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

Art by Clark Miller

The Aging Videogame That Fuels Fake Wars

By Simon Parkin · Aug 30, 2024 9:00am PDT

A few months ago, a user from Chongquing, China, posted a video to Chinese social media platform Weibo, which has more than half a billion active users. The grainy 26-second clip appears to have been filmed on a primitive camcorder: We see a barrage of rockets ascend from a small vessel into a dusky sky, then streak toward a nearby aircraft... A few months ago, a user from Chongquing, China, posted a video to Chinese social media platform...

Left to right: Harvey AI co-founders Winston Weinberg and Gabriel Pereyra, Hebbia AI founder George Sivulka, and Minna Song, co-founder of Elise AI. Photos via Harvey AI, Hebbia AI and Elise AI.

Pro Weekly: What This Summer's AI Deals Reveal

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 30, 2024 8:00am PDT

Summer can feel slow, but artificial intelligence investors have been busy over the past two months. Venture capitalists invested nearly $876 million in generative AI startups in July and August, according to The Information’s Generative AI Database.That’s 18% more than investors put into GenAI startups in July and August 2023, which was a 90%... Summer can feel slow, but artificial intelligence investors have been busy over the past two...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Art by Mike Sullivan

Why Amazon Decided to Cozy Up to Meta and TikTok

By Theo Wayt · Aug 30, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Over the past two years, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has sat down with some of the most high-profile CEOs in the social media business to discuss a range of topics including Amazon Web Services, which many of the social media companies use. Also on the agenda: letting Amazon sell its goods within TikTok, Instagram and other apps through a new... Over the past two years, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has sat down with some of the most high-profile...

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento. Photo via Getty.

Passage of California AI Bill Sends Shivers Across Tech Industry

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Aug 29, 2024 5:12pm PDT · 5 comments

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento. Photo via Getty.

Passage of California AI Bill Sends Shivers Across Tech Industry

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Aug 29, 2024 5:12pm PDT · 5 comments

Artificial intelligence developers are waking up to the potential implications of the California legislature’s passage on Thursday of a first-of-its-kind bill. SB 1047 would require developers to anticipate what their customers do with their AI and to pay steep fines if the software causes harm—for instance, if someone hacks into an... Artificial intelligence developers are waking up to the potential implications of the California...

Sam Altman at WWDC this year. Photo via Getty.

Why OpenAI Needs an IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 29, 2024 5:00pm PDT

The elite circle of the world’s most valuable private companies face a steady chorus of will-they-or-won’t-they IPO chatter from investors and bankers (and me). It helps to cut through the rumors by thinking through the reasons why a company might want or need to go through the expensive ritual (lawyer fees, new scrutiny, dealing with the... The elite circle of the world’s most valuable private companies face a steady chorus of...

Sam Altman at the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho in July. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

OpenAI's Astounding Price Tag

By Kate Clark · Aug 29, 2024 3:13pm PDT · 8 comments

For weeks we’ve been talking to investors about an expected funding round for OpenAI. The mega financing is finally happening! CEO and co-founder Sam Altman has told employees the company is raising more money, according to a person with direct knowledge. But not every investor approves of the staggering new valuation. For weeks we’ve been talking to investors about an expected funding round for OpenAI. The mega...

Colin Kaepernick, Lumi co-founder and former NFL quarterback. Photo courtesy of subject.

Creator Economy

Colin Kaepernick Is Hiring for His New Creator AI Startup

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 29, 2024 2:03pm PDT · 1 comment

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has spent the past several years building his own media and publishing companies. The efforts showed him some of the challenges people face when trying to get their creations out into the world, from production costs to publishers shooting down their ideas. Last month, he... Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has spent the past several years building...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Meta’s AI Assistant Wins Millions of Users in Challenge to ChatGPT

By Kalley Huang · Aug 29, 2024 12:55pm PDT · 5 comments

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Meta’s AI Assistant Wins Millions of Users in Challenge to ChatGPT

By Kalley Huang · Aug 29, 2024 12:55pm PDT · 5 comments

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants his company’s artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, to be the world’s “most used AI assistant” by the end of this year, eclipsing OpenAI’s ChatGPT. He seems to be making progress. In early August, less than a year after its debut, Meta AI had at least 400 million... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants his company’s artificial intelligence assistant,...

Photo via Adobe

Jensen Goes on the Defensive

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 29, 2024 7:10am PDT

Another quarter, another (almost) blowout earnings report from chip giant Nvidia. But this time, Wall Street isn’t too appreciative.Nvidia stock opened Thursday morning down a few percentage points, following a slightly bigger sell-off in after-hours trading Wednesday night during Nvidia’s call. What gives? After all, revenue in the last quarter... Another quarter, another (almost) blowout earnings report from chip giant Nvidia. But this time,...

Palantir CEO, Alex Karp. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Patriots Pile Into Palantir, Driving Its Stock Too High

By Anita Ramaswamy · Aug 29, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Salesforce’s Marc Benioff and ServiceNow’s Bill McDermott are master salespeople. But neither has developed a cult following among individual investors as successfully as Palantir CEO Alex Karp. With his proclamations on patriotism—“We founded this company to be a ray of light to America and our Western... Salesforce’s Marc Benioff and ServiceNow’s Bill McDermott are master salespeople. But...

A production line for Amprius' silicon-based batteries. Photo: Courtesy Amprius

The Electric: A U.S. Silicon Battery Startup Exploits China’s Excess Production Capacity

By Steve LeVine · Aug 29, 2024 4:00am PDT

Kang Sun, CEO of Amprius Technologies, has contracted with three factories in China to pump out the California company’s silicon-based batteries. But on Wednesday, he was looking for a fourth in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, in part to qualify for tax credits under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Kang Sun, CEO of Amprius Technologies, has contracted with three factories in China to pump out...

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang. Photo by I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty.

Nvidia CEO Ducks Key Questions

By Martin Peers · Aug 28, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang. Photo by I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty.

Nvidia CEO Ducks Key Questions

By Martin Peers · Aug 28, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

For all the Nvidia watchers out there, including superfans of the stock who have kept track at bars, we’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that Nvidia delivered another set of monster earnings. It reported top-line growth of 122%—a little above its own projections—lifting net income 168% to $16.6 billion. The bad news is that... For all the Nvidia watchers out there, including superfans of the stock who have kept track at...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Influencer Marketing’s Brewing Hangover

By Julia Hornstein · Aug 28, 2024 3:32pm PDT · 1 comment

A federal court in Illinois has breathed new life into a two-year-old class action suit against a handful of creators and the makers of Blue Ice Vodka. The suit claims the Instagram influencers and the vodka maker engaged in false advertising about the “handcrafted” drink’s “health benefits” and failed to disclose their paid relationships.The... A federal court in Illinois has breathed new life into a two-year-old class action suit against a...

A Meta employee wearing the Meta Quest Pro VR Headset. Photo by Getty

Meta Considers Mixed Reality Glasses Code-Named ‘Puffin’

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Aug 28, 2024 10:44am PDT · 2 comments

Meta Platforms is planning a new mixed reality device that resembles a bulky pair of glasses, according to two Meta employees. The project, internally code-named Puffin, suggests the company is looking to design an alternative to its large, heavy headsets, which so far have had limited consumer appeal. Mixed reality is a combination of augmented... Meta Platforms is planning a new mixed reality device that resembles a bulky pair of glasses,...

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, in June. Photo by AP.

Nvidia Blows Competitors Out of the Water in New Test

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 28, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

All eyes are on Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report today (there’s apparently even a watch party for it at a New York City bar if you want to partake in some nonsense), so it’s a good time to share a new example of the company’s technological dominance.This morning, MLCommons, a nonprofit that evaluates artificial intelligence software and... All eyes are on Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report today (there’s apparently even a watch party...

Art by Clark Miller.

Coinbase’s Alumni Network Boosts Its Blockchain Ambitions

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 28, 2024 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Coinbase’s Alumni Network Boosts Its Blockchain Ambitions

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 28, 2024 7:00am PDT

For years, Coinbase dominated the U.S. market as the go-to place for buying and selling bitcoin. Now the crypto exchange is trying to forge a new identity as the backbone of an entire financial system, using its Base blockchain, which it launched last year. To catch on with users and make money, Coinbase needs to attract outside apps offering... For years, Coinbase dominated the U.S. market as the go-to place for buying and selling bitcoin....

Daniel Gross. Art by Clark Miller. Screenshot of Gross via YouTube.

The Superintelligence of AI Investor Daniel Gross

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 28, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Over the past decade, investor Daniel Gross has written checks for over 150 startups, including Cruise, Coinbase and Rippling. If there’s one deal that could define his legacy, though, you’ll find it a short walk away from his investment office in Palo Alto, Calif., at the headquarters of Safe Superintelligence Inc. The artificial... Over the past decade, investor Daniel Gross has written checks for over 150 startups, including...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce after the Super Bowl in February. Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images.

Amazon’s Swiftie Moment

By Martin Peers · Aug 27, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a question that’s sure to divide your household: Is Amazon’s $100 million podcast deal with the Kelce brothers a bet on Travis Kelce marrying Taylor Swift? The consensus here at The Information is yes, for sure. While the Kelce brothers’ podcast, “New Heights,” was popular before Travis and Taylor became a thing, it really took off... Here’s a question that’s sure to divide your household: Is Amazon’s $100 million podcast deal...

Telegram founder Pavel Gurov in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Sand Hill Road Dodges Telegram Crisis

By Kate Clark · Aug 27, 2024 3:55pm PDT

Typically when something bad happens to the founder of a highly valued private tech startup, the venture investors are at the front lines of the fallout—and in some cases can influence the outcome. I know this from reporting on FTX’s collapse (a wipeout for investors like Sequoia Capital and Paradigm) and then the firing of OpenAI CEO Sam... Typically when something bad happens to the founder of a highly valued private tech startup, the...

Photo by NurPhoto via Getty

TikTok Head of Content Strategy to Leave: Memo

By Kaya Yurieff and Erin Woo · Aug 27, 2024 2:16pm PDT

Photo by NurPhoto via Getty

Creator Economy

TikTok Head of Content Strategy to Leave: Memo

By Kaya Yurieff and Erin Woo · Aug 27, 2024 2:16pm PDT

It’s been a tumultuous year for TikTok employees, between a looming potential ban of the app in the U.S. to its first widespread layoffs earlier this year. Those changes have included the departures of long-time staff and senior leaders.The latest: Nicole Iacopetti, head of content strategy and policy, is leaving the company effective September... It’s been a tumultuous year for TikTok employees, between a looming potential ban of the app in...