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

Nextdoor's Nirav Tolia. Photo by Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images.

Former Nextdoor Employee Says CEO Tolia Sexually Harassed Her

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 14, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

A former Nextdoor employee alleged to a company-appointed investigator and to its board of directors in the summer of 2018 that its chief executive and co-founder, Nirav Tolia, sexually harassed her in 2015. A Nextdoor spokesperson confirmed the investigation of Tolia, who left the CEO job in 2018 but was reappointed last month by its board of... A former Nextdoor employee alleged to a company-appointed investigator and to its board of...

Harbinger's first commercial electric chassis for RV maker Thor Industries. Photo via Harbinger/PR NewsWire.

The Electric: Investors Remain Interested in Commercial EVs

By Steve LeVine · Mar 14, 2024 4:30am PDT

Amid increasing Wall Street skepticism toward the makers of passenger electric vehicles, investors are still funding companies making commercial EVs. Among them, California-based Harbinger Motors last week delivered the first of its stripped-down electric chassis to recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries, which will design and install... Amid increasing Wall Street skepticism toward the makers of passenger electric vehicles,...

Photo by Getty Images.

Busting Myths on Foreign Media Ownership as TikTok Ban Looms

By Martin Peers · Mar 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

It’s taken four years, but the push to ban TikTok is moving at lightning speed—which will continue until it comes to a dead halt sometime in the near future. Today’s lopsided vote in the House of Representatives on the ban-or-sell TikTok bill moves the battle to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. Let’s assume it passes in that... It’s taken four years, but the push to ban TikTok is moving at lightning speed—which will...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

How Instagram Reels Could Benefit From a TikTok Ban

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 13, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Photo via Adobe Stock.

Creator Economy

How Instagram Reels Could Benefit From a TikTok Ban

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 13, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Is TikTok’s pain Instagram’s gain? In the past, employees at the Meta Platforms app certainly thought so. Instagram’s short-video feature, Reels, has come a long way since its bumpy start in 2020. But it’s hard to imagine any Instagram exec isn’t intrigued by the reprise of Washington’s efforts to ban the ByteDance-owned app. After all,... Is TikTok’s pain Instagram’s gain? In the past, employees at the Meta Platforms app certainly...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Getty Images.

TikTok Ban Bill Spotlights Open Secret: App Loses Money

By Jing Yang, Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Mar 13, 2024 10:52am PDT · 8 comments

TikTok, facing a growing threat of a U.S. ban, has been a global juggernaut over the past few years, drawing more than a billion monthly users and prompting rivals to launch similar services. But what is an open secret among investors is that the app loses money. TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, doesn’t disclose TikTok’s financial... TikTok, facing a growing threat of a U.S. ban, has been a global juggernaut over the past few...

Art by Shane Burke

How Stalking and Harassment Allegations Fractured a Semiconductor Startup

By Paris Martineau · Mar 13, 2024 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

In March last year, the former girlfriend of Erik Hosler—then the CEO of semiconductor manufacturing startup xLight—applied for a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing Hosler of stalking and harassing her. A judge in California had already granted a temporary order, and when xLight learned of the dispute, it asked... In March last year, the former girlfriend of Erik Hosler—then the CEO of semiconductor...

Photo via Unsplash/Deep Mind.

A Shakeout is Coming for Inference Startups

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 13, 2024 7:00am PDT

If you tuned into Nvidia’s and Microsoft’s recent quarterly earnings calls, you probably heard their leaders discuss how inference—a fancy word for operating an artificial intelligence model—is becoming a bigger part of the computing workloads in their data centers. In other words, chatbots like ChatGPT Enterprise are serving real customers.... If you tuned into Nvidia’s and Microsoft’s recent quarterly earnings calls, you probably heard...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Before CEO Exit, Allbirds’ Design Mishaps Were Piling Up

By Ann Gehan · Mar 13, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Before CEO Exit, Allbirds’ Design Mishaps Were Piling Up

By Ann Gehan · Mar 13, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Last fall, Allbirds was preparing to launch an updated version of its popular Wool Runner shoe when its product design team realized there was a problem. A flaw in the design meant Allbirds had to scramble to remove and replace the fabric inside roughly 30,000 pairs of shoes, two people who worked on the launch said. The last-minute snag... Last fall, Allbirds was preparing to launch an updated version of its popular Wool Runner shoe...

Kite founder Rob Solomon. Photo via YouTube.

Blackstone-Founded E-Commerce ‘Roll-Up’ Firm Shuts Down

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 12, 2024 5:07pm PDT

How bad is the slowdown in e-commerce growth? Ask Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms. Two years ago, a division of Blackstone that invests in consumer brands such as Supergoop and Spanx joined a second investor to commit $200 million to an e-commerce startup they had founded together. The startup, Kite, was pursuing a... How bad is the slowdown in e-commerce growth? Ask Blackstone, one of the world’s largest...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Another Joe Takes Reins at Allbirds; Latest on TikTok

By Martin Peers · Mar 12, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

We’re in one of those news cycles where everything makes way for one dominant story, which right now is TikTok. Don’t worry—if you’re not fascinated by the to-ban-or-not-to-ban debate, it will eventually fade from the headlines. But not just yet: Instead, over the next few days, TikTok will become an even bigger story, as the House of... We’re in one of those news cycles where everything makes way for one dominant story, which right...

Alex Cooper attends The Unwell House at SXSW. Photo by Rick Kern via Getty Images.

Creator Economy

What Five Hours With Alex Cooper’s Fans Say About Podcasting

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 12, 2024 2:49pm PDT

I’ve spent the past few days at South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin. The most memorable part of my experience was embedding myself with the screaming fans of “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper, who threw multi-day events to celebrate the launch of the Unwell Network, an arm of her production company where she’s... I’ve spent the past few days at South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin....

Art by Mike Sullivan

As TikTok Faces Ban Bill, Investors Distance Themselves From App

By Kate Clark, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Mar 12, 2024 12:04pm PDT · 7 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

As TikTok Faces Ban Bill, Investors Distance Themselves From App

By Kate Clark, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Mar 12, 2024 12:04pm PDT · 7 comments

When the Trump administration tried to ban TikTok in 2020, investors in its parent, ByteDance, mobilized to support the app. Now, as a bill to force a ban or sale of TikTok winds its way through Congress, the company is mostly on its own. With the possible exception of Susquehanna International Group principal Jeff Yass, a Republican donor and... When the Trump administration tried to ban TikTok in 2020, investors in its parent, ByteDance,...

Tempus' Eric Lefkofsky. Photo by Michael Kovac via Getty Images.

Healthcare Startup Tempus Hires Morgan Stanley for IPO

By Becky Peterson and Cory Weinberg · Mar 12, 2024 9:33am PDT

Tempus, a medical lab testing and data company started by a former co-founder of Groupon, has hired Morgan Stanley to run an initial public offering in the coming months, people close to the process said. The Chicago-based startup, which has raised more than $1.3 billion in private funding from investors such as Google, New Enterprise Associates... Tempus, a medical lab testing and data company started by a former co-founder of Groupon, has...

Art by Clark Miller.

Where Have All The AI Returns Gone?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 12, 2024 7:30am PDT

For all the hype around generative AI, we have yet to see much evidence that this new technology is lifting the top lines of customers who are spending money on it. That’s left many buyers to wonder: When will we see those long-touted returns from AI?My colleagues and I tackled that question in this story today, which reported that customers of... For all the hype around generative AI, we have yet to see much evidence that this new technology...

Art by Clark Miller

Amazon, Google Quietly Tamp Down Generative AI Expectations

By Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Mar 12, 2024 7:00am PDT · 15 comments

In the past year, major technology firms have championed generative artificial intelligence as the next big thing, boosting the stock market to new highs. But behind the scenes, representatives of major cloud providers and other firms that sell the technology are tempering expectations with their salespeople, saying the hype about the technology... In the past year, major technology firms have championed generative artificial intelligence as...

ByteDance's office in Shanghai. Photo via Adobe Stock.

TikTok Owner Boosts China Ties, Invests in State-Backed Chip Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 12, 2024 6:00am PDT

ByteDance's office in Shanghai. Photo via Adobe Stock.

TikTok Owner Boosts China Ties, Invests in State-Backed Chip Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 12, 2024 6:00am PDT

As the Chinese government races to catch up in advanced computer chips, it has found an ally in ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. The Chinese tech company has quietly bought a stake in InnoStar Semiconductor, a Shanghai-based memory chip firm backed by the Chinese government, according to corporate records in China and Singapore. A ByteDance... As the Chinese government races to catch up in advanced computer chips, it has found an ally...

Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images.

TikTok War of Words Ramps Up

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

We’re in for a long few weeks as the ban-or-sell TikTok bill winds its way through Congress. The few moments of action we’re likely to see—such as this week’s vote in the House of Representatives—will be overwhelmed by lots of rhetorical shadowboxing between the various combatants. Today, for instance, the two congresspeople who sponsored the... We’re in for a long few weeks as the ban-or-sell TikTok bill winds its way through Congress. The...

Morgan Stanley's former CEO James Gorman. Photo by Getty.

Morgan Stanley Was Counting on $150 Million in Twitter Deal Fees

By Becky Peterson · Mar 11, 2024 11:44am PDT · 2 comments

When Morgan Stanley first worked on Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition in April 2022, bankers estimated fees on the deal could reach $150 million or more, according to two people who saw the terms. But that wasn’t the only payoff the bank saw from its involvement in the deal: Morgan Stanley also hoped to strengthen its... When Morgan Stanley first worked on Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition in April...

Photo by Kent Nishimura via Getty Images.

What To Make of OpenAI’s New Board; The Startup Tackling Karpathy’s Vision

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 11, 2024 7:30am PDT

OpenAI’s late-Friday announcement of three new board members, as well as the reinstatement to its board of CEO Sam Altman, is a pivotal moment for the ChatGPT-creator, valued most recently at $86 billion. It’s now clear that the board has shed its origins as a quirky group of academics and techies with ties to under-the-radar movements like... OpenAI’s late-Friday announcement of three new board members, as well as the reinstatement...

Why Tesla Veterans Dominate the EV and Battery Industries

By Steve LeVine · Mar 11, 2024 4:30am PDT · 5 comments

Why Tesla Veterans Dominate the EV and Battery Industries

By Steve LeVine · Mar 11, 2024 4:30am PDT · 5 comments

In 2013, Landon Mossburg, then 29, was hired by Tesla to work on its supply chain team. Tesla threw him into negotiations with the senior executives of cellphone, internet and tech companies to secure internet connectivity deals that would feed Tesla’s over-the-air software updates. Mossburg had a bachelor’s degree in business and... In 2013, Landon Mossburg, then 29, was hired by Tesla to work on its supply chain team. Tesla...