<p>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</p><p><br></p><p><a href="http://every.io"><u>Every.io</u></a> - visit <a href="http://every.io/"><u>every.io</u></a></p><p><a href="http://sentry.io"><u>Sentry.io</u></a> -<a href="http://sentry.io/twist"> <u>sentry.io/twist</u></a></p><p>Vanta -<a href="https://www.vanta.com/twist"> <u>vanta.com/twist</u></a></p><p><br></p><p>Today’s show:</p><p>The next SpaceX won&#39;t be building rockets; it&#39;ll build the first hotel on the Moon. Today on TWiST, GRU Space founder Skyler Chan brings a brick made from lunar soil into the studio and lays out a plan to manufacture on the Moon as early as next year. We get into the science, the business model, and the regulatory land-grab ahead!</p><p>Then, the US government forces Anthropic to pull Fable 5 and Mythos 5. Jason and Lon unpack what it means when a single AI model can vanish overnight, and the US government&#39;s emergency order.</p><p>Stick around for the winner (or winners?!) of the $5,000 AI podcast-companion bounty!</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>0:00 Knicks playoff run, San Antonio &amp; Texas BBQ (Black&#39;s vs. Terry Black&#39;s)</p><p>8:23 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!</p><p>9:52 Guest intro: Skyler Chan, GRU Space — and the lunar-soil brick</p><p>10:29 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io</p><p>12:14 Why the next SpaceX builds habitats, not rockets</p><p>15:18 NASA&#39;s $20B moon-base signal &amp; the TRL contracting path</p><p>16:13 Business model: from construction contractor to owning lunar land</p><p>18:06 Building the hotel robotically + $1M refundable deposits</p><p>20:00 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST</p><p>31:09 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist</p><p>39:28 News: US government blocks Anthropic&#39;s Fable 5 &amp; Mythos 5</p><p>41:34 The politics: Hegseth, Sacks, Jassy &amp; the &quot;conspiracy&quot; angle</p><p>1:09:39 Why no single model dependency is safe (multi-model harnesses)</p><p>1:18:47 Bounty results: MySidecast wins $3,000</p><p>1:19:07 Honorable mentions: Couchverse (Lemon Slice) &amp; Convalenz</p><p>1:29:44 Next bounty: the Annotated app</p><p><strong>🔗 Links &amp; Resources Mentioned:</strong></p><p>Guest &amp; company</p><p>Skyler Chan: Founder, GRU Space →<a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space"> <u>https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space</u></a></p><p>GRU Space (Galactic Resource Utilization): YC startup building lunar-regolith bricks and a robotic Moon hotel →<a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space"> <u>https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space</u></a></p><p>GRU Space lunar hotel bookings →<a href="https://payloadspace.com/gru-space-opens-bookings-for-planned-lunar-hotel/"> <u>https://payloadspace.com/gru-space-opens-bookings-for-planned-lunar-hotel/</u></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>🎙️ About the Guest:</strong></p><p>Skyler Chan is the founder of GRU Space (Galactic Resource Utilization), a Y Combinator–backed startup developing a payload factory that manufactures bricks from lunar regolith to build the first robotic hotel on the Moon.</p><p>Follow GRU Space →<a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space"> <u>https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space</u></a></p><p>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:<a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com"> <u>https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</u></a></p><p>Check out the TWIST500:<a href="https://www.twist500.com"> <u>https://www.twist500.com</u></a></p><p>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:<a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp"> <u>https://rb.gy/v19fcp</u></a></p><p>Follow Lon:</p><p>X:<a href="https://x.com/lons"> <u>https://x.com/lons</u></a></p><p>Follow Alex:</p><p>X:<a href="https://x.com/alex"> <u>https://x.com/alex</u></a></p><p>LinkedIn:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/"> <u>⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</u></a></p><p>Follow Jason:</p><p>X:<a href="https://twitter.com/Jason"> <u>https://twitter.com/Jason</u></a></p><p>LinkedIn:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis"> <u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</u></a></p><p>Great TWIST interviews:<a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ"> <u>Will Guidara,</u></a><a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4"> <u>Eoghan McCabe</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424"> <u>Steve Huffman</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112"> <u>Brian Chesky</u></a>,<a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q"> <u>Bob Moesta,</u></a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545"> <u>Aaron Levie</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978"> <u>Sophia Amoruso</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498"> <u>Reid Hoffman</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622"> <u>Frank Slootman</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577"> <u>Billy McFarland</u></a></p><p>Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:<a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis"> <u>https://substack.com/@calacanis</u></a></p><p>Follow TWiST:</p><p>Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups"> <u>https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</u></a></p><p>YouTube:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin"> <u>https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</u></a></p><p>Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</u></a></p><p>TikTok:<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups"> <u>https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</u></a></p><p>Substack:<a href="https://twistartups.substack.com"> <u>https://twistartups.substack.com</u></a><br></p>

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

The Startup Building the First Hotel on the Moon…

JUN 15, 2026100 MIN
This Week in Startups

The Startup Building the First Hotel on the Moon…

JUN 15, 2026100 MIN

Description

<p>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</p><p><br></p><p><a href="http://every.io"><u>Every.io</u></a> - visit <a href="http://every.io/"><u>every.io</u></a></p><p><a href="http://sentry.io"><u>Sentry.io</u></a> -<a href="http://sentry.io/twist"> <u>sentry.io/twist</u></a></p><p>Vanta -<a href="https://www.vanta.com/twist"> <u>vanta.com/twist</u></a></p><p><br></p><p>Today’s show:</p><p>The next SpaceX won&#39;t be building rockets; it&#39;ll build the first hotel on the Moon. Today on TWiST, GRU Space founder Skyler Chan brings a brick made from lunar soil into the studio and lays out a plan to manufacture on the Moon as early as next year. We get into the science, the business model, and the regulatory land-grab ahead!</p><p>Then, the US government forces Anthropic to pull Fable 5 and Mythos 5. Jason and Lon unpack what it means when a single AI model can vanish overnight, and the US government&#39;s emergency order.</p><p>Stick around for the winner (or winners?!) of the $5,000 AI podcast-companion bounty!</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>0:00 Knicks playoff run, San Antonio &amp; Texas BBQ (Black&#39;s vs. Terry Black&#39;s)</p><p>8:23 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!</p><p>9:52 Guest intro: Skyler Chan, GRU Space — and the lunar-soil brick</p><p>10:29 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io</p><p>12:14 Why the next SpaceX builds habitats, not rockets</p><p>15:18 NASA&#39;s $20B moon-base signal &amp; the TRL contracting path</p><p>16:13 Business model: from construction contractor to owning lunar land</p><p>18:06 Building the hotel robotically + $1M refundable deposits</p><p>20:00 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST</p><p>31:09 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist</p><p>39:28 News: US government blocks Anthropic&#39;s Fable 5 &amp; Mythos 5</p><p>41:34 The politics: Hegseth, Sacks, Jassy &amp; the &quot;conspiracy&quot; angle</p><p>1:09:39 Why no single model dependency is safe (multi-model harnesses)</p><p>1:18:47 Bounty results: MySidecast wins $3,000</p><p>1:19:07 Honorable mentions: Couchverse (Lemon Slice) &amp; Convalenz</p><p>1:29:44 Next bounty: the Annotated app</p><p><strong>🔗 Links &amp; Resources Mentioned:</strong></p><p>Guest &amp; company</p><p>Skyler Chan: Founder, GRU Space →<a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space"> <u>https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space</u></a></p><p>GRU Space (Galactic Resource Utilization): YC startup building lunar-regolith bricks and a robotic Moon hotel →<a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space"> <u>https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space</u></a></p><p>GRU Space lunar hotel bookings →<a href="https://payloadspace.com/gru-space-opens-bookings-for-planned-lunar-hotel/"> <u>https://payloadspace.com/gru-space-opens-bookings-for-planned-lunar-hotel/</u></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>🎙️ About the Guest:</strong></p><p>Skyler Chan is the founder of GRU Space (Galactic Resource Utilization), a Y Combinator–backed startup developing a payload factory that manufactures bricks from lunar regolith to build the first robotic hotel on the Moon.</p><p>Follow GRU Space →<a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space"> <u>https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space</u></a></p><p>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:<a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com"> <u>https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</u></a></p><p>Check out the TWIST500:<a href="https://www.twist500.com"> <u>https://www.twist500.com</u></a></p><p>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:<a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp"> <u>https://rb.gy/v19fcp</u></a></p><p>Follow Lon:</p><p>X:<a href="https://x.com/lons"> <u>https://x.com/lons</u></a></p><p>Follow Alex:</p><p>X:<a href="https://x.com/alex"> <u>https://x.com/alex</u></a></p><p>LinkedIn:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/"> <u>⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</u></a></p><p>Follow Jason:</p><p>X:<a href="https://twitter.com/Jason"> <u>https://twitter.com/Jason</u></a></p><p>LinkedIn:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis"> <u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</u></a></p><p>Great TWIST interviews:<a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ"> <u>Will Guidara,</u></a><a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4"> <u>Eoghan McCabe</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424"> <u>Steve Huffman</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112"> <u>Brian Chesky</u></a>,<a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q"> <u>Bob Moesta,</u></a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545"> <u>Aaron Levie</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978"> <u>Sophia Amoruso</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498"> <u>Reid Hoffman</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622"> <u>Frank Slootman</u></a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577"> <u>Billy McFarland</u></a></p><p>Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:<a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis"> <u>https://substack.com/@calacanis</u></a></p><p>Follow TWiST:</p><p>Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups"> <u>https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</u></a></p><p>YouTube:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin"> <u>https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</u></a></p><p>Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</u></a></p><p>TikTok:<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups"> <u>https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</u></a></p><p>Substack:<a href="https://twistartups.substack.com"> <u>https://twistartups.substack.com</u></a><br></p>