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

Amy Griffin, left, and Kirsten Green. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

AI Can Jump-Start Consumer Brands, Investors and Founders Say

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2024 6:00am PDT

Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices for everything from apparel to beauty and wellness products, and it’s harder for young brands to stand out. “There’s a consumer that’s overwhelmed right now, that wants it all, but wants it all done a little bit more for... Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices...

Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic, speaks at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Anthropic Says Its Chatbot Could Alter Its Hiring Plans

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2024 5:16pm PDT · 2 comments

An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough revenue to offset the high costs of compute and talent. Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of model developer Anthropic, isn’t sharing a forecast for when that will happen. But the startup’s own AI developer could help speed the... An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough...

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty.

Roblox’s Kids Cesspool

By Martin Peers · Oct 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street short seller’s report out today about Roblox, an online kids’ gaming service, painted a picture of a site you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to visit, let alone your children. It came the same day as attorneys general from a dozen states sued TikTok... The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street...

Photo via Getty

VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty

VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could harness blockchain technology was to run prediction markets. Proponents believed blockchain would help ensure payouts to winners, without the need to find a bookie and argue over results. Those efforts largely failed because those sites were... At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could...

Karla Welch, co-founder and CEO of The Period Company, speaking on Monday night at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Creator Economy

Reaching the ‘Savvy’ Consumer Is Complicated

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 8, 2024 3:18pm PDT

I’m delighted to be at The Information’s annual conference for women in media, tech and finance in Napa Valley. We’ve covered a lot of ground throughout the two-day event, ranging from artificial intelligence to the future of consumer and issues impacting young people.I heard one theme again and again: As the consumer market has gotten more... I’m delighted to be at The Information’s annual conference for women in media, tech and finance...

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Google Exec Says Data Gives It an Edge in AI Search

By Erin Woo · Oct 8, 2024 12:00pm PDT · 4 comments

Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, said her company’s data and experience building search products will give it an advantage in developing artificial intelligence-powered search, as Google faces competition from newer search-related entrants such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity. “We have really great data beyond the... Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, said her company’s data and experience building...

Photo via Getty.

The Startups Helping Businesses Decode AI Decisions

By Rocket Drew · Oct 8, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

First off, check out my colleagues’ story this morning about how OpenAI is growing impatient with Microsoft’s ability to provide it with enough servers to run its technology, prompting OpenAI to take greater control of its own data center, chip and power planning.Onto today’s issue…Venture capitalists have recently funded half a dozen or so... First off, check out my colleagues’ story this morning about how OpenAI is growing impatient with...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI Leaders Say Microsoft Isn’t Moving Fast Enough to Supply Servers

By Anissa Gardizy, Aaron Holmes and Amir Efrati · Oct 8, 2024 6:30am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI Leaders Say Microsoft Isn’t Moving Fast Enough to Supply Servers

By Anissa Gardizy, Aaron Holmes and Amir Efrati · Oct 8, 2024 6:30am PDT · 4 comments

OpenAI and Microsoft soared to new heights by developing and sharing artificial intelligence, specialized servers and product revenue with each other. Microsoft’s cash has paid for nearly all of that work. After marching in lockstep, their relationship is changing. Last week, after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Chief Financial Officer Sarah... OpenAI and Microsoft soared to new heights by developing and sharing artificial intelligence,...

Dave Clark. Photo via Flickr/U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.

Former Amazon Consumer Chief Raises $100 Million for New Logistics Startup

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Oct 8, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Dave Clark, a former senior Amazon executive who oversaw the buildup of the commerce giant’s sprawling delivery operations, is launching a logistics software startup with $100 million in funding from investment firm Oak HC/FT. Clark’s next move had been a question mark for the logistics and retail tech world since he was ousted as... Dave Clark, a former senior Amazon executive who oversaw the buildup of the commerce...

Beth Galetti, senior vice president, people experience and tech at Amazon. Photo: Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Amazon Develops AI ‘Coach’ For Its Employees: Senior HR Exec

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 7, 2024 10:23pm PDT

Amazon’s top human resources executive defended the company’s full return-to-office mandate announced last month, noting that young employees have been asking for in-office work to gain mentorship from their colleagues. The move to five days a week in-office is a return to Amazon’s pre-pandemic approach, where workers showed up... Amazon’s top human resources executive defended the company’s full return-to-office...

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Google's Epic Loss

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

Talk about an epic decision. Epic Games scored a huge victory in court on Monday, when the judge overseeing Epic’s antitrust case against Google essentially shattered the company’s Android app store monopoly. Among other things, the judge ruled that for the next three years, the tech giant can’t require developers to use only Google’s app... Talk about an epic decision. Epic Games scored a huge victory in court on Monday, when the judge...

OpenAI's canvas toolbar. Art by The Information.

OpenAI’s Attempt to Catch Up With Anthropic Could Cannibalize Its Business

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 7, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI's canvas toolbar. Art by The Information.

OpenAI’s Attempt to Catch Up With Anthropic Could Cannibalize Its Business

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 7, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI closed out its big week of fundraising news with a rather understated product announcement: the release of Canvas, a new ChatGPT interface that makes it easier for users to draft documents and code.That might not sound like a big deal. But it has bigger implications for the company’s position in the AI race and its relationship with its... OpenAI closed out its big week of fundraising news with a rather understated product...

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI Funding Fuels Wave of Big AI Deals

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 7, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

It’s back to the races for artificial intelligence startups that require billions of dollars—and the investors that want to own a piece of their growth. OpenAI’s $6.6 billion capital raise and startups’ high computing costs have sparked new funding discussions between AI startups—including xAI, Anthropic, Perplexity... It’s back to the races for artificial intelligence startups that require billions of...

GM's secretive prototyping center, in Warren, Mich. Photo: Courtesy GM

Exclusive From The Electric: Inside GM's Secretive Battery Lab

By Steve LeVine · Oct 7, 2024 4:30am PDT

In 2020, General Motors CEO Mary Barra told investors, analysts and journalists how the company planned to transform itself into an electric vehicle powerhouse. The key, the executives said in a two-hour presentation, was Ultium, a proprietary new battery they said would make GM’s EVs profitable almost from the get-go. In 2020, General Motors CEO Mary Barra told investors, analysts and journalists how the company...

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman. Photo by Getty

Cerebras CEO’s Past Felony Conviction Hangs Over IPO Listing

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 5, 2024 7:43am PDT · 4 comments

Cerebras Systems, a $4 billion-valuation semiconductor designer taking on Nvidia, stands out as one of the few tech startups aiming to list its shares publicly this year, trying to capitalize on investor interest in hardware that powers artificial intelligence. What may dampen some of the fervor is another unusual detail: Its co-founder and CEO,... Cerebras Systems, a $4 billion-valuation semiconductor designer taking on Nvidia, stands out as...

Tech’s Performative Grudge Matches

Tech’s Performative Grudge Matches

By Abram Brown · Oct 5, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Tech’s Performative Grudge Matches

Tech’s Performative Grudge Matches

By Abram Brown · Oct 5, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Why women in tech are sounding an alarm• Power and Influence: The tangled web behind the VC who wants to be mayor• Plus: Terrors from a storm; Netflix escapism; and a podcast with Tom Hanks and chimpanzee butts. Silicon Valley grudgery really can devolve into such absurd... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Why women in tech are sounding an alarm•...

Mark Farrell. Art by Clark Miller; Farrell image via Getty

Power and Influence

San Francisco’s Would-Be Mayor Has a Tangled History in Venture

By Josh Koehn · Oct 5, 2024 5:00am PDT · 4 comments

In 2015, many San Franciscans were furious with startups like Airbnb as they depleted the city’s housing supply and pushed rent in the city to some of the highest levels in the country. Mark Farrell—a venture capitalist then serving as a city supervisor and now a leading candidate in San Francisco’s current mayoral... In 2015, many San Franciscans were furious with startups like Airbnb as they depleted the...

Photo via Shutterstock

Amazon Learns Tech Isn’t Everything in Retail Stores

By Theo Wayt · Oct 4, 2024 3:30pm PDT

It looks like Amazon has finally realized most people go to grocery and convenience stores to browse and shop—not to be wowed by technology. Case in point: Amazon is closing more of its futuristic cashierless convenience shops and launching mini Whole Foods stores that are comparatively low tech. When Amazon opened its first Go store to the... It looks like Amazon has finally realized most people go to grocery and convenience stores to...

Art by Clark Miller

Why Women in Tech Are Sounding an Alarm

By Julia Black · Oct 4, 2024 9:00am PDT · 24 comments

There wasn’t any one thing that led to the slow death of Girls in Tech, a standard-bearer nonprofit that provided Silicon Valley women with the kind of mentorship and training opportunities that men took for granted. First, the pandemic struck, and donors shifted their attention to health and science causes. Then the Black Lives Matter... There wasn’t any one thing that led to the slow death of Girls in Tech, a standard-bearer...

Cohere's Aidan Gomez, Safe Superintelligence's Ilya Sutskever and World Labs' Fei-Fei Li. Photos via Flickr and Getty.

Pro Weekly: Third-Quarter AI Funding Falls, but There’s a Catch

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 4, 2024 8:00am PDT

Cohere's Aidan Gomez, Safe Superintelligence's Ilya Sutskever and World Labs' Fei-Fei Li. Photos via Flickr and Getty.

Pro Weekly: Third-Quarter AI Funding Falls, but There’s a Catch

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 4, 2024 8:00am PDT

Fourth-quarter artificial intelligence funding is off to a big start with OpenAI locking in $6.6 billion in fresh capital this week. It’s the second-largest funding round we’ve ever recorded in our Generative AI Database, behind Microsoft’s $10 billion OpenAI investment in January 2023.But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The third quarter just... Fourth-quarter artificial intelligence funding is off to a big start with OpenAI locking in $6.6...