The Weekend by The Information Staff

Every Saturday

The Weekend

By The Information Staff

Know what happens when Silicon Valley logs off—the trends and people shaping culture, technology and everything in between.

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Recent Editions

An AI Company and Its Fanatical Following

An AI Company and Its Fanatical Following

By Jon Steinberg · Jul 8, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Since we launched our Weekend section in November 2021, we’ve been near-obsessive chroniclers of the generative AI boom. Our very first cover story, written by yours truly, was on Sam Altman and his optimistic vision for OpenAI. We followed that up with reports on how AI image generators would disrupt the... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Since we launched our Weekend section in November 2021, we’ve been...

A Mogul Smackdown We Could Get Behind

A Mogul Smackdown We Could Get Behind

By Jon Steinberg · Jul 1, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It should be pretty clear by now what a lame idea the whole Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk cage match was. The spectacle of two middle-aged men working out their self-esteem issues by beating on each other was not worthy of their companies—or our time. But a pitch from the producers of the Discovery show “BattleBots”... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It should be pretty clear by now what a lame idea the whole Mark...

Adobe Flies Towards Generative AI

Adobe Flies Towards Generative AI

By Jon Steinberg · Jun 24, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.For about 11 months after OpenAI released its text-to-image generator Dall-E 2 in April 2022, many of us wondered when Adobe would come to market with a rival product, which could be neatly integrated into design programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere. The wait felt long, especially considering how... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.For about 11 months after OpenAI released its text-to-image generator...

Inside the CEO Switch at Twitch

Inside the CEO Switch at Twitch

By Jon Steinberg · Jun 17, 2023 6:00am PDT

Inside the CEO Switch at Twitch

Inside the CEO Switch at Twitch

By Jon Steinberg · Jun 17, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.On Wednesday night, while editing Annie’s thoroughly delightful cover story on new Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, I hopped over to Clancy’s Twitch page, just to see if he was livestreaming. To my surprise and delight, he was.Almost two hours into a four-and-a-half hour jam session and open-mic night, the CEO sat facing... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.On Wednesday night, while editing Annie’s thoroughly delightful cover...

Why We Must Love A Moonshot

Why We Must Love A Moonshot

By Jon Steinberg · Jun 10, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Jon, our intrepid Weekender in Chief, is out. I’m happily subbing for him. Indeed, I feel particularly energized this week after spotting something I haven’t seen in what feels like for-ev-er: an actually audacious piece of technology—that might never take off. I’m talking, of course, about Apple’s newly debuted... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Jon, our intrepid Weekender in Chief, is out. I’m happily subbing for...

Live from SF, It’s Tech Week

Live from SF, It’s Tech Week

By Jon Steinberg · Jun 3, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It was the boom-iest of times, it was the doom-iest of times. At least that’s how it feels right now in Dickensian San Francisco, where AI companies are setting up shop on every avenue, while fentanyl dealers are hanging out in every alley. I joke—but seriously, it’s wild out here. No fewer than 17 of the 35 startups... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.It was the boom-iest of times, it was the doom-iest of times. At...

The Short Seller Who Told Us So

The Short Seller Who Told Us So

By Jon Steinberg · May 27, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Wall Street short sellers are not everyone’s cup of tea. That goes double for a lifelong contrarian like Marc Cohodes, who sees himself as an anti-fraud vigilante fighting for the little guys—while also being a loudmouth bully on Twitter. Nobody knows this better than veteran finance journalist Michelle Celarier,... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Wall Street short sellers are not everyone’s cup of tea. That goes...

The Great Pickleball Gold Rush

The Great Pickleball Gold Rush

By Jon Steinberg · May 20, 2023 6:00am PDT

The Great Pickleball Gold Rush

The Great Pickleball Gold Rush

By Jon Steinberg · May 20, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Not everyone can be Josh Harris, the private equity mogul who just dropped $6 billion to purchase the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Most people who want a piece of a pro sports franchise have to start a little lower. Enter pickleball. A sport you probably hadn’t heard of before it became a thing around five... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Not everyone can be Josh Harris, the private equity mogul who just...

The Hero’s Journey of Marissa Mayer

The Hero’s Journey of Marissa Mayer

By Jon Steinberg · May 13, 2023 6:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Marissa Mayer has been a mainstay of tech journalism for almost two decades, ever since she was anointed the glamorous geek goddess of Google back in its “don’t be evil” days. She’s had quite a ride since then, becoming Yahoo CEO in 2012, bumping along in the role for five acquisition-heavy years, then selling the... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.Marissa Mayer has been a mainstay of tech journalism for almost two...

Taking Stock of Sequoia’s Miserable Year

Taking Stock of Sequoia’s Miserable Year

By Jon Steinberg · May 6, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.You won't find many venture investors who are shedding tears for Roelof Botha. As only the fourth person to lead Sequoia Capital over the past 51 years, Botha now occupies a seat at the very highest echelons of the trade. But despite his lofty perch, little has gone easy for Botha since he was handed the reins... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.You won't find many venture investors who are shedding tears for...

Revenge of the Social Media Clones

Revenge of the Social Media Clones

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 29, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.While we wait around for another bank to collapse (First Republic, we hardly knew ye), the opposite is happening in social media. A thousand new apps are blooming! With Bluesky and Lemon8 and Mastodon and T2 soaking up attention, it feels like 2008 again in the Valley—except that all the coding is being done by GPTs... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.While we wait around for another bank to collapse (First Republic, we...

A Steady Hand in Choppy Seas

A Steady Hand in Choppy Seas

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 22, 2023 7:00am PDT

A Steady Hand in Choppy Seas

A Steady Hand in Choppy Seas

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 22, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.There are a lot of moments I love in Margaux’s latest cover story—an intimate portrait of TikTok chief operating officer V Pappas. Among them is a small detail about the signage found outside TikTok’s Los Angeles office. As visitors approach the building, they’re told to go left if they want to access the company... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.There are a lot of moments I love in Margaux’s latest cover...

Why Parker Conrad Won’t Read This

Why Parker Conrad Won’t Read This

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 15, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.While I hope everyone carves out some time this weekend to read Abe’s fascinating cover story about the tech hero-turned-villain-turned-hero-again Parker Conrad, there’s one person I know will not be reading it: Conrad himself.As the Rippling CEO admitted to Abe during a lengthy interview in Vermont earlier this... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.While I hope everyone carves out some time this weekend to read Abe’s...

Crime Data vs. Lived Reality

Crime Data vs. Lived Reality

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 8, 2023 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Hi, welcome to your Weekend. This week, Annie brings us the story of a family-run startup arming young women with a new kind of safety device: The Birdie. Invented by two sisters whose children had been sexually assaulted, the emergency alarm attaches easily to bags or belt loops and screeches like a smoke detector when it’s activated.... Hi, welcome to your Weekend. This week, Annie brings us the story of a family-run startup...

Fear and Longing in the AI Wars

Fear and Longing in the AI Wars

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 1, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! This is Abe filling in for Jon, who returns as Weekender-in-Chief next Saturday.If the cars, brain implants and spaceships don’t pan out, Elon Musk has a promising future as a fear-monger. His was the leading name attached to a widely discussed open letter published this week that urged a halt in artificial... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! This is Abe filling in for Jon, who returns as...

How (and Where) VCs Take Their Coffee

How (and Where) VCs Take Their Coffee

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 25, 2023 7:00am PDT

How (and Where) VCs Take Their Coffee

How (and Where) VCs Take Their Coffee

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 25, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!We all have our spot: The one cafe within a 5-minute walk (or a 10-minute drive, if you work in L.A.), where you can grab a quick meeting, sidle up to an acquaintance or eavesdrop on a stranger. It’s the kind of place where you feel like you’re being productive, even when you’re really procrastinating. My... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!We all have our spot: The one cafe within a 5-minute walk (or a...

The Best of Times (for AI), the Worst of Times (for Your Bank)

The Best of Times (for AI), the Worst of Times (for Your Bank)

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 18, 2023 8:14am PDT · 1 comment

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Deep breath, everyone. The last 10 days have been a doozy. First came the Great Regional Bank Panic of 2023, which essentially wiped out the previous weekend for anyone operating in the startup ecosystem. In the cover story below, our team recorded the stories of two dozen tech leaders, including... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Deep breath, everyone. The last 10 days have been a doozy. First came...

How to Run a Modern Media Company: Bank Crash Edition

How to Run a Modern Media Company: Bank Crash Edition

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 11, 2023 7:17am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!I do not envy news media executives, who have difficult jobs in the best of times. This week was not the best of times, as our CEO Jessica Lessin could tell you. While captaining a newsroom going full-throttle to cover the cataclysmic collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Jessica was also scrambling to ensure that The... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!I do not envy news media executives, who have difficult jobs in the...

It's Wunderkind Week

It's Wunderkind Week

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 4, 2023 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Ever since Covid lockdowns began three years ago, young people have seemed a bit adrift. I see it at home with my two daughters, 13 and 11, who still can’t break some of the annoying screen habits they formed during the pandemic. I see it with their public school peers in San Francisco, many of whom are still climbing... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Ever since Covid lockdowns began three years ago, young people have...

The Keys to Josh Kushner's Venture Kingdom

The Keys to Josh Kushner's Venture Kingdom

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 25, 2023 8:43am PST

The Keys to Josh Kushner's Venture Kingdom

The Keys to Josh Kushner's Venture Kingdom

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 25, 2023 8:43am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!The tech industry is not a zero-sum game. It can foster many winners, all at once—as the last decade showed. But it’s also noteworthy when one darling of Silicon Valley rises just as another falls. That’s been happening this winter, with the anointing of OpenAI and the simultaneous humbling of Stripe. As my... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!The tech industry is not a zero-sum game. It can foster many winners,...