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

Nick Giovanni. Photo via Instacart.

Instacart’s CFO Shuffle

By Martin Peers · May 10, 2024 3:00pm PDT

It’s Friday. What did we learn this week, aside from the fact that Apple’s marketing department is overrun with philistines? Maybe the most interesting tech news was Instacart’s disclosure that Nick Giovanni, the onetime senior Goldman Sachs media-tech-telecom banker who jumped to the grocery-delivery firm to be chief financial officer in... It’s Friday. What did we learn this week, aside from the fact that Apple’s marketing department ...

Is Social Media Dead?

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 10, 2024 2:36pm PDT · 1 comment

This week, we addressed a topic that is often on my mind: our social media diets. I've been thinking a lot about mine, and it turns out that my friends and husband have too! That topic plus a very spirited debate about Apple's iPad ad and the broader significance of the controversy. Also, the latest in socks and sleep. I hope you enjoy.... This week, we addressed a topic that is often on my mind: our social media diets. I've been...

Art by Clark Miller

The Musk Whisperer

By Margaux MacColl · May 10, 2024 9:00am PDT · 20 comments

On Oct. 17, several executives in tech contacted Sequoia Capital managing partner Roelof Botha, all making the same simple demand: Fire Shaun Maguire. Maguire, a 38-year-old partner at Sequoia, had spent the past 10 days posting fierce defenses of Israel on X (the social media platform he had helped steer Sequoia money into). He often wrote... On Oct. 17, several executives in tech contacted Sequoia Capital managing partner Roelof Botha,...

Pro Weekly: How Our 200 Promising Startups Have Fared

Pro Weekly: How Our 200 Promising Startups Have Fared

By Akash Pasricha · May 10, 2024 8:00am PDT

Pro Weekly: How Our 200 Promising Startups Have Fared

Pro Weekly: How Our 200 Promising Startups Have Fared

By Akash Pasricha · May 10, 2024 8:00am PDT

Every year, The Information’s reporters identify the 50 most promising technology startups. In total, we’ve spotted 200 companies over four years that are logged in The Information 50 Database. My colleague Abubakar Idris and I spent the week looking back on our picks and updating the financial details for each company. Several businesses have... Every year, The Information’s reporters identify the 50 most promising technology startups. In...

Art by Clark Miller. Musk via Getty Images

At Tesla, a Wild Week That Defined the Company’s Future

By Steve LeVine and Becky Peterson · May 10, 2024 6:00am PDT

On Feb. 28, Elon Musk used X, the social media service he owns, to make a bold promise about a product from one of his other companies, Tesla. In a post, he said a new version of the Roadster—a successor to the electric car that put Tesla on the map in 2008—would be able to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than a... On Feb. 28, Elon Musk used X, the social media service he owns, to make a bold promise about a...

John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering. Photo by Bebeto Matthews/AP.

Tim Cook, Bob Iger and Reading Between the Media Lines

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 9, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Just as there is an art to managing a CEO succession process from the inside (at least I imagine that to be the case—I have never done it myself), there’s a not so often discussed playbook for how a reporter writes about succession.It starts by writing a profile of the person you really, really think will get the job, though you can’t come out... Just as there is an art to managing a CEO succession process from the inside (at least I imagine...

Elon Musk at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on Monday. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.

Great—More Money for Musk

By Kate Clark · May 9, 2024 3:09pm PDT · 9 comments

Elon Musk is raising $6 billion for xAI, maker of Musk’s “anti-woke” artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, in a deal set to close Friday, according to our sources. The startup’s first outside funding values xAI at $18 billion, remarkable for a year-old company. It’s a reminder of what’s wrong with venture capital. The massive round has come... Elon Musk is raising $6 billion for xAI, maker of Musk’s “anti-woke” artificial intelligence...

A screening at the 2023 AI Film Festival. Photo via Runway/AI Film Festival.

Runway Charms Filmmakers; Meta Exec Responds to TikTok Ban

By Abubakar Idris · May 9, 2024 2:47pm PDT · 1 comment

A screening at the 2023 AI Film Festival. Photo via Runway/AI Film Festival.

Creator Economy

Runway Charms Filmmakers; Meta Exec Responds to TikTok Ban

By Abubakar Idris · May 9, 2024 2:47pm PDT · 1 comment

When Marvel used artificial intelligence in the opening title sequence of the television series “Secret Invasion,” last year, it signaled AI had found its way into Hollywood. That didn’t sit well with a lot of people in entertainment. On-strike actors last year attributed some of their grievances to the impact of AI on their jobs. One... When Marvel used artificial intelligence in the opening title sequence of the television series “...

Photo by Dinendra Haria/SIPA USA via AP.

Fast-Delivery Survivor Gopuff Burned $400 Million Last Year

By Theo Wayt and Cory Weinberg · May 9, 2024 11:18am PDT · 2 comments

Instant-delivery pioneer Gopuff is the last speedy-delivery startup left standing in the U.S. after its best-funded competitor, Getir, said last week it would pull out of the country. That’s left Gopuff in the same position it was in 10 years and billions of dollars ago: trying to beat DoorDash. But Gopuff is in a weaker financial position... Instant-delivery pioneer Gopuff is the last speedy-delivery startup left standing in the U.S....

Art by Shane Burke.

Developers Push to Build AI Models Native to Non-English Languages

By Kalley Huang · May 9, 2024 8:06am PDT

¿Habla español? Parlez-vous français? You might, but today’s large language models may not speak either Spanish or French very well. It’s a shortcoming that many developers are trying to address, especially since making LLMs available in more languages may attract more users. To give a sense of the issue, Meta Platforms said in a blog post... ¿Habla español? Parlez-vous français? You might, but today’s large language models may not speak...

A Community Federal Savings Bank branch in Queens, New York. Photo by Michael Roddan.

As Banks Cut Off Risky Fintechs, a Tiny Lender Leans In

By Michael Roddan · May 9, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In Woodhaven, Queens, beneath an elevated subway line an hour’s ride from Manhattan, sits an unremarkable bank branch, squeezed between a shuttered Rite Aid and a children’s events space that moonlights as a venue for $10 adult Zumba dance classes. A plastic banner fastened to the shop front bears the lender’s name: Community... In Woodhaven, Queens, beneath an elevated subway line an hour’s ride from Manhattan, sits...

Elon Musk speaks with Michael Milken at this year's Milken Institute Global Conference. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.

Milken’s New Power Players

By Cory Weinberg · May 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk speaks with Michael Milken at this year's Milken Institute Global Conference. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.

Milken’s New Power Players

By Cory Weinberg · May 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT

It’s no secret that the suits at the annual big-money confab put on by the Milken Institute this week have few spending limits. Staring you in the face in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton is a booth set up by Bombardier, marketing its private jets to attendees. (A new 10-seater costs $32 million, I learned.)What attendees can’t really buy,... It’s no secret that the suits at the annual big-money confab put on by the Milken Institute this...

TikTok offices in Culver City. Photo by Getty

Creator Economy

A Chart Shows TikTok's Growing List of Rivals

By Kaya Yurieff · May 8, 2024 2:00pm PDT

As TikTok kicks off its legal fight against a ban or forced sale of the app in the U.S., our chart below shows just how much competition it faces from other big tech companies, which stand to gain from a potential retreat. While Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are the two most popular alternatives among creators to TikTok, other... As TikTok kicks off its legal fight against a ban or forced sale of the app in the U.S., our...

Pinterest CEO Bill Ready. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why Investors Are Starting to Take Pinterest Seriously

By Anita Ramaswamy · May 8, 2024 12:40pm PDT · 2 comments

If you’re looking for the social media stock that could, just maybe, break the logjam of the digital ad market—where Meta Platforms and Google take the lion’s share of spending, leaving the rest to everyone else—you might want to check out Pinterest. Yes, we’re talking about the company many investors likely left... If you’re looking for the social media stock that could, just maybe, break the logjam of...

Art by Clark Miller

How Generative AI Threatens Hollywood’s Walled Gardens

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 8, 2024 12:08pm PDT · 1 comment

The “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse emerged in 1928 from Walt Disney’s passion project to marry cartoons with synchronized sound. It lost copyright protection on Jan. 1 as generative artificial intelligence tools launched a creative revolution threatening Hollywood’s business model. New generative AI tools such... The “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse emerged in 1928 from Walt...

DatologyAI cofounders, from left to right, Matthew Leavitt, Bogdan Gaza and Ari Morcos. Photo courtesy of DatologyAI.

Ex-DeepMind and Meta AI Researcher Raises Nearly $50 Million To Help Developers With LLMs’ Secret Sauce

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 8, 2024 7:00am PDT

DatologyAI cofounders, from left to right, Matthew Leavitt, Bogdan Gaza and Ari Morcos. Photo courtesy of DatologyAI.

Ex-DeepMind and Meta AI Researcher Raises Nearly $50 Million To Help Developers With LLMs’ Secret Sauce

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 8, 2024 7:00am PDT

For all that’s leaked about the sizes and architectures of the advanced large language models developed by OpenAI and its ilk, we still don’t know what data they were trained on.A pessimist might say that’s because of the numerous lawsuits LLM developers would face if the amount of copyrighted content they were using was revealed, but a more... For all that’s leaked about the sizes and architectures of the advanced large language models...

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock.

As TikTok Files Lawsuit, Employees Ponder Their Future

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Kaya Yurieff · May 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

The day President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't cut ties with its Chinese parent, ByteDance, within a year, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and other senior executives led an all-hands meeting for staff, reassuring them that TikTok will successfully fight the new law. Chew struck an optimistic tone. At one... The day President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't cut...

Partner Content

Recap: The Next Climate Tech Investment Boom

By The Information Partnerships · May 7, 2024 8:46pm PDT

Over the last five years, there have been promising advances in climate technologies—and they could have a real impact on reducing greenhouse gases. But all of these technologies have one thing in common: They need support for a large range of financial needs. Steve LeVine, editor of The Electric, sat down with three climate tech venture... Over the last five years, there have been promising advances in climate technologies—and...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

Disney Turns a Corner in Streaming, but Market Is Unimpressed

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

You can just imagine what Disney CEO Bob Iger was thinking today: If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Disney surprised the market by reporting that its streaming services all but broke even in the March quarter, a notable achievement given that it was wallowing in red ink just a few quarters ago. But the pesky worrywarts of the stock market... You can just imagine what Disney CEO Bob Iger was thinking today: If it’s not one thing, it’s...

Photo via Adobe Stock

‘If Not Now, When?’: Late-Stage Investors Open Their Wallets

By Kate Clark · May 7, 2024 3:01pm PDT

Photo via Adobe Stock

‘If Not Now, When?’: Late-Stage Investors Open Their Wallets

By Kate Clark · May 7, 2024 3:01pm PDT

Venture capitalists are getting comfortable writing big checks again, judging by April deal activity. The lingering panic that’s occupied the private tech markets for the past two years is subsiding, investors say, due to the stock market’s rebound and because these larger investors are fed up with hoarding cash. So, despite the slow... Venture capitalists are getting comfortable writing big checks again, judging by April deal...