Jason’s Top CES Products and Takeaways | E2232

Quick Overview

The discussion centers on major technology and startup trends emerging from CES 2024, specifically focusing on the renewed vigor in the IPO and M&A markets, significant advancements in AI, and the confidential IPO filings of major tech companies like Discord and Strava.

Key Points: Discord filed confidentially to go public, though its current secondary market valuation of $7 to $8 billion is down from the $15 billion valuation it commanded after rejecting Microsoft's $10 to $12 billion offer. Strava also filed confidentially, boasting over 50% growth last year and being profitable, with projected revenue around $500 million, leading to questions about how Sequoia secured a relatively cheap early valuation. The Boston Dynamics humanoid robot, now owned 80% by Hyundai, is highlighted as a top CES product because it features an LLM attachment, making it practical for industrial automation and potentially mass-manufacturable at scale. The return of the IPO market is confirmed, with the speaker predicting 2026 and 2027 will see accelerated M&A activity following the return of M&A in 2025. Chinese AI firms Zippu AI (Z.AI) and Minimax went public in Hong Kong, with Minimax doubling on its first day, demonstrating a willingness to list companies with much lower revenue ($50M-$70M run rate) compared to US IPO expectations ($1B+). Anthropic is reportedly raising $10 billion at a $350 billion valuation, led by GIC and COATU, maintaining a relatively stable effective multiple (around 35x current run rate) despite rapid growth, which the speaker deems not 'crazy' for such a fast-growing firm. NVIDIA announced an open-source, end-to-end AI solution (software and hardware stack) for autonomous driving, positioning itself against proprietary stacks like Waymo and Tesla to accelerate adoption across all automakers.

Context: This episode of This Week in Startups (TWiST), recorded on January 9th, 2021 (though the discussion reflects 2024/2025 events based on product mentions like FSD 14.2.2.2 and the mention of 2025 revenue reports), covers key takeaways from CES, the state of the public markets (IPOs and M&A), and major developments in the AI sector. The hosts discuss these trends while also touching upon personal news, such as Alex preparing for paternity leave, and offer sponsor plugs for Circle.so, HubSpot, and Sentry.