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

What Trump Could Do First in AI, China and Chips

By Rocket Drew · Nov 6, 2024 4:56pm PST · 4 comments

As the next president, Donald Trump will make his mark on several key issues for tech, from China trade to taxes to artificial intelligence. While much is uncertain, he is likely to promptly repeal the artificial intelligence executive order Biden signed last year. And he could also speed up construction of data centers by loosening regulations... As the next president, Donald Trump will make his mark on several key issues for tech, from China...

Creator Economy

How Trump Used Influencers to Win Over Voters

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 6, 2024 2:32pm PST

A million years ago, and by that I mean January, I wrote about how both Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns were going to harness the energy of influencers this election. I may have actually underestimated just how much creators would play a role in the White House race, from podcasts to TikTok and super influencers like... A million years ago, and by that I mean January, I wrote about how both Democratic and Republican...

Art by Shane Burke.

The Media Faces a Test—and Is Already Failing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 6, 2024 10:30am PST · 46 comments

The first thing I saw on my phone this morning when I awoke at 5:45 a.m. was a push alert from The New York Times announcing that Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race put the U.S. “on the edge of a more authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its history.” The language made my stomach sink. Not because... The first thing I saw on my phone this morning when I awoke at 5:45 a.m. was a push alert from...

Photos by Getty

The Battle Over Open-Source AI Will Be Settled in Trump’s Presidency

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 6, 2024 7:15am PST

Photos by Getty

The Battle Over Open-Source AI Will Be Settled in Trump’s Presidency

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 6, 2024 7:15am PST

Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election has a lot of implications for AI. Some are clear: Trump has said he will repeal President Joe Biden’s AI executive order, which requires companies training large AI models to share information about them with the federal government. In another key area, though, Trump’s stance isn’t... Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election has a lot of implications for AI. Some...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Goldman, JPMorgan Eye Crypto Clients as IPO Prospects Brighten

By Yueqi Yang · Nov 6, 2024 6:00am PST

Investment bankers from top Wall Street firms including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been meeting with crypto executives, according to industry participants, hoping to get a foot in the door for lucrative initial public offerings that crypto companies might pursue after the election. The new enthusiasm reflects optimism that... Investment bankers from top Wall Street firms including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan...

Photos via Getty.

Reddit Passes Snap

By Martin Peers · Nov 5, 2024 5:00pm PST

You’re likely distracted right now by election results, which have surely started rolling in as you’re reading. Rather than add to all the premature speculation on the topic, we think creating an election-free zone would be more useful. Below we recommend some things you can do tonight other than watch the news channels.Before we get to that,... You’re likely distracted right now by election results, which have surely started rolling in as...

NVCA President, Bobby Franklin. Photo via YouTube/NYSE.

Venture’s Presidential Agenda; Sarah Guo’s Next Fund

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2024 3:26pm PST

Silicon Valley venture capitalists are at odds over who they want to win this presidential race, but there is growing consensus on the need for the next president to replace Lina Khan as head of the Federal Trade Commission. Such a change, venture capitalists hope, could lead to more acquisitions and reinvigorate venture capital investments.“... Silicon Valley venture capitalists are at odds over who they want to win this presidential race,...

Perplexity CEO, Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Flickr/TechCrunch Disrupt.

Perplexity Nears $9 Billion Valuation in Investment Led by IVP

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 5, 2024 2:26pm PST

Perplexity CEO, Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Flickr/TechCrunch Disrupt.

Perplexity Nears $9 Billion Valuation in Investment Led by IVP

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 5, 2024 2:26pm PST

Institutional Venture Partners is in talks to lead a $500 million investment in Perplexity, which has developed an artificial intelligence-powered search engine that competes with Google, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. The company is set to raise the round at a $9 billion valuation, triple the valuation from a round earlier... Institutional Venture Partners is in talks to lead a $500 million investment in Perplexity, which...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Trump, Harris Tap Influencers in Final Push

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 5, 2024 2:00pm PST

We are wrapping up the first creator-centric U.S. presidential election, where both candidates tapped social media influencers and appeared on podcasts to reach younger voters. Those efforts have extended to the final 24-hour stretch of the campaign. On Monday, Kamala Harris’ campaign launched a public broadcast channel on Instagram called... We are wrapping up the first creator-centric U.S. presidential election, where both candidates...

Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok Sees Trump Victory As App’s Best Hope

By Juro Osawa and Kaya Yurieff · Nov 5, 2024 1:40pm PST

Donald Trump used to be TikTok’s biggest threat. But now, four years after he tried to ban the app, he may be TikTok’s last hope for survival. As Americans vote in Tuesday’s election, TikTok’s top executives believe the company would be better off with a Trump presidency than a Harris administration. Trump has come out in... Donald Trump used to be TikTok’s biggest threat. But now, four years after he tried to ban...

A visitor wears a virtual reality headset Meta Quest as he takes part in an immersive experience stand in Paris last May. Photo by Getty.

Meta’s VR App Funding Retreat Forces Developers to Slash Staff

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Nov 5, 2024 12:02pm PST

Meta Platforms is becoming more discriminating in its spending for games and other apps for its Quest mixed reality headsets. Over the past year, as Meta has confronted weakening sales in the mixed reality market, its staffers have been rethinking the millions of dollars it spends on app development. In recent months, the company has closed one... Meta Platforms is becoming more discriminating in its spending for games and other apps for its...

Photo via Shutterstock

Coding Assistants Are Great—But Flawed

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 5, 2024 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Photo via Shutterstock

Coding Assistants Are Great—But Flawed

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 5, 2024 7:00am PST · 3 comments

These days, venture capitalists, major artificial intelligence developers and cloud providers have zeroed in on AI-powered coding assistants as the killer product for large language models. But coding assistants aren’t perfect. It turns out that as they become ubiquitous, coding assistants are creating plenty of problems at companies that... These days, venture capitalists, major artificial intelligence developers and cloud providers...

Chart by Shane Burke

Why Reddit’s Explosive Growth Could Last

By Anita Ramaswamy · Nov 5, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Redditors may have their new favorite meme stock—Reddit. The social media platform’s report of a 68% jump in third-quarter revenue sent the stock soaring 40% to around $115 last week, more than triple the price at which it went public in March. Reddit is now trading at a huge premium to other social media stocks—11.2 times next... Redditors may have their new favorite meme stock—Reddit. The social media platform’s...

ByteDance's Singapore offices. Photo via Shutterstock.

Why ByteDance is a Bargain

By Martin Peers · Nov 4, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

What’s the cheapest stock around right now? That has to be ByteDance, the privately owned Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok. As we reported today, ByteDance lifted its first-half revenue about 35% to $73 billion, which means it is now about as big as Facebook owner Meta Platforms but growing faster. In the first half, Meta’s revenue increased... What’s the cheapest stock around right now? That has to be ByteDance, the privately owned Chinese...

Photo by Getty

TikTok Maintains Solid First-Half Revenue Growth Despite U.S. Ban Threat

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Nov 4, 2024 1:36pm PST · 1 comment

TikTok parent ByteDance increased its international revenue more than 60% to about $17 billion in the first half of 2024, according to two people with knowledge of the financial results. As TikTok accounts for most of ByteDance’s revenue outside China, the growth suggests that TikTok’s advertising and other businesses have remained... TikTok parent ByteDance increased its international revenue more than 60% to about $17 billion in...

The Next President’s Tech Agenda: A Breakdown on the Tech Statements of Trump and Harris

By Kate Clark · Nov 4, 2024 12:13pm PST · 4 comments

The Next President’s Tech Agenda: A Breakdown on the Tech Statements of Trump and Harris

By Kate Clark · Nov 4, 2024 12:13pm PST · 4 comments

The stakes for Silicon Valley in Washington have never been higher, as Democrats and Republicans argue over how to best ensure America’s tech supremacy. We’ve mapped out how, if elected, each presidential candidate would change aspects of tech, from antitrust and AI to China and crypto, based on their comments and people closely... The stakes for Silicon Valley in Washington have never been higher, as Democrats and Republicans...

Art by Midjourney/Mike Sullivan

Five New AI Hacks For Developers

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 4, 2024 7:00am PST

Since generative AI exploded onto the scene two years ago with the release of ChatGPT, we’ve seen the rise and fall of various creative hacks developers have used to eke out better performance and lower costs from large language models. And over the past few months, I’ve seen a flurry of new tricks and hacks pop up in conversations with... Since generative AI exploded onto the scene two years ago with the release of ChatGPT, we’ve seen...

Art via Clark Miller

Corporate Spending on OpenAI Threatens Salesforce, Other Enterprise Apps

By Aaron Holmes · Nov 4, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Artificial intelligence is supposed to transform the business world and boost the software industry that’s selling it. But as companies spend more money on chatbots and other conversational AI (see related chart), some say they plan to reduce spending on other types of software, such as expensive enterprise applications and non-AI cloud... Artificial intelligence is supposed to transform the business world and boost the software...

The Generative AI Spending of 50 Companies, From Coke to Walmart

By Aaron Holmes · Nov 4, 2024 6:00am PST · 8 comments

Companies large and small are incorporating more artificial intelligence into their workflows and products. Interviews with tech executives and new data reveal that some companies are on track to spend tens of millions of dollars annually on conversational AI powered by large language models. This list is a first-of-its-kind look at how 50... Companies large and small are incorporating more artificial intelligence into their workflows and...

Rept's booth at a recent industry conference. Photo: Courtesy Rept

The Electric: How One Chinese Battery Company Views the U.S. Election

By Steve LeVine · Nov 4, 2024 4:30am PST

Rept's booth at a recent industry conference. Photo: Courtesy Rept

The Electric: How One Chinese Battery Company Views the U.S. Election

By Steve LeVine · Nov 4, 2024 4:30am PST

Chinese metals giant Tsingshan Holding Group has roiled the world of nickel, selling enormous volumes of the metal at cheap prices that have prompted several rivals to shut mines in Australia. Now it is seeking a share of the U.S. battery market, selling iron-based batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles through its Irvine, Calif.,... Chinese metals giant Tsingshan Holding Group has roiled the world of nickel, selling enormous...