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

Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images

AWS Joins Superagent Race, Pushes Its Own Version of Claude Cowork

By Laura Bratton · Apr 28, 2026 11:50am PDT

Amazon Web Services has been in the spotlight this week because it can now sell OpenAI models to its cloud-server customers for the first time, thanks to a sudden change in OpenAI’s long-running partnership with Microsoft. But AWS is still chasing its white whale: creating a hit enterprise application.With that in mind, AWS on Tuesday... Amazon Web Services has been in the spotlight this week because it can now sell OpenAI models to...

Art via Getty Images

Startup Founded by Ex-Nvidia Researcher Among New World Models Endeavors

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Julia Hornstein · Apr 28, 2026 7:00am PDT

Young startups such as Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs and Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs have raised billions of dollars in funding in the last year to develop world models. That’s the term for foundation models that approximate the physics of how objects and humans interact with their surroundings—attributes some researchers believe are key to developing... Young startups such as Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs and Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs have raised billions of...

Satya Nadella, left, and Sam Altman. Photos by Getty Images.

How Nadella and Altman Averted a Legal War Over AWS

By Aaron Holmes and Sri Muppidi · Apr 28, 2026 6:44am PDT

For years, executives at Microsoft have become accustomed to tussling with OpenAI over the terms of the companies’ complicated business partnership, which gave Microsoft exclusive rights to sell OpenAI’s technology to cloud customers. Then two months ago, the ChatGPT maker announced a surprise deal to sell its AI to businesses through Amazon, a... For years, executives at Microsoft have become accustomed to tussling with OpenAI over the terms...

Tencent headquarters in Shenzhen. Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images

Tencent’s New Model Shows Improvement, Partly Thanks to Anthropic

By Juro Osawa · Apr 28, 2026 6:00am PDT

Tencent headquarters in Shenzhen. Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images

Tencent’s New Model Shows Improvement, Partly Thanks to Anthropic

By Juro Osawa · Apr 28, 2026 6:00am PDT

Chinese tech giant Tencent’s latest AI model has generated positive reviews from developers. But the company probably owes some of that success to Anthropic. Tencent employees used Anthropic’s Claude to assist them with evaluating and fine-tuning the model, known as Hy3, to improve its performance, according to two people with direct knowledge... Chinese tech giant Tencent’s latest AI model has generated positive reviews from developers. But...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai attends a dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the State Dining Room at the White House on March 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Google Signs Classified AI Deal With Pentagon Amid Employee Opposition

By Erin Woo · Apr 27, 2026 9:55pm PDT · 1 comment

Google and the Department of Defense signed a deal allowing the Pentagon to use Google’s AI models on classified work, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The agreement allows the Pentagon to use Google’s AI for “any lawful government purpose,” according to the person—echoing language that has been controversial in other... Google and the Department of Defense signed a deal allowing the Pentagon to use Google’s AI...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Sven Hoppe/Getty Images.

Microsoft Comes Out of OpenAI Deal a Winner; Risks in AI Financing

By Martin Peers · Apr 27, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Microsoft and OpenAI had big news this morning but before we dive into that, it's fair to say there’s a lot of excitement among investors (and reporters!) about the upcoming SpaceX IPO. But some people have a refreshingly realistic assessment of the situation. “There’s a trillion ways this can go wrong,” said Ashley MacNeill, co-head of capital... Microsoft and OpenAI had big news this morning but before we dive into that, it's fair to say...

Vista Equity Partners' Ashley MacNeill speaking at The Information's AI financing event. On her right is Michael Harris from the NYSE Group and to her left is Jon Redmond from Discovery capital. Photo by Craig Warga.

Financing the AI Revolution

SpaceX and AI IPOs Hold Risks for AI Buildout, Say Investors at AI Event

By The Information Staff · Apr 27, 2026 4:40pm PDT

With AI and big tech firms seeking to raise hundreds of billions in equity and debt this year to build data centers, any high-profile misstep could throw the broader AI boom off track. That includes the potential public debuts of SpaceX and possibly AI firms Anthropic and OpenAI. Poor performance from those initial public offerings could dampen... With AI and big tech firms seeking to raise hundreds of billions in equity and debt this year to...

Art via Getty Images

Startup GridCare Aims to Tap Hidden Power Capacity

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Apr 27, 2026 8:00am PDT

Art via Getty Images

AI Infrastructure

Startup GridCare Aims to Tap Hidden Power Capacity

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Apr 27, 2026 8:00am PDT

Power scarcity is all anyone talks about in the AI world. Funny how we actually have plenty.GridCare, which emerged last year from a Stanford University sustainability accelerator, has surprised AI developers and even utilities by finding power that they can tap even in congested urban markets where the grid appeared sold out.Power grids are... Power scarcity is all anyone talks about in the AI world. Funny how we actually have plenty....

Art via Getty Images

The Nuances of Cursor’s Gross Margin; Comparing GPT-5.5 and Claude Mythos

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Cory Weinberg · Apr 27, 2026 7:00am PDT

Before we get to today’s column, we’ve got an update in tech’s favorite relationship: OpenAI and Microsoft. As a result of a revision to their deal, Microsoft Azure no longer has exclusive rights to sell OpenAI models and that Microsoft no longer has to share 20% of the revenue it makes from selling OpenAI models on Azure with OpenAI. Both... Before we get to today’s column, we’ve got an update in tech’s favorite relationship: OpenAI and...

AWS CEO Matt Garman delivers a keynote address during AWS re:Invent 2025. Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images.

OpenAI’s AWS Push Comes As Customers Embrace Rivals

By Catherine Perloff · Apr 27, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon has touted a deal to finally bring OpenAI to its Amazon Web Services cloud unit with a new offering geared toward running AI agents. But some AWS customers have shrugged at the announcement, in part because they’ve come to rely on other model makers in the three years since OpenAI set off the AI boom. Six firms that work with AWS, either... Amazon has touted a deal to finally bring OpenAI to its Amazon Web Services cloud unit with a new...

Musk-OpenAI and Big Tech Earnings on Deck This Week

Musk-OpenAI and Big Tech Earnings on Deck This Week

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2026 3:00pm PDT

This is going to be a fun week. First, Elon Musk and Sam Altman square off in a California court over the origins of OpenAI (for more details, see here). The final outcome probably won’t have a huge impact on the ChatGPT company—Musk’s chances of both winning the case and getting everything he wants from a victory seem unlikely, as we wrote here... This is going to be a fun week. First, Elon Musk and Sam Altman square off in a California court...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Atlassian and HubSpot Join Shift From AI Flat Fees

By Laura Bratton and Aaron Holmes · Apr 26, 2026 8:00am PDT · 14 comments

Art via Mike Sullivan

Sunday Insights

Atlassian and HubSpot Join Shift From AI Flat Fees

By Laura Bratton and Aaron Holmes · Apr 26, 2026 8:00am PDT · 14 comments

Dozens of enterprise software firms have shifted away from charging customers flat, per-user subscription fees as AI threatens their seat-based pricing model. By the end of 2025, 79 of the 500 software companies tracked by former OpenView partner Kyle Poyar, including HubSpot, Adobe and Salesforce, had begun charging customers additional fees... Dozens of enterprise software firms have shifted away from charging customers flat, per-user...

Art: Clark Miller (Photo: Getty Images)

Benson Boone, Tech’s Go-To Performer

By Erin Woo · Apr 25, 2026 8:20am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The tech elite are using AI to supercharge their cancer battles • Artificial Intelligence: Should AI and Christianity mix? • Tech Culture: Amid AI backlash, billionaires demand new breed of bodyguard—plus, inside the star-studded Breakthrough Prize gala • Plus,... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The tech elite are using AI to...

Art: Clark Miller (Photos: courtesy of the Breakthrough Prize)

The Night Hollywood and Silicon Valley Celebrated Together

By The Information Staff · Apr 25, 2026 8:13am PDT

In a festive merger, the glitterati and the technorati combined forces in Los Angeles a week ago for the annual Breakthrough Prize black-tie gala, which hands out million-dollar awards to the world’s leading scientists. In a festive merger, the glitterati and the technorati combined forces in Los Angeles a week...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images, YouTube.

Silicon Valley Embraces New Breed of Bodyguards After Altman Attack, AI Backlash

By Eli Rosenberg · Apr 25, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang cuts a distinctive image, habitually clad in one of his many leather jackets. But it wasn’t Huang’s outfit that caught the attention of another tech founder who saw him in Manhattan last year: it was the phalanx of security guards walking behind him. “He had a posse,” said the founder, who estimates Huang had at least... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang cuts a distinctive image, habitually clad in one of his many leather...

Art by Clark Miller

Can AI Help a Tech CEO Cure His Spouse’s Brain Cancer?

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Apr 25, 2026 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Can AI Help a Tech CEO Cure His Spouse’s Brain Cancer?

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Apr 25, 2026 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

When Alicia Kalogeropoulos was first diagnosed in 2018 with brain cancer, she underwent surgery, and three years later, she enrolled in a clinical trial for a pill that worked to keep her disease in check for years. In February, Alicia and her husband Alex received grim news: Her tumor had returned. Her physicians at Memorial Sloan Kettering... When Alicia Kalogeropoulos was first diagnosed in 2018 with brain cancer, she underwent surgery,...

Photos of Elon Musk and Sam Altman via Getty Images; art by Mike Sullivan

Elon Musk’s Legal War With OpenAI’s Sam Altman Set for Showdown in Court

By Rocket Drew · Apr 24, 2026 12:54pm PDT · 1 comment

The artificial intelligence era’s biggest legal battle heads to a showdown next week, as Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are scheduled to face off in a federal courtroom in Oakland, Calif., over the future of the company that pioneered the AI boom. The trial in Musk’s lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI and its partner Microsoft starts with jury... The artificial intelligence era’s biggest legal battle heads to a showdown next week, as Elon...

Art: Clark Miller

Artificial Intelligence

Should AI and Christianity Mix? Pat Gelsinger and Gloo Holdings Sure Think So

By Jemima McEvoy · Apr 24, 2026 10:33am PDT

Last year, Pat Gelsinger found himself pondering a thorny, existential question: What should he do with his life after Intel? The chipmaker had unceremoniously ousted him in December 2024, and shortly after, his wife Linda gave him a firm nudge. “You’re not done yet,” she told him, as Gelsinger recalls it. So Gelsinger considered roles... Last year, Pat Gelsinger found himself pondering a thorny, existential question: What should he...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Microsoft Tightens Grip on GPUs, Pressuring AI Customers

By Aaron Holmes, Anissa Gardizy and Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 24, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

AI startups are struggling to access Nvidia graphics processing units as Microsoft and other cloud providers divert GPU stockpiles to their internal teams or bigger cloud customers, leaving smaller firms scrambling for the remaining servers at higher prices. The supply crunch is impacting well-funded AI startups that have raised money from... AI startups are struggling to access Nvidia graphics processing units as Microsoft and other...

Michael Truell, CEO of Cursor. Photo by Big Event Media/Getty Images.

Behind Cursor’s Deal With SpaceX, Anthropic and Compute Costs Loomed Large

By Cory Weinberg, Julia Hornstein, Erin Woo and Katie Roof · Apr 23, 2026 7:41pm PDT

Michael Truell, CEO of Cursor. Photo by Big Event Media/Getty Images.

Behind Cursor’s Deal With SpaceX, Anthropic and Compute Costs Loomed Large

By Cory Weinberg, Julia Hornstein, Erin Woo and Katie Roof · Apr 23, 2026 7:41pm PDT

Weeks before Cursor agreed to a $60 billion potential takeover from SpaceX, the hot AI coding startup set out to raise billions of dollars. As its leaders made the rounds among tech’s largest investors, they started to hear an unfamiliar message: No, thanks. Many investment firms usually capable of writing the largest checks into startups,... Weeks before Cursor agreed to a $60 billion potential takeover from SpaceX, the hot AI coding...