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Banks don’t want to hand over their data to AI labs. So David Moscatelli built a $250,000 box that runs AI on-prem. He already has 1,600 pre-orders. On today’s episode of TWiST, Jason and Alex sit down with the Go Abacus founder and Yanez's Jose Caldera to unpack how regulated industries are getting AI without the cloud, why Bittensor subnet 54 is incentivizing miners to attack identity systems, and why Cloudflare just laid off 20% of its workforce in the same week it raised guidance. The show closes with Jason explaining what it means to build an AI-first startup, and how workers can derisk their future employment!
Guest Links:
Go Abacus
Go1 direct link
David Moscatelli on LinkedIn
Yanez
Bittensor Subnet 54 on TAOstats
Jose Caldera on LinkedIn
LAUNCH Links:
Founder University
Founder University Japan application portal
News Links:
Cloudflare lays off 20% of its staff
Coinbase cuts 14% of its staff
Block post on how it is rebuilding its company
Block’s earnings, including its raised guidance
Anthropic’s massive upcoming funding round
WHOOP’s new on-demand clinicians
Stripe Atlas’s growth
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction: Jason in Brooklyn, Knicks playoffs
2:30 Go Abacus joins: AI infrastructure for regulated industries
3:25 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!
4:00 The Go1: 2,000-user on-prem AI appliance
7:04 Pricing the Go1: How far does $250,000 go?
7:24 1,600 orders and the hardware delivery challenge
10:14 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST
20:23 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io
27:22 Chicago tech scene and in-office culture
30:09 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.
35:11 Yanez joins: How to prove personhood and uniqueness
38:32 How biometric capture and bio-keys work
40:05 Agent delegation: proving humans authorized AI agents
44:19 Bittensor Subnet 54 and incentivizing adversarial miners
47:11 Founder University Japan Cohort 2 applications open
49:15 Tech layoffs: Cloudflare cuts 20%, Coinbase cuts 14%, Block raises guidance
1:02:14 Anthropic's $50B round at $900B pre-money
1:04:22 WHOOP adds on-demand clinicians
1:06:42 Federalism, state-level regulation, and AI policy
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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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