This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.

Twilio Bets Small, DeepSeek Scares & the GameOn Fraud | E2076

E2076 • Jan 25, 2025 • 58 mins

Today’s show: Jason and Alex cover Twilio’s team size compression, DeepSeek’s scary good AI for only $6M and the GameOn fraud saga that sounds too crazy to be true.

Key Points

Meta plans to build a massive 2 gigawatt data center, covering a significant portion of Manhattan, to support its ambitious AI initiatives.
Twilio has reduced its workforce by 40% since Q3 2022, aiming to achieve over 20% non-GAAP operating margins by focusing on profitability and efficiency.
The alleged fraud at Game On involved fabricating revenue and financial documents, leading to the misuse of corporate funds for personal expenses, and deceiving investors.

Speakers

Alex Wilhelm

Host • 36%

Jason Calacanis

Host • 63%

Preroll

Guest • 1%

Partners

Chapters

0:00	Alex and Jason kick off the show
6:27	Rundown of potential topics
7:10	Twilio's team size strategy and AI's impact on workforce
9:40	Fitbod. Get 25% off your Fitbod subscription or try out the app for FREE when you sign up: fitbod.me/TWIST
14:52	Entrepreneurship in the AI era and automation concerns
19:30	Squarespace. TWiST listeners: use code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain: https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
22:49	Meta's investment in data centers and surplus compute power
26:36	Technology’s potential to solve humanity’s problems
30:12	Horatio. Visit https://www.hirehoratio.com/twist and get $2,000 off your initial setup.
32:01	Empathy for workers displaced by automation
34:11	DeepSeq's role in reducing AI industry costs
37:27	Game On startup fraud case and due diligence in startups
53:13	Venture capital's role in startup oversight
55:36	OpenAI's Operator announcement and AI autonomy risks

Transcript

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