Top News | Tea, leaked: Tea is a new hot new mobile app aimed exclusively at women, which first verifies its users’ gender and then allows them to shares notes on potential male partners. The service reached the top of the iOS application store, where it remains today. There’s more to the story, however, than an app going viral. The company was compromised, leading to a trove of personal information — including verification pictures — getting leaked. The data may prove dated, per 404 Media, but Tea’s ascent and its present issues are reminders that no success is secure until it sorts out cybersecurity. Google launches Opal: Want to vibe code an app? There are more and more options. Not only did Microsoft release GitHub Spark recently, but Google released a new service called Opal that allows users to “build, edit and share mini-AI apps using natural language.” Yes, Lovable has never had more competition. But the majors moving in is not a death knell for competing startups. Recall that GitHub had code-complete before Cursor went vertical. GPT-5 approaches: OpenAI should release GPT-5, its long-awaited successor to its current GPT-4 family of models and its o-series reasoning models, in August. That’s only weeks away, indicating that we could be on the precipice of a new cycle of AI model releases. The Information reports that the new model is, well, great at a lot of stuff. The AI bears will find things that GPT-5 cannot do, while AI bulls will crow about its performance against benchmarks. The proof will come in the does this model accelerate overall AI adoption outcomes that the market will provide.
| TWiST500 | xAI is not the only AI company on the hunt for more cash. Anthropic, the American AI giant best known for its Claude family of AI models and the Model Context Protocol, is looking to scoop up billions in new capital at a price tag that could rise to $150 billion. | Before you shake your head and wonder just what everyone writing these checks is thinking, the FT makes a point in its coverage of the news that matters: | Anthropic’s annualized recurring revenue, a metric used by start-ups to predict sales from recurring contracts, had risen from $1bn at the start of this year to more than $4bn, according to people with knowledge of the company’s finances. That has largely been driven by business subscriptions, which account for four-fifths of its revenue. |
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| At a $4 billion run rate and a $150 billion valuation, Anthropic would earn a revenue multiple of 37.5x. That’s high. But it’s not much more expensive than Anthropic’s price when it raised at a $61.5 billion valuation earlier this year, when revenue was closer to $1 billion than it was to $4 billion. | Put another way, assigning rich multiples to companies able to quadruple from a ten-figure revenue base in a half year is hardly insane. You could even argue that Anthropic is cheap at $150 billion. It wouldn’t be that hard, frankly. | For the AI giants on the TWIST500 that are scaling top line quickly, it appears that they remain able to secure proximate checks to the tune of billions. Or as Anthropic might put it, companies like itself are able to raise a fraction of their current run rate. That doesn’t sound too crazy, does it? — Alex | A message from OpenPhone | Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist | This Week in Startups | E2155: Alex returns with another three awesome TWiST 500 founder interviews. FIRST, Trey Holterman from Tennr on streamlining the process of seeing a health care specialist. THEN, Gill Verdon tells us about the future of thermodynamic computing and how it could fuel the AI revolution. FINALLY, Tyler Denk from Beehiiv on hitting $20M ARR, maintaining product velocity, and how his newsletter service differs from Substack. | E2154: Jason’s on the road this week, so Alex is doing quick-hit interviews with three of our favorite TWiST 500 founders. First up, John Jeremy Harris of Harbinger Motors shows us how they’re making EV batteries right here in the USA. Then, James Hawkins of PostHog advises us on the benefits of maintaining a low burn rate. Finally, Yoshi Yokokawa of Alpaca HQ swings by to talk about building in a niche category that’s no longer the Valley’s primary obsession. | E2153: On an all-new TWIST, Jason and Alex consider the future of indie publishing, and the growing rivalry between newsletter platforms Substack and Beehiiv. PLUS we’re talking Lovable’s latest raise and what it says about the economics of vibecoding, Uber’s new deal with Lucid and Nuro, AND what is “meme processing”? We’re unpacking Jason’s unified theory of internet humor. | TWiST Partner Offers | Squarespace: Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to http://www.squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Northwest Registered Agent: Starting your business should be simple. With Northwest Registered Agent, you can form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. From LLCs to trademarks, domains to custom websites, they’ve got you covered. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today! AWS Activate: AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. As you build and scale your business, Activate Credits* grow with you to support your changing needs. Apply to AWS Activate today and receive up to $100,000 in credits. Visit aws.amazon.com/startups/credits *All AWS Activate Credits are in USD and subject to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions.
| Founder U is coming to the MENA region! | Our 12-week pre-accelerator—designed to help early-stage founders build and grow—kicks off this fall in Saudi Arabia. The first cohort launches in Riyadh on November 3rd, followed by in-person and virtual sessions throughout the program. Founders in MENA: this is your chance to turn your idea into a business and get world-class insights on building a successful startup. Apply today: https://mena.founder.university/ | LAUNCH Accelerator | Our current Accelerator batch is graduating! Watch 11 strong startups pitch to Jason and our investor-judges. We are livestreaming the event on Monday, July 28th at 12:30 PM PT. Register here. | Want to Work for This Week in Startups? | We’re looking to fill two in-person sales positions at our Austin, Texas HQ! First, a high-performing Sales Executive to help us seek out and promote clients, sponsorships, branded content, and more. Plus an experienced Sales Manager to lead, coach, and scale our sales executive team, while setting performance goals. Love the podcast and have B2B sales experience? We want to hear from you! | SF Live-Work Space Now Available | Need a flexible living and working environment in San Francisco? This thoughtfully designed loft-style residence at 787 Bryant St., the heart of the vibrant SOMA district and the city’s creative hub, is now available for rent or purchase. Check the listing for more details. | The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker. |
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