This Week in Startups

Recent Episodes

1. Why AI has no taste and how to fix it (w/ Thais Castello Branco) | E2319

   Jul 31, 2026

   Thais Castello Branco, founder of Taste Labs, discusses why AI models excel at objective tasks like coding and math but fail at subjective creative work like design and writing. She explains how her company raised $18.5M to teach frontier models about aesthetics through curated preference data and a network of paid "tastemakers," and explores whether AI will accelerate or destroy cultural discovery.

2. Banning Chinese robots isn't regulatory capture | E2318

   Jul 29, 2026

   A venture capital roundtable discussing the FCC's ban on Chinese humanoid robots as a national security measure, the recursive self-improvement (RSI) letter signed by 1,100+ AI researchers calling for coordination on frontier AI development, and the competitive landscape for autonomous vehicles and drone delivery. The panel debates whether these regulatory moves represent legitimate security concerns or regulatory capture, with discussion of how China's manufacturing advantages in robotics pose challenges to US competitiveness.

3. While other cultivated meat companies are collapsing, this one turned a profit | E2317

   Jul 27, 2026

   Dr. Yuki Hanyu, an Oxford-trained chemist and founder of IntegriCulture, discusses how his company is profitably producing cultivated protein—particularly cell-cultured duck liver (foie gras)—while most competitors have collapsed. The conversation covers IntegriCulture's unique approach using open-source DIY origins, scaffold-based cell culture techniques, and a diversified business model spanning cosmetics, tools, and infrastructure rather than focusing solely on meat production.

4. Why quantum has been "10 years away" for 30 years | E2316

   Jul 24, 2026

   Kazuhiro Nakashoji, CEO of Yaqumo, discusses why quantum computing has remained '10 years away' for three decades and what's finally changing. The conversation covers quantum hardware development using neutral atoms, error correction challenges, the international supply chain for quantum components, and the near-term timeline to practical applications by 2030. Nakashoji also addresses the cryptographic risks posed by quantum computers and Yaqumo's strategy to build integrated quantum systems modeled after traditional hardware manufacturers like Toyota.

5. Why this longevity startup raised in Japan, not Silicon Valley | TWiST Tokyo | E2315

   Jul 22, 2026

   Bilal Kharouni, founder of Ekei Labs, discusses building a longevity biotech startup from Okinawa, Japan rather than Silicon Valley. The episode covers Ekei's core business of generating high-resolution epigenetic data for drug development and cell therapy manufacturing, the regulatory advantages of Japan's regenerative medicine framework, and practical lessons on fundraising, hiring, and company building in the Japanese market.

6. The AI Securing Your Workforce Before a Mistake Ever Becomes a Breach | E2314

   Jul 20, 2026

   Brandon Dixon, co-founder and CTO of Ent, discusses his $100M seed-funded startup that uses on-device AI agents to prevent security breaches before they occur. Unlike traditional reactive cybersecurity, Ent deploys AI at the endpoint to detect risky user actions, policy violations, and both human and AI agent misbehavior in real time. The company serves Fortune 500 enterprises and offers both SaaS and self-hosted deployment models.

7. The dawn of surgery bots + buy a home for $250 (w/ Andromeda & Mogul) | E2313

   Jul 17, 2026

   A double-feature episode featuring two founders: Nick Damiano, CEO and co-founder of Andromeda Surgical, discusses building AI-powered surgical robots using off-the-shelf robotic arms and proprietary software to automate procedures like prostate surgery, with plans to expand to general surgery. Alex Blackwood, co-founder and CEO of Mogul, explains how his platform enables fractional ownership of single-family rental homes for as little as $250, providing investors monthly dividends of 8-12% annually plus appreciation benefits.

8. A Startup Is Trying to Buy PayPal… Craziest Deal of 2026! | E2312

   Jul 15, 2026

   Eric Bahn (Hustle Fund) and Jeff Morris Jr. (Chapter One) discuss Stripe's reported $53B acquisition offer for PayPal, exploring why founders increasingly prefer staying private and the cultural ossification that affects mature companies. The roundtable covers AI's role in startup efficiency, the future of VC operations in an AI-native world, and emerging opportunities in fintech, space tech, and crypto infrastructure.

9. Jason turned $11 and one tweet into 1.1M views | E2311

   Jul 13, 2026

   Thibault Louis-Lucas, known online as Tibo, discusses his playbook for building products in public and growing an audience on social media. A serial founder and Product Hunt Maker of the Year (2022), he shares tactical strategies for building buzz around products before launch, including shipping multiple products rapidly, leveraging influencer partnerships with performance-based models, and targeting a specific audience repeatedly. His products Tweet Hunter and Taplio reached $1M ARR in their first year before being sold to Lemlist.

10. Danny Bernstein left Big Tech to fund farm-bots | E2310

    Jul 10, 2026

    Danny Bernstein, founder of Reservoir, discusses his transition from 10 years at Google to building an on-farm robotics incubator on 40 acres in Salinas, California. He addresses the critical labor shortage in specialty crop agriculture—over 400,000 farm jobs posted with less than 1% receiving domestic applicants—and argues that automation is both an economic opportunity and a national security imperative. Reservoir operates as both an operating company (Reservoir Farms) providing farmland access to agtech startups and a venture fund (Reservoir VC) investing in agricultural technology solutions.