This Week in Startups

This Week In Startups is made possible by:IM8 Health - https://IM8health.com/twist Grasshopper Bank - https://grasshopper.bank/twist Northwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:Is 3D printing the key to not just solving the housing crisis but bringing us all into a more beautiful and utopian future? ICON founder Jason Ballard thinks so. His company is already building homes for the unhoused and delivering barracks to Fort Bliss at half the cost and a fraction of the time. On TWiST, he tells us space construction is also on the agenda.Explore the potential for robot-powered concrete construction can help build cheap homes for the unhoused, modernize our military infrastructure, AND colonize the solar system in this exclusive interview.Then Seby Rubino of Resi Labs demos his real estate “Oracle,” which can guess the price of any home with 98% accuracy… for just fractions of a penny.PLUS Jason tells a story of the rare founder who got one over on him, and why he’s moving away from vengeance and anger and into love and acceptable.AND we’ve got more JCal and Lon recommendations in a brand-new Off Duty.Guests :Jason Ballard: https://x.com/JasonDBallardICON: https://www.iconbuild.com/ICON on X: https://x.com/ICON3DTechSeby Rubino: https://x.com/SebyverseResi Labs: https://portal.resilabs.ai/Timestamps:0:00 Intro + "balance the ledger" tease1:10 Jason Ballard (ICON) joins — 3D-printed homes + defense (ICON Prime)5:18 Housing basics: commutes, quality of life, "food/water/shelter"7:15 ICON Prime: military construction, survivability, speed, supply chain10:08 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.11:35 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!12:43 Fort Bliss barracks: 10 in 6 months, half the cost; blast/ballistics20:23 Beautiful + dignified housing: Community First Village; "where's the floor?"20:29 Grasshopper Bank: Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.30:10 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist37:27 Audience Q&A: longevity/cracking; plumbing + electrical41:33 ICON Titan printer + channel partners; hiring pitch45:47 Sebi Rubino (Rezzy Labs) joins — BitTensor subnet 46 real estate pricing51:18 Tau/BitTensor explained: subnet competitions, "narrow intelligence"59:15 Rezzy demo: portal + pricing engine; customers + business model1:07:49 "Got shivved for 500k" story: acquisition, investors get zero1:20:36 Bounties: annotated.com + AI sidebar + headless CMS on BitTensor1:31:10 Off-duty: View Buds (camera earbuds) + use cases1:38:13 Off-duty: Anker charger/cable/battery "trio"1:41:12 Off-duty: The Audacity (AMC) quick review1:46:43 Wrap-up + secret TWiST group chat on XSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

This Week In Startups is made possible by:
LinkedIn Jobs - LinkedIn.com/twist Every.io - every.io Render - render.com/twist
Today’s show:
*Imagine scrolling through mobile games the way your flip through your TikTok feed. What if you could build your own game in 90 seconds and share it with the world? That’s what over 100,000 users are enjoying right now on Nanogram.
On TWiST, we meet the co-founders: 22-year-old CEO Albert Brotherton and 24-year-old CTO Boris Radilov. They demo the app for us on the air, and Jason immediately spies the potential. Power users are playing 25+ games per session already.
We’re digging into the co-founders future plans, including the potential for ads in your game feed, in this TWiST exclusive.
PLUS domestic helper bots are here. NEO from 1X Technologies can do the laundry, open the door for guests, and even read and understand Post-It Note messages.
Alex talks with CEO Bernt Børnich about building the safety-first 66-lb humanoid, why world models are so crucial for training robots in particular, and why homes are even tougher places for robots to navigate than factory floors.
Timestamps:0:59 Nanogram co-creators Albert and Boris join the show
3:42 Nanogram is TikTok for casual AI-generated games
4:27 Building Nanogram with Google Gemini
5:49 Draper and Associates: https://www.draper.vc
6:11 Integrating ads into the game feed
7:36 Roblox: https://www.roblox.com World of Warcraft: https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com
8:25 Building in New York
9:07 Jason is obsessed with the Staples Baddie https://www.tiktok.com/@blivxx
10:12 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist
20:36 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io
21:40 1X CEO and founder Bernt Børnich joins the show https://x.com/BerntBornich
22:31 Designing robots to actually live around people
26:30 Teaching NEO about movement in the physical world
29:00 TechCrunch coverage: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/neo-humanoid-maker-1x-releases-world-model-to-help-bots-learn-what-they-see/
29:58 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.
31:04 Moving beyond training data to true general intelligence
33:17 Ensuring NEO pursues the safest possible path
34:19 Why are world models so important?
41:51 1X World Model Challenge on GitHub: https://github.com/1x-technologies/1xgpt
45:14 Robots need to train on a lot of data… Where does it all come from?
50:14 Manufacturing NEO from raw materials in San Carlos
56:32 Robots building robots
Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
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Follow Lon:
X: https://x.com/lons
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LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Sentry - https://sentry.io/twist
Deel - https://deel.com/twist Netsuite -
https://netsuite.com/twist
Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twist

Today’s show:
*TAO just had its worst week since launch. One of Bittensor’s most prominent subnet operators allegedly dumped $10 million in tokens and walked away. We’re digging into what we know, how this could change the Bittensor community… and why dedicated builders still believe in this ecosystem.
Jason and Lon are joined by Stillcore Capital Partner Mark Jeffrey to break down the Covenant AI and Templar controversy in real time. Then they’re joined by three prominent subnet founders: Ken Miyachi of BitMind (Subnet 34) and Will Squires of Steffen Cruz of MacroCosmos (which owns Subnets 1, 9, and 13). Together, they’re investigating how Bittensor incentives work, how real products are still emerging from the TAO ecosystem, and what governance fixes could arise to prevent the next (alleged) rug pull.
Timestamps:
0:00 Mark Jeffrey joins the show! https://x.com/markjeffrey
2:18 How Mark Jeffrey learned about Bittensor. https://bittensor.com/
6:17 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!
7:22 Mark Jeffrey's Bittensor investments. https://stillcorecapital.com/
9:25 Check out our discussion with Nova: https://youtu.be/gjRt4eUyiYc?si=HopdmmSarxECark1
10:16 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST
10:41 Check out Ridges! https://www.ridges.ai/
11:53 How trading alpha tokens works on Bittensor
12:44 Subnet drama: what happened? https://x.com/covenant_ai/status/2042380152831951300
16:01 Do subnet owners have too much power?
18:33 Check out our conversation with Sam Dare (2268): https://youtu.be/TN2RmNuX4-k?si=c58Byh7Fsw1ttnAY
19:10 How Sam Dare should've handled walking away (per Mark Jeffrey)
20:02 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.
23:29 Who should subnets be owned by?
24:02 Ken Miyachi from BitMind joins the show https://x.com/kenmiyachi
30:56 Netsuite - Get the free business guide Demystifying AI at https://www.netsuite.com/twist
31:06 Ken's $3M raise & investors (Arch, Canonical, Mechanism)
33:18 Token vs. equity: how to think about a subnet investment.
41:57 Will Squires and Stefan Kruse of MacroCosmos join the show https://x.com/willsquires https://x.com/sczsteffencruz
56:29 Stefan on the Covenant drama: "disappointing, but solvable"
1:02:11 Off-duty with J-Cal, Mark Jeffrey, and Lon Harris
1:02:48 Bieber vs. Carpenter: does Coachella owe you a spectacle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp5O72WUqTk https://x.com/FashionXGirl_/status/2043251270509592936
1:15:20 Jason says Staples should pay the "Staples baddie" $1M/year https://www.tiktok.com/@blivxx
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Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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Pilot - https://pilot.com/TWIST
Squarespace -https://squarespace.com/TWIST
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Today’s show:
TAO, the token associated with the Bittensor network, fell sharply last night after a major project declared it was taking its business elsewhere. Covenant AI had used Bittensor subnets 3, 39, and 89 before its abrupt and controversial decision to depart for other digital shores.
Gareth Howells, a co-founder of Vidaio (Bittensor Subnet 85), joined Jason and Alex to share the community perspective regarding Covenant’s decision to leave Bittensor, a choice that was especially bitter given that its recently-released Covenant-72B model trained using the network’s decentralized capabilities was hailed at the time as a demonstration of the crypto-AI hybrid’s potential. (Covenant’s Sam Dare was a recent guest on TWiST.)
Howells walked us through Vidaio’s product (AI models for high-quality video work, like upscaling)
Then it was time to bring new fan-favorite Ole Lehmann on. Ole took an Andrej Karpathy concept, and turned it into a skill that you can use in either OpenClaw or Claude Cowork.

Guests
Ole Lehmann: https://x.com/itsolelehmann
The AI Solopreneur newsletter: https://aisolo.beehiiv.com/
Vidaio: https://vidaio.io/
Vidaio on X: https://x.com/vidaio_

Timestamps:
0:00 Drama in the Bittensor space! Was there a rugpull?
1:01 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!
1:47 Gareth Howells of subnet85 joins the show: https://x.com/GarethHowells
9:56 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/TWIST
11:37 Gareth reacts to the Covenant situation… Did Sam sell tokens?
14:33 How VidAIo (subnet85) optimizes video as cheaply as possible. https://vidaio.io/
20:06 Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://squarespace.com/TWIST
21:12 Demo: Gareth shows upscaled footage of our very own Lon Harris
27:09 Who is actually doing the computing on Bittensor?
28:15 How Bittensor recruits tech talent from emerging markets
29:42 Pilot - Visit https://pilot.com/TWIST and get $1,200 off your first year.
30:58 Jason's explains the Bittensor network. https://docs.bittensor.com/
37:28 Jason addresses "pump and dump" allegations
40:46 Ole Lehmann joins the show https://x.com/itsolelehmann
45:31 Jason's $1,000 "bounty" for enhanced show notes
49:35 Check out Ole's newsletter at aisolo.beehiiv.com !
59:50 CrowdHealth - CrowdHealth lets you ditch the bureaucracy with a peer-to-peer funding platform for your healthcare. Get started for $99 per month for your first three months by using the code TWIST at https://JoinCrowdHealth.com/twist.
1:00:46 Off Duty with Alex and J-Cal!
1:04:46 Reacting to the Maul trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkVepshZhGc

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Follow Alex:
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Follow Jason:
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Anthropic just built a model so dangerous, they’re not even going to release it (for now). On TWiST, Jason, Alex, and Neurometric CEO Rob May discuss whether or not this is just another frontier model or a potential weapon of mass internet destruction.
Claude Mythos Preview is already in the hands of over 40 Anthropic partners — including Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google — as part of its “Project Glasswing” security council.
Together, they’ll test how quickly and easily the model can thwart today’s most elite cybersecurity protocols, and try to develop fresh protocols to keep our most sensitive and critical software systems safe and intact. Once Mythos or a similarly powerful model hits the streets… it’s all over!
Plus, we’re checking out the real-time SaaSpocalypse monitor Death By Clawd, and chatting with its creator, Gyani, about how it feels to have your startup one-shotted by Anthropic’s latest model.
Guests
Rob May: https://x.com/robmay
Neurometric: https://www.neurometric.ai/
Neurometric SLM Marketplace: https://marketplace.neurometric.ai/
Death by Clawd: https://deathbyclawd.com/
Nick O’Neill: https://x.com/chooserich

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

LinkedIn Jobs - LinkedIn.com/twist

Grasshopper Bank - Grasshopper.bank/twist

Render - Render.com/twist
Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twist
Today’s show:

Timestamps:
0:00 Anthropic's new, powerful 'Mythos' model
3:50 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!
5:26 Neurometric's Rob May joins the show
10:04 Sam Altman's talent exodus
10:50 Render - Go to https://render.com/twist to apply for the Render Startup Program. You'll get anywhere from $500 to $100,000 in free credits.
11:50 Has Anthropic Passed OpenAI?
15:44 When will Claude release Mythos? Polymarket: https://polymarket.com/event/claude-mythos-released-by
18:32 The AI race turns existential
19:16 Would Anthropic's model give the CIA the ability to hack a foreign government?
20:04 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.
21:19 Should AI be nationalized?
29:43 Subsidizing secret AI development.
30:15 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist
31:29 How much of the military's $1.5T will go to AI cybersecurity?
35:17 Nick O'Neill's "not sponsored" call-in.
38:24 What is an SLM?
42:01 Tactical/Practical: How can you tune SLMs
45:43 How Neurometric can afford 100M free tokens per month for its users?
49:04 What is "harness engineering"?
50:58 Tactical/ Practical: Every Reddit rant is a startup idea
1:00:25 Why Meta is the most un-innovative AI company in the world.
1:03:43 Gyani of Deathbclawd joins the show — Is your company COOKED?

Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com
Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp
Follow Lon:
X: https://x.com/lons
Follow Alex:
X: https://x.com/alex
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
Follow TWiST:
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups
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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com