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

Andrey Rudkov / Bloomberg via Getty Images

AI Infrastructure

The Startup Trying to Tame Accounting Chaos Behind AI Data Centers

By Anissa Gardizy · Apr 20, 2026 10:08am PDT

The rush to build and finance AI data centers has created a new kind of stress for CFOs at companies developing them. Some executives at these firms tell me they are struggling to keep their books accurate and move money from their lenders to their suppliers on time, raising the risk of costly delays or even huge overpayments.That risk is... The rush to build and finance AI data centers has created a new kind of stress for CFOs at...

Images from Reddit.

OpenAI Takes Aim at Google with New Image Model

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 20, 2026 7:00am PDT

If you’ve been on X or Reddit in recent weeks, you’ve likely seen images created by an upcoming model from OpenAI floating around. Sharp-eyed people have pointed out that the new model is potentially being tested with some ChatGPT users and on leaderboards under code names. The images generated by that model, which some are calling “... If you’ve been on X or Reddit in recent weeks, you’ve likely seen images created by an upcoming...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Creates Strike Team to Improve Coding Models

By Erin Woo · Apr 20, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Google has assembled a strike team of researchers and engineers to improve its AI coding models, according to three people with direct knowledge of the situation, as it looks to automate more of its own coding and ultimately its AI research. The push was prompted in part by Anthropic’s recent AI model releases, according to two of the people.... Google has assembled a strike team of researchers and engineers to improve its AI coding models,...

Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in November. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Polymarket in Talks to Raise Money at About $15 Billion Valuation

By Yueqi Yang and Katie Roof · Apr 19, 2026 7:33pm PDT

Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in November. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Polymarket in Talks to Raise Money at About $15 Billion Valuation

By Yueqi Yang and Katie Roof · Apr 19, 2026 7:33pm PDT

The predictions site Polymarket is talking to investors about raising $400 million in funding at a valuation of about $15 billion including the new money, according to two people familiar with the talks. The financing would add to the $600 million already invested in the funding round by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York... The predictions site Polymarket is talking to investors about raising $400 million in funding at...

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen at the company's 2025 summit. David Becker/AP.

Adobe and Google Cloud Head to Vegas

By Martin Peers · Apr 19, 2026 3:00pm PDT

If you’ve never visited Las Vegas, this week might be the time. Adobe and Google Cloud are both having big shows there this week, with Adobe kicking off its customer summit tomorrow and running through Wednesday. Google Cloud Next, conveniently, starts Wednesday and runs through Friday. Come for one, stay for both!The two companies might be in... If you’ve never visited Las Vegas, this week might be the time. Adobe and Google Cloud are both...

Sunday Insights

China’s 10 Most Important Chip Design Firms

By Qianer Liu · Apr 19, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Ask Washington’s most plugged-in politicians and lobbyists which Chinese chip company is the biggest threat to Nvidia and you’ll hear one name: Huawei Technologies. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly cited Huawei’s rising prominence in both private meetings with lawmakers and public forums. Huawei has become shorthand for China’s... Ask Washington’s most plugged-in politicians and lobbyists which Chinese chip company is the...

Photo by David Paul Morris/ Getty Images

Google in Talks With Marvell to Build New AI Chips for Inference

By Qianer Liu · Apr 19, 2026 6:00am PDT

Google is in talks with Marvell Technology to develop two new chips aimed at running AI models more efficiently, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. One is a memory processing unit designed to work alongside Google’s tensor processing unit. The other is a new TPU built specifically for running AI models. The moves... Google is in talks with Marvell Technology to develop two new chips aimed at running AI models...

Illustration: Clark Miller

What xAI and OpenAI Should Buy Next

By Abram Brown · Apr 18, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Illustration: Clark Miller

What xAI and OpenAI Should Buy Next

By Abram Brown · Apr 18, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The rise of SemiAnalysis’ Dylan Patel, Silicon Valley’s favorite AI commentator • Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “The Obit Project,” “Disneyland and the Rise of Automation” and “Unfamiliar”Recently, a close friend of mine introduced me to another of his friends, a... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The rise of SemiAnalysis’ Dylan Patel,...

Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Anthropic’s CFO Wields Power Behind the Scenes

By Sri Muppidi, Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Apr 18, 2026 7:30am PDT · 4 comments

These days, Anthropic is a crowded place: a startup with its own in-house philosopher, researchers devoted to preventing Armageddon and a CEO willing to go toe-to-toe with the Pentagon. And then there’s Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao, who has emerged as a key force within the company while staying far out of the spotlight. When Rao... These days, Anthropic is a crowded place: a startup with its own in-house philosopher,...

Art by Clark Miller; YouTube

How Dylan Patel and SemiAnalysis Grabbed Sway in Silicon Valley

By Abram Brown · Apr 17, 2026 9:05am PDT · 4 comments

For Dylan Patel, founder of SemiAnalysis, an influential AI industry newsletter and research firm, Nvidia deserves the kind of dogged observation and study the tabloid press once devoted to Princess Diana. He scrutinizes the chip giant’s new products, documents its delays and scoops details about its inner workings.... For Dylan Patel, founder of SemiAnalysis, an influential AI industry newsletter and research...

Art by Mike Sullivan

China’s DeepSeek is Raising Money for First Time, At $10 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Qianer Liu, Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Apr 17, 2026 7:36am PDT

DeepSeek is in talks to raise outside capital for the first time, seeking to beef up its financial war chest so it can better compete in the costly battle to develop leading AI models, according to five people familiar with the matter. DeepSeek is owned by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management, which has financed the startup so far.... DeepSeek is in talks to raise outside capital for the first time, seeking to beef up its...

A Flock Safety license plate reader in Boulder, Colo. Photo by Getty.

Police Tech Startup Flock Safety Valued at $8.4 Billion Amid Civic Protests

By Cory Weinberg and Julia Hornstein · Apr 17, 2026 6:00am PDT

A Flock Safety license plate reader in Boulder, Colo. Photo by Getty.

Police Tech Startup Flock Safety Valued at $8.4 Billion Amid Civic Protests

By Cory Weinberg and Julia Hornstein · Apr 17, 2026 6:00am PDT

Flock Safety, which sells cameras, drones and AI software to police departments, was valued at $8.4 billion in a new round of funding completed in recent weeks, a modest bump from its financing last year, according to a publicly filed corporate charter and people familiar with the round. The company raised the new funds amid the largest... Flock Safety, which sells cameras, drones and AI software to police departments, was valued at...

Sam Altman (left) and Andrew Feldman (right). Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

OpenAI to Spend More Than $20 Billion on Cerebras Chips, Receive Equity Stake

By Anissa Gardizy and Valida Pau · Apr 16, 2026 6:19pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI recently struck an unusual deal to lessen its dependence on Nvidia’s AI chips and potentially lower its computing expenses in the coming years. OpenAI has agreed to pay chip designer Cerebras more than $20 billion to use servers powered by the firm’s AI server chips over the next three years, according to multiple people with knowledge of... OpenAI recently struck an unusual deal to lessen its dependence on Nvidia’s AI chips and...

TSMC CEO C. C. Wei. Getty Images.

TSMC’s Strong Results is One More Bullish AI Sign

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Upbeat signals about the AI business are proliferating. The latest was chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s first-quarter report on Thursday, showing revenue growth of 40.6%, above the top end of its projected range. The company raised its full-year growth rate to above 30%. According to TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, “AI-related demand... Upbeat signals about the AI business are proliferating. The latest was chipmaking giant Taiwan...

Wonder CEO Marc Lore. Kimberly White/Getty Images.

Marc Lore’s Wonder Preps a Pre-IPO Round

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 16, 2026 3:17pm PDT

E-commerce veteran Marc Lore hasn’t been shy about his food delivery startup’s IPO aspirations. In recent months, he has written on the whiteboards in Wonder’s Midtown Manhattan office the date when it should be IPO-ready: March 31, 2027, according to a person close to the company.First, however, the company will try to tap private investors... E-commerce veteran Marc Lore hasn’t been shy about his food delivery startup’s IPO aspirations....

Art by Clark Miller.

Can OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ad Ambitions Add Up?

By The Information Staff · Apr 16, 2026 12:00pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Can OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ad Ambitions Add Up?

By The Information Staff · Apr 16, 2026 12:00pm PDT

OpenAI has mapped out ambitious targets for its recently launched ChatGPT advertising business, telling investors it plans to hit around $2.4 billion in ad revenue this year and nearly $11 billion in 2027. An analysis by The Information’s Deep Research shows there are still significant hurdles OpenAI needs to clear in order to turn a small,... OpenAI has mapped out ambitious targets for its recently launched ChatGPT advertising business,...

LinkedIn CEO and Microsoft EVP Ryan Roslansky. Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

LinkedIn’s AI Agent Product Becomes a Surprise Bright Spot for Microsoft

By Aaron Holmes and Laura Bratton · Apr 16, 2026 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft has so far seen mixed results in its efforts to sell AI-powered products to businesses, with only around 3% of its Office 365 users paying to use 365 Copilot as of the end of last year. But a seemingly niche AI product released last fall by its subsidiary LinkedIn has taken off as a surprise hit. And I’m told that leaders... Microsoft has so far seen mixed results in its efforts to sell AI-powered products to businesses,...

The Electric: Repurposed EV Batteries Are a New Power Source in AI Data Centers

The Electric: Repurposed EV Batteries Are a New Power Source in AI Data Centers

By Steve LeVine · Apr 16, 2026 9:00am PDT

EV batteries are turning out to have useful lives even after they stop powering vehicles. The battery industry, along with academics who study battery life, say the batteries turn out to still have a lot of juice when they seem dead. Rather than ripping them apart and recycling their metals, they say, EV batteries should be repurposed for... EV batteries are turning out to have useful lives even after they stop powering...

Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot, Atlas. Photo by Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Google’s New Model Makes Robotic Brains Slightly Smarter

By Rocket Drew · Apr 16, 2026 7:00am PDT

Earlier this week, Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics-ER-1.6, a new vision and language model to help robots make sense of their surroundings. To show off its capabilities, Boston Dynamics—which has an agreement to use Gemini in its humanoid robots—published a video of its robot dogs using the model to read a thermometer during an... Earlier this week, Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics-ER-1.6, a new vision and language...

Art by Clark Miller

Google and Pentagon Discuss Classified AI Deal as Company Rebuilds Military Ties

By Erin Woo · Apr 16, 2026 6:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Google and Pentagon Discuss Classified AI Deal as Company Rebuilds Military Ties

By Erin Woo · Apr 16, 2026 6:00am PDT

Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of Defense that would allow the Pentagon to deploy Google’s Gemini AI models in classified settings, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. If the two parties come to an agreement, it would expand Google’s connection to the Pentagon as a tech contractor and... Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of Defense that would allow the Pentagon...