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

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Photo by Getty

The Fine Print on Goldman CEO’s AI Hype

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 21, 2025 3:32pm PST · 3 comments

The AI hype machine got another boost last week when Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said artificial intelligence could produce the key document for an initial public offering that’s essentially “95% of the way there in just a few minutes.” Solomon might have been trying to scare Wall Street's high-priced bankers and lawyers. If that's... The AI hype machine got another boost last week when Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said...

Photo by Getty

Creator Economy

Instagram Goes After TikTokers; TikTok’s MAGA Moment

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 21, 2025 2:16pm PST

Well, a lot has happened since we last sent out this newsletter! Although TikTok is back online for existing U.S. users, its future is far from certain. We’ll be watching to see if the Google and Apple app stores decide to reinstate the video app—and how Trump’s executive order that promises he won’t enforce the ban-or-divest law for 75 days... Well, a lot has happened since we last sent out this newsletter! Although TikTok is back online...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

More Changes Coming to Microsoft and Google’s Productivity Apps: Grammarly CEO

By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 21, 2025 10:00am PST

Microsoft and Google’s injection of generative artificial intelligence features into apps like Docs and Word is just the start of a dramatic shift for enterprise apps in the coming years, says Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Grammarly, which develops writing assistant software.Instead of a chatbot like Google’s Gemini or Microsoft’s Copilot that... Microsoft and Google’s injection of generative artificial intelligence features into apps like...

Photo via Getty

A Competitor of Scale AI Doubles Its Revenue, Thanks to Reasoning

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 21, 2025 7:16am PST

Photo via Getty

A Competitor of Scale AI Doubles Its Revenue, Thanks to Reasoning

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 21, 2025 7:16am PST

Before we get into today’s column, President Donald Trump’s repeal of Joe Biden’s executive order on AI on Monday evening has to be the biggest news in AI. In case you’ve forgotten, Biden’s executive order required companies training large AI models to share details about their models with the federal government. Trump’s decision won’t have... Before we get into today’s column, President Donald Trump’s repeal of Joe Biden’s executive order...

ByteDance’s Singapore office. Photo by Claudio Schwarz.

ByteDance Is a Steal Even Without TikTok

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Jan 21, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

TikTok might have restarted operations in the U.S., but investors in the app’s parent company, ByteDance, remain in the dark about its future. For those debating buying into ByteDance shares, however, it doesn’t matter. Whatever happens, ByteDance stock is severely undervalued. Even if TikTok were to disappear entirely from the U.S.,... TikTok might have restarted operations in the U.S., but investors in the app’s parent...

Photo via AP.

Could Trump Be Considering a Revised TikTok Global Deal From 2020?

By Martin Peers · Jan 20, 2025 4:45pm PST

Donald Trump is president again, as of today! And in tech, among the most immediately affected will be viewers of the long-running drama “TikTok—Ban or Not?”. Trump on Sunday promised to renew the series for an expected three months. So far, Apple and Google don’t appear to be sticking around for the new season. While cloud service... Donald Trump is president again, as of today! And in tech, among the most immediately affected...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. Photo via Getty

Instagram Courts TikTok Creators With Big Cash Bonuses

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jan 20, 2025 4:31pm PST · 2 comments

Instagram isn’t letting a good TikTok crisis go to waste. Representatives for the Meta Platforms–owned app in the last week have been contacting creators with large TikTok followings, offering cash bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per month or even more to make short videos for Instagram Reels, according to a person with direct... Instagram isn’t letting a good TikTok crisis go to waste. Representatives for the Meta...

Art by Clark Miller

Venture Capital’s Latest Strategy: Private Equity–Style Roll-Ups

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 20, 2025 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Venture Capital’s Latest Strategy: Private Equity–Style Roll-Ups

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 20, 2025 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Venture capital firms have increasingly been acting like private equity firms by investing in or buying mature businesses in need of a turnaround. Now those firms are utilizing another PE strategy—rolling up multiple competitors into a single company that can operate more efficiently by combining costs. Venture capital firms such as... Venture capital firms have increasingly been acting like private equity firms by investing in or...

Photo by Getty

Oracle Prepares to Start Shutting TikTok Servers Saturday Night

By Anissa Gardizy · Jan 18, 2025 5:54pm PST

Leaders at Oracle, the main cloud computing provider for TikTok’s U.S. operations, have told some staff to prepare to shut down servers that host U.S. TikTok data on Saturday night as early as around 9 p.m. Eastern, in advance of a U.S. law that bans the app starting Sunday. Oracle CEO Safra Catz was expected to give the final go ahead to... Leaders at Oracle, the main cloud computing provider for TikTok’s U.S. operations, have...

Art by Clark Miller.

TikTok in Last-Minute Dash to Prepare Retailers, Staff for Ban

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jan 18, 2025 11:56am PST · 1 comment

With a U.S. ban of TikTok just hours away, the company’s U.S. staff has been scrambling to contain the fallout for the millions of creators and merchants who have tied their livelihoods to the app. TikTok was considering creating a website to handle TikTok Shop returns once the company shuts down the app, managers told staff in its... With a U.S. ban of TikTok just hours away, the company’s U.S. staff has been scrambling to...

Art by Clark Miller

Wildfire Startups Need a SpaceX Moment

By Abram Brown · Jan 18, 2025 7:00am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Sports league startups bet on selfies and shape-shifting putting greens* Power and Influence: The tech industrial complex gets ready to party over Trump• Media and Entertainment: Apple’s most intriguing TV show• Plus, our Recommendations—for deep-winter binges: A buffed-up Baldur’s... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Sports league startups bet on selfies and...

Art by Clark Miller; Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Musk via Getty.

The Tech Industrial Complex Greets Trump 2.0 With Galas and Sky-High Hopes

By Nick Wingfield, Steve LeVine, Yueqi Yang and Julia Black · Jan 18, 2025 5:00am PST · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Musk via Getty.

Power and Influence

The Tech Industrial Complex Greets Trump 2.0 With Galas and Sky-High Hopes

By Nick Wingfield, Steve LeVine, Yueqi Yang and Julia Black · Jan 18, 2025 5:00am PST · 3 comments

On Thursday, about 200 founders and investors tucked into seared sea bass and key lime pie at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Beach private club. The mood was celebratory, and the attendees talked about their hopes for a deregulatory boom in the nuclear and space industries. Each attendee received a black baseball cap emblazoned with the... On Thursday, about 200 founders and investors tucked into seared sea bass and key lime pie at...

Media and Entertainment

Apple’s Most Intriguing TV Show Isn’t What You Think It Is

By Josh Duboff · Jan 18, 2025 5:00am PST · 2 comments

In the streaming era’s current period, deducing the whereabouts—and fate—of a favorite series is often a more complex mystery than the ones that confront the fictional investigators and detectives in many of these shows. Some shows air weekly, while others get released in a single drop. Certain episodes arrive in the evening,... In the streaming era’s current period, deducing the whereabouts—and fate—of a...

The Supreme Court this morning. Photo via Getty.

TikTok in Trump’s Court Now

By Martin Peers · Jan 17, 2025 3:00pm PST

When future historians chronicle recent events in the tech industry, they’re likely to marvel at the endurance of TikTok, which has become like a cockroach in a nuclear war: the ultimate survivor. Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding the ban-or-sell law should have been the nail in the coffin for the company. After all, as we recounted... When future historians chronicle recent events in the tech industry, they’re likely to marvel at...

Left to right: Oracle founder Larry Ellison, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photos via Getty.

Who Wins and Who Loses From a TikTok Ban

By The Information Staff · Jan 17, 2025 1:36pm PST · 1 comment

It’s not just Meta Platforms, Snap and Google’s YouTube that stand to benefit if TikTok shutters in the U.S. as a result of Friday’s Supreme Court decision upholding the ban-or-sell law against the Chinese-owned app. Several small social and video apps, including Flip, Clapper and Whatnot, could also come out ahead. ... It’s not just Meta Platforms, Snap and Google’s YouTube that stand to benefit if...

TikTok, Trade Wars & Tech 2.0

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 17, 2025 12:22pm PST

TikTok, Trade Wars & Tech 2.0

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 17, 2025 12:22pm PST

This week on More or Less: TikTok and the coming digital trade war. Apple Spotify This week on More or Less: TikTok and the coming digital trade war. Apple Spotify

Partner Content

AI in Business: Harnessing the ‘Tremendous Power Now in Our Hands’

By The Information Partnerships · Jan 17, 2025 10:26am PST

Artificial intelligence has the potential to solve the world’s problems, like climate change, plastics and even inequality, believes one of the readers of The Information. Whether it will do so depends “on the questions we ask of this tremendous power now in our hands,” says the reader. A recent survey of 108 readers of The... Artificial intelligence has the potential to solve the world’s problems, like climate...

Art by Clark Miller

Sports League Startups Face Long-Shot Odds. Could Selfies, Simulators and Makeup Salons Help?

By Sara Germano · Jan 17, 2025 9:06am PST · 1 comment

When Unrivaled, a new professional women’s basketball league, tips off tonight on TNT, fans will be introduced to a version of the sport that Alex Bazzell, one of the league’s founders, described to me as “a Broadway show on steroids.” That spectacle will feature three-player teams rather than traditional five-on-five... When Unrivaled, a new professional women’s basketball league, tips off tonight on TNT, fans...

Photos by Getty.

TikTok Had No Backup Plan to Legal Fight—but Trump Lobbying May Save It

By Juro Osawa and Kaya Yurieff · Jan 17, 2025 8:10am PST

In the eight months since President Joe Biden signed into law a requirement that TikTok sever its ties with its Chinese parent, ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has been asked numerous times by company executives what TikTok would do if its legal fight against the law failed. Chew never gave a clear answer and... In the eight months since President Joe Biden signed into law a requirement that TikTok sever its...

Jay Parikh will lead Microsoft's new Core AI team. Photo via Getty.

Pro Weekly: Big Tech Strengthens Its AI Muscles

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 17, 2025 8:00am PST

Jay Parikh will lead Microsoft's new Core AI team. Photo via Getty.

Pro Weekly: Big Tech Strengthens Its AI Muscles

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 17, 2025 8:00am PST

Several big tech companies are laying off employees and making performance-based job cuts. But firms are also hiring and shifting senior executives to bolster their artificial intelligence credentials—as reflected in The Information’s Org Charts. This week, Microsoft said Executive Vice President Jay Parikh would lead a new “Core AI” team.... Several big tech companies are laying off employees and making performance-based job cuts. But...