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The Real CNN Drama is Cable News' Growing Irrelevance
June 7, 2023
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After Vine and Google+ Shut Down, a Creator Embraces Email
June 7, 2023
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Breaking Down the SEC’s Double Whammy
June 7, 2023
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This Is How Sam Altman Works the Press and Congress. I Know From Experience.
June 7, 2023
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The Electric: The U.S. Battery Program Spreads the Wealth. Will That Save It?
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Live from SF, It’s Tech Week
June 3, 2023
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Pro Weekly: Generative AI Spurs Cloud Demand—and Competition
June 2, 2023
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Google, Nvidia and Microsoft Offer What VCs Can’t
June 1, 2023

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Briefings

TikTok-Owner ByteDance Allowed China to Monitor Hong Protestors, Suit Charges
June 7, 2023
Lionel Messi’s Potential MLS Deal Includes Revenue from Apple TV+
June 7, 2023
Fintech Firm Rho in Talks to Buy Startup Formerly Known As Party Round
June 7, 2023
Amazon Plans to Launch Ad-Supported Prime Video Tier
June 7, 2023
Binance.US Pauses OTC Trading, Delist Some Trading Pairs
June 7, 2023
Stitch Fix Shares Jump Over 25% On Cost-Cutting Plans
June 7, 2023
CNN Chief Departs
June 7, 2023
SEC Asks Court to Freeze Binance.US Assets
June 6, 2023
CFPB Says Banks That Use Chatbots Risk Legal Breaches
June 6, 2023
CareRev Exec Addresses Allegations About Founder in Email
June 6, 2023
Microsoft Fined $20 Million by FTC Over Storage of Xbox Data
June 6, 2023
PGA Tour and Saudi-Backed LIV Golf to Merge
June 6, 2023
SEC Sues Coinbase
June 6, 2023
Sequoia Capital’s Chinese Arm to Split From U.S. Firm
June 6, 2023

Subscriber comments

Brad Templeton

on SoftBank’s Onetime Pizza-Robot Darling Shuts Down

It was a silly investment for the time. One obvious flaw is that the pizza tasted terrible. Which is odd because we should start seeing foods that robots make flawlessly -- if given a great formula and training from a great chef, allowing that food to scale in a way it could not before. But pizza already scales.

Yutaka Okura

on Google Invests in AI Startup Runway to Wrest Cloud Business From AWS

Google used to always aim high - like B-HUG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) as they call it internally. But their recent investment looks like just following social technical trend, rather than setting the trend. I would like them to regain dynamism of leading the society, further investing in moonshot type of activities such as they used to do it at GoogleX.

Carsten Schmidt

Carsten Schmidt

on TikTok Is Not the Enemy

While TikTok is certainly shady, there hasn’t been any clear evidence that shows they are guilty. I think the government owes it to the people to provide clear evidence of this being a clear security threat before banning a service.

Ivan Bou

on Musk Tells Tesla Staff He Must Approve All Hiring—Again

Carly Fiorina and Mark Hurd did the same at HP for many years. It kept creating a situation where sales people would love and territories would stay open for months and months because approvals took forever. When you don't trust people to manage to a budget and then use use blunt instruments to massage numbers to quarterly targets, this is what you do.

Andrew Hopkins

on Scared of Leaking Data to ChatGPT? Microsoft Tests a Private Alternative

Controlling the data feeding "private models" is part of the problem though. The more data you can feed a "private model", the more likely you are to derive value from it... but, how do you control access to data that could be sensitive or regulated? You have to control the output as well.

Jason Geater

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

Shows just how much free money has artificially inflated assets prices (into the stratosphere) in the most highly-levered asset class. Exacerbate the issue by making said loans against fantasy VC valuations sounds like a recipe for success: ‘This founder has liquidity issues, but they have a billion in founder stock.…We’re going to ascribe value to that and give them a loan. We’re not like the boring banks who need a salary" This will certainly end well when all of the "unicorn" founder borrowers start defaulting on their mega-mansions.

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.

Latest Articles

Jonah Peretti. Photo by Getty.

Exclusive

BuzzFeed Considers Sale of Complex Networks

By Sahil Patel · June 7, 2023 12:08 PM PDT

BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when going public in late 2021 for nearly $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The move, which...

Image: Jonah Peretti. Photo by Getty.

A Thursday Night Football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. Photo by Getty.

amazon entertainment

How Amazon Misread the NFL Ad Market

By Sahil Patel and Theo Wayt · June 7, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Last summer, advertising representatives for a national pizza chain in the U.S. met with Amazon ad executives to negotiate a potential sponsorship deal for Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast of “Thursday Night Football.” Amazon executives asked the pizza chain for commitments of up to $12 million for the full season, double what... Last summer, advertising representatives for a national pizza chain in the U.S. met with Amazon...

Neil Shen, left, and Roelof Botha. Photos by Getty.

startups venture capital

Sequoia Capital’s U.S. Partners May Reap China Gains Even After Split

By Kate Clark, Juro Osawa and Natasha Mascarenhas · June 6, 2023 2:09 PM PDT · 1 comment

Sequoia Capital on Tuesday told investors that by the first quarter of next year it would fully separate its U.S. and China venture capital operations, ending an 18-year run during which Sequoia Capital China became China’s most successful VC firm and drove outsize returns for Sequoia’s global investors. But the separation, ... Sequoia Capital on Tuesday told investors that by the first quarter of next year it would fully...

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for Coinbase

By Aidan Ryan · June 6, 2023 12:15 PM PDT

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Coinbase today, alleging a wide range of securities violations, kicks off what will likely be a yearslong legal battle that holds the key to Coinbase’s future. If the SEC wins, it will be all but impossible for the crypto giant to do business in the U.S. The SEC alleges that... The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Coinbase today, alleging a wide...

Art by Clark Miller.

Mark Zuckerberg Is the Hero AI Needs

By Steven Weber and Shea Agnew · June 6, 2023 9:00 AM PDT · 5 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Mark Zuckerberg Is the Hero AI Needs

By Steven Weber and Shea Agnew · June 6, 2023 9:00 AM PDT · 5 comments

From Silicon Valley to Washington, America has suddenly woken up to the risks of artificial intelligence. While Congress is just beginning conversations over how to regulate AI, the technology is advancing at an astonishing pace. Rather than indulge the fantasy that regulation will establish a “responsible” AI trajectory quickly and... From Silicon Valley to Washington, America has suddenly woken up to the risks of artificial...

CareRev co-founder Will Patterson stepped down as CEO last week. Art by Clark Miller

startups venture capital

A Long, Strange Trip for the ‘Uber for Nurses’

By Paris Martineau · June 6, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 4 comments

Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work platform sometimes described as an “Uber for nurses”—he saw his company’s business surge during the pandemic as hospitals and clinics scrambled to find healthcare workers. In late 2020, he seized the moment by pitching investors over... Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work...

Apple Vision Pro announcement video. Credit: Apple

What’s Clear and Blurry About Apple’s Vision Pro Headset

By Wayne Ma · June 6, 2023 5:00 AM PDT · 8 comments

Judging a new Apple personal computing device is a fool’s errand. Just ask the countless critics of the first iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Despite that unparalleled track record, the company’s $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset, unveiled on Monday, might encounter unique challenges even as it appears likely to become the most advanced... Judging a new Apple personal computing device is a fool’s errand. Just ask the countless...

The Port of Los Angeles, where Next Trucking has a significant presence. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

startups Finance

Logistics Startup Next Trucking Tries to Sell Itself

By Maria Heeter · June 5, 2023 9:48 AM PDT · 2 comments

Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking sector, is trying to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter and a pitch deck reviewed by The Information. Next has enlisted the help of BG Strategic Advisors, a Florida-based boutique investment bank specializing in transportation... Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking...

Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock.

Five Startups Vying to Be the OpenAI of China

By Juro Osawa · June 5, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock.

Startups to Watch

Five Startups Vying to Be the OpenAI of China

By Juro Osawa · June 5, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

As OpenAI and Google battle for artificial intelligence supremacy in the West, a parallel contest is happening in China. Dozens of young Chinese startups as well as local tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are developing machine-learning models to power chatbots similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Five Chinese startups, including MiniMax and... As OpenAI and Google battle for artificial intelligence supremacy in the West, a parallel contest...

Tarlon Khoubyari (center) takes a photo of an onstage presentation at “Not a Boring Tech Party” on Thursday in the Mission District. It was a launch party for events company AfterWork, which is creating AI tools for party planners. Photograph by Laura Morton for The Information

What Doom Loop? A Six-Day Tech Party Tries to Shift the Vibes in San Francisco

By Erin Woo · June 3, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 3 comments

Thousands converged on San Francisco this week for a 200-event “SF Tech Week” extravaganza that attempted to answer the question: Wait, isn’t every week tech week in San Francisco? The six-day roving party, which officially ends Sunday evening, was organized by Andreessen Horowitz, the famed and flashy venture capital firm... Thousands converged on San Francisco this week for a 200-event “SF Tech Week”...

Adam D'Angelo photograph by Ko Sasaki. Art by Clark Miller

Adam D’Angelo’s Endless Quest to Answer Everything

By Arielle Pardes · June 3, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Adam D’Angelo is basking in an “endless summer” of artificial intelligence. A few weeks before he and 350 industry peers released a bizarre, one-line statement warning that AI could herald a nuclear-level extinction event, the 38-year-old co-founder of Quora told me he actually sees more upside in AI than downside. “Right... Adam D’Angelo is basking in an “endless summer” of artificial intelligence. A...

startups venture capital

SoftBank’s Onetime Pizza-Robot Darling Shuts Down

By Erin Woo · June 2, 2023 4:37 PM PDT · 17 comments

Zume, which raised $375 million from SoftBank to automate pizza-making with robots before switching to developing sustainable packaging, has shut down. The company is insolvent and has retained restructuring firm Sherwood Partners to liquidate the assets for the benefit of the creditors, an alternative to bankruptcy, according to Martin... Zume, which raised $375 million from SoftBank to automate pizza-making with robots before...

Emad Mostaque, Vitalik Buterin and Grimes in the waters of Montenegro. Photo-illustration by Clark Miller.

The Hullabaloo of Zuzalu: Inside the Secret Pop-up City of Vitalik Buterin’s Dreams

By Margaux MacColl · June 2, 2023 9:24 AM PDT · 4 comments

Emad Mostaque, Vitalik Buterin and Grimes in the waters of Montenegro. Photo-illustration by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

The Hullabaloo of Zuzalu: Inside the Secret Pop-up City of Vitalik Buterin’s Dreams

By Margaux MacColl · June 2, 2023 9:24 AM PDT · 4 comments

Until it reached its planned obsolescence last week, the mythical city of Zuzalu was an intellectual wonderland. Days at Zuzalu began shortly after dawn at the edge of the Adriatic Sea. In the pursuit of an infinite life, Zuzalans (as they self-identify) enjoyed submerging themselves in the frigid waters of Montenegro at 8 a.m.—and again... Until it reached its planned obsolescence last week, the mythical city of Zuzalu was an...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo: Getty.

Microsoft Is Charging Some Office 365 Customers 40% Extra to Test AI Features

By Aaron Holmes · June 2, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features now face the hard part: getting customers to pay for the features, which are costly to operate. More than 600 of Microsoft’s largest customers, including Bank of America, Walmart, Ford and Accenture, are expected to test the AI features in... Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.

startups Finance

Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff

By Cory Weinberg · June 1, 2023 3:36 PM PDT

Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits. Privately held Instacart posted a 2% decline in the number of grocery orders it facilitated in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, according to people familiar with the matter. The number,... Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this...

Photo by Getty

Meta Calls Employees Back to Office Three Days a Week

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · June 1, 2023 2:56 PM PDT

Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week starting in September, according to a person familiar with the matter. The announcement, which has not been previously reported, marks the strictest policy change from the company since it embraced remote work during the pandemic. While tech companies... Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week...

Introducing The Information’s Generative AI Database

By Kalley Huang · June 1, 2023 9:54 AM PDT

Introducing The Information’s Generative AI Database

By Kalley Huang · June 1, 2023 9:54 AM PDT

OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched six months ago, igniting a boom in generative artificial intelligence. Since then, all manner of startups have emerged, building technology to compete with ChatGPT and developing services that use generative AI. Despite an otherwise cool funding environment, investors are jockeying to join the action. The most... OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched six months ago, igniting a boom in generative artificial...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Next Twitter Is Just Thousands of Smaller Twitters

By Ryan Broderick · June 1, 2023 9:00 AM PDT · 7 comments

One of the biggest open-ended questions in the tech world is whether Twitter is truly dying—and if it is, what will replace it. Last December, I argued that whatever came next might feel like Twitter in certain ways, but that ultimately there was probably no way to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the infamous bird site. Six... One of the biggest open-ended questions in the tech world is whether Twitter is truly...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Photos by Bloomberg.

‘A Total Nightmare’: Transfer Delays With New Apple-Goldman Savings Accounts Prompt Complaints

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · June 1, 2023 8:14 AM PDT

When Kevin Smyth learned in April that Goldman Sachs and Apple were offering a savings account with higher yields than anyone else, he jumped at the chance to shift money that was earning less at another online bank. But within a few weeks, when he had to withdraw a small portion of the funds to pay for a home renovation, everything went awry. A... When Kevin Smyth learned in April that Goldman Sachs and Apple were offering a savings account...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg

semiconductors ai

Why Nvidia Aids Cloud Rivals of AWS, Google and Microsoft

By Anissa Gardizy · June 1, 2023 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but the company faces a looming problem. Its biggest customers—cloud providers including Microsoft, Google and Amazon—are making their own AI chips to reduce their reliance on Nvidia. In response, Nvidia is helping two upstart cloud providers... Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: Bloomberg.

Google Invests in AI Startup Runway to Wrest Cloud Business From AWS

By Kate Clark, Jon Victor, Amir Efrati and Erin Woo · May 31, 2023 2:47 PM PDT · 1 comment

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: Bloomberg.

startups google

Google Invests in AI Startup Runway to Wrest Cloud Business From AWS

By Kate Clark, Jon Victor, Amir Efrati and Erin Woo · May 31, 2023 2:47 PM PDT · 1 comment

Google is investing in Runway, a New York–based startup that lets customers generate video from text descriptions using artificial intelligence it pioneered, at a valuation of around $1.5 billion including the new capital, according to two people familiar with the matter. The investment, part of a roughly $100 million funding round,... Google is investing in Runway, a New York–based startup that lets customers generate video...