The Information

OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever. Photo via Getty

Three Senior OpenAI Researchers Resign as Crisis Deepens

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Nov 17, 2023 10:41pm PST · 25 comments

Three senior researchers at OpenAI resigned Friday night as the artificial intelligence developer suffered fallout from the firing of CEO Sam Altman and sudden resignation of President Greg Brockman, according to several people with knowledge of the situation. Jakub Pachocki, the company’s director of research; Aleksander Madry, head of a... Three senior researchers at OpenAI resigned Friday night as the artificial intelligence developer...

Sam Altman and Ilya Sutskever speaking at Tel Aviv University on June 5. Photo by Jack Guez/AFP via Getty.

Before OpenAI Ousted Altman, Employees Disagreed Over AI ‘Safety’

By Jon Victor, Stephanie Palazzolo, Anissa Gardizy and Amir Efrati · Nov 17, 2023 6:40pm PST · 18 comments

OpenAI’s ouster of CEO Sam Altman on Friday followed internal arguments among employees about whether the company was developing artificial intelligence safely enough, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Such disagreements were high on the minds of some employees during an impromptu all-hands meeting following the firing.... OpenAI’s ouster of CEO Sam Altman on Friday followed internal arguments among employees...

OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman. Photo by Getty.

Interim OpenAI CEO: Microsoft Has ‘Utmost Confidence’ in Startup Following Altman Departure

By Erin Woo, Anissa Gardizy, Aaron Holmes and Amir Efrati · Nov 17, 2023 2:43pm PST · 11 comments

OpenAI Interim CEO Mira Murati on Friday told staff in a companywide meeting that its relationship with Microsoft—its biggest outside source of capital and computing power—was stable following the sudden firing of CEO Sam Altman, according to people with knowledge of the meeting. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CTO Kevin Scott... OpenAI Interim CEO Mira Murati on Friday told staff in a companywide meeting that its...

Illustration by Lina Chekhovich/Adobe Stock.

‘Figma Took Their Lunch Money’: How $2 Billion Design Startup InVision Fell Apart

By Maria Heeter · Nov 17, 2023 6:00am PST · 11 comments

Illustration by Lina Chekhovich/Adobe Stock.

‘Figma Took Their Lunch Money’: How $2 Billion Design Startup InVision Fell Apart

By Maria Heeter · Nov 17, 2023 6:00am PST · 11 comments

The founder and CEO of InVision saw the siege coming. His successful user interface design startup was growing fast, having built a product that some expected to put Adobe, the juggernaut of the design industry, back on its heels. But Adobe was working on a next-generation app of its own, and another upstart, Figma, was gaining momentum with... The founder and CEO of InVision saw the siege coming. His successful user interface design...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussing Gemini in May, via YouTube.

Google Delays Release of Gemini AI That Aims to Compete With OpenAI

By Jon Victor · Nov 16, 2023 4:07pm PST · 2 comments

Google’s company-defining effort to catch up to ChatGPT creator OpenAI is turning out to be harder than expected. Google representatives earlier this year told some cloud customers and business partners they would get access to the company’s new conversational AI, a large language model known as Gemini, by November. But the company... Google’s company-defining effort to catch up to ChatGPT creator OpenAI is turning out to be...

New Web Summit CEO, Katherine Maher, at the first day of the event on November 13 in Lisbon. Photo by Getty.

Two Startups Reject Web Summit Money in Fallout From Ex-CEO’s Remarks

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 16, 2023 7:30am PST · 4 comments

Web Summit attempted to put a turbulent chapter behind it this week, drawing more than 70,000 attendees to the annual tech conference in Lisbon. But the fallout from its former CEO's remarks isn’t over. Two Israeli startups, Lasso Security and Ask-AI, are rejecting the investments of the tech conference’s venture arm after former... Web Summit attempted to put a turbulent chapter behind it this week, drawing more than 70,000...

JPMorgan's Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, complete with digital tiger. Photo via YouTube/BeFuture.

JPMorgan’s Blockchain Business Onyx Searches for Its Identity—and Revenue

By Michael Roddan · Nov 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. Inside a crypto-focused virtual world called Decentraland, users could visit the swanky Onyx lounge, named after the bank’s blockchain operations, to mingle with fellow crypto enthusiasts and watch videos of the bank’s experts discussing... In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. ...

Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue Management. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Coatue Raises $1.4 Billion Fund, Cuts Fees as Venture Firms Navigate Frigid Market

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Nov 15, 2023 12:36pm PST · 1 comment

Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue Management. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Coatue Raises $1.4 Billion Fund, Cuts Fees as Venture Firms Navigate Frigid Market

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Nov 15, 2023 12:36pm PST · 1 comment

To entice their investors off the sidelines, venture capital firms are turning to a tactic used during the dot-com bust: discounts. Coatue Management recently raised $1.4 billion for a companion fund to its $7.7 billion VC growth fund, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Coatue is not charging existing investors in the... To entice their investors off the sidelines, venture capital firms are turning to a tactic used...

Left to right: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos via Getty.

Before TikTok Turned Into a Rival, Amazon Saw a Potential Partner

By Theo Wayt and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov 15, 2023 7:30am PST

Late last year, Amazon executives met with their counterparts at TikTok parent ByteDance to propose a novel idea: creating a new advertising format that would let customers buy items from Amazon ads on TikTok without leaving the app, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. A partnership could have been a breakthrough for... Late last year, Amazon executives met with their counterparts at TikTok parent ByteDance to...

Photo by AFP via Getty.

Shein’s Revenue Surged More Than 40%, Likely Surpassing Zara

By Jing Yang · Nov 15, 2023 6:38am PST · 2 comments

Shein’s revenue surged more than 40% to $24 billion between January and September from a year earlier, people familiar with its finances said, growth that highlights the mounting threat for Amazon as the China-founded retailer looks to expand beyond fast fashion by ramping up sales of other goods like appliances and electronics. Shein,... Shein’s revenue surged more than 40% to $24 billion between January and September from a...

Evan Spiegel. Photo by AFP via Getty.

To Revive Snap, Evan Spiegel Promotes Hardcore Work Culture

By Erin Woo · Nov 14, 2023 11:55am PST · 15 comments

Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has lately taken to walking around his company’s Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters in the evenings, stopping at employees’ desks and asking what they’re working on. He has noticed, however, that he always spots the same handful of people working late in the office, he told employees at a... Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has lately taken to walking around his company’s Santa...

ByteDance's Douyin Group offices in Beijing. Photo by Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg via Getty.

ByteDance Revenue Surges to $29 Billion in Second Quarter, Closing in on Meta

By Cory Weinberg, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Nov 14, 2023 6:00am PST

ByteDance's Douyin Group offices in Beijing. Photo by Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg via Getty.

ByteDance Revenue Surges to $29 Billion in Second Quarter, Closing in on Meta

By Cory Weinberg, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Nov 14, 2023 6:00am PST

ByteDance is closing the revenue gap with Facebook owner Meta Platforms as it generates more sales from advertising and e-commerce. The Chinese owner of TikTok saw revenue surge more than 40% to $29 billion in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to people with knowledge of the figures. That’s a far higher growth rate than... ByteDance is closing the revenue gap with Facebook owner Meta Platforms as it generates more...

Photo by Getty.

Amazon Reaches Deal to Run Shopping Ads on Snap

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Theo Wayt · Nov 13, 2023 7:06pm PST

Amazon has reached a deal with Snap that will let people buy Amazon products directly from ads on the Snapchat app, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed. The previously unreported arrangement closely resembles an ad partnership announced last week between Amazon and Meta Platforms, which lets people buy products through Amazon ads on Instagram and... Amazon has reached a deal with Snap that will let people buy Amazon products directly from ads on...

Henrique Dubugras, founder and co-CEO of Brex. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Brex’s Quarterly Revenue Growth Slows to 1%, Following Post-SVB Growth Spurt

By Mark Matousek · Nov 13, 2023 12:09pm PST

Almost no startup benefited more from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank than Brex, which saw a surge in deposits from young companies who use its credit card and cash management products. But that growth spurt has petered out in recent months, internal data reveal, putting more pressure on the company to ramp up its expense software... Almost no startup benefited more from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank than Brex, which saw a...

Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis, left, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, right. Photos by Getty

OpenAI’s New Weapon in Talent War With Google: $10 Million Pay Packages for Researchers

By Jon Victor · Nov 10, 2023 6:00am PST

The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an employee share sale that would nearly triple the startup’s valuation to more than $80 billion, its recruiters are courting top artificial intelligence employees at Google with millions of dollars and a message: Join us now to lock in a stock... The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an...

Photo via Getty.

Deel Hits $400 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, as Rippling Rivalry Grows

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 9, 2023 12:47pm PST · 1 comment

Photo via Getty.

Deel Hits $400 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, as Rippling Rivalry Grows

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 9, 2023 12:47pm PST · 1 comment

Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual recurring revenue, a senior sales director at the startup said last month, up from a pace of $295 million in January. Deel’s growth shows how some enterprise software startups have been able to thrive during a pullback in business software spending.... Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual...

Amazon Style's now-closed store in Glendale, Calif. in May 2022. Photo by Los Angeles Daily News via Getty.

Why Amazon’s Futuristic Fashion Stores Flopped

By Theo Wayt · Nov 9, 2023 6:00am PST · 6 comments

When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a surprise visit to one of his company’s Style clothing stores in Glendale, Calif., this past August, he posed for selfies with workers while holding a pair of shopping bags. It seems he wasn’t impressed. Three months later, Amazon announced that the store, along with its other Style location in Ohio,... When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a surprise visit to one of his company’s Style clothing...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by AFP via Getty.

Snap Lays Off Product Managers as Spiegel Revamps Workforce

By Erin Woo · Nov 8, 2023 2:06pm PST · 1 comment

Snap has laid off nearly 20 product managers, the latest shakeup at the social app after several top departures over the last three months. Separately, Snap’s longtime vice president of engineering, Nima Khajehnouri, told employees earlier this week that he was leaving. His last day at the company will be Dec. 1, a Snap... Snap has laid off nearly 20 product managers, the latest shakeup at the social app after...

Juliet de Baubigny, left. Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Image for Fortune.

Juliet de Baubigny Joins BDT & MSD Partners as Part of Its Tech Push

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Nov 8, 2023 8:29am PST · 2 comments

Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more than 20 years spent developing deep ties with founders across Silicon Valley and Europe, first at Kleiner Perkins and then as a co-founder of Bond Capital, the venture capital veteran is joining BDT & MSD Partners to ramp up its presence in the... Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Banks Ran Their Safest IPO Playbooks This Year. Investors Say It Backfired.

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 8, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Photo via Shutterstock.

Banks Ran Their Safest IPO Playbooks This Year. Investors Say It Backfired.

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 8, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

It seemed like a surefire way to juice investor demand in a tough market: Instacart lined up a group of existing and new investors, ranging from Sequoia Capital to Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, to buy up to $400 million, or 60% of the stock it planned to sell in its September initial public offering. In the days leading up to the IPO,... It seemed like a surefire way to juice investor demand in a tough market: Instacart lined up a...