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

How Online Gambling Forces Athletes to Battle Hecklers on Their Own

By Sara Germano · Jun 7, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

As a triple Olympic champion, Sports Illustrated and Vogue model, and Harvard alum, sprinter Gabby Thomas attracts thousands of fans wherever she competes. She also attracts some genuine weirdos. Last weekend, for example, a man attending Thomas’ race in Philadelphia began to loudly berate her—yelling that she was a “choke artist” and that... As a triple Olympic champion, Sports Illustrated and Vogue model, and Harvard alum, sprinter...

Tim Cook at WWDC 2024. Photo via Getty

Apple’s Needless App Store Fight

By Martin Peers · Jun 6, 2025 2:30pm PDT

Forget the Musk-Trump drama for a moment. Next week is WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference, when the iPhone maker shows off slick new software features coming later in the year. I’m tempted to say this year’s event will be more in the spotlight than usual, except that might be difficult to assert given the massive attention Apple gets for... Forget the Musk-Trump drama for a moment. Next week is WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference,...

Art by Clark Miller

Why Eric Schmidt and Jeff Bezos Are High On Space Data Centers

By Evan Robinson-Johnson · Jun 6, 2025 9:00am PDT · 3 comments

If all goes as planned in August, a startup called Starcloud from Redmond, Wash., will load a rocket bound for space with a refrigerator-sized satellite, the first to contain an Nvidia H100 chip. Normally, that chip is at the heart of the sprawling data centers back on Earth that run the latest artificial intelligence models. Compared to... If all goes as planned in August, a startup called Starcloud from Redmond, Wash., will load a...

Photo via AP

Pro Weekly: IPO Hopefuls Are Getting Camera-Ready

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 6, 2025 8:00am PDT

Photo via AP

Pro Weekly: IPO Hopefuls Are Getting Camera-Ready

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 6, 2025 8:00am PDT

Say cheese!Some companies on our Tech IPO Tracker are finally pushing ahead on long-awaited listings. The latest is stablecoin company Circle, which started trading on Thursday and ended the day with its shares closing at more than twofold its initial public offering price.Earlier this week, I took a look at the private firms that have hit dead... Say cheese!Some companies on our Tech IPO Tracker are finally pushing ahead on long-awaited...

Art by Mike Sullivan

App Developers See Opportunity to Escape Apple Tax

By Aaron Tilley · Jun 6, 2025 6:00am PDT

Some app developers are seizing the moment to try to get around the Apple tax. On May 1, Apple finally succumbed to a court order forcing the company to let U.S. apps link directly to external payment options. The company had resisted complying with the order for nearly four years, and with good reason: It allowed developers to bypass the fee of... Some app developers are seizing the moment to try to get around the Apple tax. On May 1, Apple...

Photo via Getty

What’s Next for Tech in Post-Musk Washington

By Martin Peers · Jun 5, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Today’s episode of America’s greatest reality series—yes, I’m talking about Elon Musk’s falling-out with President Donald Trump—was a barn burner. But rather than rehashing the gory details here (as extraordinary as their social media back-and-forth was, it was also entirely predictable), it’s more interesting to consider what this means for... Today’s episode of America’s greatest reality series—yes, I’m talking about Elon Musk’s...

Venture capitalists Lee Linden and Brian Singerman. Photos via Josh Line and The Information.

Ex-Founders Fund GP Brian Singerman Plots New Fund

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 5, 2025 3:55pm PDT

Summer for venture capitalists used to be a time when dealmaking slowed down, as investors headed to the Italian Riviera or shifted their podcast recordings to a boat on Lake Tahoe. But that wasn’t the case last year, and it certainly isn’t shaping to be this year, either.Google challenger Perplexity is in the middle of raising $500 million—or... Summer for venture capitalists used to be a time when dealmaking slowed down, as investors headed...

Dude Perfect’s Andrew Yaffe, Coca-Cola’s Valeria Herzer and John Deere’s Jen Hartmann. Photo by Erin Beach.

Coca-Cola and Unilever Shift Creator Strategies

By Kaya Yurieff and Ann Gehan · Jun 5, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Dude Perfect’s Andrew Yaffe, Coca-Cola’s Valeria Herzer and John Deere’s Jen Hartmann. Photo by Erin Beach.

Creator Economy

Coca-Cola and Unilever Shift Creator Strategies

By Kaya Yurieff and Ann Gehan · Jun 5, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Agencies have long functioned as an intermediary between creators and advertisers. But they may start to get squeezed out, as major brands and creators try to build longer-term relationships with each other and take more creative risks. “Outsourcing” relationships between brands and creators will no longer fly, said Esi Eggleston... Agencies have long functioned as an intermediary between creators and advertisers. But they may...

Photo via Getty

Lowe’s Puts OpenAI-Powered Voice Assistant on the Store Floor

By Jon Victor · Jun 5, 2025 10:53am PDT

It’s not always easy for customers of Lowe’s Home Improvement to locate employees when they need to ask for help inside its cavernous facilities. But the retailer is at least giving its employees access to artificial intelligence so they can be a lot more helpful in answering questions when customers do track them down.Over the last year, the... It’s not always easy for customers of Lowe’s Home Improvement to locate employees when they need...

Art via Getty/Mike Sullivan

The Chinese Tech Behind Amazon’s Humanoid Robots

By Rocket Drew · Jun 5, 2025 7:00am PDT

It was only a matter of time before Amazon, a heavyweight in robotic automation, went full bore into humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence.As I scooped late Wednesday, the company is almost done setting up an indoor obstacle course to test such robots at one of its San Francisco offices in hopes of eventually setting them loose to... It was only a matter of time before Amazon, a heavyweight in robotic automation, went full bore...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Nvidia’s Biggest Chinese Rival Huawei Struggles to Win at Home

By Qianer Liu · Jun 5, 2025 6:00am PDT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has in the past months repeatedly warned, in both public speeches and closed-door meetings, of intensifying competition from China’s Huawei Technologies in the market for AI chips. In reality, Huawei is having a hard time convincing some of the biggest tech companies in China to use its chips. Chinese tech heavyweights... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has in the past months repeatedly warned, in both public speeches and...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Photo: Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: A Critical Minerals War Game Signals How China May React to Trump

By Steve LeVine · Jun 5, 2025 4:30am PDT

Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Photo: Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: A Critical Minerals War Game Signals How China May React to Trump

By Steve LeVine · Jun 5, 2025 4:30am PDT

Fast-forward to November, five months from now. The U.S. and China have escalated their tit-for-tat attacks in the trade war ignited by President Donald Trump. Trump has reimposed 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and China has tightened its choke hold on rare earth minerals and magnets, barring their reexport from third countries to the U.S. Fast-forward to November, five months from now. The U.S. and China have escalated their...

art via Mike Sullivan

Amazon Prepares to Test Humanoid Robots for Delivering Packages

By Rocket Drew · Jun 4, 2025 5:40pm PDT

Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery workers, according to a person who has been involved in the effort. In doing so, Amazon is paving the way to automate a major part of its operation, the delivery of parcels around the world. Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery...

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo via Getty

Squaring Away Circle’s IPO

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 4, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

One of the longest running stories in crypto, Circle Internet Group’s effort to go public, is finally wrapping up. After four years of trying, the stablecoin firm priced its initial public offering tonight at $31 per share, above its preliminary range of between $27 and $28, and valuing the company at $6.9 billion based on outstanding shares.... One of the longest running stories in crypto, Circle Internet Group’s effort to go public, is...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information's Future of Influence event on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy

Snap’s Spiegel on Trump, Shopping and His New Role as a Creator

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 4, 2025 2:15pm PDT

OMG! What a day we had in Hollywood on Tuesday at The Information’s Future of Influence event. I loved meeting new readers, seeing familiar faces and hearing from our fabulous lineup of speakers including creators Adam W and Victoria Garrick Browne and executives from Meta Platforms, YouTube, Spotify and Substack. A big thank you to... OMG! What a day we had in Hollywood on Tuesday at The Information’s Future of Influence event. I...

You.com founder and CEO Richard Socher.

AI Search Startup You.com in Talks to Raise Funds at $1.4 Billion Valuation

By Anissa Gardizy and Miles Kruppa · Jun 4, 2025 12:39pm PDT

You.com founder and CEO Richard Socher.

AI Search Startup You.com in Talks to Raise Funds at $1.4 Billion Valuation

By Anissa Gardizy and Miles Kruppa · Jun 4, 2025 12:39pm PDT

You.com, an artificial-intelligence search startup making a push into business software, is in talks with media conglomerate Cox Enterprises to raise funds valuing the company at $1.4 billion, said people familiar with the discussions. The funding would support You.com’s push into selling AI search tools to businesses, after the company’s... You.com, an artificial-intelligence search startup making a push into business software, is in...

Substack CEO Chris Best, The Information's Kaya Yurieff, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Invisible Universe's Tricia Biggio.

Creator Economy Summit

Tough Year for Advertising, AI Opportunity: Future of Influence Highlights

By Ann Gehan, Kalley Huang and Sahil Patel · Jun 4, 2025 11:41am PDT

Economic uncertainty related to the Trump administration’s tariff programs has made advertisers more cautious about spending this year. But that caution could be an opportunity for influencers, who can often charge less and move faster than traditional ad agencies, said speakers at The Information’s Future of Influence conference on Tuesday. “I... Economic uncertainty related to the Trump administration’s tariff programs has made advertisers...

Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch. Photo by Village Global

Revenue at OpenAI Vendor Vercel Nearly Doubles in Past Year

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Rocket Drew · Jun 4, 2025 7:00am PDT

Among privately held firms, there’s no beating OpenAI when it comes to generating revenue from selling artificial intelligence. But startups selling the digital picks and shovels of the AI gold rush, including to OpenAI and other AI developers, are doing OK too. The latest example is Vercel, a cloud service companies use to develop... Among privately held firms, there’s no beating OpenAI when it comes to generating revenue from...

Microsoft's Satya Nadella (left) and Jay Parikh. Art by Clark Miller; Images via Getty

Satya Nadella’s New AI Battle Cry at Microsoft: Platform, Platform, Platform

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 4, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In March, at a Microsoft all-hands meeting, one of the company’s newest executives, Jay Parikh, laid out a rough vision for Microsoft’s path forward in artificial intelligence. AI models made by OpenAI and others were quickly becoming commoditized by more efficient models from DeepSeek and Microsoft’s own research arm that performed nearly... In March, at a Microsoft all-hands meeting, one of the company’s newest executives, Jay Parikh,...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Erin Beach

Snap’s Spiegel: Company Is on ‘Cusp’ of Computing Transformation

By Kalley Huang · Jun 3, 2025 8:13pm PDT · 2 comments

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy Summit

Snap’s Spiegel: Company Is on ‘Cusp’ of Computing Transformation

By Kalley Huang · Jun 3, 2025 8:13pm PDT · 2 comments

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel defended his company’s ability to stay independent despite competition from deep-pocketed rivals like Meta Platforms, predicting that the Snapchat parent was on “the cusp of a real transformation in the way that people think about and use computers.” That transformation, Spiegel said, will involve his company’s augmented... Snap CEO Evan Spiegel defended his company’s ability to stay independent despite competition from...