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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Creator Economy

Apple Beefs Up Tools for Paid Podcasters

By Alex Perry · Aug 21, 2023 4:02pm PDT

We don’t hear much about Apple and the creator economy except when creators—or the platforms that host them—complain about the Apple App Store fees that cut into their earnings. That makes Apple’s launch Monday of multiple features aimed at helping creators all the more remarkable, even if the individual products are fairly standard. The... We don’t hear much about Apple and the creator economy except when creators—or the platforms that...

Michael Bloomberg. Photo by Getty.

Bloomberg Overhauls Its Executive Ranks

By Maria Heeter · Aug 21, 2023 8:20am PDT · 5 comments

Bloomberg LP made a sweeping overhaul of its top ranks, putting in place a new CEO, president and chief financial officer, and said it would build a new board of directors chaired by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, according to an internal memo seen by The Information. JP Zammitt will become president of Bloomberg LP, Patti Roskill... Bloomberg LP made a sweeping overhaul of its top ranks, putting in place a new CEO, president and...

Photo via Getty

Beware of Fear-Mongering in AI Regulation; Meta Scores Another Point for Open-Source

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 21, 2023 7:00am PDT

It’s no secret politicians are worried about artificial intelligence. And while AI executives suggest they’re just as concerned, they may have another agenda in creating that perception.Recent proposed federal legislation with cheery names like the “Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023” or the “Artificial... It’s no secret politicians are worried about artificial intelligence. And while AI executives...

The People With Power at Oracle as It Focuses on the Cloud

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 21, 2023 6:00am PDT

The People With Power at Oracle as It Focuses on the Cloud

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 21, 2023 6:00am PDT

At most companies, employees report up to the CEO. At Oracle, many of the most important executives report to Larry Ellison, the company’s co-founder, chair and chief technology officer. Several current and former Oracle employees said Ellison oversees all of the software giant’s product and engineering groups, including its cloud... At most companies, employees report up to the CEO. At Oracle, many of the most important...

Freyr's battery gigafactory "Giga Arctic," where it hopes to begin production next year. Photo: Courtesy Freyr Battery

The Electric: A Battery CEO on Why He’s Stepping Down and Moving His Company to the U.S.

By Steve LeVine · Aug 21, 2023 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

On Aug. 10, Norwegian battery maker Freyr Battery announced a dramatic shake-up: CEO Tom Jensen stepped aside and became executive chair, effective today, replacing founder Torstein Sjøtveit, who retired. In the same announcement, the board said it was moving Freyr’s headquarters from Luxembourg to the U.S.Investors hardly noticed, but the moves... On Aug. 10, Norwegian battery maker Freyr Battery announced a dramatic shake-up: CEO Tom Jensen...

Instacart’s Revenue Rose More than 30% in First Half

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 19, 2023 10:54am PDT · 11 comments

When Instacart executives begin their initial public offering pitch to investors as early as next week, they face a challenge. Order volume in Instacart’s core grocery-delivery business is barely growing, new data reveals, although the company is showing revenue expansion by keeping more of the dollars spent on each order and from a... When Instacart executives begin their initial public offering pitch to investors as early as next...

President Biden. Photo by AP.

Biden Order Could Hit Chinese VC Firms Run by Americans

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Aug 19, 2023 9:43am PDT · 10 comments

Some of China’s most prominent venture capitalists are U.S. citizens or green-card holders. That could soon become a problem for their firms. President Joe Biden’s executive order last week, limiting certain American investments in China, could also curtail the activities of Chinese investment firms whose leaders are U.S. citizens.... Some of China’s most prominent venture capitalists are U.S. citizens or green-card holders....

Animation by Clark Miller; Cybertruck courtesy Tesla.

Waiting for Cybertruck: Some Tesla Customers Have Lost Faith During the Long Road to Production

By Tim Stevens · Aug 19, 2023 6:00am PDT · 14 comments

Animation by Clark Miller; Cybertruck courtesy Tesla.

Waiting for Cybertruck: Some Tesla Customers Have Lost Faith During the Long Road to Production

By Tim Stevens · Aug 19, 2023 6:00am PDT · 14 comments

Nearly four years after its bombastic public debut and two years after it was initially supposed to ship, Elon Musk’s curveless, futurama Cybertruck is finally crawling off production lines and into the hands of its first test drivers. Recent sightings in the wild (one Tesla blog likened the model to a “modern-day Bigfoot”)... Nearly four years after its bombastic public debut and two years after it was initially supposed...

Art by Clark Miller.

Market Research

Education Meets Insulation: Bento Boxes, Smartwatches and Other Back-to-School Buys

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug 19, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Janine Sickmeyer, the founding partner at seed and pre-seed firm Overlooked Ventures, was trying to find a low-tech way to occupy her four kids under age 8. She, like many of her Silicon Valley peers, aims to keep her young children off screens as much as possible. “Even though I’m a tech entrepreneur and investor in tech, I always... Janine Sickmeyer, the founding partner at seed and pre-seed firm Overlooked Ventures, was trying...

Stars Learn to Love Their AI Doppelgängers

Stars Learn to Love Their AI Doppelgängers

By Jon Steinberg · Aug 19, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.There’s been a lot of bed-wetting down in Southern California this summer about the dangers of the artificial intelligence boom. Maybe bed-wetting isn’t fair: The Hollywood actors who are striking, in part, over how their AI-generated likenesses will be scanned, stored and monetized, have valid concerns. And they... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.There’s been a lot of bed-wetting down in Southern California this...

Photo by Getty.

Why Next Week Will Be Action-Packed for Tech News Junkies

By Martin Peers · Aug 18, 2023 3:01pm PDT

Next week is promising to be action-packed for tech news, with earnings coming from some notable enterprise software names—Nvidia, Snowflake and Zoom Video. There will also likely be IPO filings from Instacart, according to Bloomberg, and Arm, according to various outlets. The IPO market seems to be awaking from its slumber. The IPO filings... Next week is promising to be action-packed for tech news, with earnings coming from some notable...

You Should Kill Your Startup, R.I.P Globalization

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 18, 2023 11:26am PDT · 1 comment

You Should Kill Your Startup, R.I.P Globalization

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 18, 2023 11:26am PDT · 1 comment

This was a fun “More or Less” episode. I enjoyed listening to Sam and Dave reminisce about some of their, shall we say, less successful investments. I then asked Sam for his strategy in venture capital. I was bemused by the answer. Later in the show, we moved to another tricky topic: the future of the not-so-global... This was a fun “More or Less” episode. I enjoyed listening to Sam and Dave...

Art by Clark Miller.

‘Don’t Put Your Head in the Sand’: Stars Are Quietly Inking Deals to License Their AI Doubles

By Julia Black · Aug 18, 2023 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

In 2008, while working with Will Smith on the set of a film that never ended up getting made, Remington Scott had an epiphany. The visual effects director was watching Smith stand in a photogrammetry booth, with dozens of cameras capturing the actor’s facial features from every possible angle. “Every single major star on that level,... In 2008, while working with Will Smith on the set of a film that never ended up getting made,...

Photo by Getty.

Verizon Has Talked With Disney About ESPN Partnership

By Sahil Patel · Aug 18, 2023 8:21am PDT

Disney CEO Bob Iger has said he’s looking for strategic partners to help launch a streaming version of the ESPN cable channel. One key distributor, Verizon, has already thrown its hat into the ring. The telecom giant has been in touch with Disney about potentially partnering on a new ESPN streaming service, according to people familiar... Disney CEO Bob Iger has said he’s looking for strategic partners to help launch a streaming...

Photo via Unsplash/TheRegisti.

Pro Weekly: Creators Meet Creative Destruction

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 18, 2023 8:00am PDT

For the creator economy, it’s a moment of what economists call creative destruction. Six startups in our Creator Economy Database have been acquired this year, and three others have shut down. At the same time, entrepreneurs continue to form new companies aimed at creators and investors continue to back them. To that end, we added six... For the creator economy, it’s a moment of what economists call creative destruction. Six startups...

Photos via Shutterstock and CoreWeave.

Nvidia-Backed CoreWeave Feels the Pain of Rapid Growth

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 18, 2023 6:00am PDT

Photos via Shutterstock and CoreWeave.

Nvidia-Backed CoreWeave Feels the Pain of Rapid Growth

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 18, 2023 6:00am PDT

CoreWeave, a fast-growing cloud computing provider that rents access to Nvidia’s hard-to-get artificial intelligence chips, has raised more than $2.7 billion in debt and equity this year to obtain more chips and space in data centers. Now CoreWeave may be feeling growing pains. The company recently lowered its projected revenue and capital... CoreWeave, a fast-growing cloud computing provider that rents access to Nvidia’s...

Photo via Penguin Random House

Founders Should Know When to Quit

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 17, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

I’ve got a book that all founders—and probably most everyone else—should read. It’s called “Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away” by Annie Duke. And it’s suited to this moment. The news of later-stage companies fundraising at dramatically lower valuations continues with The Information’s scoop today about Ramp. I’ve got a book that all founders—and probably most everyone else—should read. It’s called “Quit:...

Image by Shane Burke.

Creator Economy

How to Get Creators Excited About Threads Again

By Alex Perry · Aug 17, 2023 4:10pm PDT · 2 comments

By now, it’s no news that Threads has lost much of its initial buzz. Daily active users on the Android version of the Meta Platforms-owned app fell 79% to 10.3 million as of August 7 from a peak in early July, according to data analytics firm SimilarWeb. One problem: even creators, who tend to put in the time and effort to figure out new social... By now, it’s no news that Threads has lost much of its initial buzz. Daily active users on the...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo via Getty/Shane Burke

Meta’s Next AI Attack on OpenAI: Free Code-Generating Software

By Kevin McLaughlin, Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 17, 2023 3:58pm PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms is preparing to launch software to help developers automatically generate programming code, a challenge to proprietary software from OpenAI, Google and others, according to two people with direct knowledge of the product. Meta’s code-generating artificial intelligence model, dubbed Code Llama, will be open-source and could... Meta Platforms is preparing to launch software to help developers automatically generate...

From left, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Collage by Clark Miller

Microsoft Plans AI Service With Databricks That Could Hurt OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 17, 2023 2:03pm PDT · 4 comments

From left, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Collage by Clark Miller

Microsoft Plans AI Service With Databricks That Could Hurt OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 17, 2023 2:03pm PDT · 4 comments

Microsoft has hitched its wagon to OpenAI when it comes to selling artificial intelligence that can understand language and write emails, meeting summaries and slide decks. Now Microsoft has found a second horse to ride in the AI race: Databricks, which has positioned itself as a kind of anti-OpenAI. Microsoft plans to start selling a new... Microsoft has hitched its wagon to OpenAI when it comes to selling artificial intelligence that...