VCs Would Bet on Open-Source AI Over OpenAI and Anthropic

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Today’s show:

Anthropic and OpenAI released cheaper models on the same day with Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6, and these VCs would still bet on open source. Jason brings on Dave McClure of Practical Venture Capital, Jeff Clavier of Uncork Capital, and Jenny Fielding of Everywhere Ventures to discuss the argument for open-weight models over the frontier labs.

Learn why median seed valuations have more than tripled since 2017. Why does Dave say it's a buyer's market for secondaries right now? PLUS, does Meta's Muse leave any room for Instinct, and why are fintech and healthcare suddenly out of favor?

Guests:

Dave McClure on X: x.com/davemcclure?lang=en

Practical Venture Capital: practicalvc.com

Jeff Clavier on X: x.com/jeff

Uncorked Capital: uncorkcapital.com

Jenny Fiedling on X: x.com/jefielding

Everywhere Ventures: everywhere.vc

Relevant Links:

Instinct reportedly seeking $1B at a $10B valuation (report via The Information) → cryptobriefing.com/ai-assistant-startup-instin…

Meta's Muse, the agent the panel sees as Instinct's biggest threat, now on Mac → aiweekly.co/alerts/meta-ships-muse-for-mac-age…

Trump calls Jensen Huang onstage at the All-In Summit → thenextweb.com/news/trump-phoned-jensen-huang-…

AI-assisted intel error nearly triggered a US intercept of a Chinese ship (CNN via gCaptain) → gcaptain.com/ai-error-nearly-triggered-u-s-int…

Bernie Sanders' 50% AI sovereign wealth fund bill + Altman meeting (Fortune) → fortune.com/2026/06/18/bernie-sanders-ai-fund-…

Stanley Druckenmiller's AI-written WSJ op-ed (Axios) → axios.com/2026/08/26/stanley-druckenmiller-ai-…

Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Sol/Luna launch the same day with price cuts (SiliconANGLE) → siliconangle.com/2026/09/22/anthropic-releases…

Zipline: LAUNCH's "miss," later backed through the syndicate → flyzipline.com

Micro1 → micro1.ai

Founder University → founder.university [VERIFY]

The Syndicate: angel invest alongside LAUNCH (apply, waitlist) → thesyndicate.com

Timestamps:

What seed rounds looked like then: Fitbit's $2M seed

Jenny's Techstars NYC years and the two-unicorn mug

Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin S. You can check it out at plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!

All-In Summit: Trump calls Jensen Huang onstage. Staged or not?

P(doom) roundtable + Dave's AI sovereign wealth fund prediction

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The AI intel error that nearly triggered a US-China incident

"McClure's Law": a human with AI is the real risk

Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Your first app is free! Get started today at Odoo.com/twist

Stripe + OpenRouter: an anti-fraud play, not a routing play?

Seed valuations: median $8M (2017) to $28M today

Instinct: $2.5B to a reported $10B in weeks

Rippling - Thanks to our partners at Rippling! Head to Rippling.ai/twist and get the only AI built to give you full visibility across your startup and take complex actions across your entire business.

Opus 5.5 vs. GPT-6 Sol: the same-day price war

Gun to your head: open-weight models or frontier labs?

Secondaries: the top 30 names vs. everyone else

Why fintech and healthcare are unloved (and Jason's Robinhood bet)

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