Today’s show: Jason and Alex go deep into the shocking new details about the Rippling vs. Deel corporate espionage scandal—where a self-admitted spy fed confidential product roadmaps and sales data to a rival CEO for €5K/month. Plus, they interview Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu about their bold comeback with their new “Intern” AI agent that builds entire apps from a single prompt - Jason calls it a breakthrough. And we kick off Pitch Madness with fierce Founder Friday pitch battles featuring AI podcast tools and women’s sports communities. Spy drama, next-gen tech, and raw founder energy—don’t miss it. (0:00) Teaser: Rippling vs. Deel Espionage Case (1:46) Podcast updates and listener engagement (2:31) Job openings at Launch and This Week in Startups (4:19) Rippling and Deel lawsuit details and espionage activities (9:58) Kyte - TWIST Listeners: Go to https://kyte.com/ and download the Kyte app today. Use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental. (11:31) Stolen information and the aftermath of the espionage case (16:21) Corporate espionage vs. corporate intelligence debate (19:38) Atlassian - Head to https://www.atlassian.com/startups/twist to see if you qualify for 50 free seats for 12 months. (23:07) Board independence, whistleblower protections, and CEO behavior (25:10) Y Combinator's culture of rule-bending (28:41) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://lemon.io/twist (30:02) Jesse Lu's YC experience and launch of Rabbit (34:48) Navigating the hype cycle as a founder and RabbitOS demo (45:02) Estate management and technology with Rabbit (48:39) Conclusion of interview with Jesse Lu (48:51) Launching Founder Friday pitch offs (50:43) Pitch: Snipd - AI-powered podcast app (53:29) Pitch: MedSimple - Medical education platform (57:10) Pitch: Trova - Workplace connection platform (58:45) Pitch: Osprey - Community for women in sports and entertainment (1:05:30) Analysis and decision: MedSimple vs Snipped and Osprey vs Trova (1:09:23) Discussion on Osprey's business model (1:10:33) Tips for improving pitch presentations (1:11:02) Announcement of Twist 500 competition (1:11:46) Closing remarks and social media call to action 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 Links from the show: Rabbit website: https://www.rabbit.tech Follow Jesse: X: https://x.com/jessechenglyu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesselyu/ Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Thank you to our partners: (9:58) Kyte - TWIST Listeners: Go to https://kyte.com/ and download the Kyte app today. Use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental. (19:38) Atlassian - Head to https://www.atlassian.com/startups/twist to see if you qualify for 50 free seats for 12 months. (28:41) Lemon.io- Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://lemon.io/twist All rights for the video shared and linked below belong to the original copyright holder, and we are using the footage under the principle of fair use. Listen here: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-startups-audio/id315114957 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ULQ0ewYf5zmsDgBchlkr9 Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes315114957/this-week-in-startups-audio More from us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/twistartups Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups Official site: https://thisweekinstartups.com Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 Subscribe to TWiST Clips for all the best moments: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS7tJlcUA6PzVHEMo-X7ddg?sub_confirmation=1 #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #angelinvesting #tech #news #business