The Information

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Reality Comes to Meta’s Reality Labs

By Wayne Ma and Kalley Huang · Jul 18, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has canceled the blank check he once reserved for his augmented reality and virtual reality teams. As Meta ramps up its spending on artificial intelligence, company executives have started turning a more skeptical eye on its Reality Labs division, home of AR, VR and Zuckerberg’s former pet project, the... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has canceled the blank check he once reserved for his...

Google, Microsoft Help Chinese Firms Skirt Ban on Nvidia Chips

By Juro Osawa and Aaron Holmes · Jul 17, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

U.S. export controls forbid Chinese firms from buying Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence chips. But companies in China can still gain access to some of those chips by renting Nvidia-powered servers at data centers outside China from Google, Microsoft and other global firms—underlining a gap in U.S. export rules. Both Google... U.S. export controls forbid Chinese firms from buying Nvidia’s advanced artificial...

Art by Clark Miller

A Space Startup’s Moon Mining Plans Get a Boost With NASA Grant

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 16, 2024 7:00am PDT

A startup that aims to harvest a valuable gas from the moon’s surface and bring it back to Earth by the end of the decade has scored a NASA grant to push its plan forward. The startup, Seattle-based Interlune, said it will use the $348,000 NASA grant to test a critical part of its technology that it will ultimately use to prepare lunar... A startup that aims to harvest a valuable gas from the moon’s surface and bring it back to...

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz. Photos via Getty Images.

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz Say They Plan to Donate to Trump PAC

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Jul 16, 2024 6:28am PDT · 49 comments

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz. Photos via Getty Images.

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz Say They Plan to Donate to Trump PAC

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Jul 16, 2024 6:28am PDT · 49 comments

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who run one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firms, have told the firm’s employees in recent days they plan to make large donations to political action committees supporting the election of Donald Trump, people familiar with the matter said. The planned donations by Andreessen and... Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who run one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture...

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. Photo By Harry Murphy/Getty Images

The Biggest Winners From Wiz’s Potential $23 Billion Sale to Google

By Kate Clark, Natasha Mascarenhas and Aaron Holmes · Jul 15, 2024 2:18pm PDT · 3 comments

Google’s proposed $23 billion acquisition of cloud security startup Wiz would help it compete with Microsoft, the top seller of security software. If the deal manages to avoid antitrust challenges and other hang-ups in the ongoing negotiations—and those issues are still a big if—it would also create a windfall for the... Google’s proposed $23 billion acquisition of cloud security startup Wiz would help it...

Drew Baglino (left) and Elon Musk at a Tesla event in 2020. Art by Clark Miller. Screenshot via YouTube

Musk Sets Tesla Battery Deadline After Setbacks

By Steve LeVine, Wayne Ma and Becky Peterson · Jul 15, 2024 4:20am PDT · 2 comments

In 2020, in front of a parking lot of raucous fans and investors honking their Teslas, Elon Musk laid out an intricate plan to make a $25,000 electric vehicle for the common person. The key: a transformative new battery boasting a slew of innovations, which he said could be ready in time for the vehicle’s release in 2023. Tesla blew that... In 2020, in front of a parking lot of raucous fans and investors honking their Teslas, Elon Musk...

Art by Clark Miller. Trae Stephens photos courtesy Epic Church San Francisco

The Rise of Founders Fund’s Faithful Warrior

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 12, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

In late June, roughly 300 people—many of them founders, venture capitalists and other techies—piled into a windowless room on a Thursday night in a church in downtown San Francisco. Some were at Epic Church San Francisco to worship, while others privately admitted they were angling for an introduction to one of the people preaching... In late June, roughly 300 people—many of them founders, venture capitalists and other...

Art by Clark Miller.

Temu Breaks With Direct-From-China Strategy In Threat to Amazon

By Jing Yang · Jul 10, 2024 6:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Temu Breaks With Direct-From-China Strategy In Threat to Amazon

By Jing Yang · Jul 10, 2024 6:00am PDT

Chinese bargain site Temu has been a big hit with American shoppers in the past year or two, drawing increasing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over its approach to importing goods and attention from rival Amazon. Now, Temu is changing tack, encroaching more on Amazon’s turf. Instead of only shipping items from Chinese factories directly to... Chinese bargain site Temu has been a big hit with American shoppers in the past year or two,...

Ben Horowitz, left, and Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty

Andreessen Horowitz Is Building a Stash of More Than 20,000 GPUs to Win AI Deals

By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most active venture capital investors in generative artificial intelligence, has added a new tool to its arsenal for winning deals in hot AI startups. The firm has secured thousands of AI chips, including Nvidia H100 graphics processing units, and is renting them to portfolio companies, according to a person who... Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most active venture capital investors in generative artificial...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI’s China Ban Doesn’t Apply to Microsoft’s Azure China

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · Jul 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

OpenAI last month announced plans to crack down on China-based artificial intelligence developers covertly accessing the startup’s technology, which it doesn’t offer in China. But OpenAI’s conversational AI models are available to Chinese businesses—if they sign up for Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, which operates... OpenAI last month announced plans to crack down on China-based artificial intelligence developers...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaking at Stanford University in April. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Google Struggles to Lessen Reliance on Apple Safari

By Jon Victor · Jul 5, 2024 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Sometime in the next few months, a judge is expected to rule on the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Google over its dominance of internet search. One of the biggest risks Google faces is the possibility that the judge will end the agreement making Google the default search engine on Apple’s Safari app for... Sometime in the next few months, a judge is expected to rule on the U.S. Department of...

Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank. Photo by Toru Hanai/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

SoftBank’s $10 Billion-Plus Plan to Get Into the AI Race Centers on Power and Chips

By Juro Osawa and Kate Clark · Jul 4, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank. Photo by Toru Hanai/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

SoftBank’s $10 Billion-Plus Plan to Get Into the AI Race Centers on Power and Chips

By Juro Osawa and Kate Clark · Jul 4, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

The next phase of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s plan to make the company a leader in artificial intelligence is coming into focus. And it is complicated—and potentially costly. SoftBank has recently talked with banks about borrowing money to fund investment of up to $10 billion in energy-related projects, where AI is driving an... The next phase of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s plan to make the company a leader in...

Cristóbal Valenzuela, CEO of Runway, at The Information's Private Capital Conference in April. Photo by Nicole Pereira.

Runway, an AI Video Startup, in Talks With General Atlantic for $4 Billion–Valuation Fundraise

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 2, 2024 11:48am PDT

Runway, already the best funded among a cluster of startups developing artificial intelligence software to generate videos for Hollywood and more amateur filmmakers, is trying to strengthen that lead with a new round of financing. The firm is in talks with investors to raise $450 million at about a $4 billion valuation, according to a person... Runway, already the best funded among a cluster of startups developing artificial intelligence...

From left: Court Coursey, Eric Schmidt and Derek Rundell. Photos by Getty.

Eric Schmidt’s Split With Advisor Reveals Complex Deals With Ex-Girlfriends

By Michael Roddan and Cory Weinberg · Jul 2, 2024 6:00am PDT · 9 comments

As résumés go, Derek Rundell’s is a doozy. The self-described serial entrepreneur briefly worked as a consultant for Michael Jackson, the late pop star, and he wrote, directed and acted in “Zombie Sitter,” a low-budget movie about a preteen navigating a post-apocalyptic world following a meteor shower that has... As résumés go, Derek Rundell’s is a doozy. The self-described serial...

Noam Shazeer. Photo by Getty.

Character, a Chatbot Pioneer, Mulls Deals With Rivals Google and Meta

By Kalley Huang · Jul 1, 2024 6:00am PDT

A year ago, Character.AI had the wind at its back. Founded by two artificial intelligence pioneers from Google, the startup had launched AI chatbots that offered what its far larger rivals hadn’t yet provided: something fun. Millions of people had signed up for its website and apps, intrigued by the chance to text with facsimiles of anime... A year ago, Character.AI had the wind at its back. Founded by two artificial intelligence...

Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty.

Amazon’s Bargain Store Would Use Same Trade ‘Loophole’ as Temu, Shein

By Jing Yang and Theo Wayt · Jun 28, 2024 11:41am PDT · 3 comments

Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty.

Amazon’s Bargain Store Would Use Same Trade ‘Loophole’ as Temu, Shein

By Jing Yang and Theo Wayt · Jun 28, 2024 11:41am PDT · 3 comments

Amazon is planning to use the same controversial trade rule as Temu and Shein to import items sold on its upcoming discount section without paying duties, according to a person close to the Amazon team working on the project. While the expected move will help Amazon offer prices that are more competitive with its ascendant rivals,... Amazon is planning to use the same controversial trade rule as Temu and Shein to import items ...

Art by Clark Miller. Maezawa via Getty Images

Behind the Demise of a Quirky Billionaire’s SpaceX Moon Mission

By Becky Peterson · Jun 28, 2024 6:00am PDT

Yusaku Maezawa had just a few requests for SpaceX. In 2018, the Japanese e-commerce billionaire had agreed to pay SpaceX to fly himself and a crew of eight artists around the moon for a first-of-its-kind project called dearMoon. As part of the deal, Maezawa asked SpaceX to customize the interior of the crew capsule of Starship, the 400-foot-tall... Yusaku Maezawa had just a few requests for SpaceX. In 2018, the Japanese e-commerce billionaire...

An iPhone 13 Pro Max Battery Li-ion. Photo by Shutterstock

Apple Explores Novel Method for Making iPhone Batteries More Replaceable

By Qianer Liu and Wayne Ma · Jun 27, 2024 9:00am PDT

Under pressure from regulators in Europe and elsewhere, Apple in recent years has taken small steps toward making the iPhone easier for consumers to repair. But self-repair remains a cumbersome step for consumers—particularly when it comes to battery replacement. Under a law passed by the European Union last year, phone makers have to... Under pressure from regulators in Europe and elsewhere, Apple in recent years has taken small...

Kuaishou's booth at last year's Shanghai Auto Show. Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

China’s AI Sector Faces Fallout From U.S. Chip Curbs

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · Jun 27, 2024 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

U.S. rules curbing the export of artificial intelligence chips to China are beginning to squeeze the country’s AI industry. And companies ranging from behemoths like Alibaba to rising startups like Moonshot AI are all grappling with the impact. After Chinese online video giant Kuaishou unveiled a test version of Kling, its text-to-video AI... U.S. rules curbing the export of artificial intelligence chips to China are beginning to squeeze...

Sam Altman, left and Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty, art by Mike Sullivan

In a Surprise, OpenAI Is Selling More of Its AI Models Than Microsoft Is

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 27, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Sam Altman, left and Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty, art by Mike Sullivan

In a Surprise, OpenAI Is Selling More of Its AI Models Than Microsoft Is

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 27, 2024 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

When Microsoft formed an alliance in 2019 with OpenAI to resell the startup’s artificial intelligence, it brought the reputation, connections and sales muscle to the table that seemed key for winning deals with large customers. Turns out OpenAI itself has gotten pretty good at cutting those deals. The revenue that the startup—best... When Microsoft formed an alliance in 2019 with OpenAI to resell the startup’s artificial...