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

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Recent Editions

Former CEO and co-founder of Synapse, Sankaet Pathak. Screenshot via YouTube.

Ex-CEO of Failed Fintech Synapse Nabs $10 Million for New Robotics Startup

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 12, 2024 1:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Trustees for bankrupt fintech Synapse are still hunting for $85 million in lost customer money. But that hasn’t stopped the company's former chief executive Sankaet Pathak from raising millions in funding for a new robotics venture, Foundation. He’s already got a $10 million commitment from Tribe Capital, an early-stage venture... Trustees for bankrupt fintech Synapse are still hunting for $85 million in lost customer money....

Photo via Getty Images

What On-Device Models Mean for Open-Source AI

By Kalley Huang · Jun 12, 2024 7:45am PDT

When Apple on Monday showed off the artificial intelligence that will soon land in some of our iPhones, some developers praised the company for running many of the new features directly on the iPhone, rather than in the cloud as other companies do. Like Apple, which has made user privacy and security central to its marketing, these developers... When Apple on Monday showed off the artificial intelligence that will soon land in some of our ...

GitLab co-founders Sid Sijbrandij (left) and Dmitriy Zaporozhets at the company's IPO in 2021. Photo via Nasdaq

GitLab, DocuSign: Two Software Companies That May Not Stay Public for Long

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jun 12, 2024 6:00am PDT

Tech companies may soon be on a shopping spree, as the world adjusts to high interest rates and companies start looking for ways to juice growth. And for investors inclined to make a bet on potential targets, they need not go much further than two enterprise tech firms: GitLab and DocuSign. That’s our conclusion from wading through... Tech companies may soon be on a shopping spree, as the world adjusts to high interest rates and...

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Oracle Feeds Off AI Leftovers

By Martin Peers · Jun 11, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Oracle Feeds Off AI Leftovers

By Martin Peers · Jun 11, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Talk about fighting for crumbs. Microsoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday that they’ll tap Oracle’s cloud servers for “additional capacity for OpenAI.” That counts as great news for Oracle, sending its stock up 9% in after-hours trading. Investors overlooked the fact that Oracle also reported Tuesday that its cloud revenue growth slowed by several... Talk about fighting for crumbs. Microsoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday that they’ll tap Oracle’s...

Photo via Shutterstock

BeReal's Surprising Sale Is a Positive Sign for Startups

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2024 3:35pm PDT · 2 comments

BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a $585 million valuation from Coatue Management and DST Global that year. The app’s once-scorching growth has cooled—yet it still managed to sell itself to French gaming company Voodoo for $537 million. In this era of fire sales, that’s cause for a... BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a...

Amber Venz Box. Photo by Jim Bennett/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Google AI Overviews Are ‘Nail in the Coffin’ for Blogs: LTK Founder

By Julia Hornstein · Jun 11, 2024 2:23pm PDT

For the last 24 hours, Apple’s newly unveiled artificial intelligence features have sucked up much of the oxygen in the room when it comes to tech headlines (more on that here). As many journalists remarked, Apple is playing catch up to some of its rivals, notably Google, whose AI-infused products have been in the wild for months. That’s enough... For the last 24 hours, Apple’s newly unveiled artificial intelligence features have sucked up...

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

Apple Eyes Deals with Google and Anthropic After OpenAI; Apple Grades Its LLMs While Databricks Grades AI Usage

By Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2024 7:00am PDT

On a basic level, none of the artificial intelligence Apple announced on Monday came as a surprise. But there's a big difference between a news report describing what Apple is going to launch and seeing the finished product, and in that regard Apple delivered a cogent presentation that put Google's sprawling AI keynote from May to shame.Also, as... On a basic level, none of the artificial intelligence Apple announced on Monday came as a...

Art by Shane Burke

American AI Startups Relocate China-Based Engineers

By Juro Osawa and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 11, 2024 6:00am PDT

Art by Shane Burke

American AI Startups Relocate China-Based Engineers

By Juro Osawa and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 11, 2024 6:00am PDT

Among the hundreds of American artificial intelligence startups launched in the last few years, those founded by China-born entrepreneurs exercised a unique advantage: They could hire less expensive, talented engineers based in China. Now, as the geopolitical battle between the U.S. and China increasingly extends to AI, these startups are... Among the hundreds of American artificial intelligence startups launched in the last few years,...

Apple CEO, Tim Cook. Screenshot via Apple.

Apple’s Tech Master Class

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Apple just delivered a master class in how to explain complex technology to ordinary people. Its presentation on Monday of how it will harness the latest artificial intelligence advances in its software was well done, to say the least. If you’ve been wondering exactly what AI can do—other than overhyped exercises such as designing a menu for a... Apple just delivered a master class in how to explain complex technology to ordinary people. Its...

Sarah Friar, left, and Kevin Weil. Photos by Getty

OpenAI Hires Sarah Friar as CFO, Kevin Weil as Chief Product Officer

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2024 10:15am PDT · 2 comments

OpenAI has hired two Silicon Valley veterans in finance and product roles as it prepares to launch new consumer products and a high-profile partnership with Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the hires. Sarah Friar, who was most recently the CEO of Nextdoor, a social network for neighborhoods, is joining as the company’s... OpenAI has hired two Silicon Valley veterans in finance and product roles as it prepares to...

From left: Marc Benioff, Safra Catz and Shantanu Narayen. Photos by Getty

Special Report: M&A

How Private Equity Rewards CEOs Who Sell

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 10, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Squarespace announced a deal to be taken private by private equity Permira for $6.9 billion last month, it ended an unhappy three-year chapter as a publicly listed company for the DIY website maker. Squarespace was one of the more than 100 tech firms that went public during the frothy days of 2021. Like many of those firms, the IPO has... When Squarespace announced a deal to be taken private by private equity Permira for $6.9 billion...

The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Calif. Photo by Anadolu via Getty Images.

‘Apple Intelligence’ is About to Test Regular People's Appetite; Meta Gets Grilled on Safety in Paris

By Amir Efrati · Jun 10, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Calif. Photo by Anadolu via Getty Images.

‘Apple Intelligence’ is About to Test Regular People's Appetite; Meta Gets Grilled on Safety in Paris

By Amir Efrati · Jun 10, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Excitement this morning about Apple's planned reveal of artificial intelligence features during its WWDC event for app developers is more than warranted. While it might not be as mind-blowing as the Kling AI video teasers from China’s Kuaishou last week, Apple’s expected improvements to Siri; new tools to let people automatically generate... Excitement this morning about Apple's planned reveal of artificial intelligence features during...

Shein's Whitestown, Ind. warehouse. Photo by Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock.

Shein’s 40% Revenue Growth and Profit Boost in 2023 Could Help Lure IPO Investors

By Jing Yang · Jun 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

China-founded fast fashion giant Shein lifted its net profit margin even as it posted slightly faster revenue growth in 2023, two people with direct knowledge of its finances said. That performance should help Shein lure investors for a highly anticipated initial public offering—if it can convince regulators to sign off. Shein recorded... China-founded fast fashion giant Shein lifted its net profit margin even as it posted slightly...

The Mercedes-Stellantis gigafactory in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France. Photo courtesy ACC.

The Electric: Half the West’s Planned Gigafactories Are Uncertain to Be Built

By Steve LeVine · Jun 10, 2024 4:30am PDT

Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories they were building through a joint venture. The companies want to take a fresh look at the plants in hopes of reducing the price of their electric vehicles, driven in large part by the cost of the batteries, the most expensive component in an EV. If... Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories...

Tux the Linux Penguin, Jim Zemlin and Linus Torvalds. Photos via Getty Images and the Linux Foundation

An Open-Source Nonprofit’s Growth and Executive Pay Raise Eyebrows

By Paris Martineau · Jun 9, 2024 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Open-source software has become a big business, even for some of the nonprofit organizations dedicated to coordinating the far-flung communities of programmers that contribute to open-source projects, usually without pay. That’s especially true of the Linux Foundation. That organization, which oversees the development of the Linux... Open-source software has become a big business, even for some of the nonprofit organizations...

Art by Clark Miller

A New List of The Worst VCs

By Abram Brown · Jun 8, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

A New List of The Worst VCs

By Abram Brown · Jun 8, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A lone shining light in food tech’s dark ageThe best summer camps for grownupsPlus: A tremendous trek through the Grand Canyon; “Succession” in breeches and gowns; and a gamified interview show.Venture capitalists excel at many things. For starters, they’re quite good at losing other people’s money. They’... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A lone shining light in food tech’s dark ageThe best...

Art by Clark Miller

The Best Summer Camps for Grownups

By Brigid Mander · Jun 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

It’s early June, which means the kids are getting excited for months of uninterrupted summer playtime and pursuits. That begs the question: Why should they get to have all the fun? For many of those kids, a portion of that happens at summer camp. (And we had suggestions about those camps a few weeks ago.) For many grownups, a dose of... It’s early June, which means the kids are getting excited for months of uninterrupted...

Harvey co-founders Gabriel Pereyra and Winston Weinberg. Photo via YouTube.

AI Startup Harvey Targets $2 Billion Valuation and Mulls Buying a Legal Research Company

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Jun 7, 2024 3:21pm PDT

In just over a year, artificial intelligence startup Harvey raised three investment rounds to develop software that takes the drudgery out of legal paperwork. Now the company wants an even bigger war chest—one that could help it acquire other companies. The San Francisco startup has been talking to investors about raising $600 million at a... In just over a year, artificial intelligence startup Harvey raised three investment rounds to...

Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Photos via Shutterstock and Getty Images.

Apple and Musk to Dominate News Next Week

By Martin Peers · Jun 7, 2024 2:30pm PDT

This was Jensen Huang’s week. As we saw when he appeared at the Computex conference in Taipei this week, Huang is now a fully fledged celebrity CEO. (See Qianer Liu’s report on Computex below). Fittingly, Nvidia also this week briefly passed Apple as the second most valuable company, with a $3 trillion market capitalization. It’s extraordinary... This was Jensen Huang’s week. As we saw when he appeared at the Computex conference in Taipei...

Startups to Start: Media Edition

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 7, 2024 10:48am PDT

Startups to Start: Media Edition

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 7, 2024 10:48am PDT

Welcome to Episode 50! We haven't shied from talking about how brutal the startup market is right now. But that doesn't mean there aren't great things to build. So, this week we shared some thoughts on what WE would build, starting with a sector close to our hearts: media. Plus, Brit on the Life360 US IPO and my attempt to up my... Welcome to Episode 50! We haven't shied from talking about how brutal the startup market is...