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

Eric Glyman, chief executive officer of Ramp. Image via Getty.

Ramp in Talks to Raise at $16 Billion Valuation in Round Led by Founders Fund

By Sri Muppidi and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 13, 2025 4:09pm PDT · 1 comment

Ramp, a six-year-old corporate card and expense management startup, is in talks to raise money at a valuation of about $16 billion including the new investment, according to two people with direct knowledge of the fundraising. It is planning to raise about $200 million for the round, according to one of the people. The new funding would be... Ramp, a six-year-old corporate card and expense management startup, is in talks to raise money at...

Kore.ai CEO, Raj Koneru, left, and Intercom CEO, Eoghan McCabe. Screenshots via YouTube

AI Customer Support Startups Intercom, Kore.ai Discuss Multibillion-Dollar Valuations With Investors

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Sri Muppidi · Jun 13, 2025 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment

Venture capitalists can’t stop betting on startups that are developing artificial intelligence to automate customer support, including those that are on pace to generate more than $100 million in revenue annually. In the latest examples, Intercom, a customer support software startup founded in 2011, is in talks to sell more than $100 million in... Venture capitalists can’t stop betting on startups that are developing artificial intelligence to...

Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images).

A Marc Benioff Protégé Has Morphed Into Salesforce’s Big Worry

By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 13, 2025 9:19am PDT · 2 comments

After an unexpected exit as Salesforce co-CEO in 2022, Bret Taylor sat down with a friend, Benchmark’s Peter Fenton, to brainstorm ideas for what to do next. He knew if he chose to go up against ex-boss Marc Benioff, who had shared the CEO duties with him, Benioff would be a formidable opponent. “He had an immense admiration for Marc,” Fenton... After an unexpected exit as Salesforce co-CEO in 2022, Bret Taylor sat down with a friend,...

Photo via Getty

Keeping Tabs on Meta AI

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 13, 2025 8:00am PDT

Photo via Getty

Keeping Tabs on Meta AI

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 13, 2025 8:00am PDT

It’s weeks like these I’m so grateful for our Meta Platforms org chart. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently made a dizzying number of changes to the company’s artificial intelligence team—resembling a hockey coach completely redrawing their starting lineup—as Meta’s AI has struggled to keep pace with rivals. Then this week, we scooped that Meta... It’s weeks like these I’m so grateful for our Meta Platforms org chart. CEO Mark Zuckerberg...

A OnlyFans-sponsored motorcyclist in competition in Qatar last year. Photo via Getty.

Why OnlyFans May Sell for 75% Less Than It’s Worth

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jun 13, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

OnlyFans is up for sale. The most obvious question about the porn-centric creator site is not what it will sell for, but what it would fetch if it delivered more socially acceptable content. A deeper analysis of the company, though, raises other important questions about regulations, artificial intelligence and competition. OnlyFans is up for sale. The most obvious question about the porn-centric creator site is not...

Photo via Getty

OpenAI Employees Have Cashed Out $3 Billion in Shares

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 12, 2025 5:10pm PDT

My colleague Sri Muppidi broke the news Wednesday of OpenAI’s latest fundraising talks as it seeks to raise an unprecedented $40 billion. One previously unreported detail is that SoftBank bought about $240 million in shares from a small group of current and former employees this spring. That deal brought the total share sales by current and... My colleague Sri Muppidi broke the news Wednesday of OpenAI’s latest fundraising talks as it...

Photo Bloomberg via Getty Images

In IPO Market, FOMO Replaces Fear

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 12, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Did you hear that pop? Tech initial public offerings are getting loud, a little silly, and highly profitable for investors again. Banking app Chime’s share price jumped 37% above its IPO price Thursday, its first day of trading on Nasdaq, lifting its market cap past $15 billion. It’s the latest in a string of price pops that are helping to... Did you hear that pop? Tech initial public offerings are getting loud, a little silly, and highly...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information’s Future of Influence event last week. Photo by Erin Beach

Snapchat Now Wants (Some) Videos to Stick Around

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 12, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information’s Future of Influence event last week. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy

Snapchat Now Wants (Some) Videos to Stick Around

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 12, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Snapchat has realized the limits of disappearing content—especially when it comes to attracting creators. On Thursday, the app said users will be able to automatically save their disappearing Stories to their public profiles. That’s a big change, and it’s one that should help make the app more of a destination for creators, whose Instagram,... Snapchat has realized the limits of disappearing content—especially when it comes to attracting...

Waymo cars are seen parked at a Waymo facility on June 10 in San Francisco.

Waymo Fleet Manager Targets Funding That Would Lift Valuation Past $1 Billion

By Alex Perry and Sri Muppidi · Jun 12, 2025 12:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Moove, a five-year-old startup whose employees clean and charge Waymo’s electric robotaxis, is aiming to raise about $300 million in new funding, according to a person who spoke to the startup’s executives. The new round is likely to lift the Uber-backed company’s valuation past $1 billion, according to an investor in Moove. The startup recently... Moove, a five-year-old startup whose employees clean and charge Waymo’s electric robotaxis, is...

Navan CEO Ariel Cohen. Photo via AP.

Travel Software Startup Navan to File This Month for Fall IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 12, 2025 12:05pm PDT

Navan, a corporate travel software startup, is planning to file confidentially for an initial public offering as early as next week, two people familiar with the matter said, a further sign of a rebound in public listings for venture-backed startups. The company, backed by Zeev Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, is... Navan, a corporate travel software startup, is planning to file confidentially for an initial...

Salesforce Challenges the Principle That Customers Control Their Data

Salesforce Challenges the Principle That Customers Control Their Data

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2025 10:40am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty

Financial Markets Giant DTCC Explores a Stablecoin

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 12, 2025 8:00am PDT

Photo via Getty

Financial Markets Giant DTCC Explores a Stablecoin

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 12, 2025 8:00am PDT

A little-known company at the heart of the U.S. financial system is exploring issuing a stablecoin that could accelerate the use of digital assets across markets, according to people with knowledge of its plan. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., the clearinghouse that processes U.S. stock trades, would consider issuing a stablecoin if... A little-known company at the heart of the U.S. financial system is exploring issuing a...

Image by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

The AI Industry’s Swim Lanes Get Even Blurrier

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 12, 2025 7:00am PDT

If your artificial intelligence firm isn’t also a chipmaker and cloud provider, are you even an AI company?That’s what it’s starting to feel like, as more companies try to fill out more parts of the AI “stack” by providing the models, hardware and computational resources businesses need to build or use AI-powered apps. In just the last 24... If your artificial intelligence firm isn’t also a chipmaker and cloud provider, are you even an...

Image via Getty

AWS to Revamp Key AI Cloud Service to Close Gap with Google

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2025 6:00am PDT

In March, when Amazon Web Services launched a new division focused on developing artificial intelligence that handles complex tasks, known as agents, CEO Matt Garman said in a memo that the technology could be the cloud provider’s next multibillion-dollar business. But some customers say rival cloud providers such as Google have made it easier... In March, when Amazon Web Services launched a new division focused on developing artificial...

Solar array atop an AI data center in Centennial, Colo. Photo: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty

The Electric: Fear of Trump's Wrath Kept Industry From Lobbying to Save AI Data Center Subsidies—Until Now

By Steve LeVine · Jun 12, 2025 4:30am PDT

After sitting on the political sidelines for months, tech, utility and energy companies—panicked that the repeal of tax credits threatens the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers—have gone on a massive, late lobbying campaign to persuade Congress to preserve the subsidies.But with President Donald Trump at the spearpoint of the... After sitting on the political sidelines for months, tech, utility and energy companies—panicked...

Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Alexandr Wang. Photos via Getty; AP

Why Meta is Betting Nearly $15 Billion on Alexandr Wang

By Kalley Huang and Cory Weinberg · Jun 11, 2025 6:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Alexandr Wang. Photos via Getty; AP

Why Meta is Betting Nearly $15 Billion on Alexandr Wang

By Kalley Huang and Cory Weinberg · Jun 11, 2025 6:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to fix a seemingly existential problem in recent months. His company’s large language model, Llama, was falling behind competitors and struggling to perform as well as models from OpenAI, particularly on complex tasks. Increasingly, Zuckerberg turned to an unlikely person for advice: Alexandr Wang,... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to fix a seemingly existential problem in recent...

Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Photo via Getty

Stargate Snag Doesn’t Stop Oracle Cloud Growth

By Nick Wingfield and Anissa Gardizy · Jun 11, 2025 5:00pm PDT

We learned a few interesting things from Oracle’s earnings report today. First, CEO Safra Catz dropped the news that Stargate, the splashy, $500 billion joint venture between Oracle, SoftBank and OpenAI to build artificial intelligence data centers, is “not yet formed.” The tidbit from Oracle is another sign Stargate is off to a slow start after... We learned a few interesting things from Oracle’s earnings report today. First, CEO Safra Catz...

Photo by Getty

OpenAI Has Discussed Raising Money From Saudi Arabia, Indian Investors

By Sri Muppidi · Jun 11, 2025 4:53pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and existing shareholder United Arab Emirates’ MGX about investing in the next installment of its $40 billion financing led by SoftBank, according to two people familiar with the fundraise. The investors could put in at least hundreds of millions... OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Indian conglomerate Reliance...

Partner Content

The Future of Entertainment Recap: YouTube Rising

By The Information Partnerships · Jun 11, 2025 4:08pm PDT

The entertainment industry—once controlled by a handful of studios and networks—is undergoing a transformation. Thanks to platforms like YouTube, creators with little more than a smartphone and Wi-Fi are reshaping what we watch, how it’s made and who gets to make it. This month, Nielsen ranked YouTube as the most-watched streaming platform in... The entertainment industry—once controlled by a handful of studios and networks—is undergoing a...

Photo via Getty

From Mattel to Perplexity, What to Expect at Cannes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 11, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

From Mattel to Perplexity, What to Expect at Cannes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 11, 2025 2:00pm PDT

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the influential advertiser conference in the south of France, is kicking off next week—and creators and artificial intelligence will be the key themes.Organizers expect a big uptick in creator attendance this year—and a much more global crowd. Most creators last year came from the U.S. and... The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the influential advertiser conference in...