Netflix reported its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, and revenue was $11.51 billion—slightly below Bloomberg’s forecast of $11.52 billion. Earnings per share were $5.87, below an estimate of $6.94. (All of this is per Yahoo! Finance). Not catastrophic, but not great. The company’s stock price went down by 5.6%.
But hey, how about all that AI?
In its shareholder letter, and then again in its earnings call, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters touted coming generative AI implementation as an exciting new development across content generation, user experience, and in advertising. All the AI talk made it feel like it was 2023 again.
To illustrate how much AI seems to be on the CEOs’ minds, at 26 minutes and 34 seconds into the earnings call, Peters gives an answer in which he rattles off what seems to be an ad-hoc list of six challenges Netflix faces as a company, starting with creating TV and movies around the world. Implementing AI is the second item he mentions.
The shareholder letter kicked off the topic of AI with what is actually a pretty big truth bomb: “For many years now, ML and AI have been powering our title recommendations as well as production and promotion technology.” That’s truer than you might think. All the way back in 2008, Netflix found a genuinely fun way to publicize its use of machine learning: by asking the public to figure out why some people like Napoleon Dynamite and others don’t, with math.
Much has changed since those days, and now Netflix says it’s shoehorning AI features into Netflix wherever it can. For instance, the earnings letter says a beta test is ongoing that adds a “conversational search” function, helping people “discover the perfect title for that moment.” The goal here sounds easy enough to picture without speculating too wildly. I can picture saying “What’s a movie to watch with my mom on her 50th birthday?” into a Roku remote and getting a list of recs.
On the techical side, Netflix says there’s an effort afoot to use AI to “localize” (which basically means “translate”) promotional assets into other languages and regions, which sounds like it could theoretically allow relevant—but obscure and foreign—movies and TV that I might love to come to me, even without readily available artwork and summaries in my language. Theoretically anyway.
But most of all, Netflix says it will be “empowering creators with a broad set of GenAI tools to help them achieve their visions.” For instance, the letter boasts that AI de-aging was used in Happy Gilmore 2, and that the producers of Billionaires’ Bunker used Generative AI tools for concept art.
But how does Netflix regard Sora 2, the video generator that plunged the internet into copyright hell upon its release last month? Sarandos, for his part, is not telegraphing some kind of rapid slopification at Netflix—and he hastens to add that he’s not intimidated by Sora 2 currently. According to Sarandos, “it’s likely to have a lot more impact on UGC creators the most in the near term. In other words, AI content replacing viewing of existing user-generated content. That starts to make sense.”
It’s worth noting that Sarandos is already trying to convince influencers to leave YouTube. If you’re a YouTuber who hasn’t already agreed to a Netflix deal, and you’re worried that Sora 2 is coming to eat your lunch, Sarandos’ suggestion that your business model is more vulnerable than his could be part of an effort to win you over.
But Sarandos says AI “doesn’t automatically make you a great storyteller if you’re not.” For once a tech CEO talking about AI doesn’t sound like he’s sharpening his layoffs ax. “We’re confident that AI is going to help us and help our creative partners tell stories better, faster, and in new ways,” Sarandos said, adding, “We’re all in on that.”
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![Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
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San Francisco, CA
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October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials](https://i1.wp.com/techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/53200897797_87d290a75e_o.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 "Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials")
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