The Information

Krishna Rao. Photo via Fanatics.

Anthropic Hires Airbnb Vet as First CFO

By Cory Weinberg · May 21, 2024 10:38am PDT · 1 comment

Anthropic, the maker of artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, has hired Airbnb veteran Krishna Rao as its first chief financial officer, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The executive hire, which the company plans to announce this week, is a sign the three-year-old startup is bolstering its executive ranks as it tries to... Anthropic, the maker of artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, has hired Airbnb veteran Krishna...

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey in December 2023.

Anduril Seeks $12.5 Billion Valuation After Doubling Revenue

By Cory Weinberg · May 20, 2024 3:08pm PDT

Military defense startup Anduril has had early discussions to raise what would be one of the largest venture capital rounds of the year so far, seeking about $1.5 billion of fresh funds that would value the company at $12.5 billion or more, two people who have spoken to the company said. The potential funding round would be an increase from... Military defense startup Anduril has had early discussions to raise what would be one of...

Screenshot of Moonshot's AI chatbot, Kimi

Tencent, Alibaba Place Bets on Startups Racing to Become China’s OpenAI

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · May 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In China, dozens of startups have been competing to develop conversational artificial intelligence for the Chinese market. Now some are starting to pull ahead, in part due to backing from tech giants with large cloud operations like Tencent and Alibaba. Among them is Moonshot AI, developer of a chatbot that can process millions of Chinese... In China, dozens of startups have been competing to develop conversational artificial...

An iPhone 15 on display. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

Apple Plans a Thinner iPhone in 2025

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · May 17, 2024 9:17am PDT · 1 comment

An iPhone 15 on display. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

Apple Plans a Thinner iPhone in 2025

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · May 17, 2024 9:17am PDT · 1 comment

Apple is developing a significantly thinner version of the iPhone that could be released as early as 2025, according to three people with direct knowledge of the project. The slimmer iPhone could be released concurrently with the iPhone 17, expected in September 2025, according to the three people with direct knowledge and two others familiar... Apple is developing a significantly thinner version of the iPhone that could be released as early...

Photo by Getty Images.

Stability AI in Talks to Raise Money From Group Including Sean Parker

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 16, 2024 6:42pm PDT · 3 comments

A group of investors including Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, has discussed making an investment in Stability AI, a startup developing products that run on open-source image generator Stable Diffusion, according to a person directly involved in deal conversations. The deal would represent a lifeline for Stability, which... A group of investors including Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, has...

Photo via YouTube.

Stability AI, Facing Cash Crunch, Discusses Sale

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 15, 2024 4:51pm PDT · 2 comments

Stability AI, which has emerged as a poster child for investors’ rush to back unproven artificial intelligence startups, has talked to at least one potential buyer in recent weeks about a sale as its faces a cash crunch, according to a person involved in the conversations. The four-year-old startup raised at least $101 million from marquee... Stability AI, which has emerged as a poster child for investors’ rush to back unproven...

Elon Musk, left, and Larry Ellison. Photos via Getty Images.

Musk’s xAI Nears $10 Billion Deal to Rent Oracle’s AI Servers

By Anissa Gardizy · May 14, 2024 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s 1-year-old artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has been talking to Oracle executives about spending $10 billion to rent cloud servers from the company over a period of years, according to a person who has been involved in the talks. The deal would make xAI one of Oracle’s largest customers as Musk tries to catch up... Elon Musk’s 1-year-old artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has been talking to Oracle...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo via Shutterstock.

TPG, General Atlantic Back Saudi Startups After Taking Kingdom’s Money

By Kate Clark · May 14, 2024 6:00am PDT

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo via Shutterstock.

TPG, General Atlantic Back Saudi Startups After Taking Kingdom’s Money

By Kate Clark · May 14, 2024 6:00am PDT

The Middle East’s giant sovereign wealth funds have poured money into dozens of U.S. private tech funds with the expectation that some of those petro dollars will funnel back to the region’s startups. Now there are signs that venture capitalists and private equity funds are responding by scouting for investments in local startups. In... The Middle East’s giant sovereign wealth funds have poured money into dozens of U.S....

Food and beverage startups can struggle to finance inventory and other costs to get their products on shelves. Photo via Adobe Stock.

A Lender to Buzzy Brands Is Scrambling, Highlighting Consumer Crunch

By Ann Gehan · May 13, 2024 11:54am PDT

Ampla, a consumer startup-focused fintech that has loaned money to buzzy food and beverage brands like Carbone Fine Food pasta sauces and MrBeast-backed snack brand Feastables, is trying to find a buyer after failing to raise a fresh equity round, a person who has participated in deal talks said. The sale attempts highlight how a pullback in... Ampla, a consumer startup-focused fintech that has loaned money to buzzy food and beverage brands...

Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images.

Meta Explores AI-Assisted Earphones With Cameras

By Kalley Huang and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 13, 2024 9:30am PDT

Meta Platforms is exploring developing artificial intelligence–powered earphones with cameras, which the company hopes could be used to identify objects and translate foreign languages, according to three current employees. Meta’s work on a new AI device comes as several tech companies look to develop AI wearables, and after Meta... Meta Platforms is exploring developing artificial intelligence–powered earphones with...

Nvidia's booth at a trade show in Hangzhou, China in October 2023. Photo by FeatureChina via AP.

Chinese Regulators Tell Local Tech Firms to Buy Fewer Nvidia Chips

By Qianer Liu · May 13, 2024 6:00am PDT

Chinese authorities have a message for the local tech industry: Buy Chinese. Officials with government agencies in recent months have told tech firms, including TikTok parent ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu, to cut back on their purchase of foreign-made artificial intelligence chips in favor of buying more domestically made chips, said two... Chinese authorities have a message for the local tech industry: Buy Chinese. Officials with...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

OpenAI Develops AI Voice Assistant As It Chases Google, Apple

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · May 10, 2024 3:25pm PDT · 4 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

OpenAI Develops AI Voice Assistant As It Chases Google, Apple

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · May 10, 2024 3:25pm PDT · 4 comments

In the race to develop artificial intelligence that communicates the way humans do, OpenAI is preparing to demonstrate technology that talks to people—using sound as well as text—and recognizes objects and images. The ChatGPT developer has shown some of these capabilities, which include better logical reasoning than its current... In the race to develop artificial intelligence that communicates the way humans do, OpenAI is...

Art by Clark Miller. Musk via Getty Images

At Tesla, a Wild Week That Defined the Company’s Future

By Steve LeVine and Becky Peterson · May 10, 2024 6:00am PDT

On Feb. 28, Elon Musk used X, the social media service he owns, to make a bold promise about a product from one of his other companies, Tesla. In a post, he said a new version of the Roadster—a successor to the electric car that put Tesla on the map in 2008—would be able to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than a... On Feb. 28, Elon Musk used X, the social media service he owns, to make a bold promise about a...

Photo by Dinendra Haria/SIPA USA via AP.

Fast-Delivery Survivor Gopuff Burned $400 Million Last Year

By Theo Wayt and Cory Weinberg · May 9, 2024 11:18am PDT · 2 comments

Instant-delivery pioneer Gopuff is the last speedy-delivery startup left standing in the U.S. after its best-funded competitor, Getir, said last week it would pull out of the country. That’s left Gopuff in the same position it was in 10 years and billions of dollars ago: trying to beat DoorDash. But Gopuff is in a weaker financial position... Instant-delivery pioneer Gopuff is the last speedy-delivery startup left standing in the U.S....

A Community Federal Savings Bank branch in Queens, New York. Photo by Michael Roddan.

As Banks Cut Off Risky Fintechs, a Tiny Lender Leans In

By Michael Roddan · May 9, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In Woodhaven, Queens, beneath an elevated subway line an hour’s ride from Manhattan, sits an unremarkable bank branch, squeezed between a shuttered Rite Aid and a children’s events space that moonlights as a venue for $10 adult Zumba dance classes. A plastic banner fastened to the shop front bears the lender’s name: Community... In Woodhaven, Queens, beneath an elevated subway line an hour’s ride from Manhattan, sits...

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock.

As TikTok Files Lawsuit, Employees Ponder Their Future

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Kaya Yurieff · May 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock.

As TikTok Files Lawsuit, Employees Ponder Their Future

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Kaya Yurieff · May 8, 2024 6:00am PDT

The day President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't cut ties with its Chinese parent, ByteDance, within a year, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and other senior executives led an all-hands meeting for staff, reassuring them that TikTok will successfully fight the new law. Chew struck an optimistic tone. At one... The day President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't cut...

Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress.

Google Beefs Up AI Sales Effort to Persuade Businesses to Start Buying

By Jon Victor · May 7, 2024 8:00am PDT

Google’s cloud computing unit is adding hundreds of salespeople and engineers to new artificial intelligence–focused teams—including staff moved from other parts of Google Cloud—as it embarks on a major push to get businesses to adopt its Gemini model and other AI software. In recent weeks, the company has been moving... Google’s cloud computing unit is adding hundreds of salespeople and engineers to new...

Shein's warehouse in Whitestown, Indiana. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Shein to Prioritize Compliance Amid U.S. Forced Labor Crackdown

By Jing Yang · May 7, 2024 7:30am PDT · 2 comments

China-founded fashion giant Shein told employees it is stepping up its efforts to keep products made with forced labor off its site, citing tougher U.S. enforcement to screen low-value parcels that previously received little customs scrutiny. In a memo to senior managers, Shein’s executive chair, Donald Tang, said the company is... China-founded fashion giant Shein told employees it is stepping up its efforts to keep products...

Art by Clark Miller. Photo of BuzzFeed's Jonah Peretti via Getty Images

‘It’s Been Painful’: What Jonah Peretti Says Went Wrong at BuzzFeed

By Paris Martineau and Sahil Patel · May 7, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

In late 2021, Jonah Peretti, CEO of BuzzFeed, logged onto a virtual all-hands meeting to tell the staffers of Complex—a publication BuzzFeed was then in the process of acquiring—how much the media brand meant to him. In an effort to connect with Complex’s coverage of sneaker culture, Peretti recalled a prank he had pulled as a... In late 2021, Jonah Peretti, CEO of BuzzFeed, logged onto a virtual all-hands meeting to tell the...

The Enovix office in Fremont, Calif. Photo via Shutterstock.

Battery Developer Enovix Lays Off Roughly One-Third of Staff

By Steve LeVine · May 6, 2024 12:24pm PDT

The Enovix office in Fremont, Calif. Photo via Shutterstock.

Battery Developer Enovix Lays Off Roughly One-Third of Staff

By Steve LeVine · May 6, 2024 12:24pm PDT

A week after reporting a battery development agreement with an unnamed maker of smartphones, silicon battery maker Enovix on Monday laid off approximately 170 workers at its Fremont, Calif., factory. The layoff appeared to be part of a company attempt, announced last week, to reduce annual operating costs by $35 million before the end of the... A week after reporting a battery development agreement with an unnamed maker of smartphones,...