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

Semantiks founder Adrian Sanchez-Castro. Photo courtesy of Sanchez-Castro.

Mistral Reveals its Secret Weapon—Mark Zuckerberg; Struggling Startups Are Looking For the Exits

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 1, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about social media’s mental health effects, but he must have cracked a smile after seeing the latest example of his company’s impact on the AI sector. For the past few months, AI founders and Meta employees have quietly speculated that Meta’s flagship... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about...

Meta campus in Menlo Park. Photo by Getty.

Advertisers Feel the Effects of Meta’s ‘Efficiency’ Drive

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sahil Patel · Feb 1, 2024 6:00am PST

Facebook parent Meta Platforms is testing the patience of its advertiser clients. After two rounds of layoffs over the past 14 months, Meta’s ad sales team is operating with fewer people, which ad executives complain is affecting the service they receive from the company. Sean Johnston, vice president of digital advertising at Closed Loop,... Facebook parent Meta Platforms is testing the patience of its advertiser clients. After two...

Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler, left, and Bird founder and CEO Robert Vis. Photos by Business Wire; Getty.

Dutch Messaging Startup Weighs Longshot Bid to Buy Twilio With Outside Investors

By Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Feb 1, 2024 4:56am PST

A Dutch messaging software startup is in talks with outside investors to raise money for a longshot bid to buy its much larger U.S. publicly traded competitor Twilio, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Accel Partners-backed startup, which was known as MessageBird but just renamed itself Bird, could take advantage of the... A Dutch messaging software startup is in talks with outside investors to raise money for a...

The Electric: Albemarle Cuts Lithium Production to Reduce Global Surplus

The Electric: Albemarle Cuts Lithium Production to Reduce Global Surplus

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

The Electric: Albemarle Cuts Lithium Production to Reduce Global Surplus

The Electric: Albemarle Cuts Lithium Production to Reduce Global Surplus

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

U.S. mining company Albemarle and China’s Tianqi Lithium will cut production up to 13% at Australia’s giant Greenbushes lithium mine, in which they are joint venture partners, responding to a massive, yearlong drop in the price of the metal. In addition to the cuts, the two companies plan not to process all the lithium they do mine at... U.S. mining company Albemarle and China’s Tianqi Lithium will cut production up to 13% at...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Discord's Jason Citron, Snap's Evan Spiegel, TikTok's Shou Chew and X's Linda Yaccarino at today's U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. Photos via Getty Images.

Social Media Senate Hearing: Point Scoring and Talking Points

By Martin Peers · Jan 31, 2024 5:00pm PST

It’s doubtful much of substance was achieved from today’s Senate hearing into “big tech and the online child sexual exploitation crisis,” starring a lineup of social media CEOs. As is typical, the CEOs recited jargonistic talking points and floundered when a cavalcade of senators demanded yes-or-no answers to a variety of questions. The senators... It’s doubtful much of substance was achieved from today’s Senate hearing into “big tech and the...

Left to right: Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta at a Senate hearing. Photo by Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Congress Won’t Let TikTok Forget About China

By Kalley Huang · Jan 31, 2024 3:08pm PST

Senators grilled the CEOs of Meta Platforms, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord for four hours at a hearing about child sexual exploitation online on Wednesday, criticizing how their platforms allowed child sexual abuse material to spread and enabled the extortion of young people. The senators used the opportunity to jab at executives —“You have blood... Senators grilled the CEOs of Meta Platforms, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord for four hours at a...

Attorney Gregory Varallo and Elon Musk. Photos via Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann and Bloomberg/Getty Images.

The Big Interview

Meet The Lawyer Who Took Away Elon Musk’s $56 Billion

By Becky Peterson · Jan 31, 2024 1:29pm PST · 8 comments

Gregory Varallo is a corporate lawyer in Delaware. But in the wake of a landmark Delaware court ruling on Tuesday night, he’s not just any lawyer. Varallo is one of the few people to win a courtroom battle with Elon Musk, who has repeatedly prevailed in contentious shareholder and defamation lawsuits. Varallo represented Tesla shareholder... Gregory Varallo is a corporate lawyer in Delaware. But in the wake of a landmark Delaware court...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

As AI Costs Soar, Some Startups Consider Selling

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 31, 2024 9:00am PST · 4 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

As AI Costs Soar, Some Startups Consider Selling

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 31, 2024 9:00am PST · 4 comments

The founders of artificial intelligence startups spent much of the past year seeking capital to fund the high cost of developing their software. Now those costs have pushed some to consider another alternative—merging with a larger company. Perplexity AI, a one-year-old San Francisco–based startup developing an AI-powered search... The founders of artificial intelligence startups spent much of the past year seeking capital to...

Photos via Adobe Stock

Microsoft Dishes on AI Revenue; Google CEO Says ‘Agents’ Are Coming

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jan 31, 2024 7:00am PST

Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night, looking to see how much its new AI products were boosting sales. Microsoft didn’t deliver an unequivocal blowout—revenue in the December quarter grew moderately faster, year over year, compared to the prior quarter’s growth—but positive signs abounded... Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night,...

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock

A KKR-Backed Medical Waste Company Faces a Messy Situation

By Maria Heeter · Jan 31, 2024 6:00am PST

There are companies that suffer from management messes, and there are companies whose businesses involve disposing of messes. Private equity giant KKR & Co. helped create a company that combines both qualities. Nearly seven years ago, KKR became the controlling shareholder of a company, Trilogy MedWaste, that was seeking to become a national... There are companies that suffer from management messes, and there are companies whose businesses...

Photo via AP

Delaware Tells Musk ‘No’; Alphabet and Microsoft’s AI-Driven Earnings

By Martin Peers · Jan 30, 2024 5:00pm PST · 9 comments

Tuesday’s biggest tech news has to be the Delaware Court of Chancery’s stunning decision rescinding Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay package from 2018. The ruling, a big victory for the Tesla shareholder who sued to block the pay deal, should be a warning to all company boards that are dominated by a high-profile CEO: Make sure you’ve got some... Tuesday’s biggest tech news has to be the Delaware Court of Chancery’s stunning decision...

Photo via Adobe Stock

YouTube Talks Creators as Execs Promise More AI Tools

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 30, 2024 3:42pm PST

Photo via Adobe Stock

Creator Economy

YouTube Talks Creators as Execs Promise More AI Tools

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 30, 2024 3:42pm PST

Before we get to Google parent Alphabet’s latest quarterly results, I wanted to highlight the news we broke earlier today that TikTok is planning to open locations in Los Angeles where creators will be able to livestream and sell products. The studios will be outfitted with camera equipment, lights and sample products available on TikTok Shop.... Before we get to Google parent Alphabet’s latest quarterly results, I wanted to highlight the ...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg during Meta Connect 2023. Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images.

Meta Shelves App-Like Feature for AR in Latest Sign of a Pullback

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Jan 30, 2024 2:22pm PST

Meta Platforms is pulling back on its investment in augmented reality, in a nod to how far off a commercial release of AR glasses is. Meta executives have told staffers in the company’s Reality Labs division, which develops AR devices and virtual reality headsets, that it is ceasing development of “augments”—features that... Meta Platforms is pulling back on its investment in augmented reality, in a nod to how far off a...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Google DeepMind Veteran Departs to Launch AI Agent Startup

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jan 30, 2024 1:13pm PST

As OpenAI and Google develop artificial intelligence to power conversational AI chatbots like ChatGPT, a slew of startups is trying to stake out a lead in the nascent field of AI agents, which use similar technology to perform complex tasks such as booking flights or researching business competitors. The latest startup to go in this direction... As OpenAI and Google develop artificial intelligence to power conversational AI chatbots like...

PayPal headquarters in San Jose. Photo by Getty.

PayPal to Cut 9% of Staff in Companywide Layoffs

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Mark Matousek · Jan 30, 2024 11:12am PST · 1 comment

PayPal is laying off 9% of its staff, the company told employees in an email on Tuesday, as a newly appointed CEO looks to cut costs and improve profits. PayPal’s human resources team told staffers the layoffs were part of a cost-reduction effort, according to an employee who was in the meeting. The layoffs affected people across... PayPal is laying off 9% of its staff, the company told employees in an email on Tuesday, as a...

Photo via Adobe Stock

The Rising Underdog In The Information’s AI Chip Database

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 30, 2024 7:50am PST

Photo via Adobe Stock

The Rising Underdog In The Information’s AI Chip Database

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 30, 2024 7:50am PST

For those overwhelmed by the flurry of new chip startups hoping to ride the AI wave, you’re in luck. This morning, we published our AI Chip Database, which tracks both the startups building these chips and those building the software to run them.There’s lots in here. For instance, we make clear whether startups are making chips suitable for... For those overwhelmed by the flurry of new chip startups hoping to ride the AI wave, you’re in...

Introducing The Information’s AI Chip Database

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 30, 2024 7:30am PST · 2 comments

Perhaps no company has benefited more from the artificial intelligence boom than chipmaker Nvidia. Since OpenAI released its blockbuster ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, Nvidia’s quarterly revenue has tripled and its stock price has nearly quadrupled, as startups and big tech companies alike have fought over access to its chips, which are... Perhaps no company has benefited more from the artificial intelligence boom than chipmaker Nvidia...

Sellers receive a live-streaming training on Douyin in Suqian, China. Photo by CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

TikTok Plans Los Angeles Live Studios to Boost Shopping Sales

By Kaya Yurieff and Erin Woo · Jan 30, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

When TikTok creators start a livestream to chat about their new favorite hairbrush, dog toy or cleaning product, they’re usually doing so from a setup in their own home. Soon some may be broadcasting from a company-operated studio in Los Angeles. The short-video app is planning to open several locations in cities including LA where... When TikTok creators start a livestream to chat about their new favorite hairbrush, dog toy or...

Photo via Shutterstock

The Market-Based Case for Covering Startups’ Financial Data

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 29, 2024 5:00pm PST · 5 comments

One of the foundational academic works business students read and discuss is George Akerlof’s 1970 paper, “The Market for ‘Lemons.’” Akerlof, a Nobel Prize winner, described a problem in the used car market: Buyers have less information about the quality of the car than sellers do. They can’t see the defects in low-quality used cars, or “lemons.... One of the foundational academic works business students read and discuss is George Akerlof’s...

Alphabet President Ruth Porat. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images

Google’s Parent Company Squeezes Its Moonshot Projects, ‘Other Bets’

By Jon Victor and Margaux MacColl · Jan 29, 2024 4:08pm PST

Alphabet President Ruth Porat. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images

Google’s Parent Company Squeezes Its Moonshot Projects, ‘Other Bets’

By Jon Victor and Margaux MacColl · Jan 29, 2024 4:08pm PST

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is cutting back its commitment to ambitious moonshot projects. Company executives have told staffers at the X unit, which converts promising investment projects into full-fledged subsidiaries, known as Other Bets, that no such conversions will happen this year, said a person familiar with the situation. At... Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is cutting back its commitment to ambitious moonshot...