The Information

Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont. Photo by Juan Pinnel

‘Pressures Remain’: Coatue Prepares Tech Founders for the Road Ahead

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 29, 2023 11:26am PDT · 8 comments

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a founder and investor conference hosted by Coatue, called East Meets West. While the conference, held in Montecito, Calif., was off the record, I asked the firm for permission to share one of my favorite parts of the event: the keynote its partners gave on the state of the finance and tech... Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a founder and investor conference hosted by...

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. Photo by Getty.

Stripe Lays Off Dozens, Mostly in Recruiting

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · Jun 29, 2023 11:08am PDT · 1 comment

Stripe has laid off a few dozen employees, most of them recruiters, in its human resources department. The staff cuts, while affecting a tiny percentage of the company’s roughly 7,000-person workforce, are part of a broader wave of belt tightening in tech, even as the pace of larger layoffs has abated. Stripe’s cuts in the recruiting... Stripe has laid off a few dozen employees, most of them recruiters, in its human resources...

Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk.

How Amazon Is Taming Its Customers’ Returns Addiction

By Theo Wayt · Jun 29, 2023 6:04am PDT · 1 comment

When Amazon announced Wednesday that customers could soon start dropping off items they wanted to return at nearly 1,000 Staples stores, it touted the partnership as part of its decadeslong quest to make online shopping as easy as possible for consumers. In reality, the Staples partnership is the result of a years-long effort by a team inside... When Amazon announced Wednesday that customers could soon start dropping off items they wanted to...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 26, 2023 12:04pm PDT · 5 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan.

OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 26, 2023 12:04pm PDT · 5 comments

In the span of half a year, ChatGPT has become one of the world’s best-known internet brands. Now its creator, OpenAI, has bigger plans for the chatbot: CEO Sam Altman privately told some developers OpenAI wants to turn it into a “supersmart personal assistant for work.” With built-in knowledge about an individual and their... In the span of half a year, ChatGPT has become one of the world’s best-known internet...

Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo. Photo by Getty.

Inside Thoma Bravo’s Software Playbook

By Rachel Graf · Jun 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Until two weeks ago, Thoma Bravo had sold just one company worth more than $10 billion in the past three years, when it offloaded Ellie Mae to Intercontinental Exchange for $11 billion in 2020. That drought is why Thoma Bravo’s deal to sell its financial software firm, Adenza, to Nasdaq Inc. for $10.5 billion—nearly twice what it... Until two weeks ago, Thoma Bravo had sold just one company worth more than $10 billion in the...

Abraham Shafi, CEO of IRL (left), and Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank.

Social App IRL, Which Raised $200 Million, Shuts Down After CEO Misconduct Probe

By Mark Matousek · Jun 23, 2023 3:34pm PDT · 20 comments

Last year, the CEO of messaging app IRL repeatedly said it had 20 million monthly active users, who chatted about shared interests and planned real-world events together. Today, a spokesperson for the startup said an investigation by the board of directors concluded 95% of those users were “automated or from bots.” As a result of the... Last year, the CEO of messaging app IRL repeatedly said it had 20 million monthly active users,...

Photo by Getty.

TikTok Inks U.S. Warehouse Partnerships in Bid to Rival Amazon and Temu

By Ann Gehan and Theo Wayt · Jun 23, 2023 11:45am PDT · 4 comments

TikTok has signed logistics deals to ensure that the products people buy on its app arrive smoothly at their front doors—a key part of the video app’s efforts to transform itself into a shopping destination. It’s currently testing the fulfillment services with U.S. sellers, a person familiar with the matter said. TikTok is... TikTok has signed logistics deals to ensure that the products people buy on its app arrive...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in May. Photo by Getty Images

AI Boomerang: Google’s Internal Critic Returns From Rival OpenAI

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 23, 2023 9:15am PDT · 4 comments

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in May. Photo by Getty Images

AI Boomerang: Google’s Internal Critic Returns From Rival OpenAI

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 23, 2023 9:15am PDT · 4 comments

Jacob Devlin, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher who left Google for rival OpenAI in January after complaining internally about how the company trained its Bard AI chatbot software, has returned to his old job, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Google’s willingness to hire Devlin back, despite the fact his... Jacob Devlin, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher who left Google for rival OpenAI in...

Photo via Cohesity

In Battle of Ransomware Protectors, One Firm Burns a Lot of Cash, Another Preps an IPO

By Maria Heeter, Anissa Gardizy and Kate Clark · Jun 23, 2023 6:00am PDT

Four years ago, one of the most intense battles in enterprise software was underway between two startups led by former colleagues: Rubrik and Cohesity. They help businesses manage data, and they also market themselves as offering protection against ransomware attacks. At the time, Rubrik was clearly in the lead, but Cohesity was growing faster... Four years ago, one of the most intense battles in enterprise software was underway between two...

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty

Reddit Sales Growth Slowdown Preceded Fight Over New API Fees

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 22, 2023 2:26pm PDT

A stark business reality faced Reddit before a user uprising engulfed its site this month: slowing sales growth. Reddit’s revenue rose 38% in 2022 to about $670 million last year, two people familiar with the matter said, faster than many other internet ad firms but a steep slowdown from the more than doubling of revenue the company... A stark business reality faced Reddit before a user uprising engulfed its site this month:...

V. Pappas. Photo by Getty.

TikTok’s COO Pappas to Quit

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 22, 2023 10:17am PDT

TikTok's Chief Operating Officer V. Pappas has quit, Pappas told staff on Thursday, according to an email viewed by The Information. At the same time, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew announced the elevation of chief of staff Adam Presser to be head of operations, while also revealing that former Disney executive Zenia Mucha will join in a new role... TikTok's Chief Operating Officer V. Pappas has quit, Pappas told staff on Thursday, according...

Photos via Getty and Shutterstock. Art by Shane Burke.

How Meta Stumbled In Quest for Chip Independence

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Wayne Ma · Jun 22, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Photos via Getty and Shutterstock. Art by Shane Burke.

How Meta Stumbled In Quest for Chip Independence

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Wayne Ma · Jun 22, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Meta Platforms executives always knew this moment would come. Apple’s unveiling of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset early this month puts the spotlight on the looming battle between Apple and Meta over control of the augmented reality and virtual reality market. And for the past five years, Meta has readied itself for the competition... Meta Platforms executives always knew this moment would come. Apple’s unveiling of its...

From left: Bret Taylor, Peter Fenton and Clay Bavor. Photo: Getty

Ex-Salesforce Chief Bret Taylor’s AI Startup Raises Money From Sequoia, Benchmark

By Kate Clark · Jun 21, 2023 4:02pm PDT · 5 comments

Benchmark has led the first round of funding for a three-month-old artificial intelligence startup founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and ex-Google executive Clay Bavor at a valuation of over $100 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Taylor and Bavor’s company raised at least $20 million in the... Benchmark has led the first round of funding for a three-month-old artificial intelligence...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI Considers Creating an App Store for AI Software

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jun 20, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

OpenAI—an early mover in releasing chatbots powered by large-language models—is contemplating another initiative to extend its influence in the world of artificial intelligence. The company is considering launching a marketplace in which customers could sell AI models they customize for their own needs to other businesses, according... OpenAI—an early mover in releasing chatbots powered by large-language models—is...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Meta Wants Companies to Make Money Off Its Open-Source AI, in Challenge to Google

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan, Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 15, 2023 2:24pm PDT · 9 comments

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his deputies want other companies to freely use and profit from new artificial intelligence software Meta is developing, a decision that could have big implications for other AI developers and businesses that are increasingly adopting it. Meta is working on ways to make the next version of its open-source... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his deputies want other companies to freely use and profit...

Healthcare workers at an SSM Health hospital—a former CareRev client—in Oklahoma City in 2020. Photo by Getty Images

CareRev Plans to Cut Roughly a Third of Staff

By Paris Martineau · Jun 15, 2023 1:10pm PDT · 1 comment

Healthcare workers at an SSM Health hospital—a former CareRev client—in Oklahoma City in 2020. Photo by Getty Images

CareRev Plans to Cut Roughly a Third of Staff

By Paris Martineau · Jun 15, 2023 1:10pm PDT · 1 comment

CareRev, a healthcare startup that raised around $100 million from investors during the pandemic, is in the process of laying off nearly 100 employees—or about a third of its corporate workforce—according to one person with direct knowledge of the plans and another who was briefed on them. The cuts follow the departure of CareRev... CareRev, a healthcare startup that raised around $100 million from investors during the pandemic,...

LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. Photo by AP

LinkedIn Plans Streaming Video Ad Push

By Sahil Patel · Jun 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Major advertisers and nearly every big TV network have jumped into the market for ads on video-streaming services. Now LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, is trying to get in on the act as well. The Microsoft-owned business is about to start testing an ad product that will allow marketers to target LinkedIn users when they’re... Major advertisers and nearly every big TV network have jumped into the market for ads on...

Art by Shutterstock, Mike Sullivan

Why YouTube Could Give Google an Edge in AI

By Jon Victor · Jun 14, 2023 6:00am PDT

Google last month upgraded its Bard chatbot with a new machine-learning model that can better understand conversational language and compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. As Google develops a sequel to that model, it may hold a trump card: YouTube. The video site, which Google owns, is the single biggest and richest source of imagery, audio and... Google last month upgraded its Bard chatbot with a new machine-learning model that can better...

Outgoing Cloudera CEO Rob Bearden. Photo via Cloudera

Cloudera CEO to Depart

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 13, 2023 5:42pm PDT · 1 comment

Rob Bearden, the CEO of Cloudera, told employees in a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday that he is stepping down, according to someone with direct knowledge. Bearden said in the meeting that it was his decision to leave the company, and that he had not been fired or forced to leave, the person said. His departure comes two years after the... Rob Bearden, the CEO of Cloudera, told employees in a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday that...

Photo by Getty

AWS Cuts Ties With Fast-Rising Cloud-Sales Partner

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 13, 2023 10:19am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Getty

AWS Cuts Ties With Fast-Rising Cloud-Sales Partner

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 13, 2023 10:19am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon Web Services has suddenly cut ties with a key firm that earns commissions for bringing new customers to AWS, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. The firm, Philadelphia-based Triumph Tech, was among a select number of “premier tier” partners, AWS’s highest designation for partners. The reason for... Amazon Web Services has suddenly cut ties with a key firm that earns commissions for bringing new...