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

Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering. Screenshot via Apple.

Apple Eyes Deals with Google and Anthropic After OpenAI; Apple Grades Its LLMs While Databricks Grades AI Usage

By Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2024 7:00am PDT

On a basic level, none of the artificial intelligence Apple announced on Monday came as a surprise. But there's a big difference between a news report describing what Apple is going to launch and seeing the finished product, and in that regard Apple delivered a cogent presentation that put Google's sprawling AI keynote from May to shame.Also, as... On a basic level, none of the artificial intelligence Apple announced on Monday came as a...

Art by Shane Burke

American AI Startups Relocate China-Based Engineers

By Juro Osawa and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 11, 2024 6:00am PDT

Among the hundreds of American artificial intelligence startups launched in the last few years, those founded by China-born entrepreneurs exercised a unique advantage: They could hire less expensive, talented engineers based in China. Now, as the geopolitical battle between the U.S. and China increasingly extends to AI, these startups are... Among the hundreds of American artificial intelligence startups launched in the last few years,...

Apple CEO, Tim Cook. Screenshot via Apple.

Apple’s Tech Master Class

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Apple just delivered a master class in how to explain complex technology to ordinary people. Its presentation on Monday of how it will harness the latest artificial intelligence advances in its software was well done, to say the least. If you’ve been wondering exactly what AI can do—other than overhyped exercises such as designing a menu for a... Apple just delivered a master class in how to explain complex technology to ordinary people. Its...

Sarah Friar, left, and Kevin Weil. Photos by Getty

OpenAI Hires Sarah Friar as CFO, Kevin Weil as Chief Product Officer

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2024 10:15am PDT · 2 comments

Sarah Friar, left, and Kevin Weil. Photos by Getty

OpenAI Hires Sarah Friar as CFO, Kevin Weil as Chief Product Officer

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2024 10:15am PDT · 2 comments

OpenAI has hired two Silicon Valley veterans in finance and product roles as it prepares to launch new consumer products and a high-profile partnership with Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the hires. Sarah Friar, who was most recently the CEO of Nextdoor, a social network for neighborhoods, is joining as the company’s... OpenAI has hired two Silicon Valley veterans in finance and product roles as it prepares to...

From left: Marc Benioff, Safra Catz and Shantanu Narayen. Photos by Getty

Special Report: M&A

How Private Equity Rewards CEOs Who Sell

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 10, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Squarespace announced a deal to be taken private by private equity Permira for $6.9 billion last month, it ended an unhappy three-year chapter as a publicly listed company for the DIY website maker. Squarespace was one of the more than 100 tech firms that went public during the frothy days of 2021. Like many of those firms, the IPO has... When Squarespace announced a deal to be taken private by private equity Permira for $6.9 billion...

The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Calif. Photo by Anadolu via Getty Images.

‘Apple Intelligence’ is About to Test Regular People's Appetite; Meta Gets Grilled on Safety in Paris

By Amir Efrati · Jun 10, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Excitement this morning about Apple's planned reveal of artificial intelligence features during its WWDC event for app developers is more than warranted. While it might not be as mind-blowing as the Kling AI video teasers from China’s Kuaishou last week, Apple’s expected improvements to Siri; new tools to let people automatically generate... Excitement this morning about Apple's planned reveal of artificial intelligence features during...

Shein's Whitestown, Ind. warehouse. Photo by Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock.

Shein’s 40% Revenue Growth and Profit Boost in 2023 Could Help Lure IPO Investors

By Jing Yang · Jun 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

China-founded fast fashion giant Shein lifted its net profit margin even as it posted slightly faster revenue growth in 2023, two people with direct knowledge of its finances said. That performance should help Shein lure investors for a highly anticipated initial public offering—if it can convince regulators to sign off. Shein recorded... China-founded fast fashion giant Shein lifted its net profit margin even as it posted slightly...

The Mercedes-Stellantis gigafactory in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France. Photo courtesy ACC.

The Electric: Half the West’s Planned Gigafactories Are Uncertain to Be Built

By Steve LeVine · Jun 10, 2024 4:30am PDT

The Mercedes-Stellantis gigafactory in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France. Photo courtesy ACC.

The Electric: Half the West’s Planned Gigafactories Are Uncertain to Be Built

By Steve LeVine · Jun 10, 2024 4:30am PDT

Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories they were building through a joint venture. The companies want to take a fresh look at the plants in hopes of reducing the price of their electric vehicles, driven in large part by the cost of the batteries, the most expensive component in an EV. If... Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories...

Tux the Linux Penguin, Jim Zemlin and Linus Torvalds. Photos via Getty Images and the Linux Foundation

An Open-Source Nonprofit’s Growth and Executive Pay Raise Eyebrows

By Paris Martineau · Jun 9, 2024 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Open-source software has become a big business, even for some of the nonprofit organizations dedicated to coordinating the far-flung communities of programmers that contribute to open-source projects, usually without pay. That’s especially true of the Linux Foundation. That organization, which oversees the development of the Linux... Open-source software has become a big business, even for some of the nonprofit organizations...

Art by Clark Miller

A New List of The Worst VCs

By Abram Brown · Jun 8, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A lone shining light in food tech’s dark ageThe best summer camps for grownupsPlus: A tremendous trek through the Grand Canyon; “Succession” in breeches and gowns; and a gamified interview show.Venture capitalists excel at many things. For starters, they’re quite good at losing other people’s money. They’... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:A lone shining light in food tech’s dark ageThe best...

Art by Clark Miller

The Best Summer Camps for Grownups

By Brigid Mander · Jun 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

It’s early June, which means the kids are getting excited for months of uninterrupted summer playtime and pursuits. That begs the question: Why should they get to have all the fun? For many of those kids, a portion of that happens at summer camp. (And we had suggestions about those camps a few weeks ago.) For many grownups, a dose of... It’s early June, which means the kids are getting excited for months of uninterrupted...

Harvey co-founders Gabriel Pereyra and Winston Weinberg. Photo via YouTube.

AI Startup Harvey Targets $2 Billion Valuation and Mulls Buying a Legal Research Company

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Jun 7, 2024 3:21pm PDT

Harvey co-founders Gabriel Pereyra and Winston Weinberg. Photo via YouTube.

AI Startup Harvey Targets $2 Billion Valuation and Mulls Buying a Legal Research Company

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Jun 7, 2024 3:21pm PDT

In just over a year, artificial intelligence startup Harvey raised three investment rounds to develop software that takes the drudgery out of legal paperwork. Now the company wants an even bigger war chest—one that could help it acquire other companies. The San Francisco startup has been talking to investors about raising $600 million at a... In just over a year, artificial intelligence startup Harvey raised three investment rounds to...

Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Photos via Shutterstock and Getty Images.

Apple and Musk to Dominate News Next Week

By Martin Peers · Jun 7, 2024 2:30pm PDT

This was Jensen Huang’s week. As we saw when he appeared at the Computex conference in Taipei this week, Huang is now a fully fledged celebrity CEO. (See Qianer Liu’s report on Computex below). Fittingly, Nvidia also this week briefly passed Apple as the second most valuable company, with a $3 trillion market capitalization. It’s extraordinary... This was Jensen Huang’s week. As we saw when he appeared at the Computex conference in Taipei...

Startups to Start: Media Edition

By Jessica Lessin · Jun 7, 2024 10:48am PDT

Welcome to Episode 50! We haven't shied from talking about how brutal the startup market is right now. But that doesn't mean there aren't great things to build. So, this week we shared some thoughts on what WE would build, starting with a sector close to our hearts: media. Plus, Brit on the Life360 US IPO and my attempt to up my... Welcome to Episode 50! We haven't shied from talking about how brutal the startup market is...

Reddit CFO Drew Vallero at the company's New York Stock Exchange debut in March. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Pro Weekly: Where to Find a CFO for an IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 7, 2024 8:05am PDT

Three years before Reddit went public in March, CEO Steve Huffman made a big hire. He tapped Drew Vollero to be Reddit’s first chief financial officer, after Vollero had shepherded Snap as its CFO through an initial public offering in 2017.Vollero is one of the 31 top executives included in the Reddit Org Chart we published earlier today. Like... Three years before Reddit went public in March, CEO Steve Huffman made a big hire. He tapped Drew...

The People in Charge at Reddit After Its IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 7, 2024 6:00am PDT

The People in Charge at Reddit After Its IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 7, 2024 6:00am PDT

Ahead of its initial public offering in March, Reddit trumpeted its digital advertising business, which accounts for nearly all of its revenue. So it’s fitting that nearly two-thirds of its top executives previously worked at companies that sell digital ads. At least 19 of the company’s 31 top executives previously worked at Google,... Ahead of its initial public offering in March, Reddit trumpeted its digital advertising business,...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Is DOJ Inquiry Into Nvidia A Sign the Chipmaker Has Peaked?

By Martin Peers · Jun 6, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Has Nvidia peaked? That’s a question investors may be pondering today, after The New York Times report that the U.S. antitrust police have decided to open an inquiry into the chip maker. (It’s surely coincidental that the report came a day after Nvidia passed $3 trillion in market capitalization, making it the second most valuable company, above... Has Nvidia peaked? That’s a question investors may be pondering today, after The New York Times...

Photo via Getty Images

Is This the Best Time to Invest in China? Its VC Funds Hope So

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 6, 2024 3:03pm PDT

It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions and endowments halted investments. Existing investors demanded cash distributions. Fundraising plunged. But lately China’s venture capitalists have decided they can’t wait until the downturn passes to hit the fundraising circuit.Several China-based... It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions...

Sean Downey, president of Americas and global partners at Google, speaks at YouTube Brandcast 2024 on May 15. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Pitch to Advertisers Stresses Creator ‘Stars’

By Sahil Patel · Jun 6, 2024 2:02pm PDT

Google’s YouTube is now in the thick of upfront negotiations with advertisers, a period when networks and streaming services like Netflix compete for billions of dollars in ad-spending pledges. YouTube can trumpet the fact that more people in the U.S. are watching the app when they turn on a TV than any other streaming service.In fact, YouTube... Google’s YouTube is now in the thick of upfront negotiations with advertisers, a period when...

Photo via Getty Images

Is Plagiarism a Stain on Open-Source AI?

By Kalley Huang · Jun 6, 2024 7:15am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty Images

Is Plagiarism a Stain on Open-Source AI?

By Kalley Huang · Jun 6, 2024 7:15am PDT · 1 comment

The open-source artificial intelligence community has been buzzing over allegations that three U.S.-based developers—including two Stanford University undergraduates—copied parts of a multimodal large-language model developed by a Chinese lab founded by Tsinghua University and Beijing-based AI startup ModelBest.This incident might seem trivial... The open-source artificial intelligence community has been buzzing over allegations that three...