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

Photo via AP.

How Coinbase Is Poised For a Win From Ether ETFs

By Yueqi Yang · May 23, 2024 6:26am PDT

Crypto exchange Coinbase is poised for a big boost as the U.S. suddenly looks more likely to approve exchange-traded funds holding ether, giving investors a way to trade the second most popular cryptocurrency as easily as a stock. At least six out of the nine investment firms that plan to issue ether ETFs have picked Coinbase as a custodian,... Crypto exchange Coinbase is poised for a big boost as the U.S. suddenly looks more likely to...

CATL's lithium-iron-phosphate Shenxing battery. Photo: Zhou Chengfeng/VCG/Getty

The Electric: China’s Iron-Based Batteries Are Even Cheaper Than We Thought

By Steve LeVine · May 23, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

On Monday, we reported that the going rate for iron-based batteries in China had plunged to an astonishing $56 per kilowatt hour, 40% below last year’s average outside the country. But we have since learned that the average price is even lower—$47/kWh, half as much as such batteries outside China, according to a survey last month by... On Monday, we reported that the going rate for iron-based batteries in China had plunged to an...

David Luan, co-founder and CEO of Adept. Photo via YouTube/General Catalyst.

AI ‘Agent’ Startup Adept Has Talked to Potential Buyers, Including Meta

By Amir Efrati and Natasha Mascarenhas · May 22, 2024 6:45pm PDT · 1 comment

The leaders of Adept, a 2-year-old artificial intelligence startup run by former OpenAI and Google AI developers, held talks in recent months about a possible sale or strategic partnership with large tech companies, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversations. One company Adept spoke to was Facebook owner Meta... The leaders of Adept, a 2-year-old artificial intelligence startup run by former OpenAI and...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, Calif., this March. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Nvidia Answers Prayers Again

By Cory Weinberg · May 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, Calif., this March. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Nvidia Answers Prayers Again

By Cory Weinberg · May 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Nvidia, a $2 trillion chip giant worshipped by financial markets and Silicon Valley, has to pass an increasingly difficult test of investors’ faith every quarter. On Wednesday, it gave everyone in the church of artificial intelligence a reason to keep believing.The company’s revenue nearly quadrupled from the first quarter last year to $26... Nvidia, a $2 trillion chip giant worshipped by financial markets and Silicon Valley, has to...

Photo by Damian Dovarganes via AP Images.

Creator Economy

TikTok Preps a Fresh Assault on Europe

By Kaya Yurieff · May 22, 2024 2:00pm PDT

These are turbulent times for TikTok employees. On Tuesday, we reported that TikTok is planning significant layoffs—including a large percentage of the roughly 1,000 people working in TikTok’s global user operations, content and marketing teams. The planned cuts are likely to further sap employee morale, already frayed by the possibility of a... These are turbulent times for TikTok employees. On Tuesday, we reported that TikTok is planning...

Jonathan Ross, CEO & Founder, Groq. Screenshot via YouTube

Nvidia Challenger Groq Enlists Morgan Stanley to Raise $300 Million

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Cory Weinberg · May 22, 2024 10:51am PDT · 4 comments

Groq, an Nvidia rival that develops specialized server chips and software for artificial intelligence, has told investors it wants to raise about $300 million, according to two people who spoke to the company’s leaders. It has tapped Morgan Stanley to help with the fundraising, according to one of the people and a third person. The new... Groq, an Nvidia rival that develops specialized server chips and software for artificial...

Google ads product leader Vidhya Srinivasan on Tuesday. Photo via Google

The Unstoppable Google

By Jon Victor · May 22, 2024 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Inside Google a year ago, conventional wisdom held that artificial intelligence chatbots from OpenAI and Microsoft would shrink its lucrative search advertising business—and fast. Not only was that wrong, but the company’s annual event for advertisers on Tuesday showed how conversational AI can take that business to new heights.Google... Inside Google a year ago, conventional wisdom held that artificial intelligence chatbots...

An Amazon Flex driver in Tampa, Fla. Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images.

Amazon’s Next Potential Threat to UPS: Using Its Own Drivers for Returns

By Theo Wayt · May 22, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

An Amazon Flex driver in Tampa, Fla. Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images.

Amazon’s Next Potential Threat to UPS: Using Its Own Drivers for Returns

By Theo Wayt · May 22, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Over the past decade, Amazon has assembled a vast network of delivery drivers to reduce its reliance on shippers like United Parcel Service. Now, Amazon wants those drivers to start tackling another task that has become a major problem: returns. In a new pilot program, Amazon drivers will pick up returns from customers’ houses and bring... Over the past decade, Amazon has assembled a vast network of delivery drivers to reduce its...

Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson. Photos via Getty Images

Sam Altman’s Naughty Side

By Aaron Holmes · May 21, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Sam Altman’s naughty streak has been key to his success. This week, it may have gotten him in trouble.The OpenAI CEO came under fire yesterday after the actress Scarlett Johansson said she, through her lawyers, complained to OpenAI after they used a voice that resembled her own for its ChatGPT assistant. OpenAI says the voice wasn’t meant to... Sam Altman’s naughty streak has been key to his success. This week, it may have gotten him in...

Jason Warner, co-founder of Poolside AI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

AI Startup Poolside Wants a $2 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · May 21, 2024 4:00pm PDT

Another day, another deal. Artificial intelligence startup Poolside is raising more capital from investors and wants a valuation of around $2 billion, according to a person briefed on the deal. The startup, which was co-founded by former GitHub CTO Jason Warner, is developing a specialized large-language model to automate coding. It’s... Another day, another deal. Artificial intelligence startup Poolside is raising more capital from...

TikTok's headquarters in Singapore. Photo by Getty

TikTok Plans Layoffs of Operations and Marketing Employees

By Erin Woo and Kaya Yurieff · May 21, 2024 3:34pm PDT

TikTok has told employees it plans significant layoffs in its operations and marketing teams this week, according to current employees. The precise number of job cuts could not be learned, but the employees said the layoff will affect a large percentage of the roughly 1,000 people working in TikTok's global user operations, content and... TikTok has told employees it plans significant layoffs in its operations and marketing teams this...

Scarlett Johansson at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Photo by Dominique Charriau via Getty Images.

Scarlett Johannson’s Complaints Could Fuel U.S. ‘Right of Publicity’ Law

By Kaya Yurieff · May 21, 2024 2:58pm PDT · 5 comments

Scarlett Johansson at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Photo by Dominique Charriau via Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Scarlett Johannson’s Complaints Could Fuel U.S. ‘Right of Publicity’ Law

By Kaya Yurieff · May 21, 2024 2:58pm PDT · 5 comments

What a mess OpenAI seems to have created with Scarlett Johansson! One bright note for creators is that her allegations that the startup ripped off her voice after she refused an offer to voice its chatbot could help speed up national legislation that protects artists. I spoke to two legal experts today to get a better understanding of the... What a mess OpenAI seems to have created with Scarlett Johansson! One bright note for creators is...

Krishna Rao. Photo via Fanatics.

Anthropic Hires Airbnb Vet as First CFO

By Cory Weinberg · May 21, 2024 10:38am PDT · 1 comment

Anthropic, the maker of artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, has hired Airbnb veteran Krishna Rao as its first chief financial officer, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The executive hire, which the company plans to announce this week, is a sign the three-year-old startup is bolstering its executive ranks as it tries to... Anthropic, the maker of artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, has hired Airbnb veteran Krishna...

HubSpot's Cambridge, Mass. headquarters. Photo via AP.

Why HubSpot Needs Google

By Anita Ramaswamy · May 21, 2024 8:00am PDT · 3 comments

HubSpot investors better hope that Google actually buys it. The marketing software company’s growth is slowing as the small businesses it caters to try to cut down their bills, and it faces mounting competition from flashy AI tools that could chip away at its business. As Google reportedly discusses an acquisition of HubSpot, which sells... HubSpot investors better hope that Google actually buys it. The marketing software...

Suno's Mikey Shulman, Martin Camachol, Keenan Freyberg and George Kucsko. Photos via Suno/Shutterstock. Photo illustration by The Information.

Music Generator Suno Raises Capital at $500 Million Valuation; Altman Went Behind ‘Her’ Back

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 21, 2024 7:05am PDT

New York isn’t known for its roomy apartments, which is why my electric piano is currently gathering dust on top of my kitchen cabinets. So I was especially excited to use Suno, an artificial intelligence music generator. It turns simple text descriptions like “a dark disco song about when you're not around” and “a romantic garage song about... New York isn’t known for its roomy apartments, which is why my electric piano is currently...

Photo via Getty

Why Nvidia’s Favorite Cloud Startup Got $7.5 Billion From Blackstone, Others

By Anissa Gardizy · May 21, 2024 6:00am PDT

Photo via Getty

Q&A

Why Nvidia’s Favorite Cloud Startup Got $7.5 Billion From Blackstone, Others

By Anissa Gardizy · May 21, 2024 6:00am PDT

OpenAI and its artificial intelligence rivals get all the headlines, but few venture-backed companies have benefited more from the AI boom than CoreWeave, a cloud provider. That's thanks to Nvidia, which allocated some of its precious AI server chips to CoreWeave rather than large clouds like Amazon Web Services, prompting startups and even... OpenAI and its artificial intelligence rivals get all the headlines, but few venture-backed...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at today's event. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

In Praise of Microsoft’s ‘Prosaic’ AI Features

By Nick Wingfield · May 20, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

It was Microsoft’s turn today to talk about all of the ways it plans to make your life better with artificial intelligence. The various new features and products it announced felt a little—dare we say it?—bland. But that might be more than okay. In one case, it showed a new version of its Copilot assistant for Windows PCs that can observe... It was Microsoft’s turn today to talk about all of the ways it plans to make your life better...

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey in December 2023.

Anduril Seeks $12.5 Billion Valuation After Doubling Revenue

By Cory Weinberg · May 20, 2024 3:08pm PDT

Military defense startup Anduril has had early discussions to raise what would be one of the largest venture capital rounds of the year so far, seeking about $1.5 billion of fresh funds that would value the company at $12.5 billion or more, two people who have spoken to the company said. The potential funding round would be an increase from... Military defense startup Anduril has had early discussions to raise what would be one of...

OpenAI's Sam Altman and recently departed Jan Leike and Ilya Sutskever. Photos via Getty and YouTube/Towards Data Science.

What Altman Will Do to Make OpenAI Live Up to Its Name Again; Why You Should Care About Stability’s Implosion

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 20, 2024 7:36am PDT

In classic OpenAI fashion, big drama dropped on Friday. Jan Leike, who formerly co-led OpenAI’s superalignment team with Ilya Sutskever—the co-founder and chief scientist who temporarily ousted CEO Sam Altman in November—explained on X why he left the company. Altman & Co. failed to give superalignment, which aimed to be a check on OpenAI... In classic OpenAI fashion, big drama dropped on Friday. Jan Leike, who formerly co-led OpenAI’s...

Screenshot of Moonshot's AI chatbot, Kimi

Tencent, Alibaba Place Bets on Startups Racing to Become China’s OpenAI

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · May 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Screenshot of Moonshot's AI chatbot, Kimi

Tencent, Alibaba Place Bets on Startups Racing to Become China’s OpenAI

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · May 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In China, dozens of startups have been competing to develop conversational artificial intelligence for the Chinese market. Now some are starting to pull ahead, in part due to backing from tech giants with large cloud operations like Tencent and Alibaba. Among them is Moonshot AI, developer of a chatbot that can process millions of Chinese... In China, dozens of startups have been competing to develop conversational artificial...