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

Musk appears Dec. 16 at a gathering of Italy's right-wing party Brothers of Italy. Photo: Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing/Getty

The Electric: Has Elon Musk Lost his Nerve?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 21, 2023 4:30am PST · 2 comments

In 2006, the auto industry ridiculed Tesla CEO Elon Musk when he said that over the next few years, he would mass-produce three models of electric vehicles, including a midpriced car. In 2013, with two of those promised EVs in production and the third on the way, Musk drew a new round of skepticism when he doubled down and said he also intended... In 2006, the auto industry ridiculed Tesla CEO Elon Musk when he said that over the next few...

The Creator Economy’s Year in Charts

Creator Economy

The Creator Economy’s Year in Charts

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 20, 2023 5:24pm PST

Akash here. I’m a data reporter with The Information Pro, and as we approach the holidays, Kaya and I have been crunching some numbers about the year we’ve just had. We’ve put together three data points—one chart and two tables—that define 2023.Our first, the chart above, shows how far creator startup funding has fallen this year. Venture... Akash here. I’m a data reporter with The Information Pro, and as we approach the holidays, Kaya...

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. Photo by Michael M. Santiago via Getty.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Scary Movie

By Martin Peers · Dec 20, 2023 5:00pm PST

David Zaslav must like scary movies. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO met with Paramount Global chief Bob Bakish this week, we and others reported, to discuss a merger, among other things. For the uninitiated, such a combination would put together the Warner Bros. and Paramount film and TV studios, as well as TV networks such as TNT, TBS,... David Zaslav must like scary movies. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO met with Paramount Global...

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo via Getty.

Anthropic to Raise $750 Million in Menlo Ventures-Led Deal

By Maria Heeter, Anissa Gardizy and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 20, 2023 3:33pm PST · 2 comments

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo via Getty.

Anthropic to Raise $750 Million in Menlo Ventures-Led Deal

By Maria Heeter, Anissa Gardizy and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 20, 2023 3:33pm PST · 2 comments

Anthropic is in talks to raise $750 million in a venture round led by Menlo Ventures that values the two-year-old artificial intelligence startup at $15 billion not including the investment, more than three times its valuation this spring, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The round hasn't finalized. The final... Anthropic is in talks to raise $750 million in a venture round led by Menlo Ventures that values...

Subscriber Survey

The Information Readers Expect a Hiring Rebound in 2024

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 20, 2023 9:00am PST

After a grim year of many layoffs, The Information’s readers expect better days lie ahead for tech workers. A majority of respondents to our most recent survey said they expect their employers to add staff next year. More than a quarter of respondents said they expect their company’s workforce to grow by more than 10% next year. Less... After a grim year of many layoffs, The Information’s readers expect better days lie ahead...

Art by Clark Miller. Photo courtesy Beeper.

The iMenace: Meet the Startup CEO Hellbent on Bursting Apple’s Bubble

By Janko Roettgers · Dec 20, 2023 8:00am PST · 9 comments

The other day, Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky posted a meme from the Belgian comic “The Adventures of Tintin” on X. In it, a disheveled Captain Haddock asks: “What a week, huh?” To which his friend Tintin responds: “Captain, it’s Monday.” That about sums up Migicovsky’s life since the first week in... The other day, Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky posted a meme from the Belgian comic “The...

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Stingy Banks Open Their Wallets to Microsoft’s AI; Automation Comes For Google’s Salespeople

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 20, 2023 7:30am PST

If you want to know the extent to which businesses are embracing generative artificial intelligence, look no further than Wall Street. Quants and hedge funds are head over heels for large language models and the researchers who make them, as my colleagues and I have frequently pointed out. The latest sign of the finance industry’s... If you want to know the extent to which businesses are embracing generative artificial...

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. Photo via AP/Art by Shane Burke.

Behind Instagram Head Adam Mosseri’s Mixed Record on Youth Safety

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Dec 20, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. Photo via AP/Art by Shane Burke.

Behind Instagram Head Adam Mosseri’s Mixed Record on Youth Safety

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Dec 20, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has built a public reputation as someone who is concerned about the safety of young people on Instagram. During an appearance on CBS in 2019, he said user well-being was a “No. 1 priority.” At a Senate hearing in 2021, he described youth online safety as “critically important.” And when... Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has built a public reputation as someone who is concerned about the...

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Market’s Cycle of Silliness

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 19, 2023 5:00pm PST

The loose money that flowed during the SPAC boom gave fledgling companies like Los Angeles–based Fisker a chance to get their electric cars out into the world. Promising investors new, cost-efficient ways of building sustainable SUVs, Fisker topped out at an $8 billion market cap in early 2021, before it had even produced a car.While the SPAC... The loose money that flowed during the SPAC boom gave fledgling companies like Los Angeles–based...

Google's chief business officer, Philipp Schindler. Photo via Getty

Google Plans Ad Sales Restructuring as Automation Booms

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2023 4:54pm PST · 1 comment

Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some staff last week, prompting anxiety that some departments will face job cuts. The planned reorganization comes as Google is relying more on machine-learning techniques to help customers buy even more ads on its search engine, YouTube and other... Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some...

Photo via Shutterstock

Creator Economy

The Startup Delivering Gifts on Creators’ Wishlists

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 19, 2023 2:07pm PST

As we’re in the thick of the gift-giving season, plenty of creators are recommending their favorite products and compiling guides of items people should buy for loved ones. But some emerging creators are also encouraging their fans to purchase them a gift. While creators more commonly garner support through tipping, or crowdfunding and... As we’re in the thick of the gift-giving season, plenty of creators are recommending their...

Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., unveils the Fisker Ocean electric SUV in Los Angeles in Nov. 2021. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

EV Upstart Fisker Faces Angry Customers, Falling Stock Price

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · Dec 19, 2023 10:47am PST · 6 comments

Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., unveils the Fisker Ocean electric SUV in Los Angeles in Nov. 2021. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

EV Upstart Fisker Faces Angry Customers, Falling Stock Price

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · Dec 19, 2023 10:47am PST · 6 comments

Retired technology executive Gary Stuart’s garage is full of electric cars—a Rivian truck for himself and a Lucid Motors sedan for his wife. He was so eager to own an electric SUV from another fledgling firm, Los Angeles–based Fisker, that he put down a $5,000 deposit for a vehicle last year. He even invested nearly $100,000 in... Retired technology executive Gary Stuart’s garage is full of electric cars—a Rivian...

OpenAI COO Mira Murati

OpenAI Plays Catch-Up with Anthropic on Calculating Catastrophic AI Risks

By Amir Efrati and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 19, 2023 7:30am PST

OpenAI’s technology and revenue is ahead of Anthropic’s, but when it comes to practices aimed at making sure people don’t use generative artificial intelligence to harm society, OpenAI seems to be playing catch-up. In a 26-page document published Monday, OpenAI discussed how it evaluates AI models for “catastrophic risks” before selling them to... OpenAI’s technology and revenue is ahead of Anthropic’s, but when it comes to practices aimed at...

AWS sales chief Matt Garman. Collage by Clark Miller

AWS Overhauls 60,000-Person Sales Team to Fix ‘Fiefdoms,’ Customer Complaints

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 19, 2023 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Matt Garman, head of sales at Amazon Web Services, plans to reorganize his more than 60,000-person team to address problems that have pierced the world’s biggest cloud provider’s aura of invincibility and created an opening for Microsoft and other rivals. Early next year, Garman will consolidate teams that developed conflicting sales... Matt Garman, head of sales at Amazon Web Services, plans to reorganize his more than...

Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

With Both X and Figma-Adobe, European Regulators Flex Muscles

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

What would European bureaucrats do without an active U.S. tech industry to bother? On Monday, for instance, Adobe and Figma called off their $20 billion deal in the face of European regulatory opposition. The deal would have led “to higher prices, reduced quality or less choice for customers,” claimed European regulatory czar Margrethe Vestager... What would European bureaucrats do without an active U.S. tech industry to bother? On Monday, for...

The "besties" at the All-In Summit in September. Photo via YouTube.

The ‘All-In’ Hosts Make the Leap from Investors to Influencers

By Julia Black · Dec 18, 2023 2:36pm PST · 3 comments

The "besties" at the All-In Summit in September. Photo via YouTube.

Creator Economy

The ‘All-In’ Hosts Make the Leap from Investors to Influencers

By Julia Black · Dec 18, 2023 2:36pm PST · 3 comments

On Friday, I published my long read on All-In, the podcast that half of Silicon Valley loves—and the other half loves to hate. The hosts, entrepreneurs and tech investors Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, Chamath Palihapitiya and David Sacks, have successfully used the show to snatch back the mic from a critical press and, arguably, to distract... On Friday, I published my long read on All-In, the podcast that half of Silicon Valley loves—and...

Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch.

Figma Grew Fast Even as Executives Failed to Clinch Adobe Deal

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · Dec 18, 2023 11:17am PST · 12 comments

The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent dream of startup riches for Figma investors and employees. But Figma’s business is still growing quicker than that of most mature startups, potentially putting it in position for an initial public offering in 2025 or later. And the... The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent...

Photo via Midjourney.

Quant Trading Firms Take NeurIPS; AMD’s Chip Claims Irk Nvidia

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 18, 2023 7:55am PST

As the tech industry slowed down for the holidays, thousands of artificial intelligence researchers, engineers, founders and investors revved up in New Orleans at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems—NeurIPS for short.While researchers presented papers on large language models and diffusion models underlying image generators... As the tech industry slowed down for the holidays, thousands of artificial intelligence...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via Getty. Art by Shane Burke.

OpenAI Overhauls Content Moderation Efforts as Elections Loom

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 18, 2023 6:00am PST

OpenAI has overhauled how it handles the task of rooting out disinformation and offensive content from ChatGPT and its other products, as worries about the spread of disinformation intensify ahead of next year’s elections. In the weeks since Sam Altman’s reinstatement as CEO, the company appears to have quietly abandoned a monthslong... OpenAI has overhauled how it handles the task of rooting out disinformation and offensive content...

Battery developer Enovix has replaced almost all its senior managers as part of an effort to right itself. Photo: Shutterstock

The Electric: As 2024 Nears, Are Next-Gen Battery Companies on the Verge of a Culling?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 18, 2023 4:30am PST

Battery developer Enovix has replaced almost all its senior managers as part of an effort to right itself. Photo: Shutterstock

The Electric: As 2024 Nears, Are Next-Gen Battery Companies on the Verge of a Culling?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 18, 2023 4:30am PST

In the 1920s, more than 700 U.S. manufacturers vied in a brutal competition to sell a new product—electric washing machines. Cheap electricity had reached urban homes, and American households snapped up the labor-saving washers, which quickly became ubiquitous. But just five U.S. washing machine manufacturers survive. It’s the same with... In the 1920s, more than 700 U.S. manufacturers vied in a brutal competition to sell a new product...