DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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

☆ An abrupt exit at a Goldman Sachs-backed crypto bank spotlights the industry's tug-of-war with regulators
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Read previewWhen the chief executive of cryptocurrency startup Anchorage Digital posted a message in the company's "announcements" Slack channel in late November about an executive's departure, employees started buzzing. Just over a year after it received the charter, the OCC issued a consent order against Anchorage in April 2022. Regulators are aggressively scrutinizing crypto players and prioritizing monitoring crypto compliance. Regulators' viewThe OCC is now led by Michael Hsu, the former Federal Reserve regulator and self-described crypto skeptic who has viewed crypto companies' regulatory compliance in some areas as inadequate. A crypto bank would face risks in safeguarding digital assets in its custody, maintaining appropriate hedges in crypto-lending, and adhering to capital requirements specific to crypto assets, said Kim, who studies crypto and blockchain technology.

Persons: —, Georgia Quinn, Nathan McCauley's, McCauley, Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, Quinn, Brian Brooks, CoinDesk, Oliver Wyman, FTI, Brooks, Michael Hsu, Hsu, Evelyn Hockstein, Mark duBose, Seoyoung Kim, University's, Kim, Diogo Mónica, Axel Springer, Mark McCombe, Max Levchin, BNY, Seyfarth Shaw, Ellenoff Grossman, it's Organizations: Service, Anchorage, Business, Citadel Securities, Apollo Global Management, Visa, OCC, Regulators, Securities, Exchange, IBM, KPMG, Anchorage Digital Bank National Association, Federal Reserve, Reuters, Business Insider, Santander Bank, University's Leavey School of Business, KKR, BlackRock, BNY Mellon Locations: Anchorage, United States, Santa, San Francisco, Portugal

☆ 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

☆ Bridgit Mendler went from Disney star to space startup CEO with $6.3M in funding—it started with an accidental college major
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bridgit Mendler's path from Disney Channel star to space startup CEO started with — quite literally — an accident. The 31-year-old is the CEO and co-founder of Northwood Space, a company based in El Segundo, California that aims to mass-produce ground stations — otherwise known as the antennae that communicate with space satellites. "While everybody else was making their sourdough starters [during the Covid-19 pandemic], we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot ... and receiving data from [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] satellites," Mendler told CNBC on Monday while announcing her startup. "I'm studying anthropology," Mendler told ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2015. While at Harvard, she served as co-president of the Harvard Space Law Society, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Persons: —, Charlie, Mendler, ABC's, Jimmy Kimmel, Griffin, Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel's Organizations: Disney Channel, Northwood, National Oceanic, Administration, CNBC, University of Southern, USC, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Media Lab, Harvard Law School, Harvard, Harvard Space Law Society, Founders, Humba Ventures, Elon, SpaceX, Technologies, Northrop Grumman Locations: El Segundo , California, University of Southern California, Northwood

☆ EV boat maker Arc debuts a premium wake sport model for $258,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Arc Boat Company's fully electric Arc Sport model gets four to six hours of typical use on a single charge. Arc Boat Company began sales of its second electric boat model in just three years this week. The new $258,000 Arc Sport was designed for wake sports enthusiasts and follows the company's earlier Arc One, a limited-edition luxury cruiser. The 23-foot Arc Sport can carry up to 15 people at a time. Arc plans to begin deliveries of its new battery electric Arc Sport to customers this year.

Persons: Mitch Lee, Ryan Cook, Arc, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Will Smith, Andreessen Horowitz, Lee, Rivian Organizations: Boat Company, GM, Sacramento –, SpaceX, EV, Eclipse Ventures, Menlo Ventures Locations: Malibu, Stockholm, Sacramento – San Joaquin, Stockton , California, Lyft, Brunswick, MarineMax

☆ VCs are clamoring to back 'screaming hot' startups using AI for medical records
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Another AI medical records startup, DeepScribe, raised a $30 million Series A round in January 2022. AbridgeThe investor descent on medical-scribe startups reflects a blatant potential of automation tech to alleviate healthcare’s most critical issues. “This market is screaming hot,” said Bryan Roberts, a partner at Venrock and an investor in medical-scribe startup Suki. AdvertisementStill, as health systems increasingly adopt AI solutions to manage labor costs, these startups have room to grow into their valuations. Medical-scribe startups vying for the remaining slice of the pie are “in a pitch to the death,” Roberts said.

Persons: —, ’, Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Suki, Punit Soni, Shiv Rao, ”, Bryan Roberts, ” Roberts, Annie Case, Case, Hermann, Keith Srakocic, Roberts, there’s, “ Organizations: Service, Business, Healthcare, Fund, Optum Ventures, Medical, Cathay Innovation, Microsoft, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Kansas Health, AP

☆ Disney star turned space CEO: Bridgit Mendler launches satellite data startup backed by major VCs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bridgit Mendler is no stranger to reaching millions of people — now she wants to change how satellite data reaches the ground. "The vision is a data highway between Earth and space," Mendler told CNBC. "Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. Rather than build rockets or satellites, Northwood aims to mass produce ground stations. Also known as teleports, ground stations are the typically large and often circular antennas that connect to satellites in space.

Persons: Bridgit Mendler, The Beverly Hilton, Bridgit, —, Charlie, Mendler, Andreessen Horowitz, Griffin, Luthra, Lockheed Martin Organizations: The Beverly, Disney Channel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Law School, Federal Communications, Space Bureau, CNBC, Northwood, Founders Fund, Lockheed, Mitre Corporation, Space Locations: Beverly Hills , California, Waverly, El Segundo , California

☆ 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

☆ OpenAI valued at $80 billion following deal that allows staff to cash out their shares, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI has been valued at $80 billion or more following a new deal, The New York Times reported. The deal allows staff to cash out their shares in the company, per the report. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe artificial intelligence (AI) firm OpenAI has completed a deal that valued the business at $80 billion or more, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing three unnamed people with knowledge of the deal. The deal allows OpenAI employees to cash out their shares in the company, the report added.

Persons: OpenAI, —, Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, Sora Organizations: New York Times, Service, Sequoia Capital, K2 Global, Microsoft Locations: San Francisco, Tokyo

☆ Crypto venture funding climbs for first time in nearly 2 years after bitcoin's stellar run
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Now, venture investors are returning. Venture funding for crypto-related companies in the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $1.9 billion, a 2.5% increase from the prior quarter, PitchBook said Thursday. It marks the first time that venture VC investments in crypto startups have risen since the March quarter of 2022. Problems for crypto ventures were compounded that year by major collapses of crypto companies like Do Kwon's controversial algorithmic stablecoin Terra and Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX. Le said that crypto venture funding has bottomed with a rise in crypto asset prices and public market valuations of crypto-related companies such as Coinbase , Marathon Digital , and MicroStrategy .

Persons: Crypto, PitchBook, It's, Sam Bankman, FTX, Andreessen Horowitz, Le, bitcoin Organizations: Venture, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, CNBC, Marathon Locations: FTX

☆ 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 ,

WeWork’s founder is trying to buy itAdam Neumann shot to fame by turning WeWork into a cultural and business phenomenon, before being ousted from the work space operator in dramatic fashion. But for the past several months, he has been trying to buy the now-bankrupt business — with the help of the hedge fund mogul Dan Loeb, DealBook is the first to report. Neumann’s new real estate company Flow Global is pushing WeWork to consider its takeover approach, according to a letter his lawyers sent to WeWork’s advisers on Monday. Flow which has already raised $350 million from the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, disclosed in the letter that Loeb’s Third Point would help finance a transaction. Flow has sought to buy WeWork or its assets, as well as provide bankruptcy financing to keep it afloat.

Persons: Adam Neumann, Dan Loeb, DealBook, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Flow

☆ Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed startup discovers large-scale copper deposit in Zambia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

KoBold Metals, a California-based metals exploration company backed by billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, said that it has discovered a vast copper deposit in Zambia. A spokesperson for KoBold Metals told CNBC on Monday that the company believes its Mingomba copper project in Zambia "will be one of the world's biggest high-grade large copper mines." "It is Kakula-scale in size and grade," KoBold Metals President Josh Goldman said in a statement shared on the firm's social media site X. Ivanhoe Mines, a Canadian mining company founded by billionaire magnate Robert Friedland, owns nearly 40% of the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine. KoBold Metals says it uses artificial intelligence to create a "Google Maps" of the Earth's crust to help find new deposits of copper, lithium, cobalt and nickel.

Persons: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Josh Goldman, Robert Friedland, Andreessen Horowitz, Ray Dalio, Virgin Group's Richard Branson, Alibaba's Jack Ma Organizations: KoBold Metals, CNBC, Democratic, Ivanhoe Mines, KoBold, BHP, Breakthrough Energy, Bridgewater Associates Locations: Victoria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Livingstone, California, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Canadian, Norwegian

☆ AI lobbying spikes nearly 200% as calls for regulation surge
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The spike in AI lobbying comes amid growing calls for AI regulation and the Biden administration's push to begin codifying those rules. Until 2017, the number of organizations that reported AI lobbying stayed in the single digits, per the analysis, but the practice has grown slowly but surely in the years since, exploding in 2023. The data showed a range of industries as new entrants to AI lobbying: Chip companies like AMD and TSMC , venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz, biopharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca, conglomerates like Disney and AI training data companies like Appen. Organizations that reported lobbying on AI issues last year also typically lobby the government on a range of other issues. In its Request for Information, the Institute specifically asked responders to weigh in on developing responsible AI standards, AI red-teaming, managing the risks of generative AI and helping to reduce the risk of "synthetic content" (i.e., misinformation and deepfakes).

Persons: OpenSecrets, Biden, ByteDance, Andreessen Horowitz, government's, — CNBC's Mary Catherine Wellons, Megan Cassella Organizations: CNBC, Spotify, Samsung, Nvidia, Big Tech, AMD, U.S . Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards, Technology, NIST Locations: U.S

☆ Ben Horowitz: We have to make sure AI regulation doesn't slow down the tech industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBen Horowitz: We have to make sure AI regulation doesn't slow down the tech industryAndreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz and General Partner David Ulevitch sit down with "Closing Bell: Overtime" anchor Morgan Brennan for an exclusive interview to discuss the role of government regulations in the tech industry, how the US can compete with China in AI, the future of defense tech and more.

Persons: Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, David Ulevitch, Morgan Brennan Locations: China

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris DixonChris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz general partner, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the ramifications of SEC's spot bitcoin ETFs decision, the NFT market, the state of crypto at large, future of crypto regulation, and more.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Dixon Chris Dixon

☆ Blockchain technology is 'the future of the internet', says key crypto investor Chris Dixon
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBlockchain technology is 'the future of the internet', says key crypto investor Chris DixonChris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz general partner, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the ramifications of SEC's spot bitcoin ETFs decision, the NFT market, the state of crypto at large, future of crypto regulation, and more.

Persons: Chris Dixon Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz

☆ 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

☆ Has the LA scene fizzled? SoCal has fallen further behind the Bay Area, NYC and Boston for startup funding: 'People deep in AI are just not in LA'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But last year, the LA tech scene stalled, according to Carta data. Startup funding plummeted everywhere, but nowhere experienced a steeper decline than LA, where funding declined 65% from 2022. CartaLA's startup funding dropped 65% last year, a steeper decline than the Bay Area, New York or Boston. "They're very deep AI companies, but they're being applied to a vertical, which is one of the strengths of LA," Ingersoll said. Bird goes bust and Snap snaps backThere was more bad news for LA's startup scene in 2023 than just the dismal funding numbers.

Persons: Ethan Aldrich, Aldrich, there's, Andreessen Horowitz, a16z, Katia Ameri, Ameri, VCs, Nikita Bier, Bier, Mark Suster, Suster, LA's, we're, Palmer Luckey, Minnie Ingersoll, Ingersoll, Bird, Zillow, Spencer Rascoff, Evan Spiegel ERIC PIERMONT, Ishan Singh, Singh Organizations: Stanford, Business, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, LA Tech, LA, Carta, Honest Company, New, Boston, Microsoft, Clark, SpaceX Locations: Santa Monica, Southern California, LA, Santa, Hayes, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, New York, Boston, Carta, San Diego, Seattle, Hawthorne , CA, Costa, Bay

☆ AI voice cloning startup ElevenLabs confirms $1.1 billion valuation after it closes third funding round in year
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewElevenLabs, an early-stage AI startup that has captured the attention of some of the world's biggest investors, has raised its third funding round in a year. The Series B round values the business at over $1 billion, confirming Business Insider's earlier reporting from November. ElevenLabs last raised a funding round in June, when it tapped up investors for $19 million at a $100 million valuation. It has also released a new AI Speech Classifier tool, which lets anyone detect if an uploaded sample contains AI-generated audio from ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs now aims to expand its Classifier tool to other AI voice models in the coming year.

Persons: —, ElevenLabs, Andreessen Horowitz, Nat Friedman, Uber, Daniel Gross, Piotr Dabkowski, Mati Staniszewski Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Github Locations: London, New York, Sequoia

☆ 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

Search resuls for: "Andreessen"

25 mentions found