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

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Google Develops Challenger to Meta’s Chatbots and Character.AI

By Julia Hornstein and Jon Victor · Jun 24, 2024 2:54pm PDT · 1 comment

Google wants chatbots that people can hang with—not just pelt with questions. The search engine giant has been developing a product for creating and conversing with customizable chatbots, which could be modeled on celebrities or made by users, two people with direct knowledge of the project said. The bots would be similar to the online... Google wants chatbots that people can hang with—not just pelt with questions. The search...

HSBC's London headquarters. Photo via Adobe Stock.

The Big Interview

Inside HSBC’s VC Charm Offensive

By Michael Roddan · Jun 24, 2024 8:03am PDT

Shortly after HSBC swooped on the carcass of Silicon Valley Bank in March of last year, picking up around 50 U.S. bankers and an $8 billion U.K. loan book, the London-headquartered bank’s management drew up plans to win over the biggest venture capitalists in the U.S. that had historically been SVB customers. Fifteen months on, the bank... Shortly after HSBC swooped on the carcass of Silicon Valley Bank in March of last year, picking...

Klarity co-founders Nischal Nadhamuni (left) and Andrew Antos (right).

Startup Klarity Raises $70 Million to Automate Document Reviews

By Kalley Huang · Jun 24, 2024 7:00am PDT

Read through enough contracts, invoices or purchase orders—any business documents, really—enough times, and your eyes probably glaze over. Ondrej Antos experienced it as a law clerk nearly a decade ago. When Antos met Nischal Nadhamuni at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016, the pair went on a three-hour-long walk in... Read through enough contracts, invoices or purchase orders—any business documents, really—enough...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple Aims to Cut Headcount on Some iPhone Assembly Lines by Up to 50%

By Wayne Ma · Jun 24, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple Aims to Cut Headcount on Some iPhone Assembly Lines by Up to 50%

By Wayne Ma · Jun 24, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

It was the kind of incident Apple executives never want to repeat. In November 2022, at a factory in Zhengzhou, China—the largest plant in the world for making iPhones—police officers in white hazmat suits beat factory workers, who had begun protesting over strict Covid-19 lockdowns and disputes over pay. Video of the episode, which... It was the kind of incident Apple executives never want to repeat. In November 2022, at a factory...

Mutanda, the world's largest cobalt mine, in Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Emmet Livingstone/AFP/Getty

The Electric: A New Geopolitical Melee Erupts Over Battery Metals

By Steve LeVine · Jun 24, 2024 4:30am PDT

Within days of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden reversed a decision by the Trump administration to lift sanctions on one of the most controversial Western mining executives in central Africa. Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler didn’t merit a reprieve, Biden’s State Department said, alleging that in a two-year period he had corruptly... Within days of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden reversed a decision by the Trump...

Art by Clark Miller

The Anti-Altman’s Hail Mary Pitch to Investors

By Abram Brown · Jun 22, 2024 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:Meet Jacob Helberg, the MAGA star popular with tech liberalsThe best apps for exploring naturePlus: Ferrets, puffins and guinea pigs, oh my; Scottish scaries; and how to summer in Italy from your sofa.Wanted! Investors for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shove millions of dollars into a nascent... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:Meet Jacob Helberg, the MAGA star popular with tech...

Art by Clark Miller

Downloads for the Backroads: A Techie’s Guide to the Best Apps for Exploring Nature

By Brigid Mander · Jun 22, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Modern technology is everywhere, often in various forms of screen time. That makes it a popular scapegoat for the increasing, collective loss of our human connection to the natural world. It’s not just that time spent using technology has replaced time in nature, it’s also that for many nature is farther away: Over half the... Modern technology is everywhere, often in various forms of screen time. That makes it a popular...

Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images.

Apple Throws Down the Gauntlet to European Regulators

By Martin Peers · Jun 21, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 10 comments

Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images.

Apple Throws Down the Gauntlet to European Regulators

By Martin Peers · Jun 21, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 10 comments

Will Europeans start to regret their governments’ aggressive regulation of U.S. tech? That’s surely going to be a question sparked by Apple’s decision today to withhold a bunch of attractive new technologies—such as its artificial intelligence–powered offerings—from its products in Europe, citing the continental rules on how tech firms operate.... Will Europeans start to regret their governments’ aggressive regulation of U.S. tech? That’s...

Incoming Stability AI CEO, Prem Akkaraju. Photo via Stability AI.

Stability AI Gets New CEO and a Bailout From Investor Group Led By Sean Parker

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 21, 2024 11:39am PDT · 2 comments

Stability AI, a startup that rode the boom in generative artificial intelligence to a $1 billion valuation before experiencing financial trouble and employee defections, has a new CEO. Prem Akkaraju, former CEO of visual effects company Weta Digital, will step into the role, according to a person involved in the decision. The 51-year-old... Stability AI, a startup that rode the boom in generative artificial intelligence to a $1 billion...

Elad Gil on What to Build in AI (Part II)

By Jessica Lessin · Jun 21, 2024 10:56am PDT · 1 comment

Happy 1st birthday to the More or Less podcast! We marked the special occasion with a continuation of our What to Build series, featuring the always sharp Elad Gil. Gil was making big investments in AI before it was cool and has a lot to say about how to value the market today and how he thinks about exit opportunities for AI startups. Plus, we... Happy 1st birthday to the More or Less podcast! We marked the special occasion with a...

Art by Clark Miller

Trump’s Young Man in Silicon Valley

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 21, 2024 9:00am PDT · 16 comments

Soon after a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records last month, the former president headed uptown to a restaurant, where a dinner party awaited him. Trump, who appeared unfazed by the conviction, walked in with a smile on his face, greeted by about 20 supporters and members of his innermost circle. The crowd... Soon after a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records last month,...

Chart by Shane Burke

Pro Weekly: Surging Optimism About Apple

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 21, 2024 8:00am PDT

Chart by Shane Burke

Pro Weekly: Surging Optimism About Apple

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 21, 2024 8:00am PDT

Shares of Apple surged more than 10% in the days after the company announced new artificial intelligence features at its Worldwide Developers Conference last week. Respondents to our monthly survey also are feeling more bullish about the iPhone maker. Roughly 42% of survey respondents said they were optimistic about Apple’s prospects in the... Shares of Apple surged more than 10% in the days after the company announced new artificial...

The San Francisco Databricks office. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images.

Databricks Has an Edge on Snowflake—but It May Not Be as Big as Investors Think

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jun 21, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

It may not be on the scale of Apple’s rivalry with Google, but the battle between Databricks and Snowflake is one of the most intense in Silicon Valley. Both firms help companies store and manage massive amounts of data—a service that should become more valuable with the rise of generative AI models. Their duel has become so intense... It may not be on the scale of Apple’s rivalry with Google, but the battle between...

Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why Picking an AI Chatbot Might Require Help From a Chatbot

By Martin Peers · Jun 20, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Artificial intelligence companies increasingly seem to have adopted a product marketing approach modeled on that of cellphone plans. Anyone who uses Verizon should know what I mean: The cellphone firm has long offered an evolving array of plans, each with a slightly different name and offering slightly different options, forcing customers to... Artificial intelligence companies increasingly seem to have adopted a product marketing approach...

Cerebras’ third-generation wafer-scale engine (WSE-3). Photo via Cerebras.

Cerebras, an Nvidia Challenger, Files for IPO Confidentially

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 20, 2024 4:08pm PDT

Cerebras, a developer of artificial intelligence chips that’s trying to wrestle business from Nvidia, has filed confidentially with securities regulators for an initial public offering, according to a person involved in the decision. The startup has also notified Delaware, the state in which it is incorporated, that it is creating... Cerebras, a developer of artificial intelligence chips that’s trying to wrestle business...

Jai Das, Co-founder, President and Partner, Sapphire Ventures. Photo by Getty

With IPOs Off Limits, Software Investors Pin Hopes on PE Buyouts

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 20, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Jai Das, Co-founder, President and Partner, Sapphire Ventures. Photo by Getty

With IPOs Off Limits, Software Investors Pin Hopes on PE Buyouts

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 20, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Hi, it’s Akash. I’ve been in Toronto at the Collision Conference, Canada’s annual technology convention. It drew more than 37,800 attendees, along with big names like Vinod Khosla and the country’s own artificial intelligence royalty, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez, as well as the “godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton.Last year at this event, AI was still... Hi, it’s Akash. I’ve been in Toronto at the Collision Conference, Canada’s annual technology...

Creator Mylene Mae. Photo: Gracie Koh

Creator Economy

How a Mini Video Series Supercharged This Creator’s Instagram Account

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 20, 2024 2:00pm PDT

Mylene Mae has found success with turning short Reels on Instagram into a series of related videos. She’s part of an emerging trend of creators doing so. Mae, 24, first started posting last April, initially focusing on sharing long-form YouTube videos about her efforts to learn how to code and life as a recent college graduate. On YouTube,... Mylene Mae has found success with turning short Reels on Instagram into a series of related...

Subscriber Survey

By a 3-2 Margin, The Information Readers Support the TikTok Ban

By Scott Thurm · Jun 20, 2024 11:31am PDT

Most readers of The Information support the U.S.’s pending ban of TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media app, though a significant minority oppose the ban scheduled to take effect early next year, according to our latest reader survey. Opinions about the ban divided sharply based on whether a respondent said they use the app. The roughly... Most readers of The Information support the U.S.’s pending ban of TikTok, the Chinese-owned...

Rocco Basilico, head of EssilorLuxottica's wearables. Photo by Getty

The Big Interview

Meta’s Ray-Bans Partner Draws Attention From Tech Rivals

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 20, 2024 10:58am PDT · 1 comment

EssilorLuxottica might not be a household name in the U.S. But the eyeglass giant, maker of Meta Platforms’ smart Ray-Ban glasses as well as dozens of other eyewear brands, is suddenly a company tech firms want to buddy up with. Rocco Basilico, the 34-year-old Italian head of EssilorLuxottica’s wearables business, revealed in an... EssilorLuxottica might not be a household name in the U.S. But the eyeglass giant, maker of Meta...

Chart by Shane Burke

A New (and Better) Approach to Measuring LLMs’ Intelligence Has Arrived

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 20, 2024 7:45am PDT · 1 comment

Chart by Shane Burke

A New (and Better) Approach to Measuring LLMs’ Intelligence Has Arrived

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 20, 2024 7:45am PDT · 1 comment

Finally, there’s good news from the never-ending quest to evaluate how good a large language model is. LMSYS, an organization that benchmarks LLMs, released findings last month on how the performance of LLMs changed between normal queries and harder ones that require more reasoning capabilities. LMSYS uses “Elo rankings,” a measure of... Finally, there’s good news from the never-ending quest to evaluate how good a large language...