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

A DiDi Taxi in Hong Kong in 2022. Photo via Getty Images.

China’s Didi Makes Its Pitch to U.S. Investors Ahead of Potential 2025 HK IPO

By Jing Yang · Jun 17, 2024 6:00am PDT

Didi Global, the Chinese ride-hailing giant whose U.S. initial public offering in 2021 upset Chinese regulators so much the company delisted less than a year later, is coming out of its shell after two years of seclusion. Hoping to go public again in Hong Kong next year, Didi is telling investors that it is back in Beijing’s good graces... Didi Global, the Chinese ride-hailing giant whose U.S. initial public offering in 2021 upset...

Apple released AI functions for the iPhone15 Pro. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: Apple’s AI-Infused iPhone Should Worry Next-Gen Battery Developers

By Steve LeVine · Jun 17, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Apple released AI functions for the iPhone15 Pro. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/GettyApple CEO Tim Cook and his lieutenants spoke for two hours last week about the jazzed-up artificial intelligence features they plan to integrate into the newest iPhone. But they left out what ought to be one of the most critical words in the consumer AI... Apple released AI functions for the iPhone15 Pro. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/GettyApple...

Art by Clark Miller

Why I’m Worried About a Fake Cannibal

By Abram Brown · Jun 15, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:The AI cold war heats upThe best wedding planners for a tech mogul blowoutPlus: Netflix’s “Jaws”; Paul Giamatti’s peculiar podcast; and how Toyota caused toilet paper shortages.Lately, misinformation researchers have expended a considerable amount of energy sounding the alarm about fake online content... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:The AI cold war heats upThe best wedding planners for a...

Art by Clark Miller

The Very Best Wedding Planners for a Tech Mogul Blowout

By Julia Black · Jun 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

The Very Best Wedding Planners for a Tech Mogul Blowout

By Julia Black · Jun 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

After 15 years as a high-end wedding planner in California, Ashley Smith often feels like she has seen and heard it all. That’s why she especially enjoys when a tech founder or a venture capitalist calls her up: They often have a vision that challenges her. “Silicon Valley–type clients have seen it all. They go to events often,... After 15 years as a high-end wedding planner in California, Ashley Smith often feels like she has...

OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. Photo by Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

OpenAI CEO Says Company Could Become Benefit Corporation Akin to Rivals Anthropic, xAI

By Aaron Holmes, Natasha Mascarenhas, Julia Hornstein and Amir Efrati · Jun 14, 2024 5:09pm PDT · 9 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told some shareholders that the artificial intelligence developer is considering changing its governance structure to a for-profit business that OpenAI’s nonprofit board doesn’t control, according to a person who heard the comments. One scenario Altman said the board is considering is a for-profit benefit... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told some shareholders that the artificial intelligence developer...

Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering. Screenshot via Apple.

AI’s Real Promise Isn’t in Fun iPhone Features

By Martin Peers · Jun 14, 2024 4:00pm PDT · 1 comment

We’re living in a world of AI-powered news. No, I don’t mean large-language models are writing news reports—just the opposite. In tech business news, at least, AI is the thread that runs through most everything nowadays. Apple’s AI presentation on Monday drove this week’s news cycle, while the other big story of the week, Tesla’s shareholder... We’re living in a world of AI-powered news. No, I don’t mean large-language models are writing...

Llion Jones, left, and David Ha. Photos courtesy of Jones and Ha.

OpenAI’s Japanese Rival Gets $1 Billion Valuation From Silicon Valley Investors

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jun 14, 2024 11:51am PDT

In their hunt for artificial intelligence investments, U.S. venture capitalists are looking past Silicon Valley at foreign AI startups, betting that locally developed large-language models will outperform imports from the U.S. The latest to win their affections is Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based large-language model developer. Founded last year by... In their hunt for artificial intelligence investments, U.S. venture capitalists are looking past...

In Conversation With Vinod Khosla: Apple, OpenAI and the Future of Seed Investing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 14, 2024 11:40am PDT · 3 comments

In Conversation With Vinod Khosla: Apple, OpenAI and the Future of Seed Investing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 14, 2024 11:40am PDT · 3 comments

“Can we stay on strawberries for a minute?” Vinod Khosla asked me. About halfway into our hour-long conversation with Vinod Khosla on “More or Less” this week, we found ourselves deep in the topic of artificial intelligence–generated strawberries. (I wanted to talk about media owners protecting their intellectual... “Can we stay on strawberries for a minute?” Vinod Khosla asked me. About halfway into...

Art by Clark Miller

How the World Plans to Stop American AI Domination

By Julia Black · Jun 14, 2024 9:00am PDT · 3 comments

Founders usually create startups to make money for themselves and their investors—or to change the world and protect humanity, as some of them say in their more grandiose moments. For Aleph Alpha, an artificial intelligence startup in Germany, those things mattered too, but its founders had another, more tribal motivation: to make sure... Founders usually create startups to make money for themselves and their investors—or to...

Photos by Getty

Pro Weekly: Expect More AI Companies to Hire High-Profile C-Suites

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 14, 2024 8:00am PDT

It’s been a big few weeks for executive hires across the artificial intelligence sector, as two leading large-language model developers hired their first chief financial officers. OpenAI tapped former Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar—who earlier in her career was CFO of Square (now called Block)—while Anthropic went with Krishna Rao, former CFO of... It’s been a big few weeks for executive hires across the artificial intelligence sector, as two...

Art by Clark Miller

Priceline, Coca-Cola Cos. Shift Ad Dollars as Influencers Launch Their Own Brands

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 14, 2024 6:00am PDT

Over the past several years, many big consumer brands have dabbled in influencer marketing as they sought to figure out how effective it was. Now curiosity is giving way to real commitments. Fanta, the fruit-flavored soda owned by Coca-Cola, has in the past spent little on creators. But that’s changed, and in late April, the soda brand... Over the past several years, many big consumer brands have dabbled in influencer marketing as...

Photo by Patrick T. Fallon via Getty Images.

Musk’s Vote Win Is Far From the End of the Pay Battle

By Becky Peterson · Jun 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Patrick T. Fallon via Getty Images.

Musk’s Vote Win Is Far From the End of the Pay Battle

By Becky Peterson · Jun 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

We’ve got good news and bad news on the story that has dominated Tesla coverage for weeks, the shareholder vote on Elon Musk’s pay package. The good news is we have a decision—as Musk posted late Wednesday, shareholders approved his $46 billion pay package. The bad news, at least for those shareholders hoping for a resolution, is that the vote... We’ve got good news and bad news on the story that has dominated Tesla coverage for weeks, the...

A Samsung 32GB DDR5 128GB RDIMM chip. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Samsung Values Chip Customer Tenstorrent at $2 Billion

By Kate Clark · Jun 13, 2024 3:13pm PDT

For the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of news about cloud giants Microsoft and Google elbowing out traditional venture firms to invest huge sums in artificial intelligence startups that are also their customers. A similar dynamic is playing out in hardware startups.Samsung, the second-largest smartphone maker in the world, is... For the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of news about cloud giants Microsoft and ...

Emma Chamberlain at a Spotify event at Cannes Lions 2023. Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Creators Set to Take Over Cannes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 13, 2024 2:32pm PDT

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the swanky advertiser conference in the south of France, is kicking off next week—for the first time with an official creator presence.Last year a few well-known creators including Emma Chamberlain and Alex Cooper appeared on stage. This year’s event will feature a lot more top creators, as... The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the swanky advertiser conference in the...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

OpenAI’s Revenue Surprise; Nvidia Could Spark a Talent War with TSMC

By Aaron Holmes and Qianer Liu · Jun 13, 2024 7:00am PDT

The biggest question our team has faced upon reporting OpenAI’s revenue growth in the past year or so was whether Microsoft was a critical contributor to the startup’s sales. Most people we talked to had assumed Microsoft was, but the definitive answer is actually “No.”While Microsoft sells OpenAI models to its own Azure cloud customers, the ... The biggest question our team has faced upon reporting OpenAI’s revenue growth in the past year...

An Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football broadcast. Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

Amazon and YouTube Clash for Dominance in Streaming Ad Dollars at Upfronts

By Sahil Patel · Jun 13, 2024 6:00am PDT

An Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football broadcast. Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

Amazon and YouTube Clash for Dominance in Streaming Ad Dollars at Upfronts

By Sahil Patel · Jun 13, 2024 6:00am PDT

The battle for advertising dollars in television used to be dominated by networks like CBS and NBC. Now the most intense competition may be between newer tech entrants—Google’s YouTube, Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix. Less than six months after launching ads on its Prime Video streaming service, Amazon has made a deep... The battle for advertising dollars in television used to be dominated by networks like CBS and...

At a Samsung display at a battery exhibition in Seoul, South Korea in March. Photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: In a Switch, EV Makers Favor Iron-Based Batteries Over Nickel

By Steve LeVine · Jun 13, 2024 4:30am PDT

Since they began seriously building electric vehicles around 2020, Western automakers have stubbornly clung to nickel-based batteries despite their relatively high cost and vulnerability to supply chain snarls. But in a growing shift, more Western players are moving to lower-cost iron-based batteries, which are likely to be the world’s dominant... Since they began seriously building electric vehicles around 2020, Western automakers have...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Apple’s AI Storytelling Casts a Spell on Investors

By Martin Peers · Jun 12, 2024 5:00pm PDT

What a difference a snazzy presentation makes! Apple regained its status as the most valuable company for a few hours on Wednesday as its stock rallied for the second day in a row following its Monday artificial intelligence revelations. By day’s end, though, investors seemed to realize they’d gone overboard. Apple stock fell back from its... What a difference a snazzy presentation makes! Apple regained its status as the most valuable...

Sherry Wong, founder and CEO of Roster. Photo via Branded

Creator Economy

A YouTuber Launches a Job Site for Creator Work

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 12, 2024 2:00pm PDT

Hiring is a perennial headache for creators. Most rely on recommendations from other creators or use their own social media accounts to spread the word. Complicating matters is that often they’re looking for short-term help or people with a specific skill set, such as experts in YouTube thumbnail design.Roster, a hiring website that officially... Hiring is a perennial headache for creators. Most rely on recommendations from other creators or...

Sam Altman at WWDC earlier this week. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

OpenAI’s Annualized Revenue Doubles to $3.4 Billion Since Late 2023

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Jun 12, 2024 1:33pm PDT · 5 comments

Sam Altman at WWDC earlier this week. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

OpenAI’s Annualized Revenue Doubles to $3.4 Billion Since Late 2023

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Jun 12, 2024 1:33pm PDT · 5 comments

OpenAI has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $3.4 billion in the past six months or so, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has told staff, a sign that growth in the ChatGPT developer’s business is accelerating despite intensifying competition. Annualized revenue—a measure of the past month’s revenue multiplied by 12—was $1.6 billion in... OpenAI has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $3.4 billion in the past six months or so,...