AI Summary
5 min read🎙️ The Speakers & Context
- The Format: Host discussion with two guest interviews.
- The Key Players:
- Jason Calacanis (Host): Angel investor, host of This Week in Startups and All-In. Provides the primary investment thesis and market commentary.
- Alex (Co-Host): Provides counterpoints and drives the narrative flow.
- Gareth Howells (Guest): Founder of VidAIO (Subnet 85 on Bittensor). Credible as a builder within the Bittensor ecosystem.
- Ola Lehman (Guest): Founder of The AI Solopreneur. Credible as a power user of AI tools (Claude) and a commentator on AI security and workflow.
- The Vibe: Technical, Bullish, and Combative. Jason is aggressively evangelizing his Bittensor thesis while defending it against crypto skeptics.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Jason & Alex**
- 2 (00:57) **BitTensor Rug Pull & Covenant AI Controversy**
- 3 (09:12) **Interview: Gareth Howells (Subnet 85 - VidAIO)**
- 4 (30:47) **Jason's Crypto Thesis & Free Markets**
- 5 (40:33) **Interview: Ola Lehman (AI Solopreneur)**
- 6 (55:20) **Claude Mythos & Security Concerns**
- 7 (58:00) **Tax Arbitrage & Global Entrepreneurship**
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
This Week In Startups is made possible by:
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Today’s show:
TAO, the token associated with the Bittensor network, fell sharply last night after a major project declared it was taking its business elsewhere. Covenant AI had used Bittensor subnets 3, 39, and 89 before its abrupt and controversial decision to depart for other digital shores.
Gareth Howells, a co-founder of Vidaio (Bittensor Subnet 85), joined Jason and Alex to share the community perspective regarding Covenant’s decision to leave Bittensor, a choice that was especially bitter given that its recently-released Covenant-72B model trained using the network’s decentralized capabilities was hailed at the time as a demonstration of the crypto-AI hybrid’s potential. (Covenant’s Sam Dare was a recent guest on TWiST.)
Howells walked us through Vidaio’s product (AI models for high-quality video work, like upscaling)
Then it was time to bring new fan-favorite Ole Lehmann on. Ole took an Andrej Karpathy concept, and turned it into a skill that you can use in either OpenClaw or Claude Cowork.
Guests
Ole Lehmann: https://x.com/itsolelehmann
The AI Solopreneur newsletter: https://aisolo.beehiiv.com/
Vidaio: https://vidaio.io/
Vidaio on X: https://x.com/vidaio_
Timestamps:
0:00 Drama in the Bittensor space! Was there a rugpull?
1:01 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!
1:47 Gareth Howells of subnet85 joins the show: https://x.com/GarethHowells
9:56 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 https://northwestregisteredagent.com/TWIST
11:37 Gareth reacts to the Covenant situation… Did Sam sell tokens?
14:33 How VidAIo (subnet85) optimizes video as cheaply as possible. https://vidaio.io/
20:06 Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://squarespace.com/TWIST
21:12 Demo: Gareth shows upscaled footage o
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