<p><strong>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>IM8 Health -</strong><a href="http://im8health.com/twist"><strong> https://IM8health.com/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><strong>Every -</strong><a href="http://every.io"><strong> Every.io</strong></a></p><p><strong>Sentry -</strong><a href="http://sentry.io/twist"><strong> https://Sentry.io/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Banks don’t want to hand over their data to AI labs. So David Moscatelli built a $250,000 box that runs AI on-prem. He already has 1,600 pre-orders. On today’s episode of TWiST, Jason and Alex sit down with the Go Abacus founder and Yanez&#39;s Jose Caldera to unpack how regulated industries are getting AI without the cloud, why Bittensor subnet 54 is incentivizing miners to attack identity systems, and why Cloudflare just laid off 20% of its workforce in the same week it raised guidance. The show closes with Jason explaining what it means to build an AI-first startup, and how workers can derisk their future employment!</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guest Links:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://goabacus.co/"><strong>Go Abacus</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://goabacus.co/go1"><strong>Go1 direct link</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-edward-18a369243/"><strong>David Moscatelli on LinkedIn</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.yanez.ai/"><strong>Yanez</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://taostats.io/subnets/54"><strong>Bittensor Subnet 54 on TAOstats</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/josercaldera/"><strong>Jose Caldera on LinkedIn</strong></a></p><p><strong>LAUNCH Links:</strong></p><p><a href="https://founder.university/"><strong>Founder University</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://tokyo.launch.co/"><strong>Founder University Japan application portal</strong></a></p><p><strong>News Links:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/cloudflare-net-q1-2026-stock-earnings-layoffs.html"><strong>Cloudflare lays off 20% of its staff</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/coinbase-cut-about-14-workforce-2026-05-05/"><strong>Coinbase cuts 14% of its staff</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://block.xyz/inside/from-hierarchy-to-intelligence"><strong>Block post on how it is rebuilding its company</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://s29.q4cdn.com/628966176/files/doc_financials/2026/q1/Block_Q1-2026-Shareholder-Letter.pdf"><strong>Block’s earnings, including its raised guidance</strong></a></p><p><strong>Anthropic’s massive upcoming funding round</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/08/whoop-on-demand-clinician-access.html"><strong>WHOOP’s new on-demand clinicians</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://x.com/patrickc/status/2050206647793144098/photo/1"><strong>Stripe Atlas’s growth</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>0:00 Introduction: Jason in Brooklyn, Knicks playoffs</strong></p><p><strong>2:30 Go Abacus joins: AI infrastructure for regulated industries</strong></p><p><strong>3:25 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!</strong></p><p><strong>4:00 The Go1: 2,000-user on-prem AI appliance</strong></p><p><strong>7:04 Pricing the Go1: How far does $250,000 go?</strong></p><p><strong>7:24 1,600 orders and the hardware delivery challenge</strong></p><p><strong>10:14 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST</strong></p><p><strong>20:23 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io</strong></p><p><strong>27:22 Chicago tech scene and in-office culture</strong></p><p><strong>30:09 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.</strong></p><p><strong>35:11 Yanez joins: How to prove personhood and uniqueness</strong></p><p><strong>38:32 How biometric capture and bio-keys work</strong></p><p><strong>40:05 Agent delegation: proving humans authorized AI agents</strong></p><p><strong>44:19 Bittensor Subnet 54 and incentivizing adversarial miners</strong></p><p><strong>47:11 Founder University Japan Cohort 2 applications open</strong></p><p><strong>49:15 Tech layoffs: Cloudflare cuts 20%, Coinbase cuts 14%, Block raises guidance</strong></p><p><strong>1:02:14 Anthropic&#39;s $50B round at $900B pre-money</strong></p><p><strong>1:04:22 WHOOP adds on-demand clinicians</strong></p><p><strong>1:06:42 Federalism, state-level regulation, and AI policy</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:</strong><a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com"><strong> https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out the TWIST500:</strong><a href="https://www.twist500.com"><strong> https://www.twist500.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:</strong><a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp"><strong> https://rb.gy/v19fcp</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Lon:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/lons"><strong> https://x.com/lons</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Alex:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/alex"><strong> https://x.com/alex</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/"><strong> ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Jason:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Jason"><strong> https://twitter.com/Jason</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out all our partner offers:</strong><a href="https://partners.launch.co/"><strong> https://partners.launch.co/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Great TWIST interviews:</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ"><strong> Will Guidara,</strong></a><a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4"><strong> Eoghan McCabe</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424"><strong> Steve Huffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112"><strong> Brian Chesky</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q"><strong> Bob Moesta,</strong></a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545"><strong> Aaron Levie</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978"><strong> Sophia Amoruso</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498"><strong> Reid Hoffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622"><strong> Frank Slootman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577"><strong> Billy McFarland</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:</strong><a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis"><strong> https://substack.com/@calacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow TWiST:</strong></p><p><strong>Twitter:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups"><strong> https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>YouTube:</strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin"><strong> https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</strong></a></p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups"><strong> https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>TikTok:</strong><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups"><strong> https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>Substack:</strong><a href="https://twistartups.substack.com"><strong> https://twistartups.substack.com</strong></a></p><p><br></p>

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

5,000+ Tech Workers Laid Off This Week. It's Just The Beginning. | E2286

MAY 9, 202672 MIN
This Week in Startups

5,000+ Tech Workers Laid Off This Week. It's Just The Beginning. | E2286

MAY 9, 202672 MIN

Description

<p><strong>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>IM8 Health -</strong><a href="http://im8health.com/twist"><strong> https://IM8health.com/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><strong>Every -</strong><a href="http://every.io"><strong> Every.io</strong></a></p><p><strong>Sentry -</strong><a href="http://sentry.io/twist"><strong> https://Sentry.io/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Banks don’t want to hand over their data to AI labs. So David Moscatelli built a $250,000 box that runs AI on-prem. He already has 1,600 pre-orders. On today’s episode of TWiST, Jason and Alex sit down with the Go Abacus founder and Yanez&#39;s Jose Caldera to unpack how regulated industries are getting AI without the cloud, why Bittensor subnet 54 is incentivizing miners to attack identity systems, and why Cloudflare just laid off 20% of its workforce in the same week it raised guidance. The show closes with Jason explaining what it means to build an AI-first startup, and how workers can derisk their future employment!</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guest Links:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://goabacus.co/"><strong>Go Abacus</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://goabacus.co/go1"><strong>Go1 direct link</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-edward-18a369243/"><strong>David Moscatelli on LinkedIn</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.yanez.ai/"><strong>Yanez</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://taostats.io/subnets/54"><strong>Bittensor Subnet 54 on TAOstats</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/josercaldera/"><strong>Jose Caldera on LinkedIn</strong></a></p><p><strong>LAUNCH Links:</strong></p><p><a href="https://founder.university/"><strong>Founder University</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://tokyo.launch.co/"><strong>Founder University Japan application portal</strong></a></p><p><strong>News Links:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/cloudflare-net-q1-2026-stock-earnings-layoffs.html"><strong>Cloudflare lays off 20% of its staff</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/coinbase-cut-about-14-workforce-2026-05-05/"><strong>Coinbase cuts 14% of its staff</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://block.xyz/inside/from-hierarchy-to-intelligence"><strong>Block post on how it is rebuilding its company</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://s29.q4cdn.com/628966176/files/doc_financials/2026/q1/Block_Q1-2026-Shareholder-Letter.pdf"><strong>Block’s earnings, including its raised guidance</strong></a></p><p><strong>Anthropic’s massive upcoming funding round</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/08/whoop-on-demand-clinician-access.html"><strong>WHOOP’s new on-demand clinicians</strong></a></p><p><a href="https://x.com/patrickc/status/2050206647793144098/photo/1"><strong>Stripe Atlas’s growth</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>0:00 Introduction: Jason in Brooklyn, Knicks playoffs</strong></p><p><strong>2:30 Go Abacus joins: AI infrastructure for regulated industries</strong></p><p><strong>3:25 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!</strong></p><p><strong>4:00 The Go1: 2,000-user on-prem AI appliance</strong></p><p><strong>7:04 Pricing the Go1: How far does $250,000 go?</strong></p><p><strong>7:24 1,600 orders and the hardware delivery challenge</strong></p><p><strong>10:14 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST</strong></p><p><strong>20:23 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io</strong></p><p><strong>27:22 Chicago tech scene and in-office culture</strong></p><p><strong>30:09 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.</strong></p><p><strong>35:11 Yanez joins: How to prove personhood and uniqueness</strong></p><p><strong>38:32 How biometric capture and bio-keys work</strong></p><p><strong>40:05 Agent delegation: proving humans authorized AI agents</strong></p><p><strong>44:19 Bittensor Subnet 54 and incentivizing adversarial miners</strong></p><p><strong>47:11 Founder University Japan Cohort 2 applications open</strong></p><p><strong>49:15 Tech layoffs: Cloudflare cuts 20%, Coinbase cuts 14%, Block raises guidance</strong></p><p><strong>1:02:14 Anthropic&#39;s $50B round at $900B pre-money</strong></p><p><strong>1:04:22 WHOOP adds on-demand clinicians</strong></p><p><strong>1:06:42 Federalism, state-level regulation, and AI policy</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:</strong><a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com"><strong> https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out the TWIST500:</strong><a href="https://www.twist500.com"><strong> https://www.twist500.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:</strong><a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp"><strong> https://rb.gy/v19fcp</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Lon:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/lons"><strong> https://x.com/lons</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Alex:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/alex"><strong> https://x.com/alex</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/"><strong> ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Jason:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Jason"><strong> https://twitter.com/Jason</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out all our partner offers:</strong><a href="https://partners.launch.co/"><strong> https://partners.launch.co/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Great TWIST interviews:</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ"><strong> Will Guidara,</strong></a><a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4"><strong> Eoghan McCabe</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424"><strong> Steve Huffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112"><strong> Brian Chesky</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q"><strong> Bob Moesta,</strong></a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545"><strong> Aaron Levie</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978"><strong> Sophia Amoruso</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498"><strong> Reid Hoffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622"><strong> Frank Slootman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577"><strong> Billy McFarland</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:</strong><a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis"><strong> https://substack.com/@calacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow TWiST:</strong></p><p><strong>Twitter:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups"><strong> https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>YouTube:</strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin"><strong> https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</strong></a></p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups"><strong> https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>TikTok:</strong><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups"><strong> https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>Substack:</strong><a href="https://twistartups.substack.com"><strong> https://twistartups.substack.com</strong></a></p><p><br></p>