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

Linda Yaccarino. Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Linda Yaccarino’s Legacy Turning X Into a Creator Destination

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 9, 2025 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Everyone is buzzing about Linda Yaccarino stepping down as the CEO of Elon Musk’s X after two years at the helm. During her tenure, she often referenced creators in public remarks and in posts on X. But the company has had a mixed track record when it comes to creator tools and making it a more popular destination for influencers. Everyone is buzzing about Linda Yaccarino stepping down as the CEO of Elon Musk’s X after two...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Meta AI Researcher Warns of ‘Metastatic Cancer’ Afflicting Company Culture

By Kalley Huang · Jul 9, 2025 12:47pm PDT · 7 comments

Over the past month, Meta Platforms has overhauled its stumbling efforts in artificial intelligence by making a head-spinning series of hires of leaders and researchers from outside the company. But a key question has lingered: Why has Meta struggled so badly in AI that it’s injecting so much fresh blood into the company to lead a turnaround? ... Over the past month, Meta Platforms has overhauled its stumbling efforts in artificial...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Why Cloudflare Can’t Block Google From Scraping Websites For Its AI Products

By Erin Woo · Jul 9, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Cloudflare, which powers many of the world’s most prominent websites, made waves last week by introducing a default setting for new customers that would block bots that artificial intelligence firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic use to scrape sites to train artificial intelligence. What Cloudflare didn’t highlight was that Google’s AI... Cloudflare, which powers many of the world’s most prominent websites, made waves last week by...

Art via Mike Sullivan

After Layoffs, Microsoft Tells Staff to ‘Invest in Your Own AI Skilling’

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 9, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Art via Mike Sullivan

After Layoffs, Microsoft Tells Staff to ‘Invest in Your Own AI Skilling’

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 9, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

After Microsoft announced last week it would cut 9,000 workers, its second major layoffs this year, it told its remaining salespeople to lean on artificial intelligence to be more productive. “We all need to use AI tools,” said Travis Walter, an executive overseeing Microsoft’s sales to small and medium enterprises in the Americas, during a... After Microsoft announced last week it would cut 9,000 workers, its second major layoffs this...

Apple's Jeff Williams. Photo via Getty

Apple’s COO Retirement Offers Clues About Cook Succession

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Exciting news on the home front: Today, we launched a powerful new AI chatbot, The Information Deep Research, trained on over a decade of our exclusive reporting on the most important tech companies and people, including our stories, org charts and proprietary data. You can use it to generate reports on the top talent at Nvidia and Meta... Exciting news on the home front: Today, we launched a powerful new AI chatbot, The Information...

Photo via Getty

AI Investors’ Dilution Dilemma; Dueling Open Letters for Maguire

By Sri Muppidi and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 8, 2025 4:32pm PDT

On Monday, I reported how much OpenAI was spending on stock-based compensation. It’s a lot: $4.4 billion last year, or more than five times its stock-based compensation the prior year, amounting to a whopping 119% of revenue. Stock-based compensation expenses typically don’t cut into cash flow until a company goes public, so startup... On Monday, I reported how much OpenAI was spending on stock-based compensation. It’s a lot: $4.4...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

What We Know—And Don’t Know—About the New TikTok App

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 8, 2025 2:00pm PDT

On Sunday, our team scooped that TikTok is planning a new version of its app for users in the U.S. ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors. The news is generating a lot of buzz—and a lot of questions—among creators, everyday users of the app and TikTok employees and business partners who weren’t aware of the plans and are... On Sunday, our team scooped that TikTok is planning a new version of its app for users in the...

An Nvidia Blackwell chip. Photo via Getty

Chip-Backed Borrowing Boom Propels AI Computing Startups

By Miles Kruppa · Jul 8, 2025 11:41am PDT · 1 comment

An Nvidia Blackwell chip. Photo via Getty

Chip-Backed Borrowing Boom Propels AI Computing Startups

By Miles Kruppa · Jul 8, 2025 11:41am PDT · 1 comment

Several startups offering computing power for artificial intelligence are embracing the “borrow big to grow fast” strategy pioneered by CoreWeave, loading up on debt backed by their stocks of high-powered chips. For instance, London-based cloud startup Fluidstack has gotten approval from Macquarie and other lenders to borrow more than $10... Several startups offering computing power for artificial intelligence are embracing the “borrow...

Figma CEO Dylan Field

Figma Enters Corporate Data Wars; Cursor’s Apology

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 8, 2025 11:20am PDT

The data-access battle between software incumbents and younger AI startups that could pose a threat to them continues to expand.In the latest front, Figma, which makes tools for software designers and developers, recently began limiting outside firms’ access to Figma customer projects, according to the CEO of an enterprise search startup that... The data-access battle between software incumbents and younger AI startups that could pose a...

Yichao "Peak" Ji, co-founder and Chief Scientist at Manus AI. Screenshot via YouTube

OpenAI, Investors Eye Agent Startups Led by Chinese Founders

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Jul 8, 2025 7:00am PDT

Chinese tech founders with strong pedigrees are starting to attract attention in Silicon Valley, including from OpenAI, for launching artificial intelligence agents targeting the U.S. market. They’re following in the footsteps of Manus, a browser-using agent developed by Chinese founders that briefly went viral earlier this year and got... Chinese tech founders with strong pedigrees are starting to attract attention in Silicon Valley,...

Photo via Getty.

For Startups Safeguarding AI Models, Revenue Remains Modest

By Valida Pau and Sri Muppidi · Jul 8, 2025 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Cybersecurity startups are busy touting their next big opportunity: safeguarding companies from the threats generated by artificial intelligence. That’s led to surging revenue for some of them. But previously unreported financial details for others—particularly young startups focused on safeguarding AI models—show corporate IT buyers... Cybersecurity startups are busy touting their next big opportunity: safeguarding companies from...

Photo via Getty

Questions About CoreWeave’s Shopping Spree

By Ken Brown · Jul 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Questions About CoreWeave’s Shopping Spree

By Ken Brown · Jul 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT

In just three months, CoreWeave has gone from an iffy IPO candidate to a financial monster gobbling up rivals. That’s what a 300% stock rally can do.CoreWeave’s $9 billion bid, announced Monday, for its rival in the artificial data center business, Core Scientific, has far more significance than just a flashy deal. It also shows the dominance of... In just three months, CoreWeave has gone from an iffy IPO candidate to a financial monster...

Art via Clark Miller

The Seven Kinds of AI Agents

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 7, 2025 10:00am PDT · 4 comments

The term “agent” or “agentic” has become so ubiquitous in the business world that it can now seem to mean everything or nothing at all. In its simplest form, an agent is artificial intelligence that handles multistep tasks without requiring a human to steer it the whole time. In other words, an agent goes beyond what the basic version of ChatGPT... The term “agent” or “agentic” has become so ubiquitous in the business world that it can now seem...

An underground robot fight in San Francisco. Photo by Sam D'Amico

Two State AI Laws to Watch

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

Artificial intelligence firms’ failure last week to convince U.S. lawmakers to ban state-based laws targeting AI means all eyes are now on state legislatures that aim to pass them.One law that’s close to the finish line is New York’s Responsible AI Safety and Education Act. The state legislature passed the bill in June, and eventually it will... Artificial intelligence firms’ failure last week to convince U.S. lawmakers to ban state-based...

Art by Clark Miller; Altman image via Getty.

OpenAI’s Stock Compensation Reflect Steep Costs of Talent Wars

By Sri Muppidi · Jul 7, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

OpenAI has signaled it will hike pay for some employees in the wake of a raid by Meta Platforms on its artificial intelligence researchers. That could mean a significant increase in the billions of dollars in stock awards it already accounts for, threatening to further dilute investors after a planned corporate restructuring. The San... OpenAI has signaled it will hike pay for some employees in the wake of a raid by Meta Platforms...

Tesla shows off its humanoid Optimus at an exhibition in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty

The Electric: How Trump Will Continue to Fund a Billion-Dollar Battery Buildout

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2025 4:30am PDT

Tesla shows off its humanoid Optimus at an exhibition in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty

The Electric: How Trump Will Continue to Fund a Billion-Dollar Battery Buildout

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2025 4:30am PDT

President Donald Trump doesn’t like electric vehicles, which he deems unworthy of U.S. strategic support. But he wants the government to spend on drones, humanoid robots, AI data centers and electric aircraft. The problem is, it is hard to have one without the other. President Donald Trump doesn’t like electric vehicles, which he deems unworthy of U.S. strategic...

TikTok U.S. offices in Culver City, Calif.

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected U.S. Sale

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Juro Osawa · Jul 6, 2025 9:18am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the U.S. ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors. The company has developed a plan to launch the new TikTok app, known internally as “M2,” to U.S. app stores on September 5, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. (The existing TikTok app is known... TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the U.S. ahead of a planned sale of the...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI and Meta Should Call a Cease-Fire

By Abram Brown · Jul 5, 2025 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• Lists: 25 great books for summer 2025 • The Arena: A counter-terrorism startup is a surprise WNBA partner• Artificial Intelligence: Why Meta and Google learned to love art• Plus, our Recommendations: a pop-critic laureate; Alexander Hamilton’s dual roles; and a nightly island getawayThe holiday... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• Lists: 25 great books for summer 2025 • The Arena:...

Art by Clark Miller

25 Great Books for Summer 2025

By Abram Brown · Jul 5, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Dead billionaires have piled up in modern pop culture to an almost absurd amount. Surely some Pacific Heights morgue is overflowing by this point. Well, “Dead Money” adds one more to the examiner’s table: Trevor Canon, the uber-wealthy founder of Journy, an Uber-like startup worth mega billions. His death throws his company’s future into doubt... Dead billionaires have piled up in modern pop culture to an almost absurd amount. Surely some...

Art by Clark Miller

AI’s Unexpected Consequence: Meta, Google and Big Tech Learn to Appreciate Art

By Josh Duboff · Jul 5, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

Artificial Intelligence

AI’s Unexpected Consequence: Meta, Google and Big Tech Learn to Appreciate Art

By Josh Duboff · Jul 5, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

On an unseasonably warm May afternoon in Manhattan’s bustling Rockefeller Center, the designers Wade Jeffree and Leta Sobierajski stood a few yards in front of a large, colorful sculpture—a “vibrant mirrored maze,” as a nearby placard puts it—that they’d spent the past year building. Billed as a Google Labs Collaboration, the... On an unseasonably warm May afternoon in Manhattan’s bustling Rockefeller Center, the designers...