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

Tomato.ai cofounder and CEO Ofer Ronen. Photo courtesy of Tomato.ai.

A Tale of Two Startups; Xooglers Land $10 Million To Soften Your Accent

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 14, 2023 7:10am PST · 2 comments

There’s something ironic about publishing a story on early-stage AI startups struggling to raise money and, over the next two days, writing about a one-year-old legal AI startup landing a $700 million post-investment valuation and a Xoogler-founded AI startup nearing a $2 billion price, as Natasha and I did yesterday. But these stories don’t... There’s something ironic about publishing a story on early-stage AI startups struggling to raise...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How Google Got Back on Its Feet in AI Race

By Jon Victor · Dec 14, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

For Google, it was a moment to savor its apparent triumph over the doomsayers. Last week, the company released the first version of a much anticipated new artificial intelligence technology called Gemini, nearly a year after some critics predicted that OpenAI’s ChatGPT could kill Google’s search dominance. Google leaders had managed... For Google, it was a moment to savor its apparent triumph over the doomsayers. Last week, the...

In February, Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the company would make inexpensive iron-based batteries in Marshall, MI. But the batteries would use Chinese technology, igniting criticism. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty

The Electric: Five Proposed Western Gigafactories Are Now Unlikely to Be Built

By Steve LeVine · Dec 14, 2023 4:30am PST

In September, Ford halted construction of a $3.5 billion gigafactory meant to produce the batteries to power 2 million electric vehicles a year, explaining that it was reassessing the economics of the plant. As a result, we lowered our assessment of the Marshall, Mich., plant’s likelihood of being built; in our Gigafactory Database, we listed... In September, Ford halted construction of a $3.5 billion gigafactory meant to produce the...

Arvind Jain, CEO of Glean. Photo by Harry Murphy via Getty Images.

Startup Founded by Ex-Google Search Team Nears $2 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 13, 2023 5:04pm PST · 8 comments

Arvind Jain, CEO of Glean. Photo by Harry Murphy via Getty Images.

Startup Founded by Ex-Google Search Team Nears $2 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 13, 2023 5:04pm PST · 8 comments

Glean, a startup founded by former Google search engineers that uses OpenAI’s large language models to help workers search through their companies’ internal data, is in talks with investors to raise at least $200 million at a $2 billion pre-money valuation, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Kleiner Perkins,... Glean, a startup founded by former Google search engineers that uses OpenAI’s large...

Etsy's Brooklyn, New York office today. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Etsy’s Layoffs Reflect No-Growth Reality

By Martin Peers · Dec 13, 2023 5:00pm PST

When an online shopping site cuts 11% of its staff two weeks before Christmas, you know something’s up. This should be the happiest time of the year for Etsy, an online marketplace that today was promising “Last-minute gifts at every price!” Instead, the firm joined a growing list of businesses laying people off in recent days—including Spotify... When an online shopping site cuts 11% of its staff two weeks before Christmas, you know something...

Serena Kerrigan. Photo by Katie Lovelace.

Creator Economy

The Second Act of Serena F–ing Kerrigan

By Kalley Huang · Dec 13, 2023 2:46pm PST · 1 comment

During the pandemic, Serena Kerrigan livestreamed her dates on Instagram every week, introducing a new prospective mate each time. Over the course of 2020, she dated 50 people. The series, called “Let’s F—ing Date,” won her an audience that now totals 600,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 200,000 on Instagram. In September of that year,... During the pandemic, Serena Kerrigan livestreamed her dates on Instagram every week,...

Partner Content

Recap: What’s Next for Media in 2024

By The Information Partnerships · Dec 13, 2023 12:28pm PST · 1 comment

This past year saw a weak and wobbly ad market. Ad buys are down or are being reallocated. Streaming services are under pressure to turn a profit. And while artificial intelligence is proving to be a boon to the industry, some concerns are arising as new regulations take hold. What’s the outlook for ad media in 2024? Sahil Patel, reporter... This past year saw a weak and wobbly ad market. Ad buys are down or are being reallocated....

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Etsy Cuts 11% of Headcount as Competition From Shein and Temu Mounts

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Dec 13, 2023 8:21am PST · 2 comments

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Etsy Cuts 11% of Headcount as Competition From Shein and Temu Mounts

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Dec 13, 2023 8:21am PST · 2 comments

Etsy is laying off roughly 11% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed, as the e-commerce site that helps small businesses sell handmade goods grapples with a slowdown in consumer spending and increased competition from competitors like Shein and Temu. The cuts will affect roughly 225 employees. Etsy has seen revenue growth slow sharply over... Etsy is laying off roughly 11% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed, as the e-commerce site...

The People With Power at AI Pioneer Anthropic

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 13, 2023 8:00am PST

OpenAI isn’t the only artificial intelligence powerhouse with a peculiar governance structure. Anthropic, the Amazon- and Google-backed developer of Claude, a chatbot rival to ChatGPT, also has its quirks. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation, and some seats on its board of directors are controlled by a group called the Long Term... OpenAI isn’t the only artificial intelligence powerhouse with a peculiar governance...

Photo via Midjourney.

The Rise of ‘Small Language Models’ and Reinforcement Learning

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 13, 2023 7:00am PST

This week, several companies staked out new ground in the latest forefront of AI research: trying to prove that their models can do more with less. On Monday, the French AI startup Mistral—fresh off its $415 million funding round—published a new model called Mixtral 8x7B. The model, which is open-source, quickly racked up plaudits from AI... This week, several companies staked out new ground in the latest forefront of AI research: trying...

ByteDance's Pico 4 VR headset at a store in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Getty.

ByteDance Axes Next VR Headset, in Pullback From Meta Battle

By Juro Osawa · Dec 13, 2023 5:41am PST

Chinese tech giant ByteDance might have set Facebook owner Meta Platforms on its heels with its hugely popular TikTok app. But ByteDance is now retreating from its effort to compete with Meta in the virtual reality headset market. ByteDance is canceling the next version of the virtual reality headset from its Pico subsidiary, the Pico 5,... Chinese tech giant ByteDance might have set Facebook owner Meta Platforms on its heels with its...

Investor Elad Gil is co-leading an investment in Harvey with Kleiner Perkins. Photo by Getty

Legal AI Startup Harvey Valued at $700 Million in Round Co-Led By Kleiner

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 8:06pm PST · 4 comments

Investor Elad Gil is co-leading an investment in Harvey with Kleiner Perkins. Photo by Getty

Legal AI Startup Harvey Valued at $700 Million in Round Co-Led By Kleiner

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 8:06pm PST · 4 comments

Harvey, a one-year-old startup that sells artificial intelligence-powered legal software, is in talks to raise between $70 million and $80 million in a round that would value it at $700 million including the investment, two people familiar with financing said. The funding more than quadruples its valuation announced in April, indicating... Harvey, a one-year-old startup that sells artificial intelligence-powered legal software, is in...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Wall Street Yawns at Google’s Monopoly Threat

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 12, 2023 5:00pm PST

Silicon Valley’s phones buzzed with alerts last night, offering surprising news about one of its bellwether companies: A federal jury decided Google had exercised unlawful monopoly power over app developers like Epic Games. Investors so far have responded mostly with a shrug. By the end of today, the stock of Google’s parent company, Alphabet,... Silicon Valley’s phones buzzed with alerts last night, offering surprising news about one of its...

Meta's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Facebook Drops Video Rev Sharing in Bet Creators Will Like the Alternative

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 12, 2023 3:28pm PST

Facebook wants more creators to set up shop on the blue app, and executives are betting a change to how it shares revenue from video ads will help. The flagship Meta Platforms app is dropping its practice of giving creators 55% of ad revenue on certain videos, something it’s done dating back to the 2017 Facebook Watch days, in favor of a... Facebook wants more creators to set up shop on the blue app, and executives are betting a change...

Photo via Getty.

The Farmer’s Dog, on Pace for $800 Million in Sales, Looks for Fresh Capital

By Cory Weinberg and Ann Gehan · Dec 12, 2023 2:46pm PST · 2 comments

High-end pet food startup The Farmer’s Dog is working with JPMorgan and other investment banks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by early next year, in a deal that could value it significantly higher than its last $2.5 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter said. The fundraising could help the company buck the trend of... High-end pet food startup The Farmer’s Dog is working with JPMorgan and other investment...

Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty.

Andreessen Horowitz Plots Infrastructure, American Dynamism Funds

By Kate Clark and Becky Peterson · Dec 12, 2023 2:04pm PST · 2 comments

Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty.

Andreessen Horowitz Plots Infrastructure, American Dynamism Funds

By Kate Clark and Becky Peterson · Dec 12, 2023 2:04pm PST · 2 comments

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prolific investors during the pandemic-era funding boom, recently held an event for limited partners in Las Vegas, where it presented its ideas on investing in various industry sectors, according to a person familiar with the talks. The investment firm could soon ask its backers to commit to those... Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prolific investors during the pandemic-era funding...

Chalk's cofounders Elliot Marx, Andrew Moreland and Marc Freed-Finnegan. Photo courtesy of Chalk.

What Separates the AI Winners and Losers; The General Catalyst-Backed Startup Taking On Databricks

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 12, 2023 7:05am PST

This past year has been a blur of nine-figure funding rounds and billion-dollar-plus valuations for artificial intelligence startups that investors hope can be the next OpenAI or Midjourney. I can’t tell you how many times investors have justified the money they’ve put into a brand new startup by saying things like: “Well, he was one of the lead... This past year has been a blur of nine-figure funding rounds and billion-dollar-plus valuations...

Art by Clark Miller

Some AI Startups Find the Money’s No Longer So Easy

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

The venture capital gravy train for artificial intelligence startups may be slowing down. Some young startups have struggled to close rounds investors would have jumped to win a year ago. Take Liquid AI, which is developing a new kind of AI model that can learn while in use, not just during its training, a method that differs from the way... The venture capital gravy train for artificial intelligence startups may be slowing down. Some...

OpenView's office building in the South Boston waterfront. Photo by 123RF.

OpenView, After Deep Layoffs, Mulls Returning Capital or Raising New Funds

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 11, 2023 5:22pm PST · 2 comments

OpenView Ventures’ sudden decision last week to lay off most of its staff and halt investments in new startups left one major question unanswered: what to do with the $570 million that endowments and other institutions recently committed to its latest fund. Earlier Monday, the firm’s senior partners held all-day meetings to review... OpenView Ventures’ sudden decision last week to lay off most of its staff and halt...

Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet, is one of many executives to transition from Chief Financial Officer roles in 2023. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

This Year’s CFO Revolving Door

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2023 5:00pm PST

Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet, is one of many executives to transition from Chief Financial Officer roles in 2023. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

This Year’s CFO Revolving Door

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2023 5:00pm PST

Quick quiz: Which C-suite position has the least job security? This year, at least, the answer would have to be chief financial officer, arguably the No. 2 executive at most big public companies. In tech and media in 2023, we’ve seen CFO departures (or CFOs taking a different position internally) at Alphabet, Uber, Tesla, Disney, Stripe, Airbnb,... Quick quiz: Which C-suite position has the least job security? This year, at least, the answer...