The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Apple’s AI Storytelling Casts a Spell on Investors

By Martin Peers · Jun 12, 2024 5:00pm PDT

What a difference a snazzy presentation makes! Apple regained its status as the most valuable company for a few hours on Wednesday as its stock rallied for the second day in a row following its Monday artificial intelligence revelations. By day’s end, though, investors seemed to realize they’d gone overboard. Apple stock fell back from its... What a difference a snazzy presentation makes! Apple regained its status as the most valuable...

Sherry Wong, founder and CEO of Roster. Photo via Branded

Creator Economy

A YouTuber Launches a Job Site for Creator Work

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 12, 2024 2:00pm PDT

Hiring is a perennial headache for creators. Most rely on recommendations from other creators or use their own social media accounts to spread the word. Complicating matters is that often they’re looking for short-term help or people with a specific skill set, such as experts in YouTube thumbnail design.Roster, a hiring website that officially... Hiring is a perennial headache for creators. Most rely on recommendations from other creators or...

Sam Altman at WWDC earlier this week. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

OpenAI’s Annualized Revenue Doubles to $3.4 Billion Since Late 2023

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Jun 12, 2024 1:33pm PDT · 5 comments

OpenAI has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $3.4 billion in the past six months or so, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has told staff, a sign that growth in the ChatGPT developer’s business is accelerating despite intensifying competition. Annualized revenue—a measure of the past month’s revenue multiplied by 12—was $1.6 billion in... OpenAI has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $3.4 billion in the past six months or so,...

Former CEO and co-founder of Synapse, Sankaet Pathak. Screenshot via YouTube.

Ex-CEO of Failed Fintech Synapse Nabs $10 Million for New Robotics Startup

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 12, 2024 1:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Former CEO and co-founder of Synapse, Sankaet Pathak. Screenshot via YouTube.

Ex-CEO of Failed Fintech Synapse Nabs $10 Million for New Robotics Startup

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 12, 2024 1:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Trustees for bankrupt fintech Synapse are still hunting for $85 million in lost customer money. But that hasn’t stopped the company's former chief executive Sankaet Pathak from raising millions in funding for a new robotics venture, Foundation. He’s already got a $10 million commitment from Tribe Capital, an early-stage venture... Trustees for bankrupt fintech Synapse are still hunting for $85 million in lost customer money....

Photo via Getty Images

What On-Device Models Mean for Open-Source AI

By Kalley Huang · Jun 12, 2024 7:45am PDT

When Apple on Monday showed off the artificial intelligence that will soon land in some of our iPhones, some developers praised the company for running many of the new features directly on the iPhone, rather than in the cloud as other companies do. Like Apple, which has made user privacy and security central to its marketing, these developers... When Apple on Monday showed off the artificial intelligence that will soon land in some of our ...

GitLab co-founders Sid Sijbrandij (left) and Dmitriy Zaporozhets at the company's IPO in 2021. Photo via Nasdaq

GitLab, DocuSign: Two Software Companies That May Not Stay Public for Long

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jun 12, 2024 6:00am PDT

Tech companies may soon be on a shopping spree, as the world adjusts to high interest rates and companies start looking for ways to juice growth. And for investors inclined to make a bet on potential targets, they need not go much further than two enterprise tech firms: GitLab and DocuSign. That’s our conclusion from wading through... Tech companies may soon be on a shopping spree, as the world adjusts to high interest rates and...

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Oracle Feeds Off AI Leftovers

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

Talk about fighting for crumbs. Microsoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday that they’ll tap Oracle’s cloud servers for “additional capacity for OpenAI.” That counts as great news for Oracle, sending its stock up 9% in after-hours trading. Investors overlooked the fact that Oracle also reported Tuesday that its cloud revenue growth slowed by several... Talk about fighting for crumbs. Microsoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday that they’ll tap Oracle’s...

Photo via Shutterstock

BeReal's Surprising Sale Is a Positive Sign for Startups

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2024 3:35pm PDT · 2 comments

Photo via Shutterstock

BeReal's Surprising Sale Is a Positive Sign for Startups

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2024 3:35pm PDT · 2 comments

BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a $585 million valuation from Coatue Management and DST Global that year. The app’s once-scorching growth has cooled—yet it still managed to sell itself to French gaming company Voodoo for $537 million. In this era of fire sales, that’s cause for a... BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a...

Amber Venz Box. Photo by Jim Bennett/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Google AI Overviews Are ‘Nail in the Coffin’ for Blogs: LTK Founder

By Julia Hornstein · Jun 11, 2024 2:23pm PDT

For the last 24 hours, Apple’s newly unveiled artificial intelligence features have sucked up much of the oxygen in the room when it comes to tech headlines (more on that here). As many journalists remarked, Apple is playing catch up to some of its rivals, notably Google, whose AI-infused products have been in the wild for months. That’s enough... For the last 24 hours, Apple’s newly unveiled artificial intelligence features have sucked up...

Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering. Screenshot via Apple.

Apple Eyes Deals with Google and Anthropic After OpenAI; Apple Grades Its LLMs While Databricks Grades AI Usage

By Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2024 7:00am PDT

On a basic level, none of the artificial intelligence Apple announced on Monday came as a surprise. But there's a big difference between a news report describing what Apple is going to launch and seeing the finished product, and in that regard Apple delivered a cogent presentation that put Google's sprawling AI keynote from May to shame.Also, as... On a basic level, none of the artificial intelligence Apple announced on Monday came as a...

Art by Shane Burke

American AI Startups Relocate China-Based Engineers

By Juro Osawa and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 11, 2024 6:00am PDT

Among the hundreds of American artificial intelligence startups launched in the last few years, those founded by China-born entrepreneurs exercised a unique advantage: They could hire less expensive, talented engineers based in China. Now, as the geopolitical battle between the U.S. and China increasingly extends to AI, these startups are... Among the hundreds of American artificial intelligence startups launched in the last few years,...

Apple CEO, Tim Cook. Screenshot via Apple.

Apple’s Tech Master Class

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Apple CEO, Tim Cook. Screenshot via Apple.

Apple’s Tech Master Class

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Apple just delivered a master class in how to explain complex technology to ordinary people. Its presentation on Monday of how it will harness the latest artificial intelligence advances in its software was well done, to say the least. If you’ve been wondering exactly what AI can do—other than overhyped exercises such as designing a menu for a... Apple just delivered a master class in how to explain complex technology to ordinary people. Its...

Sarah Friar, left, and Kevin Weil. Photos by Getty

OpenAI Hires Sarah Friar as CFO, Kevin Weil as Chief Product Officer

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2024 10:15am PDT · 2 comments

OpenAI has hired two Silicon Valley veterans in finance and product roles as it prepares to launch new consumer products and a high-profile partnership with Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the hires. Sarah Friar, who was most recently the CEO of Nextdoor, a social network for neighborhoods, is joining as the company’s... OpenAI has hired two Silicon Valley veterans in finance and product roles as it prepares to...

From left: Marc Benioff, Safra Catz and Shantanu Narayen. Photos by Getty

Special Report: M&A

How Private Equity Rewards CEOs Who Sell

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 10, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Squarespace announced a deal to be taken private by private equity Permira for $6.9 billion last month, it ended an unhappy three-year chapter as a publicly listed company for the DIY website maker. Squarespace was one of the more than 100 tech firms that went public during the frothy days of 2021. Like many of those firms, the IPO has... When Squarespace announced a deal to be taken private by private equity Permira for $6.9 billion...

The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Calif. Photo by Anadolu via Getty Images.

‘Apple Intelligence’ is About to Test Regular People's Appetite; Meta Gets Grilled on Safety in Paris

By Amir Efrati · Jun 10, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Excitement this morning about Apple's planned reveal of artificial intelligence features during its WWDC event for app developers is more than warranted. While it might not be as mind-blowing as the Kling AI video teasers from China’s Kuaishou last week, Apple’s expected improvements to Siri; new tools to let people automatically generate... Excitement this morning about Apple's planned reveal of artificial intelligence features during...

Shein's Whitestown, Ind. warehouse. Photo by Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock.

Shein’s 40% Revenue Growth and Profit Boost in 2023 Could Help Lure IPO Investors

By Jing Yang · Jun 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Shein's Whitestown, Ind. warehouse. Photo by Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock.

Shein’s 40% Revenue Growth and Profit Boost in 2023 Could Help Lure IPO Investors

By Jing Yang · Jun 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

China-founded fast fashion giant Shein lifted its net profit margin even as it posted slightly faster revenue growth in 2023, two people with direct knowledge of its finances said. That performance should help Shein lure investors for a highly anticipated initial public offering—if it can convince regulators to sign off. Shein recorded... China-founded fast fashion giant Shein lifted its net profit margin even as it posted slightly...

The Mercedes-Stellantis gigafactory in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France. Photo courtesy ACC.

The Electric: Half the West’s Planned Gigafactories Are Uncertain to Be Built

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

Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories they were building through a joint venture. The companies want to take a fresh look at the plants in hopes of reducing the price of their electric vehicles, driven in large part by the cost of the batteries, the most expensive component in an EV. If... Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories...

Tux the Linux Penguin, Jim Zemlin and Linus Torvalds. Photos via Getty Images and the Linux Foundation

An Open-Source Nonprofit’s Growth and Executive Pay Raise Eyebrows

By Paris Martineau · Jun 9, 2024 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Open-source software has become a big business, even for some of the nonprofit organizations dedicated to coordinating the far-flung communities of programmers that contribute to open-source projects, usually without pay. That’s especially true of the Linux Foundation. That organization, which oversees the development of the Linux... Open-source software has become a big business, even for some of the nonprofit organizations...

Art by Clark Miller

A New List of The Worst VCs

By Abram Brown · Jun 8, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A lone shining light in food tech’s dark ageThe best summer camps for grownupsPlus: A tremendous trek through the Grand Canyon; “Succession” in breeches and gowns; and a gamified interview show.Venture capitalists excel at many things. For starters, they’re quite good at losing other people’s money. They’... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A lone shining light in food tech’s dark ageThe best...

Art by Clark Miller

The Best Summer Camps for Grownups

By Brigid Mander · Jun 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

The Best Summer Camps for Grownups

By Brigid Mander · Jun 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

It’s early June, which means the kids are getting excited for months of uninterrupted summer playtime and pursuits. That begs the question: Why should they get to have all the fun? For many of those kids, a portion of that happens at summer camp. (And we had suggestions about those camps a few weeks ago.) For many grownups, a dose of... It’s early June, which means the kids are getting excited for months of uninterrupted...