This Week in Startups
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
Neurosymbolic AI outperforms chatbots and product search | E2327
54 minutes Posted Aug 19, 2026 at 11:06 pm.
Zach Hudson joins: What is "neurosymbolic search"
Ontology 1 isn't a black box
Who is using Onton?
Vanta Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist
Could neurosymbolic models reach AGI?
Jason loves Wright's Ennis House
The shape of AI companies is changing
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!
UGC as a data moat
The Dead Internet Theory
Ashi Dissanayake of Spacium joins
YSecurity The on-demand security team for startups. Need enterprise-grade security without hiring a $400k CISO? YSecurity gives you 40+ expert engineers, matched to exactly what you need, by the hour, with your first six hours completely free. Go to https://YSecurity.io/TWIST
Storables vs. cryogenics: the zero-boil-off breakthrough
All kinds of propulsion requires refueling
Getting more value from LEO to GEO
Moving at rocket speed
Why demand is so acute
The investing climate for space, post-SpaceX
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This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/twist
Agree: https://agree.com
YSecurity: https://ysecurity.io/TWIST
Today's show:
Frontier AI models can ace PhD-level exams, but it's still bad at tracking down the product you want in the style that suits you. Onton's Zach Hudson tell us that the problem is that models are a black box.
His solution? A neurosymbolic model, Ontology 1, that learns about your taste and preferred aesthetic over time, then produces product searches tailored specifically to you, rather than just using keywords and relevant tags. How do neurosymbolic models work, and how does Onton understand your prompts and favorite design trends? And why aren't the frontier labs working on neurosymbolic models of their own? Zach joins Jason and Lon to discuss.
PLUS, following a record-smashing SpaceX IPO, Ashi Dissanayake of Spacium makes the case that the real bottleneck in space isn't launching rockets off the ground any more. It's refueling in orbit.
Guests
Zach Hudson on X: ****https://x.com/nosduhz
Onton: https://onton.com/
Spacium: https://spaceium.com/
Spacium on X: https://x.com/SpaceiumInc
Relevant Links
Poolside's journey to AGI: https://poolside.ai/vision/purpose
Startup Archive: Sam Altman on the Paul Graham advice that saved OpenAI: https://www.startuparchive.org/p/sam-altman-on-the-paul-graham-advice-that-saved-open-ai-always-make-an-api
Kelly Wearstler: https://www.kellywearstler.com/
Ennis House: https://franklloydwright.org/site/ennis-house/
Los Feliz Living: Ennis House profile: https://www.losfelizliving.com/los-feliz-historic-homes/ennis-house-los-feliz-hcm-149
Indiewire: Ennis-inspired "The Studio" offices: https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/the-studio-production-design-interview-seth-rogen-1235114365/
Monocle Magazine: https://monocle.com/
Spaceium on Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/spaceium-inc
Orbit Fab's RAFTI: https://www.orbitfab.com/rafti/
James Webb Space Telescope: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
Houzz: https://www.houzz.com/
Timestamps:
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