AI Summary
5 min readThe episode opens with a deeply personal 9/11 remembrance from Jason Calacanis, who was in Manhattan that day. He describes watching the towers fall from his loft on 26th Street, seeing an FBI agent with a machine gun who told him "we're under attack," and the eerie silence that followed — the complete shutdown of cell service and the sudden unity among New Yorkers who embraced each other instead of honking. His brother Josh, a firefighter, spent months on the pile and attended funerals for fallen colleagues for over a year. Calacanis says his life is "bookmarked pre-9/11 post-9/11" and calls the 1990s "peak America" — a time of optimism that ended with that day.
The Pentagon wants equity in AI startups
The Pentagon is in talks to lend FluidStack $5 billion for AI infrastructure — the largest loan ever from the Department's Office of Strategic Capital. The money is not for building a new data center but for shoring up the U.S. supply chain and manufacturing behind data center components. The loan is being advised by Erabor Bank, the new national bank from Android founder Paul Merlocky, designed to serve tech and defense clients. This comes days after FluidStack lost a $1.5 billion round led by Sequoia.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Apple iPhone Duo Launch & Cheaper Models Delayed** - Apple launches its first foldable, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, and reportedly pushes cheaper models to spring 2027.
- 2 (00:54) **9/11 Remembrance and Personal Reflection** - The host shares a detailed, emotional personal account of experiencing the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan.
- 3 (07:06) **Plaud Note Sponsorship & Demo** - The hosts demonstrate the Plaud AI note-taking pin, now integrated with Zoom, to automatically generate show summaries and transcripts.
- 4 (09:25) **The Pentagon’s $5B Loan to AI Startup FluidStack** - The Pentagon is in talks to lend FluidStack $5 billion for AI infrastructure, seeking equity in the startup rather than just buying its product.
- 5 (11:30) **Debate: Nationalization of AI vs. Free Market** - The hosts discuss whether this Pentagon deal signals a "creeping toward nationalization of AI."
- 6 (14:44) **Critique of Government Overreach & "Sweetheart Deals"** - The host argues the deal creates an "appearance of impropriety" and is an unnecessary overcomplication of the market.
- 7 (18:59) **Odoo Sponsorship** - The host promotes Odoo, an all-in-one management software for scaling businesses.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
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Today's show:
The Pentagon is reportedly in talks to lend AI cloud startup Fluidstack $5. billion, and Jason thinks the real story isn't the loan itself. It's the US government owning equity in private AI companies, and competing directly with venture capital.
Plus returning friend of the pod Tibo Louis-Lucas shows us how he runs seven companies with fewer than 10 people by stacking AI agents. Can a few $200/month AI subscriptions really do the work of an entire marketing team? Tibo seems to think so.
Plus it's Off-Duty Friday, so Jason and Lon are reviewing some current streaming favorites, and commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with some personal stories.
Check out the full summary and transcript of today's episode from Plaud: https://web.plaud.ai/s/pub_213fdb2e-a65e-4901-b5fc-57a4f1e357a1::ZvclWNOK-PPr-9atxIDVG2tpGYUJxiklGAzVbHd9aJRBMSd6ef8l4hG7j_mUAyNTYTXS_Ha1XlEm8fYC
Guests:
Tibo Louis-Lucas on X: https://x.com/tibo_maker
Squad: https://squad.so/
Relevant Links:
Fluidstack: https://www.fluidstack.io
Google-Fluidstack warrants deal details: https://cointelegraph.com/news/google-acquires-5-4-stake-in-bitcoin-mining-company-cipher-mining-in-ai-deal
Center for Public Integrity: Solyndra timeline: https://publicintegrity.org/politics/missed-warning-signs-a-so