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Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat. Photo by Getty

Google and Other Alphabet Units Laid Off Staff as Industry Resumes Cost Cuts

By Jon Victor · Oct 18, 2023 5:58pm PDT · 2 comments

Google and its parent company Alphabet has quietly laid off staff, spokespeople for the conglomerate said, as tech firms continue to tighten their belts following a marked slowdown in business growth. Divisions such as Google News, Alphabet’s healthcare analytics subsidiary Verily and self-driving car unit Waymo recently laid off staff,... Google and its parent company Alphabet has quietly laid off staff, spokespeople for the...

Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Discord Shutters Gas, Making It Two in a Row for Gas Founder

By Mark Matousek · Oct 18, 2023 1:18pm PDT

Nikita Bier has done it again. Nine months after he sold anonymous-compliments app Gas to Discord, the app is being shut down, Discord CEO Jason Citron has told employees. Bier is known in Silicon Valley as the founder of TBH, another anonymous social app which he sold to Facebook in 2017. In mid-2018, Facebook said it was closing the app... Nikita Bier has done it again. Nine months after he sold anonymous-compliments app Gas to...

Tencent's headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Photo via Shutterstock.

China’s Government Takes Stake in a Tencent Domestic Unit

By Juro Osawa · Oct 18, 2023 11:39am PDT

China’s government has taken a stake in a domestic subsidiary of Tencent, the operator of WeChat, China’s biggest messaging app, in the latest step by Beijing to tighten its control over the country’s big tech firms. The government has taken a similar sized stake in the domestic subsidiaries of several other tech giants over... China’s government has taken a stake in a domestic subsidiary of Tencent, the operator of...

Apple CEO Tim Cook in China earlier this year. Photo by Getty

Apple Fired App Store Staff After Finding Improper Dealings with Game Developers

By Wayne Ma · Oct 18, 2023 9:58am PDT

Apple CEO Tim Cook in China earlier this year. Photo by Getty

Apple Fired App Store Staff After Finding Improper Dealings with Game Developers

By Wayne Ma · Oct 18, 2023 9:58am PDT

Apple fired at least five employees who worked in the company’s App Store in China following an internal probe into business misconduct, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. Apple found infractions such as unsanctioned contact with mobile game developers or consultants working on their behalf, these people said. An... Apple fired at least five employees who worked in the company’s App Store in China...

Photo by The Washington Post via Getty.

Amazon to TV Ad Newbies: If You Buy Commercials, We’ll Make Them

By Theo Wayt · Oct 18, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon is approaching brands that already buy search ads on its e-commerce website with an unusual pitch: if you buy streaming TV ads, we’ll make them for you. The incentive highlights the lengths Amazon is willing to go to in order to try to build a streaming ad business. Smaller brands that sell on Amazon often don’t have the money... Amazon is approaching brands that already buy search ads on its e-commerce website with an...

The world premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" in London on August 30. Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty.

Amazon Pushes Advertisers to Commit Big to Prime Video

By Sahil Patel · Oct 17, 2023 12:19pm PDT

As Amazon gears up to run ads on its Prime Video streaming service early next year, company executives are asking advertisers to commit to spending significant amounts of money on the service in 2024. The requests, which ad executives say are more aggressive than what Netflix asked for when it launched an ad-tier last year, signify... As Amazon gears up to run ads on its Prime Video streaming service early next year, company...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI Dropped Work on New ‘Arrakis’ AI Model in Rare Setback

By Jon Victor and Aaron Holmes · Oct 17, 2023 12:16pm PDT · 10 comments

Late last year, around the time ChatGPT became a global sensation, the engineers at OpenAI began working on a new artificial intelligence model, codenamed Arrakis. Although OpenAI was preparing to boost ChatGPT with a different model, now known as GPT-4, which it had completed earlier in the year, the upcoming Arrakis model would allow the... Late last year, around the time ChatGPT became a global sensation, the engineers at OpenAI began...

Ian Sigalow and Dana Settle. Photos via Getty.

VC Firm Greycroft Cuts Five Investors After Missing Fundraising Target

By Kate Clark · Oct 16, 2023 7:23pm PDT · 4 comments

Ian Sigalow and Dana Settle. Photos via Getty.

VC Firm Greycroft Cuts Five Investors After Missing Fundraising Target

By Kate Clark · Oct 16, 2023 7:23pm PDT · 4 comments

Greycroft, a New York venture capital firm that has backed Bumble, Venmo and Axios, is laying off five investors, the firm confirmed, after it failed to reach fundraising targets earlier this year. It’s also backing away from healthcare and fintech investing. The firm disclosed in April that it had raised a total of $980 million for... Greycroft, a New York venture capital firm that has backed Bumble, Venmo and Axios, is laying off...

A Nvidia HGX H100 server. Photo by Gettty

AI Chip Reseller Raises $50 Million in Financing Led By Kleiner Perkins

By Kate Clark, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 13, 2023 11:17am PDT

Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup that capitalizes on artificial intelligence startups’ voracious need for specialized semiconductors. The equity financing of at least $50 million would value the one-year-old company at more than $300 million before the investment, according to people with knowledge of the... Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup that capitalizes on artificial...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Trio of Top Executives Exit Chime

By Mark Matousek · Oct 13, 2023 9:14am PDT

Several top executives at Chime, the once-highflying online banking startup whose growth has lately slowed, are heading for the exits. Beth Steinberg, Chime’s chief people officer, is planning to leave the company, she told The Information. She follows out the door general counsel Kate Karas, who stepped down in August, and Chief... Several top executives at Chime, the once-highflying online banking startup whose growth has...

The Baidu Technology Park in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Baidu Seeks Edge in China’s Crowded Race for AI Dominance

By Juro Osawa · Oct 13, 2023 6:00am PDT

In the U.S., all eyes are on OpenAI and Google’s battle for supremacy in generative artificial intelligence. In China, where the government blocks those companies’ internet services, a parallel race is heating up among domestic giants, even as the Chinese firms face growing restrictions on their access to American chips needed for... In the U.S., all eyes are on OpenAI and Google’s battle for supremacy in generative...

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

OpenAI’s Revenue Crossed $1.3 Billion Annualized Rate, CEO Tells Staff

By Amir Efrati · Oct 12, 2023 8:09am PDT · 2 comments

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

OpenAI’s Revenue Crossed $1.3 Billion Annualized Rate, CEO Tells Staff

By Amir Efrati · Oct 12, 2023 8:09am PDT · 2 comments

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is generating revenue at a pace of $1.3 billion a year, CEO Sam Altman told staff this week, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. Altman’s remark implies the company is generating more than $100 million per month, up 30% from this summer, when the Microsoft-backed startup generated revenue at a $1... ChatGPT maker OpenAI is generating revenue at a pace of $1.3 billion a year, CEO Sam Altman told...

Photo via Getty.

Tiny Banks That Powered Cash App Grew Like Crazy. Then the Feds Came Calling

By Michael Roddan · Oct 12, 2023 6:00am PDT

When Lincoln Savings Bank struck a partnership in 2017 to process direct deposits for Cash App, it was a big break for the small, century-old lender based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Venmo-like app, part of Jack Dorsey’s financial services company now known as Block, was growing quickly. By partnering with Cash App and other fintechs,... When Lincoln Savings Bank struck a partnership in 2017 to process direct deposits for Cash App,...

Deepgram CEO Scott Stephenson. Photo courtesy of Deepgram.

AI Startup Lays Off Workers Again in Fresh Sign of Sector Belt-Tightening

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 11, 2023 7:17pm PDT

Deepgram, an artificial intelligence startup selling speech recognition software that generates transcripts, has cut around 20% of staff, or around 20 people, CEO Scott Stephenson said. It was at least the second time this year the San Francisco startup has laid off workers, according to two people familiar with the cuts. Stephenson blamed... Deepgram, an artificial intelligence startup selling speech recognition software that generates...

Illustration by Shane Burke

China’s Venture Firms Reckon With a Power Shift to LPs

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Oct 11, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In mid-September, dozens of global investors, including U.S. endowments, foundations and family offices, descended on the Chinese city of Chengdu looking for answers. They were there for a gathering hosted by Unicorn Capital Partners, a Hong Kong–based investment firm that helps global investors like them take stakes in funds run by... In mid-September, dozens of global investors, including U.S. endowments, foundations and family...

Jeremi Gorman. Photo by Getty.

Netflix’s Ad Exec Shakeup Was Part of Effort to Speed Growth

By Sahil Patel · Oct 10, 2023 9:30am PDT

Jeremi Gorman. Photo by Getty.

Netflix’s Ad Exec Shakeup Was Part of Effort to Speed Growth

By Sahil Patel · Oct 10, 2023 9:30am PDT

Turning Netflix into an advertising goliath is proving tougher than the video-streaming giant expected. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters decided to replace ad sales chief Jeremi Gorman with Amy Reinhard, a longtime Netflix executive, in hopes of accelerating the ad business’ growth, according to people with knowledge of the matter. One sign of... Turning Netflix into an advertising goliath is proving tougher than the video-streaming giant...

Art by Clark Miller

Tesla Builds a New Home for ‘Dojo’ Supercomputer as AI Ambitions Rise

By Becky Peterson · Oct 10, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

At Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, a new bunkerlike structure is under construction that could one day help move the company beyond electric vehicle manufacturing. When it’s completed, the building will house part of a new supercomputer, known as Dojo, that Tesla is assembling to help run the artificial intelligence software... At Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, a new bunkerlike structure is under construction...

Elon Musk. Photo via AP.

Elon Musk’s X Cut Disinformation-Fighting Tool Ahead of Israel-Hamas Conflict

By Erin Woo · Oct 9, 2023 5:33pm PDT · 6 comments

Elon Musk’s X, in the months before conflict erupted in Gaza, ceased utilizing a software tool used to identify organized misinformation now spreading across the platform formerly known as Twitter. In recent months, the company shut down an internal product that could identify when different accounts shared the same or similar media,... Elon Musk’s X, in the months before conflict erupted in Gaza, ceased utilizing a software...

Nvidia Cloud Ally Nears $300 Million Financing

By Kate Clark and Anissa Gardizy · Oct 9, 2023 5:21pm PDT

Lambda Labs, which competes with Amazon Web Services in renting out servers with Nvidia chips to developers of artificial intelligence, is nearing a $300 million equity financing, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. An investment fund led by billionaire Thomas Tull plans to fund a substantial part of the round,... Lambda Labs, which competes with Amazon Web Services in renting out servers with Nvidia chips to...

Art by Clark Miller

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Looks for Investing Redemption

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Oct 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Looks for Investing Redemption

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Oct 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

There was a time, not long ago, when Masayoshi Son couldn’t keep his hands off the Vision Fund, the swashbuckling investment firm overseen by the Japanese conglomerate he runs, SoftBank Group. He micromanaged the firm’s partners, frequently butting in on deals to play Silicon Valley kingmaker by throwing billions of... There was a time, not long ago, when Masayoshi Son couldn’t keep his hands off the Vision...