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

Art by Clark Miller

Another Crypto Revolution Is Here—and It’s Unlike Any From the Past

By Yueqi Yang · Dec 6, 2024 9:07am PST · 2 comments

In 2022, Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin startup Bridge, was staring into the abyss. The price of TerraUSD—one of the largest of the stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar—collapsed, casting a pall on everyone working with stablecoins. Then, a few months later, Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX imploded.... In 2022, Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin startup Bridge, was staring into the...

The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House in Washington, DC. Photo by Getty.

TikTok CEO Vows to Take Ban Fight to Supreme Court

By Kaya Yurieff, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Dec 6, 2024 8:48am PST · 3 comments

TikTok’s hopes of continuing to operate in the U.S. now rest on intervention of the Supreme Court. The Chinese owned app on Friday lost the first round in its legal efforts to block a law requiring it to sever its ties with its parent, ByteDance, or be banned next month. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Friday told the video app’s staff... TikTok’s hopes of continuing to operate in the U.S. now rest on intervention of the Supreme...

Photo by Getty

Pro Weekly: Nvidia Draws More Rivals With More Funding

By Scott Thurm · Dec 6, 2024 8:19am PST

As Nvidia’s market cap tops $3 trillion, entrepreneurs and investors are looking for new ways to grab pieces of the lucrative market for chips that power artificial intelligence.Some startups are looking to build more-specialized chips. We recently added two companies to our AI Chip Database that are designing chips primarily for computer... As Nvidia’s market cap tops $3 trillion, entrepreneurs and investors are looking for new ways to...

Photo via Getty.

Netflix’s NFL Games Pose Advertising Test

By Sahil Patel · Dec 6, 2024 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Photo via Getty.

Netflix’s NFL Games Pose Advertising Test

By Sahil Patel · Dec 6, 2024 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In Netflix’s yearslong quest to build an ad business, Dec. 25 poses a big test: It will be the first time the streaming giant shows ads in a livestream—in this case, two NFL games. And in the wake of last month’s Mike Tyson–Jake Paul boxing match, which was plagued with technical glitches, ad buyers at multiple top... In Netflix’s yearslong quest to build an ad business, Dec. 25 poses a big test: It will be...

A Waymo self-driving car. Photo courtesy of Waymo.

Waymo’s Progress May Be Good for Uber, Too

By Martin Peers · Dec 5, 2024 5:00pm PST

This is going to become tedious. Shares of Uber and Lyft dropped 10% today on word that Alphabet’s Waymo, our favorite self-driving taxi service, is opening for business in Miami. Just a few weeks ago, the ride-hailing firms’ stocks rose about 10% as investors decided Tesla’s self-driving–car event the day before had been a dud—implying that it... This is going to become tedious. Shares of Uber and Lyft dropped 10% today on word that Alphabet’...

Tomasz Tunguz. Photo via Flickr/Collision.

Why One Enterprise Investor Is Newly Exuberant on Crypto

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 5, 2024 3:26pm PST · 2 comments

Silicon Valley’s holiday party season is in full swing. But instead of having endless conversations about artificial intelligence, I’ve been bombarded by venture capitalists with renewed excitement for cryptocurrency startups. To sum up the mood: One startup founder made a toast when Bitcoin crossed $100,000 on Wednesday. Investor Tomasz... Silicon Valley’s holiday party season is in full swing. But instead of having endless...

Prince Ghosh, Factored Quality's cofounder and CEO (left) and Ronak Trivedi, Pietra's cofounder and CEO (right). Photo via Pietra.

Creator Economy

Creator Startup Strikes Deal to Help Anyone Launch the Next Feastables

By Ann Gehan · Dec 5, 2024 2:00pm PST

Pietra, a startup that helps creators and celebrities like Chrissy Teigen launch and manage their own brands, is diving deeper into the crucial behind-the-scenes work it takes to get a hot new product up and running. The company is acquiring Factored Quality, a startup that works with popular brands like Brooklinen to set them up with... Pietra, a startup that helps creators and celebrities like Chrissy Teigen launch and manage their...

Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Latest Rivals Are Getting Help From… OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 5, 2024 9:51am PST

Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Latest Rivals Are Getting Help From… OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 5, 2024 9:51am PST

As artificial intelligence developers find it easier to catch up with OpenAI in reasoning than with traditional large language models—a topic Erin and I wrote about last week—they may be using a tried-and-true strategy.Researchers at OpenAI believe that some rival AI developers are training their reasoning models by using OpenAI’s o1 reasoning... As artificial intelligence developers find it easier to catch up with OpenAI in reasoning than...

Vimeo CEO Philip D. Moyer. Photo via Vimeo.

What Investors Are Missing About Vimeo’s Potential

By Anita Ramaswamy · Dec 5, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

After a long slump, software stocks have gotten a lift from the market euphoria that has followed Donald Trump’s election. The exuberance has even spread to companies that sell video creation and distribution tools, such as Vimeo, despite the very real threat hanging over their business models: artificial intelligence–powered video... After a long slump, software stocks have gotten a lift from the market euphoria that has followed...

Visitors test Meta Quest 3 goggles at a Meta booth at the Hanover technology Fair in April. Photo by Getty

Meta to Farm Out Design for Mixed Reality Devices, Shift Some Production From China

By Kalley Huang, Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Dec 5, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms is changing how it designs and where it builds its mixed reality devices to stem deep financial losses and skirt a possible trade war between the U.S. and China. Meta is shifting part of the development and design of its mixed reality headsets to Chinese contract manufacturer Goertek, according to an employee at Goertek and two... Meta Platforms is changing how it designs and where it builds its mixed reality devices to stem...

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, displayed in March at the New York International Auto Show. Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: U.S. Auto and Battery Makers Are Poised to Fight Trump’s Anti-EV Plans

By Steve LeVine · Dec 5, 2024 4:30am PST

U.S. auto and battery makers are challenging President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to eliminate or curtail federal subsidies on electric vehicles and battery materials. If Trump proceeds with his plans, they say, he would cost consumers thousands of dollars per vehicle and hurt their efforts to compete with Chinese rivals. U.S. auto and battery makers are challenging President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to eliminate or...

Peter DeSantis, Senior Vice President of AWS Utility Computing, at Amazon Re:Invent. Photo via Amazon.

Amazon Tries to Lure Cloud Customers Away From Nvidia

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2024 5:26pm PST · 1 comment

Peter DeSantis, Senior Vice President of AWS Utility Computing, at Amazon Re:Invent. Photo via Amazon.

Q&A

Amazon Tries to Lure Cloud Customers Away From Nvidia

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2024 5:26pm PST · 1 comment

Amazon, like other cloud providers, makes money from artificial intelligence primarily by renting out servers powered by Nvidia’s AI chips to software developers and businesses. But now, Amazon Web Services is trying to convince those customers to use servers powered by Amazon’s own AI chips instead, said Gadi Hutt, who leads... Amazon, like other cloud providers, makes money from artificial intelligence primarily by renting...

Photo via Getty.

CEO Murder Spotlights Executive Security Spending

By Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

No one is ever likely to again question the money companies spend on executive security. Wednesday’s shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Brian Thompson, as he walked to a company investor conference in midtown Manhattan was a good reminder of why companies such as Meta Platforms, Snap, Coinbase and Tesla spend millions to protect their... No one is ever likely to again question the money companies spend on executive security....

"Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper at Wednesday’s DealBook Summit. Photo via Getty.

Creator Economy

Alex Cooper’s Trump Call; Influencer Marketing M&A

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 4, 2024 2:23pm PST

Alex Cooper’s popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast was one of a handful to host Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris in the run-up to November’s election. But she could have hosted both candidates. Donald Trump’s campaign reached out about appearing on the show, Cooper said on stage at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday. ... Alex Cooper’s popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast was one of a handful to host Democratic...

Khloe Kardashian. Photo via Getty.

Khloe Kardashian to Launch High-Protein Popcorn Brand

By Ann Gehan · Dec 4, 2024 1:11pm PST

Khloe Kardashian is preparing to launch a line of high-protein snacks and popcorn called Khloud with the backing of Michael Kives’ firm K5 Global, deepening the ties between the former talent agent turned investor and the famous family. The collaboration highlights two still-hot areas in an overall sluggish consumer market—companies... Khloe Kardashian is preparing to launch a line of high-protein snacks and popcorn called Khloud...

Matt Garman delivers a keynote address during AWS re:Invent 2024. Photo by Getty.

Amazon’s Message to Nvidia and Anthropic; Andreessen Horowitz’s Latest AI Agent Bet

By Amir Efrati and Theo Wayt · Dec 4, 2024 7:00am PST

Matt Garman delivers a keynote address during AWS re:Invent 2024. Photo by Getty.

Amazon’s Message to Nvidia and Anthropic; Andreessen Horowitz’s Latest AI Agent Bet

By Amir Efrati and Theo Wayt · Dec 4, 2024 7:00am PST

Amazon has relied on artificial intelligence from Anthropic and hardware from Nvidia to boost its cloud sales growth over the past two years. But at the company’s annual re:Invent conference on Tuesday, executives came out with swagger to change the narrative about how dependent it has been on these outside companies. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy... Amazon has relied on artificial intelligence from Anthropic and hardware from Nvidia to boost its...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple Hits Snags Adapting Baidu’s AI Models for China Users

By Qianer Liu and Wayne Ma · Dec 4, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Apple and Chinese search giant Baidu are working together to add artificial intelligence features to iPhones sold in China next year, according to two people familiar with the situation. But the two companies have run into snags that, if unresolved, could hurt Apple’s hopes of boosting iPhone sales in its second biggest market outside the... Apple and Chinese search giant Baidu are working together to add artificial intelligence features...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks at re:Invent today. Photo by Amazon.

Apple Scratches Amazon’s Back

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2024 5:00pm PST

Here’s news we didn’t expect: Apple is endorsing Amazon’s cloud service. That’s what happened on Tuesday at Amazon Web Service’s annual conference, re:Invent, when an Apple artificial intelligence executive, Benoit Dupin, took the stage to talk up AWS—and to mention that Apple is using AWS’ custom-made chips for search and testing its AI chips.... Here’s news we didn’t expect: Apple is endorsing Amazon’s cloud service. That’s what happened on...

When Databricks Will Be As Big as Snowflake; A Sleeper Fintech IPO Candidate

When Databricks Will Be As Big as Snowflake; A Sleeper Fintech IPO Candidate

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 3, 2024 3:42pm PST · 2 comments

Ali Ghodsi is taking aim at giants. The Databricks CEO is no longer just sniping at $60 billion competitor Snowflake, but has ambitions for his company to be as big as $300 billion Salesforce, according to Jon Victor’s profile on the everywhere-at-once computer science professor. Reading the piece, I couldn’t help but think about the... Ali Ghodsi is taking aim at giants. The Databricks CEO is no longer just sniping at $60 billion...

Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo courtesy of HBO.

Cameo’s Open Casting Call

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 3, 2024 2:00pm PST

Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo courtesy of HBO.

Creator Economy

Cameo’s Open Casting Call

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 3, 2024 2:00pm PST

As shutdowns and acquisitions continue to hit the creator economy, some of the sector’s buzziest pandemic darlings are still chugging along and trying to revamp their businesses. The latest: On Tuesday, Cameo announced it’s making it easier for online personalities to sign up to join the video shoutout service. The startup said its new... As shutdowns and acquisitions continue to hit the creator economy, some of the sector’s buzziest...