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

Vice President Kamala Harris arriving in Milwaukee this morning. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty. (edited)

Venture Capitalists Swap AI Valuations for Political Debates

By Kate Clark · Jul 23, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Greetings from San Francisco, where unprecedented political chaos has forced venture capitalists into political debates.Last week, it seemed as if all of Silicon Valley had rallied behind former President Donald Trump. Now, Silicon Valley’s Democrats are becoming more vocal, with a candidate they can openly support in Vice President Kamala... Greetings from San Francisco, where unprecedented political chaos has forced venture capitalists...

Vice President Kamala Harris picked up the endorsement of British singer Charli XCX, sparking memes across social media. Photo via Getty.

Creator Economy

Kamala Harris's Brat Summer; More AI Chatbots for Creators

By Julia Hornstein · Jul 23, 2024 2:25pm PDT

Are you having a brat summer? (I certainly am: I’m, literally, “so Julia,” as brat summer creator Charli XCX sings in her song “360,” referencing actress and model Julia Fox.) An outpouring of memes mentioning Kamala Harris on TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, might suggest that the vice president-turned-presidential candidate is having a brat... Are you having a brat summer? (I certainly am: I’m, literally, “so Julia,” as brat summer creator...

Reed Hastings Backs Pro-Kamala Harris PAC with $7 Million Donation

By Julia Black · Jul 23, 2024 1:40pm PDT · 2 comments

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has given $7 million to a super PAC supporting Kamala Harris’s run for president, the Republican Accountability PAC. Hastings said it was his biggest donation ever in support of a single candidate. The gift comes less than a month after Hastings joined the chorus of major Democratic donors asking... Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has given $7 million to a super PAC supporting Kamala...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. Photo by Anadolu via Getty.

Meta Employees Debate Merits of Threads’ No-Politics Policy

By Kalley Huang and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 23, 2024 1:29pm PDT · 2 comments

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. Photo by Anadolu via Getty.

Meta Employees Debate Merits of Threads’ No-Politics Policy

By Kalley Huang and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 23, 2024 1:29pm PDT · 2 comments

Shortly after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential election Sunday, an employee at Meta Platforms posted in the company’s internal forum that Threads, its text app, was missing in action. “Biden dropped out 20 [minutes] ago and I can’t find anything on it in my feed,” the employee wrote in the post, which The... Shortly after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential election Sunday, an employee at Meta...

OpenAI’s Aleksander Mądry. Photo by Ben Hider/O'Reilly Conferences via Flickr.

OpenAI Removes AI Safety Leader Mądry, a Onetime Ally of CEO Altman

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 23, 2024 12:51pm PDT

OpenAI has reassigned the executive in charge of ensuring that its artificial intelligence won’t harm society to a different role within its research organization, the company told staffers last week. The executive, Aleksander Mądry, set up OpenAI’s Preparedness team last year to evaluate AI models for “catastrophic... OpenAI has reassigned the executive in charge of ensuring that its artificial intelligence...

Subscriber Survey

Stocks Are Near Record Highs, but Readers See a Correction Coming

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 23, 2024 10:21am PDT

Major stock market indexes are at or near record highs, but nearly three-quarters of The Information’s readers expect a correction of at least 10% within the next year. And nearly six in 10 think private companies are even more overvalued than public companies, according to our latest survey. Sentiment around Nvidia in our survey fell by a... Major stock market indexes are at or near record highs, but nearly three-quarters of The...

An Apple store in Shanghai. Photo by NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Apple Moves Forward With Foldable iPhone

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Jul 23, 2024 8:10am PDT · 5 comments

Apple is working on a foldable iPhone that could be released as early as 2026 and in recent months reached out to suppliers in Asia to make components for the device, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The phone would fold widthwise like a clamshell, the people said. That would make it similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z... Apple is working on a foldable iPhone that could be released as early as 2026 and in recent...

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez. Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Getty Images.

Why Cohere’s $5.5 Billion Valuation Isn’t What It Seems; Perplexity’s Data Sources Draw Questions

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 23, 2024 7:00am PDT

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez. Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Getty Images.

Why Cohere’s $5.5 Billion Valuation Isn’t What It Seems; Perplexity’s Data Sources Draw Questions

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 23, 2024 7:00am PDT

On Monday, Cohere, a Canadian large language model developer, announced it had raised $500 million in a deal led by Canadian pension fund PSP Investments at a $5.5 billion valuation, confirming our report from March.That valuation isn’t cheap. Around the time of the investment, the startup was generating $35 million in annualized revenue,... On Monday, Cohere, a Canadian large language model developer, announced it had raised $500...

Drink Startups Get Thirsty

Drink Startups Get Thirsty

By Ann Gehan · Jul 23, 2024 6:11am PDT · 1 comment

Shoppers these days have a wide range of drink options to choose from, from probiotic kombucha to lychee-flavored sparkling water, thanks to an investment boom in beverage startups three years back. As welcome as that may be for parched consumers, the flood of new drink options is turning into a headache for young drink companies such as Recess,... Shoppers these days have a wide range of drink options to choose from, from probiotic kombucha to...

Photo via Getty.

What Verizon’s Numbers Mean for Apple

By Martin Peers · Jul 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

After the weekend excitement over presidential politics, we’re getting back to business. And here’s a notable nugget from Verizon’s quarterly earnings today that should be of interest to Apple shareholders and other iPhone watchers: The number of Verizon subscribers upgrading their phones fell 13% in the quarter compared to a year earlier.That... After the weekend excitement over presidential politics, we’re getting back to business. And here...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Getty.

Condé Nast Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to AI Search Engine Perplexity

By Sahil Patel and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 22, 2024 10:19am PDT · 2 comments

Magazine giant Condé Nast has sent a cease-and-desist letter to artificial intelligence search engine Perplexity, demanding that it stop using content from Condé Nast publications in its search results, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Information. Condé Nast’s publications include The New Yorker,... Magazine giant Condé Nast has sent a cease-and-desist letter to artificial intelligence...

Photo via Getty.

AI VCs Go Green

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 22, 2024 7:00am PDT

Photo via Getty.

AI VCs Go Green

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 22, 2024 7:00am PDT

Silicon Valley VCs don't exactly have the best rep when it comes to putting causes like helping the environment or fixing income inequality ahead of financial returns and technological advancements.But the artificial intelligence boom has forced these investors to focus on clean power. More sources of renewable energy are necessary to power... Silicon Valley VCs don't exactly have the best rep when it comes to putting causes like helping...

Art via Reddit/Shane Burke.

Reddit Teams Up With the NFL, NBA to Boost Revenue

By Sahil Patel · Jul 22, 2024 6:00am PDT

Reddit, known for its chat forums on everything from Proust to Wall Street stocks, is going big on sports. The newly public social media company has struck deals with sports leagues including the NFL, NBA and MLB to get videos and other content for its social media site, according to Reddit’s chief operating officer, Jen Wong. Reddit will... Reddit, known for its chat forums on everything from Proust to Wall Street stocks, is going big...

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty

The Electric: Don’t Be Surprised to See Chinese EVs Manufactured in the U.S.

By Steve LeVine · Jul 22, 2024 4:30am PDT

The two most recent U.S. presidents have been hostile to electric vehicles and batteries from China, with the Biden administration slapping big tariffs on Chinese carmakers to keep their products out of the U.S. But in a surprising turnabout, support in the U.S. and Europe is now growing for welcoming local Chinese EV and battery manufacturing,... The two most recent U.S. presidents have been hostile to electric vehicles and batteries from...

Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Las Vegas on July 9. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Tech Democrats Looking for a Reset with Kamala Harris

By Martin Peers · Jul 21, 2024 1:49pm PDT · 3 comments

Biden’s sudden departure from the presidential race sparked intense chatter this afternoon about his successor. Techies don’t seem to be of one mind (not surprisingly), but a good number seem to be backing Kamala Harris, whom Biden himself endorsed.According to several of my colleagues, who’ve been checking in with tech people today, some people... Biden’s sudden departure from the presidential race sparked intense chatter this afternoon about...

Musk’s Bogus California Exodus

Musk’s Bogus California Exodus

By Abram Brown · Jul 20, 2024 7:00am PDT

Musk’s Bogus California Exodus

Musk’s Bogus California Exodus

By Abram Brown · Jul 20, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:Dawn of the Silicon Valley superbabyNew tech mogul must-have: a Jensen jacket Plus: A witty, extremely online weatherman; the ladies at Luxor; and Nicolas Cage goes Hannibal.Elon Musk is pledging to leave California—and to take his companies with him. As with many Musk declarations, his vow seems more... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:Dawn of the Silicon Valley superbabyNew tech mogul...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Must-Have Fashion Item: A Leather Jacket as Cool as Jensen’s

By Antonina Jedrzejczak · Jul 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

A statement leather jacket is arguably one of the most fundamental pieces in any wardrobe. Just ask Jensen Huang. It’s close to impossible to find a photo of the Nvidia CEO from the last decade in anything other than a black classic zip-up or a more lightweight café racer-style jacket. He occasionally gets a little more... A statement leather jacket is arguably one of the most fundamental pieces in any wardrobe. Just...

A Meta Connect 2023 attendee wears Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty.

Meta’s AI Weapon; CrowdStrike Strikes Out

By Martin Peers · Jul 19, 2024 3:38pm PDT

The massive computer outage on Friday that grounded airlines and caused other kinds of havoc around the world won’t do anything for the public’s trust in tech. And it’s certainly bad news for CrowdStrike, which otherwise has been a highflier in cybersecurity. CrowdStrike stock dropped 10% today. For more on that episode, see our story here.On a... The massive computer outage on Friday that grounded airlines and caused other kinds of havoc...

Madrid-Barajas Airport earlier today. Photo by Diego Radames/Anadolu via Getty.

CrowdStrike Crisis Gives Rivals Opening to Pounce

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 19, 2024 12:57pm PDT · 2 comments

CrowdStrike has long dominated the market for cloud-based software meant to protect customers’ networks from hackers, known as endpoint detection. But a botched software update on Friday that brought businesses from airlines to banks to a screeching halt may loosen the $74 billion market capitalization company’s grip on those... CrowdStrike has long dominated the market for cloud-based software meant to protect...

Trump and the PayPal Mafia

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 19, 2024 10:28am PDT · 1 comment

Trump and the PayPal Mafia

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 19, 2024 10:28am PDT · 1 comment

Early in this episode, Dave raised an interesting question: Why is it that many of the tech leaders who support Trump worked at PayPal? This week, the gang shares what we are hearing through the backchannels about this fascinating moment. I hope you enjoy. Apple Spotify Early in this episode, Dave raised an interesting question: Why is it that many of the tech...