What do you buy the market that has everything?

Top News

• Polymarket goes shopping: Now that the government signaled its intention to end investigations into the venture-backed prediction market, the TWiST500 member company (and friend of the pod!) announced plans to buy QCEX, a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange. In a release, the company stated that the purchase helps lay “the foundation to bring Polymarket home — re-entering the US as a fully regulated and compliant platform that will allow Americans to trade their opinions.” You can track Polymarket’s volume here.

• Grok 4 proves early boon for xAI: TechCrunch reports that xAI’s Grok app has seen its revenue roughly quadruple from around $100,000 per day to $419,000 in the wake of the launch of the new Grok 4 model. While consumers appear to be interested in xAI’s latest, OpenRouter data shows that — despite a bump in usage — xAI’s latest model is still struggling to catch fire. After rising to what appears to be record market share of 2.2% for the AI model company on OpenRouter’s platform in the week starting July 13, xAI has slipped to just 2.0% of processed tokens in current counting.

• All aboard the crypto liquidity cycle: A blank-check company (Dynamix) will execute a merger to bring The Ether Machine to the public markets, creating what could be the first ether-treasury company to be listed. Bitcoin-focused public-market concerns are not new, thanks to well-known names like Strategy (née MicroStrategy). So long as public market investors are willing to assign an NAV premium to stocks that make large wagers on cryptocurrencies, expect more debuts of this nature. The question before crypto investors is where they want to place a bet by buying the underlying asset, or investing in a company that wants to do it for them. We’re far beyond the not your keys, not your coins era of crypto. (Alex has more here.)

TWiST500

One of the more esoteric bets on the TWiST500 is our collective of brain-computer concerns. It includes names that you have heard of (Neuralink), along with some names that you might not yet be familiar with (Precision Neuroscience, Paradromics). We’re just not sure yet which team is going to develop the tech to finally connect our biological and digital brains!

But while we wait to crown one of the contenders, news from this category continues to flow. Most recently, Neuralink has completed two more implantations, Case Numbers Eight and Nine, respectively. That means that two of the nine surgeries that Neuralink has pulled off thus far occurred over the course of a single weekend.

Naturally, we need to wait a bit before getting too excited; experimental technology is known to go awry along the path to mass-market commercialization. But even with all necessary caveats, this progress by Neuralink remains impressive.

Today, many TWiST500 companies are making it easier to speak aloud with an AI model, and thus communicate with other computers and the internet at large. This includes Perplexity, whose Comet browser can now ingest speech commands. Paradromics and its peers are working on the next logical evolution of this technology: how to think along with external AI models and computers.

Imagine being able to think and type at the same time; you could get so much done! Therefore, while it’s great to get caught up in who is on top of the AI model leaderboards from week to week, make sure that you are keeping an eye on the fusion, brain-computer interface, and space-tech companies that are trying to build the 2050 economy instead of tune the present 2025 flow of goods and services. There’s so much to be excited about! — Alex

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This Week in Startups

E2153: On an all-new TWIST, Jason and Alex consider the future of indie publishing, and the growing rivalry between newsletter platforms Substack and Beehiiv. PLUS we’re talking Lovable’s latest raise and what it says about the economics of vibecoding, Uber’s new deal with Lucid and Nuro, AND what is “meme processing”? We’re unpacking Jason’s unified theory of internet humor.

E2152: Jason’s in Silicon Valley this week with Launch Accelerator’s Cohort 34, and he and Alex are going deep on VC Geoff Lewis’ perplexing social media activity, the ENORMOUS seed rounds going to relatively early-stage AI startups, and they’re crunching the numbers on just how long it takes before data centers turn profitable. Plus, WHO will be the next CEO of X, the Everything App? Polymarket’s sharps want to know…

E2151: On a brand-new TWiST, Jason and Alex are considering Windsurf’s abandoned OpenAI deal and the meaning of the term “blitzhiring.” Then Jason’s making some BOLD predictions about AI’s future impact on the job market, a look at Tesla’s NSFW new Austin robotaxi coverage map, a fond remembrance for the SnapStream live TV archiving service, and MUCH more.

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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/

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.

Want to Work for This Week in Startups?

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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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