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

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Market’s Cycle of Silliness

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 19, 2023 5:00pm PST

The loose money that flowed during the SPAC boom gave fledgling companies like Los Angeles–based Fisker a chance to get their electric cars out into the world. Promising investors new, cost-efficient ways of building sustainable SUVs, Fisker topped out at an $8 billion market cap in early 2021, before it had even produced a car.While the SPAC... The loose money that flowed during the SPAC boom gave fledgling companies like Los Angeles–based...

Google's chief business officer, Philipp Schindler. Photo via Getty

Google Plans Ad Sales Restructuring as Automation Booms

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2023 4:54pm PST · 1 comment

Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some staff last week, prompting anxiety that some departments will face job cuts. The planned reorganization comes as Google is relying more on machine-learning techniques to help customers buy even more ads on its search engine, YouTube and other... Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some...

Photo via Shutterstock

Creator Economy

The Startup Delivering Gifts on Creators’ Wishlists

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 19, 2023 2:07pm PST

As we’re in the thick of the gift-giving season, plenty of creators are recommending their favorite products and compiling guides of items people should buy for loved ones. But some emerging creators are also encouraging their fans to purchase them a gift. While creators more commonly garner support through tipping, or crowdfunding and... As we’re in the thick of the gift-giving season, plenty of creators are recommending their...

Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., unveils the Fisker Ocean electric SUV in Los Angeles in Nov. 2021. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

EV Upstart Fisker Faces Angry Customers, Falling Stock Price

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · Dec 19, 2023 10:47am PST · 6 comments

Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., unveils the Fisker Ocean electric SUV in Los Angeles in Nov. 2021. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

EV Upstart Fisker Faces Angry Customers, Falling Stock Price

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · Dec 19, 2023 10:47am PST · 6 comments

Retired technology executive Gary Stuart’s garage is full of electric cars—a Rivian truck for himself and a Lucid Motors sedan for his wife. He was so eager to own an electric SUV from another fledgling firm, Los Angeles–based Fisker, that he put down a $5,000 deposit for a vehicle last year. He even invested nearly $100,000 in... Retired technology executive Gary Stuart’s garage is full of electric cars—a Rivian...

OpenAI COO Mira Murati

OpenAI Plays Catch-Up with Anthropic on Calculating Catastrophic AI Risks

By Amir Efrati and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 19, 2023 7:30am PST

OpenAI’s technology and revenue is ahead of Anthropic’s, but when it comes to practices aimed at making sure people don’t use generative artificial intelligence to harm society, OpenAI seems to be playing catch-up. In a 26-page document published Monday, OpenAI discussed how it evaluates AI models for “catastrophic risks” before selling them to... OpenAI’s technology and revenue is ahead of Anthropic’s, but when it comes to practices aimed at...

AWS sales chief Matt Garman. Collage by Clark Miller

AWS Overhauls 60,000-Person Sales Team to Fix ‘Fiefdoms,’ Customer Complaints

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 19, 2023 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Matt Garman, head of sales at Amazon Web Services, plans to reorganize his more than 60,000-person team to address problems that have pierced the world’s biggest cloud provider’s aura of invincibility and created an opening for Microsoft and other rivals. Early next year, Garman will consolidate teams that developed conflicting sales... Matt Garman, head of sales at Amazon Web Services, plans to reorganize his more than...

Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

With Both X and Figma-Adobe, European Regulators Flex Muscles

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

What would European bureaucrats do without an active U.S. tech industry to bother? On Monday, for instance, Adobe and Figma called off their $20 billion deal in the face of European regulatory opposition. The deal would have led “to higher prices, reduced quality or less choice for customers,” claimed European regulatory czar Margrethe Vestager... What would European bureaucrats do without an active U.S. tech industry to bother? On Monday, for...

The "besties" at the All-In Summit in September. Photo via YouTube.

The ‘All-In’ Hosts Make the Leap from Investors to Influencers

By Julia Black · Dec 18, 2023 2:36pm PST · 3 comments

The "besties" at the All-In Summit in September. Photo via YouTube.

Creator Economy

The ‘All-In’ Hosts Make the Leap from Investors to Influencers

By Julia Black · Dec 18, 2023 2:36pm PST · 3 comments

On Friday, I published my long read on All-In, the podcast that half of Silicon Valley loves—and the other half loves to hate. The hosts, entrepreneurs and tech investors Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, Chamath Palihapitiya and David Sacks, have successfully used the show to snatch back the mic from a critical press and, arguably, to distract... On Friday, I published my long read on All-In, the podcast that half of Silicon Valley loves—and...

Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch.

Figma Grew Fast Even as Executives Failed to Clinch Adobe Deal

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · Dec 18, 2023 11:17am PST · 12 comments

The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent dream of startup riches for Figma investors and employees. But Figma’s business is still growing quicker than that of most mature startups, potentially putting it in position for an initial public offering in 2025 or later. And the... The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent...

Photo via Midjourney.

Quant Trading Firms Take NeurIPS; AMD’s Chip Claims Irk Nvidia

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 18, 2023 7:55am PST

As the tech industry slowed down for the holidays, thousands of artificial intelligence researchers, engineers, founders and investors revved up in New Orleans at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems—NeurIPS for short.While researchers presented papers on large language models and diffusion models underlying image generators... As the tech industry slowed down for the holidays, thousands of artificial intelligence...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via Getty. Art by Shane Burke.

OpenAI Overhauls Content Moderation Efforts as Elections Loom

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 18, 2023 6:00am PST

OpenAI has overhauled how it handles the task of rooting out disinformation and offensive content from ChatGPT and its other products, as worries about the spread of disinformation intensify ahead of next year’s elections. In the weeks since Sam Altman’s reinstatement as CEO, the company appears to have quietly abandoned a monthslong... OpenAI has overhauled how it handles the task of rooting out disinformation and offensive content...

Battery developer Enovix has replaced almost all its senior managers as part of an effort to right itself. Photo: Shutterstock

The Electric: As 2024 Nears, Are Next-Gen Battery Companies on the Verge of a Culling?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 18, 2023 4:30am PST

Battery developer Enovix has replaced almost all its senior managers as part of an effort to right itself. Photo: Shutterstock

The Electric: As 2024 Nears, Are Next-Gen Battery Companies on the Verge of a Culling?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 18, 2023 4:30am PST

In the 1920s, more than 700 U.S. manufacturers vied in a brutal competition to sell a new product—electric washing machines. Cheap electricity had reached urban homes, and American households snapped up the labor-saving washers, which quickly became ubiquitous. But just five U.S. washing machine manufacturers survive. It’s the same with... In the 1920s, more than 700 U.S. manufacturers vied in a brutal competition to sell a new product...

The 'All-In' Podcast Gets Its Closeup

The 'All-In' Podcast Gets Its Closeup

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 16, 2023 6:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.The winding path to this week’s must-read cover story on the “All-In” podcast began, for this editor, in August 2022. That’s when I first reached out to one of the show’s co-hosts, Jason Calacanis, to see if he and his fellow “besties” would sit for a profile. I’d met and interacted with Calacanis a few times... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.The winding path to this week’s must-read cover story on the “All-In”...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Vizio’s CEO Is Looking Beyond the Screen

By Janko Roettgers · Dec 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Entrepreneurs often describe their business challenges as matters of life and death. William Wang has a different relationship with that phrase. Back in 2000, the Taiwanese-American serial entrepreneur was on board a Singapore Airlines flight from Taipei to Los Angeles that got into a catastrophic accident during take-off. “Sixty thousand... Entrepreneurs often describe their business challenges as matters of life and death. William Wang...

Art by Clark Miller.

Can Instagram Save the Department Store?

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Tyler Bell was encouraging all her clients to “tag your bag.” Every time Bell, a Saks Fifth Avenue stylist in Troy, Mich., closed a sale, she asked the buyer to show off their purchase on Instagram and tag her account, @tyler.saks. Bell posts Saks inventory multiple times a day on Instagram Stories. Her 27,000 followers will message... Tyler Bell was encouraging all her clients to “tag your bag.” Every time Bell, a Saks...

Make Number Go Up, and the Problem with Nonprofits

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 15, 2023 4:41pm PST · 1 comment

Make Number Go Up, and the Problem with Nonprofits

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 15, 2023 4:41pm PST · 1 comment

"Hodgepodge with a theme" is what I am calling this week's episode of More or Less. The hodgepodge is all the week's headlines, from the latest in AI to some eye-popping VC moments. The theme: What's the next shoe to drop? I feel it in the air. Do you? Hope you enjoy. Apple Spotify "Hodgepodge with a theme" is what I am calling this week's episode of More or Less....

Nelson Peltz. Photo by Getty

Why Nelson Peltz Can’t Fix Disney

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2023 3:00pm PST

Judging by two news events this week, next year will be dominated by new episodes in that long-running series, “The Decline of the TV Industry.” First, widespread reports that Shari Redstone is in talks to sell her stake in CBS owner Paramount Global suggest the Redstone family is finally throwing in the towel. Or at least they’re trying to, if... Judging by two news events this week, next year will be dominated by new episodes in that...

Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok Asks Advertisers to Spend 50% More Next Year

By Sahil Patel · Dec 15, 2023 11:41am PST · 3 comments

TikTok is doubling down on efforts to take ad dollars from TV networks and Instagram owner Meta Platforms. The hugely popular Chinese-owned video app is asking top ad-buying firms to increase their spending by between 50% and 150% next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in requests that ad executives say are unreasonable.... TikTok is doubling down on efforts to take ad dollars from TV networks and Instagram owner Meta...

Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya have set their sights well beyond their Silicon Valley sphere of influence. Art by Clark Miller

The Besties’ Revenge: How the ‘All-In’ Podcast Captured Silicon Valley

By Julia Black · Dec 15, 2023 9:05am PST · 29 comments

On December 1, seven months after he’d been fired from Fox News and days before he announced the launch of his own paid streaming service, Tucker Carlson appeared on the “All-In” podcast, the most talked about show in Silicon Valley. Joining Carlson for a freewheeling 93-minute-long conversation were the podcast’s... On December 1, seven months after he’d been fired from Fox News and days before he...

Pro Weekly: The Hiring Boom at AI Companies

Pro Weekly: The Hiring Boom at AI Companies

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 15, 2023 8:00am PST

Pro Weekly: The Hiring Boom at AI Companies

Pro Weekly: The Hiring Boom at AI Companies

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 15, 2023 8:00am PST

Earlier this week, I published our latest Org Chart, documenting the people running artificial intelligence powerhouse Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s biggest rivals. In the reporting, I learned that Anthropic’s headcount has more than tripled this year to 300, from 85 at the start of the year. It’s a staggering growth rate. But given the... Earlier this week, I published our latest Org Chart, documenting the people running artificial...