The Information

Oracle co-founder talks to Elon Musk in Miami in May. Photo by Getty

Oracle’s Answer to the Microsoft-OpenAI Alliance: Cozying Up to Cohere

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 9, 2023 2:08pm PDT

Oracle has invested in Cohere, an artificial intelligence startup that competes with OpenAI, the startup said on Thursday. What Cohere didn’t say: Oracle plans to make the startup a centerpiece of its strategy to catch up to bigger cloud rivals that sell services powered by large-language models. Steve Miranda, a senior Oracle executive,... Oracle has invested in Cohere, an artificial intelligence startup that competes with OpenAI, the...

Marc Andreessen. Photo: Bloomberg.

Andreessen Horowitz Merges Fintech and Consumer Teams After Some Bets Fizzle

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Jun 9, 2023 12:32pm PDT · 1 comment

Andreessen Horowitz has combined its finance and consumer investment teams into one, merging what were two of the hottest pandemic-era investment categories that have since cooled. The investment firm’s leaders have encouraged the combined team, led by general partner Alex Rampell, to pursue artificial intelligence deals, two people... Andreessen Horowitz has combined its finance and consumer investment teams into one, merging what...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo: Getty

U.S. Federal Agencies Cut TikTok Ad Spending

By Sahil Patel and Erin Woo · Jun 9, 2023 11:40am PDT · 1 comment

Parts of the federal government are pulling back from advertising on TikTok, according to an advertising executive who works with government agencies, as the U.S. government restricts federal employees’ and contractors’ use of the app, a unit of China’s ByteDance. Last week, NASA, the Department of Defense and the General... Parts of the federal government are pulling back from advertising on TikTok, according to an...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Inside the Culture Clash at JPMorgan and WePay

By Michael Roddan · Jun 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Photo via Shutterstock.

Inside the Culture Clash at JPMorgan and WePay

By Michael Roddan · Jun 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

When JPMorgan Chase struck a $400 million deal to buy WePay in late 2017, it pledged that the Bay Area fintech would become “Chase’s payments innovation incubator in Silicon Valley,” helping the country’s biggest bank compete with surging startups Stripe and Square and payments companies like PayPal. But it didn’t... When JPMorgan Chase struck a $400 million deal to buy WePay in late 2017, it pledged that the Bay...

Art from Unsplash

Rise of New Open-Source AI Model Sparks Startup Acquisition Talks

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 8, 2023 1:58pm PDT · 3 comments

In recent weeks, open-source software funded by the United Arab Emirates burst on the artificial intelligence scene as one of the most promising challengers to proprietary large-language models developed by OpenAI and Google. The value of the UAE-backed software, known as Falcon, became clear when one of the key researchers behind it was... In recent weeks, open-source software funded by the United Arab Emirates burst on the artificial...

Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities. Photo by Bloomberg.

Wall Street Firm Citadel Securities Courts AI Startups for Trading Edge

By Jon Victor and Cory Weinberg · Jun 8, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Citadel Securities, a prominent high-frequency trading firm, has told startup founders and investors it is looking to license software from artificial intelligence startups working on large-language models or to buy stakes in them, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations. The discussions highlight how interest in the latest... Citadel Securities, a prominent high-frequency trading firm, has told startup founders and...

Jonah Peretti. Photo by Getty.

BuzzFeed Considers Sale of Complex Networks

By Sahil Patel · Jun 7, 2023 12:08pm PDT

BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when going public in late 2021 for nearly $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The move, which follows a decline in Complex’s revenues over the past couple of years, is a sign of the challenges facing BuzzFeed, once a... BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when...

A Thursday Night Football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. Photo by Getty.

How Amazon Misread the NFL Ad Market

By Sahil Patel and Theo Wayt · Jun 7, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

A Thursday Night Football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. Photo by Getty.

How Amazon Misread the NFL Ad Market

By Sahil Patel and Theo Wayt · Jun 7, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last summer, advertising representatives for a national pizza chain in the U.S. met with Amazon ad executives to negotiate a potential sponsorship deal for Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast of “Thursday Night Football.” Amazon executives asked the pizza chain for commitments of up to $12 million for the full season, double what... Last summer, advertising representatives for a national pizza chain in the U.S. met with Amazon...

CareRev co-founder Will Patterson stepped down as CEO last week. Art by Clark Miller

A Long, Strange Trip for the ‘Uber for Nurses’

By Paris Martineau · Jun 6, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work platform sometimes described as an “Uber for nurses”—he saw his company’s business surge during the pandemic as hospitals and clinics scrambled to find healthcare workers. In late 2020, he seized the moment by pitching investors over... Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work...

The Port of Los Angeles, where Next Trucking has a significant presence. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

Logistics Startup Next Trucking Tries to Sell Itself

By Maria Heeter · Jun 5, 2023 9:48am PDT · 2 comments

Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking sector, is trying to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter and a pitch deck reviewed by The Information. Next has enlisted the help of BG Strategic Advisors, a Florida-based boutique investment bank specializing in transportation... Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo: Getty.

Microsoft Is Charging Some Office 365 Customers 40% Extra to Test AI Features

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 2, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features now face the hard part: getting customers to pay for the features, which are costly to operate. More than 600 of Microsoft’s largest customers, including Bank of America, Walmart, Ford and Accenture, are expected to test the AI features in... Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.

Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2023 3:36pm PDT

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.

Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2023 3:36pm PDT

Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits. Privately held Instacart posted a 2% decline in the number of grocery orders it facilitated in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, according to people familiar with the matter. The number,... Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this...

Photo by Getty

Meta Calls Employees Back to Office Three Days a Week

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 1, 2023 2:56pm PDT

Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week starting in September, according to a person familiar with the matter. The announcement, which has not been previously reported, marks the strictest policy change from the company since it embraced remote work during the pandemic. While tech companies... Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week...

Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges

By Wayne Ma · May 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent the company’s riskiest gamble on a new product since the iPhone. It will also test the company’s prowess in design and manufacturing like nothing before. The headset is the most complicated hardware product Apple has ever created due to... If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent...

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twilio, Set to Lose Supervoting Protection Next Month, Has Been Meeting With Activist

By Maria Heeter · May 30, 2023 1:43pm PDT · 2 comments

Activist investor Legion Partners, which owns a stake in Twilio, has met several times with the company’s board of directors and management, urging them to make changes to the board and consider divestitures, among other moves, according to people familiar with the matter. The conversations come at a critical moment for the $11.5 billion... Activist investor Legion Partners, which owns a stake in Twilio, has met several times with the...

Art by Clark Miller.

MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped

By Aidan Ryan · May 30, 2023 11:03am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped

By Aidan Ryan · May 30, 2023 11:03am PDT · 4 comments

In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto payments startup that celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton had praised for its non-fungible token “concierge” service—announced it had completed its first ever outside fundraising: an eye-popping $555 million round at a... In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok CEO Expands Purview to Include ByteDance’s New App Lemon8

By Juro Osawa · May 30, 2023 5:59am PDT

The Singapore-based CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is getting a bigger job. TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is putting its newer social media app, Lemon8, under Chew’s supervision, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The move appears to reflect ByteDance’s strategy of locating the heads of its... The Singapore-based CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is getting a bigger job. TikTok’s Chinese...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter Cut Key Software Before DeSantis Audio Glitch

By Kevin McLaughlin and Erin Woo · May 26, 2023 2:12pm PDT · 11 comments

On Wednesday night, Twitter experienced multiple outages during a high-profile live audio forum on the app in which Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his presidential campaign. While the specific reason for the flub couldn’t be learned, the company several weeks ago stopped paying for special software that handles high-traffic... On Wednesday night, Twitter experienced multiple outages during a high-profile live audio forum...

Chris Britt, co-founder and CEO of Chime.

Chime’s Slowdown Highlights Limits of Bank Disruptors

By Mark Matousek and Erin Woo · May 26, 2023 6:14am PDT · 11 comments

Chime found a way to offer zero-fee banking services without being a bank itself. But that approach is starting to show its limits. While Chime brought in more than $1 billion in revenue last year, according to two people familiar with the figure, Chime’s revenue growth has slowed dramatically since 2020. And behind the scenes, the... Chime found a way to offer zero-fee banking services without being a bank itself. But that...

Photo by Bloomberg.

JPMorgan Culling First Republic Bank’s Personal Credit Lines

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · May 25, 2023 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Bloomberg.

JPMorgan Culling First Republic Bank’s Personal Credit Lines

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · May 25, 2023 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

JPMorgan has told customers with personal credit lines at First Republic Bank that it will no longer offer those lines when they come up for renewal, according to correspondence viewed by The Information. The failed lender, which has been sold to JPMorgan, had offered personal lines of credit to its wealthy client base as a key way of attracting... JPMorgan has told customers with personal credit lines at First Republic Bank that it will no...