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

Art by Clark Miller; Screenshot via YouTube.

FabFitFun Co-Founder Launches $150 Million Deep Tech Fund

By Laura Mandaro · Jan 20, 2026 5:00am PST

Over the past few years deep tech investing has taken on a new shine, as companies such as Waymo, SpaceX and Anduril turn technical breakthroughs in research-heavy fields like autonomous driving, rockets and defense tech into commercial businesses. Now one emerging investment fund wants to back new deep tech startups with a twist: The startups’... Over the past few years deep tech investing has taken on a new shine, as companies such as Waymo,...

Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Tech at Davos; Netflix and Intel Earnings on Deck This Week

By Martin Peers · Jan 19, 2026 3:00pm PST

We have a change of pace this week after the AI dramas of the past few days. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff assault on Europe, related to his aspirations for owning Greenland, will have markets jumpy—as we saw on Monday. Maybe a deal can be worked out at the annual World Economic Forum confab at Davos, which started today. Expect to see... We have a change of pace this week after the AI dramas of the past few days. President Donald...

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

AI Infrastructure

Why Google Is Winning the Race for Data Center Power

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Jan 19, 2026 8:00am PST · 1 comment

There’s no doubt now that the tech companies driving AI will have to help produce the new electricity needed to power it. The White House and several governors sought Friday to force them to build more plants.That’s why Google’s $4.75 billion deal in December for Intersect, a developer of renewables and data center infrastructure, is so... There’s no doubt now that the tech companies driving AI will have to help produce the new...

Google’s Gemini Sees Developer Requests More Than Double in Five Months

By Erin Woo · Jan 19, 2026 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Google’s Gemini Sees Developer Requests More Than Double in Five Months

By Erin Woo · Jan 19, 2026 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Google’s improvements to its Gemini AI models are boosting the company’s top line. Over the past year, Google’s business selling access to its Gemini AI models has skyrocketed, reflecting the improving quality of those models, according to three people with knowledge of Gemini’s sales. That’s likely to lift revenue from Google Cloud’s core... Google’s improvements to its Gemini AI models are boosting the company’s top line. Over the past...

Northern Graphite's mine in Lac-des-Iles, Quebec. Photo: Sebastien St-Jean/AFP/Getty

The Electric: A Big Deal in Saudi Arabia Sent This Graphite Miner’s Shares Soaring

By Steve LeVine · Jan 19, 2026 4:30am PST

For more than two decades, Northern Graphite has plodded along as a middling if sometimes plucky Canadian mining company. Then last week, Northern said its revenue would jump eightfold to $250 million in the next few years as it shifts from merely mining graphite to processing it into the final material used to make battery anodes. The news... For more than two decades, Northern Graphite has plodded along as a middling if sometimes plucky...

Sunday Insights

Layoffs Don’t Shrink Tech Employee Numbers for Long

By Martin Peers · Jan 18, 2026 8:00am PST

Meta Platforms’ job cuts at its Reality Labs division this past week, where it let go about 10% of the unit, were the first of what could be another wave of layoffs at big tech companies this year. But that doesn’t mean big tech workforces are going to shrink much, if at all. If history is any guide, future layoffs will only result in temporary... Meta Platforms’ job cuts at its Reality Labs division this past week, where it let go about 10%...

Mira Murati. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images

Thinking Machines Exodus Tests Investor Appetite for a $50 Billion Valuation

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 17, 2026 3:36pm PST · 5 comments

The timing couldn’t have been more awkward for Thinking Machines Lab. On Wednesday, during an all-hands meeting at the AI startup, its CEO, Mira Murati, announced that she had fired one of Thinking Machines’ co-founders, its Chief Technology Officer Barret Zoph, for poor performance and speaking with competitors, according to a person familiar... The timing couldn’t have been more awkward for Thinking Machines Lab. On Wednesday, during an...

Art by Clark Miller

Apple and Google Renew Their Vows

By Abram Brown · Jan 17, 2026 7:18am PST

Art by Clark Miller

Apple and Google Renew Their Vows

By Abram Brown · Jan 17, 2026 7:18am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Why “cracked engineers” are hot items in Silicon Valley• The Top 5: The best LinkedIn ghostwriters • Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “A Whole Other Country,” “The Boys From Brazil” and “Industry”Thanks to AI, Silicon Valley has enjoyed an absolutely wild past couple... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Why “cracked engineers” are hot items in...

Art by Clark Miller

Tech Leaders Thirsty for Social Media Fame Are Hiring These LinkedIn Ghostwriters

By Jemima McEvoy · Jan 17, 2026 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Today’s Silicon Valley elite have no shortage of ways to command attention. They might author a Substack, launch a podcast—or station themselves directly within the mecca of business think-fluencing: LinkedIn. As LinkedIn has evolved from its origin as a humble repository of digital résumés, nearly a third of American adults... Today’s Silicon Valley elite have no shortage of ways to command attention. They might author a...

Motive CEO Shoaib Makani. Art by Clark Miller; screenshot via YouTube.

Dashcam Maker Motive Delays Marketing of Its IPO

By Cory Weinberg and Michael Roddan · Jan 16, 2026 2:41pm PST

Motive Technologies, a seller of AI-powered dashcams to trucking companies, is delaying the marketing of its initial public offering, which was supposed to begin on Monday, three people close to the company said. It could delay its roadshow another week, two of the people said. They didn’t describe the exact reasons, but one person called it a “... Motive Technologies, a seller of AI-powered dashcams to trucking companies, is delaying the...

Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP.

OpenAI Changes Narrative With Ads Push

By Martin Peers · Jan 16, 2026 2:00pm PST · 1 comment

Talk about taking control of the narrative. OpenAI’s announcements today that it would start testing ads in ChatGPT, and that it would also introduce an $8 a month tier of service called ChatGPT Go in the U.S., gives the AI company something positive to talk to investors about as it tries to raise a gargantuan amount of money (up to $100 billion... Talk about taking control of the narrative. OpenAI’s announcements today that it would start ...

Art by Clark Miller

Forget Vibe Coders: ‘Cracked Engineers’ Are All the Rage in Tech

By Rocket Drew · Jan 16, 2026 9:04am PST · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Forget Vibe Coders: ‘Cracked Engineers’ Are All the Rage in Tech

By Rocket Drew · Jan 16, 2026 9:04am PST · 4 comments

In November, a young robotics startup called Gradient began interviewing applicants for an engineering internship at the Palo Alto, Calif.–based company. But after talking to a half-dozen of them, the startup decided to ditch its plan to add interns. Why exactly? “Not worth our time,” said J.X. Mo, 23, Gradient’s co-founder. While some of... In November, a young robotics startup called Gradient began interviewing applicants for an...

SpaceX, Strava, Verkada and Crusoe are 2026 IPO contenders. Photos via Getty.

Nine Tech IPO Contenders to Watch This Year

By Valida Pau · Jan 16, 2026 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Initial public offering listings rebounded last year, though their performance—and a government shutdown—held back some startups’ plans. Now investors are gearing up for a blockbuster IPO year, thanks to an expected listing of SpaceX as well as a smattering of older startups, such as Discord and Strava, that are finally making... Initial public offering listings rebounded last year, though their performance—and a...

MrBeast. Victoria Sirakova/Getty Images.

Bitmine’s Switch From Ether to MrBeast

By Yueqi Yang · Jan 15, 2026 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for ether tokens, woke up to some surprising news today. Bitmine is investing $200 million in Beast Industries, the company of MrBeast, the No.1 YouTuber. He’s known for making viral videos, not for his interest in ether. The investment is what you... Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for...

Getty Images

A Pocket of Enterprise Software Investors Still Love

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 15, 2026 3:39pm PST

What do you get when you offset investors’ recent loathing of software startups with their lust for defense tech? Fast-growing Onebrief, the latest startup to double its valuation in a short span after raising $200 million this week from Battery Ventures and Sapphire Ventures at a $2.15 billion valuation, including the new investment.Onebrief... What do you get when you offset investors’ recent loathing of software startups with their lust...

Satya Nadella, left, and Dario Amodei. Photos by Getty Images.

Cowork Versus Copilot

By Aaron Holmes · Jan 15, 2026 10:51am PST

Satya Nadella, left, and Dario Amodei. Photos by Getty Images.

Cowork Versus Copilot

By Aaron Holmes · Jan 15, 2026 10:51am PST

The AI business continues to create and shift alliances between almost every leading tech firm. Companies may be incentivized to work together to fill each other’s AI or capital needs even as they compete more fiercely for consumer or enterprise dollars.That’s what’s happening with Microsoft and Anthropic. The two firms have recently become fast... The AI business continues to create and shift alliances between almost every leading tech firm....

Photo via Shutterstock

Thinking Machines’ Personnel Shake-Up; ServiceNow Is Still Hiring Young Engineers, in Part Thanks to AI

By Rocket Drew · Jan 15, 2026 7:00am PST · 1 comment

We had more drama in AI land on Wednesday night, as several people exited Thinking Machines Lab, the high-profile startup cofounded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, for OpenAI. Details remain murky but here’s what we know for sure. On Wednesday night, Murati said in a post on X that the company had “parted ways” with ... We had more drama in AI land on Wednesday night, as several people exited Thinking Machines Lab,...

Outside ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters. Getty Images.

Why ByteDance’s Stock Should Rise After TikTok Deal Closes

By Anita Ramaswamy and Jing Yang · Jan 15, 2026 6:00am PST · 1 comment

In the group of highly valued tech companies that have remained private, SpaceX and China’s ByteDance may be the biggest. But SpaceX has already signaled it will go public this year. And now that ByteDance has resolved the yearslong fight over its TikTok app in the U.S., the way may be clear for the Chinese tech giant to go public in the next... In the group of highly valued tech companies that have remained private, SpaceX and China’s...

CATL battery factory in Arnstadt, Germany. Photo: Nicolo Lanfranchi/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: China’s Moves Are Likely to Make Its Big Battery Makers Even Bigger

By Steve LeVine · Jan 15, 2026 4:30am PST

Days before China this week announced record exports, it moved to temper global anger over its flood of cheap products going overseas: It killed tax subsidies on exports of batteries and solar panels. Days before China this week announced record exports, it moved to temper global anger over its...

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Tech Stocks’ Bleak Day; Cerebras Gets Good News

By Martin Peers · Jan 14, 2026 5:00pm PST

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Tech Stocks’ Bleak Day; Cerebras Gets Good News

By Martin Peers · Jan 14, 2026 5:00pm PST

Wow. Wednesday was not a fun day, particularly if you’re a Verizon customer (guilty!), thanks to a widespread cellular phone outage that hit many of its subscribers for much of the day. It also wasn’t fun for tech investors as stocks sold off across the board. What wasn’t uniform, though, was the severity of the selling. Microsoft, Amazon and... Wow. Wednesday was not a fun day, particularly if you’re a Verizon customer (guilty!), thanks to...