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

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos via Getty/Shutterstock.

OpenAI Shows ‘Strawberry’ AI to the Feds and Uses It to Develop ‘Orion’

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 27, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In case you were wondering why Sam Altman cryptically posted a picture of strawberries earlier this month, the answer almost certainly has to do with Strawberry, a mysterious technical breakthrough that could help OpenAI’s models complete complex tasks such as math problems that conversational AI has traditionally struggled with. (If this sounds... In case you were wondering why Sam Altman cryptically posted a picture of strawberries earlier...

Art by Mike Sullivan/ Midjourney

OpenAI Races to Launch ‘Strawberry’ Reasoning AI to Boost Chatbot Business

By Erin Woo, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Aug 27, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

As OpenAI looks to raise more capital, its researchers are trying to launch a new artificial intelligence product they believe can reason through tough problems much better than its existing AI. Researchers have aimed to launch the new AI, code-named Strawberry (previously called Q*, pronounced Q Star), as part of a chatbot—possibly within... As OpenAI looks to raise more capital, its researchers are trying to launch a new artificial...

Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, in 2015. Photo by TechCrunch via Flickr.

Tech’s Premature Telegram Freakout

By Martin Peers · Aug 26, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

There’s nothing like a billionaire’s arrest as they get off their private jet to alarm other rich people. The apprehension of Telegram founder Pavel Durov by French police as he deplaned over the weekend has more than a few techies worked up, particularly Elon Musk and other like-minded folks. Their message: This is a threat to free speech.Well,... There’s nothing like a billionaire’s arrest as they get off their private jet to alarm other rich...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Ex-Googlers Discover That Startups Are Hard

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Rocket Drew · Aug 26, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Ex-Googlers Discover That Startups Are Hard

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Rocket Drew · Aug 26, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Dozens of former artificial intelligence researchers from Google who struck out on their own are learning that startups are tricky.The latest example is French AI agent developer H, which lost three of its five cofounders (four of whom are ex-Googlers) just months after announcing they had raised $220 million from investors in a “seed” round, as... Dozens of former artificial intelligence researchers from Google who struck out on their own are...

Instacart CEO, Fidji Simo, and Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. Photos via Getty.

Why Instacart’s Future May Hinge on Uber

By Cory Weinberg and Theo Wayt · Aug 26, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In the nearly one year since Instacart went public, it has had an unlikely cheerleader: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. He extolled his grocery-delivery rival’s “very strong advertising product” at an investor conference in March. He admired Instacart's “very high quality” suburban customer base in comments made... In the nearly one year since Instacart went public, it has had an unlikely cheerleader: Uber CEO...

Industrial conglomerate Huntsman Corp. says it halted a $50 million battery investment after Chinese companies flooded the market with the component it planned to manufacture. Photo: Courtesy Huntsman.

The Electric: A Battery Chemical Company Falls Victim to the China Playbook

By Steve LeVine · Aug 26, 2024 4:30am PDT

In 2021, Peter Huntsman, CEO of industrial conglomerate Huntsman Corp., decided to invest $50 million in the expansion of a chemicals plant in Conroe, Texas. The move would significantly boost the plant’s production of ethylene carbonate, an essential ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles, at the time viewed as a juggernaut of... In 2021, Peter Huntsman, CEO of industrial conglomerate Huntsman Corp., decided to invest $50...

The Information's Martin Peers. Art by Shane Burke

The Information’s Martin Peers Honored with Loeb Editing Award

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 24, 2024 8:30am PDT · 9 comments

This week, The Information's Co-Executive Editor Martin Peers was announced as a winner of a Loeb award—one of the highest honors in business journalism—for his career in editing. The Loeb Foundation asked The Information to write an article about Martin's impact on the industry. We were delighted to do so and hope you enjoy... This week, The Information's Co-Executive Editor Martin Peers was announced as a winner of a...

Art by Clark Miller

An Anti-DEI Crusader to Pay Attention To

By Abram Brown · Aug 24, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

An Anti-DEI Crusader to Pay Attention To

By Abram Brown · Aug 24, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Inside an AI nightmare that tore apart a school• The Top 5: Our favorite THC drinks Plus: A chaotic AI bill; the philosophers with advice for childless millennials; and Shyamalan and the Swifties.Say, have you heard about a young fellow named Robby Starbuck? If you haven’t, write... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Inside an AI nightmare that tore apart a...

Art by Clark Miller

THC Drinks Are a Fizzy Market. They Taste Pretty Good, Too

By Ryan Sutton · Aug 24, 2024 5:00am PDT · 1 comment

Jake Bullock, a former Bain consultant in San Francisco turned cannabis entrepreneur, has bet tens of millions in venture capital on his bold vision for making drinks that get you just a little bit high. “I hope one day you’ll walk into a Costco and you’ll see the liquor, the wine and the beer, and maybe there’s some hard... Jake Bullock, a former Bain consultant in San Francisco turned cannabis entrepreneur, has bet...

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang. Photo via Shutterstock.

All Eyes on Nvidia’s Numbers

By Martin Peers · Aug 23, 2024 3:30pm PDT

Summer is winding down—Labor Day is just a week away! But we’ve still got plenty of business news. Next week is particularly important: Nvidia will report earnings for its July fiscal quarter on Wednesday. In a note to clients yesterday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described the Nvidia report as “the most important tech earnings in years,” one... Summer is winding down—Labor Day is just a week away! But we’ve still got plenty of business...

The Venture Capital Reset Era

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 23, 2024 12:33pm PDT · 4 comments

"This is a time for serious people, people who take this business seriously." The gang was back to business this week discussing the latest in the venture shakeout. Plus, the energy is back in the Bay again. And a fierce debate over the Starlink Mini. Also, we continue to experiment with transcripts and chapters for subscribers... "This is a time for serious people, people who take this business seriously." The gang...

Coatue founder, Philippe Laffont, at The Information Private Capital Conference in April. Photo by Nicole Pereira.

Coatue Considers Selling Part of ByteDance Stake as IPO Remains Uncertain

By Jing Yang, Erin Woo and Juro Osawa · Aug 23, 2024 9:53am PDT · 1 comment

Coatue founder, Philippe Laffont, at The Information Private Capital Conference in April. Photo by Nicole Pereira.

Coatue Considers Selling Part of ByteDance Stake as IPO Remains Uncertain

By Jing Yang, Erin Woo and Juro Osawa · Aug 23, 2024 9:53am PDT · 1 comment

New York investment firm Coatue Management, an early and substantial backer of ByteDance that has a seat on the TikTok parent’s board, is discussing selling part of its stake, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. The firm has talked to brokers in the secondary market for private stocks to gauge the interest of potential... New York investment firm Coatue Management, an early and substantial backer of ByteDance that has...

Art by Clark Miller

Welcome to Fakesville: Inside an AI Nightmare That Tore Apart a School

By David Kushner · Aug 23, 2024 9:10am PDT · 6 comments

On January 17, @murder_ink_bmore, a Baltimore-based Instagram account with 240,000 followers, posted what it said was a voice recording of Eric Eiswert, principal of Pikesville High School outside Baltimore, denigrating Black students and faculty as well as Jews. “I seriously don’t understand why I have to constantly put up... On January 17, @murder_ink_bmore, a Baltimore-based Instagram account with 240,000...

An attendee of an event by The Washington AI Network tries out the Meta Quest 3 in April. Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images.

Meta Cancels High-End Mixed-Reality Headset

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Wayne Ma · Aug 23, 2024 8:15am PDT · 3 comments

Meta Platforms has canceled plans for a premium mixed-reality headset intended to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro, according to two Meta employees. Meta told employees at the company’s Reality Labs division to stop work on the device this week after a product review meeting attended by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Technology... Meta Platforms has canceled plans for a premium mixed-reality headset intended to compete with...

Kajabi CEO Ahad Khan and Linktree founders Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys. Photos via Kajabi/Getty.

Pro Weekly: Creator Economy M&A Isn't As Quiet as It Might Appear

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 23, 2024 8:03am PDT · 1 comment

As I’ve been updating our Creator Economy Database lately, I’ve been closely monitoring acquisitions in the sector. Last year, 37 companies were acquired, a number of which were fire sales, my colleague Kaya Yurieff reported. But so far in 2024, we’ve seen just 13 acquisitions, suggesting the year will end up quieter.That said, there might... As I’ve been updating our Creator Economy Database lately, I’ve been closely monitoring...

As Stripe, Ramp Valuations Rise, Some Fintechs Face Likely Down Rounds

By Julia Hornstein · Aug 23, 2024 6:00am PDT

As Stripe, Ramp Valuations Rise, Some Fintechs Face Likely Down Rounds

By Julia Hornstein · Aug 23, 2024 6:00am PDT

The fintech world is a tale of two cities. After a thrashing over the last two years, some big fintech startups, such as Stripe and Ramp, have seen their valuations rebound from the lows, as business improves and investor demand rises. Many other fintechs, including Brex, Chime and Plaid, have yet to crystallize a lower valuation in new... The fintech world is a tale of two cities. After a thrashing over the last two years, some big...

Snowflake CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Snowflake’s AI Winter

By Anita Ramaswamy · Aug 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Investors are certainly giving Snowflake the cold shoulder. On Wednesday, the data analytics firm delivered an earnings update that showed July-quarter revenue above the company’s own projections and increased its estimate of full-year revenue growth for fiscal 2025 by two percentage points, to 26%. As Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick pointed... Investors are certainly giving Snowflake the cold shoulder. On Wednesday, the data analytics firm...

Photo via Adobe

The M&A Matchmaking in VC Portfolios

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 22, 2024 3:44pm PDT

A merger in the works between two struggling startups, online pharmacy Truepill and health test provider LetsGetChecked, signals a growing trend in an era of tough financing: deals between companies that share major shareholders. Dublin-based LetsGetChecked has offered to buy California-based Truepill for $500 million in stock and $25... A merger in the works between two struggling startups, online pharmacy Truepill and health test...

Photos via Set Active

Creator Economy

An Athleisure Startup’s Creator-Centric Investor Pitch

By Ann Gehan and Kaya Yurieff · Aug 22, 2024 2:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Ever since the pandemic trapped shoppers at home in 2020, the athleisure market has gotten crowded. Startup brands like Alo Yoga and Skims have quickly scaled up to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales, and retail giants like Nike and Lululemon have tried to keep up with customers’ changing tastes by adding trendier styles. One... Ever since the pandemic trapped shoppers at home in 2020, the athleisure market has gotten...

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Stripe, Now Gushing Money, Plans New Employee Tender

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 22, 2024 10:52am PDT · 3 comments

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Stripe, Now Gushing Money, Plans New Employee Tender

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 22, 2024 10:52am PDT · 3 comments

Stripe is planning a new tender offer to buy back shares held by employees, but it will finance this one entirely with its own cash, unlike in previous employee tenders. The financing approach shows how much the payment processing firm’s business has improved from the slump it experienced a couple of years ago. The company had about $615... Stripe is planning a new tender offer to buy back shares held by employees, but it will finance...