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Show notes
This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Vanta - vanta.com/twist
Today's show:
The next SpaceX won't be building rockets; it'll build the first hotel on the Moon. Today on TWiST, GRU Space founder Skyler Chan brings a brick made from lunar soil into the studio and lays out a plan to manufacture on the Moon as early as next year. We get into the science, the business model, and the regulatory land-grab ahead!
Then, the US government forces Anthropic to pull Fable 5 and Mythos 5. Jason and Lon unpack what it means when a single AI model can vanish overnight, and the US government's emergency order.
Stick around for the winner (or winners?!) of the $5,000 AI podcast-companion bounty!
Timestamps:
Knicks playoff run, San Antonio & Texas BBQ (Black's vs. Terry Black's)
Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!
Guest intro: Skyler Chan, GRU Space — and the lunar-soil brick
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Why the next SpaceX builds habitats, not rockets
NASA's $20B moon-base signal & the TRL contracting path
Business model: from construction contractor to owning lunar land
Building the hotel robotically + $1M refundable deposits
Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST
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News: US government blocks Anthropic's Fable 5 & Mythos 5
The politics: Hegseth, Sacks, Jassy & the "conspiracy" angle
Why no single model dependency is safe (multi-model harnesses)
Bounty results: MySidecast wins $3,000
Honorable mentions: Couchverse (Lemon Slice) & Convalenz
Next bounty: the Annotated app
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned:
Guest & company
Skyler Chan: Founder, GRU Space → https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space
GRU Space (Galactic Resource Utilization): YC startup building lunar-regolith bricks and a robotic Moon hotel → https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space
GRU Space lunar hotel bookings → https://payloadspace.com/gru-space-opens-bookings-for-planned-lunar-hotel/
🎙️ About the Guest:
Skyler Chan is the founder of GRU Space (Galactic Resource Utilization), a Y Combinator–backed startup developing a payload factory that manufactures bricks from lunar regolith to build the first robotic hotel on the Moon.
Follow GRU Space → https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/galactic-resource-utilization-space-inc-gru-space
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