The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Hey Alexa: What’s Andy Jassy Up To?

Hey Alexa: What’s Andy Jassy Up To?

By Jon Steinberg · Oct 21, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.As Jessica writes in her cover story this week, Andy Jassy has enjoyed a relatively smooth transition period as CEO of Amazon. Sure, there have been hiccups and challenges in the two years since Jeff Bezos handed Jassy the reins. He earned some ire from employees after laying off 27,000 workers in 2022. And there was... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.As Jessica writes in her cover story this week, Andy Jassy has...

Art by Clark Miller.

Spotify’s AI Chief Wants to Remix Our Relationship With Discovery

By Annie Goldsmith · Oct 21, 2023 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

When Ziad Sultan began thinking about artificial intelligence, there was no craze afoot. Not even a cultish flurry of excitement. Sultan, who is now Spotify’s vice president of personalization, responsible for a slate of new AI features for the audio streamer, first caught the bug in the early 2000s. He was 17, had just moved to Cambridge,... When Ziad Sultan began thinking about artificial intelligence, there was no craze afoot. Not even...

Art by Clark Miller. All photographs courtesy of subjects.

‘From This Abyss, Something Better Will Grow’: Israel’s Tech Leaders Brace for an Uncertain Future

By Flora Tsapovsky · Oct 21, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Since the Hamas terror attacks of Saturday, October 7, Israel’s tight-knit tech community has rallied to the country’s defense. Some executives have children in the Israeli military or serve themselves; others immediately launched civil aid programs to support the Israel Defense Forces, war refugees or the families of hostages. While... Since the Hamas terror attacks of Saturday, October 7, Israel’s tight-knit tech community...

Photo via Convoy.

U2 Won’t Save Your Trucking Startup

By Martin Peers · Oct 20, 2023 3:30pm PDT · 3 comments

Photo via Convoy.

U2 Won’t Save Your Trucking Startup

By Martin Peers · Oct 20, 2023 3:30pm PDT · 3 comments

You have to enjoy a certain level of self-confidence to start a business, particularly if you’re asking other people to help fund it. Too often, though, entrepreneurs have way too much confidence for their own good. Take the people behind Convoy, the trucking startup that fell off a cliff this week, after months spent trying to find a buyer or... You have to enjoy a certain level of self-confidence to start a business, particularly if you’re...

Answering for Misinformation: The New York Times Needs To Be Held to Account

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 20, 2023 2:15pm PDT · 23 comments

All of us at More or Less are quite upset about the continued proliferation of misinformation about Hamas's ongoing terrorism against Israel. That, sadly, includes coverage from legacy media sites like the New York Times. It's okay to make mistakes. But it is imperative that leaders own up to—and fix—them. I hope you... All of us at More or Less are quite upset about the continued proliferation of misinformation...

Dan Lewis, CEO of Convoy. Photo via Getty. Art by Shane Burke

How Trucking Startup Convoy Drove Itself Into the Ground

By Maria Heeter, Ann Gehan, Nick Wingfield and Theo Wayt · Oct 20, 2023 1:05pm PDT · 19 comments

On Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m, the mimosas started flowing at Convoy’s Seattle headquarters. It wasn’t a celebration. After months of Convoy trying desperately to raise cash or find a buyer, employees had just been ordered to stop taking new orders and cancel existing shipments. The startup, which had raised more than $1 billion... On Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m, the mimosas started flowing at Convoy’s Seattle...

Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX, arrives at court in New York on Oct. 17. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Behind SBF’s Campaign of ‘Excessive’ Spending

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 20, 2023 12:35pm PDT

Early last year, Sam Bankman-Fried attended a dinner, alongside Hillary Clinton, Jeff Bezos and Leonardo DiCaprio, at the house of investor Michael Kives, co-founder of the firm K5. Kives, Bankman-Fried wrote to his colleagues at FTX shortly afterwards, was “the most connected person I’ve ever met.” Bankman-Fried told his... Early last year, Sam Bankman-Fried attended a dinner, alongside Hillary Clinton, Jeff Bezos and...

Photo via Flexport.

Pro Weekly: Companies Turn to New Leaders As Growth Slows

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 20, 2023 8:00am PDT

Photo via Flexport.

Pro Weekly: Companies Turn to New Leaders As Growth Slows

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 20, 2023 8:00am PDT

As tech companies grapple with slower growth, a focus on profitability and tumbling valuations, many are shuffling their leadership. Our Org Charts reflect those changes.Logistics startup Flexport last week named the leaders who will report to founder Ryan Petersen, whom the board reinstated as CEO last month. Since Petersen and the board... As tech companies grapple with slower growth, a focus on profitability and tumbling valuations,...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy believes things are far from settled in the AI race: “We are like three steps into this marathon.” Art by Clark Miller; photo Getty.

Amazon’s Andy Jassy Plans to Crash the AI Party

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 20, 2023 7:00am PDT · 13 comments

I’m nine minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour conversation with Andy Jassy when it becomes clear why the CEO has invited me to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. Like everyone else in business these days, he wants to talk about artificial intelligence. Unless you’ve been under a rock this year, you know that the breakthroughs in... I’m nine minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour conversation with Andy Jassy when it becomes...

Art by Mike Sullivan

NASA Tensions with SpaceX Rise Over Moon Mission Delays

By Becky Peterson · Oct 20, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

SpaceX’s most important customer—NASA—is getting impatient with the rocket company’s delays in building critical equipment meant for the space agency’s next mission to the moon. In recent months, NASA officials have raised concerns with their counterparts at SpaceX that the company has missed milestones related to a... SpaceX’s most important customer—NASA—is getting impatient with the rocket...

Photo via Shutterstock

Wall Street’s Lost Year: Few Jobs, Smaller Bonuses

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Oct 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

It’s not a happy time on Wall Street. As third quarter earnings from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs revealed this week, the investment banking business has deteriorated lately, as the deal market remains stagnant. Morgan Stanley reported a 27% drop in investment banking revenue in the third quarter, by far the biggest decline on Wall Street,... It’s not a happy time on Wall Street. As third quarter earnings from Morgan Stanley and Goldman...

Photo via Shutterstock

Seattle’s More Pragmatic—And Quieter—AI Boom

By Kate Clark · Oct 19, 2023 4:23pm PDT · 3 comments

Photo via Shutterstock

Seattle’s More Pragmatic—And Quieter—AI Boom

By Kate Clark · Oct 19, 2023 4:23pm PDT · 3 comments

As someone who grew up in Seattle, then spent several years in San Francisco, I’ve gotten a good feel for the two cities’ tech scenes and how they differ. Those differences are more clear than ever as the generative artificial intelligence boom reverberates through both tech hubs.In San Francisco, techies have been pumping their chest about AI,... As someone who grew up in Seattle, then spent several years in San Francisco, I’ve gotten a good...

Thrive's Josh Kushner, left, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos via Thrive Capital and Getty.

Thrive Capital to Lead Purchase of OpenAI Employee Shares at $80 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Kate Clark · Oct 19, 2023 3:10pm PDT · 6 comments

Investment firm Thrive Capital is leading a deal to buy OpenAI shares from employees through a tender offer that would give the company a paper valuation of at least $80 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge. The deal would boost OpenAI’s valuation by at least three times from a similar transaction the startup made six... Investment firm Thrive Capital is leading a deal to buy OpenAI shares from employees...

Magic Johnson. Photo via Shutterstock.

Creator Economy

Magic Johnson Leaves Cameo's Board

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 19, 2023 1:30pm PDT

Kicking off today’s newsletter with a scoop: Cameo in recent weeks has sought to raise at least $10 million in funding, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Such a deal, if completed, would be a sign investors are still hopeful of the celebrity video site’s future. But the site has also lost a high-profile ambassador. ... Kicking off today’s newsletter with a scoop: Cameo in recent weeks has sought to raise at least...

Photo via Convoy.

Trucking Startup Convoy Shuts Down, Wiping Out Investors

By Maria Heeter and Theo Wayt · Oct 19, 2023 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Trucking startup Convoy is shutting down, the company told employees and investors on Thursday, in a dramatic collapse of a business that raised nearly $1 billion from big name investors including T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and CapitalG. Convoy abruptly stopped accepting new business this week and is laying off a majority of its staff, while CEO... Trucking startup Convoy is shutting down, the company told employees and investors on Thursday,...

Art by Clark Miller

Biden’s Not Pushing U.S. Investors Away From China. China Is

By Ming Liao · Oct 19, 2023 9:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Biden’s Not Pushing U.S. Investors Away From China. China Is

By Ming Liao · Oct 19, 2023 9:00am PDT

On Aug. 9, President Joe Biden signed an executive order banning U.S. investments in China’s advanced technology sectors, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The ban has attracted much attention, and concern from some investors. But it will have only a modest impact. Dollar-denominated funds in China... On Aug. 9, President Joe Biden signed an executive order banning U.S. investments in...

Photos via Getty.

How Shein Decided to Partner With Rival Forever 21

By Jing Yang · Oct 19, 2023 8:00am PDT

When Shein announced a partnership with Forever 21 in August, it unveiled a deal that would align two firms that might otherwise be enemies: a China-founded online fashion retailer and a U.S. brick-and-mortar retail label that’s bleeding sales to e-commerce upstarts. The deal involves Shein issuing $300 million to $400 million worth of its... When Shein announced a partnership with Forever 21 in August, it unveiled a deal that would align...

Photo via 1X Technologies.

SoftBank Looks to Invest $75 Million in OpenAI-Backed Humanoid Robotics Startup

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 19, 2023 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In tech, all software roads eventually lead to hardware. Look no further than OpenAI’s Sam Altman dreaming up an artificial intelligence-powered personal device with ex-Apple designer Jony Ive and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Another topic the three men may have discussed at Ive’s San Francisco studio: existing AI hardware companies that... In tech, all software roads eventually lead to hardware. Look no further than OpenAI’s Sam Altman...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. Photo via Getty.

Inside Meta’s Struggles to Turn Reels Into an Advertising Powerhouse

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Oct 19, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Anyone scrolling quick videos of people making elaborate kinds of spaghetti or sharing dating horror stories may not be in the mood to click on an ad suggesting they buy a new pair of jeans. That’s at least what ad executives are saying about Meta Platforms’ efforts to sell ads on Reels, the Facebook owner’s answer to TikTok. A... Anyone scrolling quick videos of people making elaborate kinds of spaghetti or sharing dating...

On Battery Day in 2020, Musk, right, and deputy Drew Baglino triggered a race to eliminate wet electrode production. Photo: Courtesy Tesla

Exclusive From The Electric: The Lead Inventor of Dry Electrode Coating Exits Tesla for a Startup

By Steve LeVine · Oct 19, 2023 4:30am PDT

On Battery Day in 2020, Musk, right, and deputy Drew Baglino triggered a race to eliminate wet electrode production. Photo: Courtesy Tesla

Exclusive From The Electric: The Lead Inventor of Dry Electrode Coating Exits Tesla for a Startup

By Steve LeVine · Oct 19, 2023 4:30am PDT

Hieu Duong, lead inventor of a process touted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a way to sharply cut the carmaker’s battery costs, has left Tesla for a startup that’s pursuing the same advance using a different approach. In a surprising development, AM Batteries, a tiny Chelmsford, Mass., company with no revenue, hired Duong as chief manufacturing... Hieu Duong, lead inventor of a process touted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a way to sharply cut the...