Banning Chinese robots isn't regulatory capture | E2318

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Today's show:
The FCC's decision to ban Chinese humanoid robots over security concerns is a boon to American startups, which now face a narrower competitive market. But where should we draw the line on security over competition? Menlo Ventures' Deedy Das, Weisburd Pierce's David Weisburd, Plexo Capital's Lo Toney, and LAUNCH's Jason Calcanis broke down how they differentiate between legitimate security concerns and purported regulatory capture. Today's venture capital roundtable also dug into OpenRouter's possible sale to Stripe, changing tokenomics, the Indian market for startups, and even DoorDash's drone-delivery business taking flight.
Guest Links:
Deedy Das x.com/deedydas
Menloe Ventures menlovc.com
Lo Toney x.com/lo_toney
Plexo Capital plexocap.com
David Weisburd x.com/DWeisburd
Weisburd Pierce weisburdpierce.com
Jason Calcanis x.com/Jason
LAUNCH launch.co
Show Links:
The FCC's decision regarding Chinese robots fcc.gov/document/fcc-adds-foreign-produced-pow…
Pacing the Frontier letter pacingthefrontier.com
Cursor Start cursor.com/blog/cursor-start-india
Stripe may buy OpenRouter axios.com/2026/07/24/stripe-openrouter-merger-…
OpenRouter financials theinformation.com/articles/openrouter-financi…
Kimi K3 license huggingface.co/moonshotai/Kimi-K3/blob/main/LI…
Pangram pangram.com
Tau Robotics tau-robotics.com
Zipline zipline.com
Manna manna.aero
Kindred Ventures kindredventures.com
Autolane goautolane.com
Salmon Labs salmonrun.ai

Timestamps:
0:00 The FCC bans Chinese humanoid robots
2:18 Waymo, Uber, Robotaxi, and the global BYD threat
10:30 MongoDB - AI-assisted and agentic coding is helping you build faster than ever. Start building at MongoDB.com/ai
15:45 The "Pacing The Frontier" letter (1,100+ AI staffers warn on RSI)
19:51 Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Get started for free at Odoo.com/twist
21:07 Regulatory capture vs. genuine concern
30:09 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 northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
37:57 Have we reached AGI?
38:35 Stripe eyes OpenRouter at $10B
39:19 Does OpenRouter have a moat?
47:13 Kimi K3's license and neocloud margins
49:34 Claude Tag and the future of AI-mediated workplaces
53:26 Cursor Start, ChatGPT Go, and the India market
1:02:03 Have we solved AI detection?
1:11:20 Tau Robotics $30/hour robotic housecleaning
1:12:49 Job loss, and the social safety net
1:18:25 DoorDash Air takes on Zipline, Manna
1:21:00 Portfolio shout-outs

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