Blitzhiring and the Complicated Case of Windsurf, OpenAI and Google | E2151
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 July 2025
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s show:
On today’s show… Jason and Alex are considering the fallout of Windsurf’s OpenAI deal, the company’s latest agreements with both Google and Cognition AI, and how “blitzhiring” is actually playing out in real-world startups.Plus Jason’s short- and medium-term predictions for AI’s impact on the job market, Tesla’s latest expansion of its Austin robotaxi service, Mistral giving the EU a real stake in the AI model race, a look back at the SnapStream live TV archiving service, AND an update on how much more time we have until all our servers are obsolete.All that and more on a brand new Monday edition of This Week in Startups.
Timestamps:
(02:20) Influencers caught an arsonist in LA’s Runyon Canyon? (Don’t worry, there’s always a startup angle)
(10:38) Coda - Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist
(12:56) Windsurf’s OpenAI deal fell through… but there are breaking updates!
(20:11) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
(23:46) The gap from prototype to production in AI remains HUGE
(29:52) AWS Activate - AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. Apply to AWS Activate today to learn more. Visit aws.amazon.com/startups/credits
(34:56) Things are going well for Tesla’s Austin rollout, but will regulators demand LIDAR systems anyway?
(45:47) Maybe NOTHING that’s happening right now in AI is as important as what’s to come?
(54:31) Follow-Up: So how much more time until all of our servers are obsolete? What happens to them when they’re removed?
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Thank you to our partners:
(10:38) Coda - Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist
(20:11) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
(29:52) AWS Activate - AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. Apply to AWS Activate today to learn more. Visit aws.amazon.com/startups/credits
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | There are drivers, safety drivers, in Waymo's, in Zooks, in Volkswagen, in Tesla's right now. |
| 0:06.1 | Those safety drivers are there to solve the last 10% of the problems so that all drivers |
| 0:12.1 | lose their jobs. |
| 0:13.5 | The same thing is happening with developers right now. |
| 0:16.6 | When developers are using a product like cursor, their training cursor had to take their job. |
| 0:22.6 | It's literally like what happened in factories or in farms or other things where the people who |
| 0:29.1 | had become the middle class are teaching the people who are going to replace them and they complain |
| 0:33.1 | about it. This is now happening with machines. |
| 0:37.4 | This week in startups is brought to you by Coda. |
| 0:41.1 | Coda empowers your startup by bringing words, tables, and teams together. |
| 0:45.3 | Strategize, plan, and track goals effectively with all your valuable data in one place. |
| 0:50.6 | Go to coda.io slash twist to get started for free and get six free months of the team plan. |
| 0:57.2 | Squarespace. |
| 0:58.3 | Turn your idea into a beautiful website. |
| 1:00.7 | Go to squarespace.com slash twist for a free trial. |
| 1:04.1 | When you're ready to launch, use offer code twist to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. |
| 1:10.5 | And AWS Activate. |
| 1:13.0 | AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. |
| 1:16.5 | As you build and scale your business, |
| 1:18.5 | activate credits grow with you to support your changing needs. |
| 1:22.0 | Apply to AWS Activate today and receive up to $100,000 in credits. |
| 1:33.1 | Visit AWS.amazon.com slash startups slash credits. |
... |
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