The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

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Musk, Putin and CEO Telephone Calls

By Martin Peers · Oct 25, 2024 4:00pm PDT

We’ve learned a lot lately about who CEOs like to telephone. We reported a couple of weeks ago that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella likes to make two calls a day to CEOs of other companies, including startup chiefs, to ensure he stays up to date on the latest developments in tech. And Morgan Stanley’s former CEO and Disney chair-to-be Jim Gorman... We’ve learned a lot lately about who CEOs like to telephone. We reported a couple of weeks ago...

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A Silicon Valley Divided

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 24, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

One of the developments I didn’t predict at the start of the year was the rise in support for Donald Trump among members of the tech elite—like Elon Musk. Musk aside, there’s no question that Silicon Valley elites are more politically divided than they have been for at least the last 20 years I have reported on them. The Valley’s most... One of the developments I didn’t predict at the start of the year was the rise in support for...

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Musk’s Tesla Turnaround

By Martin Peers · Oct 23, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Today Elon Musk had some good news to report about Tesla for a change. The electric vehicle maker’s third-quarter results on Wednesday were the strongest in 12 months, with a return to growth in auto revenues after two quarters of decline and the revelation that the Cybertruck had turned profitable. Tesla even projected it would finish this year... Today Elon Musk had some good news to report about Tesla for a change. The electric vehicle maker...

Screenshot from Temu.

Amazon, Temu and $20 Couches

By Martin Peers · Oct 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Screenshot from Temu.

Amazon, Temu and $20 Couches

By Martin Peers · Oct 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Memo to the Kamala Harris campaign: Have you checked out Temu? The presidential candidate faces a bunch of voters unhappy with how prices for consumer goods have skyrocketed under President Joe Biden. But she could push back on those complaints by pointing people to the website of Temu, the Chinese-owned bargain-basement shopping service that... Memo to the Kamala Harris campaign: Have you checked out Temu? The presidential candidate faces a...

Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, at an event by The Information in 2017. Photo by Erin Beach.

Stripe’s Bridge to Crypto

By Martin Peers · Oct 21, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Crypto is so back, baby! Payments firm Stripe confirmed that today with its deal—reportedly $1.1 billion—to buy Bridge, a startup that helps companies make payments using stablecoin (a type of cryptocurrency backed by dollars and other traditional currencies). Given that Bridge’s revenue may be around $12 million, as The Information... Crypto is so back, baby! Payments firm Stripe confirmed that today with its deal—reportedly $1.1...

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Where Amazon Might Be Taking Whole Foods

By Theo Wayt · Oct 18, 2024 3:00pm PDT

In John Mackey’s new memoir, the Whole Foods founder and former CEO recalls how in mid-2022, shortly before he left the grocery chain, he took MDMA and psilocybin during a spiritual retreat. While under the influence, Mackey agonized over the ways he had been “disrespected and disempowered” after selling Whole Foods to Amazon five years earlier,... In John Mackey’s new memoir, the Whole Foods founder and former CEO recalls how in mid-2022,...

Demis Hassabis. Photo by Getty.

Google Fixes AI Structural Flaw

By Martin Peers · Oct 17, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Google might move slowly but it gets there eventually. Well, at least that’s the theory. A shake-up in the management ranks of the tech giant, unveiled on Thursday, belatedly fixes a flaw in the company’s artificial intelligence organization, one that had constrained its ability to compete with ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI.CEO Sundar Pichai today... Google might move slowly but it gets there eventually. Well, at least that’s the theory. A...

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Tech Revives Nuclear

By Martin Peers · Oct 16, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Tech Revives Nuclear

By Martin Peers · Oct 16, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Big tech has well and truly gone nuclear. Amazon’s announcement today that it has signed three deals for the development of nuclear power reactors—including leading a $500 million funding round for a reactor developer called X-energy (not related to the X-obsessed Elon Musk)—demonstrates clearly how the tech industry is helping to revive nuclear... Big tech has well and truly gone nuclear. Amazon’s announcement today that it has signed three...

Steve Schwarzman, co-founder and CEO of Blackstone. Photo via Getty.

Blackstone's Giant Data Center Bet

By Martin Peers · Oct 15, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Big tech companies don’t report September-quarter earnings until the end of this month. But you don’t have to wait until then to get an update on the artificial intelligence data center gold rush that’s now underway. Instead, just tune in to Blackstone’s earnings call on Thursday.The giant investment firm has emerged as one of the big global... Big tech companies don’t report September-quarter earnings until the end of this month. But you...

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Netflix’s Earnings Will Test Pricey Stock

By Martin Peers · Oct 14, 2024 5:00pm PDT

It may feel like we’ve just finished earnings season—but hey, time flies when you’re having fun. Yes, earnings are upon us again. Netflix, as always, kicks off tech’s roster of quarterly reports on Thursday. And there are a bunch of recent buyers of Netflix stock who have much riding on what the streaming giant reports.Netflix stock has hit new... It may feel like we’ve just finished earnings season—but hey, time flies when you’re having fun....

Thursday night's Tesla event. Photo via YouTube

Musk’s Robotaxi Reveal Is a Dud for Investors

By Martin Peers · Oct 11, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

You certainly can’t accuse Wall Street of being taken in by a glitzy presentation, at least not this week. Elon Musk’s big robotaxi reveal on Thursday night went down like a lead balloon with investors today. Tesla shares fell 9%, while shares of Uber, whose business is theoretically at risk from a Tesla robotaxi, rose nearly 11% to $86. That... You certainly can’t accuse Wall Street of being taken in by a glitzy presentation, at least not...

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Photo via Getty.

The E-Mail Miscue That Undercut a $1 Billion Corporate Activism Campaign

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Photo via Getty.

The E-Mail Miscue That Undercut a $1 Billion Corporate Activism Campaign

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT

It’s become well understood that the high-stakes political world more closely mirrors the satire “Veep” than the prestige-draped “The West Wing.” Behind the pomp, circumstance and power are humans who, like all of us, are prone to bumbling mistakes. The same thing can be said, it seems, about highly choreographed, stealthy... It’s become well understood that the high-stakes political world more closely mirrors the satire...

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Google’s Slow-Motion Drama

By Martin Peers · Oct 9, 2024 5:00pm PDT

We’re at the point in the Google antitrust battle where the story has stalled. Not much real news is going to happen for a while. We got blaring headlines late on Tuesday night about the government’s latest filing in the search case (the one Google has already lost but awaits penalties for). The headlines emphasized the government’s desire to... We’re at the point in the Google antitrust battle where the story has stalled. Not much real news...

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty.

Roblox’s Kids Cesspool

By Martin Peers · Oct 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street short seller’s report out today about Roblox, an online kids’ gaming service, painted a picture of a site you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to visit, let alone your children. It came the same day as attorneys general from a dozen states sued TikTok... The term “social media” is beginning to be synonymous with “cesspool for children.” A Wall Street...

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Google's Epic Loss

By Martin Peers · Oct 7, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Talk about an epic decision. Epic Games scored a huge victory in court on Monday, when the judge overseeing Epic’s antitrust case against Google essentially shattered the company’s Android app store monopoly. Among other things, the judge ruled that for the next three years, the tech giant can’t require developers to use only Google’s app... Talk about an epic decision. Epic Games scored a huge victory in court on Monday, when the judge...

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Amazon Learns Tech Isn’t Everything in Retail Stores

By Theo Wayt · Oct 4, 2024 3:30pm PDT

Photo via Shutterstock

Amazon Learns Tech Isn’t Everything in Retail Stores

By Theo Wayt · Oct 4, 2024 3:30pm PDT

It looks like Amazon has finally realized most people go to grocery and convenience stores to browse and shop—not to be wowed by technology. Case in point: Amazon is closing more of its futuristic cashierless convenience shops and launching mini Whole Foods stores that are comparatively low tech. When Amazon opened its first Go store to the... It looks like Amazon has finally realized most people go to grocery and convenience stores to...

Sam Altman. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why OpenAI Shouldn’t Buy Back Employee Shares

By Martin Peers · Oct 3, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

On the public markets, the idea of companies that are burning cash also spending money on stock buybacks is a giant no-no. Yet for some reason, private tech investors are willing to give startups a pass for doing the same thing. Exhibit A is OpenAI, which we reported wants to use some of the $6.6 billion in cash it raised in its recent... On the public markets, the idea of companies that are burning cash also spending money on stock...

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The Cynic’s Guide to OpenAI’s Megaround

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 2, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Sam Altman should organize a celebration dinner for the men behind the largest venture capital funding round ever. I’d love to overhear SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son give advice to Thrive’s Joshua Kushner on how to avoid giving too much money to charismatic tech founders. Imagine seeing Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella fight over... Sam Altman should organize a celebration dinner for the men behind the largest venture capital...

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, in September. Photo via Getty.

Snapchat’s Safety Struggle

By Erin Woo · Oct 1, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Snap likes to cast its Snapchat app as “an antidote to social media.” Unlike its rival social media apps, Snapchat was “designed to be safe” for kids, the company claims. But designing something to be safe and actually making it safe aren’t the same things.How Snap has fallen short on this front became clear from an unredacted version of a... Snap likes to cast its Snapchat app as “an antidote to social media.” Unlike its rival social...

Sam Altman speaking in Turin, Italy last Wednesday. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI’s Endless Fundraising

By Martin Peers · Sep 30, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Sam Altman speaking in Turin, Italy last Wednesday. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI’s Endless Fundraising

By Martin Peers · Sep 30, 2024 5:00pm PDT

If you’re like me, you’re getting political fundraising text messages roughly every 15 minutes these days. But political candidates aren’t the only people raising money aggressively right now. There are also AI startup executives, most obviously the folks at OpenAI. Today we scooped the news that SoftBank is putting $500 million into OpenAI as... If you’re like me, you’re getting political fundraising text messages roughly every 15 minutes...