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

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What Supreme Court Hearing Signals for Big Tech

By Martin Peers · Feb 26, 2024 5:00pm PST

Today just may have been the most important day for the future of tech. We’re talking about the Supreme Court arguments regarding Florida and Texas state laws that curb the freedom of tech companies such as Meta Platforms and Google to moderate content on their own platforms. Judging from the coverage by the news outlets present at the hearing—... Today just may have been the most important day for the future of tech. We’re talking about the...

Generated by Genmo.

A Sora Rival Raises Millions from NEA

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 26, 2024 7:10am PST

An up-and-coming video-generation startup—and its new investors—may get more than they bargained for when it comes to competition.AI-powered video startup Genmo is set to raise at least $30 million in funding from NEA, according to 3 people familiar with the situation. Word of the fundraising follows OpenAI’s preview of a new video generation... An up-and-coming video-generation startup—and its new investors—may get more than they bargained...

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Venture Debt Was Supposed to Dry Up After SVB. Instead, Competition Increased

By Michael Roddan · Feb 26, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

When BedRock Systems co-founder Bob Tinker was recently searching for a venture loan to provide extra cash for his cybersecurity startup after it raised a Series A round funding round, he approached a gaggle of lenders specializing in that type of financing: Comerica, HSBC and Stifel as well as Silicon Valley Bank, now operating as a division of... When BedRock Systems co-founder Bob Tinker was recently searching for a venture loan to provide...

Our Next Energy CTO Mujeeb Ijaz. Photo: Courtesy ONE

The Electric: Why ONE’s Pitch for a Cheap 600-Mile Battery Remains Compelling

By Steve LeVine · Feb 26, 2024 4:30am PST · 1 comment

Our Next Energy CTO Mujeeb Ijaz. Photo: Courtesy ONE

The Electric: Why ONE’s Pitch for a Cheap 600-Mile Battery Remains Compelling

By Steve LeVine · Feb 26, 2024 4:30am PST · 1 comment

For four years, Mujeeb Ijaz has argued that the world needs a mainstream-priced electric vehicle with 600 miles of driving range. While that seemed excessive to rivals—much greater than the 300 or so miles that most motorists consider sufficient—Ijaz argued that few were considering how people really drive and how EVs really perform. Real people... For four years, Mujeeb Ijaz has argued that the world needs a mainstream-priced electric vehicle...

What Google Gemini’s Race Controversy Really Means

What Google Gemini’s Race Controversy Really Means

By Abram Brown · Feb 24, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Welcome to your Weekend!The internet kicked up a fuss this week when it discovered a surprising thing about Google Gemini, the company’s generative artificial intelligence tool. While you couldn’t prompt it to, say, provide an image of a white pope, it did respond to a request asking for a Black pope. It also seemed to have a habit of placing... Welcome to your Weekend!The internet kicked up a fuss this week when it discovered a surprising...

Art by Clark Miller

Tech Veterans Will Wish Kara Swisher’s New Book Brought Greater Heat

By Adam Lashinsky · Feb 24, 2024 5:00am PST · 11 comments

Anyone uninitiated in the glories and ignominies of Silicon Valley will delight in “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story,” Kara Swisher’s memoir-cum-history of Silicon Valley’s internet era. It presents a thorough accounting of the people, companies and trends within technology from the 1990s onward, told through the bombastic,... Anyone uninitiated in the glories and ignominies of Silicon Valley will delight in “Burn...

Art by Clark Miller

Rupert Murdoch’s Grande Scandale Sparks Back to Life

By Abram Brown · Feb 24, 2024 5:00am PST

During the past week, J.T. Rogers, Tony-winning playwright, was intently trying to straighten out the remaining kinks in “Corruption,” his new production about the News Corp phone-hacking scandal of a decade ago, through daytime rehearsals and nightly preview performances at New York’s Lincoln Center. He still wanted to perfect... During the past week, J.T. Rogers, Tony-winning playwright, was intently trying to straighten out...

Photo: Frank Molter/dpa/Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: Northvolt Fires the Top Leadership of Battery Subsidiary Cuberg

By Steve LeVine · Feb 23, 2024 8:38pm PST

Photo: Frank Molter/dpa/Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: Northvolt Fires the Top Leadership of Battery Subsidiary Cuberg

By Steve LeVine · Feb 23, 2024 8:38pm PST

Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt fired the senior leaders of its California-based lithium metal battery subsidiary, Cuberg. Those let go included Cuberg’s founder and CEO, Richard Wang, who sold the startup to Northvolt in 2021 as a spinout from Stanford University, chief operating officer Reza Nikfar and chief strategy officer... Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt fired the senior leaders of its California-based...

I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nvidia’s Good Fortune Isn’t Good for Everyone Else

By Martin Peers · Feb 23, 2024 3:15pm PST

Question: Is what’s good for Nvidia also good for America? That old line, originally referring to General Motors, came to mind after the stock market rallied to new records on Thursday—attributed by pundits to investor enthusiasm about Nvidia’s robust earnings. Stock of the AI chipmaker rocketed 17% on Thursday and Friday, lifting its market... Question: Is what’s good for Nvidia also good for America? That old line, originally referring to...

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U.S. Lawmakers Demand Temu Shipment Ban Over Forced Labor Concerns

By Ann Gehan and Jing Yang · Feb 23, 2024 11:01am PST · 7 comments

A number of U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a ban on imports of goods sold on Temu, the fast-growing shopping site known for selling bargain products shipped from China, saying it hasn’t done enough to prevent its suppliers from using forced labor, two people with knowledge of the conversations said. In recent weeks, China critics including... A number of U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a ban on imports of goods sold on Temu, the...

2024 IPO Dreams, Apple’s Sports Game and Reddit’s Biz Gamble

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 23, 2024 10:44am PST

This week, the drama that has been brewing across the tech industry entered another gear. Top of mind: Reddit, OpenAI and investors that don't see eye to eye with CEOs. Hope you enjoy! Apple Spotify This week, the drama that has been brewing across the tech industry entered another gear....

Art by Clark Miller

The Ultimate Insiders’ Guide to AI: How Founders, Investors and Executives Really Use the Technology

By · Feb 23, 2024 9:00am PST · 13 comments

Art by Clark Miller

The Ultimate Insiders’ Guide to AI: How Founders, Investors and Executives Really Use the Technology

By · Feb 23, 2024 9:00am PST · 13 comments

We’re deep into an era-defining boom in artificial intelligence, and with so much attention falling on the money and mania generated by this fast-evolving technology, it’s worth stepping back to ask: How do people really use it? And moreover, what are the people at the epicenter of this surge using AI to do? They use it for quite a... We’re deep into an era-defining boom in artificial intelligence, and with so much attention...

Lidiane Jones, Bill McDermott and Dara Khosrowshahi. Photos by Getty

Pro Weekly: When a CEO Moves, Deputies Follow

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 23, 2024 8:00am PST

New CEOs love turning to familiar faces. It’s an age-old habit that is well represented across the nearly 60 Org Charts we’ve now published for Pro subscribers.Take ServiceNow, whose Org Chart we published Wednesday. Bill McDermott joined the IT giant as CEO in 2019 after a nearly 10-year stint as SAP’s chief executive. The following year,... New CEOs love turning to familiar faces. It’s an age-old habit that is well represented across...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

TikTok Confronts New Threat: Bed Bugs

By Erin Woo and Kaya Yurieff · Feb 23, 2024 7:26am PST

TikTok has hit a snag in its efforts to bring employees back to its New York City office: bed bugs. The discovery of a bed bug in the office last December, where hundreds of employees are based, has sparked a frenzy among workers fretting about the risks of transmitting bed bugs to roommates and pets, not to mention creators and other business... TikTok has hit a snag in its efforts to bring employees back to its New York City office: bed...

Nvidia's HGX H100 graphic processing units. Photo by Getty.

After ‘Panic,’ Nvidia’s AI Chips Are Becoming Easier to Find

By Anissa Gardizy, Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 23, 2024 6:00am PST

When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told investors on Wednesday that the chipmaker’s supply of specialized semiconductors vital for artificial intelligence was “improving,” he confirmed what many AI software developers already knew: The yearlong chip crunch is easing. More than half a dozen companies that use AI chips say it’s... When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told investors on Wednesday that the chipmaker’s supply of...

Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit. Photo by Getty

Reddit’s and Nextdoor’s Twisting Paths

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 22, 2024 5:00pm PST

Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit. Photo by Getty

Reddit’s and Nextdoor’s Twisting Paths

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 22, 2024 5:00pm PST

Ah, how things look so fresh and clean for social media executives before they have to roll around in the mud of the public markets. Reddit dropped its IPO prospectus Thursday, laying out what we already reported: decent sales growth (21%) and narrowing losses in 2023, with still a solid cash burn ($84 million last year). It also showed... Ah, how things look so fresh and clean for social media executives before they have to roll...

California State Senator Steve Padilla.

Creator Economy

How a California Lawmaker Is Trying to Protect Child Creators

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 22, 2024 3:37pm PST

Former parenting vlogger Ruby Franke was sentenced this week and could face decades behind bars after pleading guilty to aggravated child abuse. Before her arrest, Franke posted videos on YouTube promoting a severe style of parenting her six children, including depriving them of food and banning her son from his room so he was forced to sleep on... Former parenting vlogger Ruby Franke was sentenced this week and could face decades behind bars...

Mike Moritz. Photo by Getty

‘You Come at The King, You Best Not Miss’

By Kate Clark · Feb 22, 2024 2:50pm PST · 1 comment

Mentally, I’ve been in Sweden this week, though the quote that best sums up our recent reporting hails from the gritty Baltimore streets of “The Wire”: “You Come at The King, You Best Not Miss.”Myself and my colleagues Maria and Cory have been grappling with a strange and rare attempted board coup at Klarna, the Stockholm-based “buy now, pay... Mentally, I’ve been in Sweden this week, though the quote that best sums up our recent reporting...

Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar. Photo by Getty

Nextdoor Board Discusses Replacing CEO Friar or Selling Company

By Cory Weinberg and Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 22, 2024 2:25pm PST · 4 comments

Board members at the struggling local networking site Nextdoor have been debating the company’s future, including whether to bring in a new CEO or to find a buyer, a person familiar with the matter said. Investment firm Qatalyst has approached companies about their interest, said two people familiar with the matter. Among the options that... Board members at the struggling local networking site Nextdoor have been debating the...

Photo by Getty.

JPMorgan Pulls Former Compliance Chief Out of Retirement to Clean Up Fintech Mess

By Michael Roddan · Feb 22, 2024 12:57pm PST · 1 comment

Photo by Getty.

JPMorgan Pulls Former Compliance Chief Out of Retirement to Clean Up Fintech Mess

By Michael Roddan · Feb 22, 2024 12:57pm PST · 1 comment

JPMorgan Chase has called its former global chief compliance officer out of retirement to help the bank assert its rights as a major shareholder in Greek payments fintech Viva Wallet, after disagreements between the two firms culminated in dueling lawsuits. Frank Pearn, who retired as JPMorgan’s top financial and legal risk manager a year... JPMorgan Chase has called its former global chief compliance officer out of retirement to help...