TLDR FOUNDERS 2025-10-13

THE CHATGPT APP STORE MOMENT

OpenAI just launched apps inside ChatGPT where you can say "Spotify, make me a playlist" or "DoorDash, order my usual" and it handles everything conversationally. This looks like early iPhone web apps, not true native experiences yet, but the trajectory is clear. As OpenAI expands its SDK to give developers access to user memory, persistent state, and action execution, we'll see actual native ChatGPT applications designed for conversational interfaces.

CLAUDE CODE PLUGINS NOW IN PUBLIC BETA

Anthropic has introduced plugin support in Claude Code, allowing users to install custom slash commands, agents, MCP servers, and hooks with a single command. These modular extensions simplify setup sharing and enable flexible customizations for development workflows.

KALSHI RAISES $300 MILLION, VALUING PREDICTION MARKET STARTUP AT $5 BILLION

Kalshi raised $300 million in funding, valuing the prediction market platform at $5 billion, with plans to expand into 140 countries. Despite Kalshi's recent growth and surpassing Polymarket for weekly transactions, skeptics note it isn't fully on-chain. Meanwhile, rival Polymarket, valued at $9 billion, is preparing to re-enter the US market after a regulatory boost.

HOW A 13-PERSON STARTUP SCALED TO MILLIONS IN ARR

LAZY STARTUP MARKETING VS. TOP 1% GROWTH TACTICS

Andrew Yeung critiques weak early-stage marketing like generic posts, podcasts, or ads without strategy. He highlights top operators who build personal brands, communities, and email funnels while capturing and converting mass attention. The best marketers engineer virality, create amplification networks, and even design negative CAC channels that pay them to promote.

THE PRICING RATIO: A TRICK TO ESTIMATE CHURN IN 10 SECONDS

You can guess a competitor's churn rate by dividing their annual price by monthly price. Most subscription companies eventually price their annual plan right above where average users quit paying monthly. Codecademy struggled with 4-5 month retention, so it priced annual at 6 months of monthly payments and saw huge wins. Hemingway Editor charges $25 monthly but $100 yearly, a ratio of 4, suggesting most users bounce after 3 months. ChatGPT has a ratio of 12, Canva sits at 10. The math works because companies learn to lock in users just before they'd naturally churn.

TIPTAP PAGES

Tiptap Pages brings page awareness to your editor.

CLAYBIRD

An agent that produces AI video ads.

INCONVO

Prepare existing data for AI apps like ChatGPT to use.

TINY RECURSIVE MODELS FOR VERY SPECIFIC PROBLEMS

THESE ARE THE SPEEDIEST COMPANIES TO GO FROM SERIES A TO SERIES C

Generative AI startups top the list of fastest fundraisers going from Series A to C in under a year, with Anysphere and Cognition leading the pack. Fintech and spacetech companies also see rapid funding, with firms like NomuPay and Impulse Space securing hefty investments quickly. Other sectors such as vertical AI, robotics, and biotech are also witnessing accelerated fundraising, highlighting investor enthusiasm across diverse tech domains.

NVIDIA TO THE RESCUE

Intel just got a lifeline from an unlikely source. After handing Uncle Sam a 10% equity stake to unlock government grants, Intel will see Nvidia buy $5 billion of shares at $23.28 each. The deal spikes Intel's stock 27% and pairs Nvidia's GPUs with Intel's CPUs in data centers and PCs.

UNCOMFORTABLE/UNSPOKEN

The easiest way to create change is to find topics people don't want to talk about.

A SYSTEM FOR DEEP FOCUS [ACTIVATE YOUR 5 SENSES]

META POACHES THINKING MACHINES LAB CO-FOUNDER ANDREW TULLOCH

He had previously turned down an offer from Meta for $1.5 billion over six years.