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

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Amazon Takes Aim at Cursor With New AI Coding Service

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 1, 2025 10:54am PDT · 2 comments

Artificial intelligence–assisted coding firms are some of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley right now, drawing attention from OpenAI, among others. Amazon Web Services sees an opportunity. AWS is working on its own AI-assisted coding service that offers features similar to those from startups Anysphere, which makes Cursor, and... Artificial intelligence–assisted coding firms are some of the hottest startups in Silicon...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during an event highlighting Microsoft Copilot agents, the company’s AI tool, on April 4, 2025 in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft's Move to Make People Pay for AI Starts to Pay Off

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · May 1, 2025 10:00am PDT

Earlier this year, Microsoft stopped trying to convince consumers to pay extra for artificial intelligence features in its popular Office 365 software, instead opting to add the AI features by default while increasing the lowest price of the software by 30%. That strategy is showing early signs of wringing a few extra bucks out of individual... Earlier this year, Microsoft stopped trying to convince consumers to pay extra for artificial...

Art by Clark Miller.

Why Some Robot Startups Could Gain From Tariffs

By Rocket Drew · May 1, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Among tech companies, robotics companies are particularly vulnerable to tariff hikes, given that many robot parts come from China. The import taxes mean higher costs that robotics firms will have to either absorb or pass on to customers—a setback to their business either way. But a number of startups that employ overseas workers to control... Among tech companies, robotics companies are particularly vulnerable to tariff hikes, given that...

Crypto Venture Capital Fundraising Springs Back to Life

By Yueqi Yang · May 1, 2025 6:00am PDT

Crypto Venture Capital Fundraising Springs Back to Life

By Yueqi Yang · May 1, 2025 6:00am PDT

Fundraising is picking up among crypto venture funds after two dismal years, as investors hope to profit from the friendly regulatory environment under President Donald Trump. The rebound is likely to be modest because venture capital funds are no longer the only game in town for big investors who want crypto exposure. Crypto VC funds are on... Fundraising is picking up among crypto venture funds after two dismal years, as investors hope to...

Polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific. Photo: Courtesy The Metals Co.

The Electric: In His First Months, Trump Has Built on Biden’s Battery Policy

By Steve LeVine · May 1, 2025 4:30am PDT

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has denigrated electric vehicles and imposed tariffs on EV and battery parts that will make it far harder for carmakers to earn profits on the sale of the vehicles. But his first 100 days in power have been a clear winner for one segment of the industry—the miners and processors of the handful of... Since taking office, President Donald Trump has denigrated electric vehicles and imposed tariffs...

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Meta Ramps Up AI Spending—Again

By Martin Peers · Apr 30, 2025 5:00pm PDT

When it comes to artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg is not holding back. Meta Platforms revealed Wednesday it was raising its projected capital spending for this year to as high as $72 billion, from a previous high of $65 billion outlined in January. If Meta spent at the upper level of its new projection, its capital outlays this year... When it comes to artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg is not holding back. Meta Platforms...

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Creator Economy

Where Meta Still Has an Edge on TikTok

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 30, 2025 3:30pm PDT

Earnings season is in full swing, but one of the most telling comments about the state of social media today came from courtroom testimony highlighting a persistent challenge facing TikTok—and a perennial strength for Meta Platforms’ apps. Adam Presser, TikTok’s head of U.S. operations and trust and safety, told a judge that only a “very... Earnings season is in full swing, but one of the most telling comments about the state of social...

Introducing: The Information’s Tech Events Calendar

By The Information Staff · Apr 30, 2025 12:39pm PDT · 2 comments

Introducing: The Information’s Tech Events Calendar

By The Information Staff · Apr 30, 2025 12:39pm PDT · 2 comments

Staying ahead in tech means keeping tabs on events like high-stakes court cases and promised dates for key product debuts—and whether companies live up to their ambitious deadlines. For the first time, we’re sharing The Information’s editorial calendar, which our own news team uses to plan coverage, exclusively with Pro subscribers. Staying ahead in tech means keeping tabs on events like high-stakes court cases and promised...

Meta's chief product officer, Chris Cox, on stage at LlamaCon 2025. Screenshot via YouTube.

Meta Plays Catch-Up, But Is It Working?

By Kalley Huang · Apr 30, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms kicked off its first-ever LlamaCon, a conference for AI developers, on Tuesday, unveiling a fleet of new products. They included a standalone smartphone app for its Meta AI assistant and a preview of an application programming interface for developers to access its large language model Llama. The releases put Meta on par with its... Meta Platforms kicked off its first-ever LlamaCon, a conference for AI developers, on Tuesday,...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Nvidia, Oracle Race to Get AI Chips Out of U.S. Ahead of New Export Rule

By Anissa Gardizy and Qianer Liu · Apr 30, 2025 6:45am PDT

Nvidia and cloud providers such as Oracle are rushing to ship chips and servers to data centers outside the U.S., ahead of a mid-May deadline when a controversial new regulation is scheduled to take effect that will cap their abilities to add new computing capacity in other countries. Oracle, for example, has taken the unusual move of asking... Nvidia and cloud providers such as Oracle are rushing to ship chips and servers to data centers...

Art by Clark Miller

Sleeping in Warehouses: The Hidden Costs of Shein and Temu Deliveries

By Theo Wayt · Apr 30, 2025 6:00am PDT

In January, three police officers arrived at a warehouse in central Connecticut run by a company called UniUni, a logistics startup that handles millions of packages each week for mostly China-founded e-commerce clients like Temu, Shein and TikTok Shop. Inside, they found piles of cardboard boxes and plastic mailing bags in the brightly lit main... In January, three police officers arrived at a warehouse in central Connecticut run by a company...

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What Temu’s and Shein’s Travails Mean for Snap, Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

What Temu’s and Shein’s Travails Mean for Snap, Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT

The end of the Temu-Shein era of cheap prices may be hurting digital ad firms just as much as bargain shoppers. Snap on Tuesday said the Trump administration’s closure of the duty-free import loophole—which allowed Temu and Shein to ship cheap stuff from China without paying duties—was affecting its ad business. Google forecast a similar impact... The end of the Temu-Shein era of cheap prices may be hurting digital ad firms just as much as...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Snap ‘Headwinds’ Warning Overshadows Video Progress

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 29, 2025 3:48pm PDT

Snap is one of the first social media companies to report results, giving investors an early feel for how these advertising-supported businesses are faring. If it’s any guide, the future view was glum, overshadowing gains the company has made with video and subscriptions. The Snapchat parent company said Tuesday it couldn’t provide... Snap is one of the first social media companies to report results, giving investors an early feel...

Eric Vishria, General Partner at Benchmark, at The Information's Financing the AI Revolution. Photo by Alyssa Ringler.

The ‘Unparalleled Capital Implosion’ Worrying VCs

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 29, 2025 3:08pm PDT

My ears perked up Monday when I heard the words “unparalleled capital implosion.” That came from venture capitalist Eric Vishria, who unspooled some of his anxieties about the current artificial intelligence funding boom at our “Financing the AI Revolution” conference. For more than a decade, Vishria has helped VC firm Benchmark navigate... My ears perked up Monday when I heard the words “unparalleled capital implosion.” That came...

Mira Murati. Photo via Getty

Thinking Machines Lab CEO Has Unusual Control in Andreessen-Led Deal

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Apr 29, 2025 1:00pm PDT · 3 comments

It’s common nowadays for founders of hot startups to hold special shares that give them more voting power than most investors. But Mira Murati, a former OpenAI chief technology officer who is now a founder and the CEO of artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab, may exert an unusual level of control even by those standards. Murati... It’s common nowadays for founders of hot startups to hold special shares that give them more...

Sridhar Ramaswamy. Photo by Getty

Snowflake Sets $100 Million Target in AI Sales Push

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 29, 2025 10:46am PDT

Sridhar Ramaswamy. Photo by Getty

Snowflake Sets $100 Million Target in AI Sales Push

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 29, 2025 10:46am PDT

Snowflake and other enterprise software firms whose success predates the rise of ChatGPT are trying to recast themselves as artificial intelligence companies. They’ll have to persuade corporate customers to choose their offerings in what has become a very crowded field. The pressure is particularly acute for Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy, who... Snowflake and other enterprise software firms whose success predates the rise of ChatGPT are...

Illustration via Getty

A 220,000-Person Company’s Tactics for Keeping AI Costs Down

By Jon Victor · Apr 29, 2025 10:00am PDT

Businesses looking to expand their internal use of artificial intelligence from a select few testers to a large number of workers are hypersensitive to increased costs. Over the last couple of years, that has meant many of their AI projects have never made it out of the pilot phase.Veolia, a 220,000-person provider of water treatment, waste... Businesses looking to expand their internal use of artificial intelligence from a select few...

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XAI Investors on How The Startup Can Win; Is Reinforcement Learning Over?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 29, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Before we get into today’s column, I’d like to give a big thank you to all our subscribers who joined us at our “Financing the AI Revolution” conference yesterday. It was amazing to get to meet so many of you.One of the most interesting discussions for me came during our panel on how private and public investors are thinking about investing in... Before we get into today’s column, I’d like to give a big thank you to all our subscribers who...

Photos by Alyssa Ringler.

Financing the AI Revolution

Financing the AI Revolution: The Highlights

By The Information Staff · Apr 29, 2025 6:00am PDT

Investing in artificial intelligence can be a tricky business. It’s the time of “peak ambiguity when it comes to AI,” said Hemant Taneja, CEO of venture capital firm General Catalyst. “None of us really know what the world’s going to look like in some ways.” Investors face uncertainties about which startups endure, which piece of AI technology... Investing in artificial intelligence can be a tricky business. It’s the time of “peak ambiguity...

Art by Clark Miller

Elite Group Chats Are Only Part of the Story

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Elite Group Chats Are Only Part of the Story

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Group chats are definitely having a moment. First, there were the headlines about how Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, had participated in private Signal discussion groups with Trump administration officials and family members in which he reportedly discussed upcoming U.S. military operations. Then, on Sunday, Ben Smith at Semafor ... Group chats are definitely having a moment. First, there were the headlines about how Pete...