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

Sofia Richie Grainge. Photo by AP.

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Beauty Craze Turns to M&A

By Ann Gehan · Jan 17, 2024 2:31pm PST

Hi - it's Ann. I write about e-commerce and retail for The Information. Before we get into today's column, some breaking news: YouTube is laying off around 100 employees focused on supporting content creators and other partners. The layoffs come amid a reorganization of many of YouTube’s business teams and broader cuts this month at YouTube’s... Hi - it's Ann. I write about e-commerce and retail for The Information. Before we get into...

Photo via Shutterstock

Databricks Preps Employee Share Sale

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Jan 17, 2024 1:13pm PST · 2 comments

Databricks, one of the most valuable of the private tech companies, told employees last week it is planning to allow early staffers to cash out some of their shares in the coming months by lining up investors to buy their stock, people familiar with the matter said. In arranging the share sale, Databricks is following in the footsteps of... Databricks, one of the most valuable of the private tech companies, told employees last week it...

Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

The Nonprofit Versus For-Profit OpenAI Powder Keg

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 17, 2024 8:05am PST

It’s been nearly two months since OpenAI’s pared-down board started looking for new directors, and so far, it doesn’t have much to show for it. We have yet to see any actual board appointments, though we’ve gotten plenty of news around candidates being approached. The latest one—the CEO of an OpenAI quasi rival—is an interesting example. As... It’s been nearly two months since OpenAI’s pared-down board started looking for new directors,...

Photos via Getty.

Why Shopify Has Payments Power Over Amazon

By Theo Wayt · Jan 17, 2024 7:53am PST

Photos via Getty.

Why Shopify Has Payments Power Over Amazon

By Theo Wayt · Jan 17, 2024 7:53am PST

For Amazon, providing customer checkout and delivery services to merchants that don’t sell on its site offers a tantalizing growth opportunity. But to take full advantage of it, Amazon has to figure out how to work with archrival Shopify, which is a key gatekeeper because it sells e-commerce software to millions of mostly small online... For Amazon, providing customer checkout and delivery services to merchants that don’t sell...

From Left: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Photos by Getty

Behind OpenAI Meltdown, Valley Heavyweight Reid Hoffman Calmed Microsoft Nerves

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 17, 2024 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Minutes after OpenAI’s board of directors announced it had fired CEO Sam Altman on Nov. 17, venture capitalist Reid Hoffman received a call from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The board’s decision shocked executives at Microsoft, which had agreed to invest more than $13 billion in the fast-growing artificial intelligence startup.... Minutes after OpenAI’s board of directors announced it had fired CEO Sam Altman on Nov. 17,...

Our New Look for the Next Era

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 17, 2024 4:00am PST · 23 comments

Today marks a significant milestone for us at The Information. I am thrilled to unveil a redesign of our site and a new logo. Overall, we redesigned more than 200 pages—a massive undertaking from our incredibly talented team. When we launched 10 years ago, we offered subscribers one type of article: exclusive news about the most... Today marks a significant milestone for us at The Information. I am thrilled to unveil a redesign...

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images.

Why Musk Doesn’t Need More Tesla Stock

By Martin Peers · Jan 16, 2024 5:06pm PST · 2 comments

You have to hand it to Elon Musk. While most CEOs would scheme behind closed doors to get awarded billions more in stock from their boards, Musk lays it all out there. In a post extraordinary for its bluntness, Musk on Monday said on X he was “uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having [about] 25% voting... You have to hand it to Elon Musk. While most CEOs would scheme behind closed doors to get awarded...

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Snap Finds a New Hit With FOMO-Driven Youth

By Erin Woo · Jan 16, 2024 3:25pm PST

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

Snap Finds a New Hit With FOMO-Driven Youth

By Erin Woo · Jan 16, 2024 3:25pm PST

Today I want to start with the words of Jordyn Gilbert, an 18-year-old in Agoura Hills, Calif.: “For teenage girls, it is one of the most helpful things—but also, honestly, like, really toxic.” Gilbert was talking about Snapchat+, Snap’s subscription product, which recently crossed 7 million subscribers. For $3.99 a month, Snapchat+ offers... Today I want to start with the words of Jordyn Gilbert, an 18-year-old in Agoura Hills, Calif.: “...

Left to right: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks; and OpenAI director Adam D'Angelo; Photos via Getty

OpenAI Board’s Search for New Directors Includes a Rival

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 16, 2024 2:22pm PST · 5 comments

Last month, OpenAI board director Adam D’Angelo called Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi to see if he might consider joining OpenAI’s board, according to a person familiar with the situation. That kind of request might not seem unusual—except that Ghodsi has positioned Databricks as a kind of anti-OpenAI through its business of helping... Last month, OpenAI board director Adam D’Angelo called Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi to see if...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

ChatGPT Coming To an Army Near You

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 16, 2024 7:00am PST

Last week, OpenAI quietly tweaked the wording in its usage policies. That seemingly simple action could have massive consequences.Most notably, OpenAI removed a previous ban on using its large language models for any military or warfare-related applications. Instead of the ban, the policies now say that OpenAI products can’t be used to “harm... Last week, OpenAI quietly tweaked the wording in its usage policies. That seemingly simple action...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai (left) and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Photos via Getty.

Google’s Defense Against OpenAI Talent Grab: Special Stock

By Jon Victor · Jan 16, 2024 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Even as Google makes a major round of staff cuts, it is tapping a special pool of stock compensation to retain its top artificial intelligence researchers as rival OpenAI lures them with multimillion-dollar pay packages. Select researchers at Google’s DeepMind unit, which is at the center of its most important initiatives, have received... Even as Google makes a major round of staff cuts, it is tapping a special pool of stock...

CATL displays sodium-ion batteries at an exposition in Beijing in November. Photo: VCG/Getty

The Electric: Are Western Companies Surrendering Sodium-Ion Batteries to China?

By Steve LeVine · Jan 15, 2024 4:30am PST

CATL displays sodium-ion batteries at an exposition in Beijing in November. Photo: VCG/Getty

The Electric: Are Western Companies Surrendering Sodium-Ion Batteries to China?

By Steve LeVine · Jan 15, 2024 4:30am PST

In recent weeks, two Chinese automakers have released sodium-ion–powered electric vehicles that eliminate lithium, the metal that has powered the EV revolution, a head-spinning signal of a new age in the industry. In recent weeks, two Chinese automakers have released sodium-ion–powered electric vehicles that...

Art by Clark Miller

The Cost of Social Media Superpowers

By Nick Wingfield · Jan 13, 2024 6:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.When it comes to the way people under the age of 25 use their phones, I try to have what Zen Buddhists and certain tech CEOs call a beginner’s mindset. For example, not too long ago I learned that my daughter shares her location through her phone with two dozen college friends and that they all do the same with her.... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.When it comes to the way people under the age of 25 use their phones,...

Dean Phillips photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images. Art by Clark Miller

Q&A

Dean Phillips on His Bid to Disrupt Biden—and Trump

By Scott Thurm · Jan 13, 2024 5:55am PST · 2 comments

Dean Phillips thinks too much government tech policy dwells on the negative. In an interview, the Minnesota congressman—who is mounting a long-shot bid to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination—said regulations need to prevent “nefarious use” of artificial intelligence, but he’s equally... Dean Phillips thinks too much government tech policy dwells on the negative. In an interview, the...

Bill Ackman. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

What Netflix’s Stock Recovery—and Ackman’s Mistake—Tells Us

By Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2024 3:00pm PST

If you want to get under Bill Ackman’s skin right now—without mentioning Harvard University or Business Insider—ask him about his Netflix bet of 2022. The hedge fund manager’s decision in late January of that year to jump into Netflix’s stock, just as it was getting pummeled by investors unhappy with its growth slowdown, would prove to be a... If you want to get under Bill Ackman’s skin right now—without mentioning Harvard University or...

Carta CEO, Henry Ward. Photo via Carta.

Crisis at Carta: How Henry Ward’s Dream of a Nasdaq for Private Startups Died

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 12, 2024 2:01pm PST · 18 comments

Carta CEO, Henry Ward. Photo via Carta.

Crisis at Carta: How Henry Ward’s Dream of a Nasdaq for Private Startups Died

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 12, 2024 2:01pm PST · 18 comments

Carta co-founder Henry Ward for years heard venture capitalists tell him the market for software that manages startups’ stock issuances was too small. But Ward proved the skeptics wrong. Sales of Carta’s subscription software tripled in two years to $150 million in 2021, emboldening Ward to launch his long-held vision that year: a... Carta co-founder Henry Ward for years heard venture capitalists tell him the market for software...

Photo by JHVE Photo/Adobe Stock.

Reviled Cloud Fees Come Under Attack

By Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Jan 12, 2024 11:47am PST · 1 comment

To some companies, renting storage space or other services from a cloud provider can feel like they’ve entered a roach motel: It’s easy to get in but hard to leave. Google on Thursday took a baby step toward changing that perception by eliminating fees it charges cloud customers that want to switch entirely to a rival cloud service... To some companies, renting storage space or other services from a cloud provider can feel like...

Is the Year of Startup Austerity Over? What Can Save the News Business?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 12, 2024 11:44am PST

There are few topics as polarizing in tech and media today as the question of whether AI companies should compensate media professionals for training their models on copyrighted work. On this fight, the gang of More or Less mostly agree—but with some interesting nuances. That and which startups will and won't make it in 2024... There are few topics as polarizing in tech and media today as the question of whether AI...

Pro Weekly: For Creator Startups, Money Doesn't Always Equal Success

Pro Weekly: For Creator Startups, Money Doesn't Always Equal Success

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 12, 2024 8:00am PST

We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this week. The upshot: Funding for creator startups is down, unless of course, the business has an artificial intelligence angle. In total, the 525 creator-centric startups in our database have raised more than $13.8 billion since 2021. As you would... We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this...

Art by Clark Miller

How a Snap Sleeper Hit Got In the Heads of Its Young Subscribers

By Erin Woo · Jan 12, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

How a Snap Sleeper Hit Got In the Heads of Its Young Subscribers

By Erin Woo · Jan 12, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

As a home-schooled teenager in Agoura Hills, Calif., Jordyn Gilbert’s social life revolves around Snapchat. The app—known for the disappearing photos and videos called Snaps that its users share with others—is the default mode of communication for Gilbert and her friends. She estimates she has 70 Snapchat “streaks”... As a home-schooled teenager in Agoura Hills, Calif., Jordyn Gilbert’s social life revolves...