The Information

Dan Lewis, CEO of Convoy. Photo via Getty. Art by Shane Burke

How Trucking Startup Convoy Drove Itself Into the Ground

By Maria Heeter, Ann Gehan, Nick Wingfield and Theo Wayt · Oct 20, 2023 1:05pm PDT · 19 comments

On Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m, the mimosas started flowing at Convoy’s Seattle headquarters. It wasn’t a celebration. After months of Convoy trying desperately to raise cash or find a buyer, employees had just been ordered to stop taking new orders and cancel existing shipments. The startup, which had raised more than $1 billion... On Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m, the mimosas started flowing at Convoy’s Seattle...

Art by Mike Sullivan

NASA Tensions with SpaceX Rise Over Moon Mission Delays

By Becky Peterson · Oct 20, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

SpaceX’s most important customer—NASA—is getting impatient with the rocket company’s delays in building critical equipment meant for the space agency’s next mission to the moon. In recent months, NASA officials have raised concerns with their counterparts at SpaceX that the company has missed milestones related to a... SpaceX’s most important customer—NASA—is getting impatient with the rocket...

Thrive's Josh Kushner, left, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos via Thrive Capital and Getty.

Thrive Capital to Lead Purchase of OpenAI Employee Shares at $80 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Kate Clark · Oct 19, 2023 3:10pm PDT · 6 comments

Investment firm Thrive Capital is leading a deal to buy OpenAI shares from employees through a tender offer that would give the company a paper valuation of at least $80 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge. The deal would boost OpenAI’s valuation by at least three times from a similar transaction the startup made six... Investment firm Thrive Capital is leading a deal to buy OpenAI shares from employees...

Photo via Convoy.

Trucking Startup Convoy Shuts Down, Wiping Out Investors

By Maria Heeter and Theo Wayt · Oct 19, 2023 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Convoy.

Trucking Startup Convoy Shuts Down, Wiping Out Investors

By Maria Heeter and Theo Wayt · Oct 19, 2023 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Trucking startup Convoy is shutting down, the company told employees and investors on Thursday, in a dramatic collapse of a business that raised nearly $1 billion from big name investors including T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and CapitalG. Convoy abruptly stopped accepting new business this week and is laying off a majority of its staff, while CEO... Trucking startup Convoy is shutting down, the company told employees and investors on Thursday,...

Photos via Getty.

How Shein Decided to Partner With Rival Forever 21

By Jing Yang · Oct 19, 2023 8:00am PDT

When Shein announced a partnership with Forever 21 in August, it unveiled a deal that would align two firms that might otherwise be enemies: a China-founded online fashion retailer and a U.S. brick-and-mortar retail label that’s bleeding sales to e-commerce upstarts. The deal involves Shein issuing $300 million to $400 million worth of its... When Shein announced a partnership with Forever 21 in August, it unveiled a deal that would align...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. Photo via Getty.

Inside Meta’s Struggles to Turn Reels Into an Advertising Powerhouse

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Oct 19, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Anyone scrolling quick videos of people making elaborate kinds of spaghetti or sharing dating horror stories may not be in the mood to click on an ad suggesting they buy a new pair of jeans. That’s at least what ad executives are saying about Meta Platforms’ efforts to sell ads on Reels, the Facebook owner’s answer to TikTok. A... Anyone scrolling quick videos of people making elaborate kinds of spaghetti or sharing dating...

Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat. Photo by Getty

Google and Other Alphabet Units Laid Off Staff as Industry Resumes Cost Cuts

By Jon Victor · Oct 18, 2023 5:58pm PDT · 2 comments

Google and its parent company Alphabet has quietly laid off staff, spokespeople for the conglomerate said, as tech firms continue to tighten their belts following a marked slowdown in business growth. Divisions such as Google News, Alphabet’s healthcare analytics subsidiary Verily and self-driving car unit Waymo recently laid off staff,... Google and its parent company Alphabet has quietly laid off staff, spokespeople for the...

Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Discord Shutters Gas, Making It Two in a Row for Gas Founder

By Mark Matousek · Oct 18, 2023 1:18pm PDT

Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Discord Shutters Gas, Making It Two in a Row for Gas Founder

By Mark Matousek · Oct 18, 2023 1:18pm PDT

Nikita Bier has done it again. Nine months after he sold anonymous-compliments app Gas to Discord, the app is being shut down, Discord CEO Jason Citron has told employees. Bier is known in Silicon Valley as the founder of TBH, another anonymous social app which he sold to Facebook in 2017. In mid-2018, Facebook said it was closing the app... Nikita Bier has done it again. Nine months after he sold anonymous-compliments app Gas to...

Tencent's headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Photo via Shutterstock.

China’s Government Takes Stake in a Tencent Domestic Unit

By Juro Osawa · Oct 18, 2023 11:39am PDT

China’s government has taken a stake in a domestic subsidiary of Tencent, the operator of WeChat, China’s biggest messaging app, in the latest step by Beijing to tighten its control over the country’s big tech firms. The government has taken a similar sized stake in the domestic subsidiaries of several other tech giants over... China’s government has taken a stake in a domestic subsidiary of Tencent, the operator of...

Apple CEO Tim Cook in China earlier this year. Photo by Getty

Apple Fired App Store Staff After Finding Improper Dealings with Game Developers

By Wayne Ma · Oct 18, 2023 9:58am PDT

Apple fired at least five employees who worked in the company’s App Store in China following an internal probe into business misconduct, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. Apple found infractions such as unsanctioned contact with mobile game developers or consultants working on their behalf, these people said. An... Apple fired at least five employees who worked in the company’s App Store in China...

Photo by The Washington Post via Getty.

Amazon to TV Ad Newbies: If You Buy Commercials, We’ll Make Them

By Theo Wayt · Oct 18, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon is approaching brands that already buy search ads on its e-commerce website with an unusual pitch: if you buy streaming TV ads, we’ll make them for you. The incentive highlights the lengths Amazon is willing to go to in order to try to build a streaming ad business. Smaller brands that sell on Amazon often don’t have the money... Amazon is approaching brands that already buy search ads on its e-commerce website with an...

The world premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" in London on August 30. Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty.

Amazon Pushes Advertisers to Commit Big to Prime Video

By Sahil Patel · Oct 17, 2023 12:19pm PDT

The world premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" in London on August 30. Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty.

Amazon Pushes Advertisers to Commit Big to Prime Video

By Sahil Patel · Oct 17, 2023 12:19pm PDT

As Amazon gears up to run ads on its Prime Video streaming service early next year, company executives are asking advertisers to commit to spending significant amounts of money on the service in 2024. The requests, which ad executives say are more aggressive than what Netflix asked for when it launched an ad-tier last year, signify... As Amazon gears up to run ads on its Prime Video streaming service early next year, company...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI Dropped Work on New ‘Arrakis’ AI Model in Rare Setback

By Jon Victor and Aaron Holmes · Oct 17, 2023 12:16pm PDT · 10 comments

Late last year, around the time ChatGPT became a global sensation, the engineers at OpenAI began working on a new artificial intelligence model, codenamed Arrakis. Although OpenAI was preparing to boost ChatGPT with a different model, now known as GPT-4, which it had completed earlier in the year, the upcoming Arrakis model would allow the... Late last year, around the time ChatGPT became a global sensation, the engineers at OpenAI began...

Ian Sigalow and Dana Settle. Photos via Getty.

VC Firm Greycroft Cuts Five Investors After Missing Fundraising Target

By Kate Clark · Oct 16, 2023 7:23pm PDT · 4 comments

Greycroft, a New York venture capital firm that has backed Bumble, Venmo and Axios, is laying off five investors, the firm confirmed, after it failed to reach fundraising targets earlier this year. It’s also backing away from healthcare and fintech investing. The firm disclosed in April that it had raised a total of $980 million for... Greycroft, a New York venture capital firm that has backed Bumble, Venmo and Axios, is laying off...

A Nvidia HGX H100 server. Photo by Gettty

AI Chip Reseller Raises $50 Million in Financing Led By Kleiner Perkins

By Kate Clark, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 13, 2023 11:17am PDT

Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup that capitalizes on artificial intelligence startups’ voracious need for specialized semiconductors. The equity financing of at least $50 million would value the one-year-old company at more than $300 million before the investment, according to people with knowledge of the... Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup that capitalizes on artificial...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Trio of Top Executives Exit Chime

By Mark Matousek · Oct 13, 2023 9:14am PDT

Photo via Shutterstock.

Trio of Top Executives Exit Chime

By Mark Matousek · Oct 13, 2023 9:14am PDT

Several top executives at Chime, the once-highflying online banking startup whose growth has lately slowed, are heading for the exits. Beth Steinberg, Chime’s chief people officer, is planning to leave the company, she told The Information. She follows out the door general counsel Kate Karas, who stepped down in August, and Chief... Several top executives at Chime, the once-highflying online banking startup whose growth has...

The Baidu Technology Park in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Baidu Seeks Edge in China’s Crowded Race for AI Dominance

By Juro Osawa · Oct 13, 2023 6:00am PDT

In the U.S., all eyes are on OpenAI and Google’s battle for supremacy in generative artificial intelligence. In China, where the government blocks those companies’ internet services, a parallel race is heating up among domestic giants, even as the Chinese firms face growing restrictions on their access to American chips needed for... In the U.S., all eyes are on OpenAI and Google’s battle for supremacy in generative...

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

OpenAI’s Revenue Crossed $1.3 Billion Annualized Rate, CEO Tells Staff

By Amir Efrati · Oct 12, 2023 8:09am PDT · 2 comments

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is generating revenue at a pace of $1.3 billion a year, CEO Sam Altman told staff this week, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. Altman’s remark implies the company is generating more than $100 million per month, up 30% from this summer, when the Microsoft-backed startup generated revenue at a $1... ChatGPT maker OpenAI is generating revenue at a pace of $1.3 billion a year, CEO Sam Altman told...

Photo via Getty.

Tiny Banks That Powered Cash App Grew Like Crazy. Then the Feds Came Calling

By Michael Roddan · Oct 12, 2023 6:00am PDT

When Lincoln Savings Bank struck a partnership in 2017 to process direct deposits for Cash App, it was a big break for the small, century-old lender based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Venmo-like app, part of Jack Dorsey’s financial services company now known as Block, was growing quickly. By partnering with Cash App and other fintechs,... When Lincoln Savings Bank struck a partnership in 2017 to process direct deposits for Cash App,...

Deepgram CEO Scott Stephenson. Photo courtesy of Deepgram.

AI Startup Lays Off Workers Again in Fresh Sign of Sector Belt-Tightening

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 11, 2023 7:17pm PDT

Deepgram CEO Scott Stephenson. Photo courtesy of Deepgram.

AI Startup Lays Off Workers Again in Fresh Sign of Sector Belt-Tightening

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 11, 2023 7:17pm PDT

Deepgram, an artificial intelligence startup selling speech recognition software that generates transcripts, has cut around 20% of staff, or around 20 people, CEO Scott Stephenson said. It was at least the second time this year the San Francisco startup has laid off workers, according to two people familiar with the cuts. Stephenson blamed... Deepgram, an artificial intelligence startup selling speech recognition software that generates...