This Week in Startups

The Self-Driving Unicorn You Need to Meet & MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Bet | E2052


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Todays show:

Jason and Alex welcomed Alex Kendall to the show. He's the founder and CEO of Wayve, an AI company working on self-driving. You might recall that Wayve raised $1 billion earlier this year, but TWIST wanted to know how the company intends to commercialize -- and how soon. From there, it was back to the bitcoin mines. Figuratively, as the hosts dug into MicroStrategies' bitcoin buying bet. Precisely why it is trading at such a NAV premium remains occluded to the show, but we did chase down its debt terms. Next week: More TWiST500!

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show

(2:32) Introduction of guest Alex Kendall Co-Founder & CEO of Wayve

(3:00) Alex Kendall on Wayve's autonomous driving approach and AI technology
(8:29) LiDAR vs. camera-first solutions debate

(10:19) Cloud Devs - Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talent today.

(12:23) Economic viability and strategy of autonomous vehicles

(17:49) Timeline for Wave's technology deployment and future market scenarios

(19:58) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

(22:34) Autonomy subscription models and AI driving behavior challenges

(30:01) Kyte - Download the Kyte app today and use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental.

(33:00) AI driving culture and Twist 500 update

(37:05) MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy and market concerns
(41:33) Bitcoin convertible debt analysis
(49:03) Deciphering complex business models and historical examples
(51:24) Evaluating new financial terms and investor advice
(52:29) Final thoughts and invitation to Michael Saylor

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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

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Mentioned on the show:

Check out Wayve: https://wayve.ai/

Check out MicroStrategy: https://www.microstrategy.com/
TWiST Episode #1251 with Do Kwon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZL8iPKsHQ

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Follow Alex Kendall:

X: https://x.com/alexgkendall

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgkendall/

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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

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    Thank you to our partners:

    (10:19) Cloud Devs - Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talent today.

    (19:58) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

    (30:01) Kyte - Download the Kyte app today and use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental.

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    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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    Follow TWiST:

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

    Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

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    Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

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    This Week in StartupsBy Jason Calacanis

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