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

Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Without IPOs, Some Startup Workers Pay Steep Price to Get Cash

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 11, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Some Databricks employees and executives sitting on valuable stock options in the decade-old startup are considering going to extraordinary lengths to turn their private stakes into $30 million in cash. Investors say they have discussed a deal that would lend the employees money in exchange for a share in the proceeds of their stock if the... Some Databricks employees and executives sitting on valuable stock options in the decade-old...

Photo by Getty.

What ByteDance’s Financial Picture Tells Us

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 10, 2023 5:00pm PDT

There is something to the phrase “Follow the money.” Looking at the finances of a company can go a long way toward clearing up certain unanswered questions. And this is especially important for private enterprises, who don’t regularly disclose such information.And so, when Jing and Juro today reported extensive details about ByteDance’s... There is something to the phrase “Follow the money.” Looking at the finances of a company can go...

Braid founders Chris Piro and Matthew Cahill. Credit: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

The Startup That Lets Fans Shoot a Quick Text to Their Favorite Creator

By Alex Perry · Aug 10, 2023 4:25pm PDT · 8 comments

While creators can quickly build audiences on YouTube and TikTok, they often find it hard to keep up communication with their fans. That’s encouraged some to embrace email publishing services such as Substack and Beehiiv. The founders of startup Braid want to make those direct connections to fans through text messaging.Braid, founded by ex-... While creators can quickly build audiences on YouTube and TikTok, they often find it hard to keep...

GGV Capital Managing Partner Hans Tung. Photo via Getty.

GGV’s ByteDance Sale Won’t Solve Its China Dilemma

By Kate Clark · Aug 10, 2023 3:32pm PDT

GGV Capital Managing Partner Hans Tung. Photo via Getty.

GGV’s ByteDance Sale Won’t Solve Its China Dilemma

By Kate Clark · Aug 10, 2023 3:32pm PDT

For a long time the debate around American venture capital investment in China has centered on Sequoia Capital, the blue-chip VC firm that’s earned billions of dollars from its overseas investments. But since Sequoia announced in June that it would split from its Chinese counterpart, the spotlight has expanded to a cohort of smaller firms that... For a long time the debate around American venture capital investment in China has centered on...

ByteDance's Singapore office. Photo by Bloomberg.

ByteDance’s China Business Is Slowing, Putting Spotlight on TikTok

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Aug 10, 2023 9:13am PDT

ByteDance might be best known globally as the parent company of TikTok, but the bulk of its money comes from its home base of China, thanks to its Chinese video app Douyin. But previously unreported internal data shows that the tech giant’s red-hot pace of growth in China has slowed markedly, underscoring the importance of TikTok for the... ByteDance might be best known globally as the parent company of TikTok, but the bulk of its money...

Art by Shane Burke.

Revenue Is a Dirty Word in the Land of AI; Biden Takes a Swing at China

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 10, 2023 7:00am PDT

It’s been a tough year for tech startups. In the midst of down rounds and deep layoffs, tech CEOs and VCs have been careful to emphasize profitability and strong financials above all else. Except, that is, for startups having anything to do with generative AI. The most recent example, as my colleagues Natasha Mascarenhas, Erin Woo and I ... It’s been a tough year for tech startups. In the midst of down rounds and deep layoffs, tech CEOs...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Behind Meta’s ‘Made in USA’ AR Glasses: a Military-Grade Material

By Wayne Ma · Aug 10, 2023 6:00am PDT

Meta Platforms plans to build only around a thousand units of the first generation of its augmented-reality glasses due out next year, a tiny batch that it will just use for internal development and to demonstrate the device to the public. And yet, to build the glasses, Meta is using a convoluted and expensive arrangement involving factories in... Meta Platforms plans to build only around a thousand units of the first generation of its...

Proterra's bus manufacturing factory in Greenville, S.C. Photo: Courtesy Proterra

The Electric: The Valley of Death Takes Out Another EV Maker

By Steve LeVine · Aug 10, 2023 4:30am PDT

Proterra's bus manufacturing factory in Greenville, S.C. Photo: Courtesy Proterra

The Electric: The Valley of Death Takes Out Another EV Maker

By Steve LeVine · Aug 10, 2023 4:30am PDT

In May, Michael Shlisky, an analyst with investment bank D.A. Davidson, listened to electric truck and bus manufacturer Proterra’s first-quarter earnings call and was impressed: Just a few months earlier, the Burlingame, Calif., company’s share price had been in free fall, plunging 79% in six weeks, in part because it had been burning through... In May, Michael Shlisky, an analyst with investment bank D.A. Davidson, listened to electric...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Getty.

Iger’s More Sober Tone Reflects Entertainment’s Existential Crisis

By Martin Peers · Aug 9, 2023 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Disney CEO Bob Iger must be wishing he was at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park (“a land where fantasy reigns”) in Florida right now. His tone on Wednesday afternoon’s June-quarter earnings conference call was noticeably more sober than in the past, perhaps reflecting the existential crisis facing the entertainment industry. Not only are the... Disney CEO Bob Iger must be wishing he was at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park (“a land where...

Photo via Getty.

Amazon Offers Sellers AI Tool to Write Product Descriptions

By Theo Wayt · Aug 9, 2023 2:58pm PDT

Amazon is rolling out an artificial intelligence tool for sellers on its marketplace that will write copy for product listings, a company spokesperson confirmed, marking one of the first examples of Amazon integrating large-language models into its e-commerce business. While Amazon’s highest-profile AI tools are ones its cloud unit, Amazon... Amazon is rolling out an artificial intelligence tool for sellers on its marketplace that will...

Photo via Shutterstock

Creator Economy

More Creators Have Trouble With Facebook Payments; TikTok’s New Trust & Safety Leader

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 9, 2023 2:21pm PDT

You have to wonder what’s going on with the systems Meta Platforms uses to pay creators. Some this week have seen an alert that their accounts are restricted from making money due to “unusual activity.” That follows a glitch we covered last week that vastly inflated Facebook creators’ estimated earnings from posting Reels with licensed music.... You have to wonder what’s going on with the systems Meta Platforms uses to pay creators. Some...

Tome founders Keith Peiris (left) and Henri Liriani (right). Photo via YouTube/Greylock.

Tome, AI Startup Founded by Ex-Meta Managers, Discusses Fundraising at $600 Million Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Aug 9, 2023 1:15pm PDT · 14 comments

Tome founders Keith Peiris (left) and Henri Liriani (right). Photo via YouTube/Greylock.

Tome, AI Startup Founded by Ex-Meta Managers, Discusses Fundraising at $600 Million Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Aug 9, 2023 1:15pm PDT · 14 comments

Tome, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to make it easier to create and design presentations, has talked to investors about raising new money that could double its valuation to up to $600 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. The new financing could amount to $60 million, according to one of the... Tome, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to make it easier to create and design...

Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Coinbase Goes Local With Policy Blitz

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

Crypto regulation has been a hot topic in 2023, thanks to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance. But crypto companies have much more to deal with than federal regulators.Case in point: Last week, as CEO Brian Armstrong and other Coinbase executives were discussing second-quarter results with analysts,... Crypto regulation has been a hot topic in 2023, thanks to the Securities and Exchange Commission’...

Art generated by Midjourney.

Author Paranoia About AI Finds New Targets

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 9, 2023 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

AI founders need to watch out. It’s no secret that publishers and writers are sensitive about large-language models using their data for training. But just how sensitive became clear in the recent shuttering of a six-year-old publishing dataset called Prosecraft.The service, created in 2017 by Benji Smith, founder and CEO at word processor ... AI founders need to watch out. It’s no secret that publishers and writers are sensitive about...

The People in Charge as Adobe Moves Into Generative AI

By Kalley Huang · Aug 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Adobe jumped into the generative artificial intelligence race in March by releasing a beta version of Firefly, which generates images based on text prompts. As it competes with smaller startups such as OpenAI and Runway, the 41-year-old software giant—which has more than 28,000 employees—is leaning on its practice of having teams... Adobe jumped into the generative artificial intelligence race in March by releasing a beta...

Sandie Hawkins, former TikTok U.S. E-Commerce General Manager (right), with The Information's Kaya Yurieff at our Creator Economy Summit in April. Photo by Erin Beach.

TikTok Is Amid an Overhaul

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 8, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Sandie Hawkins, former TikTok U.S. E-Commerce General Manager (right), with The Information's Kaya Yurieff at our Creator Economy Summit in April. Photo by Erin Beach.

TikTok Is Amid an Overhaul

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 8, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Part of the fun of business reporting is reading between the lines. When you follow a company or industry closely, eventually you pick up on very subtle shifts. And often those lead to even bigger ones. That’s happening at TikTok right now. The company has swung hard from being a little languid and consumed by political pressures to... Part of the fun of business reporting is reading between the lines. When you follow a company or...

Tara Walpert Levy, YouTube vice president of Americas. Photo: YouTube

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Walpert Levy on the AI ‘Tsunami’

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 8, 2023 2:28pm PDT

YouTube is getting ready to release generative AI tools for creators. But unlike rivals such as Facebook-parent Meta Platforms, it’s less interested in chatbots—the conversational software that can take on a persona such as Tony Soprano. Instead, it’s focusing on tools that will power video editing or help creators generate ideas, said Tara... YouTube is getting ready to release generative AI tools for creators. But unlike rivals such as ...

Sandie Hawkins. Photo by Erin Beach.

TikTok Replaces Top Shopping Executive With Retail Veterans

By Erin Woo · Aug 8, 2023 11:30am PDT

TikTok has hired two retail veterans who worked at Amazon and Meta Platforms to help oversee its ambitious push to build a giant U.S. ecommerce business. At the same time, TikTok’s U.S. ecommerce general manager, Sandie Hawkins, is leaving the company, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The shakeup comes as... TikTok has hired two retail veterans who worked at Amazon and Meta Platforms to help oversee its...

Chart by Shane Burke.

OpenAI Quietly Releases Web Crawler; ChatGPT Flounders, Bard Flourishes in Latest Usage Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 8, 2023 7:30am PDT · 5 comments

One of the biggest complaints that ChatGPT users have is the lack of up-to-date information from the web in its models and chatbot. OpenAI’s announcement on Monday night of GPTBot, a web crawler that scrapes sites for data that may be used to improve its future models, could be the company’s answer.It might not be a coincidence that the... One of the biggest complaints that ChatGPT users have is the lack of up-to-date information from...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Microsoft vs. Google: The 10 Execs at the Center of Lobbying Battle

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 8, 2023 6:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

Microsoft vs. Google: The 10 Execs at the Center of Lobbying Battle

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 8, 2023 6:00am PDT

A nearly decadelong truce between Microsoft and Google is over—and the rivalry could reshape tech regulation for decades to come. The tech behemoths are at an escalating stand-off in Washington, with both companies deploying large lobbying teams to chip away at each other’s competitive advantages in software licensing, search and... A nearly decadelong truce between Microsoft and Google is over—and the rivalry could...