Top News | Apple, Google stores offer “nudify” apps: A report from the “research initiative” and watchdog group Tech Transparency Project claims that both Apple and Google’s stores still feature mobile apps allowing users to digitally undress people in photos without their consent. TTP claims a search for terms like “undress” and “nudify” in both companies’ stores return multiple results, despite both Apple and Google having policies in place against producing nonconsensual sexual imagery. The group claims these apps have been downloaded more than 483 million times collectively, generating $122 million in revenue. Elon Musk, whose Grok AI faced similar accusations before having fresh guardrails installed, posted a link to the report with the caption: “Well, how about that … ?” Factory AI raising $150M: WSJ reports that the AI coding startup is in talks to raise the cash at a $1.5 billion valuation, with Khosla Ventures leading the round, and venture capitalist Keith Rabois joining the board. The company developed agents — which they call “Droids” — that switch off between powerful frontier models and smaller, lower-cost options depending on the complexity of the tasks at hand. They’re starting to convert enterprise customers — including Morgan Stanley, Palo Alto Networks, and Ernst & Young — which remains a serious obstacle for many otherwise promising AI startups. For companies that have not yet reached the point of “token-maxxing,” Factory’s more flexible and cost-conscious approach could have appeal. Sabi developing “thought-to-text” wearable: The Silicon Valley startup emerged from stealth this week, and unveiled a brain-computer interface (or BCI) system that can (allegedly) convert a person’s thoughts into text on a screen. The device — which looks like a beanie, but will also be available in baseball cap form — relies on electroencephalography (or EEG) to function. Metal discs touching the scalp record the brain’s electrical activity, which is then decoded into plain text. (This technology does exist but Wired suggests it’s still in the early stages. A few words or commands at a time, rather than the natural flow of human speech.) Surgically implanted devices that make direct contact with the brain — like Elon Musk’s Neuralink is developing — are currently much more powerful than scalp-based systems like Sabi’s, which have to pick up your brainwaves through dense layers of skin and bone. But putting on a cap is a lot less invasive. So, these are the tradeoffs.
| TWiST 500 | It’s a big day for AI releases, as Anthropic dropped its largest and most powerful LLM to date. No, not the whispered about and terrifying Mythos, which will soon be made available to large UK banks but not the common folks. | Claude Opus 4.7, which reportedly outdoes immediate rivals like GPT-5.4 (from OpenAI) and Gemini 3.1 Pro (from Google) on key benchmark tests. These include sought-after applications like agentic coding, agentic computer use, and financial analysis. | However, it is not exactly a grand slam home run complete victory. As many outlets, including VentureBeat, were quick to point out, GPT-5.4 and Gemini 3.1 Pro still hold their own in several categories, from agentic search to conversation in multiple languages and even old-school agent-free raw terminal-based coding. Users will see clear improvements in software engineering and complex document reasoning, but not exactly across the board, and if you’re mostly asking Claude to do basic research tasks or to evaluate this mole on your back… you might want to conserve your precious tokens and go with the quite capable Sonnet 4.6. | Another current T500 member in good standing that might not be with us much longer, should IPO season continue as planned, is Canva. The all-in-one suite of design and presentation tools upgraded their AI assistant in some noteworthy ways. Users can build fresh designs and then tweak and adjust them entirely through text prompts, essentially vibe coding their way through the process without having to engage with any actual tools. The platform is also beefing up its AI image and website generation tools. | COO and co-founder Cliff Obrecht pointed out to TechCrunch that, though many companies and enterprises are now using agents and LLMs as part of their workflows, “they always need to end up doing the final mile of editing, collaboration, and deployment” on Canva. Sounds like a man who is determined not to get one-shotted by Claude. – Lon | A message from Shopify | Turn those What If’s into sales with the ecommerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at http://shopify.com/twist | This Week in Startups | E2276: Jason and Lon kick off the show with Albert and Boris for Nanogram, an app that’s essentially TikTok for mobile games. People create casual mini-games with AI and then share them on an endlessly scrolling feed. It’s pretty addictive! Then, Alex chats with 1X Technologies CEO Bernt Børnich about building NEO, a safety-first 66-lb humanoid robot designed specifically for the home. Find out why Bernt says households are an even trickier workspace for robots than a factory floor or warehouse. | E2275: Stillcore Capital partner Mark Jeffrey joins the show once more to pick through the Templar/Covenant-72B scandal and look ahead at how the Bittensor community can prevent future (alleged!) rug pulls. They’re joined by subnet owners Ken Miyachi (of BitMind) and Will Squires & Steffan Cruz (of MacroCosmos) for a full rundown on the specific powers wielded by subnet owners, how investors should divvy up their TAO vs. Alpha Token purchases, and much much more. | E2274: It’s the (alleged) rug pull threatening to tear the Bittensor community apart! Jason and Alex are discussing the highly-visible Templar subnet, which had trained the massive Convenant-72B AI model using an innovative, decentralized approach. But when CEO Sam Dare (allegedly!) sold off $10 million of subnet tokens, he threatened the project’s future, and caused the largest single-day drop in the price of TAO ever. What really happened? Who’s in the wrong? And how can the Bittensor ecosystem prevent this from happening again? We’re digging in on a new TWiST. | TWiST Partner Offers | Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers. LinkedIn Jobs: Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at LinkedIn.com/twist. Every.io: For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit every.io.
| LAUNCH Accelerator 36! | Our 36th LAUNCH Accelerator cohort has kicked off. If you’re an early stage investor and want to take a look at this cohort first-hand during an exclusive pitch session, please email bianca@launch.co! | Our Favorite Tool | If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! | SF Live-Work Space Now Available | Need a flexible living and working environment in San Francisco? This thoughtfully designed loft-style residence at 787 Bryant St., the heart of the vibrant SOMA district and the city’s creative hub, is now available for rent or purchase. Check the listing for more details. | The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker. |
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