Briefing
asia

Alibaba Wins Kudos for Gay-Friendly Ad

By
Shai Oster
· · Source: Reuters

China’s gay community welcomed an Alibaba ad that appeared to include a gay couple returning home for the Lunar New Year holidays. “Chinese New Year is a time for family reunion and inclusion, and the ad is a creative expression to celebrate such an occasion,” Reuters quoted Alibaba saying in a statement. The Lunar New Year is the peak holiday season in China, and companies have sought to tap...

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
The Weekend culture ai
Live from SF, It’s Tech Week
By Jon Steinberg · June 3, 2023 6:00 AM PDT
Live from SF, It’s Tech Week
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 listed on The Information’s new Generative AI...
Latest Briefs
 
Second Twitter Safety Executive Resigns
By Erin Woo · June 2, 2023
Executive Order on Outbound Investment Will be ‘Narrow’ and ‘Administrable'
By Kate Clark · June 2, 2023
Amazon in Talks to Offer Cheap or Free Mobile Plans to Prime Members
By Theo Wayt · June 2, 2023
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Art by Clark Miller
The AI Age e-commerce ai
How to Grease a Chatbot: E-Commerce Companies Seek a Backdoor Into AI Responses
By Chris Stokel-Walker
When Andy Wilson’s company received its first successful client referral through ChatGPT, he was shaken to his core.
Art by Clark Miller.
Exclusive startups crypto
MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped
By Aidan Ryan
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 $3.4 billion valuation from investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg
semiconductors ai
Why Nvidia Aids Cloud Rivals of AWS, Google and Microsoft
By Anissa Gardizy
Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but the company faces a looming problem.
Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive apple ar/vr
Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges
By Wayne Ma
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.
Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive startups Finance
Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff
By Cory Weinberg
Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits.
Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock (4)
Opinion ar/vr
Don’t Count the Metaverse Out
By Brittan Heller
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.