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

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney.

Empty Boxes, Phony Tracking Numbers: How Organized Scam Artists Are Ripping Off Merchants

By Ann Gehan · Oct 30, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Last summer, online cookware brand Made In saw customers’ requests for refunds nearly double in terms of dollar value in just a month. Soon after, instead of returned merchandise, empty envelopes and boxes filled with junk, like plastic toys, began to show up at Made In’s fulfillment center. Made In executives realized that the surge... Last summer, online cookware brand Made In saw customers’ requests for refunds nearly...

Photo via Getty

Google Cloud’s Surge

By Martin Peers · Oct 29, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Google may have calmed some nerves on Wall Street on Tuesday. It delivered a third-quarter result showing a sharp acceleration in Google Cloud’s growth rate, to a bumper 35%, from 29% in the second quarter. CEO Sundar Pichai credited that performance in part to the company’s AI portfolio, which he said was helping it win new customers as well as... Google may have calmed some nerves on Wall Street on Tuesday. It delivered a third-quarter result...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Snap, YouTube Highlight Strength in Subscriptions

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Oct 29, 2024 3:41pm PDT

It’s time for internet companies to report their quarterly results. One takeaway so far? While digital advertising is still most important for Snapchat and YouTube, subscription revenue is driving growth. Here’s the rundown:SnapThe company’s subscription service, Snapchat+, now has 12 million subscribers, up from 11 million subscribers last... It’s time for internet companies to report their quarterly results. One takeaway so far? While...

Participants at the 2024 Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh today. Photo via Getty.

At ‘Davos in the Desert,’ It’s ‘AI or Die’

By Kate Clark · Oct 29, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Participants at the 2024 Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh today. Photo via Getty.

At ‘Davos in the Desert,’ It’s ‘AI or Die’

By Kate Clark · Oct 29, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Few conferences are able to gather a more powerful group of finance and tech moguls than Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which sponsors the annual Future Investment Initiative, also known as “Davos in the Desert.” This year’s conference, held this week in Riyadh, has so far featured Elon Musk, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, Ben Horowitz,... Few conferences are able to gather a more powerful group of finance and tech moguls than Saudi...

Art by Clark Miller via Midjourney

‘Fear and Skepticism’: AI Automation Arrives for Salespeople

By Jon Victor and Aaron Holmes · Oct 29, 2024 12:01pm PDT · 8 comments

Earlier this year, executives at finance software startup Runway had an idea about how they could boost sales. Using artificial intelligence from OpenAI and other software, Runway’s engineers built a tool that scanned a list of potential corporate customers and drafted custom emails based on information in each of the customers’... Earlier this year, executives at finance software startup Runway had an idea about how they could...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo via Getty.

Microsoft Strikes Deals With OpenAI’s Top Rivals For AI Coding Assistant

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 29, 2024 9:10am PDT

Microsoft is turning up the heat on OpenAI. Microsoft’s developer platform GitHub announced on Tuesday that its wildly popular GitHub Copilot tool—which previously relied entirely on OpenAI models—will now also incorporate AI models from Anthropic and Google. GitHub Copilot will be able to toggle between Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet,... Microsoft is turning up the heat on OpenAI. Microsoft’s developer platform GitHub announced on...

Tim Cook at the opening of India's first Apple Store in 2023.

Apple Taps India to Build New iPhone From Ground Up, In a First

By Wayne Ma · Oct 29, 2024 6:00am PDT

When Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China last week, he pledged to government officials that the company would continue to increase its investment in the country, where the vast majority of its products are made, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. But Apple recently reached a new milestone in its manufacturing efforts in India, which... When Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China last week, he pledged to government officials that the...

Chart by Shane Burke

Why Meta and Apple Have Been Rallying, Unlike Microsoft and Google

By Martin Peers · Oct 28, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Chart by Shane Burke

Why Meta and Apple Have Been Rallying, Unlike Microsoft and Google

By Martin Peers · Oct 28, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Get ready. We’re about to endure three days of earnings reports from five of the six biggest companies in tech—not including Nvidia, which doesn’t report earnings until Nov. 20. What makes these updates more interesting than usual is that investors appear to have wildly varying views of these companies right now, at least judging by their recent... Get ready. We’re about to endure three days of earnings reports from five of the six biggest...

Photo by Getty

Struggling Battery Maker Northvolt Misses Payment to Laid Off Employees

By Steve LeVine · Oct 28, 2024 12:06pm PDT

Struggling Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt failed to pay employees of its shuttered Cuberg subsidiary a scheduled final paycheck this month, or for their remaining paid time off, as required by California law, according to four former Cuberg employees. The missed payments came as Northvolt, once the darling of Europe’s clean tech... Struggling Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt failed to pay employees of its shuttered Cuberg...

Art by Clark Miller

Why AI Founders Are Starting Their Own Venture Funds

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 28, 2024 10:00am PDT

It hasn’t been this hard for first-time fund managers to raise capital in about a decade. But one group of newbie venture capitalists is having more luck: founders and other alumni of artificial intelligence startups. One example is Jeff Arnold, co-founder and chief operating officer of artificial intelligence accounting company Pilot and... It hasn’t been this hard for first-time fund managers to raise capital in about a decade....

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Image via Getty

Meta Develops AI Search Engine to Lessen Reliance on Google, Microsoft

By Kalley Huang · Oct 28, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

As Meta Platforms tries to keep up with OpenAI in developing artificial intelligence, the Facebook owner is working on a search engine that crawls the web to provide conversational answers about current events to people using its Meta AI chatbot. In doing so, Meta hopes to lower its reliance on Google Search and Microsoft’s Bing, which... As Meta Platforms tries to keep up with OpenAI in developing artificial intelligence, the...

Notion CEO Ivan Zhao. Photo via Sequoia Capital.

Notion CEO Sees Flaws in Computer-Using Agents

By Jon Victor · Oct 28, 2024 7:15am PDT

Notion CEO Ivan Zhao. Photo via Sequoia Capital.

Notion CEO Sees Flaws in Computer-Using Agents

By Jon Victor · Oct 28, 2024 7:15am PDT

Anthropic, OpenAI and now Google are betting that the future of artificial intelligence involves technology that can take over a person’s computer and automate all manner of work involving applications and internet browsers. (See my colleague Erin’s Saturday scoop on Google’s efforts here.)If these computer-using agents eventually work and the... Anthropic, OpenAI and now Google are betting that the future of artificial intelligence involves...

Apple’s Low-Cost AI Strategy Wins Over Investors, Despite Risks

By Anita Ramaswamy · Oct 28, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Anyone looking at Apple’s recent stock rally—which lifted its market capitalization to $3.6 trillion two weeks ago, a record for any public company—wouldn’t know that the company’s big new product, the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, had sold so badly that Apple is scaling back production. Or that it’s been... Anyone looking at Apple’s recent stock rally—which lifted its market capitalization...

The Byd Qin L, a plug-in hybrid that the company claims delivers 780 miles of driving range. Photo: VCG/Getty

The Electric: Automakers Are Turning to ‘Good Enough’ EVs

By Steve LeVine · Oct 28, 2024 4:30am PDT

For 13 years—from 2010 until 2022—General Motors sold more vehicles in China than anywhere else in the world. The ace in GM’s pocket was its premium Buicks, which Chinese consumers snapped up year after year, with sales peaking at 1.3 million cars in 2016. For 13 years—from 2010 until 2022—General Motors sold more vehicles in China than anywhere else...

Art by Clark Miller

Google Preps AI That Takes Over Computers

By Erin Woo · Oct 26, 2024 12:08pm PDT · 3 comments

Google is developing artificial intelligence that takes over a person’s web browser to complete tasks such as gathering research, purchasing a product or booking a flight, according to three people with direct knowledge of the product. The product, code-named Project Jarvis, is similar to one Anthropic announced this week, these people... Google is developing artificial intelligence that takes over a person’s web browser to...

Apple’s Vision Seems Out of Focus

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 26, 2024 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Apple’s Vision Seems Out of Focus

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 26, 2024 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

This week on More or Less: A feisty debate over Vision Pro and words of concern for all VCs. Plus, the latest in tech body hacking. Hope you enjoy! Spotify YouTube This week on More or Less: A feisty debate over Vision Pro and words of concern for all VCs....

Art by Clark Miller

A Wannabe Media Mogul Who Should Call It Quits

By Abram Brown · Oct 26, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Perplexity’s ‘newbie CEO’ hopes to dodge legal threats, Google competition• The Top 5: Best tools for introducing AI to kids• Plus: A dance with the dead; a delightful doomsday clock; and a data nerd fashionista.Six years ago, Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles billionaire, spent a... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Perplexity’s ‘newbie CEO’ hopes to dodge...

Art by Clark Miller

The Best Tools for Sensibly Introducing Kids to AI

By Paris Martineau · Oct 26, 2024 5:00am PDT · 1 comment

Children and teens are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools for homework help and entertainment, as well as to seek out new information: In fact, a recent survey of more than 1,000 young people (and their parents) by Common Sense Media found that seven in 10 teenagers have already used generative AI tools. The survey found that... Children and teens are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools for homework help...

Photo via Getty

TSMC Cut Off Chinese Crypto Mogul’s Firm as US Probes Huawei Link

By The Information Staff · Oct 26, 2024 1:27am PDT

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. earlier this month stopped making chips for a China-based chip design firm founded by a Chinese crypto mogul, said two people familiar with the situation. TSMC cut the company off around the time the U.S. Commerce Department began investigating whether the Taiwanese giant had supplied chips to Chinese tech... Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. earlier this month stopped making chips for a China-based...

Photo via Getty

Musk, Putin and CEO Telephone Calls

By Martin Peers · Oct 25, 2024 4:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Musk, Putin and CEO Telephone Calls

By Martin Peers · Oct 25, 2024 4:00pm PDT

We’ve learned a lot lately about who CEOs like to telephone. We reported a couple of weeks ago that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella likes to make two calls a day to CEOs of other companies, including startup chiefs, to ensure he stays up to date on the latest developments in tech. And Morgan Stanley’s former CEO and Disney chair-to-be Jim Gorman... We’ve learned a lot lately about who CEOs like to telephone. We reported a couple of weeks ago...