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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Recent Editions

Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Shutterstock

Indonesian Ban Could Kill Nearly One Third of TikTok Shop’s Business

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Sep 29, 2023 9:04am PDT

TikTok just cannot escape government scrutiny. Even as the hugely popular ByteDance-owned app expands in the U.S. despite a persistent threat of a ban, the Indonesian government has decided on a new regulation to ban online shopping on social media. That would hobble TikTok’s fast-growing shopping service in Indonesia, which is the single... TikTok just cannot escape government scrutiny. Even as the hugely popular ByteDance-owned app...

Pro Weekly: The Market Sets the Mood

Pro Weekly: The Market Sets the Mood

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 29, 2023 8:01am PDT · 1 comment

Earlier this month, we asked The Information’s readers how they felt conditions for tech companies would change over the next six months. The results surprised us: Equal numbers of people thought conditions would improve and worsen. That sentiment was less optimistic than we’d seen during the summer and broke a trend of progressively sunnier... Earlier this month, we asked The Information’s readers how they felt conditions for tech...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

How a Hidden Bar Code in iPhone Screens Saved Apple Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

By Wayne Ma · Sep 29, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Next time you try to wipe a smudge off your iPhone screen, take a closer look. See if you can spot one of the two tiny QR codes etched into its glass. Chances are you won’t be able to find them. Both codes are tiny—one is the size of a grain of sand and can only be seen with special equipment, while the other, roughly the size of the... Next time you try to wipe a smudge off your iPhone screen, take a closer look. See if you can...

Dave Rogenmoser, cofounder of Jasper. Photo via Getty.

Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth Slows

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 28, 2023 6:40pm PDT · 8 comments

Dave Rogenmoser, cofounder of Jasper. Photo via Getty.

Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth Slows

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 28, 2023 6:40pm PDT · 8 comments

Jasper AI, an early darling of the generative artificial intelligence boom, has cut the internal value of its common shares 20%, according to former employees who were notified by the company. The drop in Jasper’s internal valuation could indicate that the growth of its AI-powered writing tool for marketers has slowed since the company... Jasper AI, an early darling of the generative artificial intelligence boom, has cut the internal...

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X. Photo via Getty.

Linda Yaccarino May Have the Toughest CEO Job

By Martin Peers · Sep 28, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Here’s a question: How long can someone stay as CEO of a company when the owner of that company is publicly repudiating what they’re saying? Take Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, previously known as Twitter. On Wednesday, Elon Musk confirmed a report in The Information about layoffs at X’s election integrity team—Musk even went further than what we... Here’s a question: How long can someone stay as CEO of a company when the owner of that company...

Tara Bernstein. Photo courtesy of the subject.

Creator Economy

Epic Blames Its Creator Margins; A Pickleball Influencer Inks Off-Court Deals

By Kalley Huang · Sep 28, 2023 3:36pm PDT

Epic Games, the publisher of the popular video game Fortnite, started to talk up its connections with creators a few years ago, most notably during its 2021 antitrust trial against Apple. At the time, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney argued that Apple’s App Store policies were squeezing the kind of small developers that make content for Fortnite. Epic’s... Epic Games, the publisher of the popular video game Fortnite, started to talk up its connections...

Jony Ive. Photo via Getty.

The Beginning of the AI Phone Wars

By Kate Clark · Sep 28, 2023 1:47pm PDT · 3 comments

For years, Silicon Valley has been trying to figure out if hardware companies can generate venture scale returns, given the example of high-profile, venture capital–backed disappointments like Essential Products and Magic Leap. This challenging environment makes The Information’s recent reporting—that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and iPhone designer... For years, Silicon Valley has been trying to figure out if hardware companies can generate...

Left to right: Sarah Guo, founder of Conviction; Saam Motamedi, general partner at Greylock; and Nat Friedman, investor and former CEO of GitHub. Photos via Getty, Greylock and Erin Beach (right).

VCs Dangle AI Chips to Woo Founders

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 28, 2023 1:24pm PDT

Left to right: Sarah Guo, founder of Conviction; Saam Motamedi, general partner at Greylock; and Nat Friedman, investor and former CEO of GitHub. Photos via Getty, Greylock and Erin Beach (right).

VCs Dangle AI Chips to Woo Founders

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 28, 2023 1:24pm PDT

Venture capitalists have long flaunted their ties with startup founders. Lately they have been touting a different relationship: their connections with the biggest providers of artificial intelligence chips. VC partners competing to win sought-after investments in AI startups have been highlighting their relationships with Amazon, Microsoft... Venture capitalists have long flaunted their ties with startup founders. Lately they have been...

Photo by Midjourney.

AI Startups Are Trying to Make Usage-Based Pricing Happen

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 28, 2023 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Tech waves have often brought along with them corresponding changes in business and pricing models. For instance, when companies moved from using servers in their own data centers to ones hosted by public cloud providers, they also switched from buying packaged software a la carte to subscribing to cloud-based software, leading to the much-loved... Tech waves have often brought along with them corresponding changes in business and pricing...

From left: Paul Graham, Garry Tan and Michael Seibel. Photos by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the Mat

By Kate Clark · Sep 28, 2023 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Garry Tan was in his happy place. Surrounded by food trucks and techies basking in San Francisco’s September sun, the CEO of Y Combinator snapped selfies with entrepreneurs as he meandered through a crowd of 2,700 attendees at the startup accelerator’s annual alumni event. A week earlier, though, Tan had been blowing a fuse. In a... Garry Tan was in his happy place. Surrounded by food trucks and techies basking in San...

Ford CEO Jim Farley announcing the company's now-embattled $3.5 billion LFP plant licensing technology from China's CATL in February 2023. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty

The Electric: Ford’s Planned $3.5 Billion Battery Plant in Michigan May Be in Jeopardy

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

Ford’s plans for a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan may be in jeopardy amid fierce political criticism of a licensing agreement between the automaker and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the world’s largest battery manufacturer. Ford’s plans for a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan may be in jeopardy amid fierce...

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why the AI Race Is Getting Weird

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 27, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why the AI Race Is Getting Weird

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 27, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

There comes a point in every major new technology cycle where new alliances form, especially between the incumbents and the younger upstarts nipping at their heels.This is happening at superspeed in artificial intelligence—but the pattern is frankly pretty weird, and I think it points to the fact that AI, in a lot of ways, is going to be... There comes a point in every major new technology cycle where new alliances form, especially...

Mark Zuckerberg at Meta Connect 2023. Photo via YouTube/IGN.

Creator Economy

Instagram Launches Chatbots Modeled on MrBeast, Charli D’Amelio

By Kalley Huang · Sep 27, 2023 2:30pm PDT

It’s Kalley Huang, reporting from Menlo Park, Calif., where Meta Platforms’ developer conference is taking place in person for the first time since 2019. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, on a stage set up in the middle of Meta’s campus, unveiled a suite of generative artificial intelligence products, several directed at creators.The most interesting are 28... It’s Kalley Huang, reporting from Menlo Park, Calif., where Meta Platforms’ developer conference...

The X (formerly Twitter) office in San Francisco on July 29. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Musk’s X Cuts Half of Election Integrity Team After Promising to Expand It

By Erin Woo · Sep 27, 2023 11:11am PDT · 2 comments

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, is cutting around half of the global team devoted to limiting disinformation and election fraud on the platform, including the head of the group, according to three people familiar with the situation. The cuts come less than a month after the company said it would expand the team and as X faces... Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, is cutting around half of the global team devoted...

Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo via Getty.

FTX Investors Are Back in the Spotlight—as Victims

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 27, 2023 10:19am PDT · 3 comments

Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, set to kick off with jury selection on Oct. 3, will thrust the FTX founder and the collapse of one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges back in the spotlight. It will be a brutal reminder of a huge misstep by Sequoia Capital, Paradigm and other investors who poured a total of $2 billion into... Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, set to kick off with jury selection on Oct. 3, will...

The U.S. Capitol building from Pennsylvania Avenue. Photo via Shutterstock.

How the SBF Trial Could Upend Crypto Policy

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 27, 2023 9:00am PDT

The U.S. Capitol building from Pennsylvania Avenue. Photo via Shutterstock.

How the SBF Trial Could Upend Crypto Policy

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 27, 2023 9:00am PDT

All eyes will be on the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried next week, which is set to kick off in a Manhattan court on Oct. 3. The trial will bring FTX and its dramatic collapse back into the news, which could spell trouble for crypto proponents who have been advocating for pro-crypto legislation in Washington.“We realize it's going to be the major... All eyes will be on the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried next week, which is set to kick off in a...

Jony Ive. Photo via Getty.

Ex-Apple Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discussing AI Hardware Device; Why Open-Source and AGI Might Kill OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 27, 2023 7:20am PDT

If you were thinking of trading in your phone for the latest iPhone 15, you may want to hold off.Jony Ive, the renowned designer of the iPhone, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device, Jessica and I reported on Tuesday. In a who’s who of tech, SoftBank CEO and investor Masayoshi Son has also talked to... If you were thinking of trading in your phone for the latest iPhone 15, you may want to hold off....

Rene Haas, CEO of Arm, rings the opening bell during the company's IPO at Nasdaq MarketSite on Sept. 14. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Startups Squint to Read the IPO Tea Leaves

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 27, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

SeatGeek, a venture capital–backed ticketing app, may have a strong sales pitch when it starts early discussions with investors this week about a potential initial public offering led by Morgan Stanley. During recent quarters, revenue grew roughly 70% from the prior year, thanks to a boom in live concerts. While SeatGeek isn’t yet... SeatGeek, a venture capital–backed ticketing app, may have a strong sales pitch when it...

Merchandise purchased through Xiaohongshu (“little red book”) in Jinhua, China. VCG via Getty Images

Sequoia Capital China Buys Discounted Stake in Prominent E-Commerce App

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Sep 26, 2023 10:26pm PDT · 1 comment

Sequoia Capital China recently acquired a stake in Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu from existing investors at a discount to the company’s most recent equity financing valuation, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Sequoia China, which is preparing to separate from Silicon Valley’s Sequoia Capital next... Sequoia Capital China recently acquired a stake in Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu from...

Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos by Getty.

Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project

By Jessica E. Lessin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 26, 2023 6:51pm PDT · 16 comments

Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos by Getty.

Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project

By Jessica E. Lessin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 26, 2023 6:51pm PDT · 16 comments

Jony Ive, the renowned designer of the iPhone, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device, according to two people familiar with the conversations. SoftBank CEO and investor Masayoshi Son has talked to both about the idea, according to one of these people, but it is unclear if he will remain involved. Jony Ive, the renowned designer of the iPhone, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been...