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

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Recent Editions

TS Anil, CEO of Monzo. Zed Jameson/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

What Monzo’s Monster Fundraise Says About Fintech

By Abubakar Idris · Mar 7, 2024 3:55pm PST · 2 comments

For much of the past year, most articles about fintech startups have sounded alike: A once high-valued startup struggles to live up to its lofty valuation after interest rates spike, making it difficult to fund expansive growth plans. (I wrote about one, Chipper Cash, earlier this week.) But an announcement from a U.K. neobank has offered a... For much of the past year, most articles about fintech startups have sounded alike: A once...

Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

TikTok Engages Its 170 Million Fans to Fight Potential Ban

By Sahil Patel and Kaya Yurieff · Mar 7, 2024 2:22pm PST · 3 comments

Here we go again! TikTok is back in the crosshairs of the U.S. government and it’s already using the most valuable marketing real estate at its disposal—its own app—to rally U.S. users to its defense. Over the last day, some people with the TikTok smartphone app received push notifications stating that it “is at risk of being shut down in... Here we go again! TikTok is back in the crosshairs of the U.S. government and it’s already using...

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) speaks with reporters about TikTok outside the U.S. Capitol today. Photo via AP.

TikTok Reactivates Creator Lobby as Ban Bill Clears House Panel

By Kaya Yurieff, Erin Woo and Juro Osawa · Mar 7, 2024 1:17pm PST · 4 comments

A bipartisan bill to ban TikTok unless it cuts ties with its Chinese owner, ByteDance, cleared a crucial hurdle in the House of Representatives on Thursday when the House Energy Committee approved it with a unanimous vote. The vote signaled that a long-simmering threat to the app may be boiling over into concrete action. The bill’s quick... A bipartisan bill to ban TikTok unless it cuts ties with its Chinese owner, ByteDance, cleared a...

Photo via Midjourney.

Here's How Big Tech Is Tackling Deepfakes

By Kalley Huang · Mar 7, 2024 7:01am PST

Photo via Midjourney.

Here's How Big Tech Is Tackling Deepfakes

By Kalley Huang · Mar 7, 2024 7:01am PST

Here’s an increasingly familiar feeling: You see an image and you can’t tell if it was made or manipulated using artificial intelligence. It’s a big problem, given the potential of fake images to influence elections, among other things. Fortunately, many of the companies whose technology makes it easy to create and spread AI-generated content... Here’s an increasingly familiar feeling: You see an image and you can’t tell if it was made or...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon Pumps the Brakes on Global Domination

By Theo Wayt · Mar 7, 2024 6:00am PST

Less than two years ago, Amazon had big plans to continue its march into the sizable areas of the world where it hadn’t yet officially opened an online store for business. In 2022, it planned to launch local versions of its store that year in at least three new European countries—Ireland, Belgium and Switzerland—according to a... Less than two years ago, Amazon had big plans to continue its march into the sizable areas of the...

Battery making in Germany. Photo: Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: A Battery Startup Proposes Souped-Up CT Scans to Prevent Fires

By Steve LeVine · Mar 7, 2024 4:30am PST

Two Tesla veterans have formed a startup to apply X-ray technology to one of the biggest problems for the makers of electric vehicle batteries: finding defects in the batteries as they’re made—and before they cause bigger problems. Two Tesla veterans have formed a startup to apply X-ray technology to one of the biggest problems...

Garry Tan. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan Discussed OpenAI Board Role

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 6, 2024 7:05pm PST · 1 comment

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, a longtime venture capitalist, early this year talked with directors of OpenAI about joining the board that governs the artificial intelligence startup valued at more than $80 billion, according to a person who has spoken to board members. The talks were preliminary, and it’s not clear if the board is still... Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, a longtime venture capitalist, early this year talked with...

Photo via Getty Images

The Talent Battle Behind Musk’s Feud With OpenAI

By Amir Efrati · Mar 6, 2024 5:00pm PST

Photo via Getty Images

The Talent Battle Behind Musk’s Feud With OpenAI

By Amir Efrati · Mar 6, 2024 5:00pm PST

Elon Musk seems to enjoy getting into verbal fisticuffs with other CEOs (as Bob Iger of Disney can attest). But his attacks on OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in a lawsuit last week may have a strategic purpose. In artificial intelligence, talent has long been a priceless commodity. And it’s a good bet Musk’s OpenAI battle has something to do with... Elon Musk seems to enjoy getting into verbal fisticuffs with other CEOs (as Bob Iger of Disney...

Linktree co-founders, from left to right: Nick Humphreys, Alex Zaccaria, Anthony Zaccaria

Creator Economy

Linktree Jumps Into Social Commerce With Sephora

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 6, 2024 2:33pm PST

Linktree, the largest and best known among the dozens of startups offering link-in-bio tools—the landing pages that link creators’ social media accounts to product pages, podcasts and videos—is expanding into social commerce. The seven-year-old startup is testing an affiliate marketing program with Sephora, Revolve and Urban Outfitters.... Linktree, the largest and best known among the dozens of startups offering link-in-bio tools—the...

AWS VP Matt Wood, left, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in 2017. Photo via YouTube/Bhushan Sonawane.

AWS Exec: Demand for Nvidia Chips Will Stay High

By Anissa Gardizy and Amir Efrati · Mar 6, 2024 8:58am PST · 3 comments

Nvidia’s rapid climb to become the third most valuable company has drawn comparisons to Cisco, whose success in selling routers during the dot-com boom briefly made it the world’s most valuable public company in 2000. But Matt Wood, a vice president of artificial intelligence products at Amazon Web Services which is among... Nvidia’s rapid climb to become the third most valuable company has drawn comparisons to...

Photo via Getty Images.

How Early-Stage VCs Are Getting Around the Startup Valuation Trap

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 6, 2024 8:02am PST

The AI startup world is something of a paradox right now. We keep hearing talk that we're in a bubble. And there’s no doubt that venture funding for young artificial intelligence startups is (mostly) free-flowing, which is great for founders. But the market isn’t so great for investors, particularly early-stage VC firms which are often competing... The AI startup world is something of a paradox right now. We keep hearing talk that we're in a...

The People With Power at Snowflake

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 6, 2024 6:00am PST

The People With Power at Snowflake

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 6, 2024 6:00am PST

Snowflake’s new CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy, who took over from retiring chief executive Frank Slootman last week, inherited an unusual corporate structure. Ramaswamy has only four direct reports, much fewer than CEOs at most technology companies. By comparison, the CEOs of Salesforce and ServiceNow, two other large public software companies,... Snowflake’s new CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy, who took over from retiring chief executive Frank...

Boston Harbor. Photo via Getty Images.

Embattled Venture Firm OpenView to Give Back 75% of Capital to Investors

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 5, 2024 5:20pm PST · 6 comments

OpenView Venture Partners, the Boston-based venture capital firm whose abrupt decision to wind down late last year epitomized the challenges facing startup investors in the aftermath of the tech funding boom, has figured out its final chapter. The 18-year-old firm plans to return the majority of a $571 million fund it raised a year ago to its... OpenView Venture Partners, the Boston-based venture capital firm whose abrupt decision to wind...

Photo by Greg Doherty/Variety via Getty Images.

Reddit’s IPO Will Test Investors’ AI Gullibility

By Martin Peers · Mar 5, 2024 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

IPO watchers are gearing up. We’re likely only a couple of weeks away from the next high-profile IPO, this time of Reddit, a social media service. The first big-name tech debut since last fall’s flurry of offerings from Instacart, Arm and Klaviyo, Reddit’s debut presents a test of investor gullibility. The company has suggested in its IPO filing... IPO watchers are gearing up. We’re likely only a couple of weeks away from the next high-profile...

Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

What to Expect at SXSW; ByteDance’s Soaring Revenue

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 5, 2024 2:25pm PST

Later this week, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin. If you’ll be in town, let’s get coffee or some BBQ! I’d also love to see you at The Information’s cocktail party on Friday night here, and our Saturday brunch and panel here. (Be sure to RSVP today, space is limited!)Creators have increasingly become... Later this week, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin....

Chipper Cash CEO and co-founder, Ham Serunjogi. Photo by Getty.

The Latest Fintech Retreat: a $2 Billion Challenger to Western Union Suspends U.S. Services

By Abubakar Idris · Mar 5, 2024 1:16pm PST

Chipper Cash CEO and co-founder, Ham Serunjogi. Photo by Getty.

The Latest Fintech Retreat: a $2 Billion Challenger to Western Union Suspends U.S. Services

By Abubakar Idris · Mar 5, 2024 1:16pm PST

In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African payment startups, enthusiastic about their potential to revolutionize access to financial services on the African continent. Among the lucky startups was Chipper Cash, a San Francisco–based firm that raised $300 million from Jeff Bezos’s... In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African...

Partner Content

Recap: Building Security Into Products: How Developers Can Bulletproof Their Tech

By The Information Partnerships · Mar 5, 2024 11:52am PST

Corporations spend millions every year to ward off and defend against cyberattacks. Those costs increase as hackers evolve their attacks, moving so fast that it often leaves security professionals playing catch-up. The cost to an organization’s bottom line—and its reputation—can be disastrous. But what if security was built... Corporations spend millions every year to ward off and defend against cyberattacks. Those costs...

The Information Announces Expansion of Finance Team

The Information Announces Expansion of Finance Team

By The Information Staff · Mar 5, 2024 10:51am PST

We are pleased to announce The Information is expanding our finance team. Last year marked a strong year for the growth of our must-read journalism for finance leaders. From breaking the news of the imminent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to getting inside the fallout of a disastrous JPMorgan fintech acquisition, The Information reporters got... We are pleased to announce The Information is expanding our finance team. Last year marked a...

Miles Grimshaw at Cerebral Valley AI Summit in 2023. Photo via YouTube/Newcomer.

Another VC Boomerang: Benchmark General Partner Grimshaw Leaves for Thrive

By Kate Clark · Mar 5, 2024 8:00am PST · 4 comments

Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Benchmark, is leaving the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital, the New York venture capital firm where he started his career in 2013, according to a Thrive spokesperson. Grimshaw’s departure represents a rare resignation from Benchmark, a storied early-stage venture firm with early bets on Twitter, Uber and... Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Benchmark, is leaving the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital, the...

Taalas cofounder and CEO Ljubisa Bajic. Courtesy of Taalas.

The Startup Flipping Nvidia’s Playbook on its Head

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 5, 2024 7:00am PST

Taalas cofounder and CEO Ljubisa Bajic. Courtesy of Taalas.

The Startup Flipping Nvidia’s Playbook on its Head

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 5, 2024 7:00am PST

And now for something completely different, as British comedy troupe Monty Python used to say. It’s no secret in the AI world that Nvidia’s success in selling AI chips lies partly in the chips’ flexibility. Developers can (relatively) easily tweak the chips to run different types of AI models. Taalas, a new AI chip developer, wants to go in the... And now for something completely different, as British comedy troupe Monty Python used to say. It...