<p>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</p><p><br></p><p>Northwest Registered Agent - <a href="https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist</a></p><p><br></p><p>Crusoe Cloud - <a href="https://crusoe.ai/savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://crusoe.ai/savings</a></p><p><br></p><p>LinkedIn Jobs - <a href="http://linkedIn.com/twist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">http://linkedIn.com/twist</a></p><p><br></p><p>Today’s show: </p><p><br></p><p>On today’s TWIST episode, Alex interviews two of the top startup co-founders: Keller Cliffton of Zipline and Anastasis Germanidis of Runway. </p><p><br></p><p>Zipline announced its $600 million raise at a $7.6 BILLION valuation. Kellers breaks down the origins, economics, and future of Zipline’s contrarian bet in drone delivery. What was science fiction a decade ago is now a regular part of life for many. In fact, Zipline operates more flights than United!</p><p><br></p><p>Zipline is set to leapfrog the car delivery apps AND self driving cars with the superior economics of drone delivery. It is much cheaper to transport your burrito in a lightweight drone than a 6,000 pound self driving car!</p><p><br></p><p>Then, Alex is joined by Anastasis Germanidis, the CTO and co-founder of Runway, to explain why the next frontier of generative AI is world models! Runway  is looking to build a universal simulation, which will unlock massive gains in robotics, autonomy, and simulations. The world model would be able to simulate rare edge cases that could take years to find naturally! </p><p><br></p><p>Check out how this cutting edge AI startup’s NYU Tisch School of Art’s origins</p><p><br></p><p>Then, See Jason’s answer to the question: “When should founders pivot or give up?”</p><p><br></p><p>Timestamps: </p><p><br></p><p>(00:00) The Drone revolution is here!</p><p><br></p><p>(02:46) Inside Zipline’s factory to build 20K drones a year</p><p><br></p><p>(04:40) American dynamism Vs. Chinese manufacturing dominance</p><p><br></p><p>(09:00) How Zipline is growing 75% month on month</p><p><br></p><p>(9:50) Northwest Registered Agent. Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at <a href="www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist</a></p><p><br></p><p>(11:15) Zipline teleports food and goods to your house</p><p><br></p><p>(21:54) Crusoe Cloud: Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit <a href="https://crusoe.ai/savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://crusoe.ai/savings</a> to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.</p><p><br></p><p>(23:02) Is it affordable to use a drone to deliver a burrito?</p><p><br></p><p>(29:18) Zipline DOUBLES United’s flight numbers</p><p><br></p><p>(31:11) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at <a href="http://linkedIn.com/twist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">http://linkedIn.com/twist</a> then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs new AI assistant.</p><p><br></p><p>(32:21) Anastasis break’s down Runway’s AI modeling</p><p><br></p><p>(35:24) Runway’s Gen 4.5 and the world model</p><p><br></p><p>(40:57) Why do robotics companies need a world model?</p><p><br></p><p>(43:04) Using AI to simulate robot laundry folding</p><p><br></p><p>(52:37) Runway’s origins at NYU’s art school</p><p><br></p><p>(55:46) Founder Q/A: When to pivot or give up on your startup</p><p><br></p><p>*</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/</p><p><br></p><p>Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.com)</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp</p><p><br></p><p>*</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Lon:</p><p><br></p><p>X: https://x.com/lons</p><p><br></p><p>*</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Alex:</p><p><br></p><p>X: https://x.com/alex</p><p><br></p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/</p><p><br></p><p>*</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Jason:</p><p><br></p><p>X: https://twitter.com/Jason</p><p><br></p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/</p><p><br></p><p>*</p><p><br></p><p>Thank you to our partners:</p><p><br></p><p>(9:50) Northwest Registered Agent. Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at <a href="www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist</a></p><p><br></p><p>(21:54) Crusoe Cloud: Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit <a href="https://crusoe.ai/savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://crusoe.ai/savings</a> to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.</p><p><br></p><p>(31:11) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at <a href="http://linkedIn.com/twist " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">http://linkedIn.com/twist </a>then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs new AI assistant.</p><p><br></p><p>Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/</p>