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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Meta Calls Employees Back to Office Three Days a Week

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 1, 2023 2:56pm PDT

Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week starting in September, according to a person familiar with the matter. The announcement, which has not been previously reported, marks the strictest policy change from the company since it embraced remote work during the pandemic. While tech companies... Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week...

Photo by Getty

Google, Nvidia and Microsoft Offer What VCs Can’t

By Kate Clark · Jun 1, 2023 1:16pm PDT · 1 comment

Welcome back,Amid all the hype for generative artificial intelligence, some venture capitalists have refused to join the fray. These young companies need so much capital and so much computing resources, the VC skeptics say, that they’ll have little chance of competing against Google, Amazon and other big tech companies that may soon have similar... Welcome back,Amid all the hype for generative artificial intelligence, some venture capitalists...

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Introducing The Information’s Generative AI Database

By Kalley Huang · Jun 1, 2023 9:54am PDT

OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched six months ago, igniting a boom in generative artificial intelligence. Since then, all manner of startups have emerged, building technology to compete with ChatGPT and developing services that use generative AI. Despite an otherwise cool funding environment, investors are jockeying to join the action. The most... OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched six months ago, igniting a boom in generative artificial...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Next Twitter Is Just Thousands of Smaller Twitters

By Ryan Broderick · Jun 1, 2023 9:00am PDT · 7 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

The Next Twitter Is Just Thousands of Smaller Twitters

By Ryan Broderick · Jun 1, 2023 9:00am PDT · 7 comments

One of the biggest open-ended questions in the tech world is whether Twitter is truly dying—and if it is, what will replace it. Last December, I argued that whatever came next might feel like Twitter in certain ways, but that ultimately there was probably no way to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the infamous bird site. Six... One of the biggest open-ended questions in the tech world is whether Twitter is truly...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Photos by Bloomberg.

‘A Total Nightmare’: Transfer Delays With New Apple-Goldman Savings Accounts Prompt Complaints

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Jun 1, 2023 8:14am PDT

When Kevin Smyth learned in April that Goldman Sachs and Apple were offering a savings account with higher yields than anyone else, he jumped at the chance to shift money that was earning less at another online bank. But within a few weeks, when he had to withdraw a small portion of the funds to pay for a home renovation, everything went awry. A... When Kevin Smyth learned in April that Goldman Sachs and Apple were offering a savings account...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Nvidia Aids Cloud Rivals of AWS, Google and Microsoft

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 1, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but the company faces a looming problem. Its biggest customers—cloud providers including Microsoft, Google and Amazon—are making their own AI chips to reduce their reliance on Nvidia. In response, Nvidia is helping two upstart cloud providers... Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but...

The debt limit bill goes now to the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, above, said he will vote yes. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg

The Electric: Congress’ Move on Permitting Reform Leaves Industry Wanting More

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

Congress appears poised to shrink a key obstacle to the creation of a competitive U.S. electric vehicle battery industry—the agonizing, often yearslong wait to obtain permits to mine for battery metals such as lithium and nickel. On Wednesday night, the House approved small but important changes to the permitting process as part of a bill to... Congress appears poised to shrink a key obstacle to the creation of a competitive U.S. electric...

Photo by Bloomberg

How Activists Proved to be Salesforce’s ‘Superpower’

By Martin Peers · May 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Bloomberg

How Activists Proved to be Salesforce’s ‘Superpower’

By Martin Peers · May 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

These corporate efficiency initiatives really work! Salesforce’s April-quarter earnings report Wednesday showed an operating profit of $412 million, a 5% margin, compared with $20 million a year earlier, which equated to a margin of 0.27%. The reason was lower expenses—research and development costs fell 8.4% while marketing expenses dropped... These corporate efficiency initiatives really work! Salesforce’s April-quarter earnings report...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: Bloomberg.

Google Invests in AI Startup Runway to Wrest Cloud Business From AWS

By Kate Clark, Jon Victor, Amir Efrati and Erin Woo · May 31, 2023 2:47pm PDT · 2 comments

Google is investing in Runway, a New York–based startup that lets customers generate video from text descriptions using artificial intelligence it pioneered, at a valuation of around $1.5 billion including the new capital, according to two people familiar with the matter. The investment, part of a roughly $100 million funding round,... Google is investing in Runway, a New York–based startup that lets customers generate video...

DiveThru founder Sophie Gray. Photo courtesy of subject

Creator Economy

The Founders and Coaches Addressing Burnout

By Kaya Yurieff · May 31, 2023 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Over the past two years, I’ve interviewed dozens of creators. It’s very rare that I speak to one that hasn’t experienced burnout or a toll on their mental health, sometimes spurred by hateful comments, declining views, or simply the loneliness of working solo. Two recent creator suicides, of long-time influencer Heather Armstrong and TikTok dad... Over the past two years, I’ve interviewed dozens of creators. It’s very rare that I speak to one...

MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright. Photo by Bloomberg

MoonPay Is Trying to Reinvent Itself

By Aidan Ryan · May 31, 2023 9:00am PDT

In case you missed it, I scooped Tuesday that insiders at MoonPay, including its DJ-turned-CEO Ivan Soto-Wright, sold $150 million worth of shares in a secondary transaction as part of its $555 million November 2021 funding round. And a few weeks after the Series A announcement, Soto-Wright bought a $38 million Miami Beach estate that was... In case you missed it, I scooped Tuesday that insiders at MoonPay, including its DJ-turned-CEO ...

Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges

By Wayne Ma · May 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges

By Wayne Ma · May 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent the company’s riskiest gamble on a new product since the iPhone. It will also test the company’s prowess in design and manufacturing like nothing before. The headset is the most complicated hardware product Apple has ever created due to... If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent...

Sam Altman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why AI Scientists Are Freaking Us Out

By Martin Peers · May 30, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Well that’s one way to get attention. According to a statement issued today by a bunch of leading names in AI, “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority.” Right. It’s hard to imagine anyone out there disagrees—who but the most extreme misanthrope wants to extinguish the human race? The question, then, is why the very... Well that’s one way to get attention. According to a statement issued today by a bunch of leading...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

The Gaming Startups Bucking the Funding Drought

By Isabelle Sarraf · May 30, 2023 2:46pm PDT · 2 comments

Like most startups, gaming companies have seen interest from venture capitalists fall off sharply in the last year. But appetite is not completely dead. Investors have been backing those that prioritize creator-generated content and those that incorporate generative artificial intelligence—and sometimes both.Gaming startups raised $1.1 billion... Like most startups, gaming companies have seen interest from venture capitalists fall off sharply...

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twilio, Set to Lose Supervoting Protection Next Month, Has Been Meeting With Activist

By Maria Heeter · May 30, 2023 1:43pm PDT · 2 comments

Activist investor Legion Partners, which owns a stake in Twilio, has met several times with the company’s board of directors and management, urging them to make changes to the board and consider divestitures, among other moves, according to people familiar with the matter. The conversations come at a critical moment for the $11.5 billion... Activist investor Legion Partners, which owns a stake in Twilio, has met several times with the...

Art by Clark Miller.

MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped

By Aidan Ryan · May 30, 2023 11:03am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped

By Aidan Ryan · May 30, 2023 11:03am PDT · 4 comments

In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto payments startup that celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton had praised for its non-fungible token “concierge” service—announced it had completed its first ever outside fundraising: an eye-popping $555 million round at a... In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto...

Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock (4)

Don’t Count the Metaverse Out

By Brittan Heller · May 30, 2023 9:00am PDT · 9 comments

The technology hype cycle would have us believe that the metaverse—so recently the darling of digital trendsetters—is on the decline, its place usurped by generative artificial intelligence. Yet this narrative, while superficially attractive, is a fiction. The truth is that emerging technologies are part of a synergistic ecosystem.... The technology hype cycle would have us believe that the metaverse—so recently the darling...

Illustration via Shutterstock.

What Deals Drought? Founders Without Backing Are Still Selling Their Businesses

By Rachel Graf · May 30, 2023 8:00am PDT

Merger and acquisition activity has been anemic for more than a year, with buyers and sellers often far apart on price after valuations have taken a beating. But one corner of the M&A market has held up much better than others during the doldrums: the sale of companies owned by a founder with neither venture capital nor private equity... Merger and acquisition activity has been anemic for more than a year, with buyers and sellers...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok CEO Expands Purview to Include ByteDance’s New App Lemon8

By Juro Osawa · May 30, 2023 5:59am PDT

The Singapore-based CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is getting a bigger job. TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is putting its newer social media app, Lemon8, under Chew’s supervision, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The move appears to reflect ByteDance’s strategy of locating the heads of its... The Singapore-based CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is getting a bigger job. TikTok’s Chinese...

Mixed hydroxide precipitate, the go-to feedstock for battery nickel sulfate, on a conveyor belt at Indonesia's Harita Group, which pioneered the process. Photo: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

The Electric: Western Auto and Battery Makers’ Big Gamble on Indonesian Nickel

By Steve LeVine · May 29, 2023 4:30am PDT

Mixed hydroxide precipitate, the go-to feedstock for battery nickel sulfate, on a conveyor belt at Indonesia's Harita Group, which pioneered the process. Photo: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

The Electric: Western Auto and Battery Makers’ Big Gamble on Indonesian Nickel

By Steve LeVine · May 29, 2023 4:30am PDT

For much of the last century, metals companies have made stainless steel from nickel mined in Russia or the Philippines and smelted at temperatures up to 2,900 degrees. But demand for nickel is outstripping supplies because the metal is a key component in most electric vehicle batteries. So metals producers have turned to a new supplier—... For much of the last century, metals companies have made stainless steel from nickel mined in...