The Defense Tech Startup YC Kicked Out of a Meeting is Now Arming America | E2280

The Defense Tech Startup YC Kicked Out of a Meeting is Now Arming America | E2280

Author: Jason Calacanis April 25, 2026 Duration: 59:15

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Today’s show:


The US military is running low on missiles, but now, Firehawk Aerospace is using 3D-printed solid rocket propellant to cut production costs in half and 5x U.S. output.

Plus: PhD researcher Maruchi Kim just built camera-equipped earbuds that perform on par with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and could be the next wearable AI platform hiding in plain sight.

Guests

Will Edwards: https://x.com/williewockets

Firehawk Aerospace: https://firehawkdefense.com/

Maruchi Kim: https://x.com/maruchikim

VueBuds project: https://vuebuds.cs.washington.edu/

Related Links

This Week in AI: https://www.thisweekinai.ai/

“Ghost Murmur: The Heartbeat-Tracking Tech That Has Experts Questioning the Laws of Physics”: https://www.military.com/feature/2026/04/18/ghost-murmur-heartbeat-tracking-tech-has-experts-questioning-laws-of-physics.html

Neurometric: https://www.neurometric.ai/

Meta Ray-Bans: https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/

Hanwha Defense USA: https://www.hanwhadefenseusa.com/

Raytheon: https://www.rtx.com/

Pilatus PC-24 corporate jet: https://www.pilatus-aircraft.com/en/pc-24

PlaneSense: https://www.planesense.com/

Slopes app: https://slopesapp.com/

Speechify: https://speechify.com/

Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/

Timestamps:

0:00 Are all these layoffs really AI's fault?

8:51 Why laid off people should start their own companies

9:27 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/twist

13:18 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!

15:25 Will Edwards of Firehawk joins the show

15:46 What are Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs)?

20:06 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.

23:10 Who are Firehawk's customers?

24:25 Reimagining and reinventing the US military

28:35 How do missiles fit into the military's operations?

29:34 Agree - Stop chasing invoices at https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life!

31:01 What's next on the roadmap for Firehawk?

31:49 How to make propellant (with easy to find ingredients)

33:13 A cheaper way to fly private

38:03 Ro.co: Ro's insurance checker will let you know if your coverage includes GLP-1s for FREE. Go to https://Ro.co/Twist for your free insurance check.

40:48 Maruchi Kim of Vuebuds joins the show!

44:35 Why are VueBuds better than meta glasses?

46:23 The biggest VueBud use cases

48:09 Jason wants to use VueBuds on the slopes

55:38 Jason's advice for angel investors: never underestimate anyone!

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

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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

Check 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

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