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

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters. Photo by Getty

Netflix on Deck This Week; Pressure on Software Stocks Intensifies

By Martin Peers · Apr 12, 2026 3:00pm PDT

We interrupt our regular AI programming to talk about something more entertaining: Netflix! The video-streaming giant kicks off tech earnings season on Thursday with its first-quarter earnings. It’s the first quarterly report since Netflix walked away from its $82.7 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio operations, so... We interrupt our regular AI programming to talk about something more entertaining: Netflix! The...

Sunday Insights

Atlassian and Figma Lead the R&D Arms Race

By Laura Bratton · Apr 12, 2026 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

Wall Street’s sell-off of enterprise software stocks resumed in earnest late last week, sending stocks such as ServiceNow and Snowflake down around 8% or so on Friday, as jitters over the impact of new AI tools on older software firms intensified. But the panic may be too indiscriminate. One way of sorting out which software firms may have more... Wall Street’s sell-off of enterprise software stocks resumed in earnest late last week, sending...

Illustration: Clark Miller (Photos: AMC)

Silicon Valley, Ready to Laugh Again?

By Abram Brown · Apr 11, 2026 8:23am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Meet the father of Claude Code• Artificial Intelligence: The hijinks around tokenmaxxing • Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “Who Blew Up the Georgia Guidestones?” “Those Who Are About to Die” and “It Was Just an Accident”Over a good many years, “Silicon Valley,”... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Meet the father of Claude Code• ...

Art by Clark Miller

The ‘Tokenmaxxing’ Tide May Already Be Turning

By Jyoti Mann, Nick Wingfield and Catherine Perloff · Apr 11, 2026 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

The ‘Tokenmaxxing’ Tide May Already Be Turning

By Jyoti Mann, Nick Wingfield and Catherine Perloff · Apr 11, 2026 7:00am PDT

At tech giants like Meta Platforms, employees may have embraced the idea of “tokenmaxxing” as a way to show off how dedicated they are to using AI in their jobs. Don’t expect businesses beyond the deepest-pocketed tech giants to follow their lead, though. As The Information reported on Monday, employees inside Meta have been competing to see who... At tech giants like Meta Platforms, employees may have embraced the idea of “tokenmaxxing” as a...

Jeetu Patel, president and chief product officer at Cisco Systems Inc..

Cisco in Talks to Buy AI Security Startup Astrix for at Least $250 Million

By Valida Pau and Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 10, 2026 2:18pm PDT

Cisco Systems is in talks to acquire Astrix Security, a five-year-old Israeli cybersecurity startup that sells software to monitor and secure AI agents, for between $250 million and $350 million, according to people with knowledge of the deal. That would represent at least a 25% premium to the startup’s last valuation of around $200 million, one... Cisco Systems is in talks to acquire Astrix Security, a five-year-old Israeli cybersecurity...

Art by Clark Miller .

‘Tokenmaxxing’ and the AI Margin Squeeze

By The Information Staff · Apr 10, 2026 11:11am PDT

Debate around the prospects for companies like Anthropic and OpenAI has long centered on growth in both users and revenue. In recent months, the bigger story is how usage is changing and what that means for costs. Instead of asking a chatbot a single question, some users are increasingly relying on tools like Claude Code or ChatGPT’s coding... Debate around the prospects for companies like Anthropic and OpenAI has long centered on growth...

Art by Clark Miller; YouTube

How a Self-Taught Programmer Became the Father of Claude Code

By Rocket Drew · Apr 10, 2026 9:09am PDT

Boris Cherny, the head of Claude Code, almost parted ways with Anthropic for good last summer. Instead, he has helped shape the coding agent into a megahit that has closed the distance with rival OpenAI. Claude Code has supercharged Anthropic’s growth. After rising from $1 billion in December to $2.5 billion in February, Claude Code’s annualized... Boris Cherny, the head of Claude Code, almost parted ways with Anthropic for good last summer....

SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

SK Hynix Is the Overlooked Memory Chip Maker

By Anita Ramaswamy · Apr 10, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

SK Hynix Is the Overlooked Memory Chip Maker

By Anita Ramaswamy · Apr 10, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

The memory chip market right now is governed by a triumvirate of companies, led by South Korean firm SK Hynix, followed by Samsung, also of South Korea, and U.S. chipmaker Micron. The three stocks soared more than 200% over the last year—and yet they’re still cheap, especially relative to Nvidia’s stock. Investors aren’t giving the... The memory chip market right now is governed by a triumvirate of companies, led by South Korean...

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Getty Images

OpenAI Stargate Leaders Depart in Latest Shakeup to Data Center Strategy

By Anissa Gardizy · Apr 9, 2026 8:25pm PDT · 2 comments

Three senior OpenAI executives who helped launch the company’s original Stargate data center initiative have left or are preparing to depart the ChatGPT maker in the coming days, according to several people with direct knowledge of the matter. Peter Hoeschele, an OpenAI executive who played a key role in getting the Stargate effort off the... Three senior OpenAI executives who helped launch the company’s original Stargate data center...

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

xAI Spending Pushed SpaceX to a Nearly $5 Billion Loss

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 9, 2026 5:13pm PDT

SpaceX lost just under $5 billion last year while generating more than $18.5 billion in revenue, two people familiar with the figures said. The financial figures include xAI, the Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence company that SpaceX acquired in February. The net loss, as well as other financial figures that consolidate SpaceX and... SpaceX lost just under $5 billion last year while generating more than $18.5 billion in revenue,...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

OpenAI, Forecasts and Guesses

By Martin Peers · Apr 9, 2026 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

Here’s a suggestion for OpenAI’s management: Stop issuing long-range revenue forecasts to investors. While we at The Information love getting our hands on these, as they make for good stories, it’s doubtful they’re doing OpenAI much good. How can anyone take seriously forecasts for revenue reaching as far out as 2030? (OpenAI projects total... Here’s a suggestion for OpenAI’s management: Stop issuing long-range revenue forecasts to...

Dan Klein, Vinod Khosla and Anita Ramaswamy speak onstage during the “Super Reliability vs. Super Intelligence” panel at the HumanX Conference on April 08, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

At HumanX, Anthropic Stokes AI Optimism

By Katie Roof · Apr 9, 2026 4:51pm PDT

Dan Klein, Vinod Khosla and Anita Ramaswamy speak onstage during the “Super Reliability vs. Super Intelligence” panel at the HumanX Conference on April 08, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

At HumanX, Anthropic Stokes AI Optimism

By Katie Roof · Apr 9, 2026 4:51pm PDT

This year’s HumanX—the second AI conference from the team that puts on Money 20/20 and Shoptalk—had a different vibe than the inaugural event did. The fact that it was held at Moscone Center in San Francisco instead of a posh hotel in Las Vegas was a big part of it.While the location made it easier to attract high-profile speakers, it also meant... This year’s HumanX—the second AI conference from the team that puts on Money 20/20 and Shoptalk—...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

SpaceX Woos Investors As C-Suite Shakeups Continue

By Theo Wayt, Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · Apr 9, 2026 10:53am PDT

Some of the biggest Wall Street fund managers are planning to trek to the southernmost tip of Texas, then about 950 miles to Memphis, Tenn, in two weeks, for exclusive visits to SpaceX facilities ahead of what could be the biggest initial public offering of all time, three people familiar with the matter said. The two-day trip is sure to inspire... Some of the biggest Wall Street fund managers are planning to trek to the southernmost tip of...

Art by Getty Images.

Even Without Mythos, Researchers Say AI is Getting Scary Good at Hacking

By Aaron Holmes and Laura Bratton · Apr 9, 2026 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

Anthropic says that its new AI model, Mythos, is so good at carrying out cyberattacks that the company has decided not to release the full version of the model publicly—instead, it’s only sharing the model with top tech companies so they can start building up their defenses.But in the meantime, existing AI models—which are already publicly... Anthropic says that its new AI model, Mythos, is so good at carrying out cyberattacks that the...

China's Geely displayed its M9 Galaxy SUV in Las Vegas in January. Photo: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: High Gas Prices Are Giving Chinese EV Makers Even Greater Advantage

By Steve LeVine · Apr 9, 2026 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Oil prices have plunged from their highs on the news of the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and a partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. But they remain roughly $100 a barrel—about 50% higher than they were before the war began—and economists expect prices at the pump to remain elevated for much of the year. Oil prices have plunged from their highs on the news of the two-week ceasefire between the U.S....

Chapter cofounder and CEO Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz. Photo courtesy of Chapter.

The $3 Billion AI Medicare Broker Backed By Two Vice Presidents

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 9, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Chapter cofounder and CEO Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz. Photo courtesy of Chapter.

The $3 Billion AI Medicare Broker Backed By Two Vice Presidents

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 9, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms’ Wednesday release of Spark, the first model in its broader Muse model family, doesn’t blow other frontier models out of the water, according to developers and researchers I talked to. But at least puts the company back in the AI conversation. The model is already powering the Meta AI app and website but it’ll take some time... Meta Platforms’ Wednesday release of Spark, the first model in its broader Muse model family,...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Forecasts Advertising to Hit $102 billion by 2030

By Sri Muppidi · Apr 9, 2026 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

OpenAI’s advertising effort is so new that the company is still working out the kinks in it. That hasn’t stopped it from setting ambitious aims for the business, which it expects to become the largest driver of its revenue by the end of the decade. OpenAI expects advertising to generate about $2.4 billion in revenue this year and to quadruple... OpenAI’s advertising effort is so new that the company is still working out the kinks in it. That...

Meta's Alexandr Wang. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty.

Meta Tries to Light a Fire in AI Market

By Martin Peers · Apr 8, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Guess what: Meta Platforms is still in the AI model game. You might have forgotten that fact, given that it’s been a little while since we’ve seen much new on the AI front from the Facebook owner. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Threads on Wednesday to reveal the new model family, known as Muse, and its first member, Spark. Meta stock... Guess what: Meta Platforms is still in the AI model game. You might have forgotten that fact,...

Nebius CEO Arkady Volozh. Alexander Miridonov/AP.

Nebius in Talks to Buy Israeli AI Startup AI21 After Nvidia Deal Fizzles

By Valida Pau and Katie Roof · Apr 8, 2026 2:39pm PDT

Nebius, a cloud provider backed by Nvidia with a market cap of $32 billion, is in talks to buy Israeli-based AI startup AI21 Labs, according to people with knowledge of the deal. The potential deal would help Amsterdam-based Nebius expand AI services for its customers beyond its main business of renting out servers. AI21 develops large... Nebius, a cloud provider backed by Nvidia with a market cap of $32 billion, is in talks to...

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Nvidia Worth $22 Trillion? This Old-School Financial Model Says Yes.

By Ken Brown · Apr 8, 2026 9:07am PDT · 2 comments

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Information Finance

Nvidia Worth $22 Trillion? This Old-School Financial Model Says Yes.

By Ken Brown · Apr 8, 2026 9:07am PDT · 2 comments

Nvidia shares should be worth a lot more than they are now—400% more, to be exact. And most software stocks should be worth less—some a lot less—than they are now. You can find assessments like these all over social media, but in this case, they come from one of the most respected quantitative investing models in finance. UBS HOLT is that... Nvidia shares should be worth a lot more than they are now—400% more, to be exact. And most...