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

Protesters at a Green Charter Township, MI, board meeting. Photo: Screenshot via YouTube.

The Electric: A Small Michigan Town Threatens Gotion’s U.S. Battery Plans

By Steve LeVine · Dec 7, 2023 4:30am PST

For a year or two, Chinese auto and battery companies have circled North America in search of an opening to sell their products in the U.S.—the world’s second-largest car market, but one hostile to goods made in China, the U.S.’s chief geopolitical rival. None of the Chinese companies, however, has been as bold as battery developer Gotion,... For a year or two, Chinese auto and battery companies have circled North America in search of an...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

What Google’s Gemini Says About the State of Alphabet

By Martin Peers · Dec 6, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Today tells you a lot about the current state of Google and its parent company Alphabet. The tech giant, once the leader in artificial intelligence, unveiled its answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT with a product—Gemini Pro—that is comparable to what OpenAI released a year ago. It’s easy to miss this nuance amid the deluge of positive press, but Google’s... Today tells you a lot about the current state of Google and its parent company Alphabet. The tech...

Players at a New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks game in New Orleans. Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Warner’s ‘House of Highlights’ Is Cutting New Deals with Creators

By Sahil Patel · Dec 6, 2023 2:32pm PST

You probably first came across House of Highlights years ago on Instagram after the channel posted a clip of LeBron James blocking a shot or Steph Curry hitting a three-point shot from deep. You may have also noticed these NBA stars liking and commenting on those posts. House of Highlights, or HOH for short, has become as much of a household... You probably first came across House of Highlights years ago on Instagram after the channel...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Top 100 Articles from The Information’s First 10 Years

By The Information Staff · Dec 6, 2023 1:36pm PST · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

The Top 100 Articles from The Information’s First 10 Years

By The Information Staff · Dec 6, 2023 1:36pm PST · 4 comments

Ten years ago, on December 4, 2013, The Information hit the ground sprinting—and it hasn’t slowed down since. Day 1 saw the publication of a pair of instantly buzzy stories. The first, by founder and CEO Jessica Lessin, was titled “How Apple Gives Some Apps an Edge.” The second, co-bylined by Jessica and... Ten years ago, on December 4, 2013, The Information hit the ground sprinting—and it...

Art by Clark Miller

Media Executives Covet Games, but Are Ill-Suited to Run Them

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec 6, 2023 9:00am PST · 6 comments

Warner Bros. Discovery executives talked up their gaming business as a growth opportunity in a recent call with investors. That makes sense. In 2023, gaming and Hollywood increasingly overlapped in the zeitgeist: The second-highest-grossing movie of the year is “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” based on a videogame. “Friday Night... Warner Bros. Discovery executives talked up their gaming business as a growth opportunity in a...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

A First Look at Google’s Gemini AI

By Jon Victor · Dec 6, 2023 7:00am PST

After months of anticipation, Google executives are sharing details about Gemini, its high-stakes effort to catch up to OpenAI. There’s a lot to talk about but the bottom line is that Google’s competitor to OpenAI’s GPT-4 isn’t ready yet.Google today is letting developers sign up to access a miniature version of the model, named Gemini Nano, to... After months of anticipation, Google executives are sharing details about Gemini, its high-stakes...

Art by Clark Miller.

8 Charts That Explain 2023

By The Information Staff · Dec 6, 2023 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Say this for 2023—it was better for tech than 2022 was. Shares of the biggest tech companies recovered, while Nvidia’s soared, boosting the chipmaker’s market capitalization past $1 trillion. There were even a handful of initial public offerings. Chatbots powered by artificial intelligence—most notably OpenAI’s... Say this for 2023—it was better for tech than 2022 was. Shares of the biggest tech...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images.

Airbnb Wants to Feel Young Again

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

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images.

Airbnb Wants to Feel Young Again

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

Booking Holdings and Airbnb have long resembled a father-son duo of the online travel industry. Airbnb has traditionally been the cool kid of the two, a fast-growing San Francisco media darling that customers flocked to. Its product became a verb. Booking—which came from an older internet generation, marked by a utilitarian, Dutch-influenced... Booking Holdings and Airbnb have long resembled a father-son duo of the online travel industry....

How Startups' AI Dubbing Features Compare

Creator Economy

How Startups' AI Dubbing Features Compare

By Kalley Huang · Dec 5, 2023 4:47pm PST

The creator economy is global, but many creators make content in only one language. To reach more fans, some creators are replacing the audio with a translated version, known as dubbing. But dubbing can cost as much as $75 per minute, according to Bunny Studio, which provides creative services including voiceovers. Generative artificial... The creator economy is global, but many creators make content in only one language. To reach more...

Photo by MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

VC Firm OpenView Abruptly Winds Down After Key Partners Leave, Returns Sour

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Dec 5, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments

OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm that has backed enterprise software firms such as Calendly and Expensify, laid off most of its staff and will no longer make new investments, leaders told staff Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The sudden fall of the firm, which employed at least 74... OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm that has backed enterprise...

Luciana Lixandru. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Sequoia Partner Luciana Lixandru Joins Stripe Board as Michael Moritz Exits

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Dec 5, 2023 1:04pm PST · 1 comment

Sequoia’s investing empire is shoring up control at one of its startup crown jewels during a critical time for the Silicon Valley firm. Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital recently added Luciana Lixandru, a partner based in London, to the board of $50 billion payments company Stripe, one of the most valuable holdings in Sequoia’s... Sequoia’s investing empire is shoring up control at one of its startup crown jewels during...

PayPal's office in San Jose, Calif. Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

New PayPal CEO Fast-Tracks Upgrades to Beat Back Competition

By Mark Matousek · Dec 5, 2023 10:57am PST

PayPal's office in San Jose, Calif. Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

New PayPal CEO Fast-Tracks Upgrades to Beat Back Competition

By Mark Matousek · Dec 5, 2023 10:57am PST

New PayPal CEO Alex Chriss is fast-tracking an effort to bolster the company’s defenses against Stripe and Apple Pay, highlighting how the payments giant has fallen behind newer, slicker competitors. Teams across the payments giant have been racing to add a slew of new features to make its digital wallet and online checkout more attractive... New PayPal CEO Alex Chriss is fast-tracking an effort to bolster the company’s defenses...

Chart by Shane Burke.

All I Want For Christmas is GPUs

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 5, 2023 7:01am PST · 2 comments

If anyone knows anything about me, it’s that I’m terrible at giving gifts. But, if I were BFFs with any of the model developers, I’d know what would be at the top of their Christmas lists: AI chips.These pieces of specialized hardware—known as “graphics processing units'' in industry parlance—have been the hottest commodity of 2023, so much so... If anyone knows anything about me, it’s that I’m terrible at giving gifts. But, if I were BFFs...

Reddit will have its 19-year anniversary next year, making it geriatric in startup years. Art by Shane Burke

2024 IPO Preview

IPO Class of 2024 Is Dominated by Older Startups

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 5, 2023 6:00am PST

On Reddit’s founding anniversary in June, CEO Steve Huffman and Y Combinator founder Paul Graham reminisced in front of employees about old times, when the online forum hatched out of the first class of the famed startup accelerator in 2005. Others in the Y Combinator class had since moved on and folded their early startups. “Reddit... On Reddit’s founding anniversary in June, CEO Steve Huffman and Y Combinator founder Paul...

Spotify founder and CEO, Daniel Ek. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Spotify’s Layoffs and Uber Joins S&P 500: Tech Grows Up

By Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2023 5:00pm PST

Where’s the cake? Today marks The Information’s 10th birthday, which is a milestone for any news startup, and even more so for one that has never raised outside funding. (That’s what you call bootstrapping.) Those of us who’ve been here through most or all of the past decade truly have empathy for tech startups. You labor in obscurity until one... Where’s the cake? Today marks The Information’s 10th birthday, which is a milestone for any news...

Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty.

Fidelity Backs AI Infrastructure Startup at $9 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 4:54pm PST · 3 comments

Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty.

Fidelity Backs AI Infrastructure Startup at $9 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 4:54pm PST · 3 comments

Vast Data, an AI software and storage startup backed by Nvidia, raised a new funding round led by Fidelity Investments and including participation of venture capital firms NEA and Bond. The round values Vast Data at more than $9 billion, people familiar with the matter said, compared to its valuation of $3.7 billion set in 2021. Seven-year-old... Vast Data, an AI software and storage startup backed by Nvidia, raised a new funding round led by...

Partner Content

Recap: How to Regulate AI for the Creator Economy

By The Information Partnerships · Dec 4, 2023 4:04pm PST

With the arrival of artificial intelligence, creators have a new host of tools to do more with less. Creators can lean on AI to make editing faster. They can get help on scripts. They can even create realistic avatars of themselves to reduce on-camera time. But the use of AI also raises questions of authenticity and disclosure, which is why... With the arrival of artificial intelligence, creators have a new host of tools to do more...

Jack Settleman, a creator and the founder of Snapback Sports. Photo: Snapback Sports.

Creator Economy

Why This Creator Abandoned His YouTube Channel With 600,000 Subscribers—and Started Over

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 4, 2023 3:28pm PST

Jack Settleman grew a sport-focused YouTube account to nearly 600,000 subscribers. Then he made a surprising decision: Last month he stopped posting to the account, which had become popular thanks to some of its Shorts videos, and decided to start over. This new channel, under the same name Snapback Sports, focuses on sharing experiences at... Jack Settleman grew a sport-focused YouTube account to nearly 600,000 subscribers. Then he made a...

Art by Clark Miller

AI Can Reshape the Physical World—If We Regulate It Properly

By Andrew Anagnost · Dec 4, 2023 9:00am PST · 3 comments

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for how we imagine and design our physical world and make it more sustainable and inclusive. Used—and regulated—correctly, AI can become society’s greatest tool in meeting challenges ranging from crumbling infrastructure and a growing housing crisis to a rapidly... Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for how we imagine and design...

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky delivers a keynote address during AWS re:Invent 2023 on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas. Photo by Noah Berger/Getty.

What’s Missing From Amazon’s Big New AI Product; OpenAI’s Interest in Human Brain-Inspired Chips

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 7:00am PST

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky delivers a keynote address during AWS re:Invent 2023 on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas. Photo by Noah Berger/Getty.

What’s Missing From Amazon’s Big New AI Product; OpenAI’s Interest in Human Brain-Inspired Chips

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 7:00am PST

Over the weekend, my colleagues Jon Victor and Amir Efrati reported that Google has scrapped the launch next week of Google’s would-be GPT-4 killer, Gemini, providing further evidence that the product has been delayed until 2024. Why? It’s just not ready yet and, according to the report, recently had trouble handling some non-English queries.... Over the weekend, my colleagues Jon Victor and Amir Efrati reported that Google has scrapped the...