AI Model Showdown: Grok 4.1 vs. Gemini 3 | E2211

AI Model Showdown: Grok 4.1 vs. Gemini 3 | E2211

Author: Jason Calacanis November 19, 2025 Duration: 46:45

AI Model Showdown: Grok 4.1 vs. Gemini 3 | E2211


Register for Founder University Japan’s Kickoff! https://luma.com/cm0x90mk


Today’s show:

*Will the arrival of two hotly-anticipated, intensely powerful AI models snap the Doomer cycle?

On a new TWiST, Jason and Alex consider the current AI landscape, one where cynicism about insider mega-deals, fear of job displacement, and concerns about bubble bursts seem to rule the day. Will the arrival of two powerful new models — xAI’s Grok 4.1 and Google’s Gemini 3 — help the industry to course-correct? And how do we decide how much these models have improved anyway?

PLUS we’re investigating Cloudflare’s recent downtime and their acquisition of Replicate. Are we heading toward a future in which everyone runs their own models, locally? And how worried should founders get if their products or sites go down for a few hours?

Finally, if you’re an investor, and want to come to Jason’s Dim Sum Demo Day in San Francisco, here’s the link: http://launch.co/dimsum

Timestamps:

(2:01) Why the internet got broadly degraded when Cloudflare went down

(5:00) How worried should founders become when their sites go offline?

(6:44) Downtime aside, what did Cloudflare want with Replicate?

(8:12) Why Jason predicts one day we’ll run our own local language models

(9:39) Goldbelly - Goldbelly ****ships America’s most delicious, iconic foods nationwide! Get 20% off your first order by going to Goldbelly.com and using the promo code TWiST at checkout.

(15:25) How to turn off “Learn From This App” on your iPhone

(17:29) Will the arrival of hotly-anticipated new models stop the spread of Doomerism and AI cynicism

(20:00) Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit every.io.

(23:53) Checking back in with the “Best AI Model” Polymarket… why has ChatGPT dropped so low?

(29:43) Zite - Zite is the fastest way to build business software with AI. Build apps, forms, websites and portals that connect to the tools you already use. Go to zite.com/twist to get started.

(31:14) ANOTHER AI mega-deal? Nvidia and Microsoft are investing in… ANTHROPIC

(33:06) Why so many AI deals now include “up to…” language around investments

(35:04) What Jason thinks of Dario Amodei’s warning about white collar job displacement

(39:39) If we all agree AI job displacement is coming… what can be done?

(45:16) All about Jason’s Dim Sum Investor Demo Day in San Francisco!


Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com

Check out the TWIST500: https://www.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: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm


Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis


Thank you to our partners:

(9:39) Goldbelly - Goldbelly ****ships America’s most delicious, iconic foods nationwide! Get 20% off your first order by going to Goldbelly.com and using the promo code TWiST at checkout.

(20:00) Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit every.io.

(29:43) Zite - Zite is the fastest way to build business software with AI. Build apps, forms, websites and portals that connect to the tools you already use. Go to zite.com/twist to get started.


Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland



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…