{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":300,"width":600,"title":"Why Data Is the Next $1 Trillion Market","description":"This Week In Startups is made possible by: Digital Ocean - do.co\/twist Agree.com - agree.com Every.io - every.io.   Today\u2019s show: How many startups matter in tech? Fewer than you think. That\u2019s why venture capitalists are tripping over themselves to get onto their cap tables, no matter the cost. Why? Footwork\u2019s Nikhil Basu Trivedi argues that the Valley has never been more \u201cpower-law-pilled\u201d than it is today. Basu Trivedi joined Cendana Capital\u2019s Michael Kim and TWiST\u2019s Alex Wilhelm to go deep on secondary markets, the state of startup M&A, why the SaaSpocalypse may be temporary, and what could trigger a retrenchment of the AI trade. It\u2019s Wednesday, so it\u2019s time for our venture capital roundtable to go deep on how VCs are investing today, and where on the horizon they have their eyes fixed! Guest links: Nikhil Basu Trivedi https:\/\/x.com\/nbt Footwork https:\/\/www.footwork.vc\/ Michael Kim https:\/\/x.com\/MKRocks Cendana Capital https:\/\/www.cendanacapital.com\/ Show links: The USVC-Anduril blowup https:\/\/x.com\/ankurnagpal\/status\/2072701195714531398 Kline Hill Cendana Partners https:\/\/www.secondariesinvestor.com\/kline-hill-and-cendana-raise-400m-for-second-vc-secondaries-fund\/ GPTZero\u2019s exit https:\/\/gptzero.me\/news\/preserving-whats-human\/ Salesforce buys Fin https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/press-releases\/2026\/06\/15\/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-fin\/ Vercel buys Better Auth https:\/\/vercel.com\/blog\/vercel-acquires-better-auth Figma buys Bud https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/07\/07\/figma-acquires-team-behind-a-vibe-coding-app\/ Protoge https:\/\/withprotege.ai\/ Windborne https:\/\/windbornesystems.com\/ Etched https:\/\/www.etched.com\/ Lovable\u2019s reported raise https:\/\/sifted.eu\/articles\/lovable-300m-13-2bn-valuation Josh Browder https:\/\/x.com\/Joshuabrowder   Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: Nikhil Basu Trivedi (Footwork) & Michael Kim (Cendana Capital) 1:59 The Anduril vs. USVC secondary market blowup 4:08 Why Silicon Valley is 'power-law-pilled' 8:23 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations \u2014 interviews, meetings, calls \u2014 you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https:\/\/Plaud.ai\/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 9:37 Information asymmetry in the secondary markets 9:45 Every.io \u2014 For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https:\/\/every.io 15:02 Is SPV fraud smoke or fire? 16:32 Superhuman acquires GPTZero 19:54 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https:\/\/agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life! 21:10 The M&A wave 27:19 The SaaSpocalypse debate 29:59 DigitalOcean - Head to https:\/\/do.co\/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today \u2014 and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50%. 30:44 Data's moment in the energy \u2192 compute \u2192 data loop 35:01 Where will AI value accrue? 40:04 What could cause an AI correction? 42:17 Why some companies are "too big to miss" 46:23 China's possible open-weight model ban 53:28 Young founders: Etched, Thiel Fellows, Z Fellows, Neo 55:33 Portfolio spotlight: WindBorne's weather balloons and data moat 58:47 Michael's favorite fund manager: Josh Browder 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: \u2060https:\/\/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\u2019s 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 ","author_name":"This Week in Startups","author_url":"https:\/\/thisweekinstartups.com","html":"