A View to a Kill Switch

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Bill seeks AI model “kill switch”: Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathan Moran (R-TX) introduced a bipartisan bill that would give the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) authority over new model releases from frontier AI labs. Specifically, DHS could shut down, throttle, or suspend models it deems excessively dangerous, and would force the AI companies to build the technical capability to shut their own models down. The proposed regulations would apply to all companies making at least $500 million off of LLM technology, and covers models trained with $100 million or more of compute. Penalties for infractions could run up to $200 million a day.
Alphabet tumbles despite strong earnings: Alphabet bested expectations across the board in Q2, with revenue up 24% year over year, powered by major Google Cloud growth and steady gains in search ads. The stock still dropped roughly 8% following the report, however, as Alphabet posted negative free cash flow for the quarter, and raised its 2026 capex guidance well above prior estimates. Investors are increasingly treating AI infrastructure spending as a tax on earnings, rather than a growth narrative, and it seems even a strong report isn’t enough to offset these concerns.
IBM snaps up quantum lab HRL: IBM has agreed to acquire the quantum research group HRL Laboratories, which was founded as a joint venture by Boeing and General Motors. It opens up a second line of quantum research for IBM. They’re previously built out a program around superconducting circuits, but HRL specializes in very small electron-based components known as “spin qubits.” IBM Research Director Jay Gambetta frames the acquisition as a hedge bet on the physics. Superconducting carries IBM through its “Blue Jay” system, due in 2033, while HRL’s smaller circuits might become the best option moving forward.

TWiST 500

Travis Kalanick’s Atoms grew out of his post-Uber ghost kitchen project CloudKitchens, and aims to bring automation-based efficiency to other industries beyond food delivery.

In March, following the rebrand, he picked up Pronto, a heavy-industry automation company run by a former Uber colleague, Anthony Levandoswki. He’s since pushed into mining and developing what he calls a “wheelbase for robots,” a standardized, non-humanoid robot mobility platform designed for industrial tasks. The pitch, while a bit short on specifics, promises the company will turn “CPU into manufacturing, storage into real estate, and network into transportation.”

The money and the line-up of investors are as real as it gets. Andreessen Horowitz led the $1.7 billion round, with Ben Horowitz joining the Atoms board. An intriguing name on the cap table is Uber, which is investing directly in its founder’s latest venture. Horowitz declared “Travis is back,” and connected the two projects directly. Atoms, he hopes, could do for AI and robotics what Uber did for transportation: make everything and everyone more productive in the physical world.

We’ve cleared out a few TWiST 500 spots with some IPOs lately, and Atoms is officially taking one of these fresh openings. Welcome to the club. – Zach and Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2315: In the first episode of our week-long summer trip to Tokyo, Jason is joined by CEO Bilal Kharouni of Ekei Labs. He’s using AI and epigenetics to develop longevity treatments in Okinawa, one of the world’s legendary Blue Zones noted for its residents’ tendency to live long, healthy lives. He discusses why a smaller raise can go much further in Japan than Silicon Valley, why the best moat for biotech companies is not an AI model but their data, and why Ekei killed a burgeoning side business in order to maintain focus.

E2314: Ent founder Brandon Dixon joins the pod to explain why the traditional cybersecurity process — which cleans up a system after a breach has occurred — is backwards. He’s designed an AI agent that lives on everyone’s corporate laptop, and keeps an eye out for risky clicks and potential leaks before they cause a problem. PLUS Clawra creator David Im returns to the show with Sume’s Avatar, a multi-model orchestration layer that he claims can one-shot your AI generated videos without the endless slot machine-style trial and error.

E2313: Science fiction is full of surgery-bots, and Andromeda Surgical is hoping to bring this dream into reality (preferably in a less troubling way than that one scene in “Prometheus.”) CEO Nick Damiano stops by the show to explain why the company is focusing on software, and relying on off-the-shelf robot arms from Germany to actually complete the procedures. Plus Mogul co-founder/CEO Alex Blackwood shows Jason how his platform allows anyone to buy fractional shares of rental homes for as low as $250, benefitting from monthly dividends and appreciation without having to become a landlord.

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