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☆ Google and Apple's rumored partnership could upend the AI industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at what a potential partnership between Google and Apple over AI features would mean for both companies and the wider industry. The big storyGoogle, Apple, AIRebecca Zisser/BITwo of the world's biggest tech companies are reportedly discussing a partnership that would upend the AI industry. Apple is considering integrating Google's AI model, Gemini, into the iPhone . The company has been noticeably quiet around its AI plans compared to peers like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. So even if Apple and Google come to an agreement, they could still face some serious regulatory pushback.

Persons: —, hasn't, Rebecca Zisser, Mark Gurman, Sundar Pichai, Apple, it's, Tim Cook, Google's Gemini, Insider's Hasan Chowdhury, BI's Phil Rosen, Mike Coppola, Jerod Harris, Grzegorz Wajda, Chelsea Jia Feng, It's, OpenAI, Stephanie Cohen, Goldman Sach's, Goldman Sachs, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Goldman, Josh Edelson, Chip Somodevilla, TikTok, Jensen Huang, Blackwell, Alyssa Powell, elbowed, Manoj Bhargava, Steve Huffman, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Service, Google, Apple, Business, Gemini, Microsoft, Meta, Google's, Getty, Vox Media, Getty Images, Department of, Big Tech, Wall, Cloudflare, Bank of Japan, SXSW, Nvidia, Sports Illustrated, Arena Group Locations: AFP, Woodstock, Arizona , Florida , Illinois , Kansas, Ohio, New York, London

☆ Reddit’s Long, Rocky Road to an Initial Public Offering
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Mike Isaac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During a leadership crisis in 2015, Reddit asked Steve Huffman, one of its founders, to return to run the social media platform. This month, Reddit is poised to reach the stock market in one of the first tech initial public offerings of the year. Unlike a recent crop of start-ups that are focused entirely on artificial intelligence, the 19-year-old company is a throwback to an earlier era of social media. But what stands out the most is that Reddit is able to go public at all. After being early to social media, the San Francisco-based company stagnated for years.

Persons: Reddit, Steve Huffman, Huffman, “, Mr Locations: San Francisco

Social media company Reddit is looking to raise almost $750 million in an initial public offering of its common stock. The company said in a regulatory filing that the IPO will include 22 million shares of Class A common stock. Reddit is offering approximately 15.3 million shares, while the selling stockholders are offering about 6.7 million shares. The underwriters were also given the right to buy up to an additional 3.3 million shares to cover any overallotments. The agreement will also give Reddit access to Google AI models for improving its internal site search and other features.

Persons: Reddit, Steve Huffman Organizations: underwriters, Securities and Exchange Commission, Google, New York Stock Exchange Locations: San Francisco

☆ Jim Cramer: Why a successful Reddit IPO would be bad news for this bull market
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

There's nothing like a moribund IPO market to create a pleasant backdrop for a bull run. Hot on the heels of the Reddit deal is the expiration of the IPO lockup period for Arm Holdings on March 12. I thought it might occur after the successful Arm deal, but like so many nascent attempts to revive the IPO market there was nothing worth following up with until the Reddit deal. This brings me back to the IPO market. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: We've, It's, Reddit, Sam Altman, Conde Nast, Rene Haas, Steve Huffman, Reddit's, —, isn't, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Uber, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Mateusz Slodkowski Organizations: Advance Magazine Publishers, Arm Holdings, Company, Nvidia, Employees, GameStop, Supply, Amazon, Walmart, Securities and Exchange Commission, Investors, Fidelity, ICE, Costco, Rite Aid, Tech, Microsoft, Meta, Federal Trade Commission, White House, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Getty Locations: British, TheStreet.com, Reddit, POLAND

Reddit is seeking a valuation of up to $6.5 billion in its upcoming IPO, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the expected range and valuation. Employees will be allowed to sell Reddit stock during the offering, the source added. Reddit had a private market valuation of $10 billion when it last raised a funding round of $1.3 billion in 2021, according to PitchBook. Reddit's IPO will represent the first major tech offering of the year and the first social media IPO since Pinterest's Wall Street debut in 2019.

Persons: Reddit, Sam Altman's, he'd, Altman, Condé Nast, Alexis Ohanian, Steve Huffman, Airbnb, OpenAI's, John Tuttle Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Tencent, Advance Magazine Publishers, Securities and Exchange Commission, Google, Reddit Locations: Los Angeles , California, Reddit

☆ No, Sam Altman doesn't actually own half a billion dollars of Reddit stock
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Madeline Berg | Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Reddit filed for an IPO, revealing nearly 10% of its shares are owned by entities related to Sam Altman. AdvertisementLast week, not long after Reddit made moves toward a public listing, headlines began to appear about an unexpected figure: Sam Altman. For example, Hydrazine Capital II is listed as owning nearly 9.9 million shares of Reddit. But Altman, at most, owns 5% of Hydrazine Capital II's holdings, or 492,720 of its Reddit shares. AdvertisementThe various entities point to a side of Altman — Altman the investor — that has receded from view since he has become known to the public as OpenAI's CEO.

Persons: Reddit, Sam Altman, Altman, —, tech's, Reddit's, that's, he's, Chris Harvey, Altman — Altman, ADVs, Peter Thiel, Cruise, Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian Organizations: Service, Business, Securities and Exchange Commission, Harvey, Apollo, Apollo Projects, SPV, SEC, Investors, University of Michigan, Helion Energy, Facebook, Google Locations: Altman

☆ Wait. Why is Reddit losing so much money?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Last year, according to Reddit's newly filed IPO documents, the company generated $804 million in revenue and lost nearly $91 million. But it's still a lot of money to lose selling a free product. AdvertisementOne big, obvious answer: It has been hiring a lot of engineers and spending a lot of money on their salaries. (Note: There are some dumb stories floating out there about Reddit CEO Steve Huffman getting paid $193 million last year. The best argument I can make in their defense is that Reddit is still adding a lot of users and that more users equals more ad money.

Persons: —, it's, Condé Nast, that's, Steve, Greg Doherty, Steve Huffman, Elon Musk, Reddit, they're, Alex Heath Organizations: Service, Facebook, Business, Twitter, Google

☆ Reddit aims to ride the AI wave by going public
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The platform's listing, expected next month, would be the largest IPO by a social media company since Pinterest in 2019. That means some are wondering why Reddit has waited until now to make its move, but AI might have something to do with it. Reddit also listed data licensing and AI training as part of its income streams. "We are going public to advance our mission and become a stronger company," he said in a founder's letter included in the prospectus. AdvertisementRepresentatives for Reddit did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Reddit, Sam Altman, Steve Huffman, Huffman, Fortune, Katie Notopoulos Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Facebook, Twitter, Business, Securities and Exchange Commission, Google, University, Virginia, GameStop, AMC Locations: Reddit

☆ Reddit has never turned a profit in nearly 20 years, but it just filed to go public anyway
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Clare Duffy | John Towfighi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The move would make Reddit the first major social media company to go public since Snapchat in 2017. In its 18 years as an online social hub, Reddit has seen enormous growth, occasional controversy and even market-shifting stunts. Reddit users often post anonymously in these forums, discussing everything from memes to major news events. Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit attends Variety & Reddit An Evening With Future Makers at Wynn Las Vegas on January 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Still, the incident helped draw attention to the power of Reddit communities.

Persons: New York CNN — Reddit, Reddit, ”, Steve Huffman, ” Huffman, Condé Nast, Alexis Ohanian, Huffman, Sam Altman, Ohanian, TheFacebook, Greg Doherty, ” Reddit Organizations: New, New York CNN, San Francisco, New York Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission, Advance, University of Virginia, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Wynn Las, Variety, GameStop, Google Locations: New York, San, Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas , Nevada

☆ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stands to net millions as Reddit goes public
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be in a position to make millions after Reddit goes public, thanks to a series of bets on the online discussion board company that go back to 2014. Altman will hold 9.2% of voting power after Reddit's initial public offering, according to information in the company's prospectus. In 2014 Altman led Reddit's $50 million Series B funding round, after using the service every day for nine years, he wrote in a blog post. In the first half of 2021, Reddit was raising a Series E round, and Altman invested $50 million. He went on to say that investors in the Series B round would give 10% of shares to Reddit users.

Persons: Sam Altman, Reddit, Altman, OpenAI, Reddit's, It's, Steve Huffman, that's, FirstMark's Organizations: Microsoft, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Silicon

☆ Reddit files to list IPO on NYSE under the ticker RDDT
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Social media company Reddit filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday after a yearslong run-up. The company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "RDDT." The social networking company's core business is reliant on online advertising sales stemming from its website and mobile app. Reddit said the current addressable advertising market is $1.0 trillion, sans China and Russia. Reddit said that its non-employed moderators, known as Redditors, can participate in the company's IPO offering through its "directed share program."

Persons: Reddit, Pinterest, Alexis Ohanian, Steve Huffman, It's, DAUq, Condé Nast Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Stock Exchange, P Global Market Intelligence, Google, eBay, . Publishing, Condé Locations: U.S, Reddit's U.S, China, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Sam Altman secretly owned way more Reddit stock than we thought
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewWe learned a new detail about Sam Altman Thursday: just how much he supports Reddit. The filing revealed that Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, owns an 8.7% stake in the company. Reddit is the first social media company to submit an initial public offering since Pinterest in 2019, and it's the first major tech company to file for an IPO in 2024. The concept of working this closely with AI companies hasn't gone over great with some Reddit users, who have criticized the idea of profiting off users' data without their consent.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Altman, Newhouse, Tencent, Reddit, Reddit doesn't, Steve Huffman, hasn't Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Business, Altman, Advance, Hollywood, Bloomberg, Google, OpenAI, SEC Locations: Reddit

☆ Reddit may be targeting a $5 billion valuation for its upcoming IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The success of the IPO is contingent in part on the state of the IPO market, which has struggled in recent years. When Reddit first began preparing to go public in late 2021 — a record-breaking year for venture capital — some thought the company could be valued as high as $15 billion in an IPO. Investors are hoping that 2024 will be a more active year for the IPO market. This year's IPO market may also be helped by the Fed's promised rate cuts and a weak M&A market. The last time a social media company went public was in 2019.

Persons: Reddit, —, IPOs, Klaviyo, Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, Aaron Swartz, Condé Nast, Ohanian, Huffman Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Business, Investors, University of Virginia

☆ Reddit reportedly seeks to launch IPO in March
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Social media platform Reddit has drawn up detailed plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in March, moving forward with a listing it has been eyeing for more than three years, according to people familiar with the matter. The offering would also test the willingness of some Reddit users to back the company's stock market debut. Reddit, which filed confidentially for its IPO in December 2021, is planning to make its public filing in late February, launch its roadshow in early March, and complete the IPO by the end of March, two of the sources said. It will decide on what IPO valuation it will pursue closer to the time of the listing, according to the sources. The company held back from pulling the IPO trigger until it came closer to profitability.

Persons: Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, Reddit, Huffman Organizations: Facebook, GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings Locations: San Francisco

☆ 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

☆ Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian: If you want more success than most people, trick your brain into the 'surfer mindset'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The most successful people in life can recognize a window of opportunity, and know when and how to seize it. It's not unlike surfing, according to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. A "surfer's mindset" can help you succeed in both life and business, Ohanian told students in a keynote address at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, last week. Afterward, you might "paddle back out ... and wait five hours for another good wave," he continued. "That mindset is the right mindset for a life well-lived," he said.

Persons: Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, Ohanian, You've, Patrón —, you've, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Steve Huffman, Huffman, Y Combinator Organizations: University of Virginia, CNBC, Global

☆ Reddit throughout the years: Its rise to prominence, recent revolts and IPO plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The price hikes have led some beloved third-party Reddit apps such as Apollo to shut down, instigating an uproar among the website's community of volunteer moderators, who often rely on third-party apps to run the site's 100,000+ discussion communities, called subreddits. But tensions remain high, and some say that if Reddit doesn't rebuild trust, its most passionate users will go elsewhere. Ohanian rejoined Reddit as executive chairman in 2014 and Huffman rejoined as CEO the next year. But it's not just tech giants who use Reddit's API. These third-party apps are largely just alternatives to Reddit's official mobile app, which didn't even exist until 2016.

Persons: Reddit, David DeWald, Alexis Ohanian, Steve Huffman, Paul Graham, Ohanian, Huffman, Y Combinator, Condé Nast, Debra Aho Williamson, George Floyd's, it's, Apollo, Jakub Porzycki Organizations: University of Virginia, Advance, Facebook, Insider Intelligence, GameStop, AMC, Google, Getty

☆ Reddit vice president Jack Hanlon left earlier this year after overseeing major AI investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Reddit vice president, Jack Hanlon, left the company earlier this year after nearly four years. Hanlon led a team investing in artificial intelligence for both users and advertisers. A vice president of Reddit overseeing the integration of artificial intelligence into the company's products left earlier this year with the social-media company preparing to go public. Jack Hanlon, who was vice president of feeds, AI, search, and data, spent nearly four years at Reddit and led the purchase of AI companies meant to help Reddit improve its experience for users and ad targeting for brands. Reddit increased its investments in the field to grow its ad business in particular, as well as to automate content moderation.

Persons: Jack Hanlon, Hanlon, Reddit, Steve Huffman Organizations: Employees, Reddit, New York Times Locations: Reddit

☆ Inside Reddit's path to an IPO, where employees see 'thrash' from constant pivots and say more managers may leave amid a flattening
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Reddit employees say the company has a bloated leadership structure with too many managers. They described some leadership moves and road-map changes that caused what one employee described as "thrash." Managers who attended the summit told employees that leadership suggested the company would in the second half of the year consolidate teams with managers overseeing fewer than six employees, two employees said. Leadership shake-upsReddit had some leadership changes earlier this year. Three employees described Lobez's departure as a surprise, as he was well liked within the data-science organization.

Persons: Reddit, Mark Zuckerberg, Shopify, Reddit hasn't, Steve Huffman, Jack Hanlon, Hanlon, Reddit's, Jose Lobez, Tyler Otto, who'd, Huffman, —, Lopez Organizations: Employees, Meta, Reddit Locations: New York City, Hipmunk

☆ Reddit users bombard site with John Oliver pictures in latest protest over new policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —After staging a widespread blackout to protest Reddit’s plans for a controversial new pricing policy, some users are now trying a different tactic: flooding the social network with John Oliver pictures. There have been numerous pictures of Oliver posing in sharply tailored suits, and screenshots of humorous moments from his show. And an AI-generated image of Oliver as a “Game of Thrones” character (“John Oliver Snow”). More than 2,500 communities on Reddit remain blacked out nearly two weeks into the protest. Over the past week, many Reddit users have expressed hopes that Oliver might air a future segment about suddenly becoming the face of the revolt, and perhaps feature their content on his show.

Persons: John Oliver, Oliver, John Olive ”, “ John Oliver Snow ”, Tim Cook, Reddit didn’t, Reddit’s, Steve Huffman, Huffman, Elon Musk, Reddit, ” Organizations: CNN, Apple, Twitter Locations: “

☆ Reddit Wants to Grow Up. Will Its Community Let It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Mike Isaac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the past 11 years, Bucky has put time and effort into stewarding and guiding dozens of communities on Reddit, the sprawling internet message board. Reddit had just introduced changes that sharply increased its fees for independent developers who build apps using the company’s data. Steve Huffman, Reddit’s chief executive, positioned the move partly as a way to shore up the company’s finances as it heads toward a long-awaited initial public offering. But the changes made it so expensive for some third-party developers that a handful who build tools for Reddit’s moderators had to shut down or significantly alter their apps. In protest, Bucky and other moderators closed down hundreds of forums on the site, effectively making Reddit unusable for many of its 57 million daily visitors.

Persons: Bucky, Bucky —, “ BuckRowdy, Reddit, Steve Huffman Locations: Reddit

☆ Reddit still has to contend with a 'simmering rage' as users return back to the platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Reddit moderator told The New York Times there is still a "simmering rage" as users return. Reddit moderators shut down hundreds of forums last week to protest changes to how Reddit prices its API. The moderator called Reddit's changes "really demoralizing." Reddit is returning to a new normal this week following a sitewide blackout to protest the platform's changes to its API pricing policy. Reddit's changes to its API are set to take effect on July 1.

Persons: Bucky, Reddit, Steve Huffman Organizations: New York Times, Google Locations: Reddit

☆ Hackers who say they stole Reddit data demand the platform reverses its API pricing policy and pay $4.5 million ransom it previously asked for
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hackers are demanding Reddit policy changes amid an ongoing battle over its API pricing. As well as the funds, they are now demanding Reddit reverses its API pricing plans, per The Verge. Hackers are threatening to publicly release 80 GB of Reddit data they say they have stolen. Last week, the hackers followed up by continuing to demand the money and additionally asking Reddit to reverse its planned API pricing changes, per The Verge. The planned API pricing changes have proved controversial, sparking protests and blackouts across the site.

Persons: Reddit, Dominic Alvieri, Steve Huffman Organizations: Twitter, NBC

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Google tells employees not to give AI chatbots confidential information, the rise of the ‘anti-work girlboss,’ and 31 rising stars of Los Angeles investing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook's first ever Meta Store Facebook/Meta1. The first "Meta Store" opened last year in Northern California and was designed to increase interest in Meta's VR headsets. Although a second store was in the works, someone familiar with the matter said that those plans faltered after slowed revenue. Google tells employees not to put confidential info into AI chatbots — including its own Bard. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said subreddit mods have too much power.

Persons: I'm, Siu, Zers, haven't, Jordan Hart, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's, Martin Gilliard, hasn't, Kali Hays, chatbots, Steve Huffman, Mudassir Sheikha, Ron DeSantis, Thiep Van Nguyen, Lionel Richie, Diamond Naga Siu, Alistair Barr, Hallam Bullock Organizations: Meta, VR, Big Tech, Google, Tech, Tesla, Gov, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Navy, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, VMWare, Dallas Cowboys, Mitsubishi Locations: Sacramento, Northern California, Angeles, Florida, Connecticut, USS Connecticut, Dublin, Ireland, Melbourne, Australia, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, London

☆ Thousands of Reddit Communities Stay Dark as App Policy Protest Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Thousands of volunteer-run message boards on Reddit remained dark on Tuesday, a week after moderators of the communities began what they called a 48-hour protest against Reddit’s planned changes to its business model. More than 3,200 message boards, known as subreddits, remained restricted or private, down from nearly 9,000 last week, according to a website tracking the revolt. Others were flooded with memes mocking Reddit’s chief executive, Steve Huffman, as anger continued to bubble on the site over changes to the company’s business model. Moderators of some of the communities that reopened said they had done so after Reddit threatened to replace them. “We want the best for this community and have no choice but to open it back up — or have it opened for us,” the moderators of the Apple enthusiast forum r/Apple wrote in a message in which they called on Mr. Huffman to resign.

Persons: Reddit’s, Steve Huffman, Apple, Huffman Organizations: Apple

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