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

Antonio Gracias. Photo by Getty.

Valor Equity Returns Show Limits of Musk Halo

By Becky Peterson · Aug 30, 2023 11:59am PDT · 3 comments

Valor Equity Partners made a name for itself thanks to early bets on Elon Musk companies such as Tesla, and its repeat investments in Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies have paid off handsomely. Yet despite the Musk glow, Valor’s recent and biggest funds are only performing slightly better than those of its venture capital peers,... Valor Equity Partners made a name for itself thanks to early bets on Elon Musk companies such as...

Photo via Midjourney

Investors Flock to Crypto-AI Startups

By Aidan Ryan · Aug 30, 2023 9:00am PDT

Crypto venture funding has cratered since last year, but some startups are bucking the trend by piggybacking off the AI investing craze. The latest example: Niraj Pant, a former general partner at crypto-focused venture firm Polychain Capital, is raising at least $20 million in a seed round for a new startup focused on the intersection of... Crypto venture funding has cratered since last year, but some startups are bucking the trend by...

Thomas Kurian. Photo via Google Cloud.

Why Google Still Needs Nvidia; The AWS-OpenAI Marriage That Could Have Been

By Jon Victor · Aug 30, 2023 7:00am PDT

Google unveiled its next-generation artificial intelligence chip at its annual enterprise software conference, Google Cloud Next, on Tuesday. But it still felt the need to tout a different kind of win: a partnership with Nvidia to offer that company’s state-of-the-art AI chips through Google Cloud alongside its own hardware. Nvidia CEO Jensen... Google unveiled its next-generation artificial intelligence chip at its annual enterprise...

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Art by Clark Miller/Photos by Getty

How AWS Stumbled in AI, Giving Microsoft an Opening

By Anissa Gardizy and Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 30, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Art by Clark Miller/Photos by Getty

How AWS Stumbled in AI, Giving Microsoft an Opening

By Anissa Gardizy and Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 30, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Long before ChatGPT arrived on the scene last year, Amazon Web Services was developing artificial intelligence software akin to the technology that powers the hit chatbot from OpenAI. AWS had hoped to unveil the software, then known inside the company as Bedrock, at its annual customer conference late last November, but had to postpone it due to... Long before ChatGPT arrived on the scene last year, Amazon Web Services was developing artificial...

Photo by Getty

Apple and Biden Aren’t Aligned on China

By Martin Peers · Aug 29, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

If Apple was a country, its annual sales—nearly $400 billion last year—would make it roughly the 40th biggest economy in the world, ahead of Iran and on par with Denmark. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Apple appears to have its own foreign policy, one that isn’t always totally aligned with U.S. policy, at least when it comes to dealing... If Apple was a country, its annual sales—nearly $400 billion last year—would make it roughly the...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via Getty

OpenAI Passes $1 Billion Revenue Pace as Big Companies Boost AI Spending

By Amir Efrati and Aaron Holmes · Aug 29, 2023 3:58pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI is currently on pace to generate more than $1 billion in revenue over the next 12 months from the sale of artificial intelligence software and the computing capacity that powers it. That’s far ahead of revenue projections the company previously shared with its shareholders, according to a person with direct knowledge of the... OpenAI is currently on pace to generate more than $1 billion in revenue over the next 12 months...

Kat Callaghan. Photo courtesy of the subject.

Creator Economy

TikTok’s ‘Jessie’ Voice Heads to Calm

By Alex Perry · Aug 29, 2023 3:19pm PDT

Canadian radio show host Kat Callaghan has become known to tens of millions of TikTok users as Jessie, one of the voices that narrate captions users write into the short-form video app. Now, after becoming something of a TikTok celebrity after revealing her identity in October, she’s bringing the Jessie voice to meditation app Calm. ... Canadian radio show host Kat Callaghan has become known to tens of millions of TikTok users as ...

Exchange Square in Hong Kong. Photo via Getty.

Chinese Regulator Stalls IPOs, Frustrating Investors

By Jing Yang · Aug 29, 2023 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Exchange Square in Hong Kong. Photo via Getty.

Chinese Regulator Stalls IPOs, Frustrating Investors

By Jing Yang · Aug 29, 2023 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

It’s not too often that China-based leaders of major venture capital and private equity firms, including Neil Shen of Sequoia Capital China and David Liu of DCP, gather as a group to voice their concerns to China’s securities regulator. But an opportunity arose in late July when the two were among dozens of investors who met with the... It’s not too often that China-based leaders of major venture capital and private equity...

Photo by Midjourney.

WTF is RAG? It Could Solve LLMs’ Biggest Weaknesses

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 29, 2023 7:40am PDT

You may have noticed artificial intelligence researchers have a gift for coming up with new acronyms seemingly every week. We’re sorry to inform you of another one you need to remember: RAG, which stands for retrieval augmented generation.It’s a method to help AI software such as chatbots answer questions about information they’ve never seen... You may have noticed artificial intelligence researchers have a gift for coming up with new...

Composite by Clark Miller. Apple Vision Pro photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images.

Apple Hopes Chinese Suppliers Can Solve Vision Pro’s Display Challenges

By Wayne Ma · Aug 29, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

When Apple dealt with Chinese manufacturers in the past, it was to buy low-level components such as small metal parts, paper boxes and batteries. For advanced parts such as displays and chips, the iPhone maker turned to firms headquartered in the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Times are changing. Apple is currently testing advanced... When Apple dealt with Chinese manufacturers in the past, it was to buy low-level components such...

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Beijing on August 28, 2023. Photo by Getty.

Will Beijing Buy Raimondo’s Dividing Line?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 28, 2023 5:01pm PDT

BEIJING—After five minutes of staring at the wrinkle cream and waxing products, it all started to make sense. The U.S. can trade more with China, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo argued. But it will stick to products that have nothing to do with its national security, like moisturizer—or other items that contribute the vast majority of... BEIJING—After five minutes of staring at the wrinkle cream and waxing products, it all started to...

From left to right: Creators Katerina and Yinon Horowitz, Jack Settleman, Komal Nambiar, Ross Pomerantz and Raven Ross. Art by Clark Miller

What’s Overlooked When Startup Funding Tailspins

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 28, 2023 1:59pm PDT

From left to right: Creators Katerina and Yinon Horowitz, Jack Settleman, Komal Nambiar, Ross Pomerantz and Raven Ross. Art by Clark Miller

Creator Economy

What’s Overlooked When Startup Funding Tailspins

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 28, 2023 1:59pm PDT

How are creator economy startups doing during the downturn? Not so hot. How are the creators themselves faring? Much better, as I reported in a story earlier today. Two charts published in the piece sum up the divergence: While VC funding for startups hoping to attract creators as customers has plummeted, spending on influencer marketing—a... How are creator economy startups doing during the downturn? Not so hot. How are the creators...

Chamath Palihapitiya. Photo by Variety via Getty Images.

Chamath Palihapitiya’s Venture Firm Offered to Sell Hundreds of Startup Stakes

By Maria Heeter · Aug 28, 2023 12:36pm PDT · 8 comments

Social Capital, the investment firm led by venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, tried to sell stakes in hundreds of young companies in June of this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The stakes for sale were worth $312 million in total based on the valuations at which the companies last raised money, the people said. ... Social Capital, the investment firm led by venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, tried to sell...

Photo via Klaviyo.

Klaviyo IPO Filing Highlights Challenges for Marketing Startups

By Ann Gehan · Aug 28, 2023 9:00am PDT · 5 comments

Klaviyo, the e-commerce marketing software provider backed by Accel and Shopify, has whipped itself into shape ahead of its public debut. Its initial public offering documents, disclosed on Friday, revealed it turned profitable in the first half of the year after it reined in cloud computing costs and raised prices. Even so, at prevailing... Klaviyo, the e-commerce marketing software provider backed by Accel and Shopify, has whipped...

Photo by Midjourney.

A Sequoia Capital-Backed AI-Video Startup Raises Nearly $20 Million; Eight Startups Taking on Nvidia

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 28, 2023 7:00am PDT

We’re starting the new week with fundraising news about a fast-evolving part of generative artificial intelligence: video.Tavus, a two-year-old startup whose software helps companies customize videos they can then send to prospective customers, job candidates and others, has raised about $18 million in Series A funding at a $80 million... We’re starting the new week with fundraising news about a fast-evolving part of generative...

Clockwise from left, creators Katerina and Yinon Horowitz, Jack Settleman, Ross Pomerantz, Raven Ross and Komal Nambiar. Art by Clark Miller

How Influencers Dodged the Destruction in Creator Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 28, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Clockwise from left, creators Katerina and Yinon Horowitz, Jack Settleman, Ross Pomerantz, Raven Ross and Komal Nambiar. Art by Clark Miller

How Influencers Dodged the Destruction in Creator Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 28, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Times are grim for startups that sell products and services to creators. Some are folding, while others can’t pivot their businesses away from the creator economy fast enough. The creators themselves, however, are proving to be far more resilient. Consider Katerina and Yinon Horowitz, a couple who quit their full-time jobs four years ago... Times are grim for startups that sell products and services to creators. Some are folding, while...

A battery oversupply from CATL and other major Chinese companies may flood the West this decade, according to Goldman Sachs. Photo: CFOTO/Future/Getty

The Electric: A Coming Chinese Battery Deluge?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 28, 2023 4:30am PDT · 4 comments

On Aug. 15, a California-based executive of Chinese battery company Gotion posted a message on LinkedIn, offering lithium-ion batteries at a “significant” markdown. “If you are interested in cells, modules, packs, or systems and would like to take deliveries in the next 6 months—let’s talk,” wrote Vikash Venkataramana, Gotion’s vice president of... On Aug. 15, a California-based executive of Chinese battery company Gotion posted a message on...

From left, megayacht owners Jan Koum, Jeff Bezos, Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg and Evan Spiegel. Art by Clark Milller

Yacht Brinkmanship: Owners of Tech’s Biggest Pleasure Craft Compete to the Ends of the Earth

By Andrew Zucker · Aug 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 10 comments

If you’re Sergey Brin, Evan Spiegel, Jan Koum, Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Eric Schmidt, Yuri Milner or any one of dozens of other modern-day tech moguls, it’s not enough to just own a yacht. Now you might need two—one for you and your guests to ride on, and one to act as a “support vessel,” tailing you around... If you’re Sergey Brin, Evan Spiegel, Jan Koum, Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Eric...

Market Research

Market Research: The AI Boom Expands to the Hair and Makeup Counter

By Beth Shapouri · Aug 26, 2023 6:00am PDT

Selin Tyler was frustrated. The director of product marketing and business operations for Dolby Technologies was stuck in what she called “a cycle of trial and error” with her skin. She turned to Parallel Health, a beauty company focused on custom skin care, set to launch next month. Tyler joined the brand’s 2021 Institutional... Selin Tyler was frustrated. The director of product marketing and business operations for Dolby...

Tech Leaders Spend How Much(?!) on Their Bodies?

Tech Leaders Spend How Much(?!) on Their Bodies?

By Jon Steinberg · Aug 26, 2023 6:00am PDT

Tech Leaders Spend How Much(?!) on Their Bodies?

Tech Leaders Spend How Much(?!) on Their Bodies?

By Jon Steinberg · Aug 26, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It’s Annie here, stealing this week’s newsletter opener from Jon (don’t worry, he knows). I wanted to properly introduce The Information Weekend’s first ever Brain-Body Investment Survey, which we’ve been working on over the past month. In my nearly two years at The Information, I’ve taken special interest in... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It’s Annie here, stealing this week’s newsletter opener from Jon (don...