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

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Will the Meme Stock Rally Save Tesla?

By Theo Wayt · Jul 22, 2025 5:03pm PDT · 1 comment

If you’re a renter who’s worried you’ll never be able to afford to buy a home, consider looking for ways to get rich quick in the stock market! For instance, investing in an unprofitable, shrinking home-flipping company can be a surprising moneymaker. I’m talking specifically about Opendoor, whose shares are up more than 400% this month. ... If you’re a renter who’s worried you’ll never be able to afford to buy a home, consider looking...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information's Future of Influence event in June. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy

What to Expect from Meta, Snap, YouTube Earnings

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 22, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Earlier this year, uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs seemed poised to hurt advertising demand. But those worries seem to have faded during the second quarter as President Trump postponed tariff deadlines. In fact, ad spending growth accelerated for Meta Platforms, YouTube, Google’s paid search advertising and... Earlier this year, uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs seemed poised to...

Armis co-founders Yevgeny Dibrov and Nadir Izrael. Photo via Armis

This Cybersecurity Startup Is the Latest to Try Recurring Tenders

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 22, 2025 1:37pm PDT

We’ve written a lot lately about the hefty stock packages companies like Meta Platforms, OpenAI and others are dishing out to recruit artificial intelligence researchers. Outside AI, many private company CEOs are also recalibrating how they use shares to keep and reward people. Take, for instance, Armis. The nine-year-old cybersecurity... We’ve written a lot lately about the hefty stock packages companies like Meta Platforms, OpenAI...

Photos via Getty

Meta Hires Three Google AI Researchers Who Worked on Gold Medal-Winning Model

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Jul 22, 2025 1:07pm PDT

Photos via Getty

Meta Hires Three Google AI Researchers Who Worked on Gold Medal-Winning Model

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Jul 22, 2025 1:07pm PDT

Meta Platforms has hired three more artificial intelligence researchers from Google DeepMind as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues his aggressive efforts to recover from stumbles earlier this year with an unprecedented AI recruiting push. The latest hires—Tianhe Yu, Cosmo Du and Weiyue Wang—worked on a version of Google’s Gemini... Meta Platforms has hired three more artificial intelligence researchers from Google DeepMind as...

Box CEO Says AI Will Entrench Old-Guard Enterprise Apps, Not Hurt Them

Box CEO Says AI Will Entrench Old-Guard Enterprise Apps, Not Hurt Them

By Kevin McLaughlin and Aaron Holmes · Jul 22, 2025 10:49am PDT

Salesforce, Figma and other enterprise app firms have responded to a potential threat from artificial intelligence startups by limiting the startups’ access to customer data or files, even if the customers themselves give permission. But Aaron Levie, CEO of file storage firm Box, which turns 20 this year, says his company has no intention... Salesforce, Figma and other enterprise app firms have responded to a potential threat from...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Where Reinforcement Learning is Going

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 22, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Ever since researchers began noticing a slowdown in improvements to large language models using traditional training methods, they’ve shifted to reinforcement learning, a technique that rewards a model for accomplishing certain goals and penalizes it for other behaviors, as we covered last week.That typically means human experts giving feedback... Ever since researchers began noticing a slowdown in improvements to large language models using...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Why Apple Is Losing Ground in the AI Talent War (It’s Not Just Money)

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · Jul 22, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Earlier this year, the Apple team working on the company’s artificial intelligence models wanted to release several of them as open-source software. Doing so would have shown Apple’s technical progress in AI while also harnessing the help of outside researchers to improve the models. Still, it also would have revealed to the public how... Earlier this year, the Apple team working on the company’s artificial intelligence models wanted...

Photo via Getty

Microsoft’s Persistent Cybersecurity Sore

By Martin Peers · Jul 21, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Microsoft’s Persistent Cybersecurity Sore

By Martin Peers · Jul 21, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Will Microsoft dock Satya Nadella’s pay again this year? The software giant faced the latest in a seemingly endless string of security breaches over the weekend, when it told customers that hackers were exploiting a flaw in its SharePoint file-sharing software. According to a statement by cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, the fact that... Will Microsoft dock Satya Nadella’s pay again this year? The software giant faced the latest in a...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Where LLMs Are Falling Short

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 21, 2025 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

I’m back from the International Conference on Machine Learning in Vancouver, one of the biggest annual meetups for artificial intelligence researchers. And this year, the conference underscored all the ways in which large language models are still falling short of everyone’s expectations, despite the immense progress that got us to this point.... I’m back from the International Conference on Machine Learning in Vancouver, one of the biggest...

Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo via Getty

Figma’s IPO May Be Hot, but Its Outlook Is Murky

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jul 21, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

After two blockbuster tech initial public offerings, investors are positively drooling over Figma’s upcoming listing. The design software company is expected to launch into a surprisingly hot market for tech offerings led by CoreWeave and Circle, which are up more than 200% and 600%, respectively, since they started trading. Figma boasts... After two blockbuster tech initial public offerings, investors are positively drooling over Figma...

Joby's air taxi, near its manufacturing facility in Marina, Calif. Photo; Courtesy Joby

The Electric: Toyota Took a Pass on EVs. But it Has Bet $1 Billion on this Flying Car Company

By Steve LeVine · Jul 21, 2025 4:30am PDT

Toyota Motors is one of the world’s most buttoned-up companies. But in 2017, an executive from the carmaker’s venture arm drove into the remote Santa Cruz, Calif., mountains to see a group of engineers living together in a 1960s-style commune. As he watched, they demonstrated a remote-controlled electric helicopter they predicted would usher in... Toyota Motors is one of the world’s most buttoned-up companies. But in 2017, an executive from...

Art: Clark Miller

Weekend: Can Meta Fix This Common AI Flaw?

By Abram Brown · Jul 19, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art: Clark Miller

Weekend: Can Meta Fix This Common AI Flaw?

By Abram Brown · Jul 19, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Flying taxis near reality thanks to an unexpected boost from Toyota• The Top 5: A tech mogul’s guide to summer fashion, Sun Valley style • Plus, our Recommendations: “Flesh and Code,” “The CIA Book Club” and “Su Majestad.”Silicon Valley has many flaws. A prominent one: an... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Flying taxis near reality thanks to an...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo via Getty

Nvidia’s China Restart Faces Production Obstacles

By Qianer Liu · Jul 19, 2025 6:08am PDT

President Donald Trump’s recent decision allowing Nvidia to resume sales of the H20 artificial intelligence chips to China sent its Chinese customers—mostly big tech firms like ByteDance and Alibaba—into a frenzy to snap up chips before the U.S. administration changes its mind again. Nvidia’s message: not so fast. The AI chip giant... President Donald Trump’s recent decision allowing Nvidia to resume sales of the H20 artificial...

From left, Sundar Pichai, Michael Bloomberg, Sam Altman, Ingrid von Ahn, Jason Ballard, Daniel Ek; Images via Getty.

Altman’s Sunglasses, Bezos’ Power Polo: A Tech Mogul’s Guide to Summer Fashion

By Freya Drohan · Jul 19, 2025 6:00am PDT

What do you get when you mix plenty of the world’s most powerful capitalists with a sleepaway camp setup in Idaho? Well, for years, the Sun Valley Conference, hosted by Allen & Co., the ultrasecretive investment bank, was a place to hobnob and perhaps strike a deal. It’s something else now: an honest-to-goodness fashion event, with more and... What do you get when you mix plenty of the world’s most powerful capitalists with a sleepaway...

Photo via Getty

What’s Missing From Netflix’s Results

By Martin Peers · Jul 18, 2025 3:00pm PDT

Imagine buying a house from someone who refused to show you the interior. The roof might be leaking, but the sellers don’t want you to know. That’s what it’s like buying shares in many of the biggest tech companies, which refuse to disclose key details about their business. More strikingly, many of these companies—such as Netflix and Apple—... Imagine buying a house from someone who refused to show you the interior. The roof might be...

Art by Clark Miller; image courtesy Joby Aviation.

A Flying Taxi Finally Nears Takeoff With an Unlikely Boost From Toyota

By Steve LeVine · Jul 18, 2025 9:15am PDT · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller; image courtesy Joby Aviation.

A Flying Taxi Finally Nears Takeoff With an Unlikely Boost From Toyota

By Steve LeVine · Jul 18, 2025 9:15am PDT · 3 comments

We all grew up with wide-eyed ideas of flying cars—you know, one day zipping around town like the Jetsons. Their failure to materialize so disappointed investor Peter Thiel that he quipped: “We wanted flying cars; instead we got 140 characters.” You’re free not to believe him, but JoeBen Bevirt is here to tell you we are now... We all grew up with wide-eyed ideas of flying cars—you know, one day zipping around town...

Photo via Getty

The Education of Roku’s Anthony Wood

By Catherine Perloff · Jul 18, 2025 6:00am PDT

For years, Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood ran the streaming device maker with some strict rules. He wouldn’t allow advertisements on the Roku home screen—the first thing its viewers see when they switch on their TV—for anything besides other entertainment companies. He also wouldn’t allow the home screen to promote individual... For years, Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood ran the streaming device maker with some strict...

Photo via Getty

As Crypto Bill Passes, Bank Bosses Feel Heat

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 17, 2025 5:00pm PDT

The crypto industry today scored its biggest win in Congress with the passage in the House of Representatives of the Genius Act. The bill, which the Senate cleared last month, legitimizes and regulates stablecoins, crypto tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar. President Donald Trump is expected to sign it quickly. It’s a moment of rejoicing for... The crypto industry today scored its biggest win in Congress with the passage in the House of...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Netflix’s Podcasting Challenge

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 17, 2025 3:46pm PDT

Earlier this year, Netflix made headlines and stirred excitement among talent agents when co-CEO Ted Sarandos said video podcasts would likely start showing up on the streaming giant. Sarandos had framed the development as inevitable for Netflix, given the growing popularity of talk-show-like programming and the blurring lines between talk... Earlier this year, Netflix made headlines and stirred excitement among talent agents when co-CEO...

Martin Casado. Screenshot via YouTube/TechCrunch.

Andreessen Horowitz’s Casado Plays Talent Broker for Cursor

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 17, 2025 3:21pm PDT

Martin Casado. Screenshot via YouTube/TechCrunch.

Andreessen Horowitz’s Casado Plays Talent Broker for Cursor

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 17, 2025 3:21pm PDT