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

Left to right: Erin Woo, Christin Klein, Kellie Sweet, and Angelique Gillmer. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Partner Content

WTF Recap: How to Stay Relevant With Gen Z

By The Information Partnerships · Nov 10, 2023 9:55am PST

Gen Z, ages 13 through 26, has been the force behind fashion trends and political movements. Most can’t recall a time before smartphones. They’ve lived their entire lives connected digitally. What’s more, they are highly suspicious of traditional marketing tactics. Instead, they embrace YouTube and Snapchat. So how do brands... Gen Z, ages 13 through 26, has been the force behind fashion trends and political movements. Most...

Art by Clark Miller

The Surprise Fanatics for Meta’s VR Headset? Your Mom’s Facebook Friends

By Pranav Dixit · Nov 10, 2023 9:00am PST · 4 comments

Karla Mellinger doesn’t care about the metaverse. “It’s silly,” said the 62-year-old from Spokane, Wash., who works as a credit manager at a company that manufactures steel studs used in construction. “The whole thing is just silly.” And yet, five days a week, Mellinger straps on a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality... Karla Mellinger doesn’t care about the metaverse. “It’s silly,” said the...

Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic. Photo via Getty.

Pro Weekly: AI Pushes Cloud Vendors to New Heights

By Akash Pasricha · Nov 10, 2023 8:00am PST

Running a big cloud-hosting service is a good business. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it’s getting even better. This week, we made two big additions to our Cloud Database: OpenAI and Anthropic. OpenAI is spending more than $400 million per year on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service, according to The Information’s reporting. In... Running a big cloud-hosting service is a good business. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it’s...

Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis, left, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, right. Photos by Getty

OpenAI’s New Weapon in Talent War With Google: $10 Million Pay Packages for Researchers

By Jon Victor · Nov 10, 2023 6:00am PST

Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis, left, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, right. Photos by Getty

OpenAI’s New Weapon in Talent War With Google: $10 Million Pay Packages for Researchers

By Jon Victor · Nov 10, 2023 6:00am PST

The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an employee share sale that would nearly triple the startup’s valuation to more than $80 billion, its recruiters are courting top artificial intelligence employees at Google with millions of dollars and a message: Join us now to lock in a stock... The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an...

Photo via Shutterstock

SoftBank and the Real Tragedy of WeWork

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 9, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

It was an all-hands speech that would have fit with 2023’s cost-conscious corporate dogma: A tech founder urged his employees to check if the lights were turned off when they were leaving the offices, telling them, “The universe does not allow waste.” That was Adam Neumann talking to WeWork employees in 2016, a year before SoftBank began... It was an all-hands speech that would have fit with 2023’s cost-conscious corporate dogma: A tech...

How Livestreaming Tipping Payouts Compare

Creator Economy

How Livestreaming Tipping Payouts Compare

By Kalley Huang · Nov 9, 2023 3:58pm PST

In the third quarter, TikTok users sent more than $250 million worth of digital gifts to U.S.-based livestreamers on the video app, my colleague Erin reported last week. Those virtual tips are turning into significant revenue for creators. TikTok turns over half of those proceeds—calculated after paying Apple and Google app store fees and... In the third quarter, TikTok users sent more than $250 million worth of digital gifts to...

Photo via Adobe

Why a Stampede of Startups Will Try to Raise in the First Quarter

By Kate Clark · Nov 9, 2023 1:53pm PST · 2 comments

As winter turned to spring last year, venture investors told me startups desperate to raise cash were likely to set off a stampede of fundraising attempts. That never happened. Instead, startups went on extreme diets with the aim of making the cash they raised at the peak of the 2021 bull market last as long as possible.Another year went by.... As winter turned to spring last year, venture investors told me startups desperate to raise cash...

Photo via Getty.

Deel Hits $400 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, as Rippling Rivalry Grows

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 9, 2023 12:47pm PST · 1 comment

Photo via Getty.

Deel Hits $400 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, as Rippling Rivalry Grows

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 9, 2023 12:47pm PST · 1 comment

Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual recurring revenue, a senior sales director at the startup said last month, up from a pace of $295 million in January. Deel’s growth shows how some enterprise software startups have been able to thrive during a pullback in business software spending.... Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual...

Photo via Shutterstock.

AI Startups Raising Money From China Are Taking a Risk; Why a New OpenAI Product Costs $2 Million; Anthropic’s Lucrative Love Triangle

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 9, 2023 7:00am PST

The U.S. has increasingly restricted China’s ability to access American tech, but for now, Chinese investors are still free to ride the U.S.-led AI software wave. Partners at top Chinese VC firms including Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital and ZhenFund have been criss-crossing the U.S. and quietly taking minority stakes in all manner of... The U.S. has increasingly restricted China’s ability to access American tech, but for now,...

Amazon Style's now-closed store in Glendale, Calif. in May 2022. Photo by Los Angeles Daily News via Getty.

Why Amazon’s Futuristic Fashion Stores Flopped

By Theo Wayt · Nov 9, 2023 6:00am PST · 6 comments

When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a surprise visit to one of his company’s Style clothing stores in Glendale, Calif., this past August, he posed for selfies with workers while holding a pair of shopping bags. It seems he wasn’t impressed. Three months later, Amazon announced that the store, along with its other Style location in Ohio,... When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a surprise visit to one of his company’s Style clothing...

Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford at the February 2023 announcement of a new $3.5 billion battery plant that has since been put on hold. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty

The Electric: UAW Battery Workers Will Earn Lower Pay Than Auto Workers

By Steve LeVine · Nov 9, 2023 4:30am PST

The United Auto Workers union won big pay raises for its members in recent negotiations with Detroit’s Big Three, but the accord will leave battery factory employees earning substantially less than co-workers who produce cars. The United Auto Workers union won big pay raises for its members in recent negotiations with...

Photo via Shutterstock

Big Entertainment Has Good and Bad News

By Martin Peers · Nov 8, 2023 5:24pm PST

Photo via Shutterstock

Big Entertainment Has Good and Bad News

By Martin Peers · Nov 8, 2023 5:24pm PST

There’s good news and bad news for Big Entertainment today. Firstly, the actors strike is over, which means film and TV production can finally resume. Yippee! Second, the September-quarter results out Wednesday from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery showed both are getting streaming losses under control. (In WBD’s case, it’s making money!). The... There’s good news and bad news for Big Entertainment today. Firstly, the actors strike is over, ...

Bonsai co-founders Patrick Sullivan and Jake Rosenfeld. Photo: Diego Clare

Creator Economy

A Startup Pivots to Music as Fan Fever Rises

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 8, 2023 3:12pm PST

Startups offering various services for musicians have proven popular with investors lately amid a broader drop in funding for creator startups. That partly reflects the opportunity created by social media apps that have helped new musicians quickly gain followings, while established ones can more easily communicate with fans and see their tracks... Startups offering various services for musicians have proven popular with investors lately amid a...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by AFP via Getty.

Snap Lays Off Product Managers as Spiegel Revamps Workforce

By Erin Woo · Nov 8, 2023 2:06pm PST · 1 comment

Snap has laid off nearly 20 product managers, the latest shakeup at the social app after several top departures over the last three months. Separately, Snap’s longtime vice president of engineering, Nima Khajehnouri, told employees earlier this week that he was leaving. His last day at the company will be Dec. 1, a Snap... Snap has laid off nearly 20 product managers, the latest shakeup at the social app after...

Left to right: Jessica Lessin, Michele Anderson, Alissa Starzak, Shelley McKinley. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Partner Content

WTF Recap: Regulation Armageddon—Are You Ready?

By The Information Partnerships · Nov 8, 2023 9:55am PST

In recent years, the tech industry has seen exponential growth and transformation, with companies disrupting traditional business models and ushering in an era of hyperinnovation. This remarkable evolution has triggered an increased focus on regulation across the U.S. and EU. Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO of The Information, explored the path... In recent years, the tech industry has seen exponential growth and transformation, with companies...

Left to right: Jessica Lessin, Rosie Sargeant, Lyra Schramm, Dr. Rebecca Hinds. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

WTF Recap: Generative AI—The Secret Weapon for a Hybrid Workforce

By The Information Partnerships · Nov 8, 2023 9:54am PST

Left to right: Jessica Lessin, Rosie Sargeant, Lyra Schramm, Dr. Rebecca Hinds. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.

Partner Content

WTF Recap: Generative AI—The Secret Weapon for a Hybrid Workforce

By The Information Partnerships · Nov 8, 2023 9:54am PST

As workers return to the office part-time, many are finding a new co-worker in the mix: generative artificial intelligence. Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO of The Information, explored the symbiotic relationship between generative AI and hybrid work at The Information’s 2023 WTF Summit with three experts: Rosie Sargeant, project leader,... As workers return to the office part-time, many are finding a new co-worker in the mix:...

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

OpenSea 2.0 Leaves a Lot to the Imagination

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 8, 2023 9:03am PST

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced last week, in what seemed to be a post-Sam Bankman-Fried trial Friday afternoon news dump, that the NFT marketplace was laying off 50% of its staff and pivoting to “OpenSea 2.0.” Halfway through this new week and OpenSea is still the biggest news on the crypto beat.My colleague Kate scooped yesterday that ... OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced last week, in what seemed to be a post-Sam Bankman-Fried trial...

Juliet de Baubigny, left. Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Image for Fortune.

Juliet de Baubigny Joins BDT & MSD Partners as Part of Its Tech Push

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Nov 8, 2023 8:29am PST · 2 comments

Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more than 20 years spent developing deep ties with founders across Silicon Valley and Europe, first at Kleiner Perkins and then as a co-founder of Bond Capital, the venture capital veteran is joining BDT & MSD Partners to ramp up its presence in the... Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more...

Photo by Midjourney.

Amazon’s ‘Olympus’ Model Faces Steep Odds; Nvidia Crushes Google in AI Chip Test

By Anissa Gardizy · Nov 8, 2023 8:05am PST

Amazon’s mostly male executives apparently aren’t among the large group of men who supposedly spend much of the day thinking about the ancient Roman Empire. Instead, the folks at Amazon Web Services have been more focused on Greek mythology—at least when it comes to the naming conventions of their AI models.After its first batch of models,... Amazon’s mostly male executives apparently aren’t among the large group of men who supposedly...

Art by Clark Miller.

How SaaS Startups Can Compete in a Bundled World

By Tomasz Tunguz · Nov 8, 2023 8:00am PST · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

How SaaS Startups Can Compete in a Bundled World

By Tomasz Tunguz · Nov 8, 2023 8:00am PST · 3 comments

The stock market has recovered somewhat after taking a battering last year. But this rebound masks how software buyers have shifted their purchasing priorities, slashing vendor revenue growth rates in the process. No longer do best-of-breed programs dominate; now it’s all about best-for-budget. Vendr, which tracks software spending, says... The stock market has recovered somewhat after taking a battering last year. But this rebound...