The Self-Driving Unicorn You Need to Meet & MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Bet | E2052
27 November 2024

The Self-Driving Unicorn You Need to Meet & MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Bet | E2052

This Week in Startups
About

Todays show:


Jason and Alex welcomed Alex Kendall to the show. He's the founder and CEO of Wayve, an AI company working on self-driving. You might recall that Wayve raised $1 billion earlier this year, but TWIST wanted to know how the company intends to commercialize -- and how soon. From there, it was back to the bitcoin mines. Figuratively, as the hosts dug into MicroStrategies' bitcoin buying bet. Precisely why it is trading at such a NAV premium remains occluded to the show, but we did chase down its debt terms. Next week: More TWiST500!


*


Timestamps:


(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show


(2:32) Introduction of guest Alex Kendall Co-Founder & CEO of Wayve
(3:00) Alex Kendall on Wayve's autonomous driving approach and AI technology
(8:29) LiDAR vs. camera-first solutions debate


(10:19) Cloud Devs - Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talent today.


(12:23) Economic viability and strategy of autonomous vehicles
(17:49) Timeline for Wave's technology deployment and future market scenarios


(19:58) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist


(22:34) Autonomy subscription models and AI driving behavior challenges


(30:01) Kyte - Download the Kyte app today and use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental.


(33:00) AI driving culture and Twist 500 update
(37:05) MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy and market concerns
(41:33) Bitcoin convertible debt analysis
(49:03) Deciphering complex business models and historical examples
(51:24) Evaluating new financial terms and investor advice
(52:29) Final thoughts and invitation to Michael Saylor


*


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


*


Mentioned on the show:


Check out Wayve: https://wayve.ai/
Check out MicroStrategy: https://www.microstrategy.com/
TWiST Episode #1251 with Do Kwon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZL8iPKsHQ


*


Follow Alex Kendall:


X: https://x.com/alexgkendall


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


*


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:


(10:19) Cloud Devs - Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talent today.


(19:58) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist


(30:01) Kyte - Download the Kyte app today and use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental.


*


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