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

Taylor Swift vs. MrBeast w/ Casey Neistat and Ricky Van Veen

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 2, 2024 1:07pm PST · 1 comment

What a special week! This week we sat across the table from two of our favorite digital media personalities, filmaker and YouTuber Casey Neistat and Ricky Van Veen, the co-founder of CollegeHumor and a VP of partnerships at Meta. Between the six of us, we covered everything from the downsides of true digital fame to how AI will and... What a special week! This week we sat across the table from two of our favorite digital...

Art by Clark Miller

The Very Best Executive Coaches

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 2, 2024 12:00pm PST · 22 comments

Here’s one common link between Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt: They’ve all employed an executive coach, seeming to prove the point that everyone could use some advice—even the greats. The best coaches have “gravitas, experience, intellect and people skills,” said Jonathan Rosenberg, a former Googler who has... Here’s one common link between Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt: They’ve all...

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Meta’s Big Rally Spotlights Investors’ Questions About AI Returns

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 2, 2024 9:59am PST · 2 comments

Shares of Meta Platforms stock soared 20% on Friday as investors applauded the company’s fourth-quarter results, which showed a strong ad recovery from its 2022 slump. But the enthusiasm of some investors was tempered by uncertainty about the returns Meta can get from the billions it is pouring into new generative artificial intelligence... Shares of Meta Platforms stock soared 20% on Friday as investors applauded the company’s...

Art by Clark Miller, Nilekani via Getty Images.

The Bill Gates of India Has A Grand Plan to Outfox Amazon—And Change the World

By Anita Raghavan · Feb 2, 2024 9:00am PST · 11 comments

Art by Clark Miller, Nilekani via Getty Images.

The Bill Gates of India Has A Grand Plan to Outfox Amazon—And Change the World

By Anita Raghavan · Feb 2, 2024 9:00am PST · 11 comments

Few places present a more vibrant study of contrasts than modern India, with the archaic and the modern, the wealthy and the poor, the digital and the physical all increasingly intersecting and interweaving. As so often happens, I watched these forces converge one December afternoon on a shady, tree-lined street in the posh Koramangala... Few places present a more vibrant study of contrasts than modern India, with the archaic and the...

Photo via Adobe Stock

Pro Weekly: The Founders Challenging Nvidia

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 2, 2024 8:00am PST

Earlier this week, we published The Information’s AI Chip Database for Pro subscribers, tracking the 18 (and counting) startups that are challenging Nvidia in the fast-growing market for the graphics processing units that power artificial intelligence. In total, these companies have raised over $6 billion in funding.It’s a tall task to take on ... Earlier this week, we published The Information’s AI Chip Database for Pro subscribers, tracking...

Shane Burke/Shutterstock

As China-U.S. Relations Sour, Baidu’s VC Affiliate Tries to Sell Its U.S. Startup Stakes

By Juro Osawa · Feb 2, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

A venture capital firm backed by Chinese internet firm Baidu is in talks to sell a portfolio of stakes in a range of U.S. startups, including artificial intelligence robotics startup Machina Labs, whose customers include the U.S. Air Force, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The firm, Baidu Venture, has been in discussions... A venture capital firm backed by Chinese internet firm Baidu is in talks to sell a portfolio of...

Photo via AP

Meta Is Q4 Standout of Tech Trifecta

By Martin Peers · Feb 1, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

We got a trifecta of big tech earnings results today, with December quarter updates from Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms. Of that group, Meta was the standout, reporting 25% growth in revenue to just above $40 billion, at the high end of what it had projected. Even better, Meta projected that revenue growth could accelerate further to as high... We got a trifecta of big tech earnings results today, with December quarter updates from Apple,...

Photo by Future Publishing via Getty Images.

A Meta (AI) Assistant for Every Creator; TikTok’s Music Row

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 1, 2024 3:41pm PST · 1 comment

Photo by Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Creator Economy

A Meta (AI) Assistant for Every Creator; TikTok’s Music Row

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 1, 2024 3:41pm PST · 1 comment

Mark Zuckerberg wants every creator to “have an AI that their community can engage with.”That’s part of his plans for the year, laid out during Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call today.The announcements leaned heavily on artificial intelligence products and features, including that Meta AI—the company’s AI assistant—will become a bigger part of... Mark Zuckerberg wants every creator to “have an AI that their community can engage with.”That’s...

Elon Musk at the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit on Nov. 1, 2023. Photo by Leon Neal/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.

Elon Musk’s xAI Fundraising Dance

By Becky Peterson · Feb 1, 2024 12:54pm PST

Elon Musk doesn’t abide by the norms of Silicon Valley, where startups looking to raise money hold formal pitch meetings, during which executives show off fundraising slide decks full of information about their businesses, and outline their expectations around check size and valuation.So when Musk posted a message on X last Friday, denying a... Elon Musk doesn’t abide by the norms of Silicon Valley, where startups looking to raise money...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

AI Data Center Startup Astera Labs Plans March IPO

By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 1, 2024 11:46am PST · 1 comment

A little-known startup that sells crucial data center components to customers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft is aiming to become one of the first firms to go public off the back of the boom in generative artificial intelligence. Astera Labs, backed by Sutter Hill Ventures and Intel, has been meeting with prospective investors ahead of a... A little-known startup that sells crucial data center components to customers like Amazon Web...

Jack Altman in 2019. Photo via Princeton University.

Alt Capital Raises $150 Million Fund, Extending Altman Brothers’ Funding Spree

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 1, 2024 8:52am PST

Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack has raised a $150 million venture fund to invest in early-stage startups through his VC firm Alt Capital, the younger Altman said in an interview. The fund plans to lead or co-lead investments in startups right after they incorporate, with a focus on enterprise software, including artificial intelligence... Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack has raised a $150 million venture fund to invest in...

Semantiks founder Adrian Sanchez-Castro. Photo courtesy of Sanchez-Castro.

Mistral Reveals its Secret Weapon—Mark Zuckerberg; Struggling Startups Are Looking For the Exits

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 1, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Semantiks founder Adrian Sanchez-Castro. Photo courtesy of Sanchez-Castro.

Mistral Reveals its Secret Weapon—Mark Zuckerberg; Struggling Startups Are Looking For the Exits

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 1, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about social media’s mental health effects, but he must have cracked a smile after seeing the latest example of his company’s impact on the AI sector. For the past few months, AI founders and Meta employees have quietly speculated that Meta’s flagship... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about...

Meta campus in Menlo Park. Photo by Getty.

Advertisers Feel the Effects of Meta’s ‘Efficiency’ Drive

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sahil Patel · Feb 1, 2024 6:00am PST

Facebook parent Meta Platforms is testing the patience of its advertiser clients. After two rounds of layoffs over the past 14 months, Meta’s ad sales team is operating with fewer people, which ad executives complain is affecting the service they receive from the company. Sean Johnston, vice president of digital advertising at Closed Loop,... Facebook parent Meta Platforms is testing the patience of its advertiser clients. After two...

Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler, left, and Bird founder and CEO Robert Vis. Photos by Business Wire; Getty.

Dutch Messaging Startup Weighs Longshot Bid to Buy Twilio With Outside Investors

By Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Feb 1, 2024 4:56am PST

A Dutch messaging software startup is in talks with outside investors to raise money for a longshot bid to buy its much larger U.S. publicly traded competitor Twilio, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Accel Partners-backed startup, which was known as MessageBird but just renamed itself Bird, could take advantage of the... A Dutch messaging software startup is in talks with outside investors to raise money for a...

The Electric: Albemarle Cuts Lithium Production to Reduce Global Surplus

The Electric: Albemarle Cuts Lithium Production to Reduce Global Surplus

By Steve LeVine · Feb 1, 2024 4:30am PST

U.S. mining company Albemarle and China’s Tianqi Lithium will cut production up to 13% at Australia’s giant Greenbushes lithium mine, in which they are joint venture partners, responding to a massive, yearlong drop in the price of the metal. In addition to the cuts, the two companies plan not to process all the lithium they do mine at... U.S. mining company Albemarle and China’s Tianqi Lithium will cut production up to 13% at...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Discord's Jason Citron, Snap's Evan Spiegel, TikTok's Shou Chew and X's Linda Yaccarino at today's U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. Photos via Getty Images.

Social Media Senate Hearing: Point Scoring and Talking Points

By Martin Peers · Jan 31, 2024 5:00pm PST

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Discord's Jason Citron, Snap's Evan Spiegel, TikTok's Shou Chew and X's Linda Yaccarino at today's U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. Photos via Getty Images.

Social Media Senate Hearing: Point Scoring and Talking Points

By Martin Peers · Jan 31, 2024 5:00pm PST

It’s doubtful much of substance was achieved from today’s Senate hearing into “big tech and the online child sexual exploitation crisis,” starring a lineup of social media CEOs. As is typical, the CEOs recited jargonistic talking points and floundered when a cavalcade of senators demanded yes-or-no answers to a variety of questions. The senators... It’s doubtful much of substance was achieved from today’s Senate hearing into “big tech and the...

Left to right: Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta at a Senate hearing. Photo by Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Congress Won’t Let TikTok Forget About China

By Kalley Huang · Jan 31, 2024 3:08pm PST

Senators grilled the CEOs of Meta Platforms, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord for four hours at a hearing about child sexual exploitation online on Wednesday, criticizing how their platforms allowed child sexual abuse material to spread and enabled the extortion of young people. The senators used the opportunity to jab at executives —“You have blood... Senators grilled the CEOs of Meta Platforms, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord for four hours at a...

Attorney Gregory Varallo and Elon Musk. Photos via Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann and Bloomberg/Getty Images.

The Big Interview

Meet The Lawyer Who Took Away Elon Musk’s $56 Billion

By Becky Peterson · Jan 31, 2024 1:29pm PST · 8 comments

Gregory Varallo is a corporate lawyer in Delaware. But in the wake of a landmark Delaware court ruling on Tuesday night, he’s not just any lawyer. Varallo is one of the few people to win a courtroom battle with Elon Musk, who has repeatedly prevailed in contentious shareholder and defamation lawsuits. Varallo represented Tesla shareholder... Gregory Varallo is a corporate lawyer in Delaware. But in the wake of a landmark Delaware court...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

As AI Costs Soar, Some Startups Consider Selling

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 31, 2024 9:00am PST · 4 comments

The founders of artificial intelligence startups spent much of the past year seeking capital to fund the high cost of developing their software. Now those costs have pushed some to consider another alternative—merging with a larger company. Perplexity AI, a one-year-old San Francisco–based startup developing an AI-powered search... The founders of artificial intelligence startups spent much of the past year seeking capital to...

Photos via Adobe Stock

Microsoft Dishes on AI Revenue; Google CEO Says ‘Agents’ Are Coming

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jan 31, 2024 7:00am PST

Photos via Adobe Stock

Microsoft Dishes on AI Revenue; Google CEO Says ‘Agents’ Are Coming

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jan 31, 2024 7:00am PST

Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night, looking to see how much its new AI products were boosting sales. Microsoft didn’t deliver an unequivocal blowout—revenue in the December quarter grew moderately faster, year over year, compared to the prior quarter’s growth—but positive signs abounded... Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night,...