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Silicon Valley Bank
Follow our coverage of Silicon Valley Bank's Failure

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The Weekend
How (and Where) VCs Take Their Coffee
March 25, 2023
Pro Weekly
Pro Weekly: Insights From The Information 50 Database
March 24, 2023
The Briefing
Let’s Talk About Jack Dorsey
March 23, 2023
Creator Economy
TikTok CEO Keeps His Cool, But Scores Few Points
March 23, 2023
Dealmaker
The Coming Wave of Cram Downs
March 23, 2023
Crypto Global
The Best and Worst Time for Coinbase
March 22, 2023

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Briefings

Baidu Cancels Public Launch of ChatGPT-Like Product
March 27, 2023
Jack Ma Returns To China
March 27, 2023
First Citizens to Buy SVB’s Deposits, Loans From Government
March 26, 2023
Apple Insiders Debate Prospects for Mixed Reality Headsets
March 26, 2023
Twitter Valued at $20 Billion in New Employee Stock Grant
March 25, 2023
Amazon Starts Latest Round of 9,000 Layoffs
March 24, 2023
Nasdaq to Launch Crypto Custody Service By End of June
March 24, 2023
Taking Aim at OpenAI, Databricks Releases ‘Dolly’ Language Model
March 24, 2023
UK Says Microsoft’s Activision Bid Won’t Harm Console Market, Dealing Blow to Sony
March 24, 2023
Heated Reaction in China to TikTok CEO’s U.S. Testimony
March 23, 2023
Utah Passes Bills to Restrict Minors’ Social Media Use
March 23, 2023
U.S. Prosecutors Charge Do Kwon with Fraud after Arrest in Montenegro
March 23, 2023
Mysten Labs to Buy Back Investment From FTX for $96 Million
March 23, 2023
Slack’s Sales Chief Departing Salesforce Next Month
March 23, 2023
Apple to Spend $1 Billion Per Year on Movies to Release in Theaters
March 23, 2023
TikTok CEO Stresses App’s Separation from China
March 23, 2023
Block Shares Crash 20% After Short Seller Alleges Fraud
March 23, 2023
Virgin Orbit Nears $200 Million Funding Deal
March 22, 2023

Subscriber comments

Amber Hayes

on LinkedIn Faces Growing Complaints From Recruiters Over Rising Prices

Amber Hayes VP of recruiting, HR Operations and Mobility - Unity Technologies Totally agree. Their product has not improved, and prices continue to rise, significantly. We have partnered with seekout as the continued cost increases with LinkedIn are not sustainable in the long term.

Anshu Sharma

on Twitter Cuts Salesforce Bill 75% as More Buyers Scrutinize Software Spending

The $400 per year sounds like a lot for Slack. But when your employees each fully loaded cost is close to $250,000 - it’s a rounding error, especially if it makes them even 1% more productive.

Abed Agha

on What Creators on Meta Should Learn from News Publishers on Meta

I think the situation with publishers and creators differs for the following reasons: Creators are the users themselves and as the creator economy grows, so will the number of creators. I suspect the line that draws a distinction between a "creator" and a "user" will get very blurry in the future. In this context, ignoring creator demands = ignoring users; and this will inevitably lead to the decline of such platforms who do this. Equitability between platforms and creators is an important pillar to the advertising-led creator economy and so far YouTube is the only platform that has done it right and baked it in their business model. Meta already scaled their business model outside of creators, so sharing revenue with creators will cannibalize their existing revenue. TikTok should do it while they are still early in their monetization journey.

Arthur P. Johnson

Arthur P. Johnson

on At Patreon, Mismanagement Thwarts a Pandemic-Era Star

Excellent reporting by Paris Martineau, who plainly did not leave a rock unturned. This is such a sad state of affairs, as quite a number of my most cherished creators rely almost entirely on their Patreon-using supporters (including me!) to put food on their respective tables. I personally plan to investigate funding alternatives for each creator I support.

Joy Randels

on Okta Chief Revenue Officer Departs Amid Sales Shakeup

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome in an acquisition is integration. Whether it is technology, people, or processes, it is both an art and science to make an acquisition fully successful.

Syed Ashrafulla

Syed Ashrafulla

on The Best Little Unicorn in Texas: Jasper Was Winning the AI Race—Then ChatGPT Blew Up the Whole Game

Great story on how non-technical founders found a business fit for a platform technology. I don't think OpenAI can hold all (or many) of the verticals while keeping the horizontal ahead, so it makes sense that companies like Jasper will rise with the tide of conversational AI rather than drown in that tide. In the end, we as consumers need the engineering AND the product.

Claire Enders

on Musk May Have Found a Hardcore Leader for Twitter

It’s surprising that any leader gets a kick out of bilking employees, suppliers and almost everyone they might have a legal contract with. Simply because of Musk’s misjudgement on acquiring the company for $44 billion on a whim. Nothing like this Twitter situation would be allowed in the EU.

Latest Articles

Signage outside of a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg.

Banks

SVB Is Sold, but Other Banks Are Already Filling the Void

By Michael Roddan · March 27, 2023 6:00 AM PDT

After a two-week auction process, Silicon Valley Bank has finally been sold to regional lender First Citizens Bank. But while the sale of the tech industry’s go-to bank was playing out, other banks moved to fill...

Image: Signage outside of a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg.

Breaking Stories

Silicon Valley Bank
Follow our coverage of Silicon Valley Bank's Failure

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

Musk Puts $20 Billion Value on Twitter

By Erin Woo and Martin Peers · March 25, 2023 4:45 PM PDT · 3 comments

Elon Musk offered Twitter employees stock grants at a valuation of roughly $20 billion, said a person familiar with an email Musk sent to staff, less than half what he paid to buy the company. It was a concrete acknowledgment of how much Twitter’s value has dropped since the deal—but it is still well above public market valuation... Elon Musk offered Twitter employees stock grants at a valuation of roughly $20 billion, said a...

Art by Clark Miller.

An AI Researcher Tries to Build Good AI While Burning Down the Bad

By Margaux MacColl · March 25, 2023 7:05 AM PDT · 2 comments

In the hours after Margaret Mitchell was fired by Google over email in February 2021, she ran to the bathroom and threw up. “I was just so terrified that I was never going to get a job in tech again, that my name had been scarlet lettered,” she told me over an hourlong Zoom this week, calling from her home outside Seattle. That was... In the hours after Margaret Mitchell was fired by Google over email in February 2021, she ran to...

Art by Clark Miller.

Market Research

e-commerce culture

The Skin-Tech Devices Helping Execs Beautify in a Hurry

By Aja Mangum · March 25, 2023 7:00 AM PDT · 3 comments

I’m always 29 at heart,” said Liyia Wu, CEO of ShopShops, a livestream shopping app for fashion, beauty and lifestyle products. But now that she’s actually over 40, Wu is searching for her fountain of youth. She’s one of the many time-starved executives navigating the crowded beauty tech marketplace, which did an... I’m always 29 at heart,” said Liyia Wu, CEO of ShopShops, a livestream shopping app...

A TikTok advertisement at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok Shifts Into Damage Control Mode

By Kaya Yurieff · March 24, 2023 3:27 PM PDT · 2 comments

A TikTok advertisement at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok Shifts Into Damage Control Mode

By Kaya Yurieff · March 24, 2023 3:27 PM PDT · 2 comments

TikTok and some companies that work with the popular app have shifted into damage control mode after a rancorous Congressional grilling of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew failed to allay lawmakers’ concerns that its Chinese parent, ByteDance, poses a national security risk. Golin, a major public relations firm that hires creators on behalf of... TikTok and some companies that work with the popular app have shifted into damage control mode...

Anu Aiyengar, global head of M&A at JPMorgan Chase, said potential sellers that have endured steep stock price drops are getting closer to coming back to the table. Photo by Bloomberg.

Dealmakers See M&A Targets in Tech When Slowdown Abates

By Cory Weinberg and Lauren Tara LaCapra · March 24, 2023 1:25 PM PDT · 2 comments

Dealmakers who gathered in New Orleans this week are hopeful that the prolonged deals freeze will thaw this year—and that the tech sector in particular holds plenty of companies ripe for acquisition. That may be a case of optimism transcending reality. On panels and in coffee chats at the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute conference,... Dealmakers who gathered in New Orleans this week are hopeful that the prolonged deals freeze will...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Realtors, Like Its Bankers, Are Having a Tough Month

By Zara Stone · March 24, 2023 12:00 PM PDT · 2 comments

In early March, Ken DeLeon, founder of DeLeon Realty, a Silicon Valley–based brokerage that sold more than $1 billion in homes in 2021, called one of his venture capitalist clients to discuss the purchase of a $20 million–plus megamansion. The client was flip-flopping between a cash offer and a loan. “First Republic Bank has a... In early March, Ken DeLeon, founder of DeLeon Realty, a Silicon Valley–based brokerage that...

Block chairman and co founder Jack Dorsey. Photo by Getty

Fintech’s Big Wakeup Call

By Ann Gehan · March 24, 2023 10:20 AM PDT · 4 comments

Fintechs were supposed to transform banking by making it dead simple for users to open savings accounts or pay their bills. But a series of recent high-profile setbacks with both fintechs and the traditional banking sector is setting off alarm bells. This month’s series of bank collapses has shined a spotlight on the health of small banks,... Fintechs were supposed to transform banking by making it dead simple for users to open savings...

Art by Clark Miller.

Venture Capital’s 25 Favorite Cafes

By Annie Goldsmith · March 24, 2023 9:00 AM PDT · 10 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Caffeinated Capitalists

venture capital

Venture Capital’s 25 Favorite Cafes

By Annie Goldsmith · March 24, 2023 9:00 AM PDT · 10 comments

Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto. Buck’s of Woodside. The Creamery in SoMa (RIP). Silicon Valley’s coffee shops have undoubtedly seen more dealmaking than any one fancy office building or members’ club. Now a new guard of cafes, spread throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Los Angeles, is growing in popularity among... Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto. Buck’s of Woodside. The Creamery in SoMa (RIP). Silicon...

Art by Jesús Escudero

startups economy

‘This Is Going to Be a Blip’: Investors, Founders Move On After Bank Crisis

By Kate Clark · March 24, 2023 6:00 AM PDT

On Monday, David Garner rose at 5 a.m. to sign the final documents required to finish setting up an account for his startup at JPMorgan Chase, following a two-week ordeal that began with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Garner’s Seattle-based startup—CalmWave, which develops software for hospital intensive care units—had... On Monday, David Garner rose at 5 a.m. to sign the final documents required to finish setting up...

A Silicon Valley Bank branch in Santa Monica, Calif. Photo by Getty.

Breaking Up SVB Is Hard to Do

By Michael Roddan · March 23, 2023 1:14 PM PDT

With bids for the entity formerly known as Silicon Valley Bank due Friday, potential buyers and regulators are running into an interesting reality: Breaking up—and salvaging—SVB is hard to do. Nearly two weeks after SVB failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has yet to find a buyer for the so-called bridge bank that took over... With bids for the entity formerly known as Silicon Valley Bank due Friday, potential buyers and...

Shivon Zilis. Photo: GeekWire/YouTube.

Shivon Zilis, Musk Associate, Leaves OpenAI Board

By Becky Peterson · March 23, 2023 8:22 AM PDT · 4 comments

Shivon Zilis, director of operations at Elon Musk’s Neuralink, has stepped down from the board of OpenAI, according to a person familiar with the move and Zilis’ LinkedIn profile. Her departure follows public criticism of OpenAI from Musk, who aside from being her boss at the brain-computer interface startup Neuralink is also the ... Shivon Zilis, director of operations at Elon Musk’s Neuralink, has stepped down from the...

Bill Gurley in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Good Eggs Cuts Its Valuation 94% in Lifeline Financing as More Startups Get Desperate

By Amir Efrati · March 23, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 6 comments

Bill Gurley in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Good Eggs Cuts Its Valuation 94% in Lifeline Financing as More Startups Get Desperate

By Amir Efrati · March 23, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 6 comments

As more startups struggle to raise money from venture capitalists and approach bankruptcy, they are going to extreme lengths to stay afloat. The latest example is Good Eggs, which delivers fresh produce and other groceries. The company this month raised around $7 million from Greenwich, Conn., investment firm Glade Brook Capital Partners at a... As more startups struggle to raise money from venture capitalists and approach bankruptcy, they...

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last August. Photo by Bloomberg

startups electric vehicles

SpaceX Plans New Funding With Backing From Saudi, UAE Investors

By Becky Peterson · March 22, 2023 3:07 PM PDT

A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are planning to invest in a multibillion-dollar funding round for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, according to people familiar with the investor discussions. Representatives of SpaceX and Morgan Stanley, which is organizing the ongoing funding effort,... A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are...

U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Governor Jared Polis. Background: TikTokers Naomi Hearts (@naomiheartsxo), Kristine Thompson (@trendycurvy), Duncan Joseph (@duncanyounot) and Grace Amaku (@grace_africa). Photos via Bloomberg, Getty and TikTok. Collage by Shane Burke.

TikTok CEO Goes to Washington With a Disparate Band of Allies

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · March 22, 2023 10:55 AM PDT · 1 comment

TikTok is one of the most popular entertainment services in the U.S., used monthly by nearly half of the population. Yet as the app battles for its life, it has remarkably few allies to provide support. Even those that directly benefit from TikTok, such as music labels and creators, have mixed feelings about TikTok, largely because they say it... TikTok is one of the most popular entertainment services in the U.S., used monthly by nearly half...

The entrance to Indeed.com's office in Dublin. Photo by Shutterstock.

Indeed Lays Off 2,200 People, or 15% of Staff, as Job Postings Drop

By Theo Wayt · March 22, 2023 10:00 AM PDT · 3 comments

Job listings site Indeed.com told employees on Wednesday that it’s laying off 2,200 people, representing 15% of its headcount, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. Indeed CEO Chris Hyams broke the news to employees in an all-hands meeting on Wednesday morning, saying that the cuts would affect teams across the... Job listings site Indeed.com told employees on Wednesday that it’s laying off 2,200 people,...

Nick Grudin. Photo by Dapper Labs.

Meta Rehires Partnerships Executive After Vowing to Shrink Management

By Sahil Patel and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · March 22, 2023 7:16 AM PDT · 2 comments

Nick Grudin. Photo by Dapper Labs.

Meta Rehires Partnerships Executive After Vowing to Shrink Management

By Sahil Patel and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · March 22, 2023 7:16 AM PDT · 2 comments

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to cut back on middle managers isn’t stopping the company hiring more middle managers. Meta has re-hired a veteran manager, Nick Grudin, to oversee its relationships with media companies and other creators, just seven months after Grudin quit to join Dapper Labs, an NFT startup. Grudin will... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to cut back on middle managers isn’t...

Art by Mike Sullivan

startups google

Amazon Faces Moment of Truth on Alexa as ChatGPT Steals Its Thunder

By Theo Wayt · March 22, 2023 6:05 AM PDT

At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon announced one of its biggest partnerships yet to help make its Alexa voice assistant ubiquitous: a deal with Toyota to integrate Alexa into the auto giant’s cars. “Our vision for Alexa is that she should be everywhere a customer might need her—at home, in the office, on... At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon announced one of its biggest partnerships yet to...

Larry Summers. Photo by Bloomberg.

markets economy

Summers Predicts “Cleaning Out” of Fintech Sector After SVB Failure

By The Information Staff · March 21, 2023 4:44 PM PDT · 4 comments

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Silicon Valley will see a “cleaning out” in the fintech sector as a result of regulatory attention flowing from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. In an interview with The Information’s editor in chief Jessica Lessin, Summers also said that the banking crisis of the past 10... Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Silicon Valley will see a “cleaning...

Tonal’s now-shuttered Palo Alto, Calif. retail store. Photo by Getty.

Tonal’s Valuation May Fall 90% in ‘Cram-Down’ Financing

By Maria Heeter · March 21, 2023 3:11 PM PDT · 7 comments

Tonal, a fitness startup with a cadre of celebrity backers, is crunched for cash after failing to find a buyer. The company now may take a drastic step: raising money at a valuation nearly 90% lower than its last one, in a deal that would effectively wipe out the stakes of many existing investors, people familiar with the matter said. Private... Tonal, a fitness startup with a cadre of celebrity backers, is crunched for cash after failing to...

Musical.ly's Shanghai headquarters in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.

Biden’s Path to Forcing TikTok Sale Leads to Now-Dead App Musical.ly

By Juro Osawa and Maria Heeter · March 21, 2023 1:00 PM PDT

Musical.ly's Shanghai headquarters in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.

Biden’s Path to Forcing TikTok Sale Leads to Now-Dead App Musical.ly

By Juro Osawa and Maria Heeter · March 21, 2023 1:00 PM PDT

Would TikTok have become a powerhouse without Musical.ly? As arcane as that question might appear, it could become the paramount issue in court if the Biden administration tries to force TikTok’s parent ByteDance to sell the app. That’s because ByteDance’s 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, a rival to the then-young TikTok, is what... Would TikTok have become a powerhouse without Musical.ly? As arcane as that question might...