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

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty

The Contradictions in the DOJ’s Google Breakup Idea

By Martin Peers · Aug 14, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Who says investors don’t care about Google’s antitrust woes? The stock dropped as much as 3.9% on Wednesday in the wake of reports that the government might seek “a breakup” of the company as the penalty for last week’s antitrust verdict, most likely through the forced divestiture of Android or Chrome.Those reports shouldn’t have been... Who says investors don’t care about Google’s antitrust woes? The stock dropped as much as 3.9% on...

President Biden appears at the White House Creator Economy Conference on Wednesday. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty.

Creator Economy

A Dispatch from the White House’s First Creator Conference

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 14, 2024 2:58pm PDT

I spent Wednesday at the White House’s first Creator Economy Conference, which gathered 100 people including social media influencers, talent managers and startup founders and featured a surprise appearance from President Joe Biden. Biden spoke for about 30 minutes, cracking several jokes about his age and quipping that he invited creators... I spent Wednesday at the White House’s first Creator Economy Conference, which gathered 100...

The People in Charge at Rippling as It Moves Toward an IPO

By Jon Victor · Aug 14, 2024 11:13am PDT · 1 comment

Human resources software firm Rippling raised $200 million from investors in April with a pitch that its ability to help companies manage employee data could also help them manage their computers, payroll and corporate credit cards. CEO Parker Conrad hopes to appeal to businesses that want to deal with fewer software systems. Rippling also is... Human resources software firm Rippling raised $200 million from investors in April with a pitch...

The LLM Paradox: High Expectations Coupled With Lack of Trust

By The Information Partnerships · Aug 14, 2024 10:33am PDT

Partner Content

The LLM Paradox: High Expectations Coupled With Lack of Trust

By The Information Partnerships · Aug 14, 2024 10:33am PDT

Some call them plagiarism bots, while others see them as a new capital asset that will change economies and societies. Some call them stupid, while others believe it’s stupid not to recognize their full potential. So what’s the right way to think about large language models? The Information asked its readers how they view LLMs,... Some call them plagiarism bots, while others see them as a new capital asset that will change...

Subscriber Survey

Big Tech Companies Compete Unfairly, The Information Readers Say

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 14, 2024 10:00am PDT

Five of the biggest technology companies compete unfairly, a majority of The Information readers said in our latest reader survey, which also found support for tougher government policies on big tech. Most survey respondents also said a recent judge’s ruling declaring Google a monopoly is good for the technology sector overall. The survey... Five of the biggest technology companies compete unfairly, a majority of The Information readers...

The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty

Google Beats Apple and OpenAI To the Punch

By Erin Woo · Aug 14, 2024 9:16am PDT

In tech, hype can only carry you so far. That’s one lesson from Google’s new product presentation on Tuesday, when it announced a flurry of updates to its devices that competitors like Apple and OpenAI have been talking about (but not shipping) for months.First, Google beat its rivals to launching an AI-powered voice assistant that’s flexible... In tech, hype can only carry you so far. That’s one lesson from Google’s new product presentation...

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. Photos by Fortune via Flickr.

Wiz Labors to Hire a CFO, Making an IPO Before 2026 Unlikely

By Aaron Holmes and Cory Weinberg · Aug 14, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Cybersecurity startup Wiz recently turned down a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google to pursue an initial public offering. But the startup faces a major hurdle in that effort: It needs to hire a chief financial officer first, and so far it hasn’t been able to find the right person, said people familiar with the company. As a result,... Cybersecurity startup Wiz recently turned down a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google to...

Rick Osterloh, Google's SVP of Devices & Services, speaking at today's event. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

Google Says ‘Add Me’ to AI-Focused Phone Buyers

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Rick Osterloh, Google's SVP of Devices & Services, speaking at today's event. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

Google Says ‘Add Me’ to AI-Focused Phone Buyers

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Google executive Rick Osterloh promised today to demonstrate to consumers exactly what artificial intelligence can do for them. But the array of impressive AI-powered features he displayed for Google’s newest Pixel line of phones may not be quite what consumers are looking for.While some features, such as Google’s new virtual assistant (for all... Google executive Rick Osterloh promised today to demonstrate to consumers exactly what artificial...

Liquid AI's co-founders. Left to right: Ramin Hasani, Mathias Lechner, Alexander Amini and Daniela Rus. Photo via YouTube/MIT CSAIL.

Moonshot Bets Test Investors’ AI Appetite

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 13, 2024 3:19pm PDT · 1 comment

Venture capital investors are quite willing to pour money into artificial intelligence startups with largely unproven products. So it’s notable when some investors view a startup as too much of a crazy bet.That’s a taste of the response my colleagues and I have seen when we started to ask about Liquid AI. The one-year-old startup, spun off from... Venture capital investors are quite willing to pour money into artificial intelligence startups...

Photo by Sportsfile via Getty

Creator Economy

How TikTok Can Stay on the Right Side of Regulators

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 13, 2024 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment

On Friday, I published a story about TikTok’s latest efforts to get more users on the app as third-party data shows a sharp slowdown in user growth from pandemic highs. In the U.S., TikTok users for a limited time can get steeply discounted goods, such as makeup and electronics, for just one cent when they invite new friends to the app.... On Friday, I published a story about TikTok’s latest efforts to get more users on the app as...

David Zaslav at the "House of the Dragon" red carpet premiere. Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty.

What Warner Bros. Discovery Haters Are Getting Wrong

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2024 9:21am PDT · 3 comments

If there’s one sector of the stock market that is repellent to investors right now, it’s traditional entertainment. And if there’s one company that sums up how out of favor the sector is, it’s Warner Bros. Discovery. The owner of HBO, Warner Bros. and the Max streaming service—once one of the premier entertainment... If there’s one sector of the stock market that is repellent to investors right now,...

OpenAI Chief Scientist, Jakub Pachocki. Photo via YouTube/ICPC News.

The Rising Guard at OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 13, 2024 7:00am PDT

OpenAI Chief Scientist, Jakub Pachocki. Photo via YouTube/ICPC News.

The Rising Guard at OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 13, 2024 7:00am PDT

OpenAI’s upper management has been a bit of a revolving door lately. The last few months have seen a number of high-profile departures—both permanent and temporary—from the ChatGPT maker, including two cofounders, a product exec, a safety leader and a former board member, and even more internal reorgs.Already, though, others have risen to fill... OpenAI’s upper management has been a bit of a revolving door lately. The last few months have...

Crib bumpers and drawstring hoodies, which U.S. regulators say pose health hazards to youth, on Temu and Shein's websites. Photos via Shein and Temu. Art by Shane Burke

On Shein and Temu, Deadly Baby and Toddler Goods Are Easy to Find

By Ann Gehan · Aug 13, 2024 6:00am PDT

Two years ago, Congress passed a law banning the sale of padded crib bumpers, saying they posed a suffocation hazard for babies. But in recent weeks, U.S. shoppers could have bought as many as four different styles of padded bumpers in a variety of colors and patterns on bargain site Temu. On the site of Temu’s main rival, Shein, shoppers... Two years ago, Congress passed a law banning the sale of padded crib bumpers, saying they posed a...

Elon Musk and Thierry Breton. Photos via Getty.

Musk’s European Cage Match

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

It looks like Elon Musk is preparing for a cage match with Thierry Breton, a European commissioner who has been on the X owner’s case over his lack of compliance with European regulations. Today, for instance, Musk re-tweeted the latest missive from Breton—as verbose a letter as any bureaucrat could produce—with an image from the movie “Tropic... It looks like Elon Musk is preparing for a cage match with Thierry Breton, a European...

Art by Shane Burke

The Generative AI Startups That May Look for a Buyer

By Jon Victor · Aug 12, 2024 10:02am PDT · 2 comments

Google’s complex deal to hire the founders and other researchers of Character.AI—the third such deal between a tech giant and an artificial intelligence startup in the past six months—raises a question: Which startup might be next? Startups that collectively raised billions to develop their own AI models have found it difficult... Google’s complex deal to hire the founders and other researchers of Character.AI—the...

Photo via Getty

The New Fake Math of AI Startup ARR: Not So Annual, Not So Recurring

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 12, 2024 7:00am PDT

Photo via Getty

The New Fake Math of AI Startup ARR: Not So Annual, Not So Recurring

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 12, 2024 7:00am PDT

Being a venture capitalist investing in AI startups these days isn’t that different from being a detective. Much of the job, VCs tell me, is sniffing out the BS and separating it from reality.Nowhere is that more true than when analyzing startups’ top lines. We’ve talked in the past about how some AI startups are pitching investors on their... Being a venture capitalist investing in AI startups these days isn’t that different from being a...

A Nvidia chip. Photo by Getty

Nvidia AI Chip Smuggling to China Becomes an Industry

By Qianer Liu · Aug 12, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Several months ago, an electric appliance company in eastern China put in a $120 million order for 300 servers powered by eight of Nvidia’s cutting-edge H100 chips. The order was for chips that U.S. export rules bar from sale in China. To get around those rules, the company didn’t go to one of Nvidia’s authorized distributors... Several months ago, an electric appliance company in eastern China put in a $120 million order...

Qichao Hu, founder and CEO, lithium metal battery developer SES AI. Photo: Courtesy SES.

Exclusive From The Electric: In a ‘Come to Jesus’ Moment, SES Bows Out of Sole Manufacturing

By Steve LeVine · Aug 12, 2024 4:30am PDT

In recent months, Qichao Hu, CEO of Massachusetts-based lithium-metal battery developer SES AI, had a “come to Jesus moment,” he said. After 12 years of work, the company’s battery was nearly ready for large-volume production. But Hu was anxious: How would tiny SES, which had never manufactured a commercial battery, compete with the world’s... In recent months, Qichao Hu, CEO of Massachusetts-based lithium-metal battery developer SES AI,...

Art by Clark Miller

Weekend Welcomes Two New Reporters: Josh Koehn and Paris Martineau

By The Information · Aug 10, 2024 7:24am PDT · 1 comment

Nothing livens up a weekend like change, and I’m very pleased to tell you about some changes here at Weekend, The Information’s weekly magazine section: We’ve added two new reporters, Josh Koehn and Paris Martineau. Josh joins us from The San Francisco Standard to cover tech’s power and influence in San Francisco and the... Nothing livens up a weekend like change, and I’m very pleased to tell you about some...

What Altman Discussed at a Secret All-Male Retreat

What Altman Discussed at a Secret All-Male Retreat

By Abram Brown · Aug 10, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

What Altman Discussed at a Secret All-Male Retreat

What Altman Discussed at a Secret All-Male Retreat

By Abram Brown · Aug 10, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Meet Curtis Yarvis, far-right guru and friend to tech conservatives like Peter Thiel• The Top 5: Our favorite board games • The techies who went for gold in Paris Plus: A nifty, nasty weather app; Stephen King strikes again; and laughter in the slammer. For almost a century and a... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Meet Curtis Yarvis, far-right guru and...