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

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images.

AI Infrastructure

Nvidia’s Share of AI Inference Chip Market Appears to Be Rising

By Phoebe Liu · Jun 15, 2026 8:31am PDT

As AI developers and cloud providers have launched server chips to lessen their dependence on Nvidia’s, some analysts and executives at these firms expected the chips to eat into Nvidia’s market share.That doesn’t seem to be happening.Nvidia has actually increased its share of the market for chips that power existing AI models, known as... As AI developers and cloud providers have launched server chips to lessen their dependence on...

Screenshot via YouTube

AI’s Cost Problem Becomes Front and Center, At Least in Asia

By Qianer Liu · Jun 15, 2026 7:01am PDT

Anthropic can’t catch a break! Leaders of the AI firm are meeting with Trump administration officials in D.C. this week to try to resolve a dispute that blew up on Friday night. The administration said that it would need to cut off access to its most advanced Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 models to foreign nationals, which led to the... Anthropic can’t catch a break! Leaders of the AI firm are meeting with Trump administration...

Hock Tan, president and CEO of Broadcom. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Inside Broadcom’s Bold Move to Boost Demand for Its Chips

By Dakin Campbell and Valida Pau · Jun 15, 2026 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

When Broadcom last week announced a funding venture with Apollo and Blackstone to pay for a gigawatt of computing capacity to be used by Anthropic, it looked like the latest in a series of AI computing deals funded by private equity. Behind the scenes, however, the deal represents a risky move by Broadcom to boost demand for its chips. While the... When Broadcom last week announced a funding venture with Apollo and Blackstone to pay for a...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Ruhani Kaur/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Anthropic’s Contradiction; The Risks of Buying SpaceX Stock Now

By Martin Peers · Jun 14, 2026 3:01pm PDT

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Ruhani Kaur/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Anthropic’s Contradiction; The Risks of Buying SpaceX Stock Now

By Martin Peers · Jun 14, 2026 3:01pm PDT

What a weekend! Set time aside this coming Thursday for the New York City ticker tape parade celebrating the victorious Knicks. The joy flowing from that game Saturday night tops even the plaudits flowing from SpaceX’s successful IPO (read down for more on that subject.) Still, SpaceX was quickly supplanted in the business limelight ... What a weekend! Set time aside this coming Thursday for the New York City ticker tape parade ...

Sunday Insights

OpenAI, Anthropic Employees Have Already Cashed Out About $14 Billion

By Julia Hornstein · Jun 14, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Anthropic and OpenAI have some pressing reasons to go public. But they have already relieved some of the pressure that typically pushes companies toward initial public offerings: employees anxious to cash out their equity. The two AI model companies have allowed early employees and investors to sell a combined $14 billion in shares over the last... Anthropic and OpenAI have some pressing reasons to go public. But they have already relieved some...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, left, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photos via Getty; AP

Amazon’s Jassy Raised Concerns About Anthropic Model Before Trump Crackdown

By Leo Schwartz, Stephanie Palazzolo, Catherine Perloff and Cory Weinberg · Jun 13, 2026 9:11am PDT · 7 comments

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was among the tech leaders who raised concerns to senior Trump administration officials this week about security risks in Anthropic’s most advanced models, according to two people familiar with the conversations. The calls between the head of Amazon—one of Anthropic’s biggest investors and vendors—and the... Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was among the tech leaders who raised concerns to senior Trump...

Art: Mike Sullivan

AI’s Blithe Spending and Crusoe’s Stargate Woes

By Abram Brown · Jun 13, 2026 8:09am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Tech readies itself for a Reta-aissance • Politics and Policy: A Silicon Valley politician’s counter move to the big tech PACs• Biotech: Longevity startups’ holy grail pursuit faces a prosaic roadblock• Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “Last Resort,” “The Yahoo Boys”... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Tech readies itself for a...

Art: Clark Miller

Longevity Startups Have a Conundrum: Can They Sell Longevity Drugs?

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Jun 13, 2026 8:06am PDT

Art: Clark Miller

Longevity Startups Have a Conundrum: Can They Sell Longevity Drugs?

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Jun 13, 2026 8:06am PDT

In many ways, these are the best of times for Silicon Valley’s buzziest crop of longevity startups and their pursuit of drugs that can reverse aging. NewLimit, a cell reprogramming company co-founded in 2022 by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, announced earlier this month that it had raised another $435 million and plans to start testing a drug in... In many ways, these are the best of times for Silicon Valley’s buzziest crop of longevity...

Congressman Sam Liccardo. Art by Clark Miller

Politics and Policy

How One Silicon Valley Congressman is Trying Get AI Mega Money Out of Politics

By Leo Schwartz · Jun 13, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In early April, a staffer for Sam Liccardo, a freshman congressman representing the heart of Silicon Valley, got a call from a reporter telling them he was about to receive an endorsement—from Leading the Future, the $125 million political action committee funded by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Palantir... In early April, a staffer for Sam Liccardo, a freshman congressman representing the heart of...

Getty Images

How Musk Kept Bankers Guessing in Sprint to SpaceX IPO

By Valida Pau · Jun 12, 2026 12:43pm PDT · 1 comment

High up in Goldman Sachs’ downtown Manhattan headquarters Thursday afternoon, bankers from Goldman and Morgan Stanley, together with SpaceX executives, toasted the pricing of SpaceX’s IPO over glasses of Champagne. In many ways, it was a replay of hundreds of other such celebrations. But the SpaceX IPO was anything but normal. For seven months,... High up in Goldman Sachs’ downtown Manhattan headquarters Thursday afternoon, bankers from...

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth. Art by Shane Burke/Getty Images/Shutterstock

Tokenminimizing: Meta Moves to Curb Employee AI Usage as AI Costs Reach Billions

By Jyoti Mann · Jun 12, 2026 11:57am PDT

Meta Platforms plans to clamp down on skyrocketing AI costs inside the company by imposing limits on employees’ token usage, the company told staff in a memo on Tuesday, just weeks after it pushed them to adopt AI tools in their work. The company is building an internal platform to track employee AI usage and spending in real time, set budgets... Meta Platforms plans to clamp down on skyrocketing AI costs inside the company by imposing limits...

Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox. Photo by David Paul Morris/ Getty Images

Microsoft Has Considered Spinning Out Xbox, Plans New ‘Halo,’ ‘Fallout’ Games

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 12, 2026 11:10am PDT · 1 comment

Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox. Photo by David Paul Morris/ Getty Images

Microsoft Has Considered Spinning Out Xbox, Plans New ‘Halo,’ ‘Fallout’ Games

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 12, 2026 11:10am PDT · 1 comment

As Microsoft gets ready to overhaul its struggling Xbox gaming unit, it hasn’t ruled out spinning out or restructuring the unit as a wholly-owned subsidiary, which could make it easier to sell, or creating a joint venture with other partners, according to three people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Microsoft doesn’t have any imminent... As Microsoft gets ready to overhaul its struggling Xbox gaming unit, it hasn’t ruled out spinning...

Art: Clark Miller

Bootleg Reta is Silicon Valley’s Drug of the Summer

By Jemima McEvoy · Jun 12, 2026 9:01am PDT

For more than a decade, Dr. Molly Maloof has had a front-row seat to Silicon Valley’s ever-evolving health obsessions as a physician and founder of M3 Healthspan, a San Francisco–based concierge medical practice serving the tech elite. Lately, those conversations have focused on one substance perceived as a wonder drug among wonder drugs:... For more than a decade, Dr. Molly Maloof has had a front-row seat to Silicon Valley’s...

Getty Images/Adobe.

Meta Bought Rivos to Accelerate Its AI Chip Push. It Isn’t Working.

By Jyoti Mann and Qianer Liu · Jun 12, 2026 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Meta Platforms bought semiconductor startup Rivos last year to accelerate development of in-house chips and reduce its reliance on Nvidia as it pours cash into data centers for its AI ambitions. Now six months since the acquisition closed, Meta is struggling to make it work, beset by problems that illustrate the social media giant’s bigger... Meta Platforms bought semiconductor startup Rivos last year to accelerate development of in-house...

Microsoft's gaming chief Asha Sharma. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Microsoft’s Gaming Glitch

By Martin Peers · Jun 11, 2026 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Sorry. We have no SpaceX news (if you define news as something you don’t already know). The rocket-and-cloud firm on Thursday priced its IPO at the $135 offering number announced last week, as it was widely expected to. Check back tomorrow, when shares start to trade. (Here’s a clue about the possible opening price.) Not to be a wet blanket, but... Sorry. We have no SpaceX news (if you define news as something you don’t already know). The...

Technicians work on the the Dream Chaser at Sierra Space in 2023. Photo by Helen H. Richardson/ Getty Images

Sierra Space, Axiom Plot IPOs as SpaceX Feeds Frenzy

By Katie Roof · Jun 11, 2026 4:15pm PDT

Technicians work on the the Dream Chaser at Sierra Space in 2023. Photo by Helen H. Richardson/ Getty Images

Sierra Space, Axiom Plot IPOs as SpaceX Feeds Frenzy

By Katie Roof · Jun 11, 2026 4:15pm PDT

It’s finally here! SpaceX Thursday officially priced its IPO at $135 per share, valuing the company at around $1.75 trillion, capping a frenetic six month stretch that defied many of the norms of initial public offerings. If the IPO goes well, expect to see more space public offerings soon.Sierra Space, for one, has been taking steps towards an... It’s finally here! SpaceX Thursday officially priced its IPO at $135 per share, valuing the...

Photo of Dario Amodei by Getty Images; art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Blindsides Its Business Partners

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2026 2:23pm PDT · 9 comments

Weeks before Anthropic in April revealed Claude Design, an AI tool for creating designs and software application prototypes, it asked firms including Figma and Canva to be “partners” of the launch announcement showcasing the tool’s capabilities. These two design firms, longtime Anthropic customers, saw the launch as an opportunity to show how... Weeks before Anthropic in April revealed Claude Design, an AI tool for creating designs and...

Art by Clark Miller.

AI Race Upends Big Tech Balance Sheets

By The Information Staff · Jun 11, 2026 1:18pm PDT

For years, the biggest tech companies occupied an unusual place in corporate America. They grew quickly and still generated so much cash that they could spend aggressively, buy back huge amounts of stock and even start paying dividends. That model helped make Big Tech look almost uniquely powerful: part growth company, part cash machine. A Deep... For years, the biggest tech companies occupied an unusual place in corporate America. They grew...

Anahita Tafvizi, chief data and AI officer at Snowflake. Photo courtesy of Snowflake

Snowflake Mounts Full-Court Press to Get Employees Using AI

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 11, 2026 11:47am PDT · 2 comments

When Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy and CFO Brian Robins face Wall Street analysts on quarterly earnings calls nowadays, they’re armed with material from an internally developed AI agent. The agent tells the two executives the questions they’re expecting the analysts to ask and provides suggested answers.The agent prepares that material in... When Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy and CFO Brian Robins face Wall Street analysts on quarterly...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Pursues First Data Center Leases, Seeks Financial Backing From Google

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 11, 2026 9:30am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Pursues First Data Center Leases, Seeks Financial Backing From Google

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 11, 2026 9:30am PDT · 1 comment

Anthropic is moving forward with a plan to control its own servers for developing AI, giving it the ability to cut its computing costs in the long run. The maker of Claude in recent months has signed more than a dozen initial agreements, known as letters of intent, to lease data center facilities from various U.S. developers, according to... Anthropic is moving forward with a plan to control its own servers for developing AI, giving it...