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

Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and Founder of Web Summit, at Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon. Photo by SOPA Images via Getty.

Sequoia Capital Partner, Other Investors Boycott Web Summit Following CEO’s Israel Comments

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 16, 2023 2:41pm PDT · 21 comments

High-profile venture capitalists, including Y Combinator’s Garry Tan and Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta, are withdrawing from a major gathering of tech leaders after conference CEO Paddy Cosgrave made comments that appear to refer to Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Hamas-controlled Gaza as “war crimes.” At least... High-profile venture capitalists, including Y Combinator’s Garry Tan and Sequoia Capital...

Photo via Ideogram.

AI Agenda: Why Investors in GPU Resellers May End Up Disappointed

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 16, 2023 7:00am PDT

In the last year, Nvidia’s AI chips—GPUs in technical parlance—have become the hottest commodity that people are desperate to get a hold of. Lately, we’ve seen the emergence of startups known as GPU resellers or serverless GPU providers. These startups rent GPU servers from cloud providers or other companies that own such servers, including... In the last year, Nvidia’s AI chips—GPUs in technical parlance—have become the hottest commodity...

On the Market: Executives With Experience at Amazon, Disney, Meta, TikTok

By The Information Staff · Oct 16, 2023 6:00am PDT

When times get tough, companies try diversifying into new areas—efforts that can be high risk for those who lead those initiatives. Several of the people on our latest list of Free Agents can testify to that, having departed their companies after new business ventures failed to immediately pay off. Jeremi Gorman spent a year at Netflix,... When times get tough, companies try diversifying into new areas—efforts that can be high...

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun began snapping up EV-related investments in 2014. Photo: Getty

The Electric: Xiaomi Is Likely to Upstage Apple With a Tech-Laden EV

By Steve LeVine · Oct 16, 2023 4:30am PDT

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun began snapping up EV-related investments in 2014. Photo: Getty

The Electric: Xiaomi Is Likely to Upstage Apple With a Tech-Laden EV

By Steve LeVine · Oct 16, 2023 4:30am PDT

Since 2014, Apple has worked on a quasi-secret project it calls Titan—an effort to create an electric vehicle worthy of the company’s name. The company has cycled through four Titan leaders, changed its vision for the car, changed it back again, spent more than $1 billion in some years on the project—and still produced no EV. Adding insult to... Since 2014, Apple has worked on a quasi-secret project it calls Titan—an effort to create an...

Art by Clark Miller

Found in Translation: AI Lip-Synch Apps Have Arrived

By Amanda Florian · Oct 14, 2023 6:00am PDT

Growing up in New Delhi, Gaurav Misra found himself surrounded by a cacophony of languages. On any given day, the software engineer, who speaks fluent English, Hindi and French, would hear a variety of dialects in Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu. Misra spent years learning French, which helped him grow his network of professional connections in... Growing up in New Delhi, Gaurav Misra found himself surrounded by a cacophony of languages. On...

Art by Clark Miller

If You’re Ripping Michael Lewis’ Book on Sam Bankman-Fried, You’re Reading It Wrong

By Adam Lashinsky · Oct 14, 2023 6:00am PDT · 12 comments

My hopes and dreams when I tucked into “Going Infinite,” Michael Lewis’ controversial book about Sam Bankman-Fried, were the same as they always are when reading our foremost chronicler of financial renegades and miscreants. First, I wanted to be entertained by Lewis’ honeyed prose and syrupy storytelling—the snappy... My hopes and dreams when I tucked into “Going Infinite,” Michael Lewis’...

Thierry, Taylor, Rainbolt and Sam

Thierry, Taylor, Rainbolt and Sam

By Jon Steinberg · Oct 14, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.This wasn’t an easy week for anyone. But if you’re on a trust and safety team of a social media company, this was likely the worst week in memory. In just three days after Hamas committed its depraved terrorist attacks in Israel last Saturday, Meta reported removing nearly 800,000 pieces of content labeled as “... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.This wasn’t an easy week for anyone. But if you’re on a trust and...

Photo by Mario Tama via Getty.

Netflix Earnings Next Week Should Be OK But Not Great

By Martin Peers · Oct 13, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Photo by Mario Tama via Getty.

Netflix Earnings Next Week Should Be OK But Not Great

By Martin Peers · Oct 13, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Earnings season is back. Banks, always the early birds, began reporting Friday and next week Netflix kicks off tech earnings season with its third quarter report on Wednesday. Big tech—Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and the rest—don’t start reporting until the week after. But Netflix’s report will give us plenty to chew over. It will give... Earnings season is back. Banks, always the early birds, began reporting Friday and next week...

Caroline Ellison, (wearing glasses). Photo by Michael M. Santiago via Getty.

How Alameda Helped Bankrupt Crypto Lenders

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 13, 2023 1:24pm PDT

Sam Bankman-Fried’s former lieutenant, Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, this week detailed how Bankman-Fried oversaw a massive fraud by pushing Alameda to use FTX customer funds for startup investments, political donations and loans to executives. But Ellison’s testimony also pulled back the curtain on the once-secret world of... Sam Bankman-Fried’s former lieutenant, Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, this week...

WTF Summit 2022. Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Announcing the WTF Summit 2023 Breakout Sessions

By The Information Staff · Oct 13, 2023 1:00pm PDT

We’re excited to see everyone on October 25th and 26th at The Information's WTF Summit. Our breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have two sets of 35-minute breakout sessions on Thursday, October 26th. Here’s a preview of this year’s topics. 10:45 AM Generative AI:... We’re excited to see everyone on October 25th and 26th at The Information's WTF Summit....

Everett Cook, CEO of Rho (left) and Sima Gandhi, CEO of Creative Juice. Photos via Rho and Creative Juice.

Banking Startup Rho in Talks to Buy MrBeast-Backed Creative Juice

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 13, 2023 12:35pm PDT

Rho Technologies, a New York-based banking startup, is in talks to buy Creative Juice, a startup backed by star YouTuber MrBeast that offers upfront financing and other financial tools for creators, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. A completed deal would mark at least the second acquisition so far this year by Rho,... Rho Technologies, a New York-based banking startup, is in talks to buy Creative Juice, a startup...

A Nvidia HGX H100 server. Photo by Gettty

AI Chip Reseller Raises $50 Million in Financing Led By Kleiner Perkins

By Kate Clark, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 13, 2023 11:17am PDT

A Nvidia HGX H100 server. Photo by Gettty

AI Chip Reseller Raises $50 Million in Financing Led By Kleiner Perkins

By Kate Clark, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 13, 2023 11:17am PDT

Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup that capitalizes on artificial intelligence startups’ voracious need for specialized semiconductors. The equity financing of at least $50 million would value the one-year-old company at more than $300 million before the investment, according to people with knowledge of the... Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup that capitalizes on artificial...

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen Names New Leadership Team

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Oct 13, 2023 11:09am PDT

Ryan Petersen, the recently returned CEO of Flexport, outlined a new leadership structure on Friday that includes many longtime loyalists, according to a person with direct knowledge of the reorganization, as the company seeks to recover from a steep drop in revenue. The changes, announced in an all-hands meeting held hours after Flexport laid... Ryan Petersen, the recently returned CEO of Flexport, outlined a new leadership structure on...

Why This Week Changed Social Media Forever

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 13, 2023 9:26am PDT · 2 comments

Where will news go when social media bans it? What can tech leaders and politicians say in a globalized world? Do founders have the right to ask VCs who their LPs are? The world will be changed in many ways by Hamas's horrific attacks against Israel. This week, on More or Less, we discuss and debate some of these questions... Where will news go when social media bans it? What can tech leaders and politicians say in a...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Trio of Top Executives Exit Chime

By Mark Matousek · Oct 13, 2023 9:14am PDT

Several top executives at Chime, the once-highflying online banking startup whose growth has lately slowed, are heading for the exits. Beth Steinberg, Chime’s chief people officer, is planning to leave the company, she told The Information. She follows out the door general counsel Kate Karas, who stepped down in August, and Chief... Several top executives at Chime, the once-highflying online banking startup whose growth has...

GeoGuessr phenom Trevor Rainbolt. Art by Clark Miller

A Geography Game Has Its First Superstar. Can It Survive Its First Player Revolt?

By Jessica Lucas · Oct 13, 2023 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

GeoGuessr phenom Trevor Rainbolt. Art by Clark Miller

A Geography Game Has Its First Superstar. Can It Survive Its First Player Revolt?

By Jessica Lucas · Oct 13, 2023 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

The final round of GeoGuessr’s World Cup qualifiers was a tense watch for fans of the game, which challenges players to precisely locate a completely random location on Earth, as seen on Google Street View. It had all boiled down to two players and one picture: a narrow tarmac road flanked by two sloping banks of snow, with only a hint of... The final round of GeoGuessr’s World Cup qualifiers was a tense watch for fans of the game,...

London-based ticketing platform Dice raised $65 million in the third quarter. Photo via Getty.

Pro Weekly: Creator Economy Investors Go Global

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 13, 2023 8:00am PDT

Now more than ever, the creator economy is a global economy. That was a key takeaway from the third-quarter update to our Creator Economy database, which now tracks more than 460 startups that have raised more than $13 billion in venture funding since early 2021. Creator-focused startups raised more than $472 million in the third quarter,... Now more than ever, the creator economy is a global economy. That was a key takeaway from the...

The Baidu Technology Park in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Baidu Seeks Edge in China’s Crowded Race for AI Dominance

By Juro Osawa · Oct 13, 2023 6:00am PDT

In the U.S., all eyes are on OpenAI and Google’s battle for supremacy in generative artificial intelligence. In China, where the government blocks those companies’ internet services, a parallel race is heating up among domestic giants, even as the Chinese firms face growing restrictions on their access to American chips needed for... In the U.S., all eyes are on OpenAI and Google’s battle for supremacy in generative...

Photo via Shutterstock

Atlassian-Loom Discount Deal Suggests M&A Market is Reviving

By Martin Peers · Oct 12, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

The brief revival of the IPO market may be petering out, thanks to a spate of disappointing offerings lately. But the M&A market, at least for enterprise software firms, seems to be coming to life—even if the valuations are a little painful for sellers. On Thursday, for instance, Atlassian said it would swallow up video messaging firm Loom... The brief revival of the IPO market may be petering out, thanks to a spate of disappointing...

Photo by Lee Campbell via Unsplash

Startups for Music Fans Are a Hit With Investors

By Kalley Huang · Oct 12, 2023 3:51pm PDT

Photo by Lee Campbell via Unsplash

Creator Economy

Startups for Music Fans Are a Hit With Investors

By Kalley Huang · Oct 12, 2023 3:51pm PDT

Music startups are still in tune for creator economy investors. Fave, an app for music fans to connect with artists and each other, said it had secured $2 million in funding. It’s trying to raise an additional $4 million for the round, which would bring its total funding to $8 million. The company said existing investors including Female... Music startups are still in tune for creator economy investors. Fave, an app for music fans...