Top News | Figure upsizes: Consumer lending and blockchain-based credit market Figure has bigger hopes for its upcoming IPO than it first disclosed. From an initial target range $18 to $20, the American fintech company now intends to list its shares at $20 to $22 apiece. And it plans to sell 31.5 million shares, a recent filing indicates, up from the 26.3 million shares it initially planned to vend. In total, Figure will raise around a third more than previously planned in its upcoming listing. Ribbit, DST, JP Morgan, and Morgan Creek are amongst the company’s backers. (Klarna will price its own IPO this evening, to commence trading tomorrow morning). Anthropic settlement at risk: The massive $1.5 billion settlement between American AI company Anthropic and authors whose works it unfairly accessed for training purposes is on hold. The judge in question says that the agreement is “nowhere close to complete,” pending more clarity on which works are covered, and “the processes for notifying potential class members,” Bloomberg reports. (Contemporaneously, Claude can now make PDFs for you.) DataCrunch raises €55M for EU compute: Startup neocloud DataCrunch has raised around $65 million for its Helsinki-based GPU cloud. The company frames its business as part of a choice that European companies face, arguing that they can “continue depending on foreign cloud providers or invest in local infrastructure that offers true data sovereignty.” It’s not an idle point, as we’ll see in today’s TWiST500 section, but whether or not that call for local solidarity will be enough to compete with American hyperscalers isn’t yet clear.
| TWiST500 | Mistral, the French foundation AI model company and TWiST500 member, closed its much-awaited round, adding €1.7 billion to its coffers at a €10.0 billion pre-money valuation and €11.7 billion post-money valuation. An AI company raising a billion-dollar round has not been rare in the last few years, but it's all but unheard of for a non-American or Chinese company. | Making the round even more interesting, venture capital firms or hyperscalers didn’t lead. Instead, Dutch lithography giant ASML put in the largest check worth some €1.3 billion. Why is the well-known European chip manufacturing technology provider taking point for Mistral’s capital formation? | In public words, ASML frames its investment as a “strategic partnership” that “aims to generate clear benefits for ASML customers through innovative products and solutions enabled by AI.” Sure, but what about Europe? Surely a European company with a global technology footprint backing another with hopes for the same is about more than mere internal strategy? | If so, ASML isn’t interested in saying so out loud, telling the FT that the deal will help the European technology market “because it’s good for Mistral and it’s good for ASML,” while digital sovereignty was merely an “additional benefit.” Sure, Jan. | Sticking my neck out a bit, I suspect that ASML doesn’t want to annoy the American president by waving the EU flag too loudly. The company is already under non-export strictures relating to China and could get further crimped by a vindicative American government. | No matter the geopolitics or signalling, Mistral now has more capital than ever to serve several hundred million Euro worth of yearly demand — Alex | A message from 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. | This Week in Startups | E2174: It’s a special pre-recorded Friday TWiST. Jason, Alex, AND Lon open the show by following up the “KPop Demon Hunters” debacle. Sony Pictures’ CEO says the movie wouldn’t have been a theatrical hit and Netflix was the best home for it… But Jason isn’t buying it. PLUS Jason’s response to Lina Khan on The Bulwark podcast, his “two stock markets” theory, why Atlassian wanted to buy a browser company, Google’s anti-trust remedies, and MUCH MORE. | E2173: It’s a 70 minute plus autonomous driving deep dive on a brand new TWiST as Jason and Alex welcome Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson. Together they unpack Nuro’s new mega-deal with Lucid and Uber, and look ahead to the arrival of fully driverless SUVs to Uber by next year. PLUS they’re evaluating claims that autonomous rides could one day be cheaper than driving a car, and look at ways to keep costs down, via high-tech chips, off-the-shelf sensors, and other hacks. | E2172: Jason and Alex are back with a packed new TWiST. First up, as humanoid robots become increasingly visible on our streets, and in our lives, is human vs. clanker violence INEVITABLE? Plus…. Apple’s open-source AI models have started to impress, triggering a rethink of the hardware giant’s position in the ongoing race. PLUS another hit model from Grok, Jason’s thoughts on the importance of curiosity, AND a chat with Runbin Dong of Scale Social about knowing your worth as a founder. | TWiST Partner Offers | Netsuite: The business landscape is very chaotic right now. That’s why you need NetSuite, by Oracle. Download the CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at https://www.netsuite.com/twist .Tech Domains: Say it without saying it. Head to get.tech/twist or your favorite registrar to get a clean, sharp .tech domain today. Alphasense: Get deeper insights into your business with the power of AI search and market intelligence. Start with a free trial at https://www.alpha-sense.com/twist
| Angel University is Back! | Jason and Mike Savino are hosting our next virtual Angel University workshop on Tuesday, October 7. Jason will share proven strategies he’s used to invest $200M+ in over 500 startups. Whether you’re new to angel investing or looking to sharpen your skills, this is your chance to learn directly from one of the most active angel investors in the world. Register now at angel.university! | 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/ | 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. |
|
