Is Project Europe a YC Riff? Nick Denton is Back! And more! | E2096

Today’s show: Europe wants to keep its founders from fleeing, AI is growing at breakneck speed, and Nick Denton is back with a spicy Twitter storm—so we had to talk about it. Jason, Alex, and Lon break down Project Europe, a new $10M fund aimed at stopping the European startup brain drain. Plus, Anthropic’s revenue just jumped 40% in a single quarter, and we debate what that means for AI’s future. Meanwhile, China’s EV makers are coming for Tesla, Saudi Arabia is building a gaming empire with a $3.5B Pokémon GO buyout, and we ask the big question: Should X and XAI just merge? Since XAI gets real-time data from X, it’s got a major advantage—so what’s stopping them from becoming one? * Timestamps: (0:00) Alex, Jason and Lon kick off the show! (1:29) Recap of Jason's appearance on Glenn Beck's show and advice to MBA students (4:21) The value of an MBA vs. starting a company(8:14) Nick Denton on Musk, Trump, and investment thesis (9:47 Squarespace. Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (15:16) The rise of Chinese EV manufacturers and Tesla's challenges (19:09) Jason's stance on vandalism, protests, and political affiliations (20:35) Northwest Registered Agent. Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit http://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today! (23:13) Tesla's brand challenges and future prospects (25:03) Jason's audience and political neutrality(26:35) Inflation data and its implications for startups (28:07) Project Europe and entrepreneurship in the EU and Middle East (29:45) AdQuick. Easily plan, deploy and measure out-of-home campaigns as easily as digital ads. Visit www.AdQuick.com/twist to learn more (38:09) Jason's personal health and productivity protocol (41:18) Anthropic's revenue growth, API credits, and AI developments(45:09) AI competition and consumer trust (46:41) Mainstream adoption of ChatGPT and AI challengers (48:02) Grok AI's integration with X (51:12) Sale of Niantic's games business and global market shifts( 58:06) India's economic rise and TSMC's potential deal with Intel * 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 Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/Lons LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lonharris Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Thank you to our partners: (9:47 Squarespace. Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (20:35) Northwest Registered Agent. Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit http://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today! (29:45) AdQuick. Easily plan, deploy and measure out-of-home campaigns as easily as digital ads. Visit www.AdQuick.com/twist to learn more * 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 * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916