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

Harvey co-founders Gabriel Pereyra and Winston Weinberg. Photo via YouTube.

AI Startup Harvey Targets $2 Billion Valuation and Mulls Buying a Legal Research Company

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Jun 7, 2024 3:21pm PDT

In just over a year, artificial intelligence startup Harvey raised three investment rounds to develop software that takes the drudgery out of legal paperwork. Now the company wants an even bigger war chest—one that could help it acquire other companies. The San Francisco startup has been talking to investors about raising $600 million at a... In just over a year, artificial intelligence startup Harvey raised three investment rounds to...

Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Photos via Shutterstock and Getty Images.

Apple and Musk to Dominate News Next Week

By Martin Peers · Jun 7, 2024 2:30pm PDT

This was Jensen Huang’s week. As we saw when he appeared at the Computex conference in Taipei this week, Huang is now a fully fledged celebrity CEO. (See Qianer Liu’s report on Computex below). Fittingly, Nvidia also this week briefly passed Apple as the second most valuable company, with a $3 trillion market capitalization. It’s extraordinary... This was Jensen Huang’s week. As we saw when he appeared at the Computex conference in Taipei...

Startups to Start: Media Edition

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 7, 2024 10:48am PDT

Welcome to Episode 50! We haven't shied from talking about how brutal the startup market is right now. But that doesn't mean there aren't great things to build. So, this week we shared some thoughts on what WE would build, starting with a sector close to our hearts: media. Plus, Brit on the Life360 US IPO and my attempt to up my... Welcome to Episode 50! We haven't shied from talking about how brutal the startup market is...

Reddit CFO Drew Vallero at the company's New York Stock Exchange debut in March. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Pro Weekly: Where to Find a CFO for an IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 7, 2024 8:05am PDT

Reddit CFO Drew Vallero at the company's New York Stock Exchange debut in March. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Pro Weekly: Where to Find a CFO for an IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 7, 2024 8:05am PDT

Three years before Reddit went public in March, CEO Steve Huffman made a big hire. He tapped Drew Vollero to be Reddit’s first chief financial officer, after Vollero had shepherded Snap as its CFO through an initial public offering in 2017.Vollero is one of the 31 top executives included in the Reddit Org Chart we published earlier today. Like... Three years before Reddit went public in March, CEO Steve Huffman made a big hire. He tapped Drew...

The People in Charge at Reddit After Its IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 7, 2024 6:00am PDT

Ahead of its initial public offering in March, Reddit trumpeted its digital advertising business, which accounts for nearly all of its revenue. So it’s fitting that nearly two-thirds of its top executives previously worked at companies that sell digital ads. At least 19 of the company’s 31 top executives previously worked at Google,... Ahead of its initial public offering in March, Reddit trumpeted its digital advertising business,...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Is DOJ Inquiry Into Nvidia A Sign the Chipmaker Has Peaked?

By Martin Peers · Jun 6, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Has Nvidia peaked? That’s a question investors may be pondering today, after The New York Times report that the U.S. antitrust police have decided to open an inquiry into the chip maker. (It’s surely coincidental that the report came a day after Nvidia passed $3 trillion in market capitalization, making it the second most valuable company, above... Has Nvidia peaked? That’s a question investors may be pondering today, after The New York Times...

Photo via Getty Images

Is This the Best Time to Invest in China? Its VC Funds Hope So

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 6, 2024 3:03pm PDT

It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions and endowments halted investments. Existing investors demanded cash distributions. Fundraising plunged. But lately China’s venture capitalists have decided they can’t wait until the downturn passes to hit the fundraising circuit.Several China-based... It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions...

Sean Downey, president of Americas and global partners at Google, speaks at YouTube Brandcast 2024 on May 15. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

YouTube’s Pitch to Advertisers Stresses Creator ‘Stars’

By Sahil Patel · Jun 6, 2024 2:02pm PDT

Sean Downey, president of Americas and global partners at Google, speaks at YouTube Brandcast 2024 on May 15. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Pitch to Advertisers Stresses Creator ‘Stars’

By Sahil Patel · Jun 6, 2024 2:02pm PDT

Google’s YouTube is now in the thick of upfront negotiations with advertisers, a period when networks and streaming services like Netflix compete for billions of dollars in ad-spending pledges. YouTube can trumpet the fact that more people in the U.S. are watching the app when they turn on a TV than any other streaming service.In fact, YouTube... Google’s YouTube is now in the thick of upfront negotiations with advertisers, a period when...

Photo via Getty Images

Is Plagiarism a Stain on Open-Source AI?

By Kalley Huang · Jun 6, 2024 7:15am PDT · 1 comment

The open-source artificial intelligence community has been buzzing over allegations that three U.S.-based developers—including two Stanford University undergraduates—copied parts of a multimodal large-language model developed by a Chinese lab founded by Tsinghua University and Beijing-based AI startup ModelBest.This incident might seem trivial... The open-source artificial intelligence community has been buzzing over allegations that three...

Art by Shane Burke.

Trillion-Dollar Asset Manager Franklin Templeton Explores New Crypto Fund

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 6, 2024 6:50am PDT

Franklin Templeton, the 77-year-old mutual fund heavyweight named in honor of founding father Benjamin Franklin, is exploring launching a new crypto fund that will invest in a range of tokens beyond bitcoin and ether, according to people with direct knowledge of the effort. While some traditional asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity have... Franklin Templeton, the 77-year-old mutual fund heavyweight named in honor of founding father...

Art by Clark Miller

The Three Young Founders Looking at Food Tech’s Dark Age in a New Light

By Larissa Zimberoff · Jun 6, 2024 6:00am PDT

A few weeks ago, at a former jellybean factory in Emeryville, California, I tasted what may be the future of food: the lab-grown, or cultured, meat produced by Prolific Machines, a four-year-old startup that has been operating in secret while it develops its technology. “Last night, I worried what you were going to think,” admitted... A few weeks ago, at a former jellybean factory in Emeryville, California, I tasted what may be...

Photo: Getty

The Electric: Mercedes Goes to Advanced Tests of Factorial’s Solid State Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jun 6, 2024 4:31am PDT

Photo: Getty

The Electric: Mercedes Goes to Advanced Tests of Factorial’s Solid State Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jun 6, 2024 4:31am PDT

Mercedes-Benz, aiming to introduce next-generation solid state batteries into its electric vehicles by 2026, said it has moved into advanced tests of a battery developed by Massachusetts-based Factorial Energy. The move comes amid increasing industry and investor skepticism about the mass-market potential of most next-gen EV batteries. Mercedes-Benz, aiming to introduce next-generation solid state batteries into its electric...

Art by Clark Miller

China’s Nvidia Loophole: How ByteDance Got the Best AI Chips Despite U.S. Restrictions

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 6, 2024 3:30am PDT · 1 comment

The U.S. government forbids Nvidia from selling some of its most advanced artificial intelligence chips to customers in China. But it doesn’t stop Chinese firms from buying or renting Nvidia’s chips if they’re used within the U.S. Some big Chinese tech firms have taken advantage of that loophole, or tried to. ByteDance, owner... The U.S. government forbids Nvidia from selling some of its most advanced artificial intelligence...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Elliott's Implicit Message to SoftBank

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 5, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has bought a more than $2 billion stake in Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, and is making an explicit demand for the company to buy back $15 billion of its shares, the FT scooped today. But the implicit message is telling: Investors like Elliott don’t trust that Masayoshi Son has really... Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has bought a more than $2 billion stake in...

Ryan Serhant on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." Photo by Bravo via Getty Images.

Creator Economy

How a NY Broker Built a Business on Reality TV Fame

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 5, 2024 2:16pm PDT

When real estate broker Ryan Serhant appeared on Bravo’s reality TV series “Million Dollar Listing New York” in 2012, he got an instant taste of fame. “The next day, I was walking around New York City and I was stopped 10 times on the street,” Serhant recalled in a recent interview. “Just being on TV at the height of cable TV was enough. When real estate broker Ryan Serhant appeared on Bravo’s reality TV series “Million Dollar...

Art by Clark Miller

California’s Effort to Regulate AI Would Stifle Innovation

By Lauren Wagner · Jun 5, 2024 9:22am PDT · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller

California’s Effort to Regulate AI Would Stifle Innovation

By Lauren Wagner · Jun 5, 2024 9:22am PDT · 3 comments

The artificial intelligence boom has ignited an intense response from regulators that will shape the future of AI startups, platforms and open source. President Joe Biden last year issued an executive order on AI and the EU has its AI Act. In the first half of 2024, state lawmakers across the U.S. have introduced 745 AI-related bills—10... The artificial intelligence boom has ignited an intense response from regulators that will shape...

Why AWS’ Fat Margins Are Here to Stay

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jun 5, 2024 7:28am PDT · 3 comments

If you’re an investor who’s turned negative on Amazon Web Services because of its much-reported growth slowdown of 2023, you might want to look again. While the pioneer of cloud computing is no longer posting red-hot topline expansion numbers, growth picked up meaningfully in the first quarter. Meanwhile, its profit margins are... If you’re an investor who’s turned negative on Amazon Web Services because of its...

Photo by Moor Studio via Shutterstock

The, Um, Psychology of, Like, AI-Generated Voices; Effective Altruists Strike Back at OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 5, 2024 7:00am PDT

OpenAI’s forthcoming artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant, which allows users to speak with ChatGPT on their phone, has generated tremendous buzz in the industry, and not just because of ScarJo. That’s because developing AI models that can understand human voices and generate realistic AI voices is a lot harder than you might think.... OpenAI’s forthcoming artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant, which allows users to speak...

Photo courtesy Ionic Materials.

Next-Gen Battery Developer Ionic Materials Closes Down

By Steve LeVine · Jun 4, 2024 10:10pm PDT

In another setback for a maker of a next-generation electric vehicle battery, Massachusetts battery developer Ionic Materials let go virtually its entire workforce on Tuesday, closed down and made plans to sell its equipment and other assets, according to multiple former employees. The company fired more than 40 employees, two of whom said they... In another setback for a maker of a next-generation electric vehicle battery, Massachusetts...

Elon Musk. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.

Musk’s Chip Maneuvers Won’t Sway Tesla Vote

By Martin Peers · Jun 4, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.

Musk’s Chip Maneuvers Won’t Sway Tesla Vote

By Martin Peers · Jun 4, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Say what you will about Elon Musk, at least he is consistent. CNBC broke news today about Musk redirecting a shipment of Nvidia’s highly valued AI chips from Tesla to Musk’s privately held X and xAI, crystallizing concerns that some Tesla shareholders have about Musk’s divided loyalties. Once again, we have evidence that in his management of... Say what you will about Elon Musk, at least he is consistent. CNBC broke news today about Musk...