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

Photo via Getty.

Amazon Plans Global Expansion for Haul, Its Temu Rival

By Theo Wayt · Feb 28, 2025 10:31am PST

Amazon is going global with its counterattack on bargain sellers Temu and Shein. The e-commerce giant is planning on expanding Haul, the ultracheap Temu look-alike it launched in the U.S. in November, to countries in Europe starting this year, according to a seller consultant who spoke with Amazon representatives. At the same time, a recent... Amazon is going global with its counterattack on bargain sellers Temu and Shein. The e-commerce...

Pro Weekly: Trump Bump Fades for Tesla, Coinbase

Pro Weekly: Trump Bump Fades for Tesla, Coinbase

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 28, 2025 8:00am PST

Our latest subscriber survey showed that readers continue to be plenty optimistic about the outlook for the technology sector overall. But when it comes to individual big tech companies, sentiment mostly soured in February, suggesting that developments like government spending cuts and sinking crypto prices are complicating that broadly rosy... Our latest subscriber survey showed that readers continue to be plenty optimistic about the...

Speakers at The Information's AI Agenda Live conference in San Francisco February 27, 2025. Photo by Erin Beach. Art by Clark Miller.

AI Comes for the White-Collar Worker: Agenda Live Highlights

By The Information Staff · Feb 28, 2025 7:15am PST

A growing number of artificial intelligence assistants will make workers more productive in specialized fields such as law, medicine and entertainment. It could also replace some jobs altogether, said speakers at The Information’s AI Agenda Live conference Thursday. “We have tech companies very actively thinking about how I can reduce my IT... A growing number of artificial intelligence assistants will make workers more productive in...

Art by Clark Miller

How Runway Hopes to Outrun OpenAI, Google in the AI Video Race

By Gary Rivlin · Feb 28, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

How Runway Hopes to Outrun OpenAI, Google in the AI Video Race

By Gary Rivlin · Feb 28, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

There are two basic ways for startup founders to respond when much larger competitors encroach on their realm. They can soldier on with heads down and voices low, in silent determination. Or they can do as the founders of Runway did when the likes of Google and OpenAI entered the AI video field Runway helped pioneer: They can respond with... There are two basic ways for startup founders to respond when much larger competitors encroach on...

Warner Bros. Discovery's studio in Burbank, Calif. Photo via Getty

A Warner Bros. Discovery Split Is a Matter of Time

By Martin Peers · Feb 27, 2025 5:00pm PST

If you’re watching the latest season of the HBO drama “The White Lotus,” you’ll know that the aging cable channel (represented on streaming through Max) can still capture the zeitgeist. That’s not so true of HBO’s owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, whose fourth-quarter results on Thursday—showing revenue fell 2% for the quarter and 5% for the year—... If you’re watching the latest season of the HBO drama “The White Lotus,” you’ll know that the...

Vinod Khosla. Photo by Erin Beach.

Vinod Khosla: Most AI Investments Will Lose Money as Market Enters ‘Greed’ Cycle

By Sri Muppidi · Feb 27, 2025 4:57pm PST

Early OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla warned that most investments in artificial intelligence will lose money, particularly as more investors jump into the market, funding more startups. But he said some companies would grow to be worth hundreds of billions—and eventually trillions—of dollars and make up for the failures. “More money... Early OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla warned that most investments in artificial intelligence will...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo via Flickr

Creator Economy

Why A Reels App Makes Sense

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 27, 2025 2:00pm PST · 1 comment

Instagram has been firing on all cylinders to take advantage of the uncertainty around TikTok in the U.S. The latest: the Meta Platforms-owned app is now considering whether to spin out Reels into a separate app, as we were first to report on Wednesday. A separate app for Reels could make a lot of sense. Instagram has had an identity... Instagram has been firing on all cylinders to take advantage of the uncertainty around TikTok in...

Photo by Getty

The Coming AI Down Rounds; Plus, Always Be Raising

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 27, 2025 1:40pm PST · 1 comment

Photo by Getty

The Coming AI Down Rounds; Plus, Always Be Raising

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 27, 2025 1:40pm PST · 1 comment

You could sum up the vibe at this year’s Upfront Summit, the Los Angeles gathering of venture capitalists and the limited partners who back them, as: always be raising. Followed closely by, beware a correction in artificial intelligence startups. Mark Suster, a partner at Upfront Ventures, kicked off the event by shouting out fund managers... You could sum up the vibe at this year’s Upfront Summit, the Los Angeles gathering of venture...

Subscriber Survey

DeepSeek Is Popular, and Well-Liked, by Readers

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 27, 2025 10:35am PST

Half of The Information’s readers have used DeepSeek, the artificial intelligence app developed in China, but only 10% of those users pay for it, according to our latest survey. OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains the dominant AI tool among readers, but Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini have grown considerably more popular in the past 16 months. ... Half of The Information’s readers have used DeepSeek, the artificial intelligence app developed...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

Software Startups Under Threat; Experian Finally Takes the Chatbot Plunge

By Rocket Drew, Jon Victor and Catherine Perloff · Feb 27, 2025 10:00am PST

Enterprise software companies that raised money at lofty valuations during the pandemic startup boom are facing many obstacles as they look to jump-start growth. One is the threat from generative artificial intelligence.In our Enterprise Software Startup Takeover List, we’ve identified 92 promising candidates for acquisitions in the coming year.... Enterprise software companies that raised money at lofty valuations during the pandemic startup...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

CFOs Are Crashing the AI Buying Party; Six Takeaways From Nvidia Report

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 27, 2025 7:00am PST

Happy AI Agenda Live day! I’m so excited to see many of you at our event later today, where we’ll hear from executives at top AI firms like Anthropic and Google as well as venture capitalists and founders on what research breakthroughs are coming and where to invest.One topic we’ll be sure to broach is the growing pressure chief financial... Happy AI Agenda Live day! I’m so excited to see many of you at our event later today, where we’ll...

The Bitter Fintech Feud That Stretches From Silicon Valley to Moscow

By Michael Roddan and Cory Weinberg · Feb 27, 2025 6:00am PST

The Bitter Fintech Feud That Stretches From Silicon Valley to Moscow

By Michael Roddan and Cory Weinberg · Feb 27, 2025 6:00am PST

The seemingly mundane world of human resources management startups is not the place you’d expect to see cutthroat corporate blood sport, battles linked to global geopolitics, and questions about whether companies took on the wrong customers to boost growth. But Deel and Rippling are hardly ordinary startups. Their feud spilled into open view... The seemingly mundane world of human resources management startups is not the place you’d expect...

Peter Rawlinson, who resigned Tuesday as CEO of Lucid Motors. Photo: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: After Peter Rawlinson's Sudden Exit, Investors Doubt Lucid's Plans

By Steve LeVine · Feb 27, 2025 4:30am PST

Provide your staff with insights on emerging trends in EV and AV, along with the context around new legislation and supply chains. Click here to learn more about The Information’s corporate access.Lucid Motors sold just over 10,000 electric vehicles last year, but on Feb. 5, CEO Peter Rawlinson boasted that that was only the beginning: Lucid, he... Provide your staff with insights on emerging trends in EV and AV, along with the context around...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks at today's Alexa+ event. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Revamps Alexa—but Not Her Business Model

By Theo Wayt · Feb 26, 2025 5:00pm PST

At a splashy media event in Manhattan today, I watched Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other executives of the company unveil a long-awaited revamp of Alexa, meant to be a chattier, more helpful and more personalized version of the voice assistant. They demonstrated how to use Alexa+, as the updated version is dubbed, to order groceries from Amazon... At a splashy media event in Manhattan today, I watched Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other executives...

Art by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

U.K. Creators’ TikTok Problem

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 26, 2025 2:56pm PST

There’s been a lot written about how U.S. creators will handle a potential TikTok shutdown in the U.S. But TikTokers in other countries such as the United Kingdom also stand to lose—and some are already finding it’s harder to close advertising deals. U.K. creators have sizable portions of their TikTok audiences in the U.S., with estimates... There’s been a lot written about how U.S. creators will handle a potential TikTok shutdown in the...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri

Instagram May Launch Reels as Separate App, Increasing Pressure on TikTok

By Kalley Huang and Kaya Yurieff · Feb 26, 2025 2:07pm PST

Instagram head Adam Mosseri

Instagram May Launch Reels as Separate App, Increasing Pressure on TikTok

By Kalley Huang and Kaya Yurieff · Feb 26, 2025 2:07pm PST

Instagram is considering launching a stand-alone app for its short-form–video feature, Reels, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told staff this week, according to a person who heard the remarks. Such an app would be similar to the TikTok experience of scrolling through videos, and would be Instagram’s most aggressive move so far to take... Instagram is considering launching a stand-alone app for its short-form–video feature,...

92 Software Startups That Could Be for Sale This Year

By Rocket Drew, Jon Victor and Akash Pasricha · Feb 26, 2025 10:38am PST · 6 comments

Many startups that sell cloud-based software to companies are struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic’s low-interest-rate period, which encouraged businesses to spend more on tools to help employees work remotely and investors to pour tens of billions of dollars into these startups. Now dozens of them face dwindling choices. They are... Many startups that sell cloud-based software to companies are struggling with the aftermath of...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Getty

Is Perplexity Worth $15 Billion?

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 26, 2025 7:14am PST

Before we get into today’s column, leaders at OpenAI have told some employees that GPT-4.5—the model known internally as Orion—will be released this week, according to a person with knowledge of the conversations.Don’t get too excited though. A person who’s tested the model told us that its performance on certain tasks have been mixed; for... Before we get into today’s column, leaders at OpenAI have told some employees that GPT-4.5—the...

Arm CEO Rene Haas via Getty

Q&A

Why Arm’s CEO Sees Room for Nvidia Competitors

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 26, 2025 6:00am PST

Cloud and chip executives have predicted for two years that Nvidia’s dominance in artificial intelligence server chips would crater, but that hasn’t come to pass. Yet Rene Haas, CEO of Arm Holdings, whose chip designs power part of Nvidia’s systems as well as those of major competitors, feels comfortable saying it’s only a matter of time before... Cloud and chip executives have predicted for two years that Nvidia’s dominance in artificial...

A Tesla dealership in Hanover, Germany. Photo via Getty.

Europeans Spurn Tesla As Musk's Political Profile Rises

By Martin Peers · Feb 25, 2025 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

A Tesla dealership in Hanover, Germany. Photo via Getty.

Europeans Spurn Tesla As Musk's Political Profile Rises

By Martin Peers · Feb 25, 2025 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

Is Tesla the next Twitter? You might think so, given data from Europe’s car manufacturers group today showing that new car registrations of Teslas fell a whopping 50% in Europe last month (including the U.K., the decline was 45%). Buyers deserted Tesla as Europe’s electric vehicle market overall rose 34% in the same period. Tesla’s sharp market... Is Tesla the next Twitter? You might think so, given data from Europe’s car manufacturers group ...