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

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo via YouTube/Databricks.

Inside Databricks’ Contrarian Playbook: Burn $1.5 Billion to Buy Big Growth

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 11, 2023 3:54pm PDT · 5 comments

Much of the startup world has gotten a clear message from investors: Stop bleeding cash. Databricks, one of the software startups trying to benefit most from rabid corporate interest in artificial intelligence, is taking a different tack—and getting rewarded for it. Databricks, on the verge of raising a new round of funding at a $43... Much of the startup world has gotten a clear message from investors: Stop bleeding cash....

Art by Midjourney and Shane Burke.

Creator Economy

YouTubers Cash in on Prop Trading’s Rise

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 11, 2023 3:32pm PDT

I’ve spent the past two weeks digging into retail websites that call themselves prop or funded trading firms to report on a story about how HR startup Deel has quietly become the default payout provider for traders on these sites. I quickly discovered how much these websites, which proliferated after the meme stock trading craze of 2020-2021,... I’ve spent the past two weeks digging into retail websites that call themselves prop or funded...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty

Nvidia Muscles Into Cloud Services, Rankling AWS

By Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Sep 11, 2023 1:17pm PDT · 6 comments

Last year, Nvidia made an unusual proposal to Amazon Web Services and other cloud providers that have long been the biggest buyers of Nvidia’s specialized artificial intelligence server chips. Nvidia wanted to lease Nvidia-powered servers in the cloud providers’ data centers so it could turn around and rent the same servers to AI... Last year, Nvidia made an unusual proposal to Amazon Web Services and other cloud providers that...

Photo via Midjourney.

Nvidia, DataDirect Networks Shine in Latest Inference and Storage Benchmark Results

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 11, 2023 9:02am PDT

Photo via Midjourney.

Nvidia, DataDirect Networks Shine in Latest Inference and Storage Benchmark Results

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 11, 2023 9:02am PDT

Since ChatGPT’s launch last November, much of the discussion around artificial intelligence has shifted from awe and amazement to more pragmatic questions such as how to manage exploding compute costs associated with developing and using it commercially. Luckily, new findings from MLCommons, a non-profit that develops evaluations and... Since ChatGPT’s launch last November, much of the discussion around artificial intelligence has...

Apple CEO Tim Cook at the site of the TSMC plant in Phoenix in December. Photo by AP.

The Flaw in Apple’s Plan to Make Chips in Arizona

By Wayne Ma · Sep 11, 2023 6:00am PDT · 18 comments

In December last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook traveled to Phoenix, stood with President Joe Biden in front of a high-profile factory Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was constructing and said the facility would produce chips for the iPhone maker. The comments seemed to commit Apple to aid Biden’s goal of lessening reliance on foreign... In December last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook traveled to Phoenix, stood with President Joe Biden in...

UAW Shawn Fain threatens to strike Thursday at midnight if there is no contract. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty

The Electric: In Contract Talks, Detroit Avoids the Real Issue: Making Desirable EVs

By Steve LeVine · Sep 11, 2023 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

Detroit’s Big Three carmakers and the United Auto Workers union are slugging it out over higher wages, pensions and shorter workdays as a deadline looms this week in their latest four-year round of contract negotiations. But the unseen driver in the strategies of the two sides is survival amid the shift to electric vehicles, the most fundamental... Detroit’s Big Three carmakers and the United Auto Workers union are slugging it out over higher...

'If Hell Is a Party Like This...'

'If Hell Is a Party Like This...'

By Jon Steinberg · Sep 9, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.“The playa doesn’t give you what you want. It gives you what you need.” I’ve been hearing that old Burning Man saw around these parts since the early 2000s—most recently by a participant in this weekend’s cover story, The Instant Oral History of ‘Trench Foot Burning Man.’ But never has the truism seemed more true... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.“The playa doesn’t give you what you want. It gives you what you...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Venture Capitalist Who Was Attacked by Orcas

By Margaux MacColl · Sep 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

The Venture Capitalist Who Was Attacked by Orcas

By Margaux MacColl · Sep 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Adventurer: James Currier, founding partner at NFX, co-founder of Tickle, Wonderhill, IronPearl Escapades: Long-haul sailing, Himalayan treks, snow camping It was 10:40 p.m. one night this June when NFX founding partner James Currier’s 30-foot-long sailboat suddenly lurched sideways, shoved by an unknown force beneath the Mediterranean... Adventurer: James Currier, founding partner at NFX, co-founder of Tickle, Wonderhill, IronPearl...

Ryan Petersen. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Flexport Drama Spotlights Petersen’s Role

By Martin Peers · Sep 8, 2023 3:01pm PDT

It’s day 3 of the Flexport CEO shakeup saga, which seems the perfect set up for a corporate TV drama, if only Hollywood writers weren’t on strike. Today’s developments included Flexport founder and once-again CEO Ryan Petersen not-so-subtly criticizing the management of Dave Clark, the former Amazonian ousted as Flexport CEO on Wednesday after a... It’s day 3 of the Flexport CEO shakeup saga, which seems the perfect set up for a corporate TV...

Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital; Deven Parekh, managing director of Insight Partners; and Scott Shleifer, managing director of Tiger Global. Photos via Getty.

Venture Firms Hang the ‘For Sale’ Sign on Portfolios

By Maria Heeter, Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Sep 8, 2023 1:03pm PDT · 4 comments

Some of the most active startup investors have been hanging a “for sale” sign on their portfolios at a time when venture investors are finding it increasingly difficult to raise new venture funds. Insight Partners has considered selling a stake valued at $400 million in Left Lane Capital, a consumer-focused venture capital firm... Some of the most active startup investors have been hanging a “for sale” sign on...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Instant Oral History of ‘Trench Foot Burning Man’

By Annie Goldsmith, Margaux MacColl, Natasha Mascarenhas, Akash Pasricha and Erin Woo · Sep 8, 2023 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Burning Man 2023 began on Sunday, August 27, as it normally does: with several days of blistering sunshine, pounding bass and playa dust. Then, between Friday and Saturday, a surprise deluge hit northwest Nevada—dumping two months’ worth of rain in 24 hours—and things really began to get interesting. Justin Kan, general partner... Burning Man 2023 began on Sunday, August 27, as it normally does: with several days of blistering...

Why There Will Never Be Another 200 Million Subscriber App

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 8, 2023 10:31am PDT

Why There Will Never Be Another 200 Million Subscriber App

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 8, 2023 10:31am PDT

There aren’t many business books that tell you to fire your customers. But there should be. Enterprise value > revenue was a big theme on this week's pod along with more conversation about the huge shifts happening in how consumer startups make money and get financed. I even got a John Malone fax story in. Hope you enjoy, and please... There aren’t many business books that tell you to fire your customers. But there should be....

Art by Clark Miller

The Head of the Anti-Defamation League Wants to Make Peace With Elon Musk

By Jon Steinberg · Sep 8, 2023 9:00am PDT · 4 comments

By the time Jonathan Greenblatt jumped on the phone at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time this Wednesday, he had already made the rounds on CNN, CNBC and MSNBC. It had been a high blood pressure day for the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League. And that was before X owner Elon Musk fired off the latest in a barrage of tweets taking... By the time Jonathan Greenblatt jumped on the phone at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time this Wednesday, he...

Instacart submitted documents for an initial public offering on Aug. 25. Photo via Instacart

Pro Weekly: IPO Chatter Doesn’t Move Private Markets

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 8, 2023 8:00am PDT

Chatter around initial public offerings appears to be enticing investors to bid for shares of private companies on secondary markets, but not always the price they’re willing to pay for those shares. Caplight, which tracks private markets, said the dollar value of bids to buy shares of pre-public companies more than doubled this year... Chatter around initial public offerings appears to be enticing investors to bid for shares of...

Joe Ravitch (left) and Jeff Sine, co-founders of The Raine Group. Photos via Getty.

The SoftBank Ally Pulling the Strings Behind Arm’s IPO

By Rachel Graf · Sep 8, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

For more than a decade, the Raine Group has wielded its connections—especially to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son—to land big deals and punch above its weight on Wall Street. Next week, one of the most hotly anticipated initial public offerings in years will serve as the latest test of their partnership. Raine holds a flagship position on... For more than a decade, the Raine Group has wielded its connections—especially to SoftBank...

Alex Bouaziz, CEO of Deel. Photo by Getty.

Deel, Coinbase Handled Tens of Millions in Payments for Frozen Prop Trader, Government Says

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Aidan Ryan and Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 6:50pm PDT

Alex Bouaziz, CEO of Deel. Photo by Getty.

Deel, Coinbase Handled Tens of Millions in Payments for Frozen Prop Trader, Government Says

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Aidan Ryan and Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 6:50pm PDT

A U.S. government probe of a high-risk “trading site” called MyForexFunds, which the government has accused of operating a Ponzi scheme, has entangled others from the fintech industry. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, during an investigation of MyForexFunds that covered a period between late 2021 and late 2022, subpoenaed... A U.S. government probe of a high-risk “trading site” called MyForexFunds, which the...

An Apple Store in Shanghai on August 23. Photo by Getty.

Why the Dave Clarks Should Watch Out

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 5:00pm PDT

So much for business as usual. The abrupt ouster of Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport is not just a story about the startup world rejecting a big tech (in this case Amazon) executive. It’s not just a story about a founder who regretted stepping aside, who probably didn’t love the life of a venture capitalist and decided to jump back in. It... So much for business as usual. The abrupt ouster of Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport is not...

Dave Clark. Photo by AP

Dave Clark’s Last Days at Flexport

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 7, 2023 3:52pm PDT · 5 comments

Dave Clark knew something was off when the executive chairman of Flexport, Ryan Petersen, showed up on the video call on Wednesday with Robert Swan, a board member at the freight forwarder. Clark—a former star Amazon executive whom Petersen had lured to Flexport to become its CEO last year—had expected Petersen to be on the call by... Dave Clark knew something was off when the executive chairman of Flexport, Ryan Petersen, showed...

Brands are turning college students into mini influencers. Photo: Her Campus Media

Creator Economy

How Brands Are Turning College Students into Influencers

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 7, 2023 2:37pm PDT · 1 comment

A decade ago, companies tapped college students to hand out t-shirts, rep their gear (think: wearing a Red Bull backpack to class), and give out flyers on university campuses. Now, many of these college ambassador programs are turning college students into mini influencers. For beauty company Clinique, for example, students create and post... A decade ago, companies tapped college students to hand out t-shirts, rep their gear (think:...

Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Discord’s Midjourney Deal Could Supercharge Its Revenue

By Kate Clark · Sep 7, 2023 12:49pm PDT · 1 comment

Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Discord’s Midjourney Deal Could Supercharge Its Revenue

By Kate Clark · Sep 7, 2023 12:49pm PDT · 1 comment

Welcome back!For months I’d heard murmurings about Midjourney, a little artificial intelligence image generator company that had grown to almost 15 million users and hundreds of millions in revenue without any venture funding. I found that the company is also profitable, a major feat for a bootstrapped startup. (Read my profile of the startup ... Welcome back!For months I’d heard murmurings about Midjourney, a little artificial intelligence...