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

Photo via Adobe Stock.

The Problem with Meta’s Llama 3 Launch; JD Vance Likes Open-Source

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 16, 2024 7:00am PDT

While sports fans gear up for the Summer Olympics later this month, artificial intelligence enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating another major event: the July 23 release of Meta Platforms’ flagship Llama 3 large language model, which the company offers for free.Meta already released smaller versions of Llama 3, which AI app developers have raved... While sports fans gear up for the Summer Olympics later this month, artificial intelligence...

Art by Clark Miller

A Space Startup’s Moon Mining Plans Get a Boost With NASA Grant

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 16, 2024 7:00am PDT

A startup that aims to harvest a valuable gas from the moon’s surface and bring it back to Earth by the end of the decade has scored a NASA grant to push its plan forward. The startup, Seattle-based Interlune, said it will use the $348,000 NASA grant to test a critical part of its technology that it will ultimately use to prepare lunar... A startup that aims to harvest a valuable gas from the moon’s surface and bring it back to...

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz. Photos via Getty Images.

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz Say They Plan to Donate to Trump PAC

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Jul 16, 2024 6:28am PDT · 49 comments

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who run one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firms, have told the firm’s employees in recent days they plan to make large donations to political action committees supporting the election of Donald Trump, people familiar with the matter said. The planned donations by Andreessen and... Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who run one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture...

Chart by Shane Burke.

For LendingClub and SoFi, a Rate Cut Rally Is Coming

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jul 16, 2024 6:00am PDT

Chart by Shane Burke.

For LendingClub and SoFi, a Rate Cut Rally Is Coming

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jul 16, 2024 6:00am PDT

Last week’s upbeat inflation report raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the fall, which will be good news for pretty much every business. But companies in the business of lending money—in particular digital lending firms such as LendingClub and SoFi—may be the stocks to get the fastest... Last week’s upbeat inflation report raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will start...

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport at Fortune's 2022 Brainstorm Tech conference. Photograph by Michael Faas/Fortune via Flickr.

Wiz’s Possible M&A Trap

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 15, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Everything seemed to be coming up Wiz over the past few years. The Israeli startup raised at increasingly high valuations from what seemed like every brand-name venture capital firm on the planet. It boasted in a press release that it was the fastest-growing startup ever. And it sat at the intersection of almost every mega-valuable tech trend:... Everything seemed to be coming up Wiz over the past few years. The Israeli startup raised at...

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. Photo By Harry Murphy/Getty Images

The Biggest Winners From Wiz’s Potential $23 Billion Sale to Google

By Kate Clark, Natasha Mascarenhas and Aaron Holmes · Jul 15, 2024 2:18pm PDT · 3 comments

Google’s proposed $23 billion acquisition of cloud security startup Wiz would help it compete with Microsoft, the top seller of security software. If the deal manages to avoid antitrust challenges and other hang-ups in the ongoing negotiations—and those issues are still a big if—it would also create a windfall for the... Google’s proposed $23 billion acquisition of cloud security startup Wiz would help it...

Sam Altman. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty.

Why Smaller Could Be Better

By Kalley Huang · Jul 15, 2024 7:00am PDT

While some developers are racing towards superintelligent AI technology, others are focused on building cheaper, more practical models. Over the past six months, several big tech companies including Google and Microsoft have released small language models, in a bid to stake their ground in a burgeoning area of artificial intelligence... While some developers are racing towards superintelligent AI technology, others are focused on...

Photo: AP

The Electric: After Killing His Cheap EV, Musk May Also Ditch the Battery That Made It Special

By Steve LeVine · Jul 15, 2024 4:30am PDT

Photo: AP

The Electric: After Killing His Cheap EV, Musk May Also Ditch the Battery That Made It Special

By Steve LeVine · Jul 15, 2024 4:30am PDT

In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the idea of a new battery that he said would change everything about electric vehicles. He called the battery unpoetically the 4680—a reference to its metric system dimensions—and said it would allow Tesla to finally produce a car almost anyone could afford. In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the idea of a new battery that he said would change...

Drew Baglino (left) and Elon Musk at a Tesla event in 2020. Art by Clark Miller. Screenshot via YouTube

Musk Sets Tesla Battery Deadline After Setbacks

By Steve LeVine, Wayne Ma and Becky Peterson · Jul 15, 2024 4:20am PDT · 2 comments

In 2020, in front of a parking lot of raucous fans and investors honking their Teslas, Elon Musk laid out an intricate plan to make a $25,000 electric vehicle for the common person. The key: a transformative new battery boasting a slew of innovations, which he said could be ready in time for the vehicle’s release in 2023. Tesla blew that... In 2020, in front of a parking lot of raucous fans and investors honking their Teslas, Elon Musk...

Donald Trump after shots were fired at a rally in Butler, Penn., on July 13. Photo by Getty

Social Media’s Trump Challenge

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 14, 2024 3:46pm PDT

It’s not often that every major tech leader agrees on the same thing, especially when it comes to a figure as divisive as Donald Trump. But it was hard to find one of them who didn’t publicly express a concern for Trump’s well-being in the wake of the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania, now under investigation as an assassination attempt aimed... It’s not often that every major tech leader agrees on the same thing, especially when it comes to...

Art by Clark Miller

An Ellison’s Comic Gay Adventure

By Abram Brown · Jul 13, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A tale of a remarkable Silicon Valley marathon The very finest fellowships for tech moguls Plus: Hasan Minhaj’s digital reinvention; a funny dog story; and a beachside riddle. Nimona and Ballister Boldheart seem unlikely to secure a place among cinema’s most remembered pairings of animated... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A tale of a remarkable Silicon Valley marathon The ...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley Moguls’ Favorite Fellowships

By Julia Black · Jul 13, 2024 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley Moguls’ Favorite Fellowships

By Julia Black · Jul 13, 2024 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Picture this: A founder of a buzzy Silicon Valley startup, a top Wall Street executive and the head of a world-changing nonprofit walk into a bar. No, it’s not the setup for a joke. It’s the type of everyday happening that participants in high-profile programs like the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship and the Forum of... Picture this: A founder of a buzzy Silicon Valley startup, a top Wall Street executive and the...

The European Commission for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age's Margrethe Vestager. Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images.

Europe’s Latest Target Is Musk’s X

By Martin Peers · Jul 12, 2024 3:45pm PDT · 1 comment

You have to hand it to the European Commission—they’re doing a great job innovating on regulation. Take today’s announcement that Elon Musk’s X may be in breach of the Digital Services Act, partly because Musk has devalued the blue checkmark by making it available to anyone who pays. What regulator has previously gone after a company for... You have to hand it to the European Commission—they’re doing a great job innovating on...

The Modern Press Playbook with Jess

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 12, 2024 12:12pm PDT

What a surprise this week when Brit and Dave turned the tables and grilled me about PR and my advice for companies and investors who want to—or have to—deal with the press. It is quite an interesting time in the press vs. corporate relationship, and I hope my tips were useful. Plus, of course, more on the latest silly summer tech... What a surprise this week when Brit and Dave turned the tables and grilled me about PR and my...

Art by Clark Miller

The Epic Corporate Marathon of Strava, Cult-Favorite Fitness App

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 12, 2024 9:00am PDT

While running a half-marathon in Philadelphia a few years ago, Courtney Kitchen noticed another woman near her running roughly her pace: She seemed like she’d make a great training buddy. But there wasn’t an opportune moment for the pair to exchange phone numbers at the race, so later that day, Kitchen opened Strava, the popular... While running a half-marathon in Philadelphia a few years ago, Courtney Kitchen noticed another...

Pro Weekly: Creator Funding Rises; It's not Just AI

Pro Weekly: Creator Funding Rises; It's not Just AI

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 12, 2024 8:00am PDT

Pro Weekly: Creator Funding Rises; It's not Just AI

Pro Weekly: Creator Funding Rises; It's not Just AI

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 12, 2024 8:00am PDT

We published our second-quarter funding report this week for the Creator Economy Database. Artificial intelligence fueled a second consecutive quarter of growing investment in the sector, with the first six months of 2024 roughly equaling creator economy startup funding for all of last year. But here’s the thing: It’s not just about AI.Funding... We published our second-quarter funding report this week for the Creator Economy Database....

Art by Clark Miller. Trae Stephens photos courtesy Epic Church San Francisco

The Rise of Founders Fund’s Faithful Warrior

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 12, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

In late June, roughly 300 people—many of them founders, venture capitalists and other techies—piled into a windowless room on a Thursday night in a church in downtown San Francisco. Some were at Epic Church San Francisco to worship, while others privately admitted they were angling for an introduction to one of the people preaching... In late June, roughly 300 people—many of them founders, venture capitalists and other...

Photo by Thomas Wire via Getty Images.

Why Women Are Disappearing From Tech

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 11, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

I opened my email this morning to read troubling news from PitchBook: The percentage of venture deals for companies with female founders—a measly 6.5% last year—has dropped further, to 5.7% this year so far. Companies that have at least one female co-founder are getting only 16.6% of venture dollars, down from 27% last year. And I wasn’t a... I opened my email this morning to read troubling news from PitchBook: The percentage of venture...

Photo by Rita Franca/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Creator Economy

The Startup Helping Creators Track and License Work Used by AI

By Julia Hornstein · Jul 11, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment

Writers and other creators are increasingly worried that artificial intelligence training models will suck up their work without compensating them. A new Los Angeles–based startup called SmarterLicense is selling a fix: a tool that tracks when a creator’s work is used on the internet, for AI or other purposes.The two-year-old startup, which... Writers and other creators are increasingly worried that artificial intelligence training models...

Luis Silva, CEO and founder of CloudWalk, at Web Summit Rio in April. Photo via YouTube.

A Latin American Payments Startup Tries to Defy the Fintech Slump

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jul 11, 2024 2:41pm PDT

Luis Silva, CEO and founder of CloudWalk, at Web Summit Rio in April. Photo via YouTube.

A Latin American Payments Startup Tries to Defy the Fintech Slump

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jul 11, 2024 2:41pm PDT

Fintech startups have suffered a difficult fundraising climate for two years, after a cocktail of rising interest rates and cooler e-commerce spending made capital harder to come by. But one startup based in São Paulo is trying to defy the slump with an ambitious new fundraise.CloudWalk, a Latin America–focused fintech startup that sells... Fintech startups have suffered a difficult fundraising climate for two years, after a cocktail of...