The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Physical Intelligence CEO Karol Hausman. Photo: YouTube screengrab.

Robotics Startup Discusses $2 Billion Valuation Months After Founding

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Kate Clark · Oct 21, 2024 6:32pm PDT · 1 comment

The race to develop physical robots powered by artificial intelligence is on again, despite the industry’s track record of failures—and the threat that OpenAI, which has dominated advances in conversational AI, will become a bigger rival. Physical Intelligence, a startup developing software for robots that could work in a range of... The race to develop physical robots powered by artificial intelligence is on again, despite the...

Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, at an event by The Information in 2017. Photo by Erin Beach.

Stripe’s Bridge to Crypto

By Martin Peers · Oct 21, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Crypto is so back, baby! Payments firm Stripe confirmed that today with its deal—reportedly $1.1 billion—to buy Bridge, a startup that helps companies make payments using stablecoin (a type of cryptocurrency backed by dollars and other traditional currencies). Given that Bridge’s revenue may be around $12 million, as The Information... Crypto is so back, baby! Payments firm Stripe confirmed that today with its deal—reportedly $1.1...

Stripe headquarters in San Francisco. Photo by Getty.

How Stripe’s $1.1 Billion Crypto Bet Could Pay Off

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 21, 2024 4:07pm PDT

Crypto fans have argued for years that blockchain technology could speed up global payments and make them cheaper. Now payments giant Stripe is making a more than $1 billion bet on that finally becoming a reality—and the crypto industry is rejoicing. Stripe announced on Monday that it had agreed to acquire Bridge, a two-and-a-half-year-old... Crypto fans have argued for years that blockchain technology could speed up global payments and...

GoPuff's fired CTO, Sree Kotay. Photos via Broward County Mugshots (Instagram) and Shutterstock.

Gopuff Fires CTO Months After Battery Arrest

By Theo Wayt · Oct 21, 2024 10:37am PDT

GoPuff's fired CTO, Sree Kotay. Photos via Broward County Mugshots (Instagram) and Shutterstock.

Gopuff Fires CTO Months After Battery Arrest

By Theo Wayt · Oct 21, 2024 10:37am PDT

Gopuff fired its chief technology officer on Friday several months after he was arrested on a felony battery charge for allegedly assaulting his longtime romantic partner, according to an internal company email and public records. Sreekant Kotay, who goes by Sree, was arrested in Broward County, Fla., on June 25 and charged with battery and... Gopuff fired its chief technology officer on Friday several months after he was arrested on a...

Photo by Getty

What OpenAI’s Leadership Team Is Missing

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 21, 2024 7:00am PDT

A rare piece of OpenAI personnel news: a leader coming back to the company rather than leaving.Senior leaders expect Greg Brockman, co-founder and president, to return to OpenAI in the next month or so, following a sabbatical that started in August. While Brockman had said he would return at the end of the year, his decision to take a break had... A rare piece of OpenAI personnel news: a leader coming back to the company rather than leaving....

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Bank Drama for PayPal, Square After Wells Fargo Bows Out

By Michael Roddan · Oct 21, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

For more than two decades, Wells Fargo was a juggernaut in a behind-the-scenes business that supported some of the biggest payments companies in the world. The bank’s abrupt exit from that market this year has left a major hole. Block’s Square, for instance, is still hunting for a replacement for Wells Fargo to work on credit card... For more than two decades, Wells Fargo was a juggernaut in a behind-the-scenes business that...

Optimus, Tesla's prototype robot. Photo: Getty

The Electric: Behind the Threat to Tesla’s Optimus Robot From Toyota and Boston Dynamics

By Steve LeVine · Oct 21, 2024 4:30am PDT

At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, Westinghouse Electric unveiled Elektro, a 7-foot-tall robot that walked, spoke, smoked cigarettes and gestured with its arms. It was all a show—Elektro’s witty conversation flowed from phrases recorded on a vinyl disc inside its massive body. But the robot wowed crowds that piled in to witness its apparent... At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, Westinghouse Electric unveiled Elektro, a 7-foot-tall robot...

Harris Holds Big Lead Over Trump in Reader Survey

By Scott Thurm · Oct 19, 2024 8:00am PDT · 3 comments

Subscriber Survey

Harris Holds Big Lead Over Trump in Reader Survey

By Scott Thurm · Oct 19, 2024 8:00am PDT · 3 comments

Less than three weeks before election day, Vice President Kamala Harris maintains a commanding lead over former President Donald Trump among The Information readers, according to our most recent survey. Roughly three-fourths of 1,248 respondents to the survey on Wednesday and Thursday said they plan to vote for Harris in the coming presidential... Less than three weeks before election day, Vice President Kamala Harris maintains a commanding...

What’re Zucks’ Bucks Good For?

What’re Zucks’ Bucks Good For?

By Abram Brown · Oct 19, 2024 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The Pro-Kamala tech lab hoping to outfox Elon Musk• The Top 5: Our favorite new tech and business podcasts of 2024. Plus, the unshakeable Harry Stebbings, host of “20VC.” Plus: A spooky “Lost” that hasn’t lost itself; globetrottin’ teas; and what chocolate says about culture and... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The Pro-Kamala tech lab hoping to outfox...

Art by Clark Miller

Podcasting’s $400 Million Man—and the Best New Tech and Business Podcasts of 2024

By Abram Brown · Oct 19, 2024 5:00am PDT · 2 comments

For years, Harry Stebbings, the hit British podcaster and venture capitalist, fired off emails to Marc Benioff—no fewer than 53 of them—hoping to cajole the billionaire into appearing on his show, “20VC.” “I emailed him every week with no response, and then he finally did reply,” said Stebbings, 28. Finally,... For years, Harry Stebbings, the hit British podcaster and venture capitalist, fired off emails to...

Photo via Getty

Where Amazon Might Be Taking Whole Foods

By Theo Wayt · Oct 18, 2024 3:00pm PDT

In John Mackey’s new memoir, the Whole Foods founder and former CEO recalls how in mid-2022, shortly before he left the grocery chain, he took MDMA and psilocybin during a spiritual retreat. While under the influence, Mackey agonized over the ways he had been “disrespected and disempowered” after selling Whole Foods to Amazon five years earlier,... In John Mackey’s new memoir, the Whole Foods founder and former CEO recalls how in mid-2022,...

Robots, Rockets, and Elon Hype

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 18, 2024 2:20pm PDT · 1 comment

Robots, Rockets, and Elon Hype

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 18, 2024 2:20pm PDT · 1 comment

This week, we shared some of the things we're loving about tech right now—although we weren't without our disagreements. Plus, the latest with Elon Musk and the Lessin's new home tech problem. Apple Spotify This week, we shared some of the things we're loving about tech right...

Art by Clark Miller

The Tech Underdogs Trying to Elect Harris and Outfox Musk

By Josh Koehn · Oct 18, 2024 9:00am PDT · 5 comments

First thing each weekday, Jessica Alter hits the road and runs three miles through the Marina District near her San Francisco home. On Saturdays, she swaps Golden Gate Bridge views for countryside scenes with longer trail runs close to her second home in Sonoma County. In both instances, the exercise inspires some of Alter’s best ideas as... First thing each weekday, Jessica Alter hits the road and runs three miles through the Marina...

Photo via Getty

Pro Weekly: The Big Tech Names Investing in Generative AI

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 18, 2024 8:00am PDT

If you’re looking to bolster your company’s artificial intelligence cred, you should check out our Generative AI Takeover List, where we identified 78 companies from our Generative AI Database as potentially ripe for a takeover. The list includes companies that haven’t raised money in at least two years or that are working on expensive projects... If you’re looking to bolster your company’s artificial intelligence cred, you should check out...

Greg Brockman (left) and Sam Altman. Art by Clark Miller. Brockman image via Getty; Altman via YouTube

Can Greg Brockman Find a Future Back at OpenAI?

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Oct 18, 2024 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

When Greg Brockman returns to OpenAI in the next month or so, as senior leaders expect him to, the artificial intelligence startup’s co-founder will rejoin a company that’s already changed a lot in the two months since he started a sabbatical. In the time he was gone, OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati and several other... When Greg Brockman returns to OpenAI in the next month or so, as senior leaders expect him to,...

Photo by Getty

U.S. Probes TSMC’s Dealings With Huawei

By Qianer Liu · Oct 17, 2024 5:13pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Getty

U.S. Probes TSMC’s Dealings With Huawei

By Qianer Liu · Oct 17, 2024 5:13pm PDT · 1 comment

The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has been making artificial intelligence or smartphone chips for Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in what would be a breach of U.S. export rules, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Since 2020, the U.S. has banned Huawei from buying... The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has...

Demis Hassabis. Photo by Getty.

Google Fixes AI Structural Flaw

By Martin Peers · Oct 17, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Google might move slowly but it gets there eventually. Well, at least that’s the theory. A shake-up in the management ranks of the tech giant, unveiled on Thursday, belatedly fixes a flaw in the company’s artificial intelligence organization, one that had constrained its ability to compete with ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI.CEO Sundar Pichai today... Google might move slowly but it gets there eventually. Well, at least that’s the theory. A...

U.S. Creator Startup Funding Drops, Ending Two Quarter Rebound

Creator Economy

U.S. Creator Startup Funding Drops, Ending Two Quarter Rebound

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 17, 2024 2:17pm PDT

The rebound in funding for creator startups has faded.Funding for U.S. creator economy startups fell nearly 16% to $253.1 million during the September quarter compared to a year earlier, according to the latest update to The Information’s Creator Economy Database. Globally, funding for creator-related startups dropped about 20% to $415.8 million... The rebound in funding for creator startups has faded.Funding for U.S. creator economy startups...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo via Adobe.

General Catalyst Plans First Investment in Saudi Arabia

By Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 17, 2024 1:11pm PDT

General Catalyst is swiftly widening its global footprint. On the heels of acquiring two smaller venture firms in India and Germany, the firm plans to lead an investment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based financial technology startup Lean Technologies, according to a person with direct knowledge of the firm’s investments.The deal would represent... General Catalyst is swiftly widening its global footprint. On the heels of acquiring two smaller...

LinkedIn's San Francisco headquarters. Photo via Getty.

LinkedIn is News Publishers’ New Best Friend

By Sahil Patel · Oct 17, 2024 1:00pm PDT

LinkedIn's San Francisco headquarters. Photo via Getty.

LinkedIn is News Publishers’ New Best Friend

By Sahil Patel · Oct 17, 2024 1:00pm PDT

As Facebook owner Meta Platforms has backed away from news, Microsoft’s LinkedIn has leaned into it. LinkedIn is doubling down on its long-standing efforts to promote news articles and work with news publishers, in hopes of driving both usage and ad revenue. In the latest sign of that, in the next few days it will start testing a new News... As Facebook owner Meta Platforms has backed away from news, Microsoft’s LinkedIn has leaned...