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How a Legacy Media Company Dwarfed Venture Capitalists’ Returns on Reddit

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 21, 2024 6:00am PDT

The world was a much different place when media titan Condé Nast bought fledgling internet forum Reddit for around $10 million in 2006. Media companies were still figuring out the internet—Condé had just bought the website for Wired, a magazine it already owned—and glossy print titles like Vogue and an arsenal of... The world was a much different place when media titan Condé Nast bought fledgling internet...

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez. Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tepid Revenue at Cohere Shows OpenAI Competitors Face Uphill Battle

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Maria Heeter · Mar 20, 2024 3:14pm PDT

The conversational artificial intelligence boom sparked by ChatGPT boosted funding and valuations for startups in the field, but few of them are making much money. In the latest example, Cohere, one of the best-known startup competitors to OpenAI, which has raised $445 million from investors, was generating about $13 million in annualized... The conversational artificial intelligence boom sparked by ChatGPT boosted funding and valuations...

Art via Reddit/Shane Burke.

With IPO Looming, Reddit’s AI Pitch Faces Skeptics

By Cory Weinberg and Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 20, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

As Reddit executives and the company’s advisers try to reel in investors for its initial public offering, they’ve been using two seemingly magic words as part of their pitch: artificial intelligence. A slide deck for potential investors shows Reddit’s cartoon robot logo next to emblems of semiconductor companies Nvidia and Arm,... As Reddit executives and the company’s advisers try to reel in investors for its initial...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via YouTube/Stripe

AI Search Startup Perplexity Is Challenging Google—While Using Its Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Jon Victor and Aaron Holmes · Mar 19, 2024 1:11pm PDT · 5 comments

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via YouTube/Stripe

AI Search Startup Perplexity Is Challenging Google—While Using Its Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Jon Victor and Aaron Holmes · Mar 19, 2024 1:11pm PDT · 5 comments

Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence–powered search engine, has become a Silicon Valley startup darling for taking on Google with conversational answers rather than a list of web links. Tech CEOs such as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Dell’s Michael Dell have sung the praises of the startup, and it has raised more than $100... Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence–powered search engine, has become a Silicon...

Photo by Getty Images.

Temu Aims to Lessen Reliance on U.S. Shoppers

By Jing Yang · Mar 19, 2024 6:00am PDT

As Chinese shopping site Temu faces mounting hostility toward Chinese companies from U.S. politicians, it is looking to reduce its reliance on the U.S. market. Since it launched in the U.S. less than two years ago, the site, known for its ultralow prices, has caught fire with American shoppers. The U.S. accounted for 60% of total merchandise... As Chinese shopping site Temu faces mounting hostility toward Chinese companies from U.S....

Chris Lehane. Photo by AFP via Getty Images.

Political Veteran Lehane Nearing Deal to Join OpenAI

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 18, 2024 6:25am PDT

OpenAI, coming off months of controversy, is looking to add more political and public relations muscle. Chris Lehane, the former Airbnb policy chief and a veteran of the Clinton White House, is nearing a deal to join the artificial intelligence startup as a senior executive, according to people familiar with the potential move. OpenAI, coming off months of controversy, is looking to add more political and public relations...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announcing the GPT Store in November. Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Chatbot App Store Is Off to a Slow Start

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 18, 2024 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Last fall, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sought to capitalize on the raging success of ChatGPT by launching an app store. Similar to the way Apple turned the iPhone into a big business for mobile app developers, OpenAI hoped developers would tap into its artificial intelligence to create and sell their own conversational AI apps to ChatGPT customers. ... Last fall, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sought to capitalize on the raging success of ChatGPT by...

Art by Clark Miller

Microsoft Security Breaches Rile U.S. Government Customers

By Aaron Holmes · Mar 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Microsoft Security Breaches Rile U.S. Government Customers

By Aaron Holmes · Mar 15, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Microsoft became the world’s biggest seller of cybersecurity software by bundling it with Office and Teams apps. But after a series of hacks exploited that software in the past year, several of Microsoft’s biggest customers are considering whether their reliance on Microsoft’s software bundle puts their security at risk. The... Microsoft became the world’s biggest seller of cybersecurity software by bundling it with...

Jane Dunlevie and Jason Rowe. Photos via Goldman Sachs and Fulbright Canada.

Goldman Sachs, Girding for More Deals, Promotes Two Tech Bankers

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 14, 2024 12:17pm PDT · 1 comment

Goldman Sachs promoted two of its senior investment bankers this week to prepare for a moment it has long been hoping for: a return of tech deals. Jane Dunlevie, a tech-focused banker who helped run Instacart’s initial public offering and Stripe’s $7 billion private capital raise last year, will expand her role to become global head... Goldman Sachs promoted two of its senior investment bankers this week to prepare for a moment it...

Nextdoor's Nirav Tolia. Photo by Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images.

Former Nextdoor Employee Says CEO Tolia Sexually Harassed Her

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 14, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

A former Nextdoor employee alleged to a company-appointed investigator and to its board of directors in the summer of 2018 that its chief executive and co-founder, Nirav Tolia, sexually harassed her in 2015. A Nextdoor spokesperson confirmed the investigation of Tolia, who left the CEO job in 2018 but was reappointed last month by its board of... A former Nextdoor employee alleged to a company-appointed investigator and to its board of...

Art by Shane Burke

How Stalking and Harassment Allegations Fractured a Semiconductor Startup

By Paris Martineau · Mar 13, 2024 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

In March last year, the former girlfriend of Erik Hosler—then the CEO of semiconductor manufacturing startup xLight—applied for a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing Hosler of stalking and harassing her. A judge in California had already granted a temporary order, and when xLight learned of the dispute, it asked... In March last year, the former girlfriend of Erik Hosler—then the CEO of semiconductor...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Before CEO Exit, Allbirds’ Design Mishaps Were Piling Up

By Ann Gehan · Mar 13, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Before CEO Exit, Allbirds’ Design Mishaps Were Piling Up

By Ann Gehan · Mar 13, 2024 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Last fall, Allbirds was preparing to launch an updated version of its popular Wool Runner shoe when its product design team realized there was a problem. A flaw in the design meant Allbirds had to scramble to remove and replace the fabric inside roughly 30,000 pairs of shoes, two people who worked on the launch said. The last-minute snag... Last fall, Allbirds was preparing to launch an updated version of its popular Wool Runner shoe...

Kite founder Rob Solomon. Photo via YouTube.

Blackstone-Founded E-Commerce ‘Roll-Up’ Firm Shuts Down

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 12, 2024 5:07pm PDT

How bad is the slowdown in e-commerce growth? Ask Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms. Two years ago, a division of Blackstone that invests in consumer brands such as Supergoop and Spanx joined a second investor to commit $200 million to an e-commerce startup they had founded together. The startup, Kite, was pursuing a... How bad is the slowdown in e-commerce growth? Ask Blackstone, one of the world’s largest...

Art by Mike Sullivan

As TikTok Faces Ban Bill, Investors Distance Themselves From App

By Kate Clark, Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Mar 12, 2024 12:04pm PDT · 7 comments

When the Trump administration tried to ban TikTok in 2020, investors in its parent, ByteDance, mobilized to support the app. Now, as a bill to force a ban or sale of TikTok winds its way through Congress, the company is mostly on its own. With the possible exception of Susquehanna International Group principal Jeff Yass, a Republican donor and... When the Trump administration tried to ban TikTok in 2020, investors in its parent, ByteDance,...

Tempus' Eric Lefkofsky. Photo by Michael Kovac via Getty Images.

Healthcare Startup Tempus Hires Morgan Stanley for IPO

By Becky Peterson and Cory Weinberg · Mar 12, 2024 9:33am PDT

Tempus, a medical lab testing and data company started by a former co-founder of Groupon, has hired Morgan Stanley to run an initial public offering in the coming months, people close to the process said. The Chicago-based startup, which has raised more than $1.3 billion in private funding from investors such as Google, New Enterprise Associates... Tempus, a medical lab testing and data company started by a former co-founder of Groupon, has...

Art by Clark Miller

Amazon, Google Quietly Tamp Down Generative AI Expectations

By Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Mar 12, 2024 7:00am PDT · 15 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Amazon, Google Quietly Tamp Down Generative AI Expectations

By Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Mar 12, 2024 7:00am PDT · 15 comments

In the past year, major technology firms have championed generative artificial intelligence as the next big thing, boosting the stock market to new highs. But behind the scenes, representatives of major cloud providers and other firms that sell the technology are tempering expectations with their salespeople, saying the hype about the technology... In the past year, major technology firms have championed generative artificial intelligence as...

ByteDance's office in Shanghai. Photo via Adobe Stock.

TikTok Owner Boosts China Ties, Invests in State-Backed Chip Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 12, 2024 6:00am PDT

As the Chinese government races to catch up in advanced computer chips, it has found an ally in ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. The Chinese tech company has quietly bought a stake in InnoStar Semiconductor, a Shanghai-based memory chip firm backed by the Chinese government, according to corporate records in China and Singapore. A ByteDance... As the Chinese government races to catch up in advanced computer chips, it has found an ally...

Morgan Stanley's former CEO James Gorman. Photo by Getty.

Morgan Stanley Was Counting on $150 Million in Twitter Deal Fees

By Becky Peterson · Mar 11, 2024 11:44am PDT · 2 comments

When Morgan Stanley first worked on Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition in April 2022, bankers estimated fees on the deal could reach $150 million or more, according to two people who saw the terms. But that wasn’t the only payoff the bank saw from its involvement in the deal: Morgan Stanley also hoped to strengthen its... When Morgan Stanley first worked on Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition in April...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

OpenAI Board Reappoints Altman and Adds Three Other Directors

By Laura Mandaro, Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 8, 2024 2:01pm PST · 2 comments

OpenAI’s board said an investigation into the circumstances surrounding CEO Sam Altman’s short-lived firing last November had exonerated the executive, who had been reinstated after a staff revolt. As a result, the company announced Altman had rejoined the board. The company said that the investigation, which was undertaken by the... OpenAI’s board said an investigation into the circumstances surrounding CEO Sam...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

JPMorgan Sees Mixed Results From Silicon Valley Push

By Michael Roddan · Mar 8, 2024 10:45am PST · 4 comments

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

JPMorgan Sees Mixed Results From Silicon Valley Push

By Michael Roddan · Mar 8, 2024 10:45am PST · 4 comments

A few months after JPMorgan Chase bought the collapsed First Republic Bank last year, Eric Bahn decided he needed a new home for his money. The general partner and co-founder of Hustle Fund, a $130 million fund that invests in pre-seed and seed companies, had been a First Republic customer for years. He liked its capital call credit lines, which... A few months after JPMorgan Chase bought the collapsed First Republic Bank last year, Eric Bahn...