Would you use a Facebook search engine?

Top News

• Robinhood wants to help you bet on the election: Want even more election news and data in your life? We have good news if that’s you. After Kalshi and PolyMarket mainstreamed betting on electoral results, Robinhood is getting into the game. Alex analogized the current vibe to the 2021-era collecting boom, but with the publicly-traded brokerage throwing its hat into the wagering ring, we’re seeing a former startup take on two current startups. How much volume will evaporate after the election remains to be seen, but democratic stakes are big business to date.

• Meta wants to get into search: Move over Perplexity, Meta wants in on the search game. Reporting from The Information makes it clear that Meta wants to rely less on Google’s eponymous search service. If Meta managed to make a search engine that handled real volume, it would undercut the argument that Google is a monopoly, and potentially add a real use case to all those AI query boxes Meta has copy-pasted around its digital footprint. (Does Meta buy Perplexity? A fun question.)

• Sierra adds billions in value: With $175 million worth of new capital under its belt, Sierra, an AI startup founded by Bret Taylor, is now worth $4.5 billion. That’s a massive upgrade from its $1 billion price tag set earlier this year. The company is working to bring AI agents to the corporate landscape, with an early focus on customer-facing tasks. AI agents are pieces of software that can intelligently and independently complete tasks. If AI can describe, draw, or animate a shovel for you, agents are built to actually put dirt to spade. Sierra now has 4.5 billion reasons to prove that the model has legs.

Robotics are Heating Up

Shares of tiny robotics company Serve are up 21% today after it received a positive analyst recommendation. That ‘buy’ rating came after the company announced its third-generation self-driving delivery bot, with several thousand set to go to work next year.

All that’s to say that there is some positive public market momentum to match the enthusiasm that private-market robotics companies are seeing. We’ve added a number to the TWiST500, including Figure, Cobot, and 1x. Agility is another humanoid robot shop on the list, and we recently got new information about its progress.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Agility CEO Peggy Johnson (previously a long-tenured Microsoft exec and former head of Magic Leap) said that not only are her company’s robots doing early work with a logistics company, but the startup is building a factory in Oregon that will be able to handle 10,000 units per year.

Put another way, we’re going to quickly see if the robotics companies we’ve added can flip from building interesting early hardware to production-grade tech. 2025 is shaping up to be the year of the mass-humanoid robot. That’s exciting as heck. — Alex

A message from Digital Ocean

Whether you’re just getting started with AI, or seeing your project take off, DigitalOcean is the cloud platform that lets you focus on what matters: building killer apps. Right now, get up to $100k in free credits at https://www.do.co/twist. Terms and conditions apply.

This Week in Startups

E2033: Alex talks with Shensi Ding from Merge, who shares her transition from finance to tech and highlights the critical role of integrations in modern businesses. They explore the challenges of building and maintaining these integrations, emphasizing the importance of standardized data models. The conversation covers trust-building, enhancing integration observability, and expanding Merge's offerings to include AI applications. They also touch on financial efficiency, growth strategies, and Merge's evolution beyond APIs, concluding with insights into future plans and potential acquisition interest.

E2032: In this episode, Alex sets the stage for the "Jam with JCal" season recap, highlighting innovative startups using .TECH domains. Ramsey Shaffer introduces Uptrends AI, helping financial advisors stay on top of market news, while Ana Malhotra unveils Rome, a yard-sharing service for dogs. Other standout pitches include Tyce Herrman's Ulama, a tool for architects, Ulan Abdurazakov's AI sleep aid CorePod, and Elliot Easterling’s gamified engagement platform Bonbon.

E2031: Jason and Alex start by discussing Anthropic’s new AI model, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and its implications for AI assistants and employment. They get into AI’s potential impact on white-collar jobs before welcoming Andrew Lissimore from Headphones.com for a deep dive into high-end audio and leveraging content for brand growth. The show wraps up with insights from Prandtl Dynamics on anti-drone tech and TollBit's Series A funding for its AI data marketplace.

TWiST Partner Offers

• Coda: Coda empowers your startup by bringing words, tables, and teams together. Strategize, plan, and track goals effectively with all your valuable data in one place. Go to https://www.coda.io/twist to get started for FREE and get 6 free months of the Team plan.

• OpenPhone: Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠

• Micro1: Micro1 is an AI recruitment engine to hire world class engineers fast. Visit https://www.micro1.ai/twist to get 10 free AI Interviews and 2 weeks free per hire

LAUNCH Cloud Kitchens Incubator

Applications are open for Cohort 2 of the LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator (LiCK). We're looking for food entrepreneurs who wish to expand into the ghost kitchen space or tech founders with a team and a great idea. The application and more information can be found at https://ck.launch.co/.

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