The Information

Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok Asks Advertisers to Spend 50% More Next Year

By Sahil Patel · Dec 15, 2023 11:41am PST · 3 comments

TikTok is doubling down on efforts to take ad dollars from TV networks and Instagram owner Meta Platforms. The hugely popular Chinese-owned video app is asking top ad-buying firms to increase their spending by between 50% and 150% next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in requests that ad executives say are unreasonable.... TikTok is doubling down on efforts to take ad dollars from TV networks and Instagram owner Meta...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft Chase Wearable AI

By Erin Woo, Jon Victor and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 14, 2023 4:35pm PST · 2 comments

Next year’s artificial intelligence battle is coming into focus—and it’s all about glasses. As they release more powerful AI that can understand images and language, Meta Platforms, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and others are racing to apply the technology to smart glasses and other wearable devices with forward-facing cameras.... Next year’s artificial intelligence battle is coming into focus—and it’s all...

Arvind Jain, CEO of Glean. Photo by Harry Murphy via Getty Images.

Startup Founded by Ex-Google Search Team Nears $2 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 13, 2023 5:04pm PST · 8 comments

Glean, a startup founded by former Google search engineers that uses OpenAI’s large language models to help workers search through their companies’ internal data, is in talks with investors to raise at least $200 million at a $2 billion pre-money valuation, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Kleiner Perkins,... Glean, a startup founded by former Google search engineers that uses OpenAI’s large...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Etsy Cuts 11% of Headcount as Competition From Shein and Temu Mounts

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Dec 13, 2023 8:21am PST · 2 comments

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Etsy Cuts 11% of Headcount as Competition From Shein and Temu Mounts

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Dec 13, 2023 8:21am PST · 2 comments

Etsy is laying off roughly 11% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed, as the e-commerce site that helps small businesses sell handmade goods grapples with a slowdown in consumer spending and increased competition from competitors like Shein and Temu. The cuts will affect roughly 225 employees. Etsy has seen revenue growth slow sharply over... Etsy is laying off roughly 11% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed, as the e-commerce site...

ByteDance's Pico 4 VR headset at a store in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Getty.

ByteDance Axes Next VR Headset, in Pullback From Meta Battle

By Juro Osawa · Dec 13, 2023 5:41am PST

Chinese tech giant ByteDance might have set Facebook owner Meta Platforms on its heels with its hugely popular TikTok app. But ByteDance is now retreating from its effort to compete with Meta in the virtual reality headset market. ByteDance is canceling the next version of the virtual reality headset from its Pico subsidiary, the Pico 5,... Chinese tech giant ByteDance might have set Facebook owner Meta Platforms on its heels with its...

Investor Elad Gil is co-leading an investment in Harvey with Kleiner Perkins. Photo by Getty

Legal AI Startup Harvey Valued at $700 Million in Round Co-Led By Kleiner

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 8:06pm PST · 4 comments

Harvey, a one-year-old startup that sells artificial intelligence-powered legal software, is in talks to raise between $70 million and $80 million in a round that would value it at $700 million including the investment, two people familiar with financing said. The funding more than quadruples its valuation announced in April, indicating... Harvey, a one-year-old startup that sells artificial intelligence-powered legal software, is in...

Photo via Getty.

The Farmer’s Dog, on Pace for $800 Million in Sales, Looks for Fresh Capital

By Cory Weinberg and Ann Gehan · Dec 12, 2023 2:46pm PST · 2 comments

High-end pet food startup The Farmer’s Dog is working with JPMorgan and other investment banks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by early next year, in a deal that could value it significantly higher than its last $2.5 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter said. The fundraising could help the company buck the trend of... High-end pet food startup The Farmer’s Dog is working with JPMorgan and other investment...

Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty.

Andreessen Horowitz Plots Infrastructure, American Dynamism Funds

By Kate Clark and Becky Peterson · Dec 12, 2023 2:04pm PST · 1 comment

Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty.

Andreessen Horowitz Plots Infrastructure, American Dynamism Funds

By Kate Clark and Becky Peterson · Dec 12, 2023 2:04pm PST · 1 comment

Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prolific investors during the pandemic-era funding boom, recently held an event for limited partners in Las Vegas, where it presented its ideas on investing in various industry sectors, according to a person familiar with the talks. The investment firm could soon ask its backers to commit to those... Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prolific investors during the pandemic-era funding...

Art by Clark Miller

Some AI Startups Find the Money’s No Longer So Easy

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

The venture capital gravy train for artificial intelligence startups may be slowing down. Some young startups have struggled to close rounds investors would have jumped to win a year ago. Take Liquid AI, which is developing a new kind of AI model that can learn while in use, not just during its training, a method that differs from the way... The venture capital gravy train for artificial intelligence startups may be slowing down. Some...

OpenView's office building in the South Boston waterfront. Photo by 123RF.

OpenView, After Deep Layoffs, Mulls Returning Capital or Raising New Funds

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 11, 2023 5:22pm PST · 2 comments

OpenView Ventures’ sudden decision last week to lay off most of its staff and halt investments in new startups left one major question unanswered: what to do with the $570 million that endowments and other institutions recently committed to its latest fund. Earlier Monday, the firm’s senior partners held all-day meetings to review... OpenView Ventures’ sudden decision last week to lay off most of its staff and halt...

D2iQ CEO Tobi Knaup. Photo via D2iQ.

Software Startup That Rejected Buyout From Microsoft Shuts Down, Sells Assets to Nutanix

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 8, 2023 2:36pm PST · 8 comments

Andreessen Horowitz-backed D2iQ, a cloud infrastructure startup formerly known as Mesosphere and which was once popular with software developers, is shutting down. It is the latest in a string of firms to evaporate this year after raising significant venture capital. D2iQ, which raised $250 million in venture funding, on Thursday sent... Andreessen Horowitz-backed D2iQ, a cloud infrastructure startup formerly known as Mesosphere and...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

TikTok Plans Anti-Hate Speech Campaign After Complaints Over Israel-Hamas Videos

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 7, 2023 12:41pm PST · 1 comment

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

TikTok Plans Anti-Hate Speech Campaign After Complaints Over Israel-Hamas Videos

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 7, 2023 12:41pm PST · 1 comment

TikTok is preparing a slew of initiatives to defuse growing complaints that antisemitism and other hate speech has proliferated in videos about the Hamas-Israel war. The ByteDance-owned app is planning a social media campaign this month called “Swipe Out Hate” that will involve creators to spread its message, according to a person... TikTok is preparing a slew of initiatives to defuse growing complaints that antisemitism and...

Photo by MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

VC Firm OpenView Abruptly Winds Down After Key Partners Leave, Returns Sour

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Dec 5, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments

OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm that has backed enterprise software firms such as Calendly and Expensify, laid off most of its staff and will no longer make new investments, leaders told staff Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The sudden fall of the firm, which employed at least 74... OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm that has backed enterprise...

Luciana Lixandru. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Sequoia Partner Luciana Lixandru Joins Stripe Board as Michael Moritz Exits

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Dec 5, 2023 1:04pm PST · 1 comment

Sequoia’s investing empire is shoring up control at one of its startup crown jewels during a critical time for the Silicon Valley firm. Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital recently added Luciana Lixandru, a partner based in London, to the board of $50 billion payments company Stripe, one of the most valuable holdings in Sequoia’s... Sequoia’s investing empire is shoring up control at one of its startup crown jewels during...

PayPal's office in San Jose, Calif. Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

New PayPal CEO Fast-Tracks Upgrades to Beat Back Competition

By Mark Matousek · Dec 5, 2023 10:57am PST

New PayPal CEO Alex Chriss is fast-tracking an effort to bolster the company’s defenses against Stripe and Apple Pay, highlighting how the payments giant has fallen behind newer, slicker competitors. Teams across the payments giant have been racing to add a slew of new features to make its digital wallet and online checkout more attractive... New PayPal CEO Alex Chriss is fast-tracking an effort to bolster the company’s defenses...

Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty.

Fidelity Backs AI Infrastructure Startup at $9 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 4:54pm PST · 3 comments

Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress via Getty.

Fidelity Backs AI Infrastructure Startup at $9 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Cory Weinberg, Kate Clark and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 4, 2023 4:54pm PST · 3 comments

Vast Data, an AI software and storage startup backed by Nvidia, raised a new funding round led by Fidelity Investments and including participation of venture capital firms NEA and Bond. The round values Vast Data at more than $9 billion, people familiar with the matter said, compared to its valuation of $3.7 billion set in 2021. Seven-year-old... Vast Data, an AI software and storage startup backed by Nvidia, raised a new funding round led by...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Inside Morgan Stanley’s OpenAI Push

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Dec 4, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

During the most harrowing moments of the OpenAI leadership crisis, one of the startup’s biggest partnerships—a deal with Morgan Stanley that is supposed to demonstrate how AI can change the game at a giant, highly regulated Wall Street bank—was left twisting in the wind. Executives at Morgan Stanley, one of OpenAI’s... During the most harrowing moments of the OpenAI leadership crisis, one of the startup’s...

Demis Hassabis and Sundar Pichai. Photos by Bloomberg via Getty.

Google Preps Public Preview of Gemini AI After Postponing In-Person Launch Events

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Dec 2, 2023 10:18am PST · 7 comments

Update, Dec.4: After Google quietly scrapped a set of in-person events to launch Gemini, its biggest artificial intelligence initiative in a decade, the company has planned a virtual preview of the new AI as soon as this week, said a person with knowledge of the situation. By giving journalists and software developers a first look at some of the... Update, Dec.4: After Google quietly scrapped a set of in-person events to launch Gemini, its...

Shein’s pop-up in the Times Square Forever 21 store on Nov. 10. Photo by Getty.

Shein Faces an Uphill Battle to Sustain Growth

By Jing Yang and Ann Gehan · Dec 1, 2023 6:03am PST

For the past few years, Shein has seemed untouchable. The secretive e-commerce firm had exploded into one of the world’s most valuable private companies by shipping trendy apparel directly from Chinese manufacturers to shoppers around the world, offering rock-bottom prices in exchange for longer delivery times. But last year, Shein’s... For the past few years, Shein has seemed untouchable. The secretive e-commerce firm had exploded...

Alibaba Cloud's mascot. Photo by Long Wei/Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty.

Why Alibaba’s Cloud Ambitions Fell to Earth

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Nov 30, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Alibaba Cloud's mascot. Photo by Long Wei/Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty.

Why Alibaba’s Cloud Ambitions Fell to Earth

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Nov 30, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Several months ago, executives at Alibaba tried to persuade some big investors to take a stake in its cloud unit—which Alibaba was then planning to spin off as a separate company—at a $40 billion valuation. Alibaba’s idea was that the outside investments could signal to the stock market the appeal of the cloud unit ahead of its... Several months ago, executives at Alibaba tried to persuade some big investors to take a stake in...