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

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica E. 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

Mark Zuckerberg and Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty

Microsoft and Meta Have a Bonanza June Quarter

By Martin Peers · Jul 30, 2025 5:00pm PDT

For big tech, business is booming. That’s good, because their costs are also skyrocketing. Microsoft and Meta Platforms both reported better than projected June-quarter earnings on Wednesday, sending stocks of the two leaping 9% and 11.7%, respectively, in after-hours trading. But there may well be a reckoning, as both companies projected... For big tech, business is booming. That’s good, because their costs are also skyrocketing....

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Meta Says AI Is Boosting Social Engagement

By Kalley Huang and Kaya Yurieff · Jul 30, 2025 4:37pm PDT

Artificial intelligence was the star of Meta Platforms’ second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Meta’s long-term path to making money from AI is fuzzy. But right now, some of the most material benefits from Meta’s investments in AI are improvements to “ranking,” or how the company shows users relevant content on its social media apps.... Artificial intelligence was the star of Meta Platforms’ second-quarter earnings call on...

Art by Clark Miller

Special Report Series

AI Threats Raise Demand for Cybersecurity Products That Don’t Exist (Yet)

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 30, 2025 10:00am PDT · 3 comments

Artificial intelligence that handles complex tasks with minimal human oversight, also known as an agent, is creating a bevy of security holes that require plugging.The problem: Tools to protect companies against the risks posed by the newfangled AI don’t exist yet, according to cybersecurity sellers, investors and IT executives. Artificial intelligence that handles complex tasks with minimal human oversight, also known as an...

Art via Mike Sullivan

AI Agenda: The Startups Hoping to Unseat Scale AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Sri Muppidi · Jul 30, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art via Mike Sullivan

AI Agenda: The Startups Hoping to Unseat Scale AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Sri Muppidi · Jul 30, 2025 7:00am PDT

Before we get to today's column, my colleague Valida and I reported Tuesday that Canadian AI model maker Cohere is in talks to raise up to $500 million in a new funding round at a $6.3 billion valuation. Existing investors Inovia Capital and Radical Ventures are in talks to invest in the round. This company recently generated revenue at an... Before we get to today's column, my colleague Valida and I reported Tuesday that Canadian AI...

Photo via Getty.

Amazon Locks Down Against Google’s AI Shopping Agents

By Ann Gehan · Jul 30, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Amazon is taking steps to keep other companies’ artificial intelligence shopping tools from swarming its e-commerce site. In recent weeks, Amazon updated the code underpinning its website to add language warding off new AI agents from Google. These changes follow restrictions Amazon added earlier this year calling out bots from Perplexity,... Amazon is taking steps to keep other companies’ artificial intelligence shopping tools from...

Lee Brown (left) and Daniel Ek (right). Photos via Getty

Spotify Throws Former Ad Chief Under Bus

By Martin Peers · Jul 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Talk about hanging someone out to dry! A day after DoorDash confirmed it had hired Lee Brown, Spotify’s longtime ad chief, as chief revenue officer, Spotify executives went out of their way to complain about the company’s ad performance—and by implication, the job Brown had done. When asked on the company’s second-quarter earnings call about... Talk about hanging someone out to dry! A day after DoorDash confirmed it had hired Lee Brown,...

Aidan Gomez, founder and CEO of Cohere. Photo by Getty

AI Startup Cohere Projects $200 Million Revenue Pace as New Funding Nears

By Sri Muppidi and Valida Pau · Jul 29, 2025 4:49pm PDT

Cohere, a Canadian artificial intelligence developer that competes with Anthropic and OpenAI, has sustained one of the richest valuations in the industry as a multiple of the relatively modest revenue it generates. Now it’s told investors that sales are picking up—enough to entice existing shareholders to sink more money into the... Cohere, a Canadian artificial intelligence developer that competes with Anthropic and OpenAI, has...

Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi. Photo via Getty

Kraken’s $15 Billion Price Tag; Dylan Field’s Unusual Power

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 29, 2025 3:01pm PDT

Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi. Photo via Getty

Kraken’s $15 Billion Price Tag; Dylan Field’s Unusual Power

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 29, 2025 3:01pm PDT

The tech investment climate feels more like New York City (97 degrees) today than San Francisco (67 degrees). That is to say, it’s scorching hot and starting to get uncomfortable. The latest major startup deal I’m hearing about is crypto exchange Kraken seeking about $500 million, at a $15 billion valuation, according to people familiar... The tech investment climate feels more like New York City (97 degrees) today than San Francisco...

Still from our interview with LTK co-founder Amber Venz Box on the July 24 episode of TITV.

Creator Economy

The Creator Startup Banning AI Bots

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 29, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Nearly everywhere I look, I’m seeing signs of how artificial intelligence is shaking up the way we engage online, from shopping to social media. OpenAI is reportedly working on a new checkout feature, betting that more consumers will turn to chatbots like its ChatGPT to find and purchase products. At the same time, I’m seeing an influx of... Nearly everywhere I look, I’m seeing signs of how artificial intelligence is shaking up the way...

Andrew Feldman, co-founder of Cerebras. Photo by Getty.

Cerebras Seeks Up to $1 Billion in Private Funding, Delaying Possible IPO

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Jul 29, 2025 12:58pm PDT

Cerebras Systems, a startup that is developing artificial intelligence chips to challenge Nvidia’s, is planning to raise money privately, potentially delaying a plan to go public this year, the company has told investors. The company is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in fresh funding, according to a person familiar with the discussion.... Cerebras Systems, a startup that is developing artificial intelligence chips to challenge Nvidia’...

Arsalan Tavakoli, a Databricks co-founder.

Databricks Makes It Easier to Get Out of Oracle

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 29, 2025 11:23am PDT

Artificial intelligence that rewrites code and can reprogram old apps into newer formats is lowering the cost of switching enterprise software providers and is poised to help companies tackle previously nearly impossible tasks, as Aaron reported Monday. One such task we’re hearing more about involves companies getting their data out of... Artificial intelligence that rewrites code and can reprogram old apps into newer formats is ...

Groq CEO Jonathan Ross. Photo via Getty.

AI Chipmaker Groq Slashes Projections Soon After Sharing With Investors

By Miles Kruppa, Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Jul 29, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Groq CEO Jonathan Ross. Photo via Getty.

AI Chipmaker Groq Slashes Projections Soon After Sharing With Investors

By Miles Kruppa, Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Jul 29, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Groq, a richly funded chip startup trying to take on Nvidia, told investors early this year it was on track to have more than $2 billion in revenue for 2025. Within the past month, the number it gave to investors has fallen to more than $500 million, according to documents viewed by The Information. Groq’s $2 billion projection came around the... Groq, a richly funded chip startup trying to take on Nvidia, told investors early this year it...

Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela at The Information’s Private Capital Conference. Photo by Nicole Pereira.

Runway, Luma Target Sales to Robotics Companies

By Rocket Drew · Jul 29, 2025 7:00am PDT

Imax on Monday announced that it would screen the winning films from Runway’s AI-generated film festival at some of its theaters. Netflix recently said it had used AI to generate a scene in one of its shows for the first time: a building collapsing in The Eternaut, an Argentine sci-fi show. Both announcements show that video-generating AI... Imax on Monday announced that it would screen the winning films from Runway’s AI-generated film...

Art via Mike Sullivan

How Cursor’s Global Success Is Lifted by China

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Jul 29, 2025 6:00am PDT

When a powerful typhoon battered Guangzhou earlier this month, hundreds of programmers in the southern Chinese city braved torrential rain and gusting wind to show up to an event they’d been waiting for: Cursor’s first meetup in the city. More than 300 people turned out to watch a pre-recorded video of Eric Zakariasson, a San... When a powerful typhoon battered Guangzhou earlier this month, hundreds of programmers in the...

Figma CEO Dylan Field. Photo via Flickr/TechCrunch

Figma’s IPO Looks to Be Set for Charmed Debut

By Martin Peers · Jul 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Sometimes good things happen to nice guys. I’m talking about Dylan Field, one of the more grounded founder-CEOs you’re likely to meet in tech. His design software firm, Figma, looks to be sailing toward a very strong public debut in the next week. Figma on Monday raised the preliminary pricing range for its IPO to between $30 and $32 a share—... Sometimes good things happen to nice guys. I’m talking about Dylan Field, one of the more...

Fireworks AI CEO and co-founder, Lin Qiao. Photo via Getty

AI Cloud Startup Fireworks Discusses $4 Billion Valuation Deal With Lightspeed, Index

By Sri Muppidi · Jul 28, 2025 4:41pm PDT · 1 comment

Fireworks AI CEO and co-founder, Lin Qiao. Photo via Getty

AI Cloud Startup Fireworks Discusses $4 Billion Valuation Deal With Lightspeed, Index

By Sri Muppidi · Jul 28, 2025 4:41pm PDT · 1 comment

Fireworks AI, part of a new class of cloud providers that rents out Nvidia chip servers to developers that use artificial intelligence models, is in talks to raise capital at a $4 billion valuation including the investment, more than seven times its valuation from a year ago, according to two people familiar with the fundraise. New investors... Fireworks AI, part of a new class of cloud providers that rents out Nvidia chip servers to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Microsoft’s Rivals Lean on AI to Pry Away Longtime Customers

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 28, 2025 10:00am PDT

Artificial intelligence has suddenly made it cheaper and easier for companies to switch to new software providers, IT executives say. Now large AI providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce and Palantir are scrambling to win over each other’s customers, who might previously have felt they were locked into using old apps because of the... Artificial intelligence has suddenly made it cheaper and easier for companies to switch to new...

Tesla Bot Optimus hands a child a tub of popcorn last week in LA. Photo via Getty

Why Hands Are a Handful for Tesla's Humanoid Robots

By Rocket Drew · Jul 28, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

On Friday, we reported on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, which may fall well short of Elon Musk’s ambitious goal to pump out 5,000 robots by the end of the year. It turns out the robots’ hands are among the big factors holding up production. In fact, some Optimus robots that are mostly complete have been sitting unused at a Tesla... On Friday, we reported on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, which may fall well short of ...

Figma IPO Set to Be a Windfall for Silicon Valley’s Biggest Names

By Cory Weinberg and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 28, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Silicon Valley royalty are set to be the big winners from Figma’s initial public offering this week. Former Meta and Google executive Sheryl Sandberg, former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and venture capital firms Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins are all turning modest investments into windfalls ranging from tens of millions to more than $1... Silicon Valley royalty are set to be the big winners from Figma’s initial public offering this...

Amprius CEO Kang Sun. Photo: Courtesy Amprius

The Electric: A Battery CEO on Robots—'They Need a Lot of Power'

By Steve LeVine · Jul 28, 2025 4:30am PDT

Amprius CEO Kang Sun. Photo: Courtesy Amprius

The Electric: A Battery CEO on Robots—'They Need a Lot of Power'

By Steve LeVine · Jul 28, 2025 4:30am PDT

Kang Sun is out to bust up a battery industry consensus. For years, battery startups have assumed that to succeed they needed to penetrate at least one of three big industries: electric vehicles, stationary storage or portable electronics.But Sun, CEO of silicon anode developer Amprius Technologies, notes that the pursuit of those industries... Kang Sun is out to bust up a battery industry consensus. For years, battery startups have assumed...