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

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What Could Stop AI Scaling?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 20, 2024 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

So far, many of the improvements in large language models’ capabilities have stemmed from a surprisingly simple concept: scaling laws. Essentially, researchers have noticed that the more computing power and data you use to train AI models, the better they perform. This realization has pushed labs like OpenAI, Meta Platforms, Anthropic and ... So far, many of the improvements in large language models’ capabilities have stemmed from a...

Arm CEO, Rene Haas. Photo by Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty.

Arm Stock Is Pricier Than Nvidia’s. It Shouldn’t Be

By Anita Ramaswamy · Aug 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Since chip-design firm Arm Holdings went public last September, excitement around generative AI has sent its stock soaring, to a high last month of $188, more than triple its initial public offering price. While the stock has since fallen back a bit, investors are still valuing Arm at a big premium to Nvidia both on a multiple of future revenue... Since chip-design firm Arm Holdings went public last September, excitement around generative AI...

Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty.

Why Sports TV Joint Venture Is Dead

By Martin Peers · Aug 19, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Sports fans, listen up. If you were planning to sign up for the new Venu sports-streaming service due to launch this fall—to include sports cable channels such as ESPN, TNT and Fox Sports 1, all for the cut-rate price of just $43 a month—think again. Chances are Venu will never see the light of day, thanks to a judge’s ruling on Friday night... Sports fans, listen up. If you were planning to sign up for the new Venu sports-streaming service...

Art by Clark Miller

Giving Fans AI to Riff on Popular Shows

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug 19, 2024 10:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Giving Fans AI to Riff on Popular Shows

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug 19, 2024 10:00am PDT

Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max have bet their futures on shows built around Marvel action heroes and George R.R. Martin fantasy novels, or what former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar called “beloved characters and worlds.” But these streaming services, and their legacy media competitors, are struggling. Such shows are... Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max have bet their futures on shows built around...

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Red Teams, Bug Bounties and Freelance Hackers

By Rocket Drew · Aug 19, 2024 7:00am PDT

For the past year, an enterprising bunch of freelance hackers has been publicizing on social media how they’ve been able to manipulate the most sophisticated artificial intelligence models. Their “jailbreaks” produce answers that violate the models’ own guardrails, by prompting the models to disclose designs for weapons, drug recipes or sexually... For the past year, an enterprising bunch of freelance hackers has been publicizing on social...

Art by Mike Sullivan/ Midjourney

Investors Undaunted by Spate of AI Acqui-Hires

By Kate Clark · Aug 19, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Thomvest Ventures was finishing an early-stage investment in an artificial intelligence startup when the San Francisco–based firm’s managing director, Don Butler, noticed Thomvest’s lawyer had made a subtle change to the fine print of the deal’s term sheet. In a section outlining what would constitute a liquidation event... Thomvest Ventures was finishing an early-stage investment in an artificial intelligence startup...

Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Co. Photo: Carolyn Cole/LA Times/Getty

The Electric: Low Metals Prices Be Damned, Startups Race to Mine Under the Sea

By Steve LeVine · Aug 19, 2024 4:30am PDT

Ignoring rock-bottom prices and a glut of the metals used in electric vehicle batteries, startup mining companies around the world are pushing ahead with plans to vacuum the seabed for nodules containing cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel. Ignoring rock-bottom prices and a glut of the metals used in electric vehicle batteries, startup...

Art by Clark Miller

The Forces Moving Against Meta, Snap and ‘the Scum of the Earth’

By Abram Brown · Aug 17, 2024 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

The Forces Moving Against Meta, Snap and ‘the Scum of the Earth’

By Abram Brown · Aug 17, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Can AI and a new CEO save Snowflake, a onetime Silicon Valley darling?• Silicon Valley’s surprise fashion obsession.Plus: A digital deep cleanse; Mark Ronson at the museum; and hidden gems of cinema. One muggy Monday evening earlier this month, hundreds of activists flooded the west front... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Can AI and a new CEO save Snowflake, a...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley Eyes an Unexpected Summer It Item

By Abram Brown · Aug 17, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

A month or so ago, Brian Solis wore some flashy bling to dinner with friends in Lake Tahoe: his new Ray-Ban Meta glasses. “I didn’t wear them for them to be a topic of conversation,” said Solis, head of global innovation at ServiceNow, an enterprise software company. “But they were a topic of conversation.” He... A month or so ago, Brian Solis wore some flashy bling to dinner with friends in Lake Tahoe: his...

Ben Horowitz. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty.

Horowitz Promotes San Francisco Standard

By Martin Peers · Aug 16, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Michael Moritz, you owe Ben Horowitz a drink. The Andreessen Horowitz partner did a masterful job of promoting an article The San Francisco Standard, a news publication owned by Moritz, published today—so much so that you might imagine Horowitz, too, has an investment in the publication!I’m kidding. In a tweet, Horowitz accused Moritz (who is of... Michael Moritz, you owe Ben Horowitz a drink. The Andreessen Horowitz partner did a masterful job...

Body Futurism and Why Gen Z is Ditching Tech

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 16, 2024 12:34pm PDT

Co-hosting a podcast often allows me to riff on a topic that I'd like to learn more about. For me, one of those topics has been what's going on with younger generations and tech. Young people are immersed in technology. But lately it has seemed like they are also ditching it too. I knew my co-hosts would have some smart opinions. And... Co-hosting a podcast often allows me to riff on a topic that I'd like to learn more about....

The Saga of Snowflake: Can AI and a New CEO Save the Company?

By Abram Brown · Aug 16, 2024 9:24am PDT · 9 comments

The Saga of Snowflake: Can AI and a New CEO Save the Company?

By Abram Brown · Aug 16, 2024 9:24am PDT · 9 comments

Sridhar Ramaswamy seldom takes a day off. He prefers to work seven days a week, putting in a “non-small number of hours” on the weekend, he said, usually in the morning before his wife, a dentist, wakes up and then again in the afternoon. “Listen, I’m from India: We’re always very insecure. I can’t sit around... Sridhar Ramaswamy seldom takes a day off. He prefers to work seven days a week, putting in a...

Pro Weekly: A Gloomy Outlook for Big Tech Names

Pro Weekly: A Gloomy Outlook for Big Tech Names

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 16, 2024 8:00am PDT

Between falling share prices, a major antitrust ruling and an onslaught of quarterly results, readers had a lot to digest before answering our August survey last week. It seems they didn’t like what they saw: Sentiment about the technology sector was the most pessimistic in our surveys since March 2023, when the government closed Silicon Valley... Between falling share prices, a major antitrust ruling and an onslaught of quarterly results,...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Rise of Crypto’s Shadow Bankers

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 16, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last year’s collapse of major crypto-friendly banks threw a wrench in the works of crypto markets, making it harder for hedge funds and other crypto investors to transfer money as fast as most of their trades require. Increasingly, though, crypto brokerages such as FalconX and crypto trading firms including GSR and B2C2 are stepping in to... Last year’s collapse of major crypto-friendly banks threw a wrench in the works of crypto...

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Calculating Cable TV’s Future

By Martin Peers · Aug 15, 2024 5:00pm PDT

These are dark days for big TV companies. Paramount Global, owner of CBS, began laying off 15% of its staff this week. The share price of Warner Bros. Discovery has fallen so far down the toilet that a plumber would have trouble spotting it. Disney stock has lost most of the ground it gained during an activist fight for board seats this past... These are dark days for big TV companies. Paramount Global, owner of CBS, began laying off 15% of...

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Why Some AI Startups Are Tapping Investment Banks

By Kate Clark · Aug 15, 2024 3:25pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Why Some AI Startups Are Tapping Investment Banks

By Kate Clark · Aug 15, 2024 3:25pm PDT

Wall Street is finding its way into the deluge of artificial intelligence deals as more AI founders enlist banks to help with fundraising.One of the latest is Lambda Labs. The startup, which rents out servers of Nvidia chips, is working with JPMorgan Chase on its latest fundraising, which is targeting $800 million, according to a person pitched... Wall Street is finding its way into the deluge of artificial intelligence deals as more AI...

Noah Beck, a TikTok influencer who stars in a recently-sold Creator+ film. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty.

Creator Economy

Creator+ Sells and Two Startups Find Funding

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 15, 2024 2:37pm PDT

We’ve got a trio of creator economy scoops for you today, so let’s get right to it. Creator+, a startup producing and streaming films for creators, has been acquired by Petra Media, a film production company that previously invested in the startup, according to a person familiar with the deal. The terms of its sale couldn’t be learned.... We’ve got a trio of creator economy scoops for you today, so let’s get right to it. Creator+...

Character.AI cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. Photo by Winni Wintermeyer/The Washington Post via Getty. Art by Shane Burke.

What OpenAI’s Previous Talks with Character Say About Its M&A Strategy

By Kalley Huang · Aug 15, 2024 7:00am PDT

Over the past several months, Character.AI seemed to talk to every big tech company about some sort of partnership or acquisition. In the end, its cofounders, Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, and some researchers landed at Google. But Character had another previously unmentioned suitor: OpenAI. Over the past several months, Character.AI seemed to talk to every big tech company about some...

Netflix's offices in Los Angeles. Photo by Getty

How a Culture Clash Hindered Netflix’s Ad Push

By Sahil Patel · Aug 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

The ad industry’s annual Cannes Lions festival in June is an occasion for the entire media and ad industry to gather together at parties, on yachts, at beach clubs and in private cliffside villas. Outsiders may wonder whether any real work gets done, which seemed to be a question Netflix’s new ad president, Amy Reinhard—a... The ad industry’s annual Cannes Lions festival in June is an occasion for the entire media...

Battery industry veteran Bart Riley. Photo: Courtesy Bart Riley.

Exclusive From The Electric: Why Has QuantumScape Moved to Seize the Home of Its Former Chief Strategy Officer?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 15, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

Battery industry veteran Bart Riley. Photo: Courtesy Bart Riley.

Exclusive From The Electric: Why Has QuantumScape Moved to Seize the Home of Its Former Chief Strategy Officer?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 15, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

In the bizarre climax of a four-year legal dispute over stock options, next-generation battery developer QuantumScape has moved to seize the home of its former chief strategy officer to cover $1.1 million in lawyer fees it says it racked up in the case. In the bizarre climax of a four-year legal dispute over stock options, next-generation battery...