The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Meta Memo Outlines Ambitious Hardware Plans, Including New AI Pendant

By Jyoti Mann · May 29, 2026 4:38pm PDT

Meta Platforms plans to start testing an AI pendant in the next year as part of an ambitious roadmap for wearable devices aimed at reversing the huge losses in its hardware division. An internal memo describing the roadmap, reviewed by The Information, also lays out plans to significantly expand its selection of AI glasses and to add a... Meta Platforms plans to start testing an AI pendant in the next year as part of an ambitious...

The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploding on May 28 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. @JConcilus via AP.

Why SpaceX Isn’t Celebrating the Blue Origin Explosion

By Theo Wayt · May 29, 2026 3:31pm PDT

By now, you’ve probably seen the unbelievable video of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploding on its launchpad in Florida on Thursday night. On its face, Blue Origin’s pain would seem to be Elon Musk’s gain, further cementing SpaceX’s already significant lead in the space business just weeks before it goes public. While the explosion is... By now, you’ve probably seen the unbelievable video of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploding...

Art by Getty Images

China’s ByteDance Developing New AI Chips Like Those from Nvidia Partner Groq

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · May 29, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok owner ByteDance is developing a new chip to run artificial intelligence models as part of an aggressive expansion of its homegrown AI infrastructure. The new AI chip is intended to have a structure similar to U.S. chip designer Groq’s language processing units, which are built to run AI models at low cost, according to three people with... TikTok owner ByteDance is developing a new chip to run artificial intelligence models as part of...

Zach Dell, CEO of Base Power. Screenshot via YouTube.

Base Power in Talks to Raise Funds at $12 Billion Valuation

By Leo Schwartz, Anissa Gardizy and Julia Hornstein · May 28, 2026 6:39pm PDT

Zach Dell, CEO of Base Power. Screenshot via YouTube.

Base Power in Talks to Raise Funds at $12 Billion Valuation

By Leo Schwartz, Anissa Gardizy and Julia Hornstein · May 28, 2026 6:39pm PDT

Base Power, a three-year-old home-battery startup, is in talks to raise funds at a $12 billion valuation, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Ribbit Capital, which backed Base Power’s last funding round, has been in talks to lead the current round, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. Founded by Venezuelan... Base Power, a three-year-old home-battery startup, is in talks to raise funds at a $12 billion...

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Boomers, Beware of SpaceX Stock

By Anita Ramaswamy · May 28, 2026 4:59pm PDT

Greetings! Anita here. It’s been a relatively slow week for SpaceX news, but that will soon change. Musk’s rocketship company is expected to launch its investor roadshow next week ahead of a mid-June IPO. The milestone will likely usher in a flood of giddy headlines and a lot of debate on Reddit forums and cable TV on whether individual... Greetings! Anita here. It’s been a relatively slow week for SpaceX news, but that will soon...

Getty Images

Big Law’s AI Threat to Harvey, Legora

By Julia Hornstein · May 28, 2026 4:47pm PDT

Despite fears that advanced tools from Anthropic and OpenAI would soon make legal apps like Harvey and Legora irrelevant, recent revenue milestones at those startups suggest they are doing just fine. But a fresh assault on their business is brewing: Some law firms now want to develop their own AI apps with frontier model companies like... Despite fears that advanced tools from Anthropic and OpenAI would soon make legal apps like...

Lowe's Senior Vice President Chandhu Nair. Photo courtesy of Lowe's

Lowe’s Says ‘Semantic’ Data is Boosting Its AI Agents

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 28, 2026 1:09pm PDT

Microsoft, Databricks, SAP and other AI software providers are fighting over control and access to enterprise data known as the semantic layer, as we reported last week. Semantic layers are essentially a data management tool that companies use to standardize definitions for their business metrics, such as revenue and customers, and are now... Microsoft, Databricks, SAP and other AI software providers are fighting over control and access...

Art by Clark Miller.

The AI Boom’s Pricey Middle

By The Information Staff · May 28, 2026 1:08pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

The AI Boom’s Pricey Middle

By The Information Staff · May 28, 2026 1:08pm PDT

Baseten’s talks to raise fresh funding at an $11 billion valuation are the latest sign that investors are betting the messy work of helping developers run AI models can become one of the next big businesses in AI. That boom has lifted a group of companies including Baseten, Fireworks AI, Together AI and Modal. These startups give customers... Baseten’s talks to raise fresh funding at an $11 billion valuation are the latest sign that...

The Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia. Photo: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg/Getty

The AI Data Center Boom Ignites a Tear in Lithium Shares

By Steve LeVine · May 28, 2026 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Investors fled the stock of lithium mining companies in 2022 and 2023, when the metal’s price plunged about 90% and mines shut down globally. Now they have piled back into the category. The reason: a boom in lithium-ion batteries used to power AI data centers and the electricity grid, and the possibility that high gasoline prices will trigger a... Investors fled the stock of lithium mining companies in 2022 and 2023, when the metal’s price...

Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI. Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images

Microsoft to Release New Coding Model Next Week in Comeback Attempt

By Aaron Holmes · May 28, 2026 7:00am PDT

Microsoft next week will unveil a suite of new homegrown AI models at its annual Build conference for app developers in San Francisco. The question is whether it can win over these people.The company plans to unveil a coding model to boost the competitiveness of Microsoft-owned GitHub Copilot, a coding assistant whose early lead in the AI coding... Microsoft next week will unveil a suite of new homegrown AI models at its annual Build conference...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple to Renew Push for AI That Runs on Devices, Instead of the Cloud

By Aaron Tilley · May 28, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

At Apple’s annual developer conference next month, the star of the show will be a series of long-delayed artificial intelligence upgrades to the iPhone. But the company is also expected to emphasize what could be an underrated asset in its efforts to catch up in AI: Its ability to run AI models on the billions of Apple devices in circulation. ... At Apple’s annual developer conference next month, the star of the show will be a series of...

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy

Snowflake Shows Some Immunity to the SaaSpocalypse

By Kevin McLaughlin and Laura Bratton · May 27, 2026 5:36pm PDT

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy

Snowflake Shows Some Immunity to the SaaSpocalypse

By Kevin McLaughlin and Laura Bratton · May 27, 2026 5:36pm PDT

Shares of traditional software providers have been battered this year over AI fears. Investors’ reaction to Snowflake’s and Salesforce’s quarterly results Wednesday suggests some providers are in better shape than others.Snowflake shares jumped more than 35% to their highest point since December after the database provider said its most-watched... Shares of traditional software providers have been battered this year over AI fears. Investors’...

Venture capitalist Ethan Choi.

Khosla Partner Ethan Choi Raising $500 Million Fund

By Katie Roof · May 27, 2026 3:29pm PDT

Khosla Ventures partner Ethan Choi, who focused on investing in mature startups such as Vercel, has left the early-stage firm and is launching a new venture firm. The firm, called Atomus, is in the process of raising a new venture fund of at least $500 million, according to a person familiar with Choi’s plans. About half of the fund has already... Khosla Ventures partner Ethan Choi, who focused on investing in mature startups such as Vercel,...

Naomi Gleit, Meta’s head of product. Henrique Casinhas/Getty Images.

Internal Memo Reveals Meta’s Plan to Kickstart Its Enterprise AI Business

By Jyoti Mann · May 27, 2026 3:09pm PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms plans to place engineers and product managers inside large corporate customers as part of a new unit at the social-media giant to push businesses to use its AI tools and services. In an internal memo, senior executive Naomi Gleit said the new organization, called Enterprise Solutions, will be made up of product managers who... Meta Platforms plans to place engineers and product managers inside large corporate...

Art via Getty Images

The Information Finance

Pre-IPO Betting Boom Hits Prediction Markets

By Yueqi Yang · May 27, 2026 8:18am PDT

Most everyday investors can’t buy shares of hot private companies like SpaceX and OpenAI before they go public. With potential mega-IPOs looming this year, prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi are turning that hype into tradable bets. Users are flocking to yes-or-no bets on milestones like valuations and IPO timelines, betting... Most everyday investors can’t buy shares of hot private companies like SpaceX and OpenAI before...

Art via Getty Images

The Hot New Way to Communicate with AI? Whispering

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 27, 2026 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Art via Getty Images

The Hot New Way to Communicate with AI? Whispering

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 27, 2026 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

If you wander into the Manhattan office of AI startup Basis on a workday, you’ll see most of its 100 or so staffers whispering quietly into gooseneck microphones at their desks. They aren’t taking phone calls or talking with other humans at all. They’re speaking softly to their AI agents and chatbots. Such whispering has become a... If you wander into the Manhattan office of AI startup Basis on a workday, you’ll see most of its...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Getty Images.

Polymarket Wants Traders to ID Themselves as It Faces Sanctions, Legal Risks

By Michael Roddan · May 27, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In Russia, making bets on Polymarket isn’t permitted by the popular online prediction market’s rules. But that hasn’t stopped Ruslan Kashaev, a software developer who lives in the small Russian city of Ufa, a 15-hour drive from Moscow, from turning the site into a lucrative source of income. Using automated trading bots hosted on the Telegram... In Russia, making bets on Polymarket isn’t permitted by the popular online prediction market’s...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo by Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images

Anthropic Is Likely Generating at Least 35% More Revenue Than OpenAI

By Amir Efrati and Sri Muppidi · May 26, 2026 6:04pm PDT · 3 comments

On New Year’s Day, OpenAI leaders would have been happy to hear that the company’s monthly revenue would rise more than 50% over the first five months of 2026, roughly in line with the projections it previously shared with investors. But they’re not likely to feel that way now: That pace looks downright tame compared to that of Anthropic, whose... On New Year’s Day, OpenAI leaders would have been happy to hear that the company’s monthly...

Art by Clark Miller.

Boom Times for Inference Providers?

By Laura Mandaro and Stephanie Palazzolo · May 26, 2026 5:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Less than a year ago, our reporters kept hearing doubts about a group of startups called inference providers. Companies like Fireworks, Baseten and Together AI, which rent out Nvidia servers to app developers and help them customize open-source models, had grown quickly but seemed at risk of getting steamrolled by major cloud providers that... Less than a year ago, our reporters kept hearing doubts about a group of startups called...

Tuhin Srivastava, CEO of Baseten. Photo via Getty Images

AI Inference Provider Baseten in Talks to Raise $1 Billion at $11 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Katie Roof · May 26, 2026 3:09pm PDT

Tuhin Srivastava, CEO of Baseten. Photo via Getty Images

AI Inference Provider Baseten in Talks to Raise $1 Billion at $11 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Katie Roof · May 26, 2026 3:09pm PDT

AI startup Baseten has recently been in talks with investors to raise $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation including the money, according to a person with knowledge of the fundraise. That would more than double the company’s $5 billion valuation from its last round, which was announced just three months ago. The fundraising comes on the back... AI startup Baseten has recently been in talks with investors to raise $1 billion at an $11...