This Week in Startups
Hosted by Jason McCabe Calacanis & Lon Harris · 45 decoded episodes · newest Oct 8, 2026
Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world's greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.
Episodes 45
- Sep 10, 2026 · 23 minHow startup founders can protect their equity using vesting and term sheetsStructuring equity incorrectly in the early days can lead to devastating cap table disputes that derail a startup before it can scale.
- Sep 9, 2026 · 1h 21mVenture capitalists warn founders of IP risks in frontier AI modelsAs AI developers face mounting intellectual property disputes, startups must navigate the thin line between leveraging frontier models and protecting their own proprietary technology.
- Sep 4, 2026 · 58 minDr Mark Hyman outlines how data-driven testing is reforming patient careAs chronic illness rises, shifting from reactive symptom management to proactive, data-driven health tracking could dramatically extend human healthspan.
- Sep 3, 2026 · 18 minHow to structure company spinouts without ruining future venture capital fundingImproperly separating a new venture from its parent company can create toxic cap tables and intellectual property disputes that permanently scare away venture capital.
- Sep 2, 2026 · 1h 20mVenture capital surges into physical AI and defense technologyAs venture capital pivots from pure software to physical AI and defense, the strategies for funding, scaling, and regulating hard tech are being completely rewritten.
- Aug 31, 2026 · 1h 7mTech leaders challenge AI agent hype while regional electric aviation takes offThis episode cuts through the sensationalized noise of AI science fiction to examine the real-world engineering breakthroughs shaping aviation and cybersecurity.
- Aug 28, 2026 · 1h 48mNvidia targets enterprise AI dominance with massive Hugging Face acquisitionNvidia's aggressive push into open-source software integration threatens to reshape the competitive dynamics between chipmakers, cloud providers, and frontier AI developers.
- Aug 26, 2026 · 1h 31mVenture capitalists clash over Bill Gates' warnings on AI job displacementAs artificial intelligence threatens widespread job displacement, the tension between Silicon Valley's market optimism and the need for state intervention is reaching a boiling point.
- Aug 25, 2026 · 1h 20mChina uses robot sports to build public sympathy for automationThe battle for AI dominance is moving beyond software, as nations use cultural public relations to prepare their populations for a highly automated workforce.
- Aug 21, 2026 · 1h 9mOpen-source models threaten proprietary dominance in the enterprise AI marketThe enterprise AI market is reaching a turning point where cost, control, and customization are driving companies toward open-source alternatives over closed ecosystems.
- Aug 20, 2026 · 21 minGenerative AI turns natural language into the new game programming languageAs generative AI lowers the technical barriers to game development, human artistic taste and curation are replacing traditional coding as the primary skill set for creators.
- Aug 19, 2026 · 54 minNeurosymbolic AI transforms search while orbital gas stations solve space refuelingThis episode highlights how hybrid AI architectures and orbital refueling infrastructure are simultaneously solving critical bottlenecks in e-commerce and the commercial space economy.