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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Our Favorite Stories From This Week

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 15, 2023 3:32pm PDT

Whether you’re a freight shipping fan, an IPO market aficionado, a close watcher of the crypto venture capital landscape, or if you’ve ever wondered what happened to Yahoo, there’s something for everyone in The Information’s coverage from this past week. Whether you’re a freight shipping fan, an IPO market aficionado, a close watcher of the crypto...

Tim Cook introduces Apple Card during a launch event at Apple headquarters on March 25, 2019. Photo via Getty.

Goldman Sachs Makes Adjustments to Fix Apple Savings Account Problems

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Sep 15, 2023 2:19pm PDT

Goldman Sachs has made changes to how it handles Apple Savings transactions in an effort to resolve problems some customers had experienced when making withdrawals, according to people familiar with the matter. Some Apple Card customers who flocked to new Apple Savings accounts after they launched in April found it difficult or impossible to... Goldman Sachs has made changes to how it handles Apple Savings transactions in an effort to...

The Apple Episode (Carbon Neutralish)

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 15, 2023 12:06pm PDT · 3 comments

This week, we took advantage of Brit and Dave's deep expertise in all things Apple for a fun episode about the company's new products, the state of hardware and how Apple will fare in the AI era. I loved hearing Brit share an anecdote about Steve Jobs. You'll know why when you hear it. And, of course, we got a few good... This week, we took advantage of Brit and Dave's deep expertise in all things Apple...

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPER) office in Sacramento, Calif. Photo by Getty.

Thrive to Raise $300 Million From CalPERS Amid Dry Spell for VCs

By Kate Clark · Sep 15, 2023 11:50am PDT

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPER) office in Sacramento, Calif. Photo by Getty.

Thrive to Raise $300 Million From CalPERS Amid Dry Spell for VCs

By Kate Clark · Sep 15, 2023 11:50am PDT

Thrive Capital is raising $300 million from California Public Employees' Retirement System, adding a marquee investor at a time when venture investors are finding it harder to raise money, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The addition of CalPERS, which manages $463 billion, marks the pension plan’s first... Thrive Capital is raising $300 million from California Public Employees' Retirement System,...

The People in Power at Tech Private Equity Juggernaut Thoma Bravo

By Rachel Graf · Sep 15, 2023 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

Orlando Bravo may be the face of Thoma Bravo, but he’s not the only one calling the shots. The hard-charging, helicopter-riding managing partner has become the most recognizable person at the software-focused private equity firm. But he’s surrounded by a cadre of trusted executives who help oversee Thoma Bravo’s massive $131... Orlando Bravo may be the face of Thoma Bravo, but he’s not the only one calling the shots....

Gigafund co-founders Luke Nosek and Stephen Oskoui. Art by Clark Miller; Oskoui photo courtesy Gigafund.

The Elon Musk Investors With Dreams of a New Social Order

By Julia Black · Sep 15, 2023 9:31am PDT · 5 comments

In February 2021, a Mormon film producer named Jeffrey Harmon returned home to Provo, Utah, raving about an exclusive gathering he’d just attended in Austin, Tex. He’d been invited by an old friend, Stephen Oskoui, who ran Austin-based venture capital firm Gigafund alongside Luke Nosek, a founding partner of Founders Fund and a... In February 2021, a Mormon film producer named Jeffrey Harmon returned home to Provo, Utah,...

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Pro Weekly: The Most Popular Clouds for Generative AI Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 15, 2023 8:00am PDT

Since we last wrote in detail about our Generative AI Database, we’ve added 14 companies to our catalog, including text-to-presentation startup Tome and voice-generator startup Resemble AI. A tie binds several of these firms: Ten use Amazon as their cloud computing provider. Since we last wrote in detail about our Generative AI Database, we’ve added 14 companies to our...

Meta's EMEA headquarters in Dublin. Photo via Getty.

Meta, Under Fire From Regulators, Dials Back Ad Targeting

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 15, 2023 6:00am PDT

Meta's EMEA headquarters in Dublin. Photo via Getty.

Meta, Under Fire From Regulators, Dials Back Ad Targeting

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 15, 2023 6:00am PDT

Meta Platforms built a $114 billion-a-year advertising juggernaut by tailoring ads to Facebook and Instagram users based on what they liked, posted or bought on the company’s apps. Now, under mounting pressure from regulators around the world, Meta is backing away from that approach. In the EU, users can now choose to see ads based... Meta Platforms built a $114 billion-a-year advertising juggernaut by tailoring ads to Facebook...

Photo via Getty.

The Instacart IPO Puzzle I Can’t Grok

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 14, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

These days I often read things that stop me in my tracks. In challenging economic times, the ugly truth often comes out. But upon reading Cory’s excellent account of how Instacart’s former CEO clashed with Sequoia Capital this morning, one line almost made me spill my morning coffee. "Some investors close to Instacart, like Sequoia,... These days I often read things that stop me in my tracks. In challenging economic times, the ugly...

Photo by Getty

Google Nears Release of Gemini AI to Challenge OpenAI

By Jon Victor · Sep 14, 2023 4:52pm PDT · 2 comments

Google has given a small group of companies access to an early version of its highly anticipated conversational artificial intelligence software, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Giving outside developers access to the software, known as Gemini, means Google is getting close to incorporating it in its consumer... Google has given a small group of companies access to an early version of its highly anticipated...

Former Twitter executive Kayvon Beykpour. Photo by Getty.

Creator Economy

The Executive Musk Almost Tapped to Run Twitter

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 14, 2023 2:59pm PDT

On Elon Musk’s first day as the new owner of Twitter, later renamed to X, he secretly met with one possible candidate who could help him run the company: Kayvon Beykpour, according to a new biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson out this week. Beykpour co-founded livestreaming app Periscope. Twitter acquired his company in 2015, but... On Elon Musk’s first day as the new owner of Twitter, later renamed to X, he secretly met with...

Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead

Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead

By Kate Clark · Sep 14, 2023 2:36pm PDT

Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead

Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead

By Kate Clark · Sep 14, 2023 2:36pm PDT

Nvidia’s corporate development team must be exhausted. They’ve inked roughly 20 deals this year, according to financial data firm PitchBook and The Information’s reporting. For comparison, once-prolific VC investor Tiger Global Management has done about 30 startup deals this year.We’ve seen this movie before. In 2020, during an unprecedented... Nvidia’s corporate development team must be exhausted. They’ve inked roughly 20 deals this year,...

Flexport founder, Ryan Petersen. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Flexport’s Revenue Dropped 70% in First Half of 2023

By Maria Heeter, Aaron Holmes, Ann Gehan and Theo Wayt · Sep 14, 2023 12:40pm PDT · 10 comments

Flexport’s revenue fell nearly 70% in the first half of the year to $700 million and the company burned through cash, people familiar with the company’s financials said. The decline shows how the SoftBank- and Andreessen Horowitz-backed logistics startup’s performance has been deteriorating rapidly amid a broader freight market... Flexport’s revenue fell nearly 70% in the first half of the year to $700 million and the...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference following a Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why Musk-Altman-Zuckerberg Summit is a Sideshow; Nvidia Adds Databricks to Investment Portfolio

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 14, 2023 7:00am PDT

On Wednesday morning, dozens of U.S. senators and tech executives including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and xAI’s Elon Musk filed into the Kennedy Caucus Room just north of the U.S. Capitol. The chamber has held hearings on the sinking of the Titanic, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Watergate scandal, but this time it was... On Wednesday morning, dozens of U.S. senators and tech executives including OpenAI’s Sam Altman,...

Paradigm co-founders Fred Ehrsam (left) and Matt Huang (right). Photos via Flickr and AP

The Paradigm Shift in Crypto That Wasn’t

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 14, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Earlier this year, as some of the less die-hard crypto investors and entrepreneurs began distancing themselves from that turbulent sector, Paradigm—one of the largest venture firms specializing in crypto—also seemed to wobble. In May, Paradigm scrubbed any mention of crypto from the homepage of its website and Twitter bio, changing... Earlier this year, as some of the less die-hard crypto investors and entrepreneurs began...

Albemarle's Silverpeak, Nev. lithium brine operation. Photo: Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Getty

The Electric: Albemarle Will Continue to Refine Most of Its Lithium in China in 2030

By Steve LeVine · Sep 14, 2023 4:30am PDT

Albemarle's Silverpeak, Nev. lithium brine operation. Photo: Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Getty

The Electric: Albemarle Will Continue to Refine Most of Its Lithium in China in 2030

By Steve LeVine · Sep 14, 2023 4:30am PDT

North Carolina-based Albemarle, the world’s most valuable lithium producer by market cap, hopes to boost its global production of the metal more than threefold by the end of the decade. But the company expects just 30% of its output to qualify for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, Eric Norris, the company’s president for lithium, said... North Carolina-based Albemarle, the world’s most valuable lithium producer by market cap, hopes...

Why the Two Biggest Winners in Instacart’s IPO Clashed

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 13, 2023 5:57pm PDT · 5 comments

By far, the two biggest winners of Instacart’s long-awaited initial public offering next week will be the grocery company’s largest individual shareholder, co-founder and former CEO Apoorva Mehta, and its largest venture backer, Sequoia Capital. Mehta’s profit from the listing stands to be more than $780 million, while Sequoia... By far, the two biggest winners of Instacart’s long-awaited initial public offering next...

Arm headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Arm Flexes Its Pricing Muscle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 13, 2023 5:06pm PDT

Bankers working on Arm Holdings’ much-watched initial public offering huddled on Wednesday to spar over how to determine the most important part of the deal: At what price are they going to sell shares when the SoftBank-owned chip designer goes public tomorrow? Like a Vatican smoke signal, push alerts and headlines across the business press... Bankers working on Arm Holdings’ much-watched initial public offering huddled on Wednesday to...

Credit: Shutterstock

Creator Economy

Pinterest Shopping Push Crowded by TikTok Efforts

By Alex Perry · Sep 13, 2023 4:21pm PDT

For the past year, Pinterest management has pushed to make the digital scrapbooking app a shopping destination, not just a place to browse ideas and share digital vision boards. On Wednesday, CEO Bill Ready trotted out stats to illustrate how Pinterest’s revitalized e-commerce bent was working. But unlike a year ago, its efforts will... For the past year, Pinterest management has pushed to make the digital scrapbooking app a...

Mike Novogratz. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Crypto Venture Capital Firms Face Fundraising Woes

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 13, 2023 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Mike Novogratz. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Crypto Venture Capital Firms Face Fundraising Woes

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 13, 2023 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Venture funding to crypto startups is down significantly compared to last year, when it seemed like a new crypto unicorn was crowned every day. And the pace of fundraising by venture investors has cooled dramatically too. The first half of last year saw a string of big crypto fund launches. In March, Haun Ventures announced it raised $1.5... Venture funding to crypto startups is down significantly compared to last year, when it seemed...