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

Why (and How) SMBs and Creators Will Win With AI, the New Financing Contracts, and More

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 17, 2023 9:27am PST · 3 comments

A few weeks ago, Sam predicted the end of the "venture capital industrial complex," a term he coined to refer to the old way of doing things in the industry. And so, I asked him this week, how—amid news of major new fundraises—that was holding up. That, and lots more, on this week's episode of More or Less. Apple ... A few weeks ago, Sam predicted the end of the "venture capital industrial complex," a...

Pro Weekly: Software Budgets Rising

Pro Weekly: Software Budgets Rising

By Scott Thurm · Nov 17, 2023 8:00am PST

Readers of The Information are spending more on software, especially programs related to artificial intelligence and the cloud, and expect to boost software budgets further in 2024, although perhaps at a slower pace.Our latest survey also found that readers expect conditions for tech companies to improve in the coming months, but they are... Readers of The Information are spending more on software, especially programs related to...

Illustration by Lina Chekhovich/Adobe Stock.

‘Figma Took Their Lunch Money’: How $2 Billion Design Startup InVision Fell Apart

By Maria Heeter · Nov 17, 2023 6:00am PST · 11 comments

The founder and CEO of InVision saw the siege coming. His successful user interface design startup was growing fast, having built a product that some expected to put Adobe, the juggernaut of the design industry, back on its heels. But Adobe was working on a next-generation app of its own, and another upstart, Figma, was gaining momentum with... The founder and CEO of InVision saw the siege coming. His successful user interface design...

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and US President Joe Biden in Woodside, Calif., on Wednesday. Photo AFP via Getty

Tech Kisses the Ring

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 16, 2023 5:12pm PST · 2 comments

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and US President Joe Biden in Woodside, Calif., on Wednesday. Photo AFP via Getty

Tech Kisses the Ring

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 16, 2023 5:12pm PST · 2 comments

Lately, when San Francisco makes national headlines, it’s about crime, homelessness or questions about whether tech companies will ever return to downtown. So this week, it was nice to see San Francisco in the news for a different reason, as U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping of China came to town for the Asia-Pacific... Lately, when San Francisco makes national headlines, it’s about crime, homelessness or questions...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussing Gemini in May, via YouTube.

Google Delays Release of Gemini AI That Aims to Compete With OpenAI

By Jon Victor · Nov 16, 2023 4:07pm PST · 2 comments

Google’s company-defining effort to catch up to ChatGPT creator OpenAI is turning out to be harder than expected. Google representatives earlier this year told some cloud customers and business partners they would get access to the company’s new conversational AI, a large language model known as Gemini, by November. But the company... Google’s company-defining effort to catch up to ChatGPT creator OpenAI is turning out to be...

Frances Haugen. Photo by Roy Rochlin via Getty.

Creator Economy

How Whistleblowers Changed Our Understanding of Meta

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov 16, 2023 3:53pm PST · 1 comment

Before Frances Haugen became a global public figure for leaking a trove of internal documents on Facebook, she carefully avoided alerting Facebook’s security to her plans. The details on how—fascinating to journalists and probably alarming to any CEO—suggest Haugen knew she was about to launch a grenade into the strenuously cultivated public... Before Frances Haugen became a global public figure for leaking a trove of internal documents on...

Discord CEO, Jason Citron; Moonpay CEO, Ivan Soto-Wright; OpenSea CEO, Devin Finzer. Photos by Getty

Venture Capitalists Can’t Hold Off on Markdowns Forever

By Kate Clark · Nov 16, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments

A debate has resurfaced in the venture capital industry over the value of regularly updating portfolio startups’ valuations to better reflect current conditions—in particular, how aggressively to lower the value of the stakes. Many venture capitalists argue that markdowns are arbitrary and therefore meaningless, and that a VC firm’s limited... A debate has resurfaced in the venture capital industry over the value of regularly updating...

New Web Summit CEO, Katherine Maher, at the first day of the event on November 13 in Lisbon. Photo by Getty.

Two Startups Reject Web Summit Money in Fallout From Ex-CEO’s Remarks

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 16, 2023 7:30am PST · 4 comments

New Web Summit CEO, Katherine Maher, at the first day of the event on November 13 in Lisbon. Photo by Getty.

Two Startups Reject Web Summit Money in Fallout From Ex-CEO’s Remarks

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 16, 2023 7:30am PST · 4 comments

Web Summit attempted to put a turbulent chapter behind it this week, drawing more than 70,000 attendees to the annual tech conference in Lisbon. But the fallout from its former CEO's remarks isn’t over. Two Israeli startups, Lasso Security and Ask-AI, are rejecting the investments of the tech conference’s venture arm after former... Web Summit attempted to put a turbulent chapter behind it this week, drawing more than 70,000...

Photo by Midjourney.

Regulation Drama in Silicon Valley; Why AI Agents Haven’t Lived Up To The Hype

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 16, 2023 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Before we get into today’s main topic, here’s a piece from our editor in chief Jessica Lessin and me that will be interesting if you’re into the drama of Silicon Valley and AI regulation.The article digs into the divisions between tech investors—well known to be an opinionated bunch—around how to regulate new AI technology. The most recent... Before we get into today’s main topic, here’s a piece from our editor in chief Jessica Lessin and...

JPMorgan's Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, complete with digital tiger. Photo via YouTube/BeFuture.

JPMorgan’s Blockchain Business Onyx Searches for Its Identity—and Revenue

By Michael Roddan · Nov 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. Inside a crypto-focused virtual world called Decentraland, users could visit the swanky Onyx lounge, named after the bank’s blockchain operations, to mingle with fellow crypto enthusiasts and watch videos of the bank’s experts discussing... In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. ...

ExxonMobil's Dan Amman. Courtesy: ExxonMobil

The Electric: After GM and Cruise, Dan Ammann’s New Adventure—Big-Time Lithium Mining

By Steve LeVine · Nov 16, 2023 4:30am PST

Two years after abruptly exiting robotaxi developer Cruise, Dan Ammann is onto a new big thing—large-scale lithium mining. His employer is oil behemoth ExxonMobil, which—if Ammann is successful in an Arkansas drilling operation he announced this week—is poised to become a global player in lithium just as it is today in oil, gas and chemicals. Two years after abruptly exiting robotaxi developer Cruise, Dan Ammann is onto a new big thing—...

Photo via Adobe.

Shein and Amazon Are Both Good for the Ad Business

By Martin Peers · Nov 15, 2023 5:00pm PST

Photo via Adobe.

Shein and Amazon Are Both Good for the Ad Business

By Martin Peers · Nov 15, 2023 5:00pm PST

If you’re a fashion plate on a budget, you’re probably a fan of Shein, known for selling ultracheap and trendy clothes. By all accounts, it’s popular with the kids. As we scooped today, the Singapore-based online store’s global revenue surged 40% in the first three quarters of this year, which means its revenue is now bigger than that of another... If you’re a fashion plate on a budget, you’re probably a fan of Shein, known for selling...

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc. Photo via Getty.

Creator Economy

Spiegel’s Shakeup Hits Snap Stories Group

By Erin Woo · Nov 15, 2023 3:45pm PST

For the past week and a half, I’ve been reporting on a social media CEO who’s been slashing product management staff, taking a hands-on role with product decisions and extolling the benefits of spending longer hours in the office. It wasn’t Elon Musk.Instead, Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has taken the hard-core mantle from Musk as... For the past week and a half, I’ve been reporting on a social media CEO who’s been slashing...

Hemant Taneja, left, and Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty

VCs and Tech Companies at Odds Over AI Regulation

By Jessica E. Lessin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 15, 2023 1:26pm PST · 5 comments

Regulating artificial intelligence was always going to be a thorny issue. But a few months into Washington’s push to do so, the question of how to oversee powerful large language models and other AI is sharply dividing the tech community. On Tuesday, a venture capital industry group released a set of guidelines on “responsible... Regulating artificial intelligence was always going to be a thorny issue. But a few months into...

Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue Management. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Coatue Raises $1.4 Billion Fund, Cuts Fees as Venture Firms Navigate Frigid Market

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Nov 15, 2023 12:36pm PST · 1 comment

To entice their investors off the sidelines, venture capital firms are turning to a tactic used during the dot-com bust: discounts. Coatue Management recently raised $1.4 billion for a companion fund to its $7.7 billion VC growth fund, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Coatue is not charging existing investors in the... To entice their investors off the sidelines, venture capital firms are turning to a tactic used...

Photo via Stash

Another Fintech Drops Crypto

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 15, 2023 9:06am PST

Photo via Stash

Another Fintech Drops Crypto

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 15, 2023 9:06am PST

Crypto prices have been creeping up over the past month, fueling hope that the crypto winter could be thawing. But some trading and investing apps have already thrown in the towel. I reported earlier this week that Stash, an app that offers stock, ETF and crypto trading, is pulling the plug on its crypto trading service in December. The... Crypto prices have been creeping up over the past month, fueling hope that the crypto winter...

Left to right: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos via Getty.

Before TikTok Turned Into a Rival, Amazon Saw a Potential Partner

By Theo Wayt and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov 15, 2023 7:30am PST

Late last year, Amazon executives met with their counterparts at TikTok parent ByteDance to propose a novel idea: creating a new advertising format that would let customers buy items from Amazon ads on TikTok without leaving the app, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. A partnership could have been a breakthrough for... Late last year, Amazon executives met with their counterparts at TikTok parent ByteDance to...

Martian cofounders Etan Ginsberg and Shriyash Upadhyay. Photo courtesy of Martian.

NEA Leads Funding of Startup That Helps Customers Cut AI Costs; A Chinese Startup Seizes on Meta’s Open-Source Llama Model

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 15, 2023 7:20am PST

In September, I wrote about an emerging group of startups that help developers manage the exploding costs of AI. These companies figure out what tasks can be handled by cheap-to-use AI models so their customers don’t end up paying for a more expensive model from OpenAI that they don’t really need. There’s signs these companies have legs, at... In September, I wrote about an emerging group of startups that help developers manage the...

Photo by AFP via Getty.

Shein’s Revenue Surged More Than 40%, Likely Surpassing Zara

By Jing Yang · Nov 15, 2023 6:38am PST · 2 comments

Shein’s revenue surged more than 40% to $24 billion between January and September from a year earlier, people familiar with its finances said, growth that highlights the mounting threat for Amazon as the China-founded retailer looks to expand beyond fast fashion by ramping up sales of other goods like appliances and electronics. Shein,... Shein’s revenue surged more than 40% to $24 billion between January and September from a...

Art by Clark Miller

Healthcare Without Health Workers: A Unicorn Pivots to an AI Doctor-in-a-Box

By Annie Goldsmith · Nov 15, 2023 4:30am PST · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Healthcare Without Health Workers: A Unicorn Pivots to an AI Doctor-in-a-Box

By Annie Goldsmith · Nov 15, 2023 4:30am PST · 3 comments

If Adrian Aoun has his way, the next time you visit the doctor’s office, you won’t see a single medical professional. In fact, he said, “I don’t even believe a doctor’s office should exist.” Instead, the outspoken founder and CEO of primary care startup Forward wants you to entrust your health to a landmark... If Adrian Aoun has his way, the next time you visit the doctor’s office, you won’t...