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

Snap Inc. stock figures displayed on the New York Stock Exchange floor this afternoon. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Snap’s Layoffs Aim to Reduce Stock Comp Dilution

By Martin Peers · Feb 5, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Hold the front page! A tech company is acknowledging that stock compensation is a real expense. On Monday, Snap said it was cutting 10% of its global workforce. As it was the latest in a very long list of tech companies to undertake layoffs in recent weeks, the news might not seem like a big deal. Like other companies, Snap said the layoffs were... Hold the front page! A tech company is acknowledging that stock compensation is a real expense....

A Shein warehouse in Indiana. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Shein’s Top U.S. Lawyer Departs

By Ann Gehan · Feb 5, 2024 1:47pm PST · 1 comment

Shein lawyers have plenty of work on their plate right now, as the China-founded fast-fashion firm fends off a raft of trademark infringement lawsuits and gears up for a potential U.S. initial public offering. But Shein’s internal legal ranks are going through a change in leadership, with Shein’s top U.S. lawyer, Valerie Ho,... Shein lawyers have plenty of work on their plate right now, as the China-founded fast-fashion...

Mike Clayville. Photo via Stripe.

Top Stripe Executive Clayville Departs, Is Helping Secretive Startup Omniva Hire

By Theo Wayt, Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 5, 2024 12:25pm PST

Stripe returned to profitability last year in part by squeezing spending on sales and marketing. The executive in charge of growing sales to large customers isn’t sticking around to see how the slimmed-down strategy plays out. Mike Clayville, a former Amazon Web Services executive who became a marquee Stripe hire three and a half years ago... Stripe returned to profitability last year in part by squeezing spending on sales and marketing....

Evan Spiegel. Photo by Getty.

Snap Targets Senior Leadership in Sweeping Layoffs

By Erin Woo · Feb 5, 2024 9:48am PST · 3 comments

Evan Spiegel. Photo by Getty.

Snap Targets Senior Leadership in Sweeping Layoffs

By Erin Woo · Feb 5, 2024 9:48am PST · 3 comments

Snap cut several senior executives in its layoffs announced on Monday, aiming in part to reduce the amount of stock based compensation it pays out to senior people, CEO Evan Spiegel told staff on Monday. The company said it would cut its workforce by 10%, or around 550 employees. Included in the cuts were Sam Corrao Clanon, director of content;... Snap cut several senior executives in its layoffs announced on Monday, aiming in part to reduce...

Nat Friedman holding one of the burnt scrolls from Vesuvius he set out to decipher. Photo via YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel.

Our GPU Reseller Prediction Comes True; 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Solved with AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 5, 2024 8:00am PST

In October we predicted that resellers of graphics processing units, an emerging class of startups that provide Nvidia’s in-demand server chips to artificial intelligence developers, would soon be in trouble. Sure enough, three months later, one of those startups is giving up.On Thursday, the startup Banana, which raised $3.4 million in funding... In October we predicted that resellers of graphics processing units, an emerging class of...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Musk’s X is Flooded With Ad Spam—Stolen Credit Cards May Be Key

By Erin Woo · Feb 5, 2024 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has in the past couple of months been inundated with a wave of ads for porn sites and fake luxury goods. That might sound like a low-priority problem for X, as these ads—no matter how sketchy—could in theory bring in much-needed ad revenue. The problem is that the flood of ad spam, as... Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has in the past couple of months been inundated...

General Motors has discontinued the Chevy Bolt, but 2023 models remain on sale, including these at a Colma, Calif. dealership. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: Is That Chill in the Air ‘EV Winter’?

By Steve LeVine · Feb 5, 2024 4:30am PST · 5 comments

In a 1950 paper, British mathematician Alan Turing posed the provocative question “Can machines think?”—firing up fellow computing experts to devise one that could. In 1958, researchers on contract with the U.S. Navy said they were just a year away from revealing a machine that would “walk, talk, see, write, reproduce itself and be conscious of... In a 1950 paper, British mathematician Alan Turing posed the provocative question “Can machines...

The Billionaire Doing the Unthinkable

The Billionaire Doing the Unthinkable

By Abram Brown · Feb 3, 2024 7:00am PST

The Billionaire Doing the Unthinkable

The Billionaire Doing the Unthinkable

By Abram Brown · Feb 3, 2024 7:00am PST

Welcome to your Weekend!A few years ago, I went to India to see two friends get hitched on a beach in Goa, a ceremony that, like much of the country, offered a rich blend of ancient and modern. On that trip, I met the bride’s grandmother—Aaji to all, the Marathi term for your mom’s mom—and as I’ve seen her more since, I’ve come to treasure the... Welcome to your Weekend!A few years ago, I went to India to see two friends get hitched on a...

Photo via AP

Investors Lose the Plot on Meta Stock

By Martin Peers · Feb 2, 2024 3:13pm PST · 7 comments

Investors appear to have taken leave of their senses—at least with regard to the value of Facebook parent Meta Platforms. The stock rocketed 20% today, a rise fueled by the company’s robust fourth-quarter results, giving Meta a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion. (Bloomberg reported that the market value of today’s gain was the single... Investors appear to have taken leave of their senses—at least with regard to the value of...

Taylor Swift vs. MrBeast w/ Casey Neistat and Ricky Van Veen

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 2, 2024 1:07pm PST · 1 comment

What a special week! This week we sat across the table from two of our favorite digital media personalities, filmaker and YouTuber Casey Neistat and Ricky Van Veen, the co-founder of CollegeHumor and a VP of partnerships at Meta. Between the six of us, we covered everything from the downsides of true digital fame to how AI will and... What a special week! This week we sat across the table from two of our favorite digital...

Art by Clark Miller

The Very Best Executive Coaches

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 2, 2024 12:00pm PST · 22 comments

Here’s one common link between Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt: They’ve all employed an executive coach, seeming to prove the point that everyone could use some advice—even the greats. The best coaches have “gravitas, experience, intellect and people skills,” said Jonathan Rosenberg, a former Googler who has... Here’s one common link between Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt: They’ve all...

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Meta’s Big Rally Spotlights Investors’ Questions About AI Returns

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 2, 2024 9:59am PST · 2 comments

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Meta’s Big Rally Spotlights Investors’ Questions About AI Returns

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 2, 2024 9:59am PST · 2 comments

Shares of Meta Platforms stock soared 20% on Friday as investors applauded the company’s fourth-quarter results, which showed a strong ad recovery from its 2022 slump. But the enthusiasm of some investors was tempered by uncertainty about the returns Meta can get from the billions it is pouring into new generative artificial intelligence... Shares of Meta Platforms stock soared 20% on Friday as investors applauded the company’s...

Art by Clark Miller, Nilekani via Getty Images.

The Bill Gates of India Has A Grand Plan to Outfox Amazon—And Change the World

By Anita Raghavan · Feb 2, 2024 9:00am PST · 11 comments

Few places present a more vibrant study of contrasts than modern India, with the archaic and the modern, the wealthy and the poor, the digital and the physical all increasingly intersecting and interweaving. As so often happens, I watched these forces converge one December afternoon on a shady, tree-lined street in the posh Koramangala... Few places present a more vibrant study of contrasts than modern India, with the archaic and the...

Photo via Adobe Stock

Pro Weekly: The Founders Challenging Nvidia

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 2, 2024 8:00am PST

Earlier this week, we published The Information’s AI Chip Database for Pro subscribers, tracking the 18 (and counting) startups that are challenging Nvidia in the fast-growing market for the graphics processing units that power artificial intelligence. In total, these companies have raised over $6 billion in funding.It’s a tall task to take on ... Earlier this week, we published The Information’s AI Chip Database for Pro subscribers, tracking...

Shane Burke/Shutterstock

As China-U.S. Relations Sour, Baidu’s VC Affiliate Tries to Sell Its U.S. Startup Stakes

By Juro Osawa · Feb 2, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

A venture capital firm backed by Chinese internet firm Baidu is in talks to sell a portfolio of stakes in a range of U.S. startups, including artificial intelligence robotics startup Machina Labs, whose customers include the U.S. Air Force, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The firm, Baidu Venture, has been in discussions... A venture capital firm backed by Chinese internet firm Baidu is in talks to sell a portfolio of...

Photo via AP

Meta Is Q4 Standout of Tech Trifecta

By Martin Peers · Feb 1, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Photo via AP

Meta Is Q4 Standout of Tech Trifecta

By Martin Peers · Feb 1, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

We got a trifecta of big tech earnings results today, with December quarter updates from Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms. Of that group, Meta was the standout, reporting 25% growth in revenue to just above $40 billion, at the high end of what it had projected. Even better, Meta projected that revenue growth could accelerate further to as high... We got a trifecta of big tech earnings results today, with December quarter updates from Apple,...

Photo by Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Creator Economy

A Meta (AI) Assistant for Every Creator; TikTok’s Music Row

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 1, 2024 3:41pm PST · 1 comment

Mark Zuckerberg wants every creator to “have an AI that their community can engage with.”That’s part of his plans for the year, laid out during Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call today.The announcements leaned heavily on artificial intelligence products and features, including that Meta AI—the company’s AI assistant—will become a bigger part of... Mark Zuckerberg wants every creator to “have an AI that their community can engage with.”That’s...

Elon Musk at the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit on Nov. 1, 2023. Photo by Leon Neal/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.

Elon Musk’s xAI Fundraising Dance

By Becky Peterson · Feb 1, 2024 12:54pm PST

Elon Musk doesn’t abide by the norms of Silicon Valley, where startups looking to raise money hold formal pitch meetings, during which executives show off fundraising slide decks full of information about their businesses, and outline their expectations around check size and valuation.So when Musk posted a message on X last Friday, denying a... Elon Musk doesn’t abide by the norms of Silicon Valley, where startups looking to raise money...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

AI Data Center Startup Astera Labs Plans March IPO

By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 1, 2024 11:46am PST · 1 comment

A little-known startup that sells crucial data center components to customers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft is aiming to become one of the first firms to go public off the back of the boom in generative artificial intelligence. Astera Labs, backed by Sutter Hill Ventures and Intel, has been meeting with prospective investors ahead of a... A little-known startup that sells crucial data center components to customers like Amazon Web...

Jack Altman in 2019. Photo via Princeton University.

Alt Capital Raises $150 Million Fund, Extending Altman Brothers’ Funding Spree

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 1, 2024 8:52am PST

Jack Altman in 2019. Photo via Princeton University.

Alt Capital Raises $150 Million Fund, Extending Altman Brothers’ Funding Spree

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 1, 2024 8:52am PST

Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack has raised a $150 million venture fund to invest in early-stage startups through his VC firm Alt Capital, the younger Altman said in an interview. The fund plans to lead or co-lead investments in startups right after they incorporate, with a focus on enterprise software, including artificial intelligence... Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack has raised a $150 million venture fund to invest in...