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

Discord CEO, Jason Citron; Moonpay CEO, Ivan Soto-Wright; OpenSea CEO, Devin Finzer. Photos by Getty

Venture Capitalists Can’t Hold Off on Markdowns Forever

By Kate Clark · Nov 16, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments

A debate has resurfaced in the venture capital industry over the value of regularly updating portfolio startups’ valuations to better reflect current conditions—in particular, how aggressively to lower the value of the stakes. Many venture capitalists argue that markdowns are arbitrary and therefore meaningless, and that a VC firm’s limited... A debate has resurfaced in the venture capital industry over the value of regularly updating...

New Web Summit CEO, Katherine Maher, at the first day of the event on November 13 in Lisbon. Photo by Getty.

Two Startups Reject Web Summit Money in Fallout From Ex-CEO’s Remarks

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 16, 2023 7:30am PST · 4 comments

Web Summit attempted to put a turbulent chapter behind it this week, drawing more than 70,000 attendees to the annual tech conference in Lisbon. But the fallout from its former CEO's remarks isn’t over. Two Israeli startups, Lasso Security and Ask-AI, are rejecting the investments of the tech conference’s venture arm after former... Web Summit attempted to put a turbulent chapter behind it this week, drawing more than 70,000...

Photo by Midjourney.

Regulation Drama in Silicon Valley; Why AI Agents Haven’t Lived Up To The Hype

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 16, 2023 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Before we get into today’s main topic, here’s a piece from our editor in chief Jessica Lessin and me that will be interesting if you’re into the drama of Silicon Valley and AI regulation.The article digs into the divisions between tech investors—well known to be an opinionated bunch—around how to regulate new AI technology. The most recent... Before we get into today’s main topic, here’s a piece from our editor in chief Jessica Lessin and...

JPMorgan's Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, complete with digital tiger. Photo via YouTube/BeFuture.

JPMorgan’s Blockchain Business Onyx Searches for Its Identity—and Revenue

By Michael Roddan · Nov 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

JPMorgan's Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, complete with digital tiger. Photo via YouTube/BeFuture.

JPMorgan’s Blockchain Business Onyx Searches for Its Identity—and Revenue

By Michael Roddan · Nov 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. Inside a crypto-focused virtual world called Decentraland, users could visit the swanky Onyx lounge, named after the bank’s blockchain operations, to mingle with fellow crypto enthusiasts and watch videos of the bank’s experts discussing... In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. ...

ExxonMobil's Dan Amman. Courtesy: ExxonMobil

The Electric: After GM and Cruise, Dan Ammann’s New Adventure—Big-Time Lithium Mining

By Steve LeVine · Nov 16, 2023 4:30am PST

Two years after abruptly exiting robotaxi developer Cruise, Dan Ammann is onto a new big thing—large-scale lithium mining. His employer is oil behemoth ExxonMobil, which—if Ammann is successful in an Arkansas drilling operation he announced this week—is poised to become a global player in lithium just as it is today in oil, gas and chemicals. Two years after abruptly exiting robotaxi developer Cruise, Dan Ammann is onto a new big thing—...

Photo via Adobe.

Shein and Amazon Are Both Good for the Ad Business

By Martin Peers · Nov 15, 2023 5:00pm PST

If you’re a fashion plate on a budget, you’re probably a fan of Shein, known for selling ultracheap and trendy clothes. By all accounts, it’s popular with the kids. As we scooped today, the Singapore-based online store’s global revenue surged 40% in the first three quarters of this year, which means its revenue is now bigger than that of another... If you’re a fashion plate on a budget, you’re probably a fan of Shein, known for selling...

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc. Photo via Getty.

Creator Economy

Spiegel’s Shakeup Hits Snap Stories Group

By Erin Woo · Nov 15, 2023 3:45pm PST

For the past week and a half, I’ve been reporting on a social media CEO who’s been slashing product management staff, taking a hands-on role with product decisions and extolling the benefits of spending longer hours in the office. It wasn’t Elon Musk.Instead, Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has taken the hard-core mantle from Musk as... For the past week and a half, I’ve been reporting on a social media CEO who’s been slashing...

Hemant Taneja, left, and Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty

VCs and Tech Companies at Odds Over AI Regulation

By Jessica E. Lessin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 15, 2023 1:26pm PST · 5 comments

Hemant Taneja, left, and Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty

VCs and Tech Companies at Odds Over AI Regulation

By Jessica E. Lessin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 15, 2023 1:26pm PST · 5 comments

Regulating artificial intelligence was always going to be a thorny issue. But a few months into Washington’s push to do so, the question of how to oversee powerful large language models and other AI is sharply dividing the tech community. On Tuesday, a venture capital industry group released a set of guidelines on “responsible... Regulating artificial intelligence was always going to be a thorny issue. But a few months into...

Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue Management. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Coatue Raises $1.4 Billion Fund, Cuts Fees as Venture Firms Navigate Frigid Market

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Nov 15, 2023 12:36pm PST · 1 comment

To entice their investors off the sidelines, venture capital firms are turning to a tactic used during the dot-com bust: discounts. Coatue Management recently raised $1.4 billion for a companion fund to its $7.7 billion VC growth fund, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Coatue is not charging existing investors in the... To entice their investors off the sidelines, venture capital firms are turning to a tactic used...

Photo via Stash

Another Fintech Drops Crypto

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 15, 2023 9:06am PST

Crypto prices have been creeping up over the past month, fueling hope that the crypto winter could be thawing. But some trading and investing apps have already thrown in the towel. I reported earlier this week that Stash, an app that offers stock, ETF and crypto trading, is pulling the plug on its crypto trading service in December. The... Crypto prices have been creeping up over the past month, fueling hope that the crypto winter...

Left to right: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos via Getty.

Before TikTok Turned Into a Rival, Amazon Saw a Potential Partner

By Theo Wayt and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov 15, 2023 7:30am PST

Late last year, Amazon executives met with their counterparts at TikTok parent ByteDance to propose a novel idea: creating a new advertising format that would let customers buy items from Amazon ads on TikTok without leaving the app, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. A partnership could have been a breakthrough for... Late last year, Amazon executives met with their counterparts at TikTok parent ByteDance to...

Martian cofounders Etan Ginsberg and Shriyash Upadhyay. Photo courtesy of Martian.

NEA Leads Funding of Startup That Helps Customers Cut AI Costs; A Chinese Startup Seizes on Meta’s Open-Source Llama Model

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 15, 2023 7:20am PST

Martian cofounders Etan Ginsberg and Shriyash Upadhyay. Photo courtesy of Martian.

NEA Leads Funding of Startup That Helps Customers Cut AI Costs; A Chinese Startup Seizes on Meta’s Open-Source Llama Model

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 15, 2023 7:20am PST

In September, I wrote about an emerging group of startups that help developers manage the exploding costs of AI. These companies figure out what tasks can be handled by cheap-to-use AI models so their customers don’t end up paying for a more expensive model from OpenAI that they don’t really need. There’s signs these companies have legs, at... In September, I wrote about an emerging group of startups that help developers manage the...

Photo by AFP via Getty.

Shein’s Revenue Surged More Than 40%, Likely Surpassing Zara

By Jing Yang · Nov 15, 2023 6:38am PST · 2 comments

Shein’s revenue surged more than 40% to $24 billion between January and September from a year earlier, people familiar with its finances said, growth that highlights the mounting threat for Amazon as the China-founded retailer looks to expand beyond fast fashion by ramping up sales of other goods like appliances and electronics. Shein,... Shein’s revenue surged more than 40% to $24 billion between January and September from a...

Art by Clark Miller

Healthcare Without Health Workers: A Unicorn Pivots to an AI Doctor-in-a-Box

By Annie Goldsmith · Nov 15, 2023 4:30am PST · 3 comments

If Adrian Aoun has his way, the next time you visit the doctor’s office, you won’t see a single medical professional. In fact, he said, “I don’t even believe a doctor’s office should exist.” Instead, the outspoken founder and CEO of primary care startup Forward wants you to entrust your health to a landmark... If Adrian Aoun has his way, the next time you visit the doctor’s office, you won’t...

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo arrives for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Prosperity ministerial during the APEC summit in San Francisco. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty.

Raimondo on AI Safety: ‘Off to a Good Start’

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 14, 2023 5:02pm PST

A day before U.S. President Joe Biden and China President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in a highly anticipated meeting in San Francisco at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, I sat down in a small conference room off Market Street with one of Biden’s key deputies, who will be by his side in the meeting: Secretary of Commerce Gina... A day before U.S. President Joe Biden and China President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in a...

Photo: Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty.

TikTok Reorganizes Content Operations After Pappas’ Exit

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 14, 2023 2:20pm PST

Photo: Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty.

Creator Economy

TikTok Reorganizes Content Operations After Pappas’ Exit

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 14, 2023 2:20pm PST

I’m kicking off today’s newsletter with some new details about internal changes happening at TikTok, this time in its operations division, which includes creators and content. The company has organized the hundreds of operations staff around three key areas: creators, publishers, and content strategy and policy. That’s different from... I’m kicking off today’s newsletter with some new details about internal changes happening at ...

Evan Spiegel. Photo by AFP via Getty.

To Revive Snap, Evan Spiegel Promotes Hardcore Work Culture

By Erin Woo · Nov 14, 2023 11:55am PST · 15 comments

Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has lately taken to walking around his company’s Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters in the evenings, stopping at employees’ desks and asking what they’re working on. He has noticed, however, that he always spots the same handful of people working late in the office, he told employees at a... Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has lately taken to walking around his company’s Santa...

Puzzle cofounder and CEO Sasha Orloff. Photo courtesy of Puzzle.

Nvidia Steals AMD’s Thunder; The Generative AI Startup Hoping to Making Accounting Exciting Again

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 14, 2023 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Those who follow the fast-growing world of artificial intelligence chips may have noticed fanfare on Monday surrounding Nvidia’s new H200 AI chip, a successor to the vaunted H100 that everyone has been trying to get their hands on this year.But Nvidia’s announcement simply may have been an attempt to steal the spotlight from its biggest... Those who follow the fast-growing world of artificial intelligence chips may have noticed fanfare...

ByteDance's Douyin Group offices in Beijing. Photo by Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg via Getty.

ByteDance Revenue Surges to $29 Billion in Second Quarter, Closing in on Meta

By Cory Weinberg, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Nov 14, 2023 6:00am PST

ByteDance is closing the revenue gap with Facebook owner Meta Platforms as it generates more sales from advertising and e-commerce. The Chinese owner of TikTok saw revenue surge more than 40% to $29 billion in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to people with knowledge of the figures. That’s a far higher growth rate than... ByteDance is closing the revenue gap with Facebook owner Meta Platforms as it generates more...

Photo by Getty.

Amazon Reaches Deal to Run Shopping Ads on Snap

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Theo Wayt · Nov 13, 2023 7:06pm PST

Photo by Getty.

Amazon Reaches Deal to Run Shopping Ads on Snap

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Theo Wayt · Nov 13, 2023 7:06pm PST

Amazon has reached a deal with Snap that will let people buy Amazon products directly from ads on the Snapchat app, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed. The previously unreported arrangement closely resembles an ad partnership announced last week between Amazon and Meta Platforms, which lets people buy products through Amazon ads on Instagram and... Amazon has reached a deal with Snap that will let people buy Amazon products directly from ads on...