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

Reddit will have its 19-year anniversary next year, making it geriatric in startup years. Art by Shane Burke

2024 IPO Preview

IPO Class of 2024 Is Dominated by Older Startups

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 5, 2023 6:00am PST

On Reddit’s founding anniversary in June, CEO Steve Huffman and Y Combinator founder Paul Graham reminisced in front of employees about old times, when the online forum hatched out of the first class of the famed startup accelerator in 2005. Others in the Y Combinator class had since moved on and folded their early startups. “Reddit... On Reddit’s founding anniversary in June, CEO Steve Huffman and Y Combinator founder Paul...

Spotify founder and CEO, Daniel Ek. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Spotify’s Layoffs and Uber Joins S&P 500: Tech Grows Up

By Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2023 5:00pm PST

Where’s the cake? Today marks The Information’s 10th birthday, which is a milestone for any news startup, and even more so for one that has never raised outside funding. (That’s what you call bootstrapping.) Those of us who’ve been here through most or all of the past decade truly have empathy for tech startups. You labor in obscurity until one... Where’s the cake? Today marks The Information’s 10th birthday, which is a milestone for any news...

Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty.

Fidelity Backs AI Infrastructure Startup at $9 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 4:54pm PST · 3 comments

Vast Data, an AI software and storage startup backed by Nvidia, raised a new funding round led by Fidelity Investments and including participation of venture capital firms NEA and Bond. The round values Vast Data at more than $9 billion, people familiar with the matter said, compared to its valuation of $3.7 billion set in 2021. Seven-year-old... Vast Data, an AI software and storage startup backed by Nvidia, raised a new funding round led by...

Recap: How to Regulate AI for the Creator Economy

By The Information Partnerships · Dec 4, 2023 4:04pm PST

Partner Content

Recap: How to Regulate AI for the Creator Economy

By The Information Partnerships · Dec 4, 2023 4:04pm PST

With the arrival of artificial intelligence, creators have a new host of tools to do more with less. Creators can lean on AI to make editing faster. They can get help on scripts. They can even create realistic avatars of themselves to reduce on-camera time. But the use of AI also raises questions of authenticity and disclosure, which is why... With the arrival of artificial intelligence, creators have a new host of tools to do more...

Jack Settleman, a creator and the founder of Snapback Sports. Photo: Snapback Sports.

Creator Economy

Why This Creator Abandoned His YouTube Channel With 600,000 Subscribers—and Started Over

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 4, 2023 3:28pm PST

Jack Settleman grew a sport-focused YouTube account to nearly 600,000 subscribers. Then he made a surprising decision: Last month he stopped posting to the account, which had become popular thanks to some of its Shorts videos, and decided to start over. This new channel, under the same name Snapback Sports, focuses on sharing experiences at... Jack Settleman grew a sport-focused YouTube account to nearly 600,000 subscribers. Then he made a...

Art by Clark Miller

AI Can Reshape the Physical World—If We Regulate It Properly

By Andrew Anagnost · Dec 4, 2023 9:00am PST · 3 comments

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for how we imagine and design our physical world and make it more sustainable and inclusive. Used—and regulated—correctly, AI can become society’s greatest tool in meeting challenges ranging from crumbling infrastructure and a growing housing crisis to a rapidly... Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for how we imagine and design...

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky delivers a keynote address during AWS re:Invent 2023 on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas. Photo by Noah Berger/Getty.

What’s Missing From Amazon’s Big New AI Product; OpenAI’s Interest in Human Brain-Inspired Chips

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 7:00am PST

Over the weekend, my colleagues Jon Victor and Amir Efrati reported that Google has scrapped the launch next week of Google’s would-be GPT-4 killer, Gemini, providing further evidence that the product has been delayed until 2024. Why? It’s just not ready yet and, according to the report, recently had trouble handling some non-English queries.... Over the weekend, my colleagues Jon Victor and Amir Efrati reported that Google has scrapped the...

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short in a scene from "Only Murders in the Building." Photo by Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu

Why Disney’s Hulu Buyout Will Cost At Least $5 Billion More

By Sahil Patel and Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2023 7:00am PST

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short in a scene from "Only Murders in the Building." Photo by Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu

Why Disney’s Hulu Buyout Will Cost At Least $5 Billion More

By Sahil Patel and Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2023 7:00am PST

How much should Walt Disney Co. pay to buy Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu, the video-streaming service best known for “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Bear”? It’s shaping up to be the most contentious entertainment industry deal of 2024. And guess what: Disney is likely to be on the hook for billions more,... How much should Walt Disney Co. pay to buy Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu, the video-streaming...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Inside Morgan Stanley’s OpenAI Push

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Dec 4, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

During the most harrowing moments of the OpenAI leadership crisis, one of the startup’s biggest partnerships—a deal with Morgan Stanley that is supposed to demonstrate how AI can change the game at a giant, highly regulated Wall Street bank—was left twisting in the wind. Executives at Morgan Stanley, one of OpenAI’s... During the most harrowing moments of the OpenAI leadership crisis, one of the startup’s...

A CATL battery production plant in Shanghai, China. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: How to Use Chinese Battery Material in US EVs

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

The Biden administration has issued rules intended to keep Chinese battery materials out of U.S. vehicles, undermine China’s dominance of the global battery supply and jump-start a competing U.S. battery industry. But the administration left a narrow pathway for automakers such as Ford to employ Chinese battery technology in their electric... The Biden administration has issued rules intended to keep Chinese battery materials out of U.S....

Demis Hassabis and Sundar Pichai. Photos by Bloomberg via Getty.

Google Preps Public Preview of Gemini AI After Postponing In-Person Launch Events

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Dec 2, 2023 10:18am PST · 7 comments

Update, Dec.4: After Google quietly scrapped a set of in-person events to launch Gemini, its biggest artificial intelligence initiative in a decade, the company has planned a virtual preview of the new AI as soon as this week, said a person with knowledge of the situation. By giving journalists and software developers a first look at some of the... Update, Dec.4: After Google quietly scrapped a set of in-person events to launch Gemini, its...

It's Vinod Khosla's World

It's Vinod Khosla's World

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 2, 2023 6:00am PST

It's Vinod Khosla's World

It's Vinod Khosla's World

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 2, 2023 6:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Next week will mark The Information's 10-year anniversary, and we'll be commemorating the last decade of tech by publishing a series of top 10 lists, plus some reflections from our founder Jessica Lessin. But before we look back at the Valley's greatest hits (and misses), we also wanted to look forward, peering... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Next week will mark The Information's 10-year anniversary, and we'll...

Art by Clark Miller

My Year of Eating by Aircraft

By Nate Becker · Dec 2, 2023 6:00am PST

The first time I saw the delivery drone glide over the tree line of my backyard, I felt as if I’d been transported to the future. I stood on my patio, bug-eyed, as the drone stopped to hover a few dozen feet above my lawn, floating there like the archangel of cheeseburgers. The trap door on the bottom opened up and a bright yellow bag... The first time I saw the delivery drone glide over the tree line of my backyard, I felt as if...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Top 5: Where to Host Your Silicon Valley Offsite

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 2, 2023 6:00am PST · 7 comments

Tech companies have long been famous for their offsites. Though these are not always the most prudently planned events—recall WeWork’s lavish English countryside summer camp—Silicon Valley has perfected the art of getting out of the office, bringing the team together and doing a few trust falls. Since the pandemic, these... Tech companies have long been famous for their offsites. Though these are not always the most...

Bill Ackman. Photo by Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.

What X, TikTok and Meta Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Dec 1, 2023 3:30pm PST · 4 comments

Every social media service is unhappy in its own way. That’s something Bill Ackman should remember. The hedge fund manager came out swinging in support of Elon Musk in a lengthy tweet late Thursday night, claiming that recent advertiser defections from X were a result of Musk being “targeted” because other media organizations view X as a... Every social media service is unhappy in its own way. That’s something Bill Ackman should...

TikTok, Porn and the Immediate Risks of AI

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 1, 2023 11:31am PST · 4 comments

TikTok, Porn and the Immediate Risks of AI

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 1, 2023 11:31am PST · 4 comments

One of the things I loved about this week’s episode is that it got out of abstract questions about the future of AI and into the here and now implications. That led the gang to TikTok and the future of the app. A big thanks to Brit for moderating this week’s episode as my one hour at the DMV turned into two and a half and I missed the... One of the things I loved about this week’s episode is that it got out of abstract questions...

Vinod Khosla Can See the Future. It Just Got Hazy for a Minute

By David Kirkpatrick · Dec 1, 2023 9:06am PST · 14 comments

Only minutes after Sam Altman was fired by the board of OpenAI on the afternoon of November 17, Vinod Khosla got a call from a major OpenAI investor. “What is going on?” the person asked. In the ensuing days, puzzled calls and texts from various principals continued streaming in. But even Khosla, one of OpenAI’s earliest... Only minutes after Sam Altman was fired by the board of OpenAI on the afternoon of November 17,...

Photo via Shutterstock

Pro Weekly: The OpenAI Drama Spurs Soul-Searching at AI Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Dec 1, 2023 8:00am PST

Last week’s drama at OpenAI is still fresh on the minds of founders leading artificial intelligence startups in our Generative AI database. Several of them told me this week the saga has spurred reflections about their own boards, discussions with directors and new priorities around AI safety.Sasha Orloff said that Puzzle, the AI accounting... Last week’s drama at OpenAI is still fresh on the minds of founders leading artificial...

Shein’s pop-up in the Times Square Forever 21 store on Nov. 10. Photo by Getty.

Shein Faces an Uphill Battle to Sustain Growth

By Jing Yang and Ann Gehan · Dec 1, 2023 6:03am PST

For the past few years, Shein has seemed untouchable. The secretive e-commerce firm had exploded into one of the world’s most valuable private companies by shipping trendy apparel directly from Chinese manufacturers to shoppers around the world, offering rock-bottom prices in exchange for longer delivery times. But last year, Shein’s... For the past few years, Shein has seemed untouchable. The secretive e-commerce firm had exploded...

Elon Musk speaks during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2023 on Nov. 29 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images.

Musk and Altman Are Businesspeople, Not Politicians

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 30, 2023 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

Elon Musk speaks during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2023 on Nov. 29 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images.

Musk and Altman Are Businesspeople, Not Politicians

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 30, 2023 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

It was once common to wonder whether businesses were too big to fail. I think it is time we start worrying about business leaders who think they are too big to fail—and what we should do about that. I had this thought as I was listening to Elon Musk tell The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin that businesses pulling their ads from X were... It was once common to wonder whether businesses were too big to fail. I think it is time we start...