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

Daniel De Freitas and Noam Shazeer were AI pioneers at Google before leaving to start Character.AI. Midjourney-generated art by Clark Miller

‘Sometimes, It Feels Real’: Character.AI Gives Humans the Chatbots They Desire

By Jon Victor · Jul 7, 2023 9:00am PDT · 5 comments

One Saturday morning earlier this year, Noam Shazeer, CEO of Character.AI and one of the world’s foremost machine-learning researchers, looked out his window to see a stranger perched on a folding chair outside his home in Palo Alto, Calif. The man had come to Shazeer’s quiet residential street to deliver a message that had been... One Saturday morning earlier this year, Noam Shazeer, CEO of Character.AI and one of the...

Photo by Getty

Pro Weekly: Stirrings in the IPO Market Prompt Updates to Our Tracker

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 7, 2023 8:00am PDT

Welcome back! If you squint, you can see the lineup for tech initial public offerings starting to shuffle together, after a year and a half of dawdling. There’s Arm, the SoftBank-backed chip designer that expects to list on the Nasdaq sometime after Labor Day. The fall could also bring debuts for Klaviyo, a marketing-tech firm backed by... Welcome back! If you squint, you can see the lineup for tech initial public offerings...

Neil Shen of Sequoia China, and Shailendra Singh of Sequoia India, now. Peak XV Partners. Photos by Getty.

Sequoia’s China and India Arms Court Global Backers After Split

By Juro Osawa and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 7, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Sequoia Capital’s Chinese and Indian arms are accelerating efforts to ensure that investors around the world back their funds after the Silicon Valley venture firm completes a landmark split from its Asian affiliates, ending a nearly two-decade partnership. Sequoia Capital China, led by star dealmaker Neil Shen, is planning to host a... Sequoia Capital’s Chinese and Indian arms are accelerating efforts to ensure that investors...

Photo by Getty

Why Threads Is Bad for the News Business

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 6, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 10 comments

Photo by Getty

Why Threads Is Bad for the News Business

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 6, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 10 comments

By now we have all read myriad analyses of Threads, Instagram’s new Twitter killer. You’ve probably seen that Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over the app, alleging that the company stole “trade secrets.” Hmm, I wonder how the lawsuit will affect the big MMA fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk?While there are a lot of angles to... By now we have all read myriad analyses of Threads, Instagram’s new Twitter killer. You’ve...

Photo by Getty.

Top OpenSea Policy Executive Exits

By Aidan Ryan · Jul 6, 2023 3:55pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenSea, the non-fungible token marketplace that rocketed to a $13.3 billion valuation at the peak of the crypto boom, is looking for a new senior policy and government affairs executive after Loni Mahanta, the policy executive it hired from Zillow, quietly left the company after just over a year. In her first interview since her exit in late... OpenSea, the non-fungible token marketplace that rocketed to a $13.3 billion valuation at the...

Logan Paul and KSI pose with Prime Hydration bottles at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo by Getty.

Creator Economy

The Creators Launching Their Own Brands; A Food Creator on Threads

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jul 6, 2023 3:30pm PDT

Our recently updated Creator Economy Database features four companies founded by some of the largest online creators, all of whom either raised funds or expanded their products to brick-and-mortar stores in the June quarter. Today we’re taking a closer look at what they’re up to. The pack includes YouTuber Emma Chamberlain’s coffee company, ... Our recently updated Creator Economy Database features four companies founded by some of the...

Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky. Photo via JayGraber.com

Betting on Bluesky

By Kate Clark · Jul 6, 2023 2:43pm PDT · 9 comments

If you’re like me, you’ve signed up for a minimum of three apps trying to compete with Twitter this year. First it was Mastodon, then Bluesky, and now comes Threads, the Instagram sibling app that launched yesterday and raked in an impressive 30 million sign-ups by this morning.It will be incredibly difficult for a tiny startup like Bluesky,... If you’re like me, you’ve signed up for a minimum of three apps trying to compete with Twitter ...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Inside Google’s Efforts to Develop Custom Chip for Pixel

By Wayne Ma · Jul 6, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Inside Google’s Efforts to Develop Custom Chip for Pixel

By Wayne Ma · Jul 6, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Google has big ambitions to develop its own chips for its Pixel phones. So far, however, things haven’t gone according to plan. The search giant has delayed by at least one year the release of its first fully customized chip, which would act as the brains for its Pixel line of smartphones, according to two people with direct knowledge of... Google has big ambitions to develop its own chips for its Pixel phones. So far, however, things...

Battery making in Yichun, China. Photo: Deng Longhua/VCG/Getty

The Electric: The U.S. EV Industry is in the Line of Fire in China’s Trade Retaliation

By Steve LeVine · Jul 6, 2023 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Chinese restrictions on the export of two key materials for the high-tech and defense industries could be a harbinger of problems for Western makers of electric vehicles. China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday said it would require permits for the export of gallium and germanium beginning next month. The timing of the announcement, just ahead... Chinese restrictions on the export of two key materials for the high-tech and defense industries...

Photo by AP

What Threads Could Mean for Meta…and Twitter

By Martin Peers · Jul 5, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

If there’s a tech billionaire the news media hates more than Mark Zuckerberg, it's Elon Musk. That's why you're seeing an unusual deluge of positive coverage for Meta Platforms' Twitter rival app, Threads, which formally launched a short time ago. The positivity won’t last, to be sure. Before too long—give it a week—someone in the media will... If there’s a tech billionaire the news media hates more than Mark Zuckerberg, it's Elon Musk....

Photo by Getty

Creator Economy

Instagram’s Threads App Courts Creators; How One Reddit App Is Surviving

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jul 5, 2023 2:46pm PDT

Creators have told us they would like more texting features to reach fans on the platforms where they already spend time—and Instagram seems to be listening. Ahead of the rollout of Threads, its text-focused app expected to launch this week, it’s been courting creators. The separate app, which describes itself as a “text-based conversation... Creators have told us they would like more texting features to reach fans on the platforms where...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti speaks with Justin Killion, former president of Complex Networks, and BuzzFeed's former COO Christian Baesler. Photo by Getty

BuzzFeed’s Peretti Is Hoping to Raise $150 Million From Sale of Complex Assets

By Sahil Patel · Jul 5, 2023 12:49pm PDT · 3 comments

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti speaks with Justin Killion, former president of Complex Networks, and BuzzFeed's former COO Christian Baesler. Photo by Getty

BuzzFeed’s Peretti Is Hoping to Raise $150 Million From Sale of Complex Assets

By Sahil Patel · Jul 5, 2023 12:49pm PDT · 3 comments

For months, BuzzFeed stock has traded so low that the Nasdaq recently threatened the company with delisting. With BuzzFeed’s effort to sell Complex Networks, a group of websites targeted at people in hip-hop, fashion and sports, CEO Jonah Peretti has the chance to transform Wall Street’s view of the company. Peretti is asking $150... For months, BuzzFeed stock has traded so low that the Nasdaq recently threatened the company with...

Photo via Shutterstock

Checking in on Crypto’s Most Promising Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 5, 2023 9:01am PDT

Can you believe it? We’re already halfway through 2023! To mark the occasion, Aidan Ryan and I caught up with our 2022 list of the most promising startups in crypto, first published in October, to see how they’ve held up.In an industry that has undergone a tremendous transformation, with collapses like FTX and BlockFi and the SEC cracking down... Can you believe it? We’re already halfway through 2023! To mark the occasion, Aidan Ryan and I...

Art by Clark Miller

This Is the Help Congress Needs to Regulate AI

By Adam Bly · Jul 5, 2023 9:00am PDT · 7 comments

When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before Congress in May about the existential risks large-language models and other generative artificial intelligence technologies pose to humanity, there was an elephant in the room. Who believes that Congress—in its current state, at least—is capable of designing and agreeing upon effective... When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before Congress in May about the existential risks...

Foreground: CoinFund president Chris Perkins. Background: Sam Bankman-Fried. Photos by Getty.

Crypto VCs Wrest Power Back From Founders

By Aidan Ryan · Jul 5, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Venture capitalists are becoming a little more demanding of crypto firms. At the height of the crypto boom, venture investors were so focused on winning hot deals that they didn’t push for audited financial statements or board seats. Now some are demanding both, venture capitalists and outside accounting providers say. Some are also... Venture capitalists are becoming a little more demanding of crypto firms. At the height of the...

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty

Reddit Battle Spotlights Existential Question

By Martin Peers · Jul 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty

Reddit Battle Spotlights Existential Question

By Martin Peers · Jul 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

It’s that point of the early summer when many in tech and business take a well-deserved break. Aside from the nonstop machinations of Elon Musk—whose only purpose in life, apart from transforming cars and rockets, seems to be keeping journalists employed—the most interesting tech news story of recent days centers on Reddit. The site’s volunteer... It’s that point of the early summer when many in tech and business take a well-deserved break....

Microsoft's Gurdeep Pall at an event in Tokyo in 2017. Photo by Getty Images

Longtime Microsoft Executive Gurdeep Pall to Depart

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Gurdeep Pall, a 33-year Microsoft corporate vice president who helped build and promote key products like Windows, Skype and Bing, recently informed colleagues that he plans to retire from the company in September, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Since joining Microsoft in 1990, Pall has served as a high-profile executive under... Gurdeep Pall, a 33-year Microsoft corporate vice president who helped build and promote key...

Table by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

Creator-Focused AI Startups Draw Investor Dollars (Chart)

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jul 3, 2023 2:54pm PDT

Artificial intelligence advances are piquing investor interest in creator economy startups, according to our latest update to the Creator Economy Database.Since we reported preliminary funding for creator economy startups in mid-June, we’ve tracked eight more funding rounds raised in the second quarter. Three back startups that use AI-based... Artificial intelligence advances are piquing investor interest in creator economy startups,...

The People Who Run Chime

By Mark Matousek · Jul 3, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Chime aims to undercut traditional banks by being more consumer friendly. Its management team’s experience reflects that approach. None of the seven executives reporting to Chime CEO Chris Britt has ever worked at a traditional bank. Instead, the team mostly came out of either financial services firms such as Visa and LendingClub or... Chime aims to undercut traditional banks by being more consumer friendly. Its management...

A nickel mining operation run by Harita Nickel in Indonesia's North Moluku province. Photo: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: The IRA Has Triggered a Nickel War

By Steve LeVine · Jul 3, 2023 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

A nickel mining operation run by Harita Nickel in Indonesia's North Moluku province. Photo: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: The IRA Has Triggered a Nickel War

By Steve LeVine · Jul 3, 2023 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

In December 2021, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) killed one of President Joe Biden’s signature initiatives—an extension of the $7,500-a-vehicle consumer tax credit on the sale of electric vehicles, which he said did not need public subsidies. Months later, though, Manchin said he would go along with the subsidies—if they were tied to a robust effort... In December 2021, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) killed one of President Joe Biden’s signature...