strong indication that Polymarket is planning a splashy, high-profile US comeback and doesn’t intend to take no for an answer. But as so much of Polymarket’s fame (or infamy) in the US is based around predicting political races and presidential elections… are questions about potential bias inevitable, despite the markets’ usual standard of transparency? – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2169: It’s an all-new TWiST! Jason and Alex start off by talking about cycles of cynicism, and how even the most amazing technological innovations are always greeted by raised eyebrows, doubt, and trepidation. Then it’s on to a huge news day, with updates about Intel, AirBnB’s co-founder joining the government, the Netskope IPO, Perplexity’s rev share deal with publishers, and much much more.

E2168: On today’s TWiST, some of the fallout from Terra and Luna’s $60 billion implosion, more hints about a potential September rate cut, Canva’s making a major comeback (and feuding with Figma), PLUS OpenAI officially crossed $1 billion in monthly revenue. Finally, Jason and Alex consider Uber’s latest robotaxi push, and why it has already sparked protests from Wuhan to Boston.

E2167: Jason’s away, so Alex is taking over, with two fresh TWiST 500 founder interviews. First up, Chalk CEO Marc Freed-Finnegan on one of AI’s secret bottlenecks: data FRESHNESS. Hear how his company is delivering real-time pipelines and why some are calling them the “next Databricks.” THEN, Tollbit CEO Toshit Panigrahi lays out how he signed 1,400 publishers up for his “bot paywall,” and how he plans to reshape the agentic AI landscape.

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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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