Do Kwon Guilty, Powell Pivot & OpenAI’s $12B Run Rate | E2168
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 August 2025
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s show:
Terra’s collapse, Powell’s pivot, and OpenAI’s explosive growth all collide in this TWiST deep dive.
Do Kwon has pled guilty after Terra/Luna’s $60B implosion, Fed Chair Powell hints at a September rate cut, and OpenAI has officially crossed $1B in monthly revenue (on a $12B run rate). Jason and Alex unpack what this means for founders, LPs, and the next wave of AI + crypto.
They also cover Canva’s $42B comeback, Anthropic’s doubled $10B fundraise, and the brewing battle between Figma & Canva.
Plus: Uber, Nuro & Lucid’s $6B robotaxi push — and why drivers are already protesting in Wuhan & Boston.
#Startups #Crypto #AI #VentureCapital #OpenAI #Anthropic #Canva #Figma #ThisWeekInStartups
Timestamps:
(0:00) INTRO
(01:15) Fed rate cut signals & market reaction
(05:36) Jason’s $400K in new fund bets
(10:25) Miro - Help your teams get great done with Miro. Check out miro.com to find out how!
(11:30) Show Continues…
(16:22) Do Kwon & the Terra/Luna collapse
(20:22) Bolt - Don’t be left behind. Build apps quickly without knowing how to code with Bolt.new. Try it free at https://www.bolt.new/twist.
(21:23) Show Continues…
(29:43) Alphasense - Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at https://www.alpha-sense.com/twist
(30:55) Show Continues…
(36:14) OpenAI’s $1B/month revenue run rate
(42:13) Anthropic’s $10B round & AI market sizing
(51:31) Canva’s $42B valuation & Figma comparison
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Thank you to our partners:
(10:25) Miro - Help your teams get great done with Miro. Check out miro.com to find out how!
(20:22) Bolt - Don’t be left behind. Build apps quickly without knowing how to code with Bolt.new. Try it free at https://www.bolt.new/twist.
(29:43) Alphasense - Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at https://www.alpha-sense.com/twist
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 | One thing called the Anchor Protocol was offering a 20% yield JSON on people who held UST within its protocol. |
| 0:06.7 | Then a lot of money got pulled out of Anchor and then suddenly a lot of people wanted to burn their UST in exchange for Luna. |
| 0:13.6 | That led to a decline in the value of the stable coin. |
| 0:17.7 | And then that led to a massive print on the Luna side to devaluing the |
| 0:21.7 | Luna token and then you had kind of a death spiral down to effectively zero and tens of |
| 0:26.8 | billions of dollars were lit on fire. |
| 0:30.9 | This weekend startups is brought to you by Alpha Sense. Get deeper insights into your business |
| 0:37.4 | with the power of AI search and market intelligence. |
| 0:40.9 | Start with a free trial at alpha-sense.com slash twist. Bolt. Don't be left behind. Build apps quickly |
| 0:50.7 | without knowing how to code with bolt.com. Try it free at bolt.com slash twist. |
| 0:58.7 | And Miro. Help your teams get great done with Mero. Check out Mero.com to find out how. |
| 1:06.5 | Hey, everybody. Welcome back to this week in startups. I am your host, Jason Kalakanis. I've been doing this for 14 years. |
| 1:12.0 | And I'm just getting started with me, my partner in crime, Alex Wilhelm. Hey, hey. Incredible journalists. |
| 1:18.4 | And man, it's going to be your day to shine, Alex. I know this is one of your favorite days. |
| 1:23.8 | It is. When the Fed speaks, Alex is excited. |
| 1:27.8 | I mean, listen, we all get excited about different things. |
| 1:30.6 | For me, it's the Knicks, poker, and skiing in Japan. |
| 1:35.3 | And for you, it's... |
| 1:36.9 | Factorio Jerome Powell's speeches and poker. |
| 1:39.4 | So we overlap a little bit, at least, Jason. |
| 1:41.4 | A little bit on the poker. |
| 1:42.6 | That's right. |
... |
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