Insider Finance - Business - Insider Today: The year in tech

Plus: TikTok’s dark side, and hedge funds worth watching.

View in browser

December 28, 2023 • 6 min read

Dan DeFrancesco

Hi! Living in the Arctic has downsides — mainly the bitter cold — but it also has benefits, like these rainbow-colored clouds that recently appeared in the skies.

In today’s big story, we’re looking at some of our best tech stories from the past year.

What's on deck

But first, it's tech time.

photo compilation of three different views of mark Zuckerberg

Dianna "Mick" McDougall for Insider; Gerard Julien, Justin Sullivan, Alex Wong/ Getty Images

The big story

Tech in review

The year in tech was a case study in the haves and have-nots.

The year kicked off with cuts across Big Tech and increased pressure on cash-burning startups that were running out of options

The industry received another shock when startups’ and VCs’ favorite bank — Silicon Valley Bank — imploded overnight. That wasn’t the only high-profile disaster this year, as the industry’s favorite social media platform devolved before its eyes.

And yet, there were still plenty of bright spots. Generative AI was a highlight in an otherwise grim startup landscape struggling with high interest rates and a nonexistent IPO market. 

But even those riding high on the AI wave had slip-ups. OpenAI, the biggest name in AI this year, dealt with a shocking ouster of its CEO. And even though it lasted less than a week, the aftereffects are still being felt

Meanwhile, Nvidia, which saw its stock price skyrocket this year, had the unique problem of dealing with employees who have gotten so rich they are in “semi-retirement.

To make sense of everything that happened in the tech world this year, I asked Business Insider’s Global Tech Editor Alistair Barr to pick five of the top stories from his team, along with some insight about what made them stand out.

digital illustration of man and woman working from home together

Josh Cochran for BI

My husband founded a startup. Then our marriage got weird.
Melia Russell wrote a very personal essay that captured the harsh realities of entrepreneurship and its impact on close relationships.

The strange, improbable rise of Mark Zuckerberg 3.0.
Since Kali Hays published this story, she's seen and heard her central thesis — that Mark Zuckerberg is in the third phase of his CEO life — repeated in public and even directly back to her by industry sources.  

App, lover, muse: Inside a 47-year-old Minnesota man’s three-year relationship with an AI chatbot.
Rob Price spent lots of time with Jay Priebe in 2023, a regular guy who had a three-year relationship with an AI chatbot girlfriend. This story cut through the more lurid, sensational coverage of this new trend to get to the heart of the matter: What does a relatively sensible human get out of a relationship like this?  

Apple privately asked Amazon to block rival ads. Insider found evidence of this special treatment, while others suffer from ‘junk ads.’
Eugene Kim worked on this piece on and off for more than a year. It provides an exclusive example of how Big Tech rivals can work together behind the scenes to benefit each other, often to the detriment of customers and smaller competitors. 

The inside story of how Salesforce went from gifting ultra-luxury cars to mass layoffs and a ‘showdown’ between co-CEOs.
Problems at Salesforce, and investor pressure on CEO Marc Benioff, caused massive disruption and change at the cloud-software giant early in 2023. Business Insider reporters Ashley Stewart and Ellen Thomas led coverage of this from inside the company. They finished off this series with an exclusive and insightful profile of Benioff's tough 18 months.

3 things in

Markets

🔔 Before the opening bell: US futures inch higher early Thursday as investors await data on jobless claims and pending home sales.

digital illustration of legs standing around shopping bags with company names

Mosaic ML, Splunk, ChatGPT, Nuance, Blueprism, Cloudera, Tyler Le/BI

1. The bankers who are banking on AI. Artificial intelligence could finally jumpstart the M&A and IPO market in 2024. These 11 bankers will play a key role in any deals next year.

2. Your 2024 hedge-fund watchlist is here. Bobby Jain’s new fund has garnered considerable attention before its launch, but it’s not the only one going live in 2024. Meanwhile, established funds like D1 Capital and Two Sigma Investments will look to bounce back. Check out all the funds to watch.

3. The Roaring 20s, part two. The market is similar to how it was positioned in the 1920s, leading some to believe the economy is set to boom. But the state of interest rates, and when the Fed might cut them, remains a major hangup.

3 things in

Tech

digital illustration of eyes surrounded by money

Nick Little for BI

1. A 65-year-old spent her inheritance on TikTok livestreamers. Cindi White devoted as much as 50 hours per week to watching them. At her peak, she was burning $100 per day on livestreamers. But what started as a bit of fun, she realized, had morphed into something resembling an addiction.

2. Apple can keep selling its latest watches — for now. A judge approved the iPhone maker’s emergency request to continue selling Apple Watches in the US. Its sales and imports had been halted the past few days due to a patent dispute with a medical-device company.

3. We might be a step closer to seeing OpenAI’s first device. CEO Sam Altman and legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive are reportedly working on a device together. The latest report says that the pair has tapped an Apple exec to design their project.

3 things in

Business

digital illustration of Taylor swift carrying records and surrounded by money

Juliette Toma for Business Insider

1. It’s the year of revenge profit. Welcome to the revenge economy. This year, celebrities, influencers, and reality stars created economic opportunities for themselves via revenge — just look at the trajectories of Taylor Swift, Ariana Madix, and Taylor Rue.

2. How 500,000 workers refused to work in 2023 — and won big. TV writers. Baristas. Autoworkers. Healthcare workers. Journalists. They all withheld their labor this year during strikes and snagged major wins. Bosses should be scared of what comes next.

3. Meet YouTube’s 10 biggest breakout stars and the teams that helped them grow. Short-form videos on YouTube grew many peoples' views and subscribers this year. So did the teams working with the creators.

What's happening today

  • The US Space Force is expected to launch its new reusable space plane. The secretive project’s purposes are unknown. But it’ll be aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
  • It’s National Call a Friend Day. The day is meant to show appreciation — beyond texting and voice memos.
  • Happy birthday, Denzel Washington. John Legend, Seth Meyers, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and Woodrow Wilson were also born on this day.
photo of hand gripping a pole (left) and portrait photo of therapist (right)

Getty Images/Joshua Fletcher

For your bookmarks

“White knuckling”

“White knuckling” could be making your anxiety worse. A therapist shared five signs that the habit is making your anxiety worse and three ways to regain control.

The Insider Today team

Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hayley Hudson, director, in Edinburgh. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

Get in touch

insidertoday@insider.com

To read unlimited articles, subscribe to Business Insider.

Download the Insider app

Older messages

Insider Today: Top markets stories

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Plus: Popeyes' wings, and Elon's year of “cruelty.” View in browser December 27, 2023 • 5 min read Dan DeFrancesco with Dan DeFrancesco Hello! Christmas may be over, but it's never too

Epidemic of abuse in schools

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Predators were protected, not students. View in browser BUSINESS INSIDER BUSINESS INSIDER Subscribe INVESTIGATION Andrea Bruce for Business Insider An epidemic of sexual abuse in schools Shoddy

Insider Today: Deals worth checking out

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Plus: Best pillows, and the top gaming gear. View in browser December 26, 2023 • 2 min read Dan DeFrancesco with Dan DeFrancesco Welcome back, and happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate! You're

Insider Today: TV and movies to binge

Monday, December 25, 2023

Plus: The year's top albums and songs. View in browser December 25, 2023 • 2 min read with Dan DeFrancesco Merry Christmas! For those of you celebrating with friends or family, here are some tips

Insider Today: A new era of homebuying

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Plus: Pathological friendliness and a data-center invasion. View in browser December 24, 2023 • 4 min read with Matt Turner Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. I

You Might Also Like

After inauguration, it's time to talk taxes

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

plus toad fashion + Post Malone ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

Harry's Take 1-15-25 Stocks Look to Break Lower: Another Sign of a Top on December 16

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Harry's Take January 15, 2025 Stocks Look to Break Lower: Another Sign of a Top on December 16 As we go into the new year, already with signs of a failed Santa Claus Rally and a failed first 5

🇺🇸 America's tariff future

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

A possible go-slow approach to tariffs, a spending worry for China, and the next obesity drugs | Finimize TOGETHER WITH Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for January 15th in 3:14 minutes. The

It’s a new year, get a new savings account

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Earn more with high-yield options! ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

Private Equity Is Coming for Your 401(k)

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

The industry wants in on Americans' $13 trillion in savings ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

This Skateboarding Economist Suggests We Need More Skateparks And Less Capitalism

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

A skateboarder presented an unusual paper at this year's big meeting of American economists. View this email online Planet Money Skateonomics by Greg Rosalsky “The Skateboarding Ethic and the

Elon Musk Dreams, Mode Mobile Delivers

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Join the EarnPhone revolution ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Shaping inflation expectations: the effects of monetary policy

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Natalie Burr In economic theory, expectations of future inflation are an important determinant of inflation, making them a key variable of interest for monetary policy makers. But is there empirical

🌎 Another hottest year

Monday, January 13, 2025

Global temperatures crossed a threshold, oil prices bubbled up, and crypto's AI agents | Finimize Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for January 14th in 3:06 minutes. Oil prices climbed

Have you seen the Best Cars & Trucks of 2025?

Monday, January 13, 2025

Get a quote and protect your new wheels with Amica Insurance ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌