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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Startups Navigate Walled Off Data

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 3, 2025 4:52pm PDT

Artificial intelligence startups aren’t just chasing capital. They’re seeking deals for customer data.As my colleague Kevin and I reported earlier this week, enterprise software firms such as Salesforce, Notion and Atlassian are limiting other companies’ access to customer data they host. The reason seems to be that AI startups like Glean... Artificial intelligence startups aren’t just chasing capital. They’re seeking deals for customer...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo via Getty

Nvidia Nears $4 Trillion Market Cap

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

If anyone enjoys this holiday, it should be Jensen Huang. Nvidia stock on Thursday closed at $159.34 a share, up 18.6% for the year, giving it a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion. Getting to $4 trillion is within reach. (Remember when passing $1 trillion was a big deal for any company?) Right now, Nvidia is valued only a little below what... If anyone enjoys this holiday, it should be Jensen Huang. Nvidia stock on Thursday closed at...

Misbah Uraizee and Farah Uraizee, co-founders of Nectar Social. Image via Nectar Social.

Creator Economy

A Startup’s AI Bots Scour Web for Social Sentiment

By Alex Perry · Jul 3, 2025 2:35pm PDT · 1 comment

As you might’ve noticed from our latest Creator Economy database update, fundraising by creator startups in the second quarter dropped from the year-ago quarter as well as the first three months of the year. It’s notable though, that investments in startups focused on artificial intelligence and marketing rose over both periods. In fact, funding... As you might’ve noticed from our latest Creator Economy database update, fundraising by creator...

Art by Clark Miller; Cook image via Getty.

Apple Explored Launching a Cloud Service for Developers

By Aaron Tilley · Jul 3, 2025 10:36am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Cook image via Getty.

Apple Explored Launching a Cloud Service for Developers

By Aaron Tilley · Jul 3, 2025 10:36am PDT · 2 comments

Apple over the past few years considered launching a business renting out its servers to the millions of developers that create apps for the iPhone and Mac, in what would be a hugely ambitious move that would pit it against Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The idea discussed was for Apple to rent out servers running on Apple’s own chips, said three... Apple over the past few years considered launching a business renting out its servers to the...

Art by Clark Miller

Companies Spend More On Cursor, Less on Engineers

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 3, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Hi! If you’re finding value in our Applied AI newsletter, I encourage you to consider subscribing to The Information. It contains exclusive reporting on the most important stories in tech, like this story from Wayne on Microsoft's setbacks in developing an AI chip. Save up to $250 on your first year of access.Competition is... Hi! If you’re finding value in our Applied AI newsletter, I encourage you to consider subscribing...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photos via Getty

It’s Time to Take Anthropic and OpenAI’s Wild Revenue Projections Seriously

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jul 3, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Six months ago or so, when OpenAI and Anthropic projected how much revenue they would generate this year, the figures might have sounded crazy. Not anymore! This week, Natasha and I reported that Anthropic has passed $4 billion in annualized revenue, up from a $3 billion rate it was at just a month ago and about $1 billion at the start of... Six months ago or so, when OpenAI and Anthropic projected how much revenue they would generate...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo via Getty

Google Tries to Win Over Publishers Amid AI Search Tensions

By Catherine Perloff · Jul 3, 2025 6:00am PDT

Google’s relations with publishers have suffered lately, as its shift to AI-powered searches has hurt traffic being sent to publishers’ web sites. But Google is now taking steps to curry favor with publishers. In recent weeks, Google staffers on its ad tech unit that helps publishers sell ad space, known as Google Ad Manager, have told... Google’s relations with publishers have suffered lately, as its shift to AI-powered searches has...

House Speaker Mike Johnson in Congress on July 2. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty

The Electric: How Chinese Joint Ventures Backed by Trump Could Help Save U.S. Battery Makers

By Steve LeVine · Jul 3, 2025 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

House Speaker Mike Johnson in Congress on July 2. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty

The Electric: How Chinese Joint Ventures Backed by Trump Could Help Save U.S. Battery Makers

By Steve LeVine · Jul 3, 2025 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

In Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term as president, he repeatedly invited Chinese electric vehicle makers to set up factories in the U.S. as long as they hired American workers. No one knew whether the welcome mat was serious, a sort of political psy-war—or just empty talk.It seems Trump was serious, or at least Senate Republicans think... In Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term as president, he repeatedly invited Chinese electric...

Photo via Getty

What Tesla’s Dismal Second Quarter Signals

By Martin Peers · Jul 2, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

This really isn’t Elon Musk’s week. On Tuesday, President Trump made the (obviously unserious) comment about looking into deporting Musk, who has renewed his criticism of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. On Wednesday, Tesla reported that vehicle deliveries fell 13.5% in the second quarter, a slightly greater decline than it sustained in the first... This really isn’t Elon Musk’s week. On Tuesday, President Trump made the (obviously unserious)...

Chart by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

U.S. Funding for Creator Startups Falls in the Second Quarter

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

The rebound for U.S. creator economy startups has once again faded.Funding for these American companies declined 8% to about $678.9 million during the quarter ending in June compared to the same period a year earlier, according to new data from The Information’s Creator Economy Database. Global funding was also down slightly, decreasing 3% to... The rebound for U.S. creator economy startups has once again faded.Funding for these American...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella holding a Maia 100 chip. Screenshot via YouTube.

Microsoft Scales Back Ambitions for AI Chips to Overcome Delays

By Wayne Ma · Jul 2, 2025 9:25am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft is revising its roadmap for its internally developed artificial intelligence server chips and will focus on releasing less ambitious designs through 2028, hoping to overcome problems that have caused delays in development, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Microsoft hopes that by scaling back some of the... Microsoft is revising its roadmap for its internally developed artificial intelligence server...

Photo via Getty

Why Meta Should Give Up on Superintelligence

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 2, 2025 7:00am PDT · 7 comments

Photo via Getty

Why Meta Should Give Up on Superintelligence

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 2, 2025 7:00am PDT · 7 comments

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on a tear in recruiting for a team focused on “superintelligence,” roughly defined as a more powerful version of artificial general intelligence, AI that can handle most of the economic work people do. Here’s a question, though: Why is Meta going after superintelligence?We can understand why Meta, as a... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on a tear in recruiting for a team focused on “...

Art by Clark Miller.

Hot Supplement Brands Grapple With Amazon Challenges

By Ann Gehan · Jul 2, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

For much of its 15-year history, supplement brand AG1 refused to sell through Amazon, preferring its own site. That changed this April, when AG1 decided to list its popular green powders on the e-commerce giant. Amazon’s massive pool of shoppers offered a big growth opportunity for AG1 as interest in supplements surges across the board. But just... For much of its 15-year history, supplement brand AG1 refused to sell through Amazon, preferring...

Photo via Getty

Warner Bros Discovery’s Bleak Prospects Underlined by Big Investor’s Sale

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2025 5:00pm PDT

And now for something completely different. In a break from artificial intelligence recruiting dramas, we’re looking today at the ancient world of television, through the prism of Warner Bros. Discovery. The Newhouse family, WBD’s second-biggest shareholder, revealed in a securities filing on Tuesday that it had sold half its stake in the... And now for something completely different. In a break from artificial intelligence recruiting...

Photo via Getty

Wall Street Proposes ‘Off Ramp’ for Data Center Investors

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 1, 2025 3:13pm PDT · 1 comment

The investment bankers in the middle of the trillion-dollar data center boom are working on their next play: capital recycling.Private equity firms and real estate funds that invest in new artificial intelligence data centers will eventually need cash returns from their investments. Some of the data center operators they own are getting too big... The investment bankers in the middle of the trillion-dollar data center boom are working on their...

Art by Clark Miller (photo: Getty Images)

Why The WNBA’s Chicago Sky Struck a Deal With a Counter-Terrorism Startup

By Sara Germano · Jul 1, 2025 2:39pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller (photo: Getty Images)

Why The WNBA’s Chicago Sky Struck a Deal With a Counter-Terrorism Startup

By Sara Germano · Jul 1, 2025 2:39pm PDT

During the first game of the WNBA season, Chicago Sky star forward Angel Reese received a hard foul from her archrival, the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark. The tough basketball play sparked a maelstrom of hate speech that snowballed across social media, an episode that highlighted how quickly such abusive discourse travels and how the league... During the first game of the WNBA season, Chicago Sky star forward Angel Reese received a hard...

Photo via Adobe

Creator Economy

TikTok, Instagram May Worsen Streaming Ad Market’s Woes

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

The TV streaming market is getting awfully crowded! Last week, Kalley and I broke the news that Instagram and TikTok are both working on versions of their video apps better suited for TV screens, following YouTube’s success in the living room.It’s easy to understand why these social media companies want to get in the game. Advertisers generally... The TV streaming market is getting awfully crowded! Last week, Kalley and I broke the news that ...

Vice President JD Vance arrives at the U.S. Capitol today. Photo via Getty.

Silicon Valley Searches for Its JD Vance Angle

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 1, 2025 1:42pm PDT · 3 comments

As President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was being debated in the Senate over the past week, cracks were spreading among Republicans over a provision in the bill to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. Companies such as Meta Platforms, Andruil and Andreessen Horowitz pushed for it. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also in... As President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was being debated in the Senate over the past week,...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo via AP

Anthropic Revenue Hits $4 Billion Annual Pace as Competition With Cursor Intensifies

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 1, 2025 11:10am PDT · 1 comment

Anysphere, the maker of Cursor, an artificial intelligence-powered coding app, has hired two leaders of Anthropic’s competing coding product, Claude Code, according to one of the leaders. The move is notable because Cursor relies on AI from Anthropic to power its app and is one of Anthropic’s biggest customers. The hiring underscores the... Anysphere, the maker of Cursor, an artificial intelligence-powered coding app, has hired two...

Photo via Getty

OpenAI Leans Into Consulting; The New AI Data War

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 1, 2025 10:04am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty

OpenAI Leans Into Consulting; The New AI Data War

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 1, 2025 10:04am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI has a long habit of launching products and features that compete with other tech startups that sell apps or services using OpenAI’s artificial intelligence.Now, OpenAI has its eye on the market for AI consulting services that help large enterprises develop their own AI apps—if they’re willing to spend at least $10 million, as Sri and I... OpenAI has a long habit of launching products and features that compete with other tech startups...