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

Five times/week

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.

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

Recent Editions

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

Pro Weekly: The Looming HR Software Shakeout

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 7, 2025 8:04am PST

We tallied 92 software companies that may be ripe for acquisition, based in part on how long it’s been since they last raised money. Many of the takeover candidates focus on specific industries, such as logistics or e-commerce software companies, which have been under mounting pressure for several years amid a broader downturn in those sectors... We tallied 92 software companies that may be ripe for acquisition, based in part on how long it’s...

Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman. Image via Getty

Microsoft’s AI Guru Wants Independence From OpenAI. That’s Easier Said Than Done

By Aaron Holmes · Mar 7, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Mustafa Suleyman wasn’t getting the answers he wanted. Last fall, during a video call with senior leaders at OpenAI and Microsoft, Suleyman—who leads Microsoft’s in-house artificial intelligence unit—wanted OpenAI staffers to explain how its latest model, o1, worked, according to someone present for the conversation and two other... Mustafa Suleyman wasn’t getting the answers he wanted. Last fall, during a video call with senior...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the Economic Club of New York earlier today. Photo via Getty.

Bessent’s Cheap Joke; TSMC Goes on the Defense

By Martin Peers · Mar 6, 2025 5:00pm PST

What country is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent living in? Apparently not the U.S., judging by his statement on Thursday that “access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream.” Really? He’s never seen the crush of people outside a store on the day after Thanksgiving, or witnessed people lining up outside sample sales in New York?... What country is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent living in? Apparently not the U.S., judging by ...

Limited Partners Kvetch About Cash Crunch; Altimeter’s VC Returns

Limited Partners Kvetch About Cash Crunch; Altimeter’s VC Returns

By Sri Muppidi · Mar 6, 2025 4:11pm PST

Limited Partners Kvetch About Cash Crunch; Altimeter’s VC Returns

Limited Partners Kvetch About Cash Crunch; Altimeter’s VC Returns

By Sri Muppidi · Mar 6, 2025 4:11pm PST

I’ve spent the last few days at March Capital’s Montgomery Summit. The mood was pretty buoyant: preparations to go public by startups such as CoreWeave were stoking excitement among venture capitalists and their backers, who have been waiting three years for exits that can return their investments. But the chill in the Santa Monica air also... I’ve spent the last few days at March Capital’s Montgomery Summit. The mood was pretty buoyant:...

Photo by Erin Beach

Partner Content

AI Agenda Live Recap: How AI Startups Can Stand Out

By The Information Partnerships · Mar 6, 2025 2:04pm PST · 1 comment

Businesses are racing to adopt artificial intelligence solutions that will boost efficiency, increase revenue or give them a competitive edge. But with so many startups promising that their offerings will unlock these benefits, how can AI companies develop go-to-market strategies that stand out? At AI Agenda Live, Sri Muppidi, a venture capital... Businesses are racing to adopt artificial intelligence solutions that will boost efficiency,...

Photo by Erin Beach

Partner Content

AI Agenda Live Recap: IBM’s Ritika Gunnar on Where Enterprises Can Find ROI With AI

By The Information Partnerships · Mar 6, 2025 2:03pm PST

It seems that the more enterprises spend on AI, the more they have to spend on AI. Surpassing the startup costs of deploying AI models are those for maintaining the technology—from acquiring the GPUs to building out the storage centers to house all that sensitive data. In 2025, companies are adding billions of dollars of investment to the... It seems that the more enterprises spend on AI, the more they have to spend on AI. Surpassing the...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Would-be Buyers and Video Podcasters Claim SXSW Stage

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 6, 2025 2:00pm PST

On Friday, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin. If you’re in town, let’s grab coffee or tacos! I’m also speaking on two panels on Sunday. One is focused on 2025 trends in the creator economy, while the other is about labor issues in the sector. Hope to see some of you there! The creator economy has... On Friday, I’m heading to South by Southwest, the annual tech and arts festival in Austin. If you...

Larry Page. Photo by AP

Larry Page Has a New AI Startup

By Jessica E. Lessin and Erin Woo · Mar 6, 2025 12:50pm PST

Larry Page. Photo by AP

Larry Page Has a New AI Startup

By Jessica E. Lessin and Erin Woo · Mar 6, 2025 12:50pm PST

Google co-founder Larry Page has formed a new company, Dynatomics, to upend manufacturing with artificial intelligence. Page and a small group of engineers are working on ways to use large language models to design flying cars and other types of planes—and then have a factory build them, according to three people knowledgeable about the... Google co-founder Larry Page has formed a new company, Dynatomics, to upend manufacturing with...

Spenser Skates, CEO of Amplitude. Photo via AP

How a 700-Person Software Firm Taps ChatGPT, Gemini and More—on the Cheap

By Jon Victor · Mar 6, 2025 10:00am PST

Last week, Spenser Skates, CEO of analytics firm Amplitude, met with executives from eBay, a major customer. EBay has periodically run into issues with Amplitude’s product, which helps companies understand the performance of their ads and how consumers use their websites, and has sent hundreds of support requests to Amplitude—too many for Skates... Last week, Spenser Skates, CEO of analytics firm Amplitude, met with executives from eBay, a...

Investors Should Buy the Dip, Ride the Lyft

By Anita Ramaswamy · Mar 6, 2025 7:30am PST · 1 comment

Investors have declared Uber the winner in its bitter ride-hailing battle with Lyft. It’s true that Uber dominates the industry, but Lyft might be the better investment right now. Uber’s success is no secret. Its customers spent a total of $163 billion on the platform in 2024, roughly 10 times the value of transactions on Lyft over the same... Investors have declared Uber the winner in its bitter ride-hailing battle with Lyft. It’s true...

Photo by Shutterstock

DeepSeek Keeps Rising

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 6, 2025 7:00am PST

DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence models continue to reverberate in its home market of China as well as in the West.For starters, most of China’s consumer tech giants, which have been developing their own AI, have swallowed their pride and are integrating DeepSeek in their products. Perhaps more importantly, the companies are featuring those... DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence models continue to reverberate in its home market of China as...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How China’s Tech Titans Swallowed Their Pride and Embraced DeepSeek

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Mar 6, 2025 6:00am PST

Art by Mike Sullivan

How China’s Tech Titans Swallowed Their Pride and Embraced DeepSeek

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Mar 6, 2025 6:00am PST

The breakout success of DeepSeek has triggered soul searching among Chinese tech giants including ByteDance, Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and Baidu. The conclusion: All four are swallowing their pride and embracing the startup’s technology. Over the past month, the four companies have either integrated DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence... The breakout success of DeepSeek has triggered soul searching among Chinese tech giants including...

Musk at Tesla's Berlin gigafactory. Photo: Christian Marquardt. Pool/Getty

The Electric: Why Elon Musk Should Step Down at Tesla

By Steve LeVine · Mar 6, 2025 4:30am PST · 3 comments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised to release a new affordable electric vehicle by the end of June, less than four months from now. Investors hope the car will provide a spark for the company, which otherwise looks likely to mark a second consecutive year of declining sales. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised to release a new affordable electric vehicle by the end of June,...

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo via Getty

Why YouTube’s Subscription Push Might Be a Zero-Sum Game

By Martin Peers · Mar 5, 2025 5:00pm PST

The stock market recovered a little, as expected, thanks to President Donald Trump’s slight retreat on tariffs. But the market volatility claimed a victim—The Information reported tonight that private equity–backed Genesys, which makes customer service software, has delayed a planned IPO because of the market upheaval. This likely won’t be the... The stock market recovered a little, as expected, thanks to President Donald Trump’s slight...

Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump's nominee to direct the National Institutes of Health, at his confirmation hearing today. Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

X Influencers Vying for White House Jobs Disclose Their Pay

By Rocket Drew · Mar 5, 2025 3:17pm PST

A Senate committee Wednesday held a confirmation hearing for Jay Bhattacharya, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health. The doctor and Stanford University professor has criticized the agency for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and argued that the Biden Administration pressured social media sites to suppress... A Senate committee Wednesday held a confirmation hearing for Jay Bhattacharya, President Donald...

Photo via Genesys

Stock Market Volatility Delays a Planned Big 2025 IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 5, 2025 2:56pm PST · 1 comment

Photo via Genesys

Stock Market Volatility Delays a Planned Big 2025 IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 5, 2025 2:56pm PST · 1 comment

Genesys, a private equity-backed customer service software company, delayed what would have been one of the largest initial public offerings of the year, citing a sliding stock market, people familiar with the matter said. The company’s advisers told people in recent days that it would push back the IPO by at least a few months, rather than try... Genesys, a private equity-backed customer service software company, delayed what would have been...

Art by Clark Miller

Make Way for the Humatons

By Robert Lindsay · Mar 5, 2025 9:30am PST · 1 comment

A stroll in downtown San Francisco in 2025 would not be complete without overhearing a conversation about artificial intelligence agents and seeing a billboard imploring managers to “stop hiring humans” for entry-level sales jobs. A visitor could be forgiven for predicting that AI bots would soon replace entire job categories, such as... A stroll in downtown San Francisco in 2025 would not be complete without overhearing a...

Art by Clark Miller.

How Meta and Google Benefit From AI-Created Ads

By Catherine Perloff · Mar 5, 2025 8:50am PST · 1 comment

Five months ago, app studio Sociaaal, which creates apps that help people identify their celebrity look-alike or suggest pick-up lines to score a date, started using generative artificial intelligence to create ads for running on social media, including YouTube. The AI-created ads included some Sociaaal’s marketing team say they never would have... Five months ago, app studio Sociaaal, which creates apps that help people identify their...

Sam Altman. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI Plots Charging $20,000 a Month For PhD-Level Agents

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Cory Weinberg · Mar 5, 2025 7:09am PST

OpenAI is betting big on ChatGPT, which is generating at least $4 billion in annualized revenue. But that’s not the only application the AI firm is hoping will make big bucks. If you saw our story last month detailing OpenAI’s financial projections, you might have noticed an intriguing reference to revenue expected to come from another type of... OpenAI is betting big on ChatGPT, which is generating at least $4 billion in annualized revenue....

Brian Armstrong, left, and Donald Trump. Photos by Getty

Coinbase Enters a New Crypto Era With Perks—and Risks

By Yueqi Yang · Mar 5, 2025 6:00am PST

Brian Armstrong, left, and Donald Trump. Photos by Getty

Coinbase Enters a New Crypto Era With Perks—and Risks

By Yueqi Yang · Mar 5, 2025 6:00am PST

On the Friday before Donald Trump’s inauguration as president in January, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, joined his top executives in Washington at the Crypto Ball, where the tech elite celebrated the imminent arrival of the country’s first crypto-friendly president. Soon, though, there was an interruption in the revelry for Paul Grewal,... On the Friday before Donald Trump’s inauguration as president in January, Brian Armstrong, CEO of...