WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Below is a collection of every WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance article by The Information.
Art by Clark Miller; Photos by Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

From AI to Chelsea Clinton’s Plea, Inside The Information’s Latest WTF Summit

By Abram Brown · Oct 10, 2024 12:37pm PDT
Amid a roomful of Silicon Valley elite this week, a Clinton made a rousing call to action by recounting a tragedy: the story of Amanda Zurawski, a young Texan woman left infertile after a botched abortion procedure. “This is what we’re doing to women in America,” said Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary, founder of... Amid a roomful of Silicon Valley elite this week, a Clinton made a rousing call to action by...
Marissa Mayer, right, speaks at The Information's Women in Tech, Media and Finance Summit. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Google Breakup, Voter Turnout, Venture Cash Crunch: WTF Highlights

By The Information Staff · Oct 10, 2024 6:30am PDT
Technology is in a state of rapid change. Google faces a historic antitrust breakup. Advances in artificial intelligence are minting multibillion-dollar startups. And venture capital is still grappling with the hangover of the 2021 boom. Speakers at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance summit had opinions on them all. Chelsea... Technology is in a state of rapid change. Google faces a historic antitrust breakup. Advances in...
Amy Griffin, left, and Kirsten Green. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

AI Can Jump-Start Consumer Brands, Investors and Founders Say

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2024 6:00am PDT
Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices for everything from apparel to beauty and wellness products, and it’s harder for young brands to stand out. “There’s a consumer that’s overwhelmed right now, that wants it all, but wants it all done a little bit more for... Consumer startups are grappling with a problem: Customers are bombarded these days with choices...
Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic, speaks at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.
Anthropic Says Its Chatbot Could Alter Its Hiring Plans
By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2024 5:16pm PDT · 2 comments
Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic, speaks at WTF 2024. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Anthropic Says Its Chatbot Could Alter Its Hiring Plans

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2024 5:16pm PDT · 2 comments
An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough revenue to offset the high costs of compute and talent. Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of model developer Anthropic, isn’t sharing a forecast for when that will happen. But the startup’s own AI developer could help speed the... An overriding question for artificial intelligence developers is whether they can generate enough...
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Google Exec Says Data Gives It an Edge in AI Search

By Erin Woo · Oct 8, 2024 12:00pm PDT · 4 comments
Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, said her company’s data and experience building search products will give it an advantage in developing artificial intelligence-powered search, as Google faces competition from newer search-related entrants such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity. “We have really great data beyond the... Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, said her company’s data and experience building...
Beth Galetti, senior vice president, people experience and tech at Amazon. Photo: Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Amazon Develops AI ‘Coach’ For Its Employees: Senior HR Exec

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 7, 2024 10:23pm PDT
Amazon’s top human resources executive defended the company’s full return-to-office mandate announced last month, noting that young employees have been asking for in-office work to gain mentorship from their colleagues. The move to five days a week in-office is a return to Amazon’s pre-pandemic approach, where workers showed up... Amazon’s top human resources executive defended the company’s full return-to-office...
Scene from WTF 2023. Photo by Erin Beach.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Announcing the WTF Summit 2024 Breakout Sessions

By The Information Staff · Oct 3, 2024 6:47pm PDT
We’re excited to see everyone on October 7th and 8th at The Information's WTF Summit. Our breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have two sets of 35-minute breakout sessions on Tuesday, October 8th. Here’s a preview of this year’s topics. Connected Experiences: What... We’re excited to see everyone on October 7th and 8th at The Information's WTF Summit....
WTF speakers Sophia Amoruso, founder of Girlboss; Valerie Capers Workman, chief legal officer, Handshake; Julia B. Chan, editor-in-chief, The 19th; Jessica Lessin, founder, The Information; and artist and entrepreneur Katy Perry. Art by Mike Sullivan. All photos by Erin Beach.
Katy Perry, ChatGPT Vacations and an Enthusiastic Return to Office: Inside The Information’s WTF Conference
By The Information Staff · Oct 28, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
WTF speakers Sophia Amoruso, founder of Girlboss; Valerie Capers Workman, chief legal officer, Handshake; Julia B. Chan, editor-in-chief, The 19th; Jessica Lessin, founder, The Information; and artist and entrepreneur Katy Perry. Art by Mike Sullivan. All photos by Erin Beach.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Katy Perry, ChatGPT Vacations and an Enthusiastic Return to Office: Inside The Information’s WTF Conference

By The Information Staff · Oct 28, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
“There’s been 10 years of women that are championing other women,” singer-songwriter Katy Perry said to The Information CEO Jessica Lessin and a crowd of 232 women at The Estate Yountville in Napa Valley, Calif. “The positive of social media is that it took the gatekeeper away.…It’s up to you to become... “There’s been 10 years of women that are championing other women,”...
Jackie Reses, CEO of Lead Bank. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Fintech Meltdown, Working for Musk, Regulating AI: WTF Highlights

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Erin Woo and Anissa Gardizy · Oct 26, 2023 2:37pm PDT
The coming wave of fintech failures. How to “own your story” while working for a leader like Elon Musk. A regulatory crackdown on artificial intelligence. And the repercussions of bad press on high-profile female founders. These are some of the topics discussed by speakers at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance... The coming wave of fintech failures. How to “own your story” while working for a...
From left to right, Kara Nortman, Rachel Holt and Ruchi Sanghvi. Photo by Erin Beach for The Information.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

VC Founders: to Create the Next Sequoia, Do it ‘From the Ground Up’

By Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 26, 2023 8:31am PDT · 1 comment
Women founders who started their own venture firms say the autonomy has allowed them to alter stubborn industry practices—a benefit that’s worth the risks of failure. “If I'm going to do this, I'm going to build it from the ground up,” said Rachel Holt of her decision to co-found early-stage venture fund Construct... Women founders who started their own venture firms say the autonomy has allowed them to alter...
WTF Summit 2022. Photo by Erin Beach.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Announcing the WTF Summit 2023 Breakout Sessions

By The Information Staff · Oct 13, 2023 1:00pm PDT
We’re excited to see everyone on October 25th and 26th at The Information's WTF Summit. Our breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have two sets of 35-minute breakout sessions on Thursday, October 26th. Here’s a preview of this year’s topics. 10:45 AM Generative AI:... We’re excited to see everyone on October 25th and 26th at The Information's WTF Summit....
WTF speakers Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, vice president, Amazon Web Services; Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO, The Information; Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of Alto Pharmacy; Jordan Taylor, CEO and co-founder, Medley; and Christine Moy, head of digital assets, Apollo. Photos Erin Beach
Better Work-Life Balance, Smarter Subscriptions, an Upgrade to Athleisure: What Women Wanted at WTF
By Arielle Pardes and Annie Goldsmith · Sep 15, 2022 3:00pm PDT
WTF speakers Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, vice president, Amazon Web Services; Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO, The Information; Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of Alto Pharmacy; Jordan Taylor, CEO and co-founder, Medley; and Christine Moy, head of digital assets, Apollo. Photos Erin Beach
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Better Work-Life Balance, Smarter Subscriptions, an Upgrade to Athleisure: What Women Wanted at WTF

By Arielle Pardes and Annie Goldsmith · Sep 15, 2022 3:00pm PDT
Stretchy waistbands were out, Bluetooth water bottleswere in at the Rosewood Sand Hill hotel this Wednesday, as more than 200 tech and business leaders gathered in Menlo Park, Calif., for The Information’s annual Women in Tech, Media and Finance summit. For some, it was the first in-person event in years—an opportunity to rub shoulders with... Stretchy waistbands were out, Bluetooth water bottleswere in at the Rosewood Sand Hill hotel this...
From left, Edith Cooper and Jordan Taylor, co-founders of Medley, and Cara Allamano, chief people officer of Lattice. Photo by Erin Beach.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

WTF: A Tough Time for Startups but a Boon for the Cloud

By Paris Martineau, Kaya Yurieff and Mahira Dayal · Sep 14, 2022 6:27pm PDT · 3 comments
A looming recession has made fundraising tough for startups—“and it’s going to get tougher,” said Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of digital health startup Alto Pharmacy. The company raised $200 million in a late-stage funding round announced in January, led by SoftBank Vision Fund. “Previously there was this huge focus on... A looming recession has made fundraising tough for startups—“and it’s going to...
Christine Moy of Apollo Global Management said crypto valuations still have room to fall. Photo by Erin Beach.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Apollo’s Moy Says Crypto Startup Valuations Still Have Room to Fall

By Erin Woo · Sep 14, 2022 5:21pm PDT
Crypto startup valuations still have room to fall after getting “a little ridiculous,” said Christine Moy, head of digital assets for investment firm Apollo Global Management. “Valuations are more reasonable, but I think that the broader macroeconomic picture can still have a real downside impact on crypto,” Moy said in... Crypto startup valuations still have room to fall after getting “a little...
Goli Sheikholeslami, CEO of Politico, speaks at the 2022 WTF Conference. Photo by Erin Beach.
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Politico CEO Sees Slowdown; Conde’s Chu on TikTok Winning Video

By Paris Martineau and Arielle Pardes · Sep 14, 2022 11:20am PDT
Politico is feeling the impact of the market downturn in its ad business, said CEO Goli Sheikholeslami, a sign of how the slower economy is having a wide-ranging impact on companies that make money selling advertising. “We’ve definitely seen sort of a slowdown,” said Sheikholeslami in an interview for The Information’s... Politico is feeling the impact of the market downturn in its ad business, said CEO Goli...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Books and Podcast Recommendations From WTF 2021 Speakers
By The Information Staff · Oct 11, 2021 7:46am PDT
Art by Mike Sullivan
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Books and Podcast Recommendations From WTF 2021 Speakers

By The Information Staff · Oct 11, 2021 7:46am PDT
We asked this year’s WTF 2021 speakers and moderators to share what they’ve been reading & listening to lately. Here are there recommendations. BOOKS Non-fiction Rachel Holt: Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi Maria Zhang: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Think Again: The... We asked this year’s WTF 2021 speakers and moderators to share what they’ve been...
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Excerpts From Day Two of The Information’s WTF 2021 Conference

By The Information Staff · Oct 7, 2021 3:51pm PDT
At The Information’s WTF conference today, speakers included Robinhood COO Gretchen Howard, Snap’s Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman and Clubhouse marketing head Maya Watson. We also heard from a media panel of Janice Min, Contributing Editor, Time and the former co-president, Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Entertainment Group as... At The Information’s WTF conference today, speakers included Robinhood COO Gretchen Howard,...
Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Katie Haun
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Andreessen Horowitz’s Haun: Competition for Crypto Equity Deals ‘Has Intensified’

By Kate Clark · Oct 7, 2021 2:07pm PDT · 2 comments
Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz’s new $2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund has given the venture firm the ammo to pursue more and bigger deals. But it’s got far more competition for crypto equity deals than it did a year ago. “There’s a lot of investor excitement in crypto and a lot of investors who haven’t been... Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz’s new $2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund has given the...
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Salesforce CFO Weaver Says Women Are ‘Primed’ for CEO Appointments

By Laura Mandaro · Oct 7, 2021 1:30pm PDT · 1 comment
Salesforce’s chief financial officer, Amy Weaver, recalls reading reports from analysts published after the software giant last year named Weaver, then its most senior lawyer, to succeed its longtime CFO. “A couple of [them] very nicely said, ‘Untraditional or unconventional.’ One finally said, ‘Inspired,’ and... Salesforce’s chief financial officer, Amy Weaver, recalls reading reports from analysts...
Universal Chief Langley Says Shorter Theatrical Releases Are the New Norm
By Sahil Patel · Oct 7, 2021 12:11pm PDT
WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Universal Chief Langley Says Shorter Theatrical Releases Are the New Norm

By Sahil Patel · Oct 7, 2021 12:11pm PDT
Not every director is Christopher Nolan—the auteur behind blockbuster films including “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.” That means not every filmmaker should expect to receive a 100-day-plus theatrical release for their films, especially as the escalating streaming wars and the pandemic combine to dramatically... Not every director is Christopher Nolan—the auteur behind blockbuster films including...