The Information

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,...

From left: Melanie Perkins, CEO of Canva; Parker Conrad, CEO of Rippling; Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks; Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photos by Getty

How Investment Banks Are Helping Canva, Stripe, Figma Stay Private

By Cory Weinberg · May 6, 2024 6:00am PDT

From left: Melanie Perkins, CEO of Canva; Parker Conrad, CEO of Rippling; Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks; Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photos by Getty

How Investment Banks Are Helping Canva, Stripe, Figma Stay Private

By Cory Weinberg · May 6, 2024 6:00am PDT

When Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon gathered two dozen tech executives, bankers and investors to a wine and steak dinner in Las Vegas last November, seated next to him was Cliff Obrecht, co-founder of Canva, a $26 billion privately held design software company. Canva is exactly the kind of company Goldman would look to take public one... When Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon gathered two dozen tech executives, bankers and investors to...

Chris Clark and Diane Yoon. Photos via YouTube and Talent Summit.

Two Senior OpenAI Executives Leave Company

By Jon Victor · May 3, 2024 2:33pm PDT · 1 comment

Two senior OpenAI executives—vice president of people Diane Yoon and Chris Clark, head of nonprofit and strategic initiatives—left the company earlier this week, a company spokesperson said. The two resignations are the latest high-profile changes to OpenAI’s leadership in the aftermath of Sam Altman’s dramatic ouster and... Two senior OpenAI executives—vice president of people Diane Yoon and Chris Clark, head of...

Art by Clark Miller

How Apple Boosts Chinese Suppliers With Know-How From Foreign Companies

By Wayne Ma · May 3, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

In March at an event in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook mingled with the founders of several major Apple suppliers in the country, including Lens Technology, which makes the protective glass screens for iPhones. “It’s the partnership between Apple and Chinese companies that really makes things happen,” Cook told Chinese state media... In March at an event in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook mingled with the founders of several major...

A Tesla Supercharging station in Austin. Photo by Getty Images

A Tesla Executive Reassured Supercharger Team Days Before Musk Fired Its Staff

By Becky Peterson · May 1, 2024 1:27pm PDT · 5 comments

Earlier this week, Elon Musk laid off a 500-person team overseeing Tesla’s Supercharger Network, a move that stunned many employees and industry observers who consider the electrical charging stations one of Tesla’s key advantages. But just a couple weeks ago, one of Musk’s lieutenants reassured members of Tesla’s energy... Earlier this week, Elon Musk laid off a 500-person team overseeing Tesla’s Supercharger...

Photo via Getty Images/Shane Burke.

As Tech Firms Prioritize AI in News Dealings, Other Deals Get Cut

By Sahil Patel · Apr 30, 2024 6:00am PDT

Photo via Getty Images/Shane Burke.

As Tech Firms Prioritize AI in News Dealings, Other Deals Get Cut

By Sahil Patel · Apr 30, 2024 6:00am PDT

Google has agreed to pay Wall Street Journal owner News Corp between $5 million and $6 million annually to fund the news organization's development of new artificial intelligence–related content and products, according to a News Corp staffer and another person close to the deal. The new and previously unreported arrangement follows... Google has agreed to pay Wall Street Journal owner News Corp between $5 million and $6 million...