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

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Recent Editions

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Google’s Slow-Motion Drama

By Martin Peers · Oct 9, 2024 5:00pm PDT

We’re at the point in the Google antitrust battle where the story has stalled. Not much real news is going to happen for a while. We got blaring headlines late on Tuesday night about the government’s latest filing in the search case (the one Google has already lost but awaits penalties for). The headlines emphasized the government’s desire to... We’re at the point in the Google antitrust battle where the story has stalled. Not much real news...

Amazon's Udit Madan. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Amazon Management Cuts Will Apply to Fewer Workers Than in Some Forecasts

By Theo Wayt · Oct 9, 2024 4:17pm PDT

In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made waves when he announced a plan to sharply reduce the number of managers at the internet giant, partly to combat the bureaucracy creeping into its culture. It turns out Jassy’s plan will affect far fewer managers than some outside the company had expected. Amazon’s efforts to cut back the... In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made waves when he announced a plan to sharply reduce the...

Art by Clark Miller; Nadella image via Getty

Nadella’s Network: How Microsoft’s CEO Avoids Getting Disrupted

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 9, 2024 3:34pm PDT · 10 comments

Earlier this year, Aravind Srinivas’ phone rang. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, wanted to dish with Srinivas—CEO of Perplexity, an artificial intelligence–powered search engine startup—on the biggest competitor they had in common: Google. Days earlier, Google had announced several upgrades to Gemini, its generative... Earlier this year, Aravind Srinivas’ phone rang. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO,...

Andy Dunn, Pie's founder. Photo via Pie.

Bonobos Co-Founder Puts New Twist on Creator Funds

By Ann Gehan · Oct 9, 2024 3:12pm PDT

Andy Dunn, Pie's founder. Photo via Pie.

Creator Economy

Bonobos Co-Founder Puts New Twist on Creator Funds

By Ann Gehan · Oct 9, 2024 3:12pm PDT

Pie, an app for hosting and finding group activities started by Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn, is taking a page from the creator economy to promote events in the real world.The startup has already seen users flock to events like Sunday Morning Club, which features activities like beach yoga and cold plunges and attracts more than 500 RSVPs... Pie, an app for hosting and finding group activities started by Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI Projections Imply Losses Tripling to $14 Billion in 2026

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 9, 2024 2:17pm PDT · 14 comments

OpenAI’s newest investors have signed up for a bumpy and expensive ride. The company’s projections suggest it won’t turn a profit until 2029, when its revenue would hit $100 billion. Before it gets to that point, losses could rise as high as $14 billion in 2026, nearly triple this year’s expected loss, according to an... OpenAI’s newest investors have signed up for a bumpy and expensive ride. The...

Speakers at The Information's 2024 WTF conference. Left to right: Liz Reid, VP and Head of Search at Google; Jennifer Tejada, CEO and Chairperson at PagerDuty; and Daniela Amodei, President and co-founder of Anthropic. Photos by Erin Beach for the Information.

Confronting the Challenges of AI

By Kalley Huang · Oct 9, 2024 7:05am PDT

Welcome back! Kalley here, reporting from The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance Summit in Yountville, Calif., on Monday and Tuesday. Artificial intelligence was a major theme this year, unsurprisingly. Our speakers wrestled with some of the biggest questions gripping the industry: how developers will make money after... Welcome back! Kalley here, reporting from The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance...

Amy Griffin, left, and Kirsten Green. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

AI Can Jump-Start Consumer Brands, Investors and Founders Say

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2024 6:00am PDT

Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices for everything from apparel to beauty and wellness products, and it’s harder for young brands to stand out. “There’s a consumer that’s overwhelmed right now, that wants it all, but wants it all done a little bit more for... Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices...

Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic, speaks at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Anthropic Says Its Chatbot Could Alter Its Hiring Plans

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2024 5:16pm PDT · 2 comments

Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic, speaks at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Anthropic Says Its Chatbot Could Alter Its Hiring Plans

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2024 5:16pm PDT · 2 comments

An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough revenue to offset the high costs of compute and talent. Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of model developer Anthropic, isn’t sharing a forecast for when that will happen. But the startup’s own AI developer could help speed the... An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough...

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty.

Roblox’s Kids Cesspool

By Martin Peers · Oct 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street short seller’s report out today about Roblox, an online kids’ gaming service, painted a picture of a site you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to visit, let alone your children. It came the same day as attorneys general from a dozen states sued TikTok... The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street...

Photo via Getty

VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could harness blockchain technology was to run prediction markets. Proponents believed blockchain would help ensure payouts to winners, without the need to find a bookie and argue over results. Those efforts largely failed because those sites were... At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could...

Karla Welch, co-founder and CEO of The Period Company, speaking on Monday night at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Creator Economy

Reaching the ‘Savvy’ Consumer Is Complicated

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 8, 2024 3:18pm PDT

I’m delighted to be at The Information’s annual conference for women in media, tech and finance in Napa Valley. We’ve covered a lot of ground throughout the two-day event, ranging from artificial intelligence to the future of consumer and issues impacting young people.I heard one theme again and again: As the consumer market has gotten more... I’m delighted to be at The Information’s annual conference for women in media, tech and finance...

Google Exec Says Data Gives It an Edge in AI Search

By Erin Woo · Oct 8, 2024 12:00pm PDT · 4 comments

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Google Exec Says Data Gives It an Edge in AI Search

By Erin Woo · Oct 8, 2024 12:00pm PDT · 4 comments

Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, said her company’s data and experience building search products will give it an advantage in developing artificial intelligence-powered search, as Google faces competition from newer search-related entrants such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity. “We have really great data beyond the... Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, said her company’s data and experience building...

Photo via Getty.

The Startups Helping Businesses Decode AI Decisions

By Rocket Drew · Oct 8, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

First off, check out my colleagues’ story this morning about how OpenAI is growing impatient with Microsoft’s ability to provide it with enough servers to run its technology, prompting OpenAI to take greater control of its own data center, chip and power planning.Onto today’s issue…Venture capitalists have recently funded half a dozen or so... First off, check out my colleagues’ story this morning about how OpenAI is growing impatient with...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI Leaders Say Microsoft Isn’t Moving Fast Enough to Supply Servers

By Anissa Gardizy, Aaron Holmes and Amir Efrati · Oct 8, 2024 6:30am PDT · 4 comments

OpenAI and Microsoft soared to new heights by developing and sharing artificial intelligence, specialized servers and product revenue with each other. Microsoft’s cash has paid for nearly all of that work. After marching in lockstep, their relationship is changing. Last week, after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Chief Financial Officer Sarah... OpenAI and Microsoft soared to new heights by developing and sharing artificial intelligence,...

Dave Clark. Photo via Flickr/U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.

Former Amazon Consumer Chief Raises $100 Million for New Logistics Startup

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Oct 8, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Dave Clark, a former senior Amazon executive who oversaw the buildup of the commerce giant’s sprawling delivery operations, is launching a logistics software startup with $100 million in funding from investment firm Oak HC/FT. Clark’s next move had been a question mark for the logistics and retail tech world since he was ousted as... Dave Clark, a former senior Amazon executive who oversaw the buildup of the commerce...

Beth Galetti, senior vice president, people experience and tech at Amazon. Photo: Erin Beach for The Information.

Amazon Develops AI ‘Coach’ For Its Employees: Senior HR Exec

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 7, 2024 10:23pm PDT

Beth Galetti, senior vice president, people experience and tech at Amazon. Photo: Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Amazon Develops AI ‘Coach’ For Its Employees: Senior HR Exec

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 7, 2024 10:23pm PDT

Amazon’s top human resources executive defended the company’s full return-to-office mandate announced last month, noting that young employees have been asking for in-office work to gain mentorship from their colleagues. The move to five days a week in-office is a return to Amazon’s pre-pandemic approach, where workers showed up... Amazon’s top human resources executive defended the company’s full return-to-office...

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Google's Epic Loss

By Martin Peers · Oct 7, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Talk about an epic decision. Epic Games scored a huge victory in court on Monday, when the judge overseeing Epic’s antitrust case against Google essentially shattered the company’s Android app store monopoly. Among other things, the judge ruled that for the next three years, the tech giant can’t require developers to use only Google’s app... Talk about an epic decision. Epic Games scored a huge victory in court on Monday, when the judge...

OpenAI's canvas toolbar. Art by The Information.

OpenAI’s Attempt to Catch Up With Anthropic Could Cannibalize Its Business

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 7, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI closed out its big week of fundraising news with a rather understated product announcement: the release of Canvas, a new ChatGPT interface that makes it easier for users to draft documents and code.That might not sound like a big deal. But it has bigger implications for the company’s position in the AI race and its relationship with its... OpenAI closed out its big week of fundraising news with a rather understated product...

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI Funding Fuels Wave of Big AI Deals

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 7, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

It’s back to the races for artificial intelligence startups that require billions of dollars—and the investors that want to own a piece of their growth. OpenAI’s $6.6 billion capital raise and startups’ high computing costs have sparked new funding discussions between AI startups—including xAI, Anthropic, Perplexity... It’s back to the races for artificial intelligence startups that require billions of...

GM's secretive prototyping center, in Warren, Mich. Photo: Courtesy GM

Exclusive From The Electric: Inside GM's Secretive Battery Lab

By Steve LeVine · Oct 7, 2024 4:30am PDT

GM's secretive prototyping center, in Warren, Mich. Photo: Courtesy GM

Exclusive From The Electric: Inside GM's Secretive Battery Lab

By Steve LeVine · Oct 7, 2024 4:30am PDT

In 2020, General Motors CEO Mary Barra told investors, analysts and journalists how the company planned to transform itself into an electric vehicle powerhouse. The key, the executives said in a two-hour presentation, was Ultium, a proprietary new battery they said would make GM’s EVs profitable almost from the get-go. In 2020, General Motors CEO Mary Barra told investors, analysts and journalists how the company...