The Information

Sam Altman. Photo via Getty Images

Some OpenAI Investors Sit Out Share Sale, Reflecting AI Divide

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Feb 6, 2024 6:00am PST · 2 comments

For the past year, owning a stake in OpenAI was akin to possessing Silicon Valley gold, signaling that the investor had a ticket to the next great tech transformation. But as the valuation of the startup has tripled, some investors have refrained from buying more. And a number of marquee venture capital firms have shied from investing in dozens... For the past year, owning a stake in OpenAI was akin to possessing Silicon Valley gold, signaling...

A Shein warehouse in Indiana. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Shein’s Top U.S. Lawyer Departs

By Ann Gehan · Feb 5, 2024 1:47pm PST · 1 comment

Shein lawyers have plenty of work on their plate right now, as the China-founded fast-fashion firm fends off a raft of trademark infringement lawsuits and gears up for a potential U.S. initial public offering. But Shein’s internal legal ranks are going through a change in leadership, with Shein’s top U.S. lawyer, Valerie Ho,... Shein lawyers have plenty of work on their plate right now, as the China-founded fast-fashion...

Mike Clayville. Photo via Stripe.

Top Stripe Executive Clayville Departs, Is Helping Secretive Startup Omniva Hire

By Theo Wayt, Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 5, 2024 12:25pm PST

Stripe returned to profitability last year in part by squeezing spending on sales and marketing. The executive in charge of growing sales to large customers isn’t sticking around to see how the slimmed-down strategy plays out. Mike Clayville, a former Amazon Web Services executive who became a marquee Stripe hire three and a half years ago... Stripe returned to profitability last year in part by squeezing spending on sales and marketing....

Evan Spiegel. Photo by Getty.

Snap Targets Senior Leadership in Sweeping Layoffs

By Erin Woo · Feb 5, 2024 9:48am PST · 3 comments

Evan Spiegel. Photo by Getty.

Snap Targets Senior Leadership in Sweeping Layoffs

By Erin Woo · Feb 5, 2024 9:48am PST · 3 comments

Snap cut several senior executives in its layoffs announced on Monday, aiming in part to reduce the amount of stock based compensation it pays out to senior people, CEO Evan Spiegel told staff on Monday. The company said it would cut its workforce by 10%, or around 550 employees. Included in the cuts were Sam Corrao Clanon, director of content;... Snap cut several senior executives in its layoffs announced on Monday, aiming in part to reduce...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Musk’s X is Flooded With Ad Spam—Stolen Credit Cards May Be Key

By Erin Woo · Feb 5, 2024 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has in the past couple of months been inundated with a wave of ads for porn sites and fake luxury goods. That might sound like a low-priority problem for X, as these ads—no matter how sketchy—could in theory bring in much-needed ad revenue. The problem is that the flood of ad spam, as... Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has in the past couple of months been inundated...

Shane Burke/Shutterstock

As China-U.S. Relations Sour, Baidu’s VC Affiliate Tries to Sell Its U.S. Startup Stakes

By Juro Osawa · Feb 2, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

A venture capital firm backed by Chinese internet firm Baidu is in talks to sell a portfolio of stakes in a range of U.S. startups, including artificial intelligence robotics startup Machina Labs, whose customers include the U.S. Air Force, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The firm, Baidu Venture, has been in discussions... A venture capital firm backed by Chinese internet firm Baidu is in talks to sell a portfolio of...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

AI Data Center Startup Astera Labs Plans March IPO

By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 1, 2024 11:46am PST · 1 comment

A little-known startup that sells crucial data center components to customers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft is aiming to become one of the first firms to go public off the back of the boom in generative artificial intelligence. Astera Labs, backed by Sutter Hill Ventures and Intel, has been meeting with prospective investors ahead of a... A little-known startup that sells crucial data center components to customers like Amazon Web...

Jack Altman in 2019. Photo via Princeton University.

Alt Capital Raises $150 Million Fund, Extending Altman Brothers’ Funding Spree

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 1, 2024 8:52am PST

Jack Altman in 2019. Photo via Princeton University.

Alt Capital Raises $150 Million Fund, Extending Altman Brothers’ Funding Spree

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 1, 2024 8:52am PST

Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack has raised a $150 million venture fund to invest in early-stage startups through his VC firm Alt Capital, the younger Altman said in an interview. The fund plans to lead or co-lead investments in startups right after they incorporate, with a focus on enterprise software, including artificial intelligence... Sam Altman’s younger brother Jack has raised a $150 million venture fund to invest in...

Meta campus in Menlo Park. Photo by Getty.

Advertisers Feel the Effects of Meta’s ‘Efficiency’ Drive

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sahil Patel · Feb 1, 2024 6:00am PST

Facebook parent Meta Platforms is testing the patience of its advertiser clients. After two rounds of layoffs over the past 14 months, Meta’s ad sales team is operating with fewer people, which ad executives complain is affecting the service they receive from the company. Sean Johnston, vice president of digital advertising at Closed Loop,... Facebook parent Meta Platforms is testing the patience of its advertiser clients. After two...

Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler, left, and Bird founder and CEO Robert Vis. Photos by Business Wire; Getty.

Dutch Messaging Startup Weighs Longshot Bid to Buy Twilio With Outside Investors

By Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Feb 1, 2024 4:56am PST

A Dutch messaging software startup is in talks with outside investors to raise money for a longshot bid to buy its much larger U.S. publicly traded competitor Twilio, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Accel Partners-backed startup, which was known as MessageBird but just renamed itself Bird, could take advantage of the... A Dutch messaging software startup is in talks with outside investors to raise money for a...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

As AI Costs Soar, Some Startups Consider Selling

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 31, 2024 9:00am PST · 4 comments

The founders of artificial intelligence startups spent much of the past year seeking capital to fund the high cost of developing their software. Now those costs have pushed some to consider another alternative—merging with a larger company. Perplexity AI, a one-year-old San Francisco–based startup developing an AI-powered search... The founders of artificial intelligence startups spent much of the past year seeking capital to...

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock

A KKR-Backed Medical Waste Company Faces a Messy Situation

By Maria Heeter · Jan 31, 2024 6:00am PST

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock

A KKR-Backed Medical Waste Company Faces a Messy Situation

By Maria Heeter · Jan 31, 2024 6:00am PST

There are companies that suffer from management messes, and there are companies whose businesses involve disposing of messes. Private equity giant KKR & Co. helped create a company that combines both qualities. Nearly seven years ago, KKR became the controlling shareholder of a company, Trilogy MedWaste, that was seeking to become a national... There are companies that suffer from management messes, and there are companies whose businesses...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Google DeepMind Veteran Departs to Launch AI Agent Startup

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jan 30, 2024 1:13pm PST

As OpenAI and Google develop artificial intelligence to power conversational AI chatbots like ChatGPT, a slew of startups is trying to stake out a lead in the nascent field of AI agents, which use similar technology to perform complex tasks such as booking flights or researching business competitors. The latest startup to go in this direction... As OpenAI and Google develop artificial intelligence to power conversational AI chatbots like...

PayPal headquarters in San Jose. Photo by Getty.

PayPal to Cut 9% of Staff in Companywide Layoffs

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Mark Matousek · Jan 30, 2024 11:12am PST · 1 comment

PayPal is laying off 9% of its staff, the company told employees in an email on Tuesday, as a newly appointed CEO looks to cut costs and improve profits. PayPal’s human resources team told staffers the layoffs were part of a cost-reduction effort, according to an employee who was in the meeting. The layoffs affected people across... PayPal is laying off 9% of its staff, the company told employees in an email on Tuesday, as a...

Sellers receive a live-streaming training on Douyin in Suqian, China. Photo by CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

TikTok Plans Los Angeles Live Studios to Boost Shopping Sales

By Kaya Yurieff and Erin Woo · Jan 30, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

When TikTok creators start a livestream to chat about their new favorite hairbrush, dog toy or cleaning product, they’re usually doing so from a setup in their own home. Soon some may be broadcasting from a company-operated studio in Los Angeles. The short-video app is planning to open several locations in cities including LA where... When TikTok creators start a livestream to chat about their new favorite hairbrush, dog toy or...

Alphabet President Ruth Porat. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images

Google’s Parent Company Squeezes Its Moonshot Projects, ‘Other Bets’

By Jon Victor and Margaux MacColl · Jan 29, 2024 4:08pm PST

Alphabet President Ruth Porat. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images

Google’s Parent Company Squeezes Its Moonshot Projects, ‘Other Bets’

By Jon Victor and Margaux MacColl · Jan 29, 2024 4:08pm PST

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is cutting back its commitment to ambitious moonshot projects. Company executives have told staffers at the X unit, which converts promising investment projects into full-fledged subsidiaries, known as Other Bets, that no such conversions will happen this year, said a person familiar with the situation. At... Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is cutting back its commitment to ambitious moonshot...

Microsoft's GitHub versus GitLab. Illustration by Clark Miller

Microsoft’s AI Coding Product Becomes Weapon in Battle with AWS

By Aaron Holmes · Jan 29, 2024 6:00am PST · 2 comments

If you want to understand how Microsoft’s embrace of artificial intelligence is driving growth in its business, take a look at GitHub, a business it bought a few years ago that stores code for software developers around the world. It’s no secret that developers have flocked to GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant Microsoft... If you want to understand how Microsoft’s embrace of artificial intelligence is driving...

Ryan Petersen, CEO and founder of Flexport. Photo by AP.

Flexport to Lay Off Nearly 20% of Staff in Latest Cuts

By Theo Wayt · Jan 26, 2024 11:00am PST · 3 comments

Flexport plans to lay off nearly 20% of its workforce in the coming weeks, representing several hundred roles, according to people familiar with the matter. It would mark the SoftBank-backed logistics startup’s third major round of cuts in just over a year. Flexport is planning the cuts even after it raised $260 million from Shopify... Flexport plans to lay off nearly 20% of its workforce in the coming weeks, representing several...

Snyk signage at AWS re:Invent last year.

Cybersecurity Upstarts Snyk, Cato Prepare for IPOs

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 26, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment

For some venture capital–backed cybersecurity startups, the slow-moving gears of initial public offerings are starting to turn. Snyk, an Accel Partners–backed startup that sells security tools for developers, valued at $7.4 billion in 2022, has been drafting its IPO investor prospectus and could file it confidentially with regulators... For some venture capital–backed cybersecurity startups, the slow-moving gears of initial...

Photo by Nicole Craine/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Delivery Startup Veho Cuts Staff Despite Revenue Jump

By Ann Gehan · Jan 25, 2024 12:33pm PST

Photo by Nicole Craine/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Delivery Startup Veho Cuts Staff Despite Revenue Jump

By Ann Gehan · Jan 25, 2024 12:33pm PST

Many logistics startups were forced to make deep layoffs last year as their businesses slumped. Package-delivery startup Veho, in contrast, grew its revenue nearly 90% last year. Yet it’s also been cutting jobs. Veho cut 19% of its corporate workers last week, a person close to the company said, layoffs that came just a few months after it... Many logistics startups were forced to make deep layoffs last year as their businesses slumped....