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

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Photo by Erin Beach.

Why Stripe’s Recent Investors Are Smiling Now

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2023 5:00pm PST

Stripe is back! The payments firm, long a favorite of Silicon Valley investors, is enjoying a rebound in business that is surely making those investors who bought into its March fundraising feel pretty, pretty good. Remember, Stripe raised money at a valuation of just $50 billion, a few billion dollars below its original sought-after pricing... Stripe is back! The payments firm, long a favorite of Silicon Valley investors, is enjoying a...

Art by Mike Sullivan

‘Instability and Chaos’: What SVB and OpenAI Taught Us

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 21, 2023 3:22pm PST · 1 comment

Many investors entered 2023 expecting a holdover of the past year’s doldrums: little dealmaking (except for artificial intelligence), cratering valuations and a growing number of down rounds. They weren’t disappointed—but few if any of them predicted the events that really defined venture capital and startup investing this year: the March... Many investors entered 2023 expecting a holdover of the past year’s doldrums: little dealmaking...

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen. Photo By Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile for Collision via Getty Images.

Flexport’s 2024 Goals: Triple Revenue While Slashing Costs

By Theo Wayt · Dec 21, 2023 2:29pm PST

Flexport has set ambitious targets for both revenue growth and cost-cutting in 2024, even as it reels from a sagging freight market and its cash pile continues to shrink. The freight company is targeting $330 million in net revenue in 2024, a dramatic increase from current annualized net revenue of less than $100 million, according to people... Flexport has set ambitious targets for both revenue growth and cost-cutting in 2024, even as it...

Creator Hank Green at The Information’s Creator Economy Summit in April. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy Year In Review 2023

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 21, 2023 12:45pm PST · 1 comment

Creator Hank Green at The Information’s Creator Economy Summit in April. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy

Creator Economy Year In Review 2023

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 21, 2023 12:45pm PST · 1 comment

Welcome to the last Creator Economy newsletter of 2023—and what a year it’s been!We published 198 newsletters, bringing you scoops about the millions of dollars Meta Platforms paid creators to use their likeness in AI chatbots; TikTok enlisting creators to lobby on Capitol Hill; and startup M&A, including Passes’ merger with Fanhouse and... Welcome to the last Creator Economy newsletter of 2023—and what a year it’s been!We published 198...

Art by Clark Miller

How to Build Trust in Artificial Intelligence

By Rumman Chowdhury · Dec 21, 2023 9:00am PST · 4 comments

Last month, OpenAI fired and then rehired CEO Sam Altman. When the dust settled, Open AI emerged looking even more like a for-profit corporation than a nonprofit, with a board that is indistinguishable from those of other tech startups—right down to the lack of diversity. This is a clear departure from the company’s 2015 origins as a... Last month, OpenAI fired and then rehired CEO Sam Altman. When the dust settled, Open AI emerged...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty

VCs Are Acting Strangely in OpenAI and Anthropic Deals

By Amir Efrati · Dec 21, 2023 8:48am PST · 2 comments

It’s one thing for Google, Microsoft and Nvidia to buy shares of mature artificial intelligence startups at inflated prices. But when venture capitalists known for backing young startups do it, we can’t help but scratch our heads and wonder why.Take Menlo Ventures, which is leading an investment in OpenAI’s most comparable rival, Anthropic, my... It’s one thing for Google, Microsoft and Nvidia to buy shares of mature artificial intelligence...

Patrick and John Collison. Photos by Getty.

Stripe Swings to a Profit as Business Rebounds

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 21, 2023 6:00am PST

Payments giant Stripe, a bellwether of the startup world, kept a lid on spending for engineers and salespeople this year after business slowed in 2022. Now it’s reaping the benefits: as revenue growth has re-accelerated, it’s making money again. Stripe’s net revenues—what the firm takes in from payments it processes after... Payments giant Stripe, a bellwether of the startup world, kept a lid on spending for engineers...

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

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

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...

The Information Readers Expect a Hiring Rebound in 2024

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

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 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

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

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 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...