Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Northwest Registered Agent- NorthwestRegisteredAgent.com/twist
Odoo - Odoo.com/twist
MongoDB - MongoDB.com/ai
Today’s show:
The FCC’s decision to ban Chinese humanoid robots over security concerns is a boon to American startups, which now face a narrower competitive market. But where should we draw the line on security over competition? Menlo Ventures’ Deedy Das, Weisburd Pierce’s David Weisburd, Plexo Capital’s Lo Toney, and LAUNCH’s Jason Calcanis broke down how they differentiate between legitimate security concerns and purported regulatory capture. Today’s venture capital roundtable also dug into OpenRouter’s possible sale to Stripe, changing tokenomics, the Indian market for startups, and even DoorDash’s drone-delivery business taking flight.
Guest Links:
Deedy Das https://x.com/deedydas
Menloe Ventures menlovc.com
Lo Toney https://x.com/lo_toney
Plexo Capital plexocap.com
David Weisburd https://x.com/DWeisburd
Weisburd Pierce weisburdpierce.com
Jason Calcanis https://x.com/Jason
LAUNCH launch.co
Show Links:
The FCC’s decision regarding Chinese robots fcc.gov/document/fcc-adds-foreign-produced-power-inverters-and-robots-covered-list-0
Pacing the Frontier letter pacingthefrontier.com
Cursor Start cursor.com/blog/cursor-start-india
Stripe may buy OpenRouter axios.com/2026/07/24/stripe-openrouter-merger-ai-currency
OpenRouter financials theinformation.com/articles/openrouter-financials-suggest-steep-price-possible-acquirer-stripe?rc=g3wfdp
Kimi K3 license huggingface.co/moonshotai/Kimi-K3/blob/main/LICENSE
Pangram pangram.com
Tau Robotics tau-robotics.com
Zipline zipline.com
Manna https://www.manna.aero/
Kindred Ventures kindredventures.com
Autolane goautolane.com
Salmon Labs salmonrun.ai
Timestamps:
0:00 The FCC bans Chinese humanoid robots
1:44 Waymo, Uber, Robotaxi, and the global BYD threat
9:56 MongoDB - AI-assisted and agentic coding is helping you build faster than ever. Start building at MongoDB.com/ai
15:11 The "Pacing The Frontier" letter (1,100+ AI staffers warn on RSI)
19:17 Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Get started for free at Odoo.com/twist
20:33 Regulatory capture vs. genuine concern
29:35 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 northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
37:23 Have we reached AGI?
38:01 Stripe eyes OpenRouter at $10B
38:45 Does OpenRouter have a moat?
46:39 Kimi K3's license and neocloud margins
49:00 Claude Tag and the future of AI-mediated workplaces
52:52 Cursor Start, ChatGPT Go, and the India market
1:01:29 Have we solved AI detection?
1:10:46 Tau Robotics $30/hour robotic housecleaning
1:12:15 Job loss, and the social safety net
1:17:51 DoorDash Air takes on Zipline, Manna
1:20:26 Portfolio shout-outs
Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com
Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp
Follow Lon:
X: https://x.com/lons
Follow Alex:
X: https://x.com/alex
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
X: twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: substack.com/@calacanis
Follow TWiST:
Twitter: twitter.com/TWiStartups
YouTube: youtube.com/thisweekin
Instagram: instagram.com/thisweekinstartups
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
Substack: twistartups.substack.com
This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Northwest Registered Agent- NorthwestRegisteredAgent.com/twist
Odoo - Odoo.com/twist
MongoDB - MongoDB.com/ai
Today’s show:
The FCC’s decision to ban Chinese humanoid robots over security concerns is a boon to American startups, which now face a narrower competitive market. But where should we draw the line on security over competition? Menlo Ventures’ Deedy Das, Weisburd Pierce’s David Weisburd, Plexo Capital’s Lo Toney, and LAUNCH’s Jason Calcanis broke down how they differentiate between legitimate security concerns and purported regulatory capture. Today’s venture capital roundtable also dug into OpenRouter’s possible sale to Stripe, changing tokenomics, the Indian market for startups, and even DoorDash’s drone-delivery business taking flight.
Guest Links:
Deedy Das https://x.com/deedydas
Menloe Ventures menlovc.com
Lo Toney https://x.com/lo_toney
Plexo Capital plexocap.com
David Weisburd https://x.com/DWeisburd
Weisburd Pierce weisburdpierce.com
Jason Calcanis https://x.com/Jason
LAUNCH launch.co
Show Links:
The FCC’s decision regarding Chinese robots fcc.gov/document/fcc-adds-foreign-produced-power-inverters-and-robots-covered-list-0
Pacing the Frontier letter pacingthefrontier.com
Cursor Start cursor.com/blog/cursor-start-india
Stripe may buy OpenRouter axios.com/2026/07/24/stripe-openrouter-merger-ai-currency
OpenRouter financials theinformation.com/articles/openrouter-financials-suggest-steep-price-possible-acquirer-stripe?rc=g3wfdp
Kimi K3 license huggingface.co/moonshotai/Kimi-K3/blob/main/LICENSE
Pangram pangram.com
Tau Robotics tau-robotics.com
Zipline zipline.com
Manna https://www.manna.aero/
Kindred Ventures kindredventures.com
Autolane goautolane.com
Salmon Labs salmonrun.ai
Timestamps:
0:00 The FCC bans Chinese humanoid robots
1:44 Waymo, Uber, Robotaxi, and the global BYD threat
9:56 MongoDB - AI-assisted and agentic coding is helping you build faster than ever. Start building at MongoDB.com/ai
15:11 The "Pacing The Frontier" letter (1,100+ AI staffers warn on RSI)
19:17 Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Get started for free at Odoo.com/twist
20:33 Regulatory capture vs. genuine concern
29:35 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 northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
37:23 Have we reached AGI?
38:01 Stripe eyes OpenRouter at $10B
38:45 Does OpenRouter have a moat?
46:39 Kimi K3's license and neocloud margins
49:00 Claude Tag and the future of AI-mediated workplaces
52:52 Cursor Start, ChatGPT Go, and the India market
1:01:29 Have we solved AI detection?
1:10:46 Tau Robotics $30/hour robotic housecleaning
1:12:15 Job loss, and the social safety net
1:17:51 DoorDash Air takes on Zipline, Manna
1:20:26 Portfolio shout-outs
Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com
Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp
Follow Lon:
X: https://x.com/lons
Follow Alex:
X: https://x.com/alex
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
Follow Jason:
X: twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: substack.com/@calacanis
Follow TWiST:
Twitter: twitter.com/TWiStartups
YouTube: youtube.com/thisweekin
Instagram: instagram.com/thisweekinstartups
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
Substack: twistartups.substack.com
