Join high-powered tech and business leaders who read The Information every day. Save 25% on an annual subscription.

1.	Trump Says He Won't Break Up Google By Martin Peers Source: The New York Times

Donald Trump says he won't break up Google if he wins next month's presidential election, The New York Times reported, adding that "China is afraid of Google." He added that he instead would seek to make sure Google's behavior is "more fair."

The breakup idea is on the table because the Justice Department indicated earlier this month that it may seek "structural remedies" as a solution to a court's finding that Google broke antitrust laws in its efforts to protect its search monopoly. The term "structural remedies" is typically code for breaking up a company.  Trump may be president before the Justice Department finalizes the remedies it will seek.

Trump seemed to suggest that weakening Google wouldn't be in the U.S. national interest given its competition with China. "We want to have great companies…we don't want China to have these companies," the Times quoted Trump saying. (Readers of The Information agree with Trump's thinking on this issue, as the results of our latest reader survey show.)

2.	NY Times Sends Perplexity a Cease and Desist Letter By Martin Peers Source: The Wall Street Journal

The New York Times Company sent AI startup Perplexity a "cease and desist" notice demanding that the firm stop using its content, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The letter follows a lawsuit filed by the Times against OpenAI at the end of last year, alleging copyright infringement in how the ChatGPT creator used NY Times content in training of its large language models. Other publishers, including magazine giant Condé Nast, have sent similar notices to Perplexity, The Information has reported.

Perplexity operates a search engine-style AI startup which cites sources alongside its answers. The company uses a combination of its own and third-party bots to crawl websites and index their information the same way Google creates its index, CEO Aravind Srinivas has said. But the Times claims in its letter that Perplexity was using its content "without authorization," the Journal reported.

3.	VC Podcaster Harry Stebbings Raises $400 Million By Kate Clark Source: The Information

Harry Stebbings, host of The Twenty Minute VC podcast, has raised $400 million across two new funds from limited partners including MIT Investment Management Company and Horsley Bridge. The larger haul will allow Stebbings, who raised $140 million in 2021, to lead more deals, he told The Information.

Stebbings, 28, started the podcast in 2015 when he was a teenager. In 2020, he expanded his brand by founding the venture capital firm 20VC. The podcast has since grown to 35 million downloads per month, and Stebbings now manages a team of 13 people focused on the podcast's growth.

Stebbings said he launched the show at a pivotal moment for the podcasting industry that coincided with an explosive period of growth for the VC business. "Venture is cool now," Stebbings said. "Ten years ago it was boring and weird like private equity."

4.	Meta's Head of People to Depart By Kalley Huang Source: The Information

Lori Goler, Meta Platforms' longtime head of people, will depart the company next summer, she said Tuesday in a post on Facebook. Janelle Gale, Meta's head of human resources, will take over Goler's role in January, Goler said.

"My work building and leading the [people] team and helping to shape our unique culture at a place where our people are the core of everything we do has been the privilege of a lifetime," Goler wrote in her post. She also thanked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg "for the way he's instilled a learning mindset into the very DNA of this company that's pushed us all to be better and stronger — individually and together."

Goler will leave Meta after more than 16 years at the company. She led human resources and recruiting as Meta grew from about 500 employees in 2008 to more than 70,000 employees this year. Axios first reported Goler's departure.

5.	Stripe Uses Paxos' Service to Add Crypto Payments for Merchants By Yueqi Yang Source: The Information

Paxos, a stablecoin issuer and blockchain infrastructure provider, said it has launched a stablecoin service for payments providers, with Stripe being its first customer.

Last week, Stripe launched a feature that allows merchants to accept stablecoins for payments, powered by Paxos' infrastructure, the companies said. Paxos' platform allows merchants to accept three forms of stablecoins—Circle USD Coin, PayPal USD and Pax Dollar—and enables instant conversion into U.S. dollars for merchants.

Stripe decided to reintegrate crypto payments as an option for merchants this year after ending bitcoin payments in 2018, which failed to gain wide adoption due to the volatility of bitcoin prices and slow transaction times. Using stablecoins, which maintain a value pegged to a traditional currency, could solve some of those issues. PayPal last month announced it's enabling U.S. merchants to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their business accounts.

6.	Goldman Sachs, BofA Enjoy Investment Banking Boost By Michael Roddan Source: The Information

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America on Tuesday joined other Wall Street banks in reporting jumps in investment banking and trading revenue for the third quarter.

Goldman's equities trading revenue rose 18% to $3.5 billion while investment banking fees rose 20% to $1.9 billion. At Bank of America, investment banking and equities trading revenue both rose 18%, to $1.4 billion and $2 billion, respectively.

Goldman reported profit of $2.99 billion, up 45% compared to a year earlier, when it took hefty charges related to consumer lending exits. In its latest quarter, Goldman took another $415 million charge related to its General Motors credit card partnership, which is being transferred to Barcays. Goldman is also planning to exit its larger card partnership with Apple. Bank of America posted a 12% drop in profit to $6.9 billion, as the bank put aside $1.5 billion to cover credit losses.

7.	Bob Lee Murder Trial Begins By Abram Brown Source: AP

An attorney for the man charged with murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco a year ago sought to reframe the dramatic incident as a matter of self defense as the trial commenced this week.

The defendant, Nima Momeni, allegedly stabbed Lee three times in a deserted part of downtown San Francisco in April 2023—an event that became a highly publicized flash point in the debate over crime and safety in the city. But Momeni's attorney insists Momeni was defending himself against Lee, who he said was acting aggressively after taking drugs.

When Lee initially died, some tech executives used his death as an example of what they see as an increase in post-pandemic violence and lawlessness in San Francisco. But police say it wasn't an example of random violence: Lee knew Momeni's sister, and Momeni allegedly killed Lee after he and Lee fought about his sister.

Popular articles

Opportunities

Group subscriptions

Learn more

Brand partnerships

Connect with our team