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

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Instacart’s Delicious Little Secret

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 1, 2023 5:00pm PDT

You won’t find this nugget in Instacart’s IPO filing, nor is it likely to be noted on the company’s first-ever earnings call next week. Even most employees don’t know about it. But I found out recently that Publix—one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. and a key Instacart customer—wrote a significant check in Instacart’s Series D... You won’t find this nugget in Instacart’s IPO filing, nor is it likely to be noted on the company...

CocoMelon. Photo via YouTube

Creator Economy

Are Creator Startups Ripe For Rollups?

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 1, 2023 2:33pm PDT

As more creator economy startups find buyers, I’ve been hearing talk about the possibility of rollups: one firm buying several similar businesses and combining them, saving on back-office costs while expanding their markets. So far, there’s more talk than action. The private equity firms who typically back such deals have made limited... As more creator economy startups find buyers, I’ve been hearing talk about the possibility of...

Photo by Harry Murphy via Getty.

Flexport Buys Shuttered Trucking Startup Convoy’s Technology

By Theo Wayt, Ann Gehan and Maria Heeter · Nov 1, 2023 12:25pm PDT · 1 comment

Flexport has reached a deal to buy the technology of shuttered trucking startup Convoy, as Flexport doubles down on its U.S. trucking ambitions even as it grapples with its own business slump. Convoy, once valued at $3.8 billion, shut down in October after failing to find a buyer or raise fresh capital. Convoy CEO Dan Lewis will join... Flexport has reached a deal to buy the technology of shuttered trucking startup Convoy, as...

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey speaks in Laguna Beach, Calif. on October 16, 2023.

Anduril’s Luckey Warns of ‘No Mercy’ After Suing Startup Launched by Alums

By Margaux MacColl and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 1, 2023 11:37am PDT · 2 comments

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey speaks in Laguna Beach, Calif. on October 16, 2023.

Anduril’s Luckey Warns of ‘No Mercy’ After Suing Startup Launched by Alums

By Margaux MacColl and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 1, 2023 11:37am PDT · 2 comments

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey issued a warning to his staff last month: If he believes current or former employees are stealing confidential information from the nearly 2,200-worker defense tech startup, he will “show no mercy.” Luckey sent the Slack message, a screenshot of which The Information viewed, after the $8.5... Anduril founder Palmer Luckey issued a warning to his staff last month: If he believes current or...

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is cross examined by U.S. Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon while Judge Lewis Kaplan listens in Manhattan federal court, on Oct. 30. Members of the jury are seated at right. Courtroom sketch via AP.

The Evidence Jurors Will Consider to Decide SBF’s Fate

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 1, 2023 9:00am PDT

The fall of FTX to the closing days of Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial moved at breakneck speed, as my colleague Martin Peers wrote on Tuesday. Exactly a year ago on Wednesday, the public still did not know the details of the leaked Alameda Research balance sheet that kick-started FTX’s demise. The trial moved at a brisk pace too. Just... The fall of FTX to the closing days of Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial moved at breakneck...

David Bennett, chief customer officer at Tenstorrent. Photo courtesy of Tenstorrent.

An AI Chip Armageddon is Coming; Biden Punts on Open-Source LLMs

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 1, 2023 7:40am PDT

When I asked David Bennett, the chief customer officer of AI hardware developer Tenstorrent, about the future of startups like his, he was blunt: Most will go out of business.To survive, he recommends startups remain flexible and avoid boxing themselves into any narrow use case. Bennett isn’t referring to some niche market, but rather, a... When I asked David Bennett, the chief customer officer of AI hardware developer Tenstorrent,...

Photo by Getty.

Inside TikTok’s Livestream Expansion: Tipping Contests, Creator Support

By Erin Woo · Nov 1, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

A young man with a shaved head and leather jacket bounces up and down in New York’s Union Square, chanting “TGIF” as viewers send him a stream of tips costing a few cents each. For more than an hour, he reacts to each tip as it comes in, shouting about a “glizzy” when a viewer sends him a hot dog, bobbing endlessly... A young man with a shaved head and leather jacket bounces up and down in New York’s Union...

Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why SBF’s Case Moved So Fast

By Martin Peers · Oct 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why SBF’s Case Moved So Fast

By Martin Peers · Oct 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

The wheels of justice can turn quickly when conditions are right. Today the defense rested in the fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow, which means this case could go to the jury on Thursday. It’s possible, then, that we’ll have a verdict that same day. That would be one year exactly since crypto... The wheels of justice can turn quickly when conditions are right. Today the defense rested in the...

Sam Bankman-Fried on January 3. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

SBF Shifts Blame to His Inner Circle

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 31, 2023 2:06pm PDT · 5 comments

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up testimony in his criminal case on Tuesday, capping off four days on the stand by downplaying his role in the misuse of billions in customer funds. In his testimony, Bankman-Fried emphasized his hands-off management style and at times deflected blame to other former executives at his crypto firms. His... Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up testimony in his criminal case on Tuesday, capping...

Chart by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

Why Influencer Marketing Firms Are For Sale

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 31, 2023 2:03pm PDT

Earlier today, I published a story about a flurry of acquisitions hitting creator economy startups. Some of these deals are wiping out investors or returning very little cash. For instance, when Patreon bought Moment earlier this month, the livestreaming events startup was running low on funds. The deal won’t return much to Moment investors,... Earlier today, I published a story about a flurry of acquisitions hitting creator economy...

Partner Content

Recap: Taking Generative AI Beyond the Demos

By The Information Partnerships · Oct 31, 2023 11:24am PDT

Generative artificial intelligence has exploded this past year. We’ve seen incredibly promising demos—but when scaling to enterprise level, companies often encounter an increased level of uncertainty along with difficulty of implementation. How can organizations harness the power of this new technology while scaling it reliably and... Generative artificial intelligence has exploded this past year. We’ve seen incredibly...

President Joe Biden signs an executive order with Vice President Kamala Harris, right, on Oct. 30, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

What Biden’s AI Executive Order Means

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 31, 2023 7:30am PDT

President Joe Biden signs an executive order with Vice President Kamala Harris, right, on Oct. 30, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

What Biden’s AI Executive Order Means

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 31, 2023 7:30am PDT

The AI world (and my inbox) was rocked yesterday by President Joe Biden’s long-awaited AI executive order, which covered a wide range of issues, from the use of AI in education to watermarking AI-generated content. (For a summary, check out my colleague Amir Efrati's piece here.)Now that we’ve had 24 hours to marinate on the order, here are some... The AI world (and my inbox) was rocked yesterday by President Joe Biden’s long-awaited AI...

Art by Shane Burke

Fire Sales Sweep the Creator Economy as Startups Struggle

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Fire-sale prices for startups. Investors hung out to dry. Founders pulling the rip cord even when they’ve still got cash left in the bank. The harsh realities facing creator economy startups are getting even harsher, prompting a stampede of founders looking for exits as they struggle to find growth and funding for their businesses. So far... Fire-sale prices for startups. Investors hung out to dry. Founders pulling the rip cord even when...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty.

What X and Netflix Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Oct 30, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a question: Is the entertainment value provided by X, formerly known as Twitter, equal to what Netflix offers? Elon Musk wants to charge people roughly the same for an ad-free version of X that they pay for Netflix’s cheapest ad-free tier, around $16 a month. It’s part of his effort to supplement X’s much-diminished ad revenue with... Here’s a question: Is the entertainment value provided by X, formerly known as Twitter, equal to...

Photo via Flip.

Creator Economy

A Social Shopping App Gets Popular Thanks to Costly Referrals

By Ann Gehan · Oct 30, 2023 3:14pm PDT · 1 comment

I’m Ann, and I cover e-commerce and retail for The Information. Lately, I’ve been hearing more about Flip, a TikTok-like shopping app that’s been dominating my conversations with e-commerce founders, as well as my X feed, for the past few weeks—thanks to a costly way of getting new customers. The app, first launched in 2019, offers a... I’m Ann, and I cover e-commerce and retail for The Information. Lately, I’ve been hearing more...

Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Mistral, a Wannabe OpenAI of Europe, Seeks $300 Million

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 30, 2023 12:36pm PDT · 3 comments

Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Mistral, a Wannabe OpenAI of Europe, Seeks $300 Million

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 30, 2023 12:36pm PDT · 3 comments

Mistral, an artificial intelligence startup founded by former Meta Platforms and Alphabet researchers, plans to raise an additional $300 million from investors just four months after raising $113 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The round is expected to value the... Mistral, an artificial intelligence startup founded by former Meta Platforms and Alphabet...

Jaleh Rezaei, cofounder and CEO at Mutiny, and Sara Hooker, head of Cohere for AI. Photo by Erin Beach.

What You Missed From Our WTF Conference; Biden’s AI Executive Order Unveiled

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 30, 2023 7:35am PDT

Here’s a simple but smart idea I heard about last week: Ask all your employees to use AI for every possible task for a week and see what tasks it’s useful or not useful for.That suggestion came from Rebecca Hinds, head of Asana’s Work Innovation Lab, at our annual Women in Tech, Media and Finance conference, during a discussion on generative AI... Here’s a simple but smart idea I heard about last week: Ask all your employees to use AI for...

Art by Clark Miller.

Inside the War Between Square and Cash App at Dorsey’s Block

By Mark Matousek · Oct 30, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

As CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey was widely panned for his hands-off style, seen as contributing to the company’s uneven growth and slow-to-evolve culture, which paved the way for last year’s takeover by Elon Musk. Dorsey’s other public company, Block, originally known as Square, has a whole different problem: Its divisions feud... As CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey was widely panned for his hands-off style, seen as contributing to...

Biden praised GM CEO Mary Barra as the country's EV leader, even as the company badly trailed Tesla. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty

The Electric: From Big Auto to Big Oil, a Big Bet on a Long Tail for Combustion

By Steve LeVine · Oct 30, 2023 4:30am PDT

For more than two years, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have followed a similar script: In just a few years, each company claimed, it would puncture Tesla’s dominance of electric vehicle sales and possibly overtake the industry leader. Now, though, all three have ripped up their talking points—and turned back the clock: In place of more... For more than two years, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have followed a similar script: In...

One AI Device to Rule Them All

One AI Device to Rule Them All

By Jon Steinberg · Oct 28, 2023 6:00am PDT

One AI Device to Rule Them All

One AI Device to Rule Them All

By Jon Steinberg · Oct 28, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It’s been 10 years since the movie “Her” introduced us to a queasy future in which a man falls in love with his AI-powered digital assistant. Guess who loved that movie? Yup, Sam Altman, the father of ChatGPT. “The things ‘Her’ got right—like the whole interaction models of how people use AI—that was incredibly... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It’s been 10 years since the movie “Her” introduced us to a queasy...