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 via Shutterstock.

Banks Ran Their Safest IPO Playbooks This Year. Investors Say It Backfired.

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 8, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

It seemed like a surefire way to juice investor demand in a tough market: Instacart lined up a group of existing and new investors, ranging from Sequoia Capital to Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, to buy up to $400 million, or 60% of the stock it planned to sell in its September initial public offering. In the days leading up to the IPO,... It seemed like a surefire way to juice investor demand in a tough market: Instacart lined up a...

Photo via Shutterstock

Uber’s Cash-Printing Press Revs Up

By Martin Peers · Nov 7, 2023 5:00pm PST

Uber is finally on the right road. That could be Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s motto today, as the ride-hailing and food-delivery conglomerate demonstrates that its cash-printing press is revving up. After producing a small amount of cash last year, Uber’s free cash flow more than doubled in the third quarter to $905 million, while for the year... Uber is finally on the right road. That could be Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s motto today, as the...

Gigmor CEO David Baird. Photo from Gigmor.

Creator Economy

Two Startups Test Crowdfunding as Venture Dollars Dry Up

By Kalley Huang · Nov 7, 2023 3:12pm PST

As funding for creator economy startups has dried up, some companies are turning to unconventional means to raise money. In March, the newsletter platform Substack raised $7.8 million in what it called a “community round,” inviting its writers to invest in the company. Now, more startups are following in its footsteps.On Tuesday, Gigmor, which... As funding for creator economy startups has dried up, some companies are turning to...

Apartment listing photo via Zeus Living.

Airbnb-Backed Real Estate Startup Zeus Living Is Shutting Down

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 7, 2023 1:41pm PST · 2 comments

Apartment listing photo via Zeus Living.

Airbnb-Backed Real Estate Startup Zeus Living Is Shutting Down

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 7, 2023 1:41pm PST · 2 comments

Zeus Living, a property management startup that raised $150 million from tech investors, is “winding down operations,” the firm told landlords this week. The shutdown is the latest blow to a real estate tech sector struggling because of rising interest rates. Zeus leased homes and apartments, furnished them and then sublet them to... Zeus Living, a property management startup that raised $150 million from tech investors, is...

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

Coatue Cuts Value of OpenSea Stake by 90% as Fund’s Returns Sag

By Kate Clark · Nov 7, 2023 12:41pm PST · 3 comments

One of OpenSea’s biggest investors has marked down by 90% its stake in the struggling non-fungible-token marketplace, implying that the former crypto darling is now valued at $1.4 billion or less on paper. Coatue Management, a New York–based hedge and venture fund, slashed the value of its $120 million stake in the company to $13... One of OpenSea’s biggest investors has marked down by 90% its stake in the struggling...

Art from Mike Sullivan

American AI Startups Quietly Raise Money From Top Chinese VC Firms, Including Sequoia Capital China

By Juro Osawa · Nov 7, 2023 10:25am PST · 1 comment

Major Chinese venture capital firms are quietly investing in American artificial intelligence startups, undeterred by growing concerns from U.S. officials about Chinese involvement in local technology firms. For example, Sequoia Capital China, the biggest VC firm by assets in mainland China, recently invested in UTA, or Universal Travel... Major Chinese venture capital firms are quietly investing in American artificial intelligence...

Photo by Getty.

Shein Hires TikTok’s Top U.S. Logistics Exec

By Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2023 7:37am PST · 4 comments

Shein has hired TikTok owner ByteDance’s top U.S. logistics executive, Wei “Andy” Huang, to lead its fulfillment and logistics operations. The hiring is a big win for the China-founded fast-fashion giant as it tries to edge out TikTok in the online shopping arena. The hiring is also a sign of Shein’s ambitions to compete... Shein has hired TikTok owner ByteDance’s top U.S. logistics executive, Wei...

Photo by Getty.

OpenAI’s ‘Extinction Event’ For Other AI Startups

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

Photo by Getty.

OpenAI’s ‘Extinction Event’ For Other AI Startups

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

Despite Elon Musk’s attempts to steal the spotlight, the AI community gave its undivided attention on Monday to OpenAI’s first-ever live event for developers and the press. The large-language model developer didn’t announce any mind-blowing research breakthroughs, but several of its product improvements undoubtedly will hurt some smaller,... Despite Elon Musk’s attempts to steal the spotlight, the AI community gave its undivided...

Photo via Getty.

Supply Chain Unicorns Say: We’re Not the Next Convoy

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Trucking startup Convoy abruptly shut down last month, while freight forwarder Flexport’s revenue has cratered. Other supply chain unicorns are now trying to prove they will have a different fate. Previously unreported financial data for three other major supply chain startups, including Project44 and Cart.com, show all of them are on... Trucking startup Convoy abruptly shut down last month, while freight forwarder Flexport’s...

Behind Enterprise Software Stocks' Lackluster Year

Behind Enterprise Software Stocks' Lackluster Year

By Akash Pasricha · Nov 6, 2023 5:00pm PST

The good news from tech’s earnings season, so far, is that the ad market appears to have recovered a lot from the worst of the downturn. But that’s likely not true for enterprise software. While we haven’t yet heard earnings updates from most enterprise software firms, some of those who have reported suggest that business remains weak, thanks to... The good news from tech’s earnings season, so far, is that the ad market appears to have...

Photo by Shutterstock

Creator Economy

Threads Courts Reality TV Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 6, 2023 2:25pm PST

We’re starting the week off with a scoop about Instagram’s efforts to court creators. Instagram’s Threads recently invited some creators to join “Pops,” a new community of reality TV and pop culture creators on the text-based app. Among other incentives, it will offer challenges where creators compete to win unnamed “special prizes,” we are... We’re starting the week off with a scoop about Instagram’s efforts to court creators. ...

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty.

Musk’s ChatGPT Rival Isn’t as Smart as It Seems; Creators of a Key Open-Source Model Get Offer From Index Ventures

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 6, 2023 7:00am PST

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty.

Musk’s ChatGPT Rival Isn’t as Smart as It Seems; Creators of a Key Open-Source Model Get Offer From Index Ventures

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 6, 2023 7:00am PST

Elon Musk finally unveiled his alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which he developed because he felt it was too woke, as my colleagues first revealed eight months ago. Why do it on a Sunday? Perhaps because OpenAI’s Dev Day event in San Francisco is this morning, and Musk’s xAI team was hoping to upstage it. (Musk also doesn’t distinguish between... Elon Musk finally unveiled his alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which he developed because he...

The People Running Disney As It Grapples With Streaming Revolution

By Sahil Patel · Nov 6, 2023 6:00am PST

The Walt Disney Co. has been a scene of near-constant reorganization for the past few years. And more of that is likely to come as Disney, along with other entertainment companies, tries to get the right structure in place to cope with changes in the industry caused by the rise of streaming video. The most recent shakeup came Monday, as Disney... The Walt Disney Co. has been a scene of near-constant reorganization for the past few years. And...

24M CEO Naoki Ota. Photo: Courtesy 24M.

The Electric: 24M Fires a Shot Across the Bow of the Battery Industry

By Steve LeVine · Nov 6, 2023 4:30am PST

Massachusetts-based battery developer 24M Technologies claims it has significantly increased how tightly electrodes can be stacked in a battery pack, improving energy density and electric vehicle driving range. If 24M’s assertions are true, its new battery could outperform groundbreaking, roughly similar batteries made by China’s Byd and... Massachusetts-based battery developer 24M Technologies claims it has significantly increased how...

Photo by Getty

Palo Alto Networks Finalizing $600 Million-Plus Acquisition of Israeli Security Startup

By Maria Heeter and Aaron Holmes · Nov 5, 2023 11:09am PST · 1 comment

Palo Alto Networks is close to acquiring Israeli startup Talon Cyber Security in a deal that could value it at $600 million to $700 million, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The deal could be announced as soon as Monday, one of the people said. The acquisition would extend Palo Alto Networks’... Palo Alto Networks is close to acquiring Israeli startup Talon Cyber Security in a deal that...

‘It’s Like I Created a Baby’: An AI Matriarch Appraises Her Offspring

By Adam Lashinsky · Nov 4, 2023 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

‘It’s Like I Created a Baby’: An AI Matriarch Appraises Her Offspring

By Adam Lashinsky · Nov 4, 2023 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

In the most overheated technology debate of our time—the societal impact of artificial intelligence—Fei-Fei Li finds herself precariously balanced in the middle. A Stanford University computer science professor and co-head of its Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Li is neither a Geoffrey Hinton–esque doomer,... In the most overheated technology debate of our time—the societal impact of artificial...

Second-time author Bradley Tusk is also a political strategist, venture capitalist, small business owner, philanthropist and podcaster. Tusk photo by Getty. Art by Clark Miller.

A New Novel By ‘Silicon Valley’s Favorite Fixer’ Is Coming for Everybody

By Julia Black · Nov 4, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In Bradley Tusk’s new satirical novel, “Obvious in Hindsight,” no one is safe from skewering—including the author. When I asked Tusk whether his cast of conniving characters is based on people he’s encountered in his long, drama-filled career in politics and tech, or whether they are actually all versions of... In Bradley Tusk’s new satirical novel, “Obvious in Hindsight,” no one is safe...

The SBF Circus Leaves Town

The SBF Circus Leaves Town

By Jon Steinberg · Nov 4, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.For the past five weeks, The Information’s crypto reporter Aidan Ryan has been taking one for the team, rising long before dawn to commute to the U.S. courthouse in Lower Manhattan. Once there, he’d grab a place in line and wait on the sidewalk for hours, huddling in the dark and sometimes the pouring rain, until the... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.For the past five weeks, The Information’s crypto reporter Aidan Ryan...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo via Shutterstock.

It’s Time for Apple to Identify Cook’s Successor

By Martin Peers · Nov 3, 2023 3:15pm PDT

What a week Tim Cook had. On Thursday, Apple reported anemic September-quarter results, completing a fiscal year where revenues fell 2.8%. That’s actually not a bad result given that the smartphone market that drives Apple’s business shrank 10.5% in the same 12-month period, according to IDC data. Still, it is yet another reminder (if any were... What a week Tim Cook had. On Thursday, Apple reported anemic September-quarter results,...

AI Regulation, War and the Future of the American Tech Stack

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 3, 2023 12:01pm PDT

AI Regulation, War and the Future of the American Tech Stack

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 3, 2023 12:01pm PDT

This week, the United States and the European Union tipped their hands on how they plan to regulate AI. The rules amounted to a sea change in the relationship bewteen tech businesses and the government and spurred a whole lot of thinking on our part about what comes next. We hope you enjoy. Apple Spotify This week, the United States and the European Union tipped their hands on how they plan to...