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

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

Software Startups Under Threat; Experian Finally Takes the Chatbot Plunge

By Rocket Drew, Jon Victor and Catherine Perloff · Feb 27, 2025 10:00am PST

Enterprise software companies that raised money at lofty valuations during the pandemic startup boom are facing many obstacles as they look to jump-start growth. One is the threat from generative artificial intelligence.In our Enterprise Software Startup Takeover List, we’ve identified 92 promising candidates for acquisitions in the coming year.... Enterprise software companies that raised money at lofty valuations during the pandemic startup...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

CFOs Are Crashing the AI Buying Party; Six Takeaways From Nvidia Report

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 27, 2025 7:00am PST

Happy AI Agenda Live day! I’m so excited to see many of you at our event later today, where we’ll hear from executives at top AI firms like Anthropic and Google as well as venture capitalists and founders on what research breakthroughs are coming and where to invest.One topic we’ll be sure to broach is the growing pressure chief financial... Happy AI Agenda Live day! I’m so excited to see many of you at our event later today, where we’ll...

The Bitter Fintech Feud That Stretches From Silicon Valley to Moscow

By Michael Roddan and Cory Weinberg · Feb 27, 2025 6:00am PST

The seemingly mundane world of human resources management startups is not the place you’d expect to see cutthroat corporate blood sport, battles linked to global geopolitics, and questions about whether companies took on the wrong customers to boost growth. But Deel and Rippling are hardly ordinary startups. Their feud spilled into open view... The seemingly mundane world of human resources management startups is not the place you’d expect...

Peter Rawlinson, who resigned Tuesday as CEO of Lucid Motors. Photo: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: After Peter Rawlinson's Sudden Exit, Investors Doubt Lucid's Plans

By Steve LeVine · Feb 27, 2025 4:30am PST

Peter Rawlinson, who resigned Tuesday as CEO of Lucid Motors. Photo: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: After Peter Rawlinson's Sudden Exit, Investors Doubt Lucid's Plans

By Steve LeVine · Feb 27, 2025 4:30am PST

Provide your staff with insights on emerging trends in EV and AV, along with the context around new legislation and supply chains. Click here to learn more about The Information’s corporate access.Lucid Motors sold just over 10,000 electric vehicles last year, but on Feb. 5, CEO Peter Rawlinson boasted that that was only the beginning: Lucid, he... Provide your staff with insights on emerging trends in EV and AV, along with the context around...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks at today's Alexa+ event. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Revamps Alexa—but Not Her Business Model

By Theo Wayt · Feb 26, 2025 5:00pm PST

At a splashy media event in Manhattan today, I watched Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other executives of the company unveil a long-awaited revamp of Alexa, meant to be a chattier, more helpful and more personalized version of the voice assistant. They demonstrated how to use Alexa+, as the updated version is dubbed, to order groceries from Amazon... At a splashy media event in Manhattan today, I watched Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other executives...

Art by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

U.K. Creators’ TikTok Problem

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 26, 2025 2:56pm PST

There’s been a lot written about how U.S. creators will handle a potential TikTok shutdown in the U.S. But TikTokers in other countries such as the United Kingdom also stand to lose—and some are already finding it’s harder to close advertising deals. U.K. creators have sizable portions of their TikTok audiences in the U.S., with estimates... There’s been a lot written about how U.S. creators will handle a potential TikTok shutdown in the...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri

Instagram May Launch Reels as Separate App, Increasing Pressure on TikTok

By Kalley Huang and Kaya Yurieff · Feb 26, 2025 2:07pm PST

Instagram is considering launching a stand-alone app for its short-form–video feature, Reels, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told staff this week, according to a person who heard the remarks. Such an app would be similar to the TikTok experience of scrolling through videos, and would be Instagram’s most aggressive move so far to take... Instagram is considering launching a stand-alone app for its short-form–video feature,...

92 Software Startups That Could Be for Sale This Year

By Rocket Drew, Jon Victor and Akash Pasricha · Feb 26, 2025 10:38am PST · 6 comments

92 Software Startups That Could Be for Sale This Year

By Rocket Drew, Jon Victor and Akash Pasricha · Feb 26, 2025 10:38am PST · 6 comments

Many startups that sell cloud-based software to companies are struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic’s low-interest-rate period, which encouraged businesses to spend more on tools to help employees work remotely and investors to pour tens of billions of dollars into these startups. Now dozens of them face dwindling choices. They are... Many startups that sell cloud-based software to companies are struggling with the aftermath of...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Getty

Is Perplexity Worth $15 Billion?

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 26, 2025 7:14am PST

Before we get into today’s column, leaders at OpenAI have told some employees that GPT-4.5—the model known internally as Orion—will be released this week, according to a person with knowledge of the conversations.Don’t get too excited though. A person who’s tested the model told us that its performance on certain tasks have been mixed; for... Before we get into today’s column, leaders at OpenAI have told some employees that GPT-4.5—the...

Arm CEO Rene Haas via Getty

Q&A

Why Arm’s CEO Sees Room for Nvidia Competitors

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 26, 2025 6:00am PST

Cloud and chip executives have predicted for two years that Nvidia’s dominance in artificial intelligence server chips would crater, but that hasn’t come to pass. Yet Rene Haas, CEO of Arm Holdings, whose chip designs power part of Nvidia’s systems as well as those of major competitors, feels comfortable saying it’s only a matter of time before... Cloud and chip executives have predicted for two years that Nvidia’s dominance in artificial...

A Tesla dealership in Hanover, Germany. Photo via Getty.

Europeans Spurn Tesla As Musk's Political Profile Rises

By Martin Peers · Feb 25, 2025 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

Is Tesla the next Twitter? You might think so, given data from Europe’s car manufacturers group today showing that new car registrations of Teslas fell a whopping 50% in Europe last month (including the U.K., the decline was 45%). Buyers deserted Tesla as Europe’s electric vehicle market overall rose 34% in the same period. Tesla’s sharp market... Is Tesla the next Twitter? You might think so, given data from Europe’s car manufacturers group ...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Getty

Meta Discusses AI Data Center Project That Could Cost $200 Billion

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 25, 2025 4:46pm PST · 4 comments

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Getty

Meta Discusses AI Data Center Project That Could Cost $200 Billion

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 25, 2025 4:46pm PST · 4 comments

Meta Platforms is in talks to build a new data center campus for its artificial intelligence endeavors that would dwarf anything the company has done to date and would be among the biggest of its kind, according to two people who have spoken to Meta executives about it. Based on the number of chips and the amount of power the company is... Meta Platforms is in talks to build a new data center campus for its artificial intelligence...

The New York Stock Exchange floor earlier this year. Photo via Getty.

What’s at Stake for Upcoming ‘Jumbo’ IPOs

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 25, 2025 4:30pm PST

I’m overcaffeinated from a string of meetings in San Francisco this week. I’m asking people how long the venture capital industry can keep pouring money into startups without getting much cash back from initial public offerings or mergers. One manager compared this dynamic to a traffic jam. We’ll soon know whether this backlog will... I’m overcaffeinated from a string of meetings in San Francisco this week. I’m asking people how...

Cohesity CEO Sanjay Poonen. Photo via Getty

Cohesity Plans Employee Share Sale, Deferring IPO

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 25, 2025 3:31pm PST

One of enterprise software’s bitter rivalries—between data security firms Rubrik and Cohesity—came to a head last year when Rubrik went public in an offering with a nearly $7 billion valuation. Now Cohesity, which is still private, is pitching investors on the notion that it’s the better deal. The Santa Clara, Calif.–based... One of enterprise software’s bitter rivalries—between data security firms Rubrik and...

Dorsey founder Meg Strachan. Photos via Dorsey.

Creator Economy

Can Substack Be the New Instagram?

By Ann Gehan · Feb 25, 2025 2:00pm PST

Meg Strachan, founder of lab-grown jewelry line Dorsey, knows firsthand the power of creator marketing. But these days, she’s not as interested in yet another partnership with an Instagram or TikTok creator to promote the brand: Instead, Strachan is branching out by teaming up with creators on newer platforms including Substack. Meg Strachan, founder of lab-grown jewelry line Dorsey, knows firsthand the power of creator...

Photo by Shutterstock

Ozempic Maker Says AI Is Finally Reliable Enough to Produce Sensitive Documents

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Feb 25, 2025 10:00am PST

Photo by Shutterstock

Ozempic Maker Says AI Is Finally Reliable Enough to Produce Sensitive Documents

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Feb 25, 2025 10:00am PST

Multinational companies in regulated industries like pharmaceuticals and insurance have been somewhat reluctant to adopt generative artificial intelligence to handle legally sensitive documents due to the risk of AI-generated mistakes.That seems to be changing. Take Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind Ozempic. The company for years has... Multinational companies in regulated industries like pharmaceuticals and insurance have been...

Photo by Shutterstock

Why xAI and Anthropic’s New Products Matter

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 25, 2025 7:00am PST · 1 comment

If you’ve been on X at all in the last few days, you’ve probably come across posts in which people described jailbreaking xAI’s new Grok 3 model. For instance, one person asked the chatbot how to make chemical weapons, while another revealed instructions xAI gave the model to stop it from saying that Elon Musk is the top spreader of... If you’ve been on X at all in the last few days, you’ve probably come across posts in which...

Lady Gaga at the Launch of Haus Labs by Lady Gaga at Sephora in 2022. Photo by Getty

Investors Sour on Celebrity Brands After Spree of Launches

By Ann Gehan · Feb 25, 2025 6:02am PST

These days, it seems like every celebrity wants to start their own brand. Just look at Robert Downey Jr., who raised venture money last year for a coffee company he co-founded, or the gamers-slash-boxers-slash-influencers launching their own energy drinks, men’s body wash and more. But investors say they’re overwhelmed by pitches for... These days, it seems like every celebrity wants to start their own brand. Just look at Robert...

Photo via Getty

How Apple Turned Regular Business Spending Into a $500 Billion ‘Expansion’

By Martin Peers · Feb 24, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

This is what passes for news nowadays? On Monday, Apple grabbed plenty of headlines with its claim that it will “spend and invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. in the next four years.” That sounds like a big deal—until you read further down in the announcement and realize it’s simply describing the money Apple spends in the normal course of... This is what passes for news nowadays? On Monday, Apple grabbed plenty of headlines with its...

ByBit CEO Ben Zhou. Photo via Getty.

Bybit Takes Loans From Rivals After Record Crypto Hack

By Yueqi Yang · Feb 24, 2025 1:52pm PST

ByBit CEO Ben Zhou. Photo via Getty.

Bybit Takes Loans From Rivals After Record Crypto Hack

By Yueqi Yang · Feb 24, 2025 1:52pm PST

Rival crypto exchanges are stepping in to shore up the finances of the world’s third biggest exchange, Bybit, after hackers stole $1.4 billion from the firm last week. In doing so, the crypto industry is hoping to calm investor worries that the hack could lead to another FTX-like implosion. Several exchanges, including Bitget and MEXC, have made... Rival crypto exchanges are stepping in to shore up the finances of the world’s third biggest...