Top News | Meta’s superintelligence plans come into focus: Meta is doing more than hiring a few new folks to help accelerate its AI work. The social media giant is restructuring its entire AI arm under a new moniker — Meta Superintelligence Labs (or MSL) — that will be led by the former head of Scale AI, Alexandr Wang, and Nat Friedman, the former CEO of GitHub. Meta’s current LLM work and its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) will both become part of MSL. No matter how you view the current competitive landscape of foundation AI model companies, Meta is clearly intent on using its deep coffers and in-house infra to ensure that it will have a long-term seat at the table. Microsoft’s multi-agent approach to diagnoses: AI models are good at answering questions on the United States Medical Licensing Examination. But answering mulitiple choice questions, Microsoft argues, is only so useful. What about coming up with accurate diagnoses for complex cases? In a new study, Microsoft took a series of cases from the New England Journal of Medicine, converted them into “stepwise diagnostic encounters” and found that — while the results were expensive to generate — leading AI models could outpace average doctor scores. Then, when Microsoft created a new agentic-cluster called the Microsoft AI Diagnostic Orchestrator, the results got even better — and cheaper. Applied AI comes to ERP: Oracle’s stock is on a tear, but that doesn’t mean that all its product lines are thriving sans competition. A startup called Campfire is building an AI-first enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool for the mid-market that is replacing Oracle’s own offering. TechCrunch reporting indicates that Campfire has snagged 100 customers so far, perhaps explaining why the startup just raised a $35 million round led by Accel, with participation from Y Combinator. Recall when building atop AI models was considered a dead-end?
| TWiST500 | We’re homing in on the completion of the first iteration of the TWiST500. With about 90 slots left and a growing sheet of new additions, the window is getting close to shut. To that end, if you have a startup in mind that we simply must consider, please shoot me a note (AlexW@Launch.co) and I’ll ensure that we take a look. | Elsewhere in TWiST500 news, Apple is considering leaning on either OpenAI or Anthropic for AI models to underpin its Siri mobile assistant. Siri was an early trailblazer in smartphones accepting voice commands from users, but the product has stagnated, and recent AI updates from Apple failed to excite the market. | Bloomberg’s reporting on the outreach by Apple to the two leading foundation AI model companies in the US makes it clear that the company is far from making a final decision. Still, Apple tapping any single company as its overall AI partner would likely confer huge revenues upon whomever it chooses. For Anthropic, a TWiST500 member company with billions in annual recurring revenue, such an agreement could provide huge upside. For OpenAI with its larger (present) revenue base, the additive revenue could still prove incredibly material. | The major AI model companies are not the only startups in the market today moving quickly. Cursor, the AI coding tool built by Anysphere, is freeing its agents from the IDE to both the web and mobile use cases. “Just like the familiar agent that works alongside you in the IDE, agents on web and mobile can write code, answer complex questions, and scaffold out your work,” Cursor writes. | Recall that Cursor recently rolled out a more expensive plan for its users, eyeing firms with deep pockets and large development budgets. How much would you spend on the chance of making your most expensive line item more efficient? We’ll find out, but at $500 million ARR and growing, Cursor has clearly found product-market fit. | Shoot me an email. I’m heading back now to keep dialing in the rest of the list. — Alex | A message from Lemon.io | Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist | This Week in Startups | E2144: It’s an auto-heavy Friday TWiST, with Jason and Alex looking at Xioami’s cheap, high-quality electric vehicles that could find themselves at the center of a global tariff war. Plus Uber’s rumored team-up with former CEO Travis Kalanick, Telsa’s cautious robotaxi rollout, Meta’s ongoing talent shopping spree, a new edition of Reddit Rapid Response, and much more. | E2143: It’s an EPIC, legendary VC roundtable special this week, with Jason sitting down with Sequoia partner Doug Leone and Cyberstarts founder Gili Raanan for some insider, brutally honest insights on recruiting, working with first- and second-time founders, finding true market fit, the myth of early ARR, their early investments in Wiz, and much much more. Do not miss this episode! | E2142: On today’s show, we welcome the newest member of the TWiST Team: Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4 model. “Producer Claude” is helping us research interviews, plan segments, and even doing some live real-time fact checking for us. Plus Jason and Alex talk about Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, how AI is already taking people’s jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg’s sudden pivot into FOUNDER MODE. Plus Scott Hickle from Throne Science on the future of gut health. | TWiST Partner Offers | Superpower: The best founders know: better health = better business. Visit superpower.com/twist to get $50 off your membership. This offer is only for the first 100 twist listeners who sign up. Notion: Notion combines your notes, docs, and projects into one beautifully designed space with AI built right in. Try it for free today at https://notion.com/twist Pilot: Focus on your product, let Pilot handle your bookkeeping. Pilot provides the most reliable accounting, CFO, and tax services for startups and small businesses. Head to https://www.pilot.com/twist and get $1,200 off your first year.
| LAUNCH Accelerator | We’re hosting an in-person Demo Day for LA34 in SF on July 16 from 9a-12p PT, the latest cohort from Jason Calacanis’ Accelerator. | If you are an early-stage investor and interested in attending, please reach out to bianca@launch.co. | 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. | Founder University | Applications are open for Founder University Cohort 11, a 12-week remote pre-accelerator program tailored towards navigating early-startup practices, building an MVP, and growing traction. Submit your application at Founder University— Cohort 10 will kick off Summer 2025! | The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker. |
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