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

Clara Shih. Photo by Getty

Meta’s Open-Source AI Prepares to Go to Market

By Kalley Huang · Feb 20, 2025 7:00am PST

As Meta Platforms tries to make its large language model Llama the industry standard for artificial intelligence, it is not only courting big businesses but also taking steps to work with one of the largest customers in the world: the U.S. government. In November, the company poached Clara Shih from Salesforce, where she was CEO of ... As Meta Platforms tries to make its large language model Llama the industry standard for...

Mark Zuckerberg introducing Facebook Connect in 2010. Photo via AP.

Meta Woos Creators in Bid to Make Facebook Cool Again

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 20, 2025 6:00am PST

To make Facebook cool again, Meta Platforms is asking some of the most popular creators on YouTube for advice, ranging from MrBeast to Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer who explains scientific concepts. The creators aren’t holding back. Facebook has a “big hill to climb,” said Rober, who has 64 million followers on YouTube and 5.3 million on... To make Facebook cool again, Meta Platforms is asking some of the most popular creators on...

In South 8's San Diego laboratory. Photo: Courtesy South 8

The Electric: South 8 Finds One Escape From the Valley of Death—Profit

By Steve LeVine · Feb 20, 2025 4:30am PST

South 8 Technologies has raised about $9 million in a funding round that it expects to close next month toward manufacturing its innovative gas electrolyte. But CEO Tom Stepien said it took roughly six months to raise the money, with a lot of nos along the way. “I had one investor say, ‘If I bring a battery deal to my partners, they will fire... South 8 Technologies has raised about $9 million in a funding round that it expects to close next...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo via Getty

Microsoft Outdoes Apple in Ambition

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2025 5:00pm PST

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo via Getty

Microsoft Outdoes Apple in Ambition

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2025 5:00pm PST

We got big news from both Microsoft and Apple today! Microsoft unveiled a new advance in quantum chips—which the software giant hinted could revolutionize computing in the next few years—while Apple unveiled a new iPhone, the 16e, which is a bit cheaper than its flagship line of smartphones and is the first device to use an Apple-designed... We got big news from both Microsoft and Apple today! Microsoft unveiled a new advance in quantum...

Image via Getty.

Creator Economy

Not Every Podcaster Is Ready for Video

By Kaya Yurieff and Catherine Perloff · Feb 19, 2025 3:05pm PST

Long gone are the days when podcasting just meant audio episodes. Spotify and others have been pushing podcasters to post video versions of their shows, which can open up new types of advertising such as product placement and give podcasters video clips that can expand their reach. But some podcasters are skeptical that the video effort will pay... Long gone are the days when podcasting just meant audio episodes. Spotify and others have been...

Photo by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

How Can Investors Continue Funding AI Developers?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 19, 2025 7:00am PST

One of the earliest AI Agenda newsletters in August 2023 made the bear case for large language model developers. Over the last year-and-a-half, our predictions from that day seemed to largely come true, as model makers like OpenAI moved more into applications and cheap AI releases from DeepSeek and others threatened the margins of those selling... One of the earliest AI Agenda newsletters in August 2023 made the bear case for large language...

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng. Photo via Getty.

DeepSeek Weighs Raising Outside Money For First Time

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Feb 19, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

DeepSeek’s sudden rise to artificial intelligence stardom has created a dilemma for the Chinese startup: whether to raise money. A two-year-old offshoot of a Chinese quantitative hedge fund, DeepSeek so far has not raised outside funding, partly to avoid pressure from investors to commercialize its products too quickly. But since its AI chatbot... DeepSeek’s sudden rise to artificial intelligence stardom has created a dilemma for the Chinese...

Mira Murati. Photo via Getty.

Murati Joins Crowded AI Startup Sector

By Martin Peers · Feb 18, 2025 5:00pm PST

Mira Murati. Photo via Getty.

Murati Joins Crowded AI Startup Sector

By Martin Peers · Feb 18, 2025 5:00pm PST

So much for the idea that the U.S. doesn’t have enough home-grown competitors in artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s former chief technology officer, Mira Murati, confirmed one of the AI world’s worst-kept secrets on Tuesday by revealing the name and team behind her new startup, Thinking Machines Lab. That news came a day after Bloomberg... So much for the idea that the U.S. doesn’t have enough home-grown competitors in artificial...

Photo via Field AI.

Nvidia-Backed Robotics Startup Field Targets $2 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 18, 2025 4:23pm PST

Field AI, a two-year-old startup that makes artificial intelligence models to power robots, is in talks to raise several hundred million dollars at a $2 billion valuation, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising discussions. That would quadruple the startup’s valuation last summer when investors including Nvidia valued it... Field AI, a two-year-old startup that makes artificial intelligence models to power robots, is in...

Ilya Sutskever. Photo via Getty.

Is VC’s Smart Money Losing Its Mind or Ahead of the Curve?

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 18, 2025 3:43pm PST

The question “What did Ilya see?” became an oft-repeated meme asking why OpenAI’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, cast a dramatic vote to oust Sam Altman in the short-lived ouster of the CEO 15 months ago. A significant fundraising that would value Sutskever’s new startup, Safe Superintelligence, at more than $30 billion turns that... The question “What did Ilya see?” became an oft-repeated meme asking why OpenAI’s chief...

How TikTok Is Faring One Month After Shutdown

Creator Economy

How TikTok Is Faring One Month After Shutdown

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 18, 2025 2:24pm PST

It’s been one month since TikTok briefly went offline in the U.S., and internal company comments and external data offer a picture of how the situation has impacted the short-form video app’s business. By some accounts, TikTok is doing pretty well. It’s been one month since TikTok briefly went offline in the U.S., and internal company comments...

Sam Altman at a press conference in Tokyo earlier this month. Photo via Getty

What OpenAI’s Sales Automation Software Can Do—and What It Can’t

By Jon Victor · Feb 18, 2025 10:00am PST · 2 comments

Sam Altman at a press conference in Tokyo earlier this month. Photo via Getty

What OpenAI’s Sales Automation Software Can Do—and What It Can’t

By Jon Victor · Feb 18, 2025 10:00am PST · 2 comments

A clip recently surfaced on Reddit showing OpenAI executives demonstrating a new ChatGPT feature in Japan. The video showed how ChatGPT’s “deep research” mode, part of a $200-a-month Pro subscription, could automatically sort through sales leads and determine which ones are worth contacting. It determines that by searching the web for data like... A clip recently surfaced on Reddit showing OpenAI executives demonstrating a new ChatGPT feature...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Logistics Firm Forto, Last Valued at $2.1 Billion, Hires Moelis to Explore Sale

By Theo Wayt · Feb 18, 2025 9:31am PST

Even after a shakeout that’s lasted two years, consolidation is still coming for logistics startups. Forto, a Germany-based freight forwarding company that has raised more than $600 million from investors including SoftBank, has been working with investment bank Moelis & Co. to explore options including a potential merger or sale, according... Even after a shakeout that’s lasted two years, consolidation is still coming for logistics...

Photo via Getty

The Three Classes of AI Coding Assistants

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 18, 2025 7:10am PST

The model race continues. On Monday evening, Elon Musk’s xAI released a new family of large language models, Grok 3, which includes a baseline model, a smaller and faster version of the baseline model, and two “reasoning” models.Early reactions seem promising. Andrej Karpathy, one of the cofounders of OpenAI who left the company last year, said... The model race continues. On Monday evening, Elon Musk’s xAI released a new family of large...

Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind. Photo by Getty

Google’s AI Efforts Marred by Turf Disputes

By Erin Woo · Feb 18, 2025 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Google scored a rare hit with an artificial intelligence–powered product last fall: NotebookLM, which helps people summarize documents, even generating podcasts from its results. The podcast feature drew a glowing review from The Wall Street Journal. After the product’s release, CEO Sundar Pichai praised the “small, dedicated team... Google scored a rare hit with an artificial intelligence–powered product last fall: ...

Image via Getty.

Veteran Google Researcher Joins ByteDance as AI Rivalry Intensifies

By Juro Osawa and Jon Victor · Feb 17, 2025 10:07pm PST

Image via Getty.

Veteran Google Researcher Joins ByteDance as AI Rivalry Intensifies

By Juro Osawa and Jon Victor · Feb 17, 2025 10:07pm PST

A longtime Google researcher has joined TikTok owner ByteDance to help lead the Chinese company’s artificial intelligence research and development, in one of the Chinese tech giant’s most significant external hires of AI talent to date, according to two ByteDance employees with knowledge of the matter. Wu Yonghui, a 17-year Google veteran who... A longtime Google researcher has joined TikTok owner ByteDance to help lead the Chinese company’s...

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Image via Getty.

Spotify is Booming—Except For Its Ad Business

By Catherine Perloff · Feb 17, 2025 6:00am PST

Spotify is having a moment. The music-streaming pioneer recorded its first-ever annual profit in 2024, as a diversification into audiobooks and other new features brought in new subscribers and price hikes boosted revenues. So far this year, Spotify’s stock price has rocketed 43%, making it one of the best-performing tech stocks. But the surge... Spotify is having a moment. The music-streaming pioneer recorded its first-ever annual profit in...

Byd founder Wang Chuanfu. Photo: Getty

The Electric: Byd’s Driverless Aspirations Grasp a Big Thing—People Want Stuff That's Free

By Steve LeVine · Feb 17, 2025 4:30am PST · 5 comments

In a call with analysts last month, General Motors CEO Mary Barra predicted a terrific flow of new revenue within five years—$2 billion a year in recurring fees from customers using its autonomous driving system, Super Cruise. In a call with analysts last month, General Motors CEO Mary Barra predicted a terrific flow of...

The NBA Meets Tech on Its Home Turf

The NBA Meets Tech on Its Home Turf

By Sara Germano · Feb 15, 2025 7:00am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Nuclear power could help tech solve its AI-driven electricity problem, if new reactors can actually get built.• Venture Bets: There’s a vibe shift in nuclear startup investing.• Clean Energy: Fusion, geothermal, solar. It’s not all about nuclear fission.• Plus, our Recommendations,... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Nuclear power could help tech solve its...

Art by Clark Miller.

Regulator That Haunted Fintechs Falls Under Trump Ax

By Cory Weinberg and Michael Roddan · Feb 15, 2025 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Regulator That Haunted Fintechs Falls Under Trump Ax

By Cory Weinberg and Michael Roddan · Feb 15, 2025 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Two big fintechs, banking app Chime and “buy now, pay later” firm Klarna, are getting ready to go public. While they were primping and polishing, they got a pleasant surprise from Washington this week: The Donald Trump administration effectively shut down the top consumer finance regulator. The shuttering of the Consumer Financial Protection... Two big fintechs, banking app Chime and “buy now, pay later” firm Klarna, are getting ready to go...