3D-Printed Homes for $99K: ICON’s Jason Ballard on the future of housing | E2277

3D-Printed Homes for $99K: ICON’s Jason Ballard on the future of housing | E2277

Author: Jason Calacanis April 18, 2026 Duration: 1:47:05

This Week In Startups is made possible by:IM8 Health - https://IM8health.com/twist Grasshopper Bank - https://grasshopper.bank/twist Northwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:Is 3D printing the key to not just solving the housing crisis but bringing us all into a more beautiful and utopian future? ICON founder Jason Ballard thinks so. His company is already building homes for the unhoused and delivering barracks to Fort Bliss at half the cost and a fraction of the time. On TWiST, he tells us space construction is also on the agenda.Explore the potential for robot-powered concrete construction can help build cheap homes for the unhoused, modernize our military infrastructure, AND colonize the solar system in this exclusive interview.Then Seby Rubino of Resi Labs demos his real estate “Oracle,” which can guess the price of any home with 98% accuracy… for just fractions of a penny.PLUS Jason tells a story of the rare founder who got one over on him, and why he’s moving away from vengeance and anger and into love and acceptable.AND we’ve got more JCal and Lon recommendations in a brand-new Off Duty.Guests :Jason Ballard: https://x.com/JasonDBallardICON: https://www.iconbuild.com/ICON on X: https://x.com/ICON3DTechSeby Rubino: https://x.com/SebyverseResi Labs: https://portal.resilabs.ai/Timestamps:0:00 Intro + "balance the ledger" tease1:10 Jason Ballard (ICON) joins — 3D-printed homes + defense (ICON Prime)5:18 Housing basics: commutes, quality of life, "food/water/shelter"7:15 ICON Prime: military construction, survivability, speed, supply chain10:08 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.11:35 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!12:43 Fort Bliss barracks: 10 in 6 months, half the cost; blast/ballistics20:23 Beautiful + dignified housing: Community First Village; "where's the floor?"20:29 Grasshopper Bank: Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.30:10 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 https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist37:27 Audience Q&A: longevity/cracking; plumbing + electrical41:33 ICON Titan printer + channel partners; hiring pitch45:47 Sebi Rubino (Rezzy Labs) joins — BitTensor subnet 46 real estate pricing51:18 Tau/BitTensor explained: subnet competitions, "narrow intelligence"59:15 Rezzy demo: portal + pricing engine; customers + business model1:07:49 "Got shivved for 500k" story: acquisition, investors get zero1:20:36 Bounties: annotated.com + AI sidebar + headless CMS on BitTensor1:31:10 Off-duty: View Buds (camera earbuds) + use cases1:38:13 Off-duty: Anker charger/cable/battery "trio"1:41:12 Off-duty: The Audacity (AMC) quick review1:46:43 Wrap-up + secret TWiST group chat on XSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis


Every week, Jason Calacanis dives headfirst into the swirling vortex of Silicon Valley and global tech with This Week in Startups. It’s a direct line to the conversations shaping our digital future, moving far beyond surface-level news. You’ll hear Jason’s unfiltered analysis on everything from market shifts and media trends to the underlying mechanics of building a business, all delivered with a blend of enthusiasm and seasoned skepticism. The core of this podcast, however, lies in the guests. Jason sits down with the very people driving change-founders who have scaled impossible heights, operators managing daily chaos, and investors who spot trends before they become obvious. These conversations are less like formal interviews and more like insider debriefs, pulling back the curtain on real strategies, painful failures, and unexpected successes. For anyone curious about how technology is built, funded, and ultimately changes the world, this series offers a front-row seat. It’s the context behind the headlines, providing a deeper understanding of the forces at play in startups and technology. Tune in for a consistently engaging and insightful look at the ecosystem, straight from someone who lives and breathes it.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

This Week in Startups
Podcast Episodes
SpaceX and Cursor team up to topple Claude Code | E2279 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:29
This Week In Startups is made possible by:LinkedIn Jobs - linkedIn.com/twistGrasshopper Bank - grasshopper.bank/twistNotion - notion.comToday’s show:This week, SpaceX announced that it was partnering with AI coding start…
Why Your Company Should Own Its AI Model | E2278 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:59
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Quo - https://quo.com/TWiST Vanta - https://vanta.com/twist Pilot - https://pilot.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:*Eragon CEO Josh Sirota believes that you s…
Bittensor’s (alleged) $10M rug pull (feat. Mark Jeffrey) | E2275 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:38
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Sentry - https://sentry.io/twist Deel - https://deel.com/twist Netsuite - https://netsuite.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:*TAO just had its worst week since…
Bittensor Drama! TAO down 15%! | E2274 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:54
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Pilot - https://pilot.com/TWISTSquarespace -https://squarespace.com/TWISTNorthwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/TWISTPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistCrow…
Anthropic’s Mythos is a cyber-weapon, so you can’t have it | E2273 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:48
Anthropic just built a model so dangerous, they’re not even going to release it (for now). On TWiST, Jason, Alex, and Neurometric CEO Rob May discuss whether or not this is just another frontier model or a potential weap…
3 AI Agents That Actually Replaced Human Jobs | E2272 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:09
Anthropic just pulled the plug on Claude subscriptions for OpenClaw and every third party agentic tool. So Jason and Lon welcome back three of our top TWiST OpenClaw experts to break down what it means, how much it’s goi…
AI Rebuilt Every YC W26 Startup. Should Founders Be Scared? | E2271 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:52
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel - deel.com/twistGrasshopper Bank - grasshopper.bank/twistRender - render.com/twistPlaud - Plaud.ai/twistAn AI “holding company” rebuilt dozens of YC Winter ‘26 startups in o…