World Model · podcast knowledge graph

Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25

2026-08-06 · 80 min · episode 25 · 36 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

  • → references twistartups.substack.com website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://twistartups.substack.com/
  • → references @Calacanis website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://substack.com/@calacanis
  • → references Ursula K Guin Authors Expanded book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/1598536036
  • → references Always Coming Home book
    0.66
    evidence rules-v5
    s-you-whos-been-writing-their-newsletters-with-ai/ Amazon: Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Always Coming Home” expanded edition: https://www.amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/159
  • → hosted by Jason Calacanis person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Jason Calacanis
  • → discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Technology
  • → references ThisWeekIn website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://youtube.com/thisweekin
  • → references @Thisweekinstartups website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
  • → references Blog website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://qwen.ai/blog?id=qwen3.8
  • → references partners.launch.co company
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://partners.launch.co/
  • → references poolside.ai company
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://poolside.ai/
  • → references exolabs.net website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://exolabs.net/
  • → references ticker.thisweekinstartups.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/
  • → references qloo.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://qloo.com/
  • → references local.ai website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://local.ai/
  • → references Ai Washington Regulation Whiplash person
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://nytimes.com/2026/08/04/technology/ai-washington-regulation-whiplash.html
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://images.nvidia.com/pdf/Open-Weights-and-American-AI-Leadership.pdf
  • → references Nerdfighters website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/1vbmoj5/comment/p0vzmog

Entities found in this episode

websites 22

  • mentioned twistartups.substack.com website
    0.90
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://twistartups.substack.com/
  • mentioned @Calacanis website
    0.90
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://substack.com/@calacanis
  • references twistartups.substack.com website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://twistartups.substack.com/
  • references @Calacanis website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://substack.com/@calacanis
  • mentioned ThisWeekIn website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://youtube.com/thisweekin
  • mentioned @Thisweekinstartups website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
  • mentioned Blog website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://qwen.ai/blog?id=qwen3.8
  • mentioned exolabs.net website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://exolabs.net/
  • mentioned ticker.thisweekinstartups.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/
  • mentioned qloo.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://qloo.com/
  • mentioned local.ai website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://local.ai/
  • 0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://images.nvidia.com/pdf/Open-Weights-and-American-AI-Leadership.pdf
  • mentioned Nerdfighters website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/1vbmoj5/comment/p0vzmog
  • references ThisWeekIn website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://youtube.com/thisweekin
  • references @Thisweekinstartups website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
  • references Blog website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://qwen.ai/blog?id=qwen3.8
  • references exolabs.net website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://exolabs.net/
  • references ticker.thisweekinstartups.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/
  • references qloo.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://qloo.com/
  • references local.ai website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://local.ai/
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://images.nvidia.com/pdf/Open-Weights-and-American-AI-Leadership.pdf
  • references Nerdfighters website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/1vbmoj5/comment/p0vzmog

companys 6

  • mentioned Technology company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Technology
  • mentioned partners.launch.co company
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://partners.launch.co/
  • mentioned poolside.ai company
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://poolside.ai/
  • discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Technology
  • references partners.launch.co company
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://partners.launch.co/
  • references poolside.ai company
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://poolside.ai/

books 4

  • 0.90
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/1598536036
  • mentioned Always Coming Home book
    0.78
    evidence rules-v5
    s-you-whos-been-writing-their-newsletters-with-ai/ Amazon: Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Always Coming Home” expanded edition: https://www.amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/159
  • 0.77
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/1598536036
  • references Always Coming Home book
    0.66
    evidence rules-v5
    s-you-whos-been-writing-their-newsletters-with-ai/ Amazon: Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Always Coming Home” expanded edition: https://www.amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/159

persons 4

  • mentioned Jason Calacanis person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Jason Calacanis
  • hosted by Jason Calacanis person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Jason Calacanis
  • 0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://nytimes.com/2026/08/04/technology/ai-washington-regulation-whiplash.html
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Is open source AI really ahead of the frontier? 3 builders weigh in. | E25": https://nytimes.com/2026/08/04/technology/ai-washington-regulation-whiplash.html
Episode description as stored
This Week In Startups is made possible by: PAYPAL OPEN Today’s show: China’s Alibaba just dropped a 2.4 trillion parameter open weight model that the company claims only trails Anthropic’s flagship among the major frontier rivals. Of course, this happened the very same week that the US government appears to have backed off from banning these models stateside entirely. Are these models anywhere close to actually catching up to the latest and greatest releases from US labs like Anthropic and OpenAI? Really seems to depend on who you ask. (Even long time friends JCal and Elon Musk can’t see eye to eye on it.) So on TWiAI Ep 25, we welcomed on Poolside AI CTO Eiso Kant, EXO Labs co-founder Alex Cheema, and Qloo founder Alex Elias to break down just how close Chinese labs are to catching up with the biggest and best models… and how long it will take US open weight builders to catch up. PLUS we explore the cutting edge of AI-powered baby sleep monitors, consider Hank Green’s public AI apology, and dig into sci-fi author Ursula K. LeGuin’s “hand-mind” thesis. Guests: Eiso Kant on X: https://x.com/eisokant Poolside: https://poolside.ai/ Alex Elias on X: https://x.com/ape Qloo: https://www.qloo.com/ Alex Cheema on X: https://x.com/alexocheema EXO Labs: https://exolabs.net/ Local AI benchmark platform: https://local.ai/ Relevant Links Qwen3.8-Max launch announcement: https://qwen.ai/blog?id=qwen3.8 Bloomberg on Qwen3.8-Max launch: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-03/alibaba-drops-another-china-ai-model-with-breakthrough-performance NYT: “White House Whipsaws Silicon Valley Over AI Rules”: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/technology/ai-washington-regulation-whiplash.html Nvidia: “Open Weights and American AI Leadership”: https://images.nvidia.com/pdf/Open-Weights-and-American-AI-Leadership.pdf World Bank: World Development Report 2026: https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/1e4e52502104a331fb42cba0d4afa995-0050062026/original/WDR2026-Concept-Note.pdf Hank Green apology on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/nerdfighters/comments/1vbmoj5/comment/p0vzmog/ Taylor Lorenz responds to Hank Green on X: https://x.com/TaylorLorenz/status/2083272682188206564 TechCrunch: Substack partners with Pangram: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/22/substacks-new-tool-tells-you-whos-been-writing-their-newsletters-with-ai/ Amazon: Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Always Coming Home” expanded edition: https://www.amazon.com/Ursula-K-Guin-Authors-Expanded/dp/1598536036 Timestamps: 0:00 Guest intros and open 10:03 Why Poolside thinks coding is the path to AGI 12:55 A first look at EXO's local.ai 16:24 The White House's open source pivot 20:21 Margins, compute, and "dirt to intelligence" 36:02 Jason's self-driving auction pitch 37:58 Hank Green's AI apology 38:45 Is AI addictive? 1:08:31 What does it mean for AI to be "privacy first"? 1:10:29 Enterprise AI sovereignty and "colonization" Sign up for the TWiAI newsletter! Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe , Steve Huffman , Brian Chesky , Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie , Sophia Amoruso , Reid Hoffman , Frank Slootman , Billy McFarland Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com