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

Photo via Zepto.

A Former YC Partner Makes a Big Bet on Rapid Delivery

By Kate Clark · Jun 18, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment

The last time I wrote about a startup—outside artificial intelligence—raising money at a higher valuation than in its last round was in May 2022, when blockchain analytics startup Chainalysis raised funds at an $8.6 billion valuation. That’s why I was intrigued to hear about a round that doubled the valuation of Zepto, an Indian rapid-delivery... The last time I wrote about a startup—outside artificial intelligence—raising money at a higher...

The Millennial Farmer, one of the creators that has worked with John Deere. Screenshot via YouTube

Creator Economy

Why 187-Year-Old John Deere Is Hiring a Creator

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 18, 2024 1:23pm PDT

Big brands are really coming around to influencer marketing after years of only dabbling in it, I reported in this story on Friday. The shift is causing even 187-year-old John Deere to rethink its marketing plans. In April, the company announced it would hire a creator to run its short-form video strategy for a one-year contract that pays... Big brands are really coming around to influencer marketing after years of only dabbling in it, I...

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X. Photo by Getty

Some Advertisers Are Bargain Hunting on X. It May Not Be Enough

By Erin Woo · Jun 18, 2024 11:42am PDT · 3 comments

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has lost so many big-name advertisers that it’s starting to look attractive—at least for smaller marketers focused more on luring new customers than burnishing their brand name. But even that may not be enough to turn around X’s much-shrunken ad business. One advertiser who is... Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has lost so many big-name advertisers that...

Apple's Vision Pro headset. Photo by Getty.

Apple Suspends Work on Next Vision Pro, Focused on Releasing Cheaper Model in Late 2025

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Jun 18, 2024 8:00am PDT · 6 comments

Apple's Vision Pro headset. Photo by Getty.

Apple Suspends Work on Next Vision Pro, Focused on Releasing Cheaper Model in Late 2025

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Jun 18, 2024 8:00am PDT · 6 comments

Apple has told at least one supplier that it has suspended work on its next high-end Vision headset, an employee at a manufacturer that makes key components for the Vision Pro said. The pullback comes as analysts and supply chain partners have flagged slowing sales of the $3,500 device. The company is still working on releasing a more affordable... Apple has told at least one supplier that it has suspended work on its next high-end Vision...

Shanghai's skyline. Photo by Qi Yang via Getty Images.

Americans Are Impressed with China’s AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 18, 2024 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

American pundits like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt like to say China is behind the U.S. in artificial intelligence by several years. But American AI researchers increasingly tell me that these people underestimate Chinese researchers. Instead, by restricting Chinese access to American tech, the U.S. has pushed the country to forge its own path... American pundits like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt like to say China is behind the U.S. in...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Illustration by Clark Miller; Huang photos via Getty Images.

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Is on Top of the World. So Why Is He Worried?

By Anissa Gardizy and Qianer Liu · Jun 18, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Around Christmas last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called a series of meetings with company executives to discuss a growing concern: whether Nvidia’s biggest customers were going to run out of data center space to install its artificial intelligence chips, which could hurt sales, according to someone who attended the meetings. Huang told... Around Christmas last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called a series of meetings with company...

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy speaking at a hearing on youth and mental health last June. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

Social Media Can’t Ignore Kids’ Mental Health Issues Forever

By Martin Peers · Jun 17, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Call me crazy, but a product that has to carry a health warning label seems like it might have a bit of a problem attracting customers. And yet that’s the situation social media platforms—such as Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook, Snap’s Snapchat and TikTok— might be in if the surgeon general has his way. As he opined in this New York Times... Call me crazy, but a product that has to carry a health warning label seems like it might have a...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

The Multi-Billion-Dollar Industry You’ve Never Heard Of And The Startups Working To Take It Down; A Look into the Mind of Vinod Khosla

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 17, 2024 7:00am PDT

Photo via Adobe Stock.

The Multi-Billion-Dollar Industry You’ve Never Heard Of And The Startups Working To Take It Down; A Look into the Mind of Vinod Khosla

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 17, 2024 7:00am PDT

The old adage that you should never get into a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel load doesn’t resonate in the digital age as well as it used to. But there’s no doubt news publishers’ complaints about AI startups pirating their copyrighted material has drawn plenty of coverage. There may be a solution. A growing number of... The old adage that you should never get into a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel load...

A DiDi Taxi in Hong Kong in 2022. Photo via Getty Images.

China’s Didi Makes Its Pitch to U.S. Investors Ahead of Potential 2025 HK IPO

By Jing Yang · Jun 17, 2024 6:00am PDT

Didi Global, the Chinese ride-hailing giant whose U.S. initial public offering in 2021 upset Chinese regulators so much the company delisted less than a year later, is coming out of its shell after two years of seclusion. Hoping to go public again in Hong Kong next year, Didi is telling investors that it is back in Beijing’s good graces... Didi Global, the Chinese ride-hailing giant whose U.S. initial public offering in 2021 upset...

Apple released AI functions for the iPhone15 Pro. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: Apple’s AI-Infused iPhone Should Worry Next-Gen Battery Developers

By Steve LeVine · Jun 17, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Apple released AI functions for the iPhone15 Pro. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/GettyApple CEO Tim Cook and his lieutenants spoke for two hours last week about the jazzed-up artificial intelligence features they plan to integrate into the newest iPhone. But they left out what ought to be one of the most critical words in the consumer AI... Apple released AI functions for the iPhone15 Pro. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/GettyApple...

Art by Clark Miller

Why I’m Worried About a Fake Cannibal

By Abram Brown · Jun 15, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:The AI cold war heats upThe best wedding planners for a tech mogul blowoutPlus: Netflix’s “Jaws”; Paul Giamatti’s peculiar podcast; and how Toyota caused toilet paper shortages.Lately, misinformation researchers have expended a considerable amount of energy sounding the alarm about fake online content... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:The AI cold war heats upThe best wedding planners for a...

Art by Clark Miller

The Very Best Wedding Planners for a Tech Mogul Blowout

By Julia Black · Jun 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

The Very Best Wedding Planners for a Tech Mogul Blowout

By Julia Black · Jun 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

After 15 years as a high-end wedding planner in California, Ashley Smith often feels like she has seen and heard it all. That’s why she especially enjoys when a tech founder or a venture capitalist calls her up: They often have a vision that challenges her. “Silicon Valley–type clients have seen it all. They go to events often,... After 15 years as a high-end wedding planner in California, Ashley Smith often feels like she has...

OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. Photo by Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

OpenAI CEO Says Company Could Become Benefit Corporation Akin to Rivals Anthropic, xAI

By Aaron Holmes, Natasha Mascarenhas, Julia Hornstein and Amir Efrati · Jun 14, 2024 5:09pm PDT · 9 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told some shareholders that the artificial intelligence developer is considering changing its governance structure to a for-profit business that OpenAI’s nonprofit board doesn’t control, according to a person who heard the comments. One scenario Altman said the board is considering is a for-profit benefit... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told some shareholders that the artificial intelligence developer...

Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering. Screenshot via Apple.

AI’s Real Promise Isn’t in Fun iPhone Features

By Martin Peers · Jun 14, 2024 4:00pm PDT · 1 comment

We’re living in a world of AI-powered news. No, I don’t mean large-language models are writing news reports—just the opposite. In tech business news, at least, AI is the thread that runs through most everything nowadays. Apple’s AI presentation on Monday drove this week’s news cycle, while the other big story of the week, Tesla’s shareholder... We’re living in a world of AI-powered news. No, I don’t mean large-language models are writing...

Llion Jones, left, and David Ha. Photos courtesy of Jones and Ha.

OpenAI’s Japanese Rival Gets $1 Billion Valuation From Silicon Valley Investors

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jun 14, 2024 11:51am PDT

In their hunt for artificial intelligence investments, U.S. venture capitalists are looking past Silicon Valley at foreign AI startups, betting that locally developed large-language models will outperform imports from the U.S. The latest to win their affections is Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based large-language model developer. Founded last year by... In their hunt for artificial intelligence investments, U.S. venture capitalists are looking past...

In Conversation With Vinod Khosla: Apple, OpenAI and the Future of Seed Investing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 14, 2024 11:40am PDT · 3 comments

In Conversation With Vinod Khosla: Apple, OpenAI and the Future of Seed Investing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 14, 2024 11:40am PDT · 3 comments

“Can we stay on strawberries for a minute?” Vinod Khosla asked me. About halfway into our hour-long conversation with Vinod Khosla on “More or Less” this week, we found ourselves deep in the topic of artificial intelligence–generated strawberries. (I wanted to talk about media owners protecting their intellectual... “Can we stay on strawberries for a minute?” Vinod Khosla asked me. About halfway into...

Art by Clark Miller

How the World Plans to Stop American AI Domination

By Julia Black · Jun 14, 2024 9:00am PDT · 3 comments

Founders usually create startups to make money for themselves and their investors—or to change the world and protect humanity, as some of them say in their more grandiose moments. For Aleph Alpha, an artificial intelligence startup in Germany, those things mattered too, but its founders had another, more tribal motivation: to make sure... Founders usually create startups to make money for themselves and their investors—or to...

Photos by Getty

Pro Weekly: Expect More AI Companies to Hire High-Profile C-Suites

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 14, 2024 8:00am PDT

It’s been a big few weeks for executive hires across the artificial intelligence sector, as two leading large-language model developers hired their first chief financial officers. OpenAI tapped former Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar—who earlier in her career was CFO of Square (now called Block)—while Anthropic went with Krishna Rao, former CFO of... It’s been a big few weeks for executive hires across the artificial intelligence sector, as two...

Art by Clark Miller

Priceline, Coca-Cola Cos. Shift Ad Dollars as Influencers Launch Their Own Brands

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 14, 2024 6:00am PDT

Over the past several years, many big consumer brands have dabbled in influencer marketing as they sought to figure out how effective it was. Now curiosity is giving way to real commitments. Fanta, the fruit-flavored soda owned by Coca-Cola, has in the past spent little on creators. But that’s changed, and in late April, the soda brand... Over the past several years, many big consumer brands have dabbled in influencer marketing as...

Photo by Patrick T. Fallon via Getty Images.

Musk’s Vote Win Is Far From the End of the Pay Battle

By Becky Peterson · Jun 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Patrick T. Fallon via Getty Images.

Musk’s Vote Win Is Far From the End of the Pay Battle

By Becky Peterson · Jun 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

We’ve got good news and bad news on the story that has dominated Tesla coverage for weeks, the shareholder vote on Elon Musk’s pay package. The good news is we have a decision—as Musk posted late Wednesday, shareholders approved his $46 billion pay package. The bad news, at least for those shareholders hoping for a resolution, is that the vote... We’ve got good news and bad news on the story that has dominated Tesla coverage for weeks, the...