Top News | SpaceX blasting toward an IPO: With a valuation pegged at a GDP-esque $800 billion in December, Elon Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX currently ranks as one of the world’s most valuable private companies. But that may be about to change. The private company part, not the value part. WSJ reports that the company is circling an IPO, now that Musk’s vision is fixed around the concept of putting data centers in space. This plan will likely require billions in capex to realize… the kind of funding that could come along with a high-profile initial public offering. (WSJ also suggests there’s a bit of a personal rivalry element in play, with Musk eager to take SpaceX public ahead of his chief AI rivals, like OpenAI and Anthropic.) Musk has apparently told those in his circle that he’s aiming to complete a SpaceX IPO by July. Google says no to Gemini ads: OpenAI has officially started testing out ads for free and low-cost subscription users in India and (soon) the United States. But while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Google’s Demis Hassabis claimed that the company plans to avoid ads in its outputs. At least, for now. Hassabis suggests that Google is focused on making Gemini a more capable virtual assistant with a wider array of use cases, and that they’re likely to hold off on ads until they’ve built up more trust among users and gotten more of a feel for the overall AI app landscape. Back in December, Google Ads chief Dan Taylor made similar comments, suggesting that Gemini outputs won’t get ads until 2027 at the earliest. Preply achieves unicorn status: The language learning platform raised a $150 million Series D round, now valuing the company at $1.2 billion. What sets Preply apart from all the other language apps on the market (particularly their most visible rivals, Duolingo) are personalized tutors. The app connects subscribers with real human teachers, who instruct them live via one-on-one sessions. The company works with over 100,000 human tutors, whom it now plans who compliment via AI integrations. And yes, Duolingo experimented (some would say unsuccessfully) with the same kind of idea, but if Preply figures out how to make the human tutor + AI helper team-up work, it could provide them with a massive boost in efficiency and make them far more cost-effective.
| TWiST 500 | Once every quarter or so, AI audio company ElevenLabs comes up with a star-studded announcement that grabs the entire industry’s attention for at least one news cycle. In November, it was the addition of iconic British actor Michael Caine’s simulated, dulcet tones to the app. This week, the company announced a new musical partnership with several noteworthy artists, who have used their platform to “co-create” an album of original songs. (The list includes Boomer faves like Liza Minelli and Art Garfunkel along with more contemporary-minded artists like singer Sunsetto and rapper IAMSU.) | Eleven Music — a direct challenger to popular music-generating apps from companies like Suno and Udio — not only allows users to output full compositions from plain-language prompts, but aims to help established musicians “spark new ideas and accelerate their creative workflows.” This includes the ability to edit pre-existing tracks to adjust timing, add new instrumentals, shift arrangements, even alter lyrics on the fly. | The new songs from major artists have been collected in what the company is calling “The Eleven Album,” and you can listen now on Spotify. | In other T500 news… AI medical search platform OpenEvidence raised a new $250 million round of funding, at a hefty $12 billion valuation. That brings their one-year fundraising total to $700 million; backers include Thrive Capital, Google’s venture arm, Nvidia, and (friend of the pod) David Sacks’ Craft Ventures. | The product itself — often referred to as “ChatGPT for Doctors” — is the most widely-used AI resource in the nation among medical professionals; a staggering 40% of US physicians are already users. What sets it apart from just asking ChatGPT what’s up with that mole on your arm is in the training. While most LLMs are pulling data sets from the open internet, OpenEvidence trains exclusively on information taken from medical journals and other verifiable, trustworthy sources. | That’s not to say the company isn’t going to have serious rivals: OpenAI and Anthropic both recently launched medical and health-related products. OpenEvidence founder and CEO Daniel Nadler tells CNBC that he’s currently focused on working with physicians, and the quality of their training data, as his major differentiator. Having already tested the system out and gathered more data through “hundreds of millions of real-world clinical consultations” makes for a flywheel he feels will be “incredibly hard to replicate.” – Lon | A message from Vanta | Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. Get $1,000 off for a limited time at http://www.vanta.com/twist. | This Week in Startups | E2237: It’s another amazing episode of TWiST Tokyo, this time featuring local VC Shinichi “Shin” Takamiya from Globis Capital. He talks to Jason about the reality on the ground for Japanese investors, and how the culture is shifting from recent grads wanting to work for the largest and most established blue chip corporations to a more startup and innovation-forward focus. PLUS find out why Jason prefers training recent grads to become VCs rather than hiring for experience, AND Shin’s ultimate guide to eating out in Tokyo. | E2236: On a can’t miss edition of TWiST Tokyo, Jason sits down with long-time friend of the pod and iconic angel investor Thomas McInerney. Together, they discuss his long list of legendary investments, from Notion to SpaceX to Uber to Anthopic, and get deep on the strategy and philosophy behind them. Find out how the angel investing landscape has shifted, why founders need to stay both humble and smart, why it’s important for investors to maintain optimism, and much more. | E2235: Jason loves Japan’s Uniqlo brand, so the opportunity to speak with board member Kathy Matsui (also one of the country’s top VCs) was too good to pass up. Once they’re done checking out JCal’s latest style, the conversation turns to Japan’s startup revolution, why the country’s economic recovery seemed to take so long, and why her firm MPower Partners is seeking companies reflecting “Japan Dynamism” for their second fund. | TWiST Partner Offers | 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 www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Crusoe Cloud: Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit https://www.crusoe.ai/savings to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today. LinkedIn Jobs: Hire right, the first time. Post a job for free at LinkedIn.com/twist, then use LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI-assistant to promote it and find top candidates fast. That’s LinkedIn.com/twist to post a job for free.
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