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☆ US Federal Reserve watchdog launches probe of SVB supervision
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has launched an independent review of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), an OIG spokesperson said on Tuesday. The review, which was launched on March 14, will assess the board's and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's supervision of the failed lender, the spokesperson told Reuters in a statement. The independent oversight authority plans to complete its investigation within six months, the spokesperson added. The probe was reported earlier by Bloomberg News. Reporting by Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru and Pete Schroeder; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In San Francisco, some people wonder when A.I. will kill us all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

If the super-powerful AI is aligned with humans, it could be the end of hunger or work. Or, as a sign at the Misalignment Museum says: "Sorry for killing most of humanity." Most of the works are around the theme of "alignment" with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence or celebrate the "heroes who tried to mitigate the problem by warning early." As AI technology becomes the hottest part of the tech industry, with companies eying trillion-dollar markets, the Misalignment Museum underscores that AI's development is being affected by cultural discussions. Even as companies and people in San Francisco are shaping the future of artificial intelligence technology, San Francisco’s unique culture is shaping the debate around the technology.

☆ San Francisco officials weigh giving Black residents $1 homes and $97,000 a year of as part of a massive reparations plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

San Francisco policymakers are considering reparations for many of its Black residents. Proposals include giving qualifying residents $5 million, $97,000 a year for 250 years, or $1 homes. Supervisors unanimously supported the presentation from the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee, but its proposals remain far from reality. If enacted, though, San Francisco's reparations plan stands to become one of the most substantial packages ever approved in the United States. "This conversation we're having in San Francisco is completely unserious," John Dennis, chair of the San Francisco Republican Party, told the AP.

☆ SVB-rattled banks First Republic and Western Alliance go on downgrade watch at Moody's
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ratings agency Moody's has put First Republic and Western Alliance under review for possible downgrade. Shares in the regional banks cratered Monday as Silicon Valley Bank's collapse rattled markets. The agency's downgrade warning came after First Republic shares plunged 75% Monday, while Western Alliance plummeted 80%. The New York Stock Exchange repeatedly halted trading of both regional banks' shares on volatility concerns in the session, as worries around SVB's implosion rocked markets. Small-to-midsize banks like San Francisco's First Republic and Arizona-based Western Alliance have borne the brunt of the fallout from the SVB crisis so far.

☆ Investors rush into bonds, gold in flight to safety after SVB rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 20 basis points to 3.50%, touching the lowest level since Feb.3. The yield on the 2-year Treasury tumbled more than 40 basis points to 4.16%, also the lowest in over five weeks. Investors flocked to safe-haven assets such as Treasurys and gold on Monday amid an extraordinary plan to backstop the banking system and limit the impact from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. U.S. gold futures gained 1.2% to $1,889.40, while the SPDR Gold Trus t gained nearly 2%. Investors sought safety as banking regulators rushed to backstop depositors with money at Silicon Valley Bank and now-shattered Signature Bank, seeking to ease systemic contagion fears.

A First Republic Bank branch in New York, US, on Friday, March 10, 2023. San Francisco's First Republic shares lost 70% in premarket trading Monday after declining 33% last week. First Republic Bank led a decline in bank shares Monday that came even after regulators' extraordinary actions Sunday evening to backstop all depositors in failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and offer additional funding to other troubled institutions. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF lost 4% in premarket trading Monday following a 16% decline last week. The slide for regional bank stocks on Monday comes after a rush of withdrawals from SVB Financial forced that bank to close.

☆ This SoftBank-backed startup just launched smart glasses that enable surgeons to virtually observe and advise on procedures across the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The practicing surgeon is the founder of Proximie, an augmented reality startup that enables healthcare professionals to observe and advise on surgeries virtually. The wearable PxLens headset enables remote users to get a first-person view of surgeries or training procedures in 2D. Riddhi Kanetkar/InsiderThrough its 4K camera lens, the glasses enable surgeons and remote users to have a detailed view of the operating room. "It's almost as if you're standing over the shoulder of the surgeon in the operating room," said Hachach-Haram. "I see a world where every operating room in the world will be digital, and accessible to anyone."

☆ Here's how a serial founder and former US diplomat raised $25 million to create a crypto superapp — and why it's gotten backing from investors like JetBlue and the Winklevoss twins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kresus, which is building a crypto superapp, has raised $25 million led by Liberty City Ventures. Traina's company, Kresus, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Liberty City Ventures, the company's first round of financing, to bring that vision of a crypto superapp to fruition. JetBlue Ventures, Craft Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and Gemini cofounders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss also participated in the round. That track record helped win over Liberty City Ventures, whose portfolio includes the Web3 companies Animoca Brands, BlockApps, BitGo, and The Sandbox. James Lang, a managing director at Liberty City, told Insider that the quality of Kresus' team stood out among similar companies he'd reviewed.

☆ Sam Altman is tech’s next household name — if we survive the killer robots
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( David Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, walks from lunch during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 6, 2022, in Sun Valley, Idaho. Sam Altman may be tech's next household name, but many Americans probably haven't heard of him. To anyone outside San Francisco, Altman would probably seem like just another young tech CEO. That worldview flared up into controversy in 2017 when Altman wrote a blog post criticizing political correctness, saying tech entrepreneurs were leaving San Francisco over it. "I realized I felt more comfortable discussing controversial ideas in Beijing than in San Francisco," he wrote.

☆ Dianne Feinstein won't run in 2024, opening up a California Senate seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California announced Tuesday that she will retire at the end of her current term, setting up a major Democratic competition for her coveted seat. "Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives," Feinstein said in a statement. The fight for the open Senate seat in the powerful, reliably blue state of California promises to be one of the most competitive — and expensive — races of the 2024 election cycle. While Feinstein's announcement officially puts her seat in play for the 2024 election cycle, multiple California Democrats had already launched Senate campaigns weeks earlier. More California Democrats, including Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna, are expected to announce their Senate campaign plans soon.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter ordered by officials to properly label bedrooms in San Francisco HQ as sleeping areas — or convert them back to offices within 15 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kate Duffy | Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

San Francisco told Twitter to label converted bedrooms as sleeping areas, per a correction notice. If it doesn't comply, Twitter has 15 days to convert the bedrooms back to offices in its HQ. Officials launched an investigation in December into Twitter's office bedrooms. Patrick Hannan, the Building Inspection Department's communications director, confirmed to Insider in December it was investigating reports that Twitter had converted some office rooms into sleeping areas in its HQ. A former Twitter employee told BBC News that Musk had often slept in Twitter's offices since taking over the company.

☆ The ChatGPT and generative AI 'gold rush' has founders flocking to San Francisco's 'Cerebral Valley'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Because of pandemic-era closings, San Francisco became somewhat of a ghost town for two years. Now, a race to succeed in the fledgling space of generative AI has founders flocking back. Generative AI takes training data — for instance, a vast corpus of written text — and teaches itself how to produce completely new, unique works. After giving New York a try for several weeks, the generative AI boom picked up. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderPerez said that the sense of urgency to get working on building better AI models comes from how generative AI improves with more data.

☆ VCs have swapped out tennis rackets and golf clubs for pickleball paddles. Here's why the sport has become one of the hottest hobbies in Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming America's fastest-growing sport. From building relationships to escaping stress, here's why VCs are obsessed with the sport. In the background, pop music floated through the air as the group prepared for a trying battle of wits and athletic prowess — pickleball. Once reserved for the quiet neighborhoods of suburbs and 55-plus retirement communities, pickleball has exploded onto the tech and VC scene in recent years, investors say. A networking toolAnd other aspects of the sport make it an ideal pick for a hobby or networking tool, VCs added.

☆ I'm 43 and still have $25,000 left to pay in student loans — but now I have to take out more debt to stay in my field. This system is ridiculous.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Anne Wen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She's paid off 75% of her student loans, but must return to school and add up to $15,000 more debt. I've been paying my student loans this entire timeI've never defaulted on my loans, even through the COVID-19 pandemic. One of my student loans was forgiven through the Perkins Loan system after I spent five years in the profession, but that was only $5,000. I could fall back on my husband, since he's wanted to help me pay off my student loans, but it concerns me. Folks believe the hype and the politicization of what it means to take out student loans, but I've been a law-abiding citizen.

☆ Salesforce employees fear deeper cuts now that a second activist investor has a stake. Elliott, the world's most feared hedge fund, has confirmed it wants changes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Feared activist investor Elliott Management now has a multibillion-dollar position in Salesforce. This is the company's second activist investor after Starboard Value disclosed a significant stake in October. Elliott Management — the world's most feared activist investor — now has a multibillion-dollar position in Salesforce, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, and some employees worry Elliott's attention could lead to further layoffs. Elliott is Salesforce's second activist investor after Starboard Value disclosed a significant stake in Salesforce in October. Activist investor firms such as Elliott "are tough," another said.

☆ One of Twitter's landlords has sued the company, saying it owes $136,000 in unpaid rent for an office in San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

One of Twitter's landlords has sued the company over unpaid rent for an office in San Francisco. The landlord is claiming $136,260 in unpaid rent, plus costs. The lawsuit relates to Twitter's office at the Hartford Building, near Chinatown. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, relates to Twitter's office at the Hartford Building, rather than its headquarters on San Francisco's Market Street. Twitter's office at the Hartford Building comprises the entire 30th floor of the 34-story tower and covers about 15,500 square feet, per court documents.

☆ How San Francisco can tackle two of its biggest issues: office vacancies and housing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Prior to the pandemic, in the city of San Francisco, our office vacancy rate was about 4%. San Francisco has been referred to as the work-from-home capital of the United States, with the American Community Survey finding that 46% of employees in San Francisco worked from home in 2021, up from 7% in 2019. Under the Housing Element, the state of California is mandating that San Francisco build 82,000 new units of housing, including affordable units meant for low-income residents, by 2031. "The rents that you can get for a life sciences lab space are much higher than office space. The San Francisco mayor said the problem is that it takes a long time to build housing, especially given all the requirements.

☆ 9 tech companies that have ditched San Francisco offices in 2022 are a warning sign for cities to rethink their reliance on big firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

San Francisco should be a cautionary tale for cities that rely on tech firms to fill office space. At least nine companies have exited office space in the city, . Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Bloomberg that San Francisco needed "more diversity" in its economic and tax base, as well as more residential homes and cultural attractions downtown. Meta is planning to leave some of its office space in San Francisco. PayPal left its office in San Francisco this summer.

☆ Tesla driver in multi-car crash told police self-driving software malfunctioned
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chief Executive Elon Musk has touted Tesla "Full Self-Driving" software as a potential cash cow for the world's biggest electric carmaker. But Tesla's advanced driver assistance systems - and Musk's claims about them - face growing legal, regulatory and public scrutiny. Tesla sells the $15,000 FSD software as an ad-on which enables its vehicles to change lanes and park autonomously. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has been investigating the automaker's advanced driver assistance systems, did not comment. Tesla's says "Full Self-Driving" gives access to more advanced driver assistance features but emphasizes "all Tesla vehicles require active driver supervision and are not autonomous."

☆ Elon Musk was booed in Tesla's backyard. It shows how the Twitter mess has eroded his support among some of his biggest fans.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Business InsiderIn 2015, Elon Musk got applause for Tesla. After Colbert called Musk "the real Tony Stark," and Musk got a round of applause for the Tesla, Colbert asked Musk whether he was "sincerely trying to save the world." It's dangerous to extrapolate the overall public sentiment towards Musk from a single comedy crowd at one event in San Francisco. As Musk becomes less of a hometown hero, that could in turn alienate some of Tesla's biggest and most dedicated customers. And it's less clear by the day what, exactly, Elon Musk is.

☆ Larry Page, Sergey Brin Post-Google Lives: Investments, Yachts, Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Even before their retirement from Google, Page and Brin relied heavily on their respective family offices to bring order to their worlds. The Bay Area headquarters of Koop, Larry Page's family office, is nondescript and gives little indication of the billionaire's empire. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show less Bayshore Global Management, Sergey Brin's family office, is based in Palo Alto and has a bit more of a public face. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show lessThe difference in styles holds true for Brin's family office, Bayshore Global Management. The CEO of Page's family office is Wayne Osborne, a former elder in the Presbyterian Church who attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

☆ A janitor laid off at Twitter's headquarters said one of Elon Musk's team members told him he'd be replaced by robots
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A janitor told BBC that a member of Elon Musk's team said his job would eventually be replaced by robots. Four former Twitter cleaners told the publication they were laid off without severance on Monday. Four former Twitter janitors told the publication they were laid off without severance on Monday. Multiple workers told the publication that they are concerned about how they will be able to pay bills in the coming weeks, particularly with the holidays coming up. "Overnight we don't have anything," Adrianna Villarreal, a cleaner who had worked at Twitter since 2018, told BBC.

☆ Elon Musk posts pictures of his 2-year-old son, X, visiting Twitter HQ — including one with his own employee badge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk posted a photo of his son "X" near Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. Musk posted the photo, following reports of workers sleeping in Twitter's office. It's not the first time that Musk has brought X to Twitter's office. Grimes previously told Vanity Fair that Musk sees X as a "protégé" and often brings him along to work events. In the past, Musk's son has tagged along to award ceremonies and major presentations.

☆ Elon Musk has hired two of his cousins to work at Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk hired two cousins to work at Twitter, two people familiar with the matter told Insider. Elon Musk took over Twitter in late October and has since laid off thousands of staff. His cousins James Musk and Andrew Musk – sons of the billionaire's uncle on his father's side – now appear to be full-time Twitter employees. Andrew Musk works on software-engineering projects, while James Musk is more of as "a fixer type," helping Elon Musk on various tasks, one insider said. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter in late October, about 70% of the 7,500-strong workforce staff have been laid off, fired or resigned.

☆ Elon Musk defends installing bedrooms at Twitter HQ, saying he's merely 'providing beds for tired employees'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has defended his decision to install bedrooms in Twitter's San Francisco HQ. Musk said he's simply "providing beds for tired employees." San Francisco has reportedly launched an investigation into the installation of the bedrooms. Twitter employees on Monday discovered some offices and conference rooms at Twitter HQ had bare mattresses and curtains inside, two anonymous people with knowledge of the matter told Forbes. Representatives for Twitter and the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment, made outside normal working hours.

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