Pro Weekly by The Information Staff

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Pro Weekly

By The Information Staff

Our analysts will sort through and send the biggest updates to our data every week in an exclusive newsletter, in case you don’t have the time to go through it all.

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Recent Editions

A driver and crew make a pit stop at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at the Phoenix Raceway in November 2023. Photo by Grindstone Media Group via Shutterstock.

Pro Weekly: Why Sports Rights Fees Keep Climbing

By Scott Thurm · May 17, 2024 8:00am PDT

We launched our latest Pro database on Wednesday, the Sports Rights Database. My colleagues Sahil and Akash detailed more than $180 billion in sports rights deals across eight professional and college sports leagues and 10 platforms, including Disney’s ESPN and Apple TV+. We launched our latest Pro database on Wednesday, the Sports Rights Database. My colleagues Sahil...

Pro Weekly: How Our 200 Promising Startups Have Fared

Pro Weekly: How Our 200 Promising Startups Have Fared

By Akash Pasricha · May 10, 2024 8:00am PDT

Every year, The Information’s reporters identify the 50 most promising technology startups. In total, we’ve spotted 200 companies over four years that are logged in The Information 50 Database. My colleague Abubakar Idris and I spent the week looking back on our picks and updating the financial details for each company. Several businesses have... Every year, The Information’s reporters identify the 50 most promising technology startups. In...

Drew Baglino, Tesla's former head of powertrain. Photo via YouTube.

Pro Weekly: Future Entries in the Tesla Diaspora Database

By Scott Thurm · May 3, 2024 8:00am PDT

Monday we published our Tesla Diaspora Database, highlighting 90 former Tesla managers and executives now in key roles at other makers of electric vehicles and batteries. In the following days, we added a 91st manager, Peter Villa, who had eluded our research. From 2014 to 2020 Villa worked at Tesla, where he helped scale up its Fremont, Calif.,... Monday we published our Tesla Diaspora Database, highlighting 90 former Tesla managers and...

Snipfeed co-founders Pierre-Habté Nouvellon, Rédouane Ramdani and Anas Bouassami. Photo via Snipfeed.

Pro Weekly: Why One Creator Economy Company Agreed to Sell

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 26, 2024 8:00am PDT

Snipfeed co-founders Pierre-Habté Nouvellon, Rédouane Ramdani and Anas Bouassami. Photo via Snipfeed.

Pro Weekly: Why One Creator Economy Company Agreed to Sell

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 26, 2024 8:00am PDT

In February, we launched the Creator Startup Takeover List, listing 45 startups in the sector that are potential acquisition targets. Most companies hadn’t raised any capital since 2021, and, based on our reporting, some were actively seeking buyers. This week, one of those companies struck a deal. On Monday, Snipfeed agreed to sell its... In February, we launched the Creator Startup Takeover List, listing 45 startups in the sector...

Pro Weekly: A Less Optimistic Outlook for Big Tech

Pro Weekly: A Less Optimistic Outlook for Big Tech

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 19, 2024 8:00am PDT

The Information’s readers have cooled on their outlook for the technology sector. In our April survey, 33% of readers said they expect conditions to improve and 17% said they expect conditions to worsen. That’s markedly less optimistic than earlier in the year. In February, those expecting conditions to improve outnumbered those expecting them... The Information’s readers have cooled on their outlook for the technology sector. In our April...

Photo by Getty Images

Pro Weekly: Back-to-Back Funding in Generative AI

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 12, 2024 8:00am PDT

My colleague Cory reported Monday that some venture investors are shying away from companies working on generative artificial intelligence because they require a lot of capital, can fetch towering valuations and often face stiff competition. But you wouldn’t know it from the first quarterly tabulation of funding to the companies in our ... My colleague Cory reported Monday that some venture investors are shying away from companies...

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Pro Weekly: Companies Line Up at the IPO Window

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 5, 2024 8:00am PDT

The market for initial public offerings seems to be heating up, and we’ve been updating and enhancing The Information’s Tech IPO Tracker to keep pace. On Monday, data security software firm Rubrik filed its public IPO prospectus, suggesting it will debut on the stock market later this month or in early May. Shopping rewards company Ibotta... The market for initial public offerings seems to be heating up, and we’ve been updating and...

Left to right, Everett Randle, Delian Asparouhov, John Luttig, Leigh Marie Braswell, Avery Klemmer, Vinay Iyengar and Grace Isford.

Pro Weekly: Venture Capital's Youth Movement

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 29, 2024 8:00am PDT

Left to right, Everett Randle, Delian Asparouhov, John Luttig, Leigh Marie Braswell, Avery Klemmer, Vinay Iyengar and Grace Isford.

Pro Weekly: Venture Capital's Youth Movement

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 29, 2024 8:00am PDT

My colleagues Natasha and Kate this week published The Next GPs, identifying 19 people in industry and at venture capital firms such as Accel, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners who are likely to become general partners in coming years. As I studied the list, I was struck by the relative youth of its members. At least nine,... My colleagues Natasha and Kate this week published The Next GPs, identifying 19 people in...

Photo via Shutterstock

Pro Weekly: Creators' Influence on Shopping

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 22, 2024 8:00am PDT

Yesterday, we published the results of our March subscriber survey, in which more than half of the 742 respondents said they had bought goods or services through social media. Another result that interested me: 53% of respondents said a creator had inspired them to buy something, regardless of whether they bought it on social media or not.... Yesterday, we published the results of our March subscriber survey, in which more than half of...

Photo by Getty Images

Pro Weekly: Tighter Reins on Cloud Spending—Except for AI

By Akash Pasricha and Anissa Gardizy · Mar 15, 2024 8:00am PDT

We’ve updated our estimates for several of the biggest spenders in our Cloud Database. The changes show that some companies are trying to hold the line on cloud bills—except when it comes to spending on artificial intelligence. The most significant update in the database is all about AI. ChatGPT developer OpenAI projected last year that it... We’ve updated our estimates for several of the biggest spenders in our Cloud Database. The...

Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of Snowflake. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile for Collision via Getty Images.

Pro Weekly: The Many Ways to Run a Software Company

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 8, 2024 8:00am PST

Fresh off Sridhar Ramaswamy’s appointment as CEO of Snowflake, we published an Org Chart for the cloud database software company this week, highlighting the 41 top executives. Snowflake is the latest software company added to our Org Charts catalog. We published ServiceNow and MongoDB earlier this year, and we’ve long had Org Charts for ... Fresh off Sridhar Ramaswamy’s appointment as CEO of Snowflake, we published an Org Chart for the...

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty

Pro Weekly: IPO Chatter Surfaces Again

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 1, 2024 8:00am PST

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty

Pro Weekly: IPO Chatter Surfaces Again

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 1, 2024 8:00am PST

Reddit’s initial public offering prospectus, published last week, has reignited chatter that IPOs could pick up this year. According to The Information’s Tech IPO Tracker, at least 16 tech companies could make public debuts in the next 10 months. In another sign of increased activity, artificial intelligence hardware startup Astera Labs released... Reddit’s initial public offering prospectus, published last week, has reignited chatter that IPOs...

Lidiane Jones, Bill McDermott and Dara Khosrowshahi. Photos by Getty

Pro Weekly: When a CEO Moves, Deputies Follow

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 23, 2024 8:00am PST

New CEOs love turning to familiar faces. It’s an age-old habit that is well represented across the nearly 60 Org Charts we’ve now published for Pro subscribers.Take ServiceNow, whose Org Chart we published Wednesday. Bill McDermott joined the IT giant as CEO in 2019 after a nearly 10-year stint as SAP’s chief executive. The following year,... New CEOs love turning to familiar faces. It’s an age-old habit that is well represented across...

Pro Weekly: Rising Shares Lift Readers' Views of Tech Giants

Pro Weekly: Rising Shares Lift Readers' Views of Tech Giants

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 16, 2024 8:00am PST

Readers of The Information are optimistic about the tech sector: More than 62% of respondents to our most recent survey expect conditions to improve over the next six months, the highest such percentage since we began asking that question a year ago. The favorable outlook extends to most of the 14 big tech companies we ask about each... Readers of The Information are optimistic about the tech sector: More than 62% of respondents to...

Pro Weekly: Revisiting Our 50 Most Promising Startups

Pro Weekly: Revisiting Our 50 Most Promising Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 9, 2024 8:00am PST

In October, we identified 50 companies for the fourth edition of The Information 50 Most Promising Startups. Today, we’re revisiting our latest picks. In less than six months, more than one in five have raised fresh funding, despite a lackluster investing climate. In the fourth quarter of 2023, global venture funds invested less money in... In October, we identified 50 companies for the fourth edition of The Information 50 Most...

Photo via Adobe Stock

Pro Weekly: The Founders Challenging Nvidia

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 2, 2024 8:00am PST

Photo via Adobe Stock

Pro Weekly: The Founders Challenging Nvidia

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 2, 2024 8:00am PST

Earlier this week, we published The Information’s AI Chip Database for Pro subscribers, tracking the 18 (and counting) startups that are challenging Nvidia in the fast-growing market for the graphics processing units that power artificial intelligence. In total, these companies have raised over $6 billion in funding.It’s a tall task to take on ... Earlier this week, we published The Information’s AI Chip Database for Pro subscribers, tracking...

Arthur Mensch, founder and CEO of Mistral AI. Photo by Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Pro Weekly: Europe Joins the AI Race

By Abubakar Idris · Jan 26, 2024 8:00am PST

Earlier this week, I reported one finding from combing through details of the 123 companies in our Generative AI Database: Only four of the 96 U.S.-based startups—including two of the best known, OpenAI and Anthropic—are structured as nonprofits or for-profit benefit corporations.My dive through the database also revealed other insights,... Earlier this week, I reported one finding from combing through details of the 123 companies in...

The Apple Vision Pro. Photo via Getty Images.

Pro Weekly: Developers Eagerly Await the Vision Pro

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 19, 2024 8:01am PST

In our most recent subscriber survey, more than 40% of respondents said they are somewhat likely or extremely likely to consider buying the Apple Vision Pro, for which Apple is accepting pre-orders starting today. Among those most eagerly awaiting the Vision Pro are developers building apps for the mixed-reality device. Michael Markman, a... In our most recent subscriber survey, more than 40% of respondents said they are somewhat likely...

Pro Weekly: For Creator Startups, Money Doesn't Always Equal Success

Pro Weekly: For Creator Startups, Money Doesn't Always Equal Success

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 12, 2024 8:00am PST

We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this week. The upshot: Funding for creator startups is down, unless of course, the business has an artificial intelligence angle. In total, the 525 creator-centric startups in our database have raised more than $13.8 billion since 2021. As you would... We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this...

Aidan Gomez, co-founder of Cohere and Google veteran. Photo by Getty

Pro Weekly: Google Is the Training Ground for Other AI Companies

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 5, 2024 8:00am PST

Aidan Gomez, co-founder of Cohere and Google veteran. Photo by Getty

Pro Weekly: Google Is the Training Ground for Other AI Companies

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 5, 2024 8:00am PST

Before the holidays, I spent much of December reporting and updating our Org Charts for OpenAI, Anthropic and Cohere, all of which are now live. This week, we took a step back to examine the backgrounds of the leadership at the three artificial intelligence powerhouses. Sifting through the work histories of each company’s staff, one... Before the holidays, I spent much of December reporting and updating our Org Charts for OpenAI, ...