How AI splits startups into winners and losers | E2322

Summary

Jason Calacanis and Lon Harris review Q2 2026 earnings from Airbnb, Figma, and Twilio, highlighting how AI adoption is separating winning SaaS companies from losers. They interview Bluecore Energy CEO Kofi Asante about floating small modular nuclear reactors for ports and data centers. Other topics include ByteDance’s colossal AI model, the hedge fund that blew up shorting SaaS, and the hosts’ personal weight-loss challenge using GLP-1s.

• Figma, Twilio, and Airbnb all posted strong quarters, with AI cited as a key driver of the turnaround.
• Figma's CEO gave up $46M in stock to ease dilution concerns, boosting investor confidence.
• Twilio saw its strongest quarter in years, driven by AI conversational agents and record free cash flow.
• Airbnb's CEO said AI is improving bookings, host experience, and customer service costs.
• Bluecore Energy is developing barge-mounted small modular nuclear reactors to provide clean power to ports and eventually AI data centers.
• ByteDance is training a 10-trillion-parameter AI model, signaling intensifying competition and potential commodification of frontier models.
• The show launches a weight-loss challenge, with Jason offering $15,000 to each participant who hits milestones using GLP-1 medications.