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From left:Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, Stephen King. Photo of Elon Musk from Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside Elon Musk’s Wild First Week at Twitter

By Erin Woo, Kaya Yurieff and Becky Peterson · Nov 5, 2022 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

On Thursday afternoon last week at Twitter’s San Francisco offices, employees in costumes milled about at the company’s Halloween party as a magician performed tricks. Some attendees speculated that the emcee for the event, dressed in a scarecrow costume, was Elon Musk, who was then hours away from becoming Twitter’s new owner... On Thursday afternoon last week at Twitter’s San Francisco offices, employees in costumes...

A fixed-gear Aventon bike in New York in 2018. Photo by Getty Images

Sequoia Capital China Backs E-Bike Maker at $590 Million Valuation

By Juro Osawa · Nov 3, 2022 1:01pm PDT

E-bike and scooter rental businesses are struggling, but it’s boom times for companies with Chinese roots that make the vehicles, as commuters increasingly snap them up. Several such e-bike manufacturers have attracted venture capital this year, including Aventon, which is based in the U.S. and China. Sequoia Capital’s Chinese arm is... E-bike and scooter rental businesses are struggling, but it’s boom times for companies with...

Chime Slashes 12% of Staff, Marking Latest Casualty in Fintech Meltdown

By Maria Heeter · Nov 2, 2022 10:11am PDT · 6 comments

Online banking startup Chime, which before this year’s market meltdown had been widely seen as a candidate for a blockbuster initial public offering, is slashing 12% of its 1,300 person workforce, or around 150 people, a spokesperson said. Ten-year-old Chime was emblematic of last year’s fintech funding boom as customers... Online banking startup Chime, which before this year’s market meltdown had been widely seen...

Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Bosworth during Meta Connect 2022. Screenshot via YouTube.

Zuckerberg is Spending Billions on the Metaverse—Here’s Where It’s All Going

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov 1, 2022 12:27pm PDT · 10 comments

Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Bosworth during Meta Connect 2022. Screenshot via YouTube.

Zuckerberg is Spending Billions on the Metaverse—Here’s Where It’s All Going

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Nov 1, 2022 12:27pm PDT · 10 comments

To understand how Meta Platforms is losing billions of dollars per year building the metaverse, consider this: Apple has about 3,000 employees working on its mixed reality headset, expected to be released next year, according to two people familiar with the matter. Meta, in contrast, has more than five times as many people working on multiple... To understand how Meta Platforms is losing billions of dollars per year building the metaverse,...

Elon Musk

Musk Fired Executives For ‘Cause,’ In Apparent Attempt to Avoid Payouts

By Martin Peers · Oct 29, 2022 7:14pm PDT · 11 comments

When Elon Musk terminated four top Twitter executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal on Thursday, he did so “for cause,” said a person familiar with the situation, in an apparent effort to avoid paying out tens of millions of dollars in severance pay and unvested stock awards. Musk fired the executives—including... When Elon Musk terminated four top Twitter executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned...

Kenny Man. Photo via 01Fintech. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Former Ant Group Executive Raising $300 Million for Asia Fintech Fund

By Juro Osawa · Oct 28, 2022 10:34am PDT · 2 comments

The former head of international investing at Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group has launched a new private equity firm, 01Fintech, and is raising $300 million to invest mainly in fintech startups in Southeast Asia, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The debut of the previously unreported fund, whose backers... The former head of international investing at Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group has...

Andrew Mason and Sam Altman. Photos by Bloomberg

OpenAI Leads Financing of Andrew Mason’s Descript at $500 Million–Plus Valuation

By Erin Woo · Oct 27, 2022 6:34pm PDT

OpenAI, whose software for generating original text and images is galvanizing interest in artificial intelligence, has agreed to lead an investment of tens of millions of dollars in Descript, an audio and video editing app, at a valuation of around $550 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the investment. Groupon co-founder... OpenAI, whose software for generating original text and images is galvanizing interest in...

An earlier version of the Starship and the Super Heavy booster stacked at the South Texas Starbase facility on February 10, 2022. Photo by Getty Images.

‘Make Fire’: Inside Musk’s Struggle to Launch SpaceX’s High-Stakes Mars Rocket

By Becky Peterson · Oct 27, 2022 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

An earlier version of the Starship and the Super Heavy booster stacked at the South Texas Starbase facility on February 10, 2022. Photo by Getty Images.

‘Make Fire’: Inside Musk’s Struggle to Launch SpaceX’s High-Stakes Mars Rocket

By Becky Peterson · Oct 27, 2022 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s ambitions of landing on Mars rest on a 394-foot-high rocket that currently sits in the open air in Boca Chica, Texas. Two weeks ago, Musk’s hopes nearly came crashing down in an incident that caused employees to question whether the world’s most important rocket company was moving too fast. A day after technicians... Elon Musk’s ambitions of landing on Mars rest on a 394-foot-high rocket that currently sits...

Adam Dell. Photo by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

Ex-Goldman Sachs Partner Adam Dell’s Crypto Startup Stumbles

By Maria Heeter and Aidan Ryan · Oct 27, 2022 4:03am PDT

At the start of this year, Adam Dell, a onetime Goldman Sachs executive who helped lead the Wall Street firm’s push into Main Street banking, grabbed headlines when he launched a crypto investing startup. His timing would prove to be disastrous. Dell’s Domain Money, backed with $33 million in funding from a host of big-name investors... At the start of this year, Adam Dell, a onetime Goldman Sachs executive who helped lead the Wall...

Andy Rubin. Photo by Bloomberg

‘Father of Android’ Andy Rubin is Back with Surveillance Startup

By Jon Victor · Oct 26, 2022 1:21pm PDT · 1 comment

Andy Rubin is planning his next act. The former Google executive, who received a $90 million severance package following a misconduct allegation, sparking widespread protests among staff in 2018, has a new startup focused on “surveillance services” for homes, according to public records. The downtown Palo Alto, Calif.-based company,... Andy Rubin is planning his next act. The former Google executive, who received a $90 million...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Apple Is Working on a 16-Inch iPad, Further Blurring Line With Laptops

By Wayne Ma · Oct 26, 2022 8:48am PDT · 2 comments

Apple is developing its largest iPad yet, a model with a 16-inch screen that it hopes to release in the fourth quarter of next year, according to a person familiar with the project. The device would further blur the line between the iPad and MacBook, bringing the tablet’s screen size in line with that of Apple’s largest laptop, which... Apple is developing its largest iPad yet, a model with a 16-inch screen that it hopes to release...

Art by Jesús Escudero

Meta Responds to Its Next Threat: Apps That Link Instagram Influencers and Superfans

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 26, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Jesús Escudero

Meta Responds to Its Next Threat: Apps That Link Instagram Influencers and Superfans

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 26, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms is already waging a high-profile battle to keep TikTok from draining audiences from its best-known apps, Instagram and Facebook. Now Meta is having to respond to another set of competitors who are more quietly beginning to nip at its heels. Increasingly, Instagram influencers are encouraging their most avid followers to meet up... Meta Platforms is already waging a high-profile battle to keep TikTok from draining audiences...

Emad Mostaque, CEO of Stability AI. Photo via Scale AI on YouTube

Stability AI CEO, After Ruffling Feathers of Researchers, Discussed $1 Billion in New Financing

By Erin Woo and Jon Victor · Oct 25, 2022 6:21pm PDT · 4 comments

Emad Mostaque, the former hedge fund manager who made his startup, Stability AI, one of the most visible standard-bearers of software that creates original images from simple text descriptions, could soon test the limits of hype around the new technology. After raising $100 million of venture capital in three successive equity funding deals in... Emad Mostaque, the former hedge fund manager who made his startup, Stability AI, one of the most...

Cybereason co-founder and CEO, Lior Div. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

$2.5 Billion–Valuation Security Firm Cybereason Hires JPMorgan to Find Buyer

By Kevin McLaughlin and Maria Heeter · Oct 21, 2022 11:12am PDT · 1 comment

Cybereason, a prominent Israeli security software firm valued at $2.5 billion by investors including Google, SoftBank and ex-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s private equity firm, has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to find a buyer, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The company considered going public earlier this... Cybereason, a prominent Israeli security software firm valued at $2.5 billion by investors...

Microsoft competition attorney Rima Alaily. Art by Mike Sullivan

How a Microsoft Antitrust Attorney Keeps Its Mega-Acquisitions From Getting Killed

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 21, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

As head of Microsoft’s competition law group, Rima Alaily’s main job is to help close mergers at one of the world’s most acquisitive companies by shepherding them through sometimes sticky antitrust reviews. In early 2021, though, Alaily had a different goal: killing a deal. The team Alaily leads aimed to torpedo Nvidia’s... As head of Microsoft’s competition law group, Rima Alaily’s main job is to help close...

Image of Sam Altman raising money, generated by OpenAI’s Dall·e 2

OpenAI, Valued at Nearly $20 Billion, in Advanced Talks with Microsoft For More Funding

By Aaron Holmes, Kate Clark, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Oct 20, 2022 1:47pm PDT · 6 comments

Image of Sam Altman raising money, generated by OpenAI’s Dall·e 2

OpenAI, Valued at Nearly $20 Billion, in Advanced Talks with Microsoft For More Funding

By Aaron Holmes, Kate Clark, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Oct 20, 2022 1:47pm PDT · 6 comments

OpenAI, whose text- and image-generating artificial intelligence has become a mainstream hit, is in advanced talks to raise more funding from Microsoft, which previously backed the startup with capital that includes credits to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing services to develop its technology, according to a person with knowledge of... OpenAI, whose text- and image-generating artificial intelligence has become a mainstream hit, is...

Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO of Databricks. Photo by Bloomberg.

Databricks Is Trimming Its Valuation While Other Startups Are Slashing Theirs

By Maria Heeter and Mark Matousek · Oct 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Valuations for a crop of high-profile startups have been falling fast, even according to their own internal assessments. But one company has been notably restrained in revising its valuation: cloud-based database software startup Databricks. Databricks trimmed its internal share price this month, which lowered its implied valuation to $31... Valuations for a crop of high-profile startups have been falling fast, even according to their...

An iPhone 14 Plus at an Apple Store in Shanghai last week. Photo by Getty Images

Apple Cuts iPhone 14 Plus Production Less Than Two Weeks After Debut

By Wayne Ma · Oct 18, 2022 11:36am PDT

Apple is cutting production of the iPhone 14 Plus less than two weeks after its debut, according to two people involved in the company’s supply chain. Apple has told at least one manufacturer in China to immediately halt production of iPhone 14 Plus components while its procurement team reevaluates demand for the product, which Apple has... Apple is cutting production of the iPhone 14 Plus less than two weeks after its debut, according...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Facing Threat From Apple, Google Tries New Hardware Playbook

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Oct 18, 2022 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software. At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s search may lose its favored position in the Safari browser on... It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung...

AI-related images generated by DALL·E 2. Art direction by Shane Burke and Mike Sullivan.

Venture FOMO Returns as Investors Chase Artificial Intelligence Deals

By Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Oct 17, 2022 6:17pm PDT · 3 comments

AI-related images generated by DALL·E 2. Art direction by Shane Burke and Mike Sullivan.

Venture FOMO Returns as Investors Chase Artificial Intelligence Deals

By Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Oct 17, 2022 6:17pm PDT · 3 comments

Venture capitalists are shaking themselves out of a bear market slumber to chase deals in a pocket of artificial intelligence that’s spilled into the mainstream this year: AI that generates art, videos and writing. Jasper AI, which last year started selling an AI-assisted writing tool, raised funding from Insight Partners at a $1.5 billion... Venture capitalists are shaking themselves out of a bear market slumber to chase deals in a...