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☆ Caviar, champagne, and IPOs: At the Jefferies Private Internet Conference, tech dealmaking was back
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jefferies hosted a conference to bring together late-stage tech founders, investors and bankers. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementAs bankers and venture capitalists nibbled on caviar sushi and sipped champagne and sake this week at Nobu Malibu, there was a gleeful mood at the beachside closing dinner of the Jefferies Private Internet Conference. After a Covid pause, Jefferies resumed this conference in 2022 to bring together late-stage tech founders, investors, and bankers. Related story"Beyond typical deal considerations, AI has emerged as the single biggest new influence today in tech M&A," according to Greenberg.

Persons: Jefferies, —, Cameron Jefferies, Jason Greenberg, Greenberg, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Reddit, Marc Andreessen, Rich Handler, Andreessen Horowitz, Neerav, Goldman, JP Morgan Chase, we've, Lester Organizations: Service, Jefferies Private Internet Conference, Technology, Media, Telecom Investment Banking, Jefferies, Global Technology, Informatica, Epic, Venture, Jefferies Private Locations: Neerav Kingsland

☆ Opinion | Is the Internet the Enemy of Progress?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

But it’s 29 years old, written when the true internet era was still just a gleam in Al Gore’s eye. You could further argue that the passage predicted the Great Stagnation that Tyler Cowen identified in 2011, the productivity slowdown and disappointing economic growth that followed the initial 1990s-era internet boom. Writing for Quillette, he argues that globalization and homogenization have reduced cultural competition in roughly the way that the “Lost World” passage describes. It’s not just that we’re forgoing opportunities to improve our macro cultures. Shouldn’t we expect that macro cultures, when selection is weak, will drift into dysfunction just as firm cultures do?

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Michael Crichton’s, Crichton’s, Ian Malcolm, ” Malcolm, Al, John, Tyler Cowen, Malcolm, Crichton, Robin Hanson, It’s, Hanson, ” Organizations: Benetton, Western, George Mason University Locations: Bangkok, Tokyo, London, Al Gore’s, John Hammond’s, Davos, South Korea

☆ Andreessen Horowitz raises $7.2 billion, a sign that tech startup market may be bouncing back
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Andreessen Horowitz said Tuesday that it raised $7.2 billion across five different funds, a sign of optimism in the tech startup world, which has seen a dearth of significant exits over the past two years. Deal volume for U.S. venture investments in the first quarter sank to its lowest level since 2017, according to data published earlier this month by PitchBook. The firm raised a $4.5 billion crypto fund in 2022, bringing its total amount raised for crypto and blockchain investments to $7.6 billion. Andreessen Horowitz remains on track to raise more money for its crypto fund and a separate biotechnology fund, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Andreessen Horowitz wrote a $350 million check to the company, which was just getting started and has yet to make inroads in the residential real estate market.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Horowitz, PitchBook, bitcoin, Adam Neumann Organizations: Bloomberg, PitchBook, Astera Labs, CNBC Locations: Silicon Valley, U.S

☆ How Big Tech Companies Sabotage New Startups — From the Inside
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

They don't replace the tech giants — they just get bought by the tech giants. A new paper by two leading scholars suggests that these days, Big Tech doesn't have to resort to buyouts to crush aspiring startups. At this point, Big Tech looks at promising startups the way evil alien empires in science fiction look at helpless planets. The data that Big Tech shares — or doesn't share — can play an instrumental role in shaping a startup's work. Finally, the big companies use their clout on Capitol Hill in an effort to impose stricter regulations on the startups they're ostensibly trying to help.

Persons: that's, That's, Joe Biden, Mark Lemley, Matt Wansley, they're, Wansley, Who, Lemley, Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, Barbara Ortutay, Florian Ederer, Elon Musk, OpenAI, Marc Andreessen, watchdogs, Ederer, Anthropic, Adam Rogers Organizations: Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Big Tech, Stanford University, Cardozo School of Law, Google, Facebook, Star, Yale, London Business School, Tech, Boston University, titans, IBM, Dells, Business Locations: Silicon Valley, —

☆ Silicon Valley's elite are moralizing about the future of AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It has reignited the savior complex of Silicon Valley's biggest personalities too. AdvertisementThough some questions are being asked about how much of a case Musk has here, the whole saga has offered plenty of incentive to Silicon Valley's more opinionated leaders to moralize on the future of AI. The open option — in theory at least — champions AI models that are transparent about how they're trained and collectively developed by a global community of developers. (2) Big companies, small companies, independent developers, and open source communities should be free to pursue AI. But which side of the battle the rest of Silicon Valley's AI leaders fall on will be watched just as closely.

Persons: —, Elon, Sam Altman's OpenAI hasn't, OpenAI —, they're, Meta, Sam Altman, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Marc Andreessen, Vinod Khosla, Andreessen, shouldn't, isn't, 2VqL6T5qZe, Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 ( Organizations: Service, Microsoft, OpenAI, Business, Getty, Manhattan, Chinese Communist Party, Big Locations: China, San Francisco, jure

☆ Silicon Valley moguls are weighing in on Elon Musk's battle with OpenAI and it's getting cattier than a 'Real Housewives' reunion
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewElon Musk and his fellow billionaire tech bros are brawling over their differing views on OpenAI, and the back-and-forth is getting ugly. On Thursday, Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. "Vinod doesn't know what he is talking about here," Musk wrote in a reply on X. "Vinod is lobbying to ban open source," Andreessen wrote on X.AdvertisementVinod is lobbying to ban open source. Representatives for Musk, Khosla, and Andreessen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Musk, OpenAI didn't, Vinod Khosla, Khosla, Elon, Vinod doesn't, @OpenAI, Marc Andreessen, Vinod, Andreessen, D9ihtHEOiB, Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 ( Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, xAI, Venture, Netscape Locations: OpenAI

☆ Google's Gemini flop raises the question: What exactly do we want our chatbots to do, really?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Internet culture chronicler Max Read has a particularly sharp assessment about all of it: Yes, this is dumb. are all that interesting or enlightening questions compared to something like "well, what did you want the computer to do?" I can't really even come up with situation where Gemini's refusal to say that Hitler is worse than Elon Musk has some terrible downstream effect. And, also — The Gemini debacle really is a debacle. AdvertisementMaybe we can all take a breath and slow down, and figure out what this tech really can, and can't do.

Persons: Elon Musk, Hunter, Ted Cruz, Max Read, Pol Pot, Martha Stewart, Hitler, they've, chatbots, Marc Andreessen Organizations: Big Tech, Google, Twitter Locations: New York

☆ Google has another 'woke' AI problem with Gemini — and it's going to be hard to fix
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewGoogle spent much of last week getting hammered for supposedly creating a "woke" AI chatbot and eventually apologized for "missing the mark." AdvertisementBut it's also going to be a problem for Google because it has already said it is trying to influence the way its AI produces results. And that's going to be red meat for anyone who wants to argue that Google — or any other Big Tech company — is "too woke." Last week, after getting similar criticism about the way Gemini handled race when it came to AI-generated images, Google "paused" Gemini's ability to create images. Pulling Gemini altogether would be a considerable black eye for the company, and one I think it will be incredibly reluctant to do.

Persons: —, Ben Thompson, Gemini, Hitler, Elon Musk's, Thompson, Sundar Pichai, Marc Andreessen, it's, they're, Prabhakar Raghavan, Raghavan, Google's, I'm Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Big Tech, Gemini

☆ Some hear echoes of the Web3 frenzy around generative AI. But its future is likely to play out very differently.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Mariam Pettit, partner at Global Founders Capital, said the rush toward AI was in part driven by investor FOMO. While investors and industry insiders don't anticipate the same fate for generative AI startups, many see the parallels between the two industries. Indeed, VCs are paying premiums and pre-empting rounds into hot AI startups in a bid to get a place on the cap table. AI founders are aware that they need to differentiate themselves in order to survive, at the very least. "And with vertical AI startups, it's much clearer that all the data we have is approved by the creator of that data."

Persons: Marc Andreessen, ChatGPT, Mariam Pettit, FOMO, Rainer Haeckl Web3, Sam Bankman Fried, Ash Arora, LocalGlobe, Arora, Sam Altman, Andreessen Horowitz, Ayman Fadil, Fadil, Pettit, Devang Agarwal Organizations: Business, Alpha, Global Founders Capital, Investors, Tech, Talis Locations: German, London, Web3, LocalGlobe, Jasper

☆ Meta says Broadcom CEO Hock Tan is joining board of directors
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Meta said Wednesday that Broadcom CEO president Hock Tan and philanthropist and former Enron executive John Arnold are joining the company's board of directors. Tan has been leading the semiconductor giant since 2006, giving him extensive international experience working in computing infrastructure technology. "As we focus on building AGI, having directors with deep expertise in silicon and energy infrastructure will help us execute our long term vision," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. The technical backgrounds of the incomers contrast with former Meta operating chief Sheryl Sandberg, who recently said she would step down from the company's board. Tan and Arnold join a board that includes former PayPal Executive Vice President Peggy Alford, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, former U.S. deputy secretary of the treasury Robert M. Kimmitt and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.

Persons: Meta, Hock Tan, John Arnold, Tan, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Sandberg, Zuckerberg, Arnold, Peggy Alford, Marc Andreessen, Drew Houston, Robert M, Tony Xu, Meta's Ray Organizations: Broadcom, Enron, Meta, Google, Arnold Ventures, Grid United Locations: Houston, U.S

☆ The most expensive home for sale in the U.S. goes up for $295 million in Naples, Florida
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Ray Parisi | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The most expensive home for sale in the U.S. hit the market this week for $295 million. Gordon Pointe, as it's called, is a roughly 9-acre compound in Naples, Florida, on the Gulf Coast, in an affluent enclave called Port Royal. The mega-listing includes a main house that spans about 11,500 square feet, with six bedrooms. Two guest houses, each over 5,000 square feet, bring the estate's total interior living space to 22,800 square feet. The residence sits high atop 217 West 57th Street, overlooking Central Park, spanning three floors and over 17,500 square feet.

Persons: Gordon Pointe, Leighton Candler, Corcoran, Candler, Gordon, John, Rhodora Donahue, John Donahue, Hermes, Dawn McKenna, McKenna, she's, It's, Cody Boone, Ryan Serhant, Serhant, naysayers, Donna Olshan, Karen Winnick, Gary Winnick, Kurt Rappaport, that's, Jonathan Miller, Miller Samuel, Jeff Bezos, Clodagh Kilcoyne, Ken Griffin, Larry Ellison, Marc Andreessen, Jim Bartsch, Jerry Perenchio, Miller, Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch Organizations: Royal, CNBC, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Dawn McKenna Group, Coldwell, Coldwell Banker Realty, St, SERHANT Studios, Encantada, U.S, Washington , D.C, Reuters, Amazon, Oracle, Bel Air, Fox Corp Locations: Gordon Pointe, U.S, Naples , Florida, Gulf, New York, of Mexico, Pittsburgh, Port Royal, America, New York City, Central, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Bel, Washington ,

☆ When Soccer’s Content Mine Loses Sight of Reality
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The show, depicting Liverpool’s preparations for the 2012-2013 Premier League season, ran for only one series, amounting to just six episodes. Its subsequent cultural half life has been limited, too; those few elements which have lingered illustrate perfectly why it was not renewed. It would emerge later, of course, that both incidents were a little more nuanced than first assumed. The envelope trick had been adapted from a method once used — albeit with considerably more success — by Alex Ferguson. The portrait had been a gift from a disability charity with which Rodgers had worked closely during his time at his previous club, Swansea.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, ruefully, Brendan Rodgers, …, Rodgers, Alex Ferguson Organizations: maven, League Locations: Liverpool, Swansea

☆ New California city backed by Silicon Valley billionaires will be about 18,600 acres — less than half the size of the purchased land
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Notably, the acreage is less than half of the nearly 55,000 acres Flannery Associates purchased presumably for the project since at least 2018. Flannery Associates has spent about $800 million grabbing up land throughout the county that sits about 60 miles above San Francisco. But the group also has been in a contentious legal battle with a handful of Solano County landowners since May. In a lawsuit, Flannery Associates accused landowners of conspiring to inflate the land prices. In response, attorneys for the landowners accused Flannery Associates of using "strong-arm tactics" to pressure landowners into selling their land.

Persons: —, Flannery, Solano County —, Flannery Associates, Marc Andreessen, Laurene Powell Jobs, Reid Hoffman, Flannery overpaid, Jan Sramek, Flannery Will Ruin, Mitch Mashburn, Mashburn Organizations: Silicon, Service, Flannery Associates, Solano Homes, Jobs, Clean Energy Initiative, New York Times, LinkedIn, Local, NBC Locations: California, Solano County, Vallejo , Fairfield, Solano, San Francisco, Silicon

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Promoters of a secretive Silicon Valley-backed ballot initiative to build a new city on farmland between Sacramento and San Francisco are releasing more details of their plan as they submit paperwork Wednesday to qualify for the November election. That's why Jan Sramek, CEO and founder of California Forever, and the project's backers are turning to the ballot. California and the San Francisco Bay Area are desperate for more housing, especially affordable homes for teachers, firefighters, police and other municipal workers who make a city run. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSituated between the Bay Area and the state's capital, Solano County is an attractive location for military contractors, agriculture technology and construction tech companies seeking to innovate, said Gabriel Metcalf, head of planning for California Forever. The plan calls for $400 million to help Solano County residents buy homes in the proposed community.

Persons: stealthily, Jan Sramek, Gabriel Metcalf, Metcalf, Sramek, Laurene Powell Jobs, Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, ”, John Garamendi Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, California, Travis Air Force Base, Solano County —, San, California Forever, LinkedIn, Democratic U.S . Rep, U.S . Air Force Locations: Sacramento, San Francisco, Solano County, Rio Vista, California, San Francisco Bay, Texas, Vallejo, Fairfield, Silicon Valley

☆ Sheryl Sandberg says she's leaving Meta's board
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Former Meta operating chief Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the company's board of directors. "With a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories, I let the Meta board know that I will not stand for reelection this May," Sandberg wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Sandberg, 54, joined Facebook in 2008 as Mark Zuckerberg's top deputy after spending about seven years at Google. Since leaving Meta, Sandberg has dedicated much of her time on her LeanIn.org nonprofit, which focuses on empowering women tin the workplace, and related projects. "Thank you Sheryl for the extraordinary contributions you have made to our company and community over the years," Zuckerberg wrote.

Persons: Sheryl Sandberg, Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg's, Javier Olivan, We've, Sandberg's, Zuckerberg, Sheryl, Adam Bosworth, Peggy Alford, Marc Andreessen, Drew Houston, Nancy Killefer, Robert M, Tony Xu, Tracey T, Travis, Estée Lauder, Here's, Javi Olivan, Justin Osofsky, Nicola Mendelsohn, Mark Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Google, CNBC, McKinsey & Company, Estée Locations: U.S

☆ Marc Andreessen says student loan forgiveness is a 'bailout.' Ben Horowitz thinks college is mostly 'a scam.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marc Andreessen thinks student loan borrowers who received loan forgiveness are akin to companies and banks that got government bailouts rescuing them from bankruptcy. In a two-hour podcast titled "Crisis in Higher Ed & Why Universities Still Matter," published by his firm Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen took issue with people having some or all of their outstanding student debt erased in actions by the Biden administration. Andreessen Horowitz is a major SVB customer, and the bank also invested billions in the firm's funds. The Biden Administration also had a broader student debt relief plan struck down by the US Supreme Court last year, and it has moved forward with targeted relief programs based on specific borrower criteria. In response to Andreessen's issue with student loan forgiveness, A16z cofounder Ben Horowitz responded with the argument that, although the action provides relief for some, it does not address "the real issue."

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen, Biden, they've, wouldn't, Ben Horowitz, Horowitz, they'll, That's, A16z Organizations: Service, Business, Legal, Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Biden Administration, US

☆ How Sam Altman's OpenAI drama highlighted the debate splitting Silicon Valley: Are you an e/acc or decel?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-07 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewSam Altman's brief ousting as OpenAI CEO didn't just thrust the company further into the global spotlight amid reported personality clashes. It's also highlighted a bigger ethical debate in Silicon Valley: how fast companies should move when pushing out AI technology. Broadly speaking, the debate lies in whether you think that moving full-speed ahead on AI technology will save the world or you think the industry needs to slow down. One key Silicon Valley backer of the idea is veteran venture capitalist Marc Andreessen . His advice to Silicon Valley: "I would encourage any watchers of the industry to not get stuck in a divisive set of rhetoric."

Persons: —, Sam Altman's, didn't, It's, Altman, he's, you've, Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Sam Bankman, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Toner, McCauley, Altman's, EAs —, Sriram Krishnan, Andreessen Horowitz, — Sriram Krishnan, Gaurab Bansal Organizations: Service, Business, acc, EA, Elon, Wall Street Journal, EAs, Labs, US Department of Commerce, Innovation Labs Locations: Silicon Valley, Silicon

Jan Sramek has spent the past several months in restaurants and conference rooms pitching politicians, environmentalists and labor unions on a plan to erect a new California city on open farmland in an eastern corner of the San Francisco Bay Area. The project is backed by a host of big Silicon Valley names, including the venture capitalists Michael Moritz and Marc Andreessen, the LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman, and the Emerson Collective founder, Laurene Powell Jobs. At an event Wednesday evening, Mr. Sramek, the chief executive of a company called California Forever, took his case to the Solano County voters. Mr. Sramek took it in stride, patiently answering questions and appearing mostly unruffled. He promised improved infrastructure, employment and middle-class homes for the county’s 450,000 residents.

Persons: Jan Sramek, Michael Moritz, Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Sramek, ”, “ Flannery Will Ruin Organizations: San Francisco Bay Area, LinkedIn, Emerson Collective, Solano County voters, Vallejo Naval, Historical Museum Locations: California, San Francisco Bay, Solano County

☆ Cami Téllez's underwear startup Parade went bust, and employees blame her. Is it OK to write about it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Melkorka Licea | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

Owning Gucci loafers "wouldn't make me any less capable of leading my team," Téllez rightfully pointed out. Most startups attract people who know this and are excited by it, and Parade employees were no different. "Like any for-profit company, Parade sought to make money and deliver value for shareholders," she told Business Insider. Téllez told staffers DeFuria was sick, and some were worried enough to send flowers to his home. Téllez told employees that they should be receiving offers for positions at AAI "within the next 72 hours at the latest."

Persons: Camila Téllez, I'd, —, Steph Korey, Audrey Gelman, they'd, Steve Jobs, I've, Emily Weiss, Marc Andreessen, Téllez, Gen Zers, Calvin Klein, Cami, Cami Téllez's, she'd, Gucci loafers, Slack, Rhonda Moret, there's, Jack DeFuria, Shakira, Warby Parker's, Neil Blumenthal, Peyton Dix, Jeffries, Evan Mock, Kamala Harris, Ella Emhoff, Gen, Karli Kloss, Omar, who'd, Ty Haney —, — Téllez, Kerry Steib, Meredith Gillies, we've, Steib, I'm, Lyndsey Arnold, Arnold, Lailee, Taghdisi, DeFuria, Kristen Dolzynski, Dolzynski, commenter, weren't Organizations: Ariela, Associates International, AAI, CNBC, Columbia University, NYU, Parade, West Dakota, Forbes, longtime, American, Karli, Voices, Spotify, North America, Employees, Casper, Casa de, Former Locations: New York, Instagram, New, Téllez, York, Colombia, North, SoHo, Dominican Republic

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

☆ Grimes scolded a nightclub full of of AI evangelists — then promptly DJ'd for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Grimes was the DJ at an AI party centered on "effective accelerationism," or faster tech development. "KEEP AI OPEN," the website read. "I disagree with the sentiment of this party," Grimes said, according to The San Francisco Standard. ☄️🫡⚔️ — Grimes (@Grimezsz) November 7, 2023In general, Grimes has said she is a supporter of AI. The billionaire was one of several AI experts to sign an open letter earlier this year calling for a pause on training AI systems.

Persons: Grimes, —, Marc Andreessen, Claire Boucher, Spokespeople, rimes, ike Organizations: acc, Flyers, Service, e, San Francisco, DJ, Twitter Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ Andreessen Horowitz is not at all 'techno-optimistic' about this particular AI scenario
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The famed VC firm is fighting alongside Big Tech against potential copyright rules on AI. a16z sees any requirement to pay for copyrighted AI training data as detrimental to its investments. Using copyrighted data for free is the basis of "enormous investment" in AI, the VC firm said. National security"Those expectations have been a critical factor in the enormous investment of private capital into US-based AI companies," a16z said. Instead of spending time on making new laws that would explicitly address AI, the VC firm said the USCO should "embrace it wholeheartedly."

Persons: a16z, —, Andreessen Horowitz, A16z, Marc Andreessen Organizations: Big Tech, Service, US Locations: United States, LLMs

☆ Billionaire group behind mystery Silicon Valley city says it's done buying up land. The company now owns a property the size of Beaumont, Texas.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The group, Flannery Associates, has so far purchased more than 53,000 acres of land. Flannery Associates has been grabbing plots of land in Solano County, about 60 miles from San Francisco, for the past five years. Flannery Associates had acquired about 52,000 acres of farmland around Travis Air Force Base in rural Solano County. AdvertisementAdvertisementFlannery filed a lawsuit against a group of Solano County landowners and farmers in May, claiming that they conspired to inflate land prices. An attorney for Flannery Associates did not respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours.

Persons: Flannery, —, it's, Marc Andreessen, Laurene Powell, Jan Sramek, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Silicon, Flannery Associates, Service, Bloomberg, Travis Air Force Base Locations: California, Beaumont , Texas, Sioux Falls , South Dakota, Solano County, San Francisco, Solano County .

☆ A mystery company backed by Silicon Valley elites is buying up land to build a new city. Farmers say they've been pressured to sell up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New filings accuse the company backed by Marc Andreessen and Reid Hoffman of forcing farmers to sell up. Solano County farmers say Flannery Associates targeted them with pressure tactics and litigation. The company has bought up 52,000 acres outside San Francisco to build a utopian city. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe company that wants to create an entirely new city in California, and that's backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, has been accused of coercing farmers into selling their land. AdvertisementAdvertisementCalifornia Forever, the parent company behind Flannery Associates, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, sent outside normal working hours.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman, Flannery, —, John Garamendi, Jan Sramek, Mark Friedman, Princess Washington Organizations: Service, Silicon, Bloomberg, California, KQED, New York Times, Flannery Associates Locations: Solano, San Francisco, California, Solano County, Sacramento, Princess, Suisun City

☆ Opinion | A Tech Billionaire’s Case for Why Tech Billionaires Should Rule the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Elizabeth Spiers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It takes a certain kind of person to write grandiose manifestoes for public consumption, unafflicted by self-doubt or denuded of self-interest. In this vision, wealthy technologists are not just leaders of their business but keepers of the social order, unencumbered by what Mr. Andreessen labels “enemies”: social responsibility, trust and safety, tech ethics, to name a few. But the real problem with Mr. Andreessen’s manifesto may be not that it’s too outlandish, but that it’s too on-the-nose. In the case of ordinary individuals, however, debt is regarded as not just a financial failure but a moral one. (If you are successful and have paid your student loans off, taking them out in the first place was a good decision.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, ” Organizations: Netscape

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