Jony Ive Joins OpenAI, Waymo Hits 10M Rides, and How to Launch a Marketplace from Scratch | E2129
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2025
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s show: Jason and Alex dicsuss Jony Ive's $6.5B deal with OpenAI and what it means for the future of AI hardware, Tesla’s push into robotaxis vs. Waymo’s 10M paid rides, and Microsoft’s latest move partnering with xAI. We dive into the GENIUS Act and what it means for stablecoin regulation, explore practical, gritty tactics for launching and scaling a marketplace from scratch, and debate the ethics of AI-powered smart glasses and always-on recording. Plus, Jason reflects on the legacy of Scott Adams and the power of systems thinking.
Timestamps:
(0:00) Episode Teaser(2:00) A broadcaster-to-broadcaster moment for Scott Adams(5:18) OpenAI teams with Jony Ive, and why wearables are banned from the J-Ranch(10:16) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist(16:11) From Partnership to Purchase: The M&A Story(20:09) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST(25:42) Robotaxis EVERYWHERE, and thoughts on the continuing self-driving car rollout(30:12) Brex. Get the business account trusted by 1 in 3 US startups at https://www.brex.com/banking-solutions(34:41) Should we trust stablecoins now? And who is actually monitoring this?(42:54) Polymarkets: Checking in with some of our favorite market(49:58) REDDIT QUESTION: How do I build a marketplace?(58:53) Customer feedback's role in product iteration(58:55) Every piece of SaaS advice EVER
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So instead of like the pie being static and being the ratios of who owns what being changed, |
| 0:05.8 | the pie is going to get larger and there'll be a healthy mix of both human and autonomous drivers. |
| 0:09.8 | That extends the longevity of human drivers for another five years. |
| 0:14.8 | But I still see this going to an eventual point in which we're not driving. |
| 0:19.0 | But it sounds like that'll take, ah, I just want to go faster, |
| 0:22.0 | Jason. You're probably right. I mean, listen, there's a group of people who will never drive |
| 0:25.8 | in an autonomous car. It might be a third of people ultimately just do not want to be an autonomous |
| 0:30.2 | car. I think it's that high? Yeah, sure. I mean, how many people do you know who were like, |
| 0:35.7 | refuse to get a smartphone for 20 years? How many people do you know who refused to do email or get an Instagram account? I mean, it took. Yeah. Those things took 10, 20 years to boil the laggards and finally push them into it. This weekend startups is brought to you by Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal breaker for startups to win new business. |
| 0:56.8 | Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC2 report fast. |
| 0:59.9 | Twist listeners can get $1,000 off for limited time at vanta.com slash twist. |
| 1:04.9 | Squarespace. |
| 1:05.8 | Turn your idea into a new website. |
| 1:07.6 | Go to Squarespace.com slash Twist for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, |
| 1:11.1 | use offer code Twist to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. And Brex, |
| 1:17.2 | the financial stack founders can bank on. Unlike traditional business banking solutions, |
| 1:21.2 | Brex has no minimums and no transaction fees. And you get 20 times a standard FDIC protection. |
| 1:26.5 | Get the business account trusted by one in three startups at brex.com slash banking dash solutions. |
| 1:31.9 | All right, everybody, welcome back to this week and startups. I'm your host Jason Kelloggattice with me. |
| 1:35.4 | Alex Wilhelm and we do this three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. 12 o'clock Texas time. I'm out here in the Hill country at Austin Tech. Big docket. There's a lot |
| 1:45.5 | going on. So we'll do a little big tech, a little medium tech, and some tiny tech as well. |
| 1:51.8 | Breaking news as we're sitting here. Oh, and before we start, I just wanted to broadcast, |
... |
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