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

Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile via Getty Images.

Canva Nears $1 Billion Stock Sale for Employees and Investors, Part of Wave of Private Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 2, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Design software startup Canva is nearing a deal that lets longtime employees and investors at the company sell more than $1 billion in stock to new investors, people familiar with the matter said, less than six months after the private Australian firm arranged a similar, though smaller, transaction. Canva won’t raise any money for itself... Design software startup Canva is nearing a deal that lets longtime employees and investors at the...

In October, Toyota President Koji Sato, left, and Idemitsu CEO Shunichi Kito announced a partnership to commercialize solid state EVs by 2028. Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: The World of Potemkin Solid-State Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jan 1, 2024 4:30am PST · 3 comments

In an industry known for braggadocio, Toyota has a decadeslong reputation for tight-lipped reserve, divulging little publicly about what it’s working on before a snazzy new feature or car appears in its showrooms. But it’s made a notable exception. Since 2012, Toyota has routinely touted “breakthrough” progress in an industrywide race to develop... In an industry known for braggadocio, Toyota has a decadeslong reputation for tight-lipped...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Annualized Revenue Tops $1.6 Billion as Customers Shrug Off CEO Drama

By Maria Heeter, Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 30, 2023 7:00am PST

OpenAI recently topped $1.6 billion in annualized revenue on strong growth from its ChatGPT product, up from $1.3 billion as of mid-October, according to two people with knowledge of the figure. The 20% growth over two months represented in that figure—a measure of the prior month’s revenue multiplied by 12—suggests that the... OpenAI recently topped $1.6 billion in annualized revenue on strong growth from its ChatGPT...

Tech Leaders Pour One Out for 2023

Tech Leaders Pour One Out for 2023

By Nick Wingfield · Dec 30, 2023 6:00am PST

Tech Leaders Pour One Out for 2023

Tech Leaders Pour One Out for 2023

By Nick Wingfield · Dec 30, 2023 6:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.I’m a sucker for year-end lists, reflections and resolutions, despite the fact that so many of them suffer from predictability. One of the highlights of my week was sitting around my dining room table with extended family discussing what everybody liked and didn’t like about 2023.It was also fascinating to hear tech... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.I’m a sucker for year-end lists, reflections and resolutions, despite...

Art by Clark Miller

The Information’s Can’t-Miss Culture Picks from 2023

By The Information Staff · Dec 30, 2023 5:55am PST · 1 comment

This year felt like a moment for monoculture. Many of us saw “Barbie,” went to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour or Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour (or at least saw them in theaters) and freaked out over Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk tome. Our cultural pastimes became unifying ties in an otherwise turbulent year. But... This year felt like a moment for monoculture. Many of us saw “Barbie,” went to Taylor...

Jonah Peretti, Buzzfeed founder and CEO. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

BuzzFeed’s Slow Disintegration; What Big Tech’s 5-Year Stock Record Reveals

By Martin Peers · Dec 29, 2023 3:00pm PST

Let’s hope all those wannabe digital media entrepreneurs are paying attention to the slow disintegration of BuzzFeed, the media star of 2016. We broke the news today that BuzzFeed’s big hope for paying off its debt and turning itself around isn’t going as planned. The company will shortly sell most of its Complex Network assets, but for just... Let’s hope all those wannabe digital media entrepreneurs are paying attention to the slow...

Art by Clark Miller

Tech Wrapped: The Stats that Defined Silicon Valley’s 2023

By Margaux MacColl · Dec 29, 2023 1:00pm PST · 2 comments

You’ve got to hand it to Spotify. The company’s Spotify Wrapped feature—which packages personalized data about its users’ music listening habits for the year—has become a viral sensation. It has even inspired Wrapped-like imitations for your running habits and Hinge dating activity. That got us The Weekend team... You’ve got to hand it to Spotify. The company’s Spotify Wrapped feature—which...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images.

BuzzFeed’s Complex Sale Price Is Likely to Fall Short

By Sahil Patel and Martin Peers · Dec 29, 2023 11:47am PST

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images.

BuzzFeed’s Complex Sale Price Is Likely to Fall Short

By Sahil Patel and Martin Peers · Dec 29, 2023 11:47am PST

After months of discussions, BuzzFeed is close to an agreement to sell most of its Complex Networks business to Ntwrk, a live video shopping and e-commerce startup, but at a price that will be a little above $100 million—significantly below what BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti was originally seeking in a sale, said people familiar with the... After months of discussions, BuzzFeed is close to an agreement to sell most of its Complex...

Art by Clark Miller

The Information’s 2023 Exit Survey of Tech Leaders

By The Information Staff · Dec 29, 2023 9:00am PST · 2 comments

It has been a year of extremes in tech—mass layoffs, society-rattling advancements in artificial intelligence, fraud convictions and record-breaking fundraises. We don’t blame you if your head is still spinning. With 2024 around the corner, we gave tech leaders a chance to reflect on the past 12 months by filling out our 2023 Exit... It has been a year of extremes in tech—mass layoffs, society-rattling advancements in...

Photos via Getty, AP, Humane and Shutterstock. Art by Shane Burke.

The Information’s 2024 Predictions

By The Information Staff · Dec 29, 2023 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Few people outside the artificial intelligence sector of tech likely anticipated how the emergence of ChatGPT late in 2022 would overwhelm developments in tech in 2023. Meanwhile, what didn’t happen this year was mainly related to the economy and the markets—few deals or initial public offerings got done, while an array of struggling... Few people outside the artificial intelligence sector of tech likely anticipated how the...

Photos by Getty

What We Got Right (and Wrong) in Our Predictions for 2023

By The Information Staff · Dec 29, 2023 5:30am PST · 3 comments

The year is winding to a close, which means it’s time for us to grade our predictions for 2023. This time last year, our journalists checked in with sources to figure out what they thought would happen in the year ahead. Some of the predictions that resulted from that reporting turned out to be accurate. Some weren't. We were spot... The year is winding to a close, which means it’s time for us to grade our predictions for...

Cheddar's founder, Jon Steinberg. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Cheddar ‘No Money Down’ Sale Suggests Way of Future

By Martin Peers · Dec 28, 2023 5:00pm PST

Cheddar's founder, Jon Steinberg. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Cheddar ‘No Money Down’ Sale Suggests Way of Future

By Martin Peers · Dec 28, 2023 5:00pm PST

Here’s a private equity firm you may hear more about next year: Regent. It appears to have developed a specialty in acquiring distressed assets, as financiers call businesses that are struggling to survive, without paying anything for them upfront. Regent has struck a series of deals this year in which it has taken a weak business off the hands... Here’s a private equity firm you may hear more about next year: Regent. It appears to have...

Where Venture Capital is Going in 2024

Where Venture Capital is Going in 2024

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 28, 2023 1:03pm PST · 2 comments

Venture capital had a few stumbles this year, including turnover at the top ranks of Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Greycroft, and the abrupt slowdown in dealmaking among these once-frenetic checkwriters. Startups that had raised billions of dollars in VC money, including Convoy, Olive AI and Veev, shut down and wiped out investors. Others... Venture capital had a few stumbles this year, including turnover at the top ranks of Sequoia...

Photo via Midjourney

How Artificial Intelligence Will Change in 2024

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 28, 2023 7:00am PST

Welcome to the last AI Agenda of 2023! Since launching five months ago, we’ve written 88 issues (wow!) covering everything from the GPU chip wars to the reckoning that young AI startups are facing. (For a summary of highlights and lowlights, check out yesterday’s issue.) Thanks for sticking with us through it all.With an upcoming election,... Welcome to the last AI Agenda of 2023! Since launching five months ago, we’ve written 88 issues...

A Shein warehouse in Indiana. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Shein Taps Political Heavyweights to Help Win Over Washington Critics

By Ann Gehan · Dec 28, 2023 7:00am PST · 2 comments

As Shein prepares to go public, it is looking for help in winning over its biggest critics in Washington. With that in mind, the China-founded fast fashion giant has tapped political heavyweights as advisers. David Dreier, a former longtime Republican representative and key architect of the North American Free Trade Agreement, has been playing a... As Shein prepares to go public, it is looking for help in winning over its biggest critics in...

The People With Power at AI Startup Cohere

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 28, 2023 6:00am PST

The People With Power at AI Startup Cohere

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 28, 2023 6:00am PST

Artificial intelligence startup Cohere develops large language models that businesses can use to streamline tasks, much like its better-known rivals OpenAI and Anthropic. But Cohere has a far more conventional corporate structure. The engineering-heavy organization brings together young AI research talent with experienced managers from big tech... Artificial intelligence startup Cohere develops large language models that businesses can use to...

he New York Times Building. Photo via Shutterstock.

New York Times Co.’s OpenAI-Microsoft Suit Is a Negotiating Tactic

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 27, 2023 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

The biggest news on a slow news day in a slow news week is about the news. That’s the way the news people want it.The New York Times Co. grabbed the lonely spotlight Wednesday morning with a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, seeking compensation for the ChatGPT developer’s use of the newspaper’s articles to train ChatGPT. The lawsuit is an... The biggest news on a slow news day in a slow news week is about the news. That’s the way the...

Kai-Fu Lee. Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service via Getty Images.

Q&A

Chinese VC and AI Founder Predicts Shakeout in China’s AI Sector

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Dec 27, 2023 12:35pm PST

China’s generative artificial intelligence startup sector is going through the “qualifying round,” according to Kai-Fu Lee, a venture capitalist and former president of Google China, who earlier this year founded 01.AI, a Beijing-based startup developing large language models, which last month raised a funding round at a $1... China’s generative artificial intelligence startup sector is going through the...

Photo via Ideogram

The Year’s Top Moments and What We’re Watching For Next Year

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 27, 2023 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Looks like the holiday cheer is over for OpenAI.This morning, the New York Times Co. sued the model developer and Microsoft for copyright infringement, claiming that OpenAI used millions of their articles to train AI chatbots without permission. In filing the lawsuit, the Times Co. is ratcheting up the pressure on the two tech firms. In the... Looks like the holiday cheer is over for OpenAI.This morning, the New York Times Co. sued the...

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Haris Karonis, CEO and co-founder of Viva Wallet. Photos via Getty.

JPMorgan Clashes With Partly Owned Greek Fintech

By Michael Roddan · Dec 27, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Haris Karonis, CEO and co-founder of Viva Wallet. Photos via Getty.

JPMorgan Clashes With Partly Owned Greek Fintech

By Michael Roddan · Dec 27, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

It’s been just 12 months since JPMorgan Chase spent $800 million to buy 49% of Greek fintech startup Viva Wallet, in an effort to expand the bank’s reach into the small business payments sector across Europe. But already the two companies appear to have fallen out. Two of JPMorgan’s three representatives on Viva’s board... It’s been just 12 months since JPMorgan Chase spent $800 million to buy 49% of Greek...