The Information

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Temu 2.0 Attacks Amazon’s Achilles’ Heel

By Jing Yang and Theo Wayt · Oct 23, 2024 7:26am PDT

Temu is making swift progress in winning over popular Amazon merchants to sell on its bargain site, thanks to a simple pitch: It’s much cheaper for merchants to sell on Temu than on Amazon. Temu has already added more than 60% of major China-based Amazon sellers of products like bedding sets and vacuum cleaners and is enlisting U.S.-based... Temu is making swift progress in winning over popular Amazon merchants to sell on its bargain...

Apple Sharply Scales Back Production of Vision Pro

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Oct 23, 2024 6:00am PDT

Apple has sharply scaled back production of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset since the early summer and could stop making the existing version of the device entirely by year end, according to multiple people directly involved in building components for the device. The move suggests that Apple has enough inventory built up to meet demand for... Apple has sharply scaled back production of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset since the early...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Collage via Shane Burke

OpenAI, in Duel With Anthropic, Doubles Down on AI That Writes Software

By Erin Woo, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 22, 2024 3:59pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has become a multibillion-dollar business in large part because programmers use it to write and check their code, fix bugs and translate code into different programming languages. Now, facing competition from rival artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, OpenAI is putting more effort into improving the tools it offers... OpenAI’s ChatGPT has become a multibillion-dollar business in large part because...

Photo via Getty

Shein’s Rocky Financial Performance Complicates IPO Plans

By Jing Yang and Cory Weinberg · Oct 22, 2024 10:24am PDT

Photo via Getty

Shein’s Rocky Financial Performance Complicates IPO Plans

By Jing Yang and Cory Weinberg · Oct 22, 2024 10:24am PDT

Shein’s march toward an initial public offering has gotten tangled in a web of regulatory scrutiny on three continents this year. Now, as its executives try to restart IPO talks, executives at the fast fashion retailer face another problem: having to explain a first-half slump in the business. The company’s revenue growth decelerated... Shein’s march toward an initial public offering has gotten tangled in a web of regulatory...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon Sofas for $20? Retailer Sets Price Caps for New Temu-like Store

By Theo Wayt · Oct 22, 2024 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

As Amazon prepares to launch a new low-price storefront to combat Temu, it’s imposing severe price caps on what merchants can charge for their wares on the outlet, including an $8 limit for jewelry, $9 for bedding sets, $13 for guitars and $20 for sofas, according to messages from Amazon to merchants seen by The Information. The price caps... As Amazon prepares to launch a new low-price storefront to combat Temu, it’s imposing...

Physical Intelligence CEO Karol Hausman. Photo: YouTube screengrab.

Robotics Startup Discusses $2 Billion Valuation Months After Founding

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Oct 21, 2024 6:32pm PDT · 1 comment

The race to develop physical robots powered by artificial intelligence is on again, despite the industry’s track record of failures—and the threat that OpenAI, which has dominated advances in conversational AI, will become a bigger rival. Physical Intelligence, a startup developing software for robots that could work in a range of... The race to develop physical robots powered by artificial intelligence is on again, despite the...

GoPuff's fired CTO, Sree Kotay. Photos via Broward County Mugshots (Instagram) and Shutterstock.

Gopuff Fires CTO Months After Battery Arrest

By Theo Wayt · Oct 21, 2024 10:37am PDT

Gopuff fired its chief technology officer on Friday several months after he was arrested on a felony battery charge for allegedly assaulting his longtime romantic partner, according to an internal company email and public records. Sreekant Kotay, who goes by Sree, was arrested in Broward County, Fla., on June 25 and charged with battery and... Gopuff fired its chief technology officer on Friday several months after he was arrested on a...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Bank Drama for PayPal, Square After Wells Fargo Bows Out

By Michael Roddan · Oct 21, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Bank Drama for PayPal, Square After Wells Fargo Bows Out

By Michael Roddan · Oct 21, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

For more than two decades, Wells Fargo was a juggernaut in a behind-the-scenes business that supported some of the biggest payments companies in the world. The bank’s abrupt exit from that market this year has left a major hole. Block’s Square, for instance, is still hunting for a replacement for Wells Fargo to work on credit card... For more than two decades, Wells Fargo was a juggernaut in a behind-the-scenes business that...

Greg Brockman (left) and Sam Altman. Art by Clark Miller. Brockman image via Getty; Altman via YouTube

Can Greg Brockman Find a Future Back at OpenAI?

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 18, 2024 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

When Greg Brockman returns to OpenAI in the next month or so, as senior leaders expect him to, the artificial intelligence startup’s co-founder will rejoin a company that’s already changed a lot in the two months since he started a sabbatical. In the time he was gone, OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati and several other... When Greg Brockman returns to OpenAI in the next month or so, as senior leaders expect him to,...

Photo by Getty

U.S. Probes TSMC’s Dealings With Huawei

By Qianer Liu · Oct 17, 2024 5:13pm PDT · 1 comment

The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has been making artificial intelligence or smartphone chips for Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in what would be a breach of U.S. export rules, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Since 2020, the U.S. has banned Huawei from buying... The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has...

LinkedIn's San Francisco headquarters. Photo via Getty.

LinkedIn is News Publishers’ New Best Friend

By Sahil Patel · Oct 17, 2024 1:00pm PDT

As Facebook owner Meta Platforms has backed away from news, Microsoft’s LinkedIn has leaned into it. LinkedIn is doubling down on its long-standing efforts to promote news articles and work with news publishers, in hopes of driving both usage and ad revenue. In the latest sign of that, in the next few days it will start testing a new News... As Facebook owner Meta Platforms has backed away from news, Microsoft’s LinkedIn has leaned...

Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok Tries to Woo American Shoppers, One Livestream at a Time

By Kaya Yurieff and Ann Gehan · Oct 16, 2024 10:31am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok Tries to Woo American Shoppers, One Livestream at a Time

By Kaya Yurieff and Ann Gehan · Oct 16, 2024 10:31am PDT

As TikTok’s U.S. shopping service enters its second year of operation, the ByteDance-owned company has become stingier about wooing online merchants with cash. TikTok has cut back on subsidizing deep discounts for retailers, a tactic it used last year when TikTok Shop launched, and has tripled its cut of sales to 6%. But TikTok has started... As TikTok’s U.S. shopping service enters its second year of operation, the ByteDance-owned...

Nvidia's Jensen Huang, left, and TSMC's Morris Chang. Photos by Getty

Nvidia and TSMC’s Lucrative AI Alliance Shows Signs of Stress

By Qianer Liu · Oct 16, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

The most successful and lucrative partnership in the artificial intelligence business is showing signs of strain. In March, Jensen Huang, CEO of chip giant Nvidia, trumpeted the arrival of a family of new chips, known as Blackwell, designed to run the latest, most powerful AI software. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Tesla’s Elon Musk and... The most successful and lucrative partnership in the artificial intelligence business is showing...

Art by Clark Miller.

Compliance Pros in Hot Demand as Crypto and Fintech Firms Staff Up

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

For years, many crypto and fintech startups viewed hiring staffers to ensure their businesses followed the rules as an afterthought. Hires to oversee compliance with financial regulations aren’t a flashy sign of growth like software engineers or big-name product hires. Now, compliance staffing has become top of mind for these companies,... For years, many crypto and fintech startups viewed hiring staffers to ensure their businesses...

Hannah McClellan, VP of Operations and Amazon Pharmacy, speaks at Amazon's Delivering the Future conference in Nashville last week. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Looks to Streamline Its Mishmash of Grocery and Pharmacy Brands

By Theo Wayt · Oct 14, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

After a decade of acquisitions and internal product launches in groceries and pharmacy delivery, Amazon is taking steps to streamline the mishmash of services it now operates and reinvigorate growth in both markets. For instance, Amazon has begun to unify its two online pharmacy operations, which consist of PillPack, a service Amazon bought for... After a decade of acquisitions and internal product launches in groceries and pharmacy delivery,...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Once-Hot Bagel Startup Has Dough Troubles

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2024 2:32pm PDT · 3 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Once-Hot Bagel Startup Has Dough Troubles

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2024 2:32pm PDT · 3 comments

Earlier this year, when healthy-bagel startup BetterBrand was looking to raise more capital, things seemed to be going well. The firm told investors revenue was on track to roughly double this year, and it was expanding into Europe. But founder and CEO Aimee Yang thought the company should be valued at between $250 million and $300 million,... Earlier this year, when healthy-bagel startup BetterBrand was looking to raise more capital,...

Photo via Getty.

Fidelity Plans First Fund That May Use Blockchain

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 10, 2024 2:20pm PDT · 2 comments

Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that may trade on a blockchain in the future. It’s the latest effort by a big traditional money manager to explore using the technology to speed up financial transactions and widen the audience for its products. Fidelity on Sept. 26 filed paperwork... Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that...

Bret Taylor, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sierra, left, and Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bret Taylor’s AI Agent Startup Nears Deal That Could Value It at Over $4 Billion

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 9, 2024 5:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Sierra, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding led by growth-stage investor Greenoaks Capital, according to two people who have knowledge of the deal. The new financing will at least triple the company’s valuation, which was $1... Sierra, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is...

Amazon's Udit Madan. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images

Amazon Management Cuts Will Apply to Fewer Workers Than in Some Forecasts

By Theo Wayt · Oct 9, 2024 4:17pm PDT

In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made waves when he announced a plan to sharply reduce the number of managers at the internet giant, partly to combat the bureaucracy creeping into its culture. It turns out Jassy’s plan will affect far fewer managers than some outside the company had expected. Amazon’s efforts to cut back the... In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made waves when he announced a plan to sharply reduce the...

Art by Clark Miller; Nadella image via Getty

Nadella’s Network: How Microsoft’s CEO Avoids Getting Disrupted

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 9, 2024 3:34pm PDT · 10 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Nadella image via Getty

Nadella’s Network: How Microsoft’s CEO Avoids Getting Disrupted

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 9, 2024 3:34pm PDT · 10 comments

Earlier this year, Aravind Srinivas’ phone rang. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, wanted to dish with Srinivas—CEO of Perplexity, an artificial intelligence–powered search engine startup—on the biggest competitor they had in common: Google. Days earlier, Google had announced several upgrades to Gemini, its generative... Earlier this year, Aravind Srinivas’ phone rang. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO,...