The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Who Will Save the Kids From Bad Tech?

Who Will Save the Kids From Bad Tech?

By Abram Brown · Oct 12, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Ben Horowitz, an investor of many contrasts • Social Media: The moms at war with social media• The Top 5: Our favorite protein bars • From AI to Chelsea Clinton’s Plea, Inside The Information’s Latest WTF Summit • Plus: SF’s nerd mecca; the videogame company obsessed... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Ben Horowitz, an investor of many...

Art by Clark Miller

There’s an Arms Race for the Next Million-Dollar Protein Bar

By Ashwin Rodrigues · Oct 12, 2024 5:38am PDT · 3 comments

The macro of the moment is protein, and it’s not much of a competition. Everyone is paying attention to their protein intake for one reason or another: The longevity movement’s practitioners are focusing on it for strength training. Anyone on a GLP-1 has likely gotten a doctor’s lecture on getting the right amount of protein.... The macro of the moment is protein, and it’s not much of a competition. Everyone is paying...

Art by Clark Miller

Mad Moms Stigmatized Drunk Driving. Their Next Target: Social Media

By Paris Martineau · Oct 12, 2024 5:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Andrew Gounardes needed help rallying support for two social media bills he’d introduced in the New York State Senate earlier this year, he knew who to call: Mothers Against Media Addiction. The New York-based nonprofit parental advocacy group had caught Gounardes’ attention even before it officially launched in March, thanks to... When Andrew Gounardes needed help rallying support for two social media bills he’d...

Google’s Antitrust Saga Continues

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 11, 2024 6:49pm PDT

Google’s Antitrust Saga Continues

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 11, 2024 6:49pm PDT

Could a breakup be good for Google? The gang had a lot to debate and discuss. Plus, Jessica recaps The Information's WTF. Enjoy! Apple Spotify Could a breakup be good for Google? The gang had a lot to debate and discuss. Plus, Jessica...

Thursday night's Tesla event. Photo via YouTube

Musk’s Robotaxi Reveal Is a Dud for Investors

By Martin Peers · Oct 11, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

You certainly can’t accuse Wall Street of being taken in by a glitzy presentation, at least not this week. Elon Musk’s big robotaxi reveal on Thursday night went down like a lead balloon with investors today. Tesla shares fell 9%, while shares of Uber, whose business is theoretically at risk from a Tesla robotaxi, rose nearly 11% to $86. That... You certainly can’t accuse Wall Street of being taken in by a glitzy presentation, at least not...

Photo by Erin Beach

The Information's WTF Recap

WTF Summit 2024 Weekend Wrap-Up: ICYMI

By The Information Staff · Oct 11, 2024 12:30pm PDT

The Information’s annual summit for women in tech, media and finance is a wrap! This year’s sold out conference in Napa Valley included leaders from Amazon, Google, J.P. Morgan, Salesforce, PagerDuty, Instacart, Block, Airbnb and many more. In case you missed some of the coverage, here is your weekend WTF reading. Artificial intelligence is... The Information’s annual summit for women in tech, media and finance is a wrap! This year’s sold...

Art by Clark Miller

The Ben Horowitz Paradox

By Julia Black · Oct 11, 2024 9:00am PDT · 3 comments

On the night of Sept. 21, a group of Black entrepreneurs, investors and Congressional Black Caucus members navigated a labyrinth of gated security to reach a megamansion with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Their hosts: venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, his wife Felicia and Rep. Steven Horsford, chair of the Democratic congressional group. As... On the night of Sept. 21, a group of Black entrepreneurs, investors and Congressional Black...

Left, Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng, the co-founders of Pika. Right, Anthony Woods, Raj Dutt and Torkel Ödegaard, co-founders of Grafana Labs. Photos via Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Pro Weekly: The Latest on Our Most Promising Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 11, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Left, Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng, the co-founders of Pika. Right, Anthony Woods, Raj Dutt and Torkel Ödegaard, co-founders of Grafana Labs. Photos via Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Pro Weekly: The Latest on Our Most Promising Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 11, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome back!October is an exciting time in our newsroom. Every year, we probe our sources and assemble The Information’s list of the 50 most promising startups. The 2024 list—our fifth edition—will appear later this month. Ahead of that, I revisited our previous years’ lists to see how our picks are doing. You can track all 200 of our prior... Welcome back!October is an exciting time in our newsroom. Every year, we probe our sources and...

Art by Clark Miller.

ByteDance’s CFO Is IPO Ready, but the Company Isn’t

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Oct 11, 2024 5:00am PDT · 4 comments

Until Julie Gao joined ByteDance as chief financial officer two years ago, she was one of the highest-profile initial public offering lawyers in Asia. Over the course of 20 years, she helped take public a succession of Chinese tech giants, including JD.com, Temu parent PDD Holdings and Meituan. The one company Gao hasn’t been able to take... Until Julie Gao joined ByteDance as chief financial officer two years ago, she was one of the...

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Photo via Getty.

The E-Mail Miscue That Undercut a $1 Billion Corporate Activism Campaign

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

It’s become well understood that the high-stakes political world more closely mirrors the satire “Veep” than the prestige-draped “The West Wing.” Behind the pomp, circumstance and power are humans who, like all of us, are prone to bumbling mistakes. The same thing can be said, it seems, about highly choreographed, stealthy... It’s become well understood that the high-stakes political world more closely mirrors the satire...

Elad Gil. Photo via Getty

Elad Gil’s Latest AI Bet Is in Health

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 10, 2024 4:14pm PDT

The boom in artificial intelligence funding has extended into the healthcare sector, where startups are developing generative AI tools to improve patient care.Abridge, a six-year-old startup that uses AI to transcribe doctors’ conversations with their patients, is raising $250 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion before the investment,... The boom in artificial intelligence funding has extended into the healthcare sector, where...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Once-Hot Bagel Startup Has Dough Troubles

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2024 2:32pm PDT · 3 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Once-Hot Bagel Startup Has Dough Troubles

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2024 2:32pm PDT · 3 comments

Earlier this year, when healthy-bagel startup BetterBrand was looking to raise more capital, things seemed to be going well. The firm told investors revenue was on track to roughly double this year, and it was expanding into Europe. But founder and CEO Aimee Yang thought the company should be valued at between $250 million and $300 million,... Earlier this year, when healthy-bagel startup BetterBrand was looking to raise more capital,...

Photo via Getty.

Fidelity Plans First Fund That May Use Blockchain

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 10, 2024 2:20pm PDT · 2 comments

Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that may trade on a blockchain in the future. It’s the latest effort by a big traditional money manager to explore using the technology to speed up financial transactions and widen the audience for its products. Fidelity on Sept. 26 filed paperwork... Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that...

Hurricane Milton Brings Out Creators' Worst Instincts

Creator Economy

Hurricane Milton Brings Out Creators' Worst Instincts

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 10, 2024 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida, some local creators decided to stay put—and use the natural disaster as an opportunity to capture some prime viewership. These terrifying videos of wind-whipped trees and troubled skies are hard to pass up. But they also show creators playing to the internet’s worst instincts.“Shit is looking... Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida, some local creators decided to stay put—and use...

Art by Clark Miller; Photos by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

From AI to Chelsea Clinton’s Plea, Inside The Information’s Latest WTF Summit

By Abram Brown · Oct 10, 2024 12:37pm PDT

Amid a roomful of Silicon Valley elite this week, a Clinton made a rousing call to action by recounting a tragedy: the story of Amanda Zurawski, a young Texan woman left infertile after a botched abortion procedure. “This is what we’re doing to women in America,” said Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary, founder of... Amid a roomful of Silicon Valley elite this week, a Clinton made a rousing call to action by...

Geoff Hinton. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI Turns a Profit…in 2029 Maybe; Post-Murati Personnel Moves; Hinton Shades Altman

By Amir Efrati and Rocket Drew · Oct 10, 2024 7:00am PDT

Geoff Hinton. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI Turns a Profit…in 2029 Maybe; Post-Murati Personnel Moves; Hinton Shades Altman

By Amir Efrati and Rocket Drew · Oct 10, 2024 7:00am PDT

Howdy! Amir and Rocket here. Before we get to today’s column, please read this phenomenal piece from Aaron about Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s market analysis methods. Hint: they involve an absurd number of meetings and calls with people outside his company. It’s a leadership masterclass.Onto today’s issue…When we told you in July that ... Howdy! Amir and Rocket here. Before we get to today’s column, please read this phenomenal...

Marissa Mayer, right, speaks at The Information's Women in Tech, Media and Finance Summit. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Google Breakup, Voter Turnout, Venture Cash Crunch: WTF Highlights

By The Information Staff · Oct 10, 2024 6:30am PDT

Technology is in a state of rapid change. Google faces a historic antitrust breakup. Advances in artificial intelligence are minting multibillion-dollar startups. And venture capital is still grappling with the hangover of the 2021 boom. Speakers at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance summit had opinions on them all. Chelsea... Technology is in a state of rapid change. Google faces a historic antitrust breakup. Advances in...

Chart by Shane Burke.

Meta Bulls Are Overvaluing Zuckerberg’s Vision

By Anita Ramaswamy · Oct 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 14 comments

Investors may be viewing Meta Platforms’ stock through rose-tinted glasses. Meta’s shares have soared over 70% this year, more than those of any other big tech stock except Nvidia, giving Meta a premium valuation next to comparable stocks such as Alphabet’s. Shares of the Facebook and Instagram parent now trade at 14.2 times... Investors may be viewing Meta Platforms’ stock through rose-tinted glasses. Meta’s...

An Arcadium Lithium brine operation in Argentina. Photo: Courtesy Arcadium.

The Electric: Rio Tinto Gets a Big Lithium Asset but No Relief From Price Woes

By Steve LeVine · Oct 10, 2024 4:30am PDT

Rio Tinto’s proposed $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium follows a monthlong surge in the share prices of lithium producers, a rare bright spot in the battered battery metals sector, where raw ore prices have dropped almost 90% over the last two years. But any euphoria over the deal could prove short-lived: It won’t address the global... Rio Tinto’s proposed $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium follows a monthlong surge in...

Bret Taylor, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sierra, left, and Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bret Taylor’s AI Agent Startup Nears Deal That Could Value It at Over $4 Billion

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 9, 2024 5:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Bret Taylor, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sierra, left, and Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bret Taylor’s AI Agent Startup Nears Deal That Could Value It at Over $4 Billion

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 9, 2024 5:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Sierra, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding led by growth-stage investor Greenoaks Capital, according to two people who have knowledge of the deal. The new financing will at least triple the company’s valuation, which was $1... Sierra, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is...