The Information

From left, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, Anthropic's Dario and Daniela Amodei. Photos via Getty.

How Anthropic Got Inside OpenAI’s Head

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Dec 12, 2024 6:00am PST · 6 comments

OpenAI has a lot of rivals nipping at its heels. None of them has given the company’s executives the jitters quite like Anthropic has, though. Earlier this fall, OpenAI leaders got a shock when they saw the performance of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model for automating computer programming tasks, which had gained an edge on... OpenAI has a lot of rivals nipping at its heels. None of them has given the company’s...

Databricks office in San Francisco. Photo by Getty

Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, SoftBank to Invest in Databricks’ $7 Billion Fundraising

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Cory Weinberg · Dec 11, 2024 5:54pm PST · 1 comment

Silicon Valley investors often pride themselves on writing one of the first few checks in a startup, then doubling down if a winner takes off. But Databricks, an 11-year-old seller of databases and analytics software that’s raising billions of dollars, has prompted some elite investment firms to place a few very late bets as well. Kleiner... Silicon Valley investors often pride themselves on writing one of the first few checks in a...

Art by Clark Miller

Special Funds Offer Shares of SpaceX and OpenAI—for a Price

By Sri Muppidi · Dec 11, 2024 9:30am PST · 1 comment

In the fall, a Miami-based firm called Sand Hill Road Technologies Fund offered its customers a hot opportunity: a chance to invest in SpaceX, which was arranging a deal for employees to sell some of their shares. But Sand Hill’s prospective investors, wealthy individuals whom the fund reached through online ads on Google and Meta Platforms... In the fall, a Miami-based firm called Sand Hill Road Technologies Fund offered its customers a...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Stablecoin Startups Seek Fresh Cash Amid Crypto Payments Frenzy

By Yueqi Yang and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 11, 2024 8:45am PST · 4 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Stablecoin Startups Seek Fresh Cash Amid Crypto Payments Frenzy

By Yueqi Yang and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 11, 2024 8:45am PST · 4 comments

Stablecoins are suddenly all the rage, as crypto investors and founders tout how the tokens can transform sending money internationally. At least three startups that focus on international payments are seeking fresh funding, according to people familiar with the companies, emboldened in part by Stripe’s recent deal to acquire stablecoin... Stablecoins are suddenly all the rage, as crypto investors and founders tout how the tokens can...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple Is Working on AI Chip With Broadcom

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Dec 11, 2024 6:00am PST

Apple is developing its first server chip specially designed for artificial intelligence, according to three people with direct knowledge of the project, as the iPhone maker prepares to deal with the intense computing demands of its new AI features. Apple is working with Broadcom on the chip’s networking technology, which is crucial for AI... Apple is developing its first server chip specially designed for artificial intelligence,...

Art by Clark Miller

Google Asks FTC to Kill Microsoft’s Exclusive Cloud Deal with OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 10, 2024 3:41pm PST · 2 comments

Google recently asked the U.S. government to break up Microsoft’s exclusive agreement to host OpenAI’s technology on its cloud servers, according to a person who has been directly involved in the effort. The conversation took place after the Federal Trade Commission, one of the primary federal antitrust enforcement agencies, asked... Google recently asked the U.S. government to break up Microsoft’s exclusive agreement to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Microsoft’s New Sales Pitch for AI: Spend Less Money on Humans

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 9, 2024 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Microsoft has a new pitch to persuade businesses to spend money on artificial intelligence–powered services: If you use them, you won’t need as many employees. The potential of AI to replace human workers is an old idea, but one most companies have avoided bringing up explicitly, for fear of suffering reputational harm and political... Microsoft has a new pitch to persuade businesses to spend money on artificial...

Trump Aides Contact Google, Meta, Snap Over Online Drug Sales

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 8, 2024 11:10am PST · 1 comment

Trump Aides Contact Google, Meta, Snap Over Online Drug Sales

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 8, 2024 11:10am PST · 1 comment

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has invited five major tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms, to a meeting in mid-December about dealing with online drug sales, according to a person with direct knowledge of the correspondence. A representative for Jim Carroll—the drug czar during Trump’s... President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has invited five major tech companies,...

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...

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...

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...

Lina Khan. Photo by Getty

Microsoft’s AI Software Sales, OpenAI Deal Targeted by FTC Probe

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 3, 2024 11:24am PST

Lina Khan. Photo by Getty

Microsoft’s AI Software Sales, OpenAI Deal Targeted by FTC Probe

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 3, 2024 11:24am PST

As the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ramps up its sweeping new antitrust investigation into Microsoft, FTC officials have been asking Microsoft's rivals about the impact of its artificial intelligence deals and range of products, according to someone involved in the discussions and a second person briefed on the discussions. Specifically,... As the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ramps up its sweeping new antitrust investigation into...

Photo by Getty.

Temu and Shein Delivery Providers Face Labor Complaints

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Dec 3, 2024 6:00am PST

The growth of Temu and Shein has spurred the rise of little-known delivery startups that help them keep prices ultralow for shoppers. Now those budget delivery services are facing a growing number of legal complaints about their pay practices. With a click of a button, shoppers on these and other sites like AliExpress set in motion a delivery... The growth of Temu and Shein has spurred the rise of little-known delivery startups that help...

Ali Ghodsi. Art by Clark Miller. Screenshots via YouTube.

Databricks’ ‘Truth-Seeking’ CEO Wants to Be Bigger Than Salesforce

By Jon Victor · Dec 2, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

New managers acclimating to life at data analytics software firm Databricks are often shocked when CEO Ali Ghodsi calls up one of their team members out of the blue to question them about a product they’re working on. Or drops into a low-level meeting unannounced. Or phones the data scientists working for a customer. For Ghodsi, it’s... New managers acclimating to life at data analytics software firm Databricks are often shocked...

Photo via AP.

ByteDance’s Global AI Ambition Runs Into Obstacles

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Nov 29, 2024 6:00am PST

TikTok owner ByteDance, whose artificial intelligence chatbot is a major hit in China, wants to compete worldwide in generative AI. But those plans could be complicated by the geopolitical and regulatory storms surrounding TikTok, as well as the technical challenges it has encountered. Inside ByteDance’s AI research and development... TikTok owner ByteDance, whose artificial intelligence chatbot is a major hit in China, wants to...

Amazon Senior Vice President Rohit Prasad. Image via Getty.

Amazon Develops Video AI Model, Hedging Its Reliance on Anthropic

By Kevin McLaughlin and Anissa Gardizy · Nov 27, 2024 5:50pm PST

Amazon Senior Vice President Rohit Prasad. Image via Getty.

Amazon Develops Video AI Model, Hedging Its Reliance on Anthropic

By Kevin McLaughlin and Anissa Gardizy · Nov 27, 2024 5:50pm PST

Amazon has developed new generative artificial intelligence that can process images and video in addition to text, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter and two people who spoke with Amazon about its plans. The model could help customers search video archives for certain scenes, say a winning basketball shot, using simple... Amazon has developed new generative artificial intelligence that can process images and video in...

Sriram Krishnan. Photo via Flickr/Fortune.

Andreessen Horowitz’s Sriram Krishnan to Leave Firm, Discusses Role With Musk

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Erin Woo · Nov 27, 2024 12:46pm PST

Sriram Krishnan, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and former product leader at Twitter, is leaving the firm four years after joining, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Krishnan, 41, has had discussions with Elon Musk about joining the Department of Government Efficiency, the new entity incoming President-elect Donald... Sriram Krishnan, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and former product leader at Twitter,...

Eric Glyman, co-founder and CEO of Ramp. Photo by Getty.

Ramp Seeks Valuation Bump to $11 Billion in Share Sale

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 27, 2024 10:35am PST

Ramp, the business card and expense software startup, is discussing selling shares held by employees and other stockholders at a price that would value it at $11 billion, two people familiar with the deal said. That price would be 35% above Ramp’s highest valuation, set in 2022—near the end of the low-interest-rate funding... Ramp, the business card and expense software startup, is discussing selling shares held by...

Photo by Getty

TSMC’s Push to Be Tech’s Switzerland in Doubt as U.S.-China Tensions Grow

By Qianer Liu · Nov 26, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

If Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. had its way, the chip manufacturing powerhouse would be a neutral party in the battle between the U.S. and China for technological supremacy—a semiconductor version of Switzerland, one TSMC executive told The Information. Unfortunately, the company may find it increasingly tough to avoid picking a... If Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. had its way, the chip manufacturing powerhouse would be...

An Apple store in Shanghai. Photo via Getty.

Apple’s Thin iPhone Has No Physical SIMs—That Could Dampen China Sales

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Nov 25, 2024 7:30am PST · 5 comments

An Apple store in Shanghai. Photo via Getty.

Apple’s Thin iPhone Has No Physical SIMs—That Could Dampen China Sales

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Nov 25, 2024 7:30am PST · 5 comments

Apple’s desire to make its products thinner could dampen sales in China if its engineers can’t overcome a design hurdle with the slim iPhone planned for release next fall—it can’t fit a physical SIM card tray, which is required in China. Apple plans to release its slim iPhone next year, alongside new versions of its... Apple’s desire to make its products thinner could dampen sales in China if its engineers...