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

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The Talent Battle Behind Musk’s Feud With OpenAI

By Amir Efrati · Mar 6, 2024 5:00pm PST

Elon Musk seems to enjoy getting into verbal fisticuffs with other CEOs (as Bob Iger of Disney can attest). But his attacks on OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in a lawsuit last week may have a strategic purpose. In artificial intelligence, talent has long been a priceless commodity. And it’s a good bet Musk’s OpenAI battle has something to do with... Elon Musk seems to enjoy getting into verbal fisticuffs with other CEOs (as Bob Iger of Disney...

Linktree co-founders, from left to right: Nick Humphreys, Alex Zaccaria, Anthony Zaccaria

Creator Economy

Linktree Jumps Into Social Commerce With Sephora

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 6, 2024 2:33pm PST

Linktree, the largest and best known among the dozens of startups offering link-in-bio tools—the landing pages that link creators’ social media accounts to product pages, podcasts and videos—is expanding into social commerce. The seven-year-old startup is testing an affiliate marketing program with Sephora, Revolve and Urban Outfitters.... Linktree, the largest and best known among the dozens of startups offering link-in-bio tools—the...

AWS VP Matt Wood, left, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in 2017. Photo via YouTube/Bhushan Sonawane.

AWS Exec: Demand for Nvidia Chips Will Stay High

By Anissa Gardizy and Amir Efrati · Mar 6, 2024 8:58am PST · 3 comments

Nvidia’s rapid climb to become the third most valuable company has drawn comparisons to Cisco, whose success in selling routers during the dot-com boom briefly made it the world’s most valuable public company in 2000. But Matt Wood, a vice president of artificial intelligence products at Amazon Web Services which is among... Nvidia’s rapid climb to become the third most valuable company has drawn comparisons to...

Photo via Getty Images.

How Early-Stage VCs Are Getting Around the Startup Valuation Trap

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 6, 2024 8:02am PST

Photo via Getty Images.

How Early-Stage VCs Are Getting Around the Startup Valuation Trap

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 6, 2024 8:02am PST

The AI startup world is something of a paradox right now. We keep hearing talk that we're in a bubble. And there’s no doubt that venture funding for young artificial intelligence startups is (mostly) free-flowing, which is great for founders. But the market isn’t so great for investors, particularly early-stage VC firms which are often competing... The AI startup world is something of a paradox right now. We keep hearing talk that we're in a...

The People With Power at Snowflake

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 6, 2024 6:00am PST

Snowflake’s new CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy, who took over from retiring chief executive Frank Slootman last week, inherited an unusual corporate structure. Ramaswamy has only four direct reports, much fewer than CEOs at most technology companies. By comparison, the CEOs of Salesforce and ServiceNow, two other large public software companies,... Snowflake’s new CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy, who took over from retiring chief executive Frank...

Boston Harbor. Photo via Getty Images.

Embattled Venture Firm OpenView to Give Back 75% of Capital to Investors

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 5, 2024 5:20pm PST · 6 comments

OpenView Venture Partners, the Boston-based venture capital firm whose abrupt decision to wind down late last year epitomized the challenges facing startup investors in the aftermath of the tech funding boom, has figured out its final chapter. The 18-year-old firm plans to return the majority of a $571 million fund it raised a year ago to its... OpenView Venture Partners, the Boston-based venture capital firm whose abrupt decision to wind...

Photo by Greg Doherty/Variety via Getty Images.

Reddit’s IPO Will Test Investors’ AI Gullibility

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

IPO watchers are gearing up. We’re likely only a couple of weeks away from the next high-profile IPO, this time of Reddit, a social media service. The first big-name tech debut since last fall’s flurry of offerings from Instacart, Arm and Klaviyo, Reddit’s debut presents a test of investor gullibility. The company has suggested in its IPO filing... IPO watchers are gearing up. We’re likely only a couple of weeks away from the next high-profile...

Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images.

What to Expect at SXSW; ByteDance’s Soaring Revenue

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 5, 2024 2:25pm PST

Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

What to Expect at SXSW; ByteDance’s Soaring Revenue

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 5, 2024 2:25pm PST

Later this week, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin. If you’ll be in town, let’s get coffee or some BBQ! I’d also love to see you at The Information’s cocktail party on Friday night here, and our Saturday brunch and panel here. (Be sure to RSVP today, space is limited!)Creators have increasingly become... Later this week, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin....

Chipper Cash CEO and co-founder, Ham Serunjogi. Photo by Getty.

The Latest Fintech Retreat: a $2 Billion Challenger to Western Union Suspends U.S. Services

By Abubakar Idris · Mar 5, 2024 1:16pm PST

In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African payment startups, enthusiastic about their potential to revolutionize access to financial services on the African continent. Among the lucky startups was Chipper Cash, a San Francisco–based firm that raised $300 million from Jeff Bezos’s... In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African...

Partner Content

Recap: Building Security Into Products: How Developers Can Bulletproof Their Tech

By The Information Partnerships · Mar 5, 2024 11:52am PST

Corporations spend millions every year to ward off and defend against cyberattacks. Those costs increase as hackers evolve their attacks, moving so fast that it often leaves security professionals playing catch-up. The cost to an organization’s bottom line—and its reputation—can be disastrous. But what if security was built... Corporations spend millions every year to ward off and defend against cyberattacks. Those costs...

The Information Announces Expansion of Finance Team

The Information Announces Expansion of Finance Team

By The Information Staff · Mar 5, 2024 10:51am PST

We are pleased to announce The Information is expanding our finance team. Last year marked a strong year for the growth of our must-read journalism for finance leaders. From breaking the news of the imminent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to getting inside the fallout of a disastrous JPMorgan fintech acquisition, The Information reporters got... We are pleased to announce The Information is expanding our finance team. Last year marked a...

Miles Grimshaw at Cerebral Valley AI Summit in 2023. Photo via YouTube/Newcomer.

Another VC Boomerang: Benchmark General Partner Grimshaw Leaves for Thrive

By Kate Clark · Mar 5, 2024 8:00am PST · 4 comments

Miles Grimshaw at Cerebral Valley AI Summit in 2023. Photo via YouTube/Newcomer.

Another VC Boomerang: Benchmark General Partner Grimshaw Leaves for Thrive

By Kate Clark · Mar 5, 2024 8:00am PST · 4 comments

Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Benchmark, is leaving the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital, the New York venture capital firm where he started his career in 2013, according to a Thrive spokesperson. Grimshaw’s departure represents a rare resignation from Benchmark, a storied early-stage venture firm with early bets on Twitter, Uber and... Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Benchmark, is leaving the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital, the...

Taalas cofounder and CEO Ljubisa Bajic. Courtesy of Taalas.

The Startup Flipping Nvidia’s Playbook on its Head

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 5, 2024 7:00am PST

And now for something completely different, as British comedy troupe Monty Python used to say. It’s no secret in the AI world that Nvidia’s success in selling AI chips lies partly in the chips’ flexibility. Developers can (relatively) easily tweak the chips to run different types of AI models. Taalas, a new AI chip developer, wants to go in the... And now for something completely different, as British comedy troupe Monty Python used to say. It...

Art by Clark Miller

AI Has an Uber Problem

By Tim O'Reilly · Mar 5, 2024 6:09am PST · 26 comments

“The economic problem of society…is a problem of the utilization of knowledge which is not given to anyone in its totality.” —Friedrich A. Hayek, “The Use of Knowledge in Society” Silicon Valley venture capitalists and many entrepreneurs espouse libertarian values. In practice, they subscribe to central... “The economic problem of society…is a problem of the utilization of knowledge which...

EU Commissioner for 'A Europe Fit for the Digital Age' Margrethe Vestager speaking today in Brussels. Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images.

What Europe’s Big Fine on Apple Means

By Martin Peers · Mar 4, 2024 5:00pm PST

Europe’s antitrust bureaucrats have fined U.S. tech firms so many times that another big penalty—this one for nearly $2 billion, levied at Apple over its App Store rules—might seem like just another day in Brussels. But this episode is a little different. For one thing, Europe’s targets don’t usually include Apple. And, perhaps because CEO... Europe’s antitrust bureaucrats have fined U.S. tech firms so many times that another big penalty—...

Photo by Shutterstock.

Trendy Soda Brand Olipop Seeks Fresh Cash, Targets $400 Million in Sales

By Ann Gehan · Mar 4, 2024 3:50pm PST

Photo by Shutterstock.

Trendy Soda Brand Olipop Seeks Fresh Cash, Targets $400 Million in Sales

By Ann Gehan · Mar 4, 2024 3:50pm PST

Olipop, a fast-growing brand of soda that has built buzz on TikTok and Instagram with help of celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, is aiming to lift its sales this year to around $400 million, up from more than $250 million last year, and is in talks to raise fresh capital to help fuel its growth, according to a person with direct knowledge of... Olipop, a fast-growing brand of soda that has built buzz on TikTok and Instagram with help of...

ByteDance offices in Singapore. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

ByteDance Revenue Growth Accelerated to 43% in Third Quarter

By Kaya Yurieff and Jon Victor · Mar 4, 2024 2:58pm PST · 1 comment

ByteDance revenue in the third quarter of 2023 rose roughly 43% to $30.9 billion, indicating that the TikTok parent company accelerated advertising and ecommerce sales slightly from the first half. It also demonstrated that ByteDance is continuing to grow at nearly twice the growth rate of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms. For the first nine months... ByteDance revenue in the third quarter of 2023 rose roughly 43% to $30.9 billion, indicating that...

Rami Zeidan, founder and former CEO of Life House. Photo via YouTube/Influence Group. Art by Shane Burke.

Life House CEO Departs After The Information’s Report on Company

By Paris Martineau · Mar 4, 2024 10:32am PST · 1 comment

The founder and CEO of the hospitality startup Life House, Rami Zeidan, has resigned and left the board, board member Chris Hemmeter told shareholders in an email on Monday. The board hired two travel industry veterans to take over the company’s management. The shakeup follows a February 14 report in The Information which cited customers... The founder and CEO of the hospitality startup Life House, Rami Zeidan, has resigned and left the...

Eddie Wu, CEO of Alibaba. Photo by Getty

What’s Behind Alibaba’s AI Funding Frenzy

By Juro Osawa · Mar 4, 2024 7:15am PST · 1 comment

Big tech companies the world over like to spread their bets on large language models. We’ve seen that with Microsoft—which backed OpenAI but has also struck deals with rivals Cohere and Mistral to make their models available to customers of Azure. (Microsoft also invested a tiny amount in Mistral). Similarly, Alibaba, China’s equivalent of ... Big tech companies the world over like to spread their bets on large language models. We’ve seen...

Clockwise from top left: Chris Capossela, Andrej Karpathy, Sarah Friar, Paul Vogel, JuE Wong.

On the Market: OpenAI, Microsoft, Spotify and Nextdoor Leaders

By The Information Staff · Mar 4, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Clockwise from top left: Chris Capossela, Andrej Karpathy, Sarah Friar, Paul Vogel, JuE Wong.

On the Market: OpenAI, Microsoft, Spotify and Nextdoor Leaders

By The Information Staff · Mar 4, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

For many tech executives, the outbreak of Covid-19 turned into a leadership boot camp, requiring them to shepherd companies through the intense spike in demand for online shopping and entertainment and the painful slowdown in business that followed. A generation of tech executives is now leaving those companies with battle-honed skills. Our... For many tech executives, the outbreak of Covid-19 turned into a leadership boot camp, requiring...