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

Neil Shen, left, and Roelof Botha. Photos by Getty.

Sequoia Capital’s U.S. Partners May Reap China Gains Even After Split

By Kate Clark, Juro Osawa and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 6, 2023 2:09pm PDT · 1 comment

Sequoia Capital on Tuesday told investors that by the first quarter of next year it would fully separate its U.S. and China venture capital operations, ending an 18-year run during which Sequoia Capital China became China’s most successful VC firm and drove outsize returns for Sequoia’s global investors. But the separation, ... Sequoia Capital on Tuesday told investors that by the first quarter of next year it would fully...

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for Coinbase

By Aidan Ryan · Jun 6, 2023 12:15pm PDT

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Coinbase today, alleging a wide range of securities violations, kicks off what will likely be a yearslong legal battle that holds the key to Coinbase’s future. If the SEC wins, it will be all but impossible for the crypto giant to do business in the U.S. The SEC alleges that... The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Coinbase today, alleging a wide...

Art by Clark Miller.

Mark Zuckerberg Is the Hero AI Needs

By Steve Weber and Shea Agnew · Jun 6, 2023 9:00am PDT · 9 comments

From Silicon Valley to Washington, America has suddenly woken up to the risks of artificial intelligence. While Congress is just beginning conversations over how to regulate AI, the technology is advancing at an astonishing pace. Rather than indulge the fantasy that regulation will establish a “responsible” AI trajectory quickly and... From Silicon Valley to Washington, America has suddenly woken up to the risks of artificial...

CareRev co-founder Will Patterson stepped down as CEO last week. Art by Clark Miller

A Long, Strange Trip for the ‘Uber for Nurses’

By Paris Martineau · Jun 6, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

CareRev co-founder Will Patterson stepped down as CEO last week. Art by Clark Miller

A Long, Strange Trip for the ‘Uber for Nurses’

By Paris Martineau · Jun 6, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work platform sometimes described as an “Uber for nurses”—he saw his company’s business surge during the pandemic as hospitals and clinics scrambled to find healthcare workers. In late 2020, he seized the moment by pitching investors over... Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work...

Apple Vision Pro announcement video. Credit: Apple

What’s Clear and Blurry About Apple’s Vision Pro Headset

By Wayne Ma · Jun 6, 2023 5:00am PDT · 9 comments

Judging a new Apple personal computing device is a fool’s errand. Just ask the countless critics of the first iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Despite that unparalleled track record, the company’s $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset, unveiled on Monday, might encounter unique challenges even as it appears likely to become the most advanced... Judging a new Apple personal computing device is a fool’s errand. Just ask the countless...

The Apple Vision Pro Headset. Photo by Getty.

Apple’s New Headset Makes Meta Look Like AR’s BlackBerry

By Martin Peers · Jun 5, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple may have just BlackBerried Meta Platforms’ Quest devices. Apple’s presentation of its mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, on Monday seems likely to spell the beginning of the end for Meta’s ambitions in augmented reality and virtual reality. Remarkably, given the endless amounts of media coverage devoted to this device over the past... Apple may have just BlackBerried Meta Platforms’ Quest devices. Apple’s presentation of its...

Victoria Thompson and Joe Eardley, executive producers of the docuseries ‘The Age of Influence.’ Photo of Thompson: ABC News

Creator Economy

The Rise of Influencer Scams and Scandals

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 5, 2023 2:30pm PDT

A new Hulu docuseries out on Monday called “The Age of Influence” examines the underbelly of the influencer world, from people who’ve used social media to perpetuate scams and fraud to child abuse happening behind the scenes of a popular kids YouTube channel.The show, produced by Part2 Pictures for ABC News Studios, looks at lesser known... A new Hulu docuseries out on Monday called “The Age of Influence” examines the underbelly of the...

The Port of Los Angeles, where Next Trucking has a significant presence. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

Logistics Startup Next Trucking Tries to Sell Itself

By Maria Heeter · Jun 5, 2023 9:48am PDT · 2 comments

The Port of Los Angeles, where Next Trucking has a significant presence. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

Logistics Startup Next Trucking Tries to Sell Itself

By Maria Heeter · Jun 5, 2023 9:48am PDT · 2 comments

Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking sector, is trying to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter and a pitch deck reviewed by The Information. Next has enlisted the help of BG Strategic Advisors, a Florida-based boutique investment bank specializing in transportation... Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking...

Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock.

Startups to Watch

Five Startups Vying to Be the OpenAI of China

By Juro Osawa · Jun 5, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

As OpenAI and Google battle for artificial intelligence supremacy in the West, a parallel contest is happening in China. Dozens of young Chinese startups as well as local tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are developing machine-learning models to power chatbots similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Five Chinese startups, including MiniMax and... As OpenAI and Google battle for artificial intelligence supremacy in the West, a parallel contest...

President Joe Biden has championed his administration's $250 billion program to build a U.S. battery industry. But, in a recent House vote, all but four Republicans supported repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, the core of the battery effort. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Getty

The Electric: The U.S. Battery Program Spreads the Wealth. Will That Save It?

By Steve LeVine · Jun 5, 2023 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

As it has for decades, the U.S. this year will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on its military. Political support for that spending remains strong, through peace and war, in part because the Pentagon is careful to disburse it across virtually every Congressional district and through 200,000 defense contractors. Critics claim the system... As it has for decades, the U.S. this year will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on its...

Live from SF, It’s Tech Week

Live from SF, It’s Tech Week

By Jon Steinberg · Jun 3, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It was the boom-iest of times, it was the doom-iest of times. At least that’s how it feels right now in Dickensian San Francisco, where AI companies are setting up shop on every avenue, while fentanyl dealers are hanging out in every alley. I joke—but seriously, it’s wild out here. No fewer than 17 of the 35 startups... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It was the boom-iest of times, it was the doom-iest of times. At...

Tarlon Khoubyari (center) takes a photo of an onstage presentation at “Not a Boring Tech Party” on Thursday in the Mission District. It was a launch party for events company AfterWork, which is creating AI tools for party planners. Photograph by Laura Morton for The Information

What Doom Loop? A Six-Day Tech Party Tries to Shift the Vibes in San Francisco

By Erin Woo · Jun 3, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Tarlon Khoubyari (center) takes a photo of an onstage presentation at “Not a Boring Tech Party” on Thursday in the Mission District. It was a launch party for events company AfterWork, which is creating AI tools for party planners. Photograph by Laura Morton for The Information

What Doom Loop? A Six-Day Tech Party Tries to Shift the Vibes in San Francisco

By Erin Woo · Jun 3, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Thousands converged on San Francisco this week for a 200-event “SF Tech Week” extravaganza that attempted to answer the question: Wait, isn’t every week tech week in San Francisco? The six-day roving party, which officially ends Sunday evening, was organized by Andreessen Horowitz, the famed and flashy venture capital firm... Thousands converged on San Francisco this week for a 200-event “SF Tech Week”...

Adam D'Angelo photograph by Ko Sasaki. Art by Clark Miller

Adam D’Angelo’s Endless Quest to Answer Everything

By Arielle Pardes · Jun 3, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Adam D’Angelo is basking in an “endless summer” of artificial intelligence. A few weeks before he and 350 industry peers released a bizarre, one-line statement warning that AI could herald a nuclear-level extinction event, the 38-year-old co-founder of Quora told me he actually sees more upside in AI than downside. “Right... Adam D’Angelo is basking in an “endless summer” of artificial intelligence. A...

SoftBank’s Onetime Pizza-Robot Darling Shuts Down

By Erin Woo · Jun 2, 2023 4:37pm PDT · 17 comments

Zume, which raised $375 million from SoftBank to automate pizza-making with robots before switching to developing sustainable packaging, has shut down. The company is insolvent and has retained restructuring firm Sherwood Partners to liquidate the assets for the benefit of the creditors, an alternative to bankruptcy, according to Martin... Zume, which raised $375 million from SoftBank to automate pizza-making with robots before...

Emad Mostaque, Vitalik Buterin and Grimes in the waters of Montenegro. Photo-illustration by Clark Miller.

Scene and Heard

The Hullabaloo of Zuzalu: Inside the Secret Pop-up City of Vitalik Buterin’s Dreams

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 2, 2023 9:24am PDT · 6 comments

Until it reached its planned obsolescence last week, the mythical city of Zuzalu was an intellectual wonderland. Days at Zuzalu began shortly after dawn at the edge of the Adriatic Sea. In the pursuit of an infinite life, Zuzalans (as they self-identify) enjoyed submerging themselves in the frigid waters of Montenegro at 8 a.m.—and again... Until it reached its planned obsolescence last week, the mythical city of Zuzalu was an...

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to more than half the companies in The Information's Generative AI Database.

Pro Weekly: Generative AI Spurs Cloud Demand—and Competition

By Kalley Huang · Jun 2, 2023 8:00am PDT

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to more than half the companies in The Information's Generative AI Database.

Pro Weekly: Generative AI Spurs Cloud Demand—and Competition

By Kalley Huang · Jun 2, 2023 8:00am PDT

Welcome back!To help readers track the frenzy around generative artificial intelligence, we launched The Information's Generative AI Database, listing 39 startups that make AI models or build services on top of them. Together, those companies have raised more than $15 billion from more than 50 investors.OpenAI, whose ChatGPT fueled the... Welcome back!To help readers track the frenzy around generative artificial intelligence, we...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo: Getty.

Microsoft Is Charging Some Office 365 Customers 40% Extra to Test AI Features

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 2, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features now face the hard part: getting customers to pay for the features, which are costly to operate. More than 600 of Microsoft’s largest customers, including Bank of America, Walmart, Ford and Accenture, are expected to test the AI features in... Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features...

A screenshot from the Meta Quest 3 launch video.

Let The Mixed-Reality Headset Games Begin

By Scott Thurm · Jun 1, 2023 5:00pm PDT

You don’t need special glasses to see why Meta Platforms announced its latest mixed-reality headset, the Quest 3, on Thursday, just days before Apple is expected to unveil its own entry to the field. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has literally bet the company, and its name, on the metaverse, but the results so far have been disappointing. It’s been... You don’t need special glasses to see why Meta Platforms announced its latest mixed-reality...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.

Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2023 3:36pm PDT

Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits. Privately held Instacart posted a 2% decline in the number of grocery orders it facilitated in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, according to people familiar with the matter. The number,... Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this...

Table by Mike Sullivan

How Social Media AI Chatbots Compare

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jun 1, 2023 3:05pm PDT

Table by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

How Social Media AI Chatbots Compare

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jun 1, 2023 3:05pm PDT

After OpenAI’s ChatGPT took the world by storm six months ago, social media companies have been scrambling to join the cluster of tech giants integrating and adapting OpenAI's large language models or rival technology to their platforms to create conversational chatbots.Snapchat was the first to enter the fray, launching its My AI chatbot, which... After OpenAI’s ChatGPT took the world by storm six months ago, social media companies have been...