The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images.

AWS Doubles Down on Practicality; The Loopholes of AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 11, 2024 7:00am PDT

A year ago, when Amazon Web Services executive Matt Wood told developers that the firm aimed to be “neutral” in the large language model market, by offering several options that excel in different ways, many saw it as an excuse for being late to the AI race.Now, AWS might be having the last laugh. Microsoft is increasingly adopting a... A year ago, when Amazon Web Services executive Matt Wood told developers that the firm aimed to...

Photo by AP. Art by Shane Burke.

U.S. Election Is Crypto’s Make-or-Break Moment

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 11, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

The crypto industry is bracing for what could be its most consequential event yet: the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Barring last-minute changes in candidates, the race will pit two candidates with drastically different stances against each other: Joe Biden, whose administration steered a two-plus-year regulatory crackdown, and Donald Trump,... The crypto industry is bracing for what could be its most consequential event yet: the 2024 U.S....

A Renault Scenic EV displayed during the Geneva Motor Show. Photo by Getty

The Electric: Renault May Use Iron-Based Batteries in About Half Its EVs

By Steve LeVine · Jul 11, 2024 4:30am PDT

A Renault Scenic EV displayed during the Geneva Motor Show. Photo by GettyFollowing a pattern set by Tesla and Chinese carmakers, Renault plans to make a dramatic switch away from nickel-based batteries in future electric vehicles, instead using iron-based batteries in about half of them, a senior executive of the French automaker said.Philippe... A Renault Scenic EV displayed during the Geneva Motor Show. Photo by GettyFollowing a pattern set...

Satya Nadella, Sam Altman and Tim Cook. Photos via Getty.

Microsoft and Apple Ditch OpenAI Board Observer Roles

By Martin Peers · Jul 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Satya Nadella, Sam Altman and Tim Cook. Photos via Getty.

Microsoft and Apple Ditch OpenAI Board Observer Roles

By Martin Peers · Jul 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Phil Schiller may be wondering what he did wrong. Just over a week after we learned that Apple would get a board observer position at OpenAI—to be filled by Schiller—those plans are off. Microsoft meanwhile is also giving up its OpenAI board observer role, saying it was no longer necessary. Were the board meetings that boring? (Kidding!)While... Phil Schiller may be wondering what he did wrong. Just over a week after we learned that Apple...

Demi Guo, co-founder and CEO of Pika Labs. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Creator Economy

The Creator Economy’s AI Tailwind

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 10, 2024 2:00pm PDT

The investor excitement around artificial intelligence is boosting funding for creator economy startups, reversing two years of straight declines. The second quarter extended the first quarter rebound, reflecting investors’ confidence that startups can leverage generative AI to develop useful tools for creators. (You can read our full story,... The investor excitement around artificial intelligence is boosting funding for creator economy...

Creator Economy Database

Creator Startups Have Already Raised as Much Money This Year as in All of 2023

By Kaya Yurieff and Akash Pasricha · Jul 10, 2024 10:40am PDT · 1 comment

Venture capitalists are rediscovering their flair for the creator economy. In the first half of this year, U.S. creator economy startups raised roughly as much money as in all of last year, according to new data from The Information’s Creator Economy Database. In the second quarter alone, U.S. creator startups raised $692.7 million, up 68%... Venture capitalists are rediscovering their flair for the creator economy. In the first half of...

Rohit Prasad. Photo by Getty

How Amazon Built a Key AI Team

By Theo Wayt · Jul 10, 2024 8:17am PDT · 1 comment

The Amazon division that’s spearheading many of its most ambitious artificial intelligence efforts is made up almost entirely of executives and staff who were shifted from Amazon’s Alexa team, plus several dozen recent hires from the startup Adept, The Information’s updated Amazon Org Chart shows. The artificial general... The Amazon division that’s spearheading many of its most ambitious artificial intelligence...

Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq. Photo by Getty

Groq, an Nvidia Rival, Nears $2.2 Billion-Valuation BlackRock Deal; Musk’s Mystery Company Revealed

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 10, 2024 7:25am PDT

Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq. Photo by Getty

Groq, an Nvidia Rival, Nears $2.2 Billion-Valuation BlackRock Deal; Musk’s Mystery Company Revealed

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 10, 2024 7:25am PDT

The startups developing specialized artificial intelligence chips face some heady challenges—most obviously that they’re taking on entrenched giant Nvidia. One challenge they don’t face, though, is a lack of funding. Groq, a startup that develops chips that are specially designed to run large language models, expects to finalize a... The startups developing specialized artificial intelligence chips face some heady challenges—most...

Art by Clark Miller.

Temu Breaks With Direct-From-China Strategy In Threat to Amazon

By Jing Yang · Jul 10, 2024 6:00am PDT

Chinese bargain site Temu has been a big hit with American shoppers in the past year or two, drawing increasing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over its approach to importing goods and attention from rival Amazon. Now, Temu is changing tack, encroaching more on Amazon’s turf. Instead of only shipping items from Chinese factories directly to... Chinese bargain site Temu has been a big hit with American shoppers in the past year or two,...

Photos by Getty

Oracle Loses Out to Musk’s Impatience

By Martin Peers · Jul 9, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk appears to be a firm believer in the saying “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” He signaled that today in a post on X, as he confirmed our scoop that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, had decided to build its own AI data center rather than getting Oracle to do it.Musk explained, “When our fate depends on being... Elon Musk appears to be a firm believer in the saying “If you want something done right, do it...

Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty

Sequoia, Andreessen at Odds Over Chip Shortage

By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 2 comments

The two most influential venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have very different perspectives on demand for the most important resource for artificial intelligence companies: graphics processing units. Andresseen Horowitz is stockpiling them and renting them to startups, I reported this morning, which suggests... The two most influential venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have...

Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTuber better known as MrBeast. Photo by Getty

MrBeast’s $100 Million Amazon Deal Is an Outlier

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 9, 2024 2:55pm PDT

Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTuber better known as MrBeast. Photo by Getty

Creator Economy

MrBeast’s $100 Million Amazon Deal Is an Outlier

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 9, 2024 2:55pm PDT

MrBeast’s $100 million deal with Amazon Prime Video for an upcoming reality competition series will test whether creator-led shows on streaming services, especially with content geared toward older viewers, can draw the same massive audiences as they do online. Kids shows that originated on YouTube, such as Cocomelon, are the clearest... MrBeast’s $100 million deal with Amazon Prime Video for an upcoming reality competition series...

Art by Clark Miller

Musk’s xAI and Oracle End Talks on a Server Deal

By Anissa Gardizy · Jul 9, 2024 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Larry Ellison may be a friend and backer of Elon Musk, but even the Oracle executive chair isn’t immune from Musk’s impatience. Musk’s xAI and Oracle have ended talks to expand an existing arrangement under which xAI rents specialized Nvidia AI chips from the tech giant. Instead, xAI is buying chips to build a data center on... Larry Ellison may be a friend and backer of Elon Musk, but even the Oracle executive chair...

Volley co-founders Max Child and James Wilsterman. Photo courtesy of Volley.

Startup Volley Raises $55 Million to Create Voice-Powered AI Games

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 9, 2024 7:00am PDT

If you’ve ever wanted to play “Jeopardy” with Scarlett Johansson, you might soon get your chance.Volley, a startup that develops AI-powered games that you can play by giving voice commands to your Amazon Alexa, Fire TV or Roku TV, has raised $55 million in Series C funding. The round is led by Microsoft’s M12 Ventures and Lightspeed Venture... If you’ve ever wanted to play “Jeopardy” with Scarlett Johansson, you might soon get your chance....

Ben Horowitz, left, and Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty

Andreessen Horowitz Is Building a Stash of More Than 20,000 GPUs to Win AI Deals

By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most active venture capital investors in generative artificial intelligence, has added a new tool to its arsenal for winning deals in hot AI startups. The firm has secured thousands of AI chips, including Nvidia H100 graphics processing units, and is renting them to portfolio companies, according to a person who... Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most active venture capital investors in generative artificial...

David Ellison. Photo by Getty.

How the Ellisons Are Ending the Redstone Family’s Value-Destroying Paramount Era

By Martin Peers · Jul 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT

David Ellison. Photo by Getty.

How the Ellisons Are Ending the Redstone Family’s Value-Destroying Paramount Era

By Martin Peers · Jul 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Larry Ellison is having quite the summer. First Oracle scores a deal with OpenAI and Microsoft to help handle OpenAI’s workloads. And now Ellison’s son, David, has struck a deal to buy Paramount Global, owner of CBS and Paramount Pictures, a purchase the elder Ellison is partly financing. Larry Ellison’s Hollywood footprint is growing.David... Larry Ellison is having quite the summer. First Oracle scores a deal with OpenAI and Microsoft to...

Alexandr Wang, co-founder and CEO of Scale AI. Photo by Getty

The Fuzzy Math Behind Scale AI’s Valuation

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 8, 2024 9:01am PDT · 14 comments

Scale AI’s 27-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, used to compete in national high school math competitions. His latest math-related victory may have been convincing investors in Silicon Valley to stretch his own company’s numbers. The startup’s $13.8 billion valuation, from a billion-dollar round it raised in May, is almost certainly... Scale AI’s 27-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, used to compete in national high school math...

Partner Content

Singapore, Artificial Intelligence and Growth Opportunities in Asia

By The Information Partnerships · Jul 8, 2024 8:05am PDT

What’s the next hot area for global tech growth? Amir Efrati, executive editor of The Information, along with Heng Tong Choo, executive vice president of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and Jared Koh, regional director of the EDB, recently invited 12 founders and tech executives to discuss the question. Over dinner at San... What’s the next hot area for global tech growth? Amir Efrati, executive editor of The...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

Venture’s Big Bet on Open-Source LLMs

By Julia Hornstein · Jul 8, 2024 7:15am PDT

One constant over the last year has been how much money large language models makers such as OpenAI and Anthropic need for their development work—and how eager venture investors are to fund them. Last week we published this report showing that a cluster of venture firms are responsible for many of those bets, even as doubts simmer over whether... One constant over the last year has been how much money large language models makers such as ...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI’s China Ban Doesn’t Apply to Microsoft’s Azure China

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · Jul 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI’s China Ban Doesn’t Apply to Microsoft’s Azure China

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · Jul 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

OpenAI last month announced plans to crack down on China-based artificial intelligence developers covertly accessing the startup’s technology, which it doesn’t offer in China. But OpenAI’s conversational AI models are available to Chinese businesses—if they sign up for Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, which operates... OpenAI last month announced plans to crack down on China-based artificial intelligence developers...