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

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Threads Cuts Into Twitter Use Among The Information Readers

By Kalley Huang · Jul 20, 2023 8:00am PDT

Threads, Meta Platforms’ competitor to Twitter, attracted 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch earlier this month—including many readers of The Information. A narrow majority of respondents to The Information’s most recent survey said they had used Threads. Most seemed pleased. Roughly 80% of Threads users rated... Threads, Meta Platforms’ competitor to Twitter, attracted 100 million sign-ups within five...

Sequoia China's Neil Shen. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Capital China in Talks for New $2.8 Billion Fund, Defying Malaise

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jul 20, 2023 6:00am PDT

Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate, which is preparing to split from the Silicon Valley venture firm, is in talks to raise around 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) for a new Chinese currency fund from domestic backers including the government of the city of Hangzhou, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Hangzhou’s... Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate, which is preparing to split from the Silicon Valley...

China's Chery plans to use a sodium-ion battery in its iCar. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: A Startup Emerges to Produce Sodium-ion Batteries in the U.S.

By Steve LeVine · Jul 20, 2023 4:30am PDT

A former executive of battery cell maker Enovix has launched a startup to develop low-cost sodium-ion batteries, a new segment of the industry that does not use increasingly scarce lithium. The startup is among the first using the chemistry outside China, the world’s biggest producer of lithium-ion batteries, which has quickly taken a large lead... A former executive of battery cell maker Enovix has launched a startup to develop low-cost...

Photo by Shutterstock.

Netflix’s Q2 Results Don’t Support Stock Rally

By Martin Peers · Jul 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Shutterstock.

Netflix’s Q2 Results Don’t Support Stock Rally

By Martin Peers · Jul 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

The bulls are back in Netflix stock, even if the growth isn’t. Netflix on Wednesday reported just 2.7% higher revenue in the second quarter, below what it had projected, confirming that it’s now firmly in the class of slow-growing TV companies. Even excluding the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, revenue grew just 6%—nothing to write home... The bulls are back in Netflix stock, even if the growth isn’t. Netflix on Wednesday reported just...

Karat co-founders Will Kim (left) and Eric Wei. Photo courtesy of company

Creator Economy

Card Startup Karat Raises $70 Million, Bucking Funding Trend

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 19, 2023 2:40pm PDT

Even after funding for creator economy startups collapsed, some companies have been able to raise new capital, we reported last month. The latest is Karat. The startup, which offers business credit cards and financial services for creators, on Wednesday announced $70 million in Series B funding, including $30 million in debt financing from... Even after funding for creator economy startups collapsed, some companies have been able to raise...

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters speaking at an event in Barcelona in early March. Photo by Getty

Netflix Signs Up 1.5 Million U.S. Subscribers for Ad Tier So Far

By Sahil Patel · Jul 19, 2023 10:25am PDT

Around 1.5 million people in the U.S. have signed up to pay for Netflix’s tier of service that carries ads, the streaming service has told advertisers in the past two weeks, according to industry executives. That’s a tiny fraction of both Netflix’s total U.S. subscribers and the roughly 30 million subscribers who pay for... Around 1.5 million people in the U.S. have signed up to pay for Netflix’s tier of service...

Chart by Shane Burke.

Coinbase's Stock Rally Looks Overheated

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 19, 2023 9:30am PDT

Coinbase investors might be getting ahead of themselves. Coinbase shares, which have been on a tear lately, are now trading at a valuation not seen since fall 2021. Coinbase is currently trading at 8.3 times its next 12 months expected revenue (all data courtesy of Koyfin). The last time it consistently traded at that rich a multiple was... Coinbase investors might be getting ahead of themselves. Coinbase shares, which have been on a...

Mike Moritz (left) and Mike Vernal (right). Photos via Getty Images and Wikimedia.

Shake-Up at Sequoia as Five Partners Exit

By Kate Clark · Jul 19, 2023 9:12am PDT · 3 comments

Mike Moritz (left) and Mike Vernal (right). Photos via Getty Images and Wikimedia.

Shake-Up at Sequoia as Five Partners Exit

By Kate Clark · Jul 19, 2023 9:12am PDT · 3 comments

Five Sequoia Capital partners have left the firm, the biggest shakeup to the storied venture firm’s leadership since its leader Roelof Botha took over a year ago. Sequoia on Wednesday told its limited partners that longtime partner Michael Moritz would leave and focus on the firm’s independent wealth management business, Sequoia... Five Sequoia Capital partners have left the firm, the biggest shakeup to the storied venture...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI Wants to Harness AI. It Should Pause Instead

By Liron Shapira · Jul 19, 2023 9:00am PDT · 11 comments

Earlier this month, OpenAI announced a new “superalignment team” with a goal to “solve the core technical challenges of superintelligence alignment in four years.” Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief scientist, will make this research his core focus, and the company said it would dedicate 20% of its... Earlier this month, OpenAI announced a new “superalignment team” with a goal to...

Photo by AP.

Meta Scales Back Ambitions for AR Glasses

By Wayne Ma · Jul 19, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to transform the world, the company then known as Facebook struck a deal to buy all the augmented reality displays made by British firm Plessey. At the time, the deal appeared to be a savvy way of squeezing out Apple in the competition to develop AR glasses, as Plessey was one of the few makers of AR... In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to transform the world, the company then known as...

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. Photo by Getty.

The Venture Capitalist Who Holds All the GPUs

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 18, 2023 5:00pm PDT

If there is anything venture capitalists love more than making money, it’s opining on the best and worst ways to make money. And so the debate over how to make money (or not) investing in artificial intelligence is raging throughout Silicon Valley. There are the believers who are banking on AI to mint the next supercycle of venture profits.... If there is anything venture capitalists love more than making money, it’s opining on the best...

SAG-AFTRA members and supporters protest on July 18 in New York City. Photo by Getty.

Influencers Walk a Fine Line as Hollywood Strikes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 18, 2023 2:57pm PDT

SAG-AFTRA members and supporters protest on July 18 in New York City. Photo by Getty.

Creator Economy

Influencers Walk a Fine Line as Hollywood Strikes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 18, 2023 2:57pm PDT

Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Cameo, the video shout-out app that once employed nearly 400 workers, enacted at least its third round of job cuts Tuesday, my colleague Natasha and I reported. The company told laid off employees it was a financial decision. Cameo got popular in 2020 as a creator platform that seemed to... Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Cameo, the video shout-out app that once...

Cameo CEO and founder Steven Galanis with co-founders Devon Townsend and Martin Blencowe at a Cameo-hosted Super Bowl watch party in 2022. Photo by Getty.

Cameo Cuts Staff to Fewer Than 50 After Financial Stumble

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kaya Yurieff · Jul 18, 2023 11:54am PDT · 5 comments

Cameo, the video shoutout app that gained in popularity during the pandemic shutdowns, told employees on Tuesday that it was laying off at least 80 workers because of financial pressures, according to two former employees involved in the layoffs. The cuts leave fewer than 50 people at the startup, according to the employees, or down nearly 90%... Cameo, the video shoutout app that gained in popularity during the pandemic shutdowns, told...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Art by Clark Miller

Nvidia Accelerates AI Startup Investments, Nears Deal With Cloud Provider Lambda Labs

By Maria Heeter, Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 18, 2023 5:00am PDT

Nvidia is known for its stranglehold over the market for the data center chips that power ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence software. But in a matter of a few months, Nvidia has also become one of the biggest venture capital investors in an important class of customers who need its chips: cloud and AI software startups. In the latest... Nvidia is known for its stranglehold over the market for the data center chips that power ChatGPT...

Photo by Getty.

Musk’s Twitter Should Bite the Bullet on Equity Raising

By Martin Peers · Jul 17, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s tweet early Saturday morning that Twitter is “still cash flow negative”—as in spending more than it is taking in—was, by Musk standards, a bit of a yawn. We’ve heard so much about Twitter’s precarious financial position over the past few months—as Musk acknowledged in the tweet, it’s due to both a roughly 50% drop in ad revenue and a... Elon Musk’s tweet early Saturday morning that Twitter is “still cash flow negative”—as in...

Photo via Shutterstock

How Instagram Can Keep Threads Growth Going

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 17, 2023 2:46pm PDT

Photo via Shutterstock

Creator Economy

How Instagram Can Keep Threads Growth Going

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 17, 2023 2:46pm PDT

On Friday, my colleague Sylvia and I published a behind-the-scenes report on how Instagram, after mulling a Twitter-type rival years ago, quickly moved to launch its text-based app Threads after Elon Musk took over Twitter. What struck me from our reporting is how much Instagram focused on creators from the start—even more so, according to some... On Friday, my colleague Sylvia and I published a behind-the-scenes report on how Instagram, after...

A SpaceX rocket lifts off in Florida in May. Photo by Getty

SpaceX Forecasts Doubling of Revenue to $8 Billion

By Becky Peterson and Cory Weinberg · Jul 17, 2023 1:12pm PDT

Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies, the most highly valued private tech company in the U.S., has told some investors it expects to bring in about $8 billion in revenue in 2023, roughly doubling its revenue from the previous year, according to people familiar with the discussions. The expectation for rapid growth helps explain the... Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies, the most highly valued private tech company in...

Pat Bajari, Amazon's former chief economist. Photo by Getty.

Architect of Amazon’s Economist Army Exits

By Theo Wayt · Jul 17, 2023 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

Over the past decade, Amazon has built an army of several hundred economists with doctorates who inform executives’ decisions in e-commerce, cloud computing and other businesses—an approach other tech giants have copied. The architect of that buildout, Chief Economist Pat Bajari, quietly left in March, he confirmed to The... Over the past decade, Amazon has built an army of several hundred economists with doctorates who...

China's Byd, which sells most of its EVs at home, is attempting to carve out a market for its electric Tang in Europe. Photo: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty

The Electric: An EV Sales Warning for Major Automakers

By Steve LeVine · Jul 17, 2023 4:31am PDT · 1 comment

Over the next three years, General Motors, Toyota and other automakers plan to launch dozens of new electric vehicles, hoping to capture serious market share from industry leaders Tesla and Byd. But sales growth is slowing and unsold EVs are multiplying on dealer lots, casting doubt on the pace of the EV transition and some automakers’ chances... Over the next three years, General Motors, Toyota and other automakers plan to launch dozens of...

Character.AI's cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. Photos by Getty. Art by Shane Burke.

Character.AI in Talks to Raise Funding as Meta Platforms Tests Rival

By Jon Victor and Kate Clark · Jul 15, 2023 7:00am PDT

Character.AI's cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. Photos by Getty. Art by Shane Burke.

Character.AI in Talks to Raise Funding as Meta Platforms Tests Rival

By Jon Victor and Kate Clark · Jul 15, 2023 7:00am PDT

Character.AI, which lets users create artificial intelligence–powered chatbots modeled after figures like TV character Tony Soprano and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is in talks with investors about raising an additional round of funding, according to a person with direct knowledge. The discussions come just four months after Character.AI said... Character.AI, which lets users create artificial intelligence–powered chatbots modeled...