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.

OpenAI Makes a $60 Million Hardware Startup Bet

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Aug 7, 2024 7:00am PDT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has long been interested in building an AI-powered device for consumers, similar to the one featured in Spike Jonze’s movie “Her.” He’s personally invested in wearable AI pin startup Humane and separately worked with ex-Apple designer Jony Ive on a personal AI device.Now OpenAI startup's fund, which invests in promising AI... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has long been interested in building an AI-powered device for consumers,...

Art by Clark Miller.

Zillow’s Mortgage Push Has Some Critics Crying Foul

By Michael Roddan · Aug 7, 2024 6:00am PDT

Zillow, the online real estate listings powerhouse, has tried for years to diversify its business away from advertising. It tried flipping homes but abandoned that effort after losing lots of money. Now, its biggest chance at branching out is using its strength in home listings and tight relationships with real estate agents to grow its mortgage... Zillow, the online real estate listings powerhouse, has tried for years to diversify its business...

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses on display. Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

Meta’s Ray-Ban Glasses Deserve More Attention

By Martin Peers · Aug 6, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

You might not know it from the news of the past few days, but weather-wise we’re in the dog days of August. And that’s an ideal time to try Meta Platforms’ Ray-Ban smart glasses (no one wants to walk around wearing sunglasses in the winter gloom). Based on my personal experience, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is onto something when he... You might not know it from the news of the past few days, but weather-wise we’re in the dog days...

OpenAI co-founder John Schulman. Photo via UC Berkeley.

The AI Founder Exodus

By Kate Clark · Aug 6, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI co-founder John Schulman. Photo via UC Berkeley.

The AI Founder Exodus

By Kate Clark · Aug 6, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

There must be something in the air in Silicon Valley, because founders are leaving their companies left and right. OpenAI, still recovering from its board’s short-lived ouster of CEO Sam Altman, has seen a steady stream of co-founders depart this year. The latest example is John Schulman, who’s joining rival artificial intelligence company... There must be something in the air in Silicon Valley, because founders are leaving their...

Art by Clark Miller.

Crypto Industry Courts Kamala Harris

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 6, 2024 2:38pm PDT · 2 comments

Crypto executives and other industry boosters are racing to get face time with Vice President Kamala Harris and her representatives ahead of November’s presidential election, seeing a chance for a fresh start after a bruising crackdown under President Joe Biden’s administration. Industry groups including the Blockchain Association... Crypto executives and other industry boosters are racing to get face time with Vice President...

Chart by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

Creator Economy Job Openings Are Picking Up

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 6, 2024 1:56pm PDT

A weak July jobs report last week has been rocking the stock market. But in the creator economy, hiring has been picking up—at least as of the second quarter. The number of open roles at creator-related companies rose 66% during the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, according to Creator Economy Jobs, a job board... A weak July jobs report last week has been rocking the stock market. But in the creator economy,...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Nvidia’s GPUs Have a Weakness: Video Generation

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 6, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

There’s no question that Nvidia has benefitted the most from the AI wave so far. So much so, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating complaints that the chipmaker is engaging in anticompetitive behavior, Anissa, Amir and I reported last week.But luckily for the host of rivals hoping to take a slice of Nvidia’s lucrative... There’s no question that Nvidia has benefitted the most from the AI wave so far. So much so, in...

Klarna's headquarters in Stockholm. Photo by Erika Gerdemark/Bloomberg via Getty.

Klarna Weighs Secondary Share Sale Ahead of IPO

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Cory Weinberg · Aug 6, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Klarna's headquarters in Stockholm. Photo by Erika Gerdemark/Bloomberg via Getty.

Klarna Weighs Secondary Share Sale Ahead of IPO

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Cory Weinberg · Aug 6, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Klarna, the Swedish “buy now, pay later” firm, has been preparing what would be one of next year’s first big tech initial public offerings. First it wants to see if investors think it’s worth more than the roughly $7 billion valuation awarded during its last fundraising. The Sequoia Capital–backed startup has been... Klarna, the Swedish “buy now, pay later” firm, has been preparing what would be one...

OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman. Photo via Getty

Trio of OpenAI Leaders Depart, Take Leave of Absence

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Aug 5, 2024 5:31pm PDT · 7 comments

Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and one of 11 cofounders of the artificial intelligence firm, is taking an extended leave of absence. Another cofounder and key leader, John Schulman, has decamped to Anthropic, a fierce rival founded by ex-OpenAI researchers. And Peter Deng, a product leader who joined the company last year after leading... Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and one of 11 cofounders of the artificial intelligence...

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Photo by Jeff Chiu/AP.

Wall Street Unperturbed by Google Ruling

By Martin Peers · Aug 5, 2024 5:09pm PDT

Antitrust regulators don’t scare big tech investors. Stock of Google’s parent Alphabet fell by only a couple of percentage points after a judge found Google had broken antitrust laws in its efforts to protect its monopoly in search. Shares of Apple, which arguably stands to lose as much from the ruling as Google, fell even less. (Both stocks... Antitrust regulators don’t scare big tech investors. Stock of Google’s parent Alphabet fell by...

From left, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook. Photos via Getty.

After Google Antitrust Loss, Some at Microsoft See an Opening for Bing

By Aaron Holmes and Erin Woo · Aug 5, 2024 4:34pm PDT · 1 comment

As Google faces repercussions from a landmark federal ruling declaring its search engine an illegal monopoly, Microsoft, another dominant tech firm, stands to benefit at Google's expense. After the ruling, several senior managers at Microsoft’s Bing search engine privately voiced their excitement at the possibility that Bing could... As Google faces repercussions from a landmark federal ruling declaring its search engine an...

Character AI co-founders Daniel De Freitas and Noam Shazeer. Photos by Winni Wintermeyer for The Washington Post via Getty.

Did Google Just Pay $2.5 Billion to Hire Character’s CEO?

By Amir Efrati and Kalley Huang · Aug 5, 2024 7:20am PDT · 5 comments

Character AI co-founders Daniel De Freitas and Noam Shazeer. Photos by Winni Wintermeyer for The Washington Post via Getty.

Did Google Just Pay $2.5 Billion to Hire Character’s CEO?

By Amir Efrati and Kalley Huang · Aug 5, 2024 7:20am PDT · 5 comments

Google may have just paid one of the biggest signing bonuses in the history of Silicon Valley to hire two artificial intelligence researchers who left the search giant three years ago. On Friday, after chatbot developer Character announced that its founders and some other employees were going back to Google, Character told its roughly 130... Google may have just paid one of the biggest signing bonuses in the history of Silicon Valley to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Once High-Flying Software Firms Confront Sluggish Growth

By Cory Weinberg, Jon Victor and Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 5, 2024 6:00am PDT · 6 comments

Carta, which makes software to help companies keep track of their shareholders, seemed to be executing the Silicon Valley startup playbook perfectly. In 2022, it landed an $8 billion valuation from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake. Growth in annual recurring revenue hummed to 44% that year. Then the tides turned. Carta’s... Carta, which makes software to help companies keep track of their shareholders, seemed to be...

Photo by Getty

The Electric: No Longer Propelled by Tesla, the EV Industry Retreats Faster

By Steve LeVine · Aug 5, 2024 4:30am PDT

In February, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shelved plans to release a $25,000 electric vehicle—the company’s first EV for mainstream customers—next June. Musk said he wanted to prioritize the development of the autonomous Robotaxi, but his decision has had a much wider impact, helping to throw the nascent EV industry into reverse. In February, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shelved plans to release a $25,000 electric vehicle—the company’...

The AI Fun Vanishes

The AI Fun Vanishes

By Abram Brown · Aug 3, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Will BlackSky be a space race standout—or another cautionary tale?• The Top 5: Techies love at-home blood tests.Plus: A digital mood board; mom versus Big Brother; and Terry Gilliam’s time arrives again.We live in an age in which artificial intelligence has already altered our lives and... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Will BlackSky be a space race standout—or...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley Is Out for Blood

By Ashley Mateo · Aug 3, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley Is Out for Blood

By Ashley Mateo · Aug 3, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

After the initial onslaught of Covid-19, 40-year-old Derrick Johnson made a deliberate decision to be more intentional regarding his health. “Both my mother and my father passed early—from lung cancer and a heart attack—and there’s been various cancer deaths in my family,” he said. “I really wanted to become... After the initial onslaught of Covid-19, 40-year-old Derrick Johnson made a deliberate decision...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang with the Blackwell AI chip. Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty

Nvidia’s New AI Chip is Delayed, Impacting Microsoft, Google, Meta

By Qianer Liu and Anissa Gardizy · Aug 2, 2024 8:00pm PDT · 17 comments

Nvidia’s upcoming artificial intelligence chips will be delayed by three months or more due to design flaws, a snafu that could affect customers such as Meta Platforms, Google and Microsoft that have collectively ordered tens of billions of dollars worth of the chips, according to two people who help produce the chip and server hardware... Nvidia’s upcoming artificial intelligence chips will be delayed by three months or more due...

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

AI Investors Are Soul-Searching

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 2, 2024 4:40pm PDT · 1 comment

Anyone involved in artificial intelligence right now has to be entering the weekend deeply introspective about when this technology will actually start making businesses money. One by one, big tech companies have spent most of the past two weeks telling shareholders about their mammoth investments in AI that sent capital expenditures... Anyone involved in artificial intelligence right now has to be entering the weekend deeply...

Character.AI co-founders Daniel De Freitas and Noam Shazeer. Photo by Winni Wintermeyer for The Washington Post via Getty. Art by Shane Burke.

Google Hires Character.AI Cofounders and Licenses Its Models

By Kalley Huang, Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 2, 2024 11:08am PDT · 2 comments

Google has agreed to pay a licensing fee to chatbot maker Character.AI for its models and will hire its cofounders and many of its researchers, the companies said. Character’s leaders told staff on Friday that investors would be bought out at a valuation of about $88 per share. That’s about 2.5 times the value of shares in... Google has agreed to pay a licensing fee to chatbot maker Character.AI for its models and will...

Art by Clark Miller

Will BlackSky Be a Space Race Standout—or Another Cautionary Tale?

By Sarah Scoles · Aug 2, 2024 9:11am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Will BlackSky Be a Space Race Standout—or Another Cautionary Tale?

By Sarah Scoles · Aug 2, 2024 9:11am PDT · 2 comments

Stop whatever you’re doing and look up at the sky. Now give Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky Technology, a big smile. One of his company’s 16 state-of-the-art satellites might be passing overhead, ready to take your picture. “The plain-English thing about what we do is we have a satellite flying over your house every... Stop whatever you’re doing and look up at the sky. Now give Brian O’Toole, CEO of...