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.

Once-Hot Bagel Startup Has Dough Troubles

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2024 2:32pm PDT · 3 comments

Earlier this year, when healthy-bagel startup BetterBrand was looking to raise more capital, things seemed to be going well. The firm told investors revenue was on track to roughly double this year, and it was expanding into Europe. But founder and CEO Aimee Yang thought the company should be valued at between $250 million and $300 million,... Earlier this year, when healthy-bagel startup BetterBrand was looking to raise more capital,...

Photo via Getty.

Fidelity Plans First Fund That May Use Blockchain

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 10, 2024 2:20pm PDT · 2 comments

Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that may trade on a blockchain in the future. It’s the latest effort by a big traditional money manager to explore using the technology to speed up financial transactions and widen the audience for its products. Fidelity on Sept. 26 filed paperwork... Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that...

Hurricane Milton Brings Out Creators' Worst Instincts

Creator Economy

Hurricane Milton Brings Out Creators' Worst Instincts

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 10, 2024 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida, some local creators decided to stay put—and use the natural disaster as an opportunity to capture some prime viewership. These terrifying videos of wind-whipped trees and troubled skies are hard to pass up. But they also show creators playing to the internet’s worst instincts.“Shit is looking... Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida, some local creators decided to stay put—and use...

Art by Clark Miller; Photos by Erin Beach for The Information.

From AI to Chelsea Clinton’s Plea, Inside The Information’s Latest WTF Summit

By Abram Brown · Oct 10, 2024 12:37pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller; Photos by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

From AI to Chelsea Clinton’s Plea, Inside The Information’s Latest WTF Summit

By Abram Brown · Oct 10, 2024 12:37pm PDT

Amid a roomful of Silicon Valley elite this week, a Clinton made a rousing call to action by recounting a tragedy: the story of Amanda Zurawski, a young Texan woman left infertile after a botched abortion procedure. “This is what we’re doing to women in America,” said Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary, founder of... Amid a roomful of Silicon Valley elite this week, a Clinton made a rousing call to action by...

Geoff Hinton. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI Turns a Profit…in 2029 Maybe; Post-Murati Personnel Moves; Hinton Shades Altman

By Amir Efrati and Rocket Drew · Oct 10, 2024 7:00am PDT

Howdy! Amir and Rocket here. Before we get to today’s column, please read this phenomenal piece from Aaron about Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s market analysis methods. Hint: they involve an absurd number of meetings and calls with people outside his company. It’s a leadership masterclass.Onto today’s issue…When we told you in July that ... Howdy! Amir and Rocket here. Before we get to today’s column, please read this phenomenal...

Marissa Mayer, right, speaks at The Information's Women in Tech, Media and Finance Summit. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Google Breakup, Voter Turnout, Venture Cash Crunch: WTF Highlights

By The Information Staff · Oct 10, 2024 6:30am PDT

Technology is in a state of rapid change. Google faces a historic antitrust breakup. Advances in artificial intelligence are minting multibillion-dollar startups. And venture capital is still grappling with the hangover of the 2021 boom. Speakers at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance summit had opinions on them all. Chelsea... Technology is in a state of rapid change. Google faces a historic antitrust breakup. Advances in...

Chart by Shane Burke.

Meta Bulls Are Overvaluing Zuckerberg’s Vision

By Anita Ramaswamy · Oct 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 14 comments

Investors may be viewing Meta Platforms’ stock through rose-tinted glasses. Meta’s shares have soared over 70% this year, more than those of any other big tech stock except Nvidia, giving Meta a premium valuation next to comparable stocks such as Alphabet’s. Shares of the Facebook and Instagram parent now trade at 14.2 times... Investors may be viewing Meta Platforms’ stock through rose-tinted glasses. Meta’s...

An Arcadium Lithium brine operation in Argentina. Photo: Courtesy Arcadium.

The Electric: Rio Tinto Gets a Big Lithium Asset but No Relief From Price Woes

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

An Arcadium Lithium brine operation in Argentina. Photo: Courtesy Arcadium.

The Electric: Rio Tinto Gets a Big Lithium Asset but No Relief From Price Woes

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

Rio Tinto’s proposed $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium follows a monthlong surge in the share prices of lithium producers, a rare bright spot in the battered battery metals sector, where raw ore prices have dropped almost 90% over the last two years. But any euphoria over the deal could prove short-lived: It won’t address the global... Rio Tinto’s proposed $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium follows a monthlong surge in...

Bret Taylor, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sierra, left, and Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bret Taylor’s AI Agent Startup Nears Deal That Could Value It at Over $4 Billion

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 9, 2024 5:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Sierra, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding led by growth-stage investor Greenoaks Capital, according to two people who have knowledge of the deal. The new financing will at least triple the company’s valuation, which was $1... Sierra, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is...

Photo by Picture Alliance via Getty.

Google’s Slow-Motion Drama

By Martin Peers · Oct 9, 2024 5:00pm PDT

We’re at the point in the Google antitrust battle where the story has stalled. Not much real news is going to happen for a while. We got blaring headlines late on Tuesday night about the government’s latest filing in the search case (the one Google has already lost but awaits penalties for). The headlines emphasized the government’s desire to... We’re at the point in the Google antitrust battle where the story has stalled. Not much real news...

Amazon's Udit Madan. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Amazon Management Cuts Will Apply to Fewer Workers Than in Some Forecasts

By Theo Wayt · Oct 9, 2024 4:17pm PDT

In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made waves when he announced a plan to sharply reduce the number of managers at the internet giant, partly to combat the bureaucracy creeping into its culture. It turns out Jassy’s plan will affect far fewer managers than some outside the company had expected. Amazon’s efforts to cut back the... In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made waves when he announced a plan to sharply reduce the...

Art by Clark Miller; Nadella image via Getty

Nadella’s Network: How Microsoft’s CEO Avoids Getting Disrupted

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 9, 2024 3:34pm PDT · 10 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Nadella image via Getty

Nadella’s Network: How Microsoft’s CEO Avoids Getting Disrupted

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 9, 2024 3:34pm PDT · 10 comments

Earlier this year, Aravind Srinivas’ phone rang. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, wanted to dish with Srinivas—CEO of Perplexity, an artificial intelligence–powered search engine startup—on the biggest competitor they had in common: Google. Days earlier, Google had announced several upgrades to Gemini, its generative... Earlier this year, Aravind Srinivas’ phone rang. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO,...

Andy Dunn, Pie's founder. Photo via Pie.

Creator Economy

Bonobos Co-Founder Puts New Twist on Creator Funds

By Ann Gehan · Oct 9, 2024 3:12pm PDT

Pie, an app for hosting and finding group activities started by Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn, is taking a page from the creator economy to promote events in the real world.The startup has already seen users flock to events like Sunday Morning Club, which features activities like beach yoga and cold plunges and attracts more than 500 RSVPs... Pie, an app for hosting and finding group activities started by Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI Projections Imply Losses Tripling to $14 Billion in 2026

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 9, 2024 2:17pm PDT · 14 comments

OpenAI’s newest investors have signed up for a bumpy and expensive ride. The company’s projections suggest it won’t turn a profit until 2029, when its revenue would hit $100 billion. Before it gets to that point, losses could rise as high as $14 billion in 2026, nearly triple this year’s expected loss, according to an... OpenAI’s newest investors have signed up for a bumpy and expensive ride. The...

Speakers at The Information's 2024 WTF conference. Left to right: Liz Reid, VP and Head of Search at Google; Jennifer Tejada, CEO and Chairperson at PagerDuty; and Daniela Amodei, President and co-founder of Anthropic. Photos by Erin Beach for the Information.

Confronting the Challenges of AI

By Kalley Huang · Oct 9, 2024 7:05am PDT

Welcome back! Kalley here, reporting from The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance Summit in Yountville, Calif., on Monday and Tuesday. Artificial intelligence was a major theme this year, unsurprisingly. Our speakers wrestled with some of the biggest questions gripping the industry: how developers will make money after... Welcome back! Kalley here, reporting from The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance...

Amy Griffin, left, and Kirsten Green. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

AI Can Jump-Start Consumer Brands, Investors and Founders Say

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2024 6:00am PDT

Amy Griffin, left, and Kirsten Green. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

AI Can Jump-Start Consumer Brands, Investors and Founders Say

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2024 6:00am PDT

Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices for everything from apparel to beauty and wellness products, and it’s harder for young brands to stand out. “There’s a consumer that’s overwhelmed right now, that wants it all, but wants it all done a little bit more for... Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices...

Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic, speaks at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Anthropic Says Its Chatbot Could Alter Its Hiring Plans

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2024 5:16pm PDT · 2 comments

An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough revenue to offset the high costs of compute and talent. Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of model developer Anthropic, isn’t sharing a forecast for when that will happen. But the startup’s own AI developer could help speed the... An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough...

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty.

Roblox’s Kids Cesspool

By Martin Peers · Oct 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street short seller’s report out today about Roblox, an online kids’ gaming service, painted a picture of a site you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to visit, let alone your children. It came the same day as attorneys general from a dozen states sued TikTok... The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street...

Photo via Getty

VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could harness blockchain technology was to run prediction markets. Proponents believed blockchain would help ensure payouts to winners, without the need to find a bookie and argue over results. Those efforts largely failed because those sites were... At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could...

Karla Welch, co-founder and CEO of The Period Company, speaking on Monday night at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Reaching the ‘Savvy’ Consumer Is Complicated

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 8, 2024 3:18pm PDT

Karla Welch, co-founder and CEO of The Period Company, speaking on Monday night at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Creator Economy

Reaching the ‘Savvy’ Consumer Is Complicated

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 8, 2024 3:18pm PDT

I’m delighted to be at The Information’s annual conference for women in media, tech and finance in Napa Valley. We’ve covered a lot of ground throughout the two-day event, ranging from artificial intelligence to the future of consumer and issues impacting young people.I heard one theme again and again: As the consumer market has gotten more... I’m delighted to be at The Information’s annual conference for women in media, tech and finance...