Phoebe Liu
@forbes tech + money reporter / @forbesunion / 📧 pliu@forbes.com / atlanta sports bear, at the moment
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNew edition of my emerging tech newsletter, The Prototype, is out! This is a space-packed issue, looking at the investment boom into space startups, the recent evacuation from ISS and more. www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu"They need to make sure big swings are reasonably hedged while raising additional capital. Truly cashing in on the AI boom, though, will mean making a bet and committing to it. Otherwise they’ll be playing an ongoing game of catch up in an AI race where speed is everything."
- The mainstreaming of AI is turning into a trillion dollar business, yet the two biggest data center real estate firms have lagged in public markets. Here’s why—and how they could catch up. My latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNEW: "Rep. Julia Letlow Discloses Over 200 Stock Trades After Deadline As Ban Debate Grows In Congress" #whoops me, for @forbes www.forbes.com/sites/zachev...
- The mainstreaming of AI is turning into a trillion dollar business, yet the two biggest data center real estate firms have lagged in public markets. Here’s why—and how they could catch up. My latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuCheckr, which got its start running criminal record checks on Uber drivers and gig workers, has seen its revenues jump 14% to $800 million as companies try to spot a flood of AI-generated CVs and faked financial documents. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuAnd this vital story by @aniloza.bsky.social and @jaspar.bsky.social looking at the impacts of funding cuts to early-career scientists. They found that in the first 270 days of 2025, fewer early-career grants were awarded than in any similar period since 2016. www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...
- After her most recent grant announcement on Tuesday, MacKenzie Scott is now America's third-most-generous philanthropist by dollar amount, and second by percentage of wealth. More insights and context in my latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuMacKenzie Scott (former wife of Jeff Bezos) is a quiet rockstar #philanthropist. She gave away $7 billion in the past year. per @forbes.com @pheebini.bsky.social that vaults her even higher among the ranks of the country's most generous givers www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- After #investing in the likes of OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Flock Safety, former SV Angel managing partner (and former professional opera singer!) Beth Turner is striking out on her own. My latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuICYMI, last week's edition of my newsletter talked about why LLMs are vulnerable to poetic attacks, how seaweed might be a better way to harvest rare earths and why learning a second language is good for you. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one! www.forbes.com/newsletter/t...
- Forbes raised questions about the massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm #Napster announced as a done deal in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday. With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNEW: The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of NY immigrants' rights volunteers organizing court watch+ labeled activists “anarchist violent extremist actors.” Joint FBI/NYPD report shows law enforcement accessed private planning convo of ppl monitoring ICE Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu"Democratic Congresswoman Indicted In Alleged $5 Million FEMA Fund-Stealing Scheme" Antonio Pequeño IV for @forbes.com
- The Musk-led #AI company has a lot of cash in the bank. But it still needs more—and more. It’s using some creative off-balance-sheet financing to get it. Some details on xAI's financials and weird/novel capital raise, from Anna Tong and me for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuBig tech needs access to the grid for AI data centers. In many cases, crypto got there first. Free link: www.wsj.com/business/ene...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuYou can oversee the bloody dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist with a bone saw, and the president of the United States will smile, shake your hand and threaten to pull the license of a news outlet whose reporter asks you a question about it. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNEW: Amazon’s Zoox launches ride service in San Francisco in robotaxis with no steering wheels — or fees for now #selfdrivingvehicles www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu[Not loaded yet]
- Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna cofounded Open Philanthropy to find charities that create the biggest impact/$. Now, they’re changing its name and encouraging others to join. See table for their biggest grantees. My latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuSo just how much money is OpenAI dumping on this firehose of imbecilic video? More than $5 billion annualized, or around $15 million per day, according to Forbes estimates and conversations with experts www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Have you been using #Sora? Some back-of-napkin math suggests OpenAI is spending more than a quarter of what it’s making to power its AI slop factory. There are also potential silver linings (more training data + future tax savings). My latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuWe spoke to experts who pointed out that chief dealmaker Altman, who has claimed he has no stake in the company, doesn’t have much to lose. “He can commit to as much as he wants... Either he uses it, he renegotiates it, or he walks away.” www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuOne likely scenario is that the AI company pays for and utilizes only a portion of the compute it has booked said D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria. “They don't want OpenAI to go bankrupt, so their incentive is to renegotiate,” he told Forbes. www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuOpenAI has gone wild with compute deals this year, committing to spend far more than its balance sheet can currently sustain. So who takes the fall if it can’t pay? Latest for @forbes.com with @pheebini.bsky.social and @richardnieva.bsky.social. www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu1/3 Reddit’s popularity has exploded in recent years. Daily users have approximately doubled since the summer of 2023. It’s become one of the top sources cited by AI chatbots. And organic search to the platform has skyrocketed (you may have noticed more Reddit results when you Google these days).
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu“Timothy Mellon Has Likely Donated More Than Half His Fortune To Politics” @pheebini.bsky.social for @forbes.com
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuOne week of @wsj.com heds.
- Thanks to his $130 million donation to pay troops during the gov shutdown, Mellon has likely given away a bigger % of his fortune than any person ever: more than half. A breakdown of his giving and how he made his millions—not just from inheritance!—for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Clarification: biggest % ever **to politics** not overall (notable heavyweights in philanthropic giving as a percentage of net worth are Chuck Feeney, who died in 2023, and George Soros, who have both given away much more than half their wealth to charity)
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNEW: Rivian's had a tough few years in the volatile, but CEO RJ Scaringe is betting its new R2 electric SUV will mark a big growth phase. “I'm very, very biased, but I think R2 is going to drive a step-change in overall EV adoption” #electricvehicles #Rivian www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
- New details about Deel's latest fundraise, its legal + private market battle with Rippling and what's next in my story with Matt Durot for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/mattdu...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuI chatted with AMD’s senior vice president of AI about the company’s massive deal with OpenAI, and how AMD’s software efforts played a part in scoring the agreement. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
- In my latest for @forbes.com I did some math on how the spate of massive #AI infra deals is benefiting the dealmakers most of all. These founders, CEOs and investors keep getting richer while critics condemn their "circular deals": www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu@forbes.com mgt, led by CEO Sherry Phillips and CCO Randall Lane, have proposed 1.25% annual bumps for staff, not even keeping up with inflation--when many in the newsroom go YEARS without a raise. #journalismjobs @nyguild.bsky.social
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuLink to the article:
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuCustomers for AI products may be dubious, and communities & ratepayers feeling the burdens of data centers may be unhappy, but these folks think the boom is just great. @pheebini.bsky.social: 20 billionaires tied to the AI and data center boom have added >$450B to their fortunes since January 1.
- Reposted by Phoebe Liunew from me: time is a flat circle www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNew: "Trump Golf Course Displays Gold Presidential Seal—Here’s Why That Could Violate Federal Law" 🏌️🚔 me, for @forbes.com 1/
- Amid all this $ORCL's proxy came out ... Larry Ellison now has 346 million shares pledged (as of 9/19/25), up from 277 million last year. The difference is worth ~$20 billion (more than the supposed EV of whatever portion of TikTok's U.S. business that's supposed to spin out)
- The exact lineup of investors taking control of TikTok U.S. is still under wraps, but the network of players is in some cases nearly half a century in the making. Inside their ties to #Trump and each other for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu🚨NEW🚨 A recently-unsealed warrant shows how teens from a dozen countries used Discord to discuss plans for terror attacks across the world in the name of ISIS. They were serious, buying and learning how to make deadly weapons. Cops caught them in time. www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuTrump has long badgered the Fed to lower interest rates, which it finally did last week. A review of the president's personal fortune shows he has billions of reasons for doing so. www.forbes.com/sites/danale...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNvidia’s Jensen Huang just bet $500 million that a tiny data center startup can become a British rival to Coreweave. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
- Nuclear power firm $OKLO is up 400% since March. Relationships with the energy sec & #OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have certainly helped. (Altman bought shares in the SPAC that merged w/Oklo for $0.002 each in 2021. His stake is now ~$880 million.) My latest @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuHow AI hype minted two new billionaires from Oklo, a nuclear power startup with no revenue. Its relationships the Energy Secretary Chris Wright and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have certainly helped, from my colleague @pheebini.bsky.social www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- New @forbes.com magazine cover story—from @rashis.bsky.social and me—is our take on #CoreWeave, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the #AI boom. It's a fascinating firm built on bold bets, complex risk & no shortage of luck. Would love to hear what you think: www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- 2/ A closer look at financials here: www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- 3/ The core of what's at risk here, and how CoreWeave's cofounders are thinking about it: www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuA series of bold bets and calculated risks helped Michael Intrator turn @CoreWeave from a no-name crypto miner into a $50 billion company, serving compute to the likes of OpenAI and Microsoft. Elated to share my latest @forbes.com cover story with @pheebini.bsky.social www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuThis is a fabulously written, in-depth profile of Edwin Chen, the billionaire founder of Surge AI and one of the key people to watch in the AI revolution. Incredible reporting and a must-read story from @pheebini.bsky.social
- 1/ My latest for @forbes.com is a profile of a founder who holds outsized influence in the race to improve AI models and hates Silicon Valley culture. Edwin Chen on aliens and Eminem but also bootstrapping Surge AI, why he'd never go public and the future of AI: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuTed Chiang’s "Story of Your Life" has always stuck with me—it makes you think differently about language, perspective, and possibility. Turns out I’m not the only one. That inspired Edwin Chen to found Surge in 2020. Check out why he's the most successful tech entrepreneur you've never heard of. #AI
- 1/ My latest for @forbes.com is a profile of a founder who holds outsized influence in the race to improve AI models and hates Silicon Valley culture. Edwin Chen on aliens and Eminem but also bootstrapping Surge AI, why he'd never go public and the future of AI: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- 1/ My latest for @forbes.com is a profile of a founder who holds outsized influence in the race to improve AI models and hates Silicon Valley culture. Edwin Chen on aliens and Eminem but also bootstrapping Surge AI, why he'd never go public and the future of AI: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- 2/ Surge has grown quickly and is profitable, but in a rapidly changing and competitive industry, that doesn't mean it's a clear path ahead. www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- 3/ “If Surge didn’t exist, what would Edwin do for fun? He’d probably make data and train AI," says Surge AI head of product Nick Heiner. "It just happens to be a lucrative thing." Lucrative = there'll be competition. And no one minces words in this space: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu1/2 Amazing story from my colleague @pheebini.bsky.social about the CEO & founder of Surge AI, which is generating more revenue than any other AI company focused on data labeling (labeling = a crucial step in the process of training AI models). www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- The listing comes as #OpenAI gears up for an astronomical employee share sale that could make many in OpenAI’s ranks rich enough to afford the mansion. Scoop for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- New // As Paramount’s chairman, CEO and owner of 50% of its voting rights, David Ellison will oversee the entertainment empire. But it’s his father who controls the purse strings and owns the equity, per regulatory filings. Read my latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Here's the FCC filing that breaks down some of the ownership structure in New Paramount:
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuAs Trump slashes NIH funding, big donors like Brin are even more crucial to advancements on diseases like Parkinson's. It's his gifts that first put the Michael J. Fox Foundation on the Forbes Top 100 Charities list. www.forbes.com/sites/willia...
- #Google cofounder Sergey Brin's increased giving to Catalyst4, a type of nonprofit that can lobby as well as own entire for-profit companies, may be part of a broader shift in his giving strategy. More details in my latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuThe story behind Infinite Reality, the Florida firm that spent $207 million to buy the Napster brand and then rename itself Napster, is also weird. To learn more about that, see this investigation by @pheebini.bsky.social and @iainmartin.bsky.social (Napster had no new comment on it for me).
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuIn a singularly weird cycle of brand reincarnation, Napster has resurfaced as a gallery of animatronic-looking AI agents that offer video advice about everything from cooking and gardening to tax strategy and oncology. (Please don't base your tax planning or cancer treatment on their counsel.)
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuMore Bezos news: while he was in Venice getting married, he sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Amazon stock. details from @forbes.com Martina Castellanos www.forbes.com/sites/martin...
- #Google cofounder Sergey Brin's increased giving to Catalyst4, a type of nonprofit that can lobby as well as own entire for-profit companies, may be part of a broader shift in his giving strategy. More details in my latest for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuAt a time when federal funds for health research have faced cutbacks, Google's billionaire cofounder Sergey Brin just put $700 million into charitable entities that fund research in three key areas, from @pheebini.bsky.social #philanthropy www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuSaw this question from the other site earlier today and spluttered: No! No chatbot answer is ever 'authentic'! Chatbots are developed by corporations to advance those corporations' aims and the fact that we only occasionally notice they're doing that is The Problem! www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuThe plot thickens in the case of the mystery investor behind Infinite Reality’s seemingly unbelievable valuation - read here from @pheebini.bsky.social
- 2/ It finally named its backer, a family with ties to the Mets and reportedly Bernie Madoff—one hour after Forbes’ investigation into the obscure company. More on that here: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- 1/ Infinite Reality claims it raised more than $3 billion from a sole unnamed investor. That would make the obscure company the beneficiary of one of the biggest funding rounds of the year. Not all is as it seems. With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- 2/ It finally named its backer, a family with ties to the Mets and reportedly Bernie Madoff—one hour after Forbes’ investigation into the obscure company. More on that here: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
- 3/ Did we miss anything? DM me or contact me via phone/WhatsApp/Signal at +1 678 834 4200.
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuNew: "Don Jr. And Eric Trump Landed $3 Million In Stock For Joining Firm’s Advisory Board That Had Little Public Presence Before Their Appointment" me, for @forbes.com
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuJustine Musk, Elon Musk’s first wife and the mother of six of his children, asked for stakes in Tesla and SpaceX when they got divorced. Musk made sure she got no shares. Now she's worth just $15 million, or 1/24,000th of Elon. New with @kerrydolan.bsky.social: www.forbes.com/sites/kerrya...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuKimbal Musk, Elon's brother, sat on SpaceX's board for 20 years. And despite having no title or official role at SpaceX, he was a designated corporate officer, a fiduciary position typically reserved for the C-Suite. Inside the making of another Musk fortune. www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuThere’s a surprising name lurking in the rankings of startups that have raised the most funding this year. Infinite Reality. This obscure metaverse startup claims to have raised $3 billion on a $15 billion valuation. Not all is as it seems...
- Reposted by Phoebe Liu[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Phoebe LiuSomething smells fishy here. The Mysterious Case Of The $15 Billion Metaverse Startup And Its Anonymous Multi-Billion Dollar Investor via @pheebini.bsky.social @iainmartin.bsky.social www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
