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

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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.

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Recent Editions

Art: Clark Miller

America Really, Really Hates Data Centers

By Abram Brown · Aug 22, 2026 8:00am PDT

• The Big Read: AI promises to cure cancer. Scientists feel existential dread• The new robotics ‘arms race’: Who can do the craziest hype video?• Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “Dan Taberski’s Manifesto,” “A Tender Age” and “The End of Oak Street” With surprising swiftness, data centers have become the bête noire of... • The Big Read: AI promises to cure cancer. Scientists feel existential dread• The new robotics ‘...

Art: Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)

Why Scientists See AI Leaders as False Prophets

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Aug 22, 2026 7:17am PDT · 6 comments

Eric Topol is a prominent cardiologist known for his research into deploying AI and other technologies to improve healthcare. He considers himself a Demis Hassabis superfan, and when I spoke to him, he enthusiastically recounted scoring a blurb from the Google DeepMind chair for “Super Agers,” Topol’s bestselling 2025 book on longevity. “He’s a... Eric Topol is a prominent cardiologist known for his research into deploying AI and other...

Art via Mike Sullivan

AI Infrastructure

Nvidia is Using Land and Electricity Deals to Lock In Its Hardware Bundle

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Aug 21, 2026 2:40pm PDT

Nvidia is racing to lock up data center capacity for its AI hardware before its rivals do. On Friday, the company announced it had acquired a minority stake in Cloverleaf Infrastructure, its third equity investment in rapid succession in firms that secure real estate and electricity access for data centers in the U.S.By backing the two-year-old... Nvidia is racing to lock up data center capacity for its AI hardware before its rivals do. On...

Art by Clark Miller.

The New Robotics ‘Arms Race’: Who Can Do the Craziest Hype Video?

By Rocket Drew · Aug 21, 2026 7:12am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

The New Robotics ‘Arms Race’: Who Can Do the Craziest Hype Video?

By Rocket Drew · Aug 21, 2026 7:12am PDT

A couple months ago, a humanoid robot was dispatched to the top of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo, the surface point farthest from the center of the planet. It was a stunt arranged by Geologic Dome, a nonprofit that uses AI and robotics for nature conservation, which had obtained the robot from the robotics arm of Virtuals Protocol, a crypto... A couple months ago, a humanoid robot was dispatched to the top of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo,...

Richard Levine/Corbis via Getty Images.

Barclays Loses Tech Bankers; VCs Get Exits From Poolside, OpenRouter

By Valida Pau · Aug 20, 2026 5:15pm PDT

Barclays has been losing tech bankers lately. Last night I reported that Tim Luke, a veteran semiconductor analyst and banker, is leaving the British investment bank to join Morgan Stanley. His position as a vice chairman in technology investment banking will further strengthen Morgan Stanley’s strong semiconductor banking franchise. ... Barclays has been losing tech bankers lately. Last night I reported that Tim Luke, a veteran...

Getty Images.

Walmart’s Slowdown Spotlights Amazon’s Strength

By Martin Peers · Aug 20, 2026 5:00pm PDT

This was not the day to be a Walmart shareholder. Stock of the venerable retailer tumbled 9% after the company reported a dip in comparable sales for its U.S. stores in its fiscal second quarter ending July, even as the e-commerce part of its business grew 23%. The results were fine, really, although there’s no getting around the fact that... This was not the day to be a Walmart shareholder. Stock of the venerable retailer tumbled 9%...

Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images

AT&T is Using Open Source Models to Curb Anthropic Bills

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 20, 2026 11:55am PDT

Anthropic and OpenAI had better hope more companies don’t follow the example of AT&T.The telecommunications firm plans to keep its employees’ spending on Anthropic and OpenAI models flat in the coming years by using more open-source models such as Nvidia’s Nemotron, according to Mark Austin, an AT&T vice president. Anthropic and OpenAI had better hope more companies don’t follow the example of AT&T.The...

Nvidia’s Groq 3 LPU chip. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Nvidia Plots China Comeback With New AI Chip

By Qianer Liu · Aug 20, 2026 9:58am PDT

Nvidia’s Groq 3 LPU chip. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Nvidia Plots China Comeback With New AI Chip

By Qianer Liu · Aug 20, 2026 9:58am PDT

Nvidia plans to begin small-batch shipments of an AI chip specially tailored for Chinese customers by the end of the year, according to two employees, in what would represent a new route to China for the company. Several Chinese customers have already placed orders for the chip, which is a variant of Nvidia’s language processing unit. The LPU is... Nvidia plans to begin small-batch shipments of an AI chip specially tailored for Chinese...

Photo courtesy of Foxglove.

Robots Are in Their GPT-2 Era

By Rocket Drew · Aug 20, 2026 7:00am PDT

It’s no secret that AI-powered robots aren’t so good yet. They struggle with a broad range of simple tasks, from untangling cables to chopping vegetables. Nonetheless, morale is high among roboticists who are flush with venture cash as they work toward a “ChatGPT moment” when robots become broadly useful and available. Until then... It’s no secret that AI-powered robots aren’t so good yet. They struggle with a broad range of...

Chris Taylor, left, and Eddie Siegel of Ode. Photos courtesy of Ode.

Anthropic’s Enterprise AI Venture Buys Consultancy

By Julia Hornstein · Aug 20, 2026 6:00am PDT

A joint venture established by Anthropic and Wall Street firms such as Blackstone has made its first acquisition since its July launch as it looks to boost the growth of Claude, Anthropic’s chatbot, among businesses. Anthropic’s venture, called Ode with Anthropic, plans to announce Thursday that it is buying an AI consultancy, Casper Studios,... A joint venture established by Anthropic and Wall Street firms such as Blackstone has made its...

OpenRouter founder Alex Atallah. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images.

Stripe Takes OpenRouter

By Martin Peers · Aug 19, 2026 5:00pm PDT

No one would ever call payment processing a glamorous business, although if anyone could make it interesting, it’s Stripe’s founders, the Collison brothers (they’re Irish, and one of them has a podcast set in a pub!). Stripe has been out of the limelight for a while, but that’s changed in recent weeks based on speculation that it has been... No one would ever call payment processing a glamorous business, although if anyone could make it...

Enovix's Penang, Malaysia factory. Photo: Courtesy Enovix

Enovix Next-Gen Batteries Are Terrific. Are They Also Obsolete?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 19, 2026 12:01pm PDT

Enovix's Penang, Malaysia factory. Photo: Courtesy Enovix

Enovix Next-Gen Batteries Are Terrific. Are They Also Obsolete?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 19, 2026 12:01pm PDT

In August 2022, Ananda Baruah, a technology analyst with Loop Capital, doubled his price target for next-generation battery developer Enovix to $100 a share. At the time the stock was trading around $20. Other leading analysts were less bullish, but Baruah argued that the startup was on the cusp of a windfall in sales to some of the biggest... In August 2022, Ananda Baruah, a technology analyst with Loop Capital, doubled his price target...

Co-founder and CEO of Rothera, Thomas Chippas. Screenshot via YouTube.

The Information Finance

The Hot New Prediction Exchange You’ve Never Heard of—by Design

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 19, 2026 11:10am PDT

A new behind-the-scenes exchange called Rothera is betting it can capture a significant share of prediction market trading without running its own consumer app. Prediction markets are dominated by Kalshi and Polymarket, which operate consumer-facing apps as well as exchanges that also handle trades for outside firms. Rothera is taking a... A new behind-the-scenes exchange called Rothera is betting it can capture a significant share of...

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images

Nvidia Discusses Funding Its AI Data Supplier Mercor at a $20 Billion Valuation

By Phoebe Liu and Julia Hornstein · Aug 19, 2026 10:48am PDT

Nvidia has discussed an investment in Mercor, a data labeling provider that helps the chip designer develop its open-source AI models, according to a person with knowledge of the process. The investment would be part of a $20 billion-valuation round. Existing investor General Catalyst has been in talks to lead the round. Historically, most of... Nvidia has discussed an investment in Mercor, a data labeling provider that helps the chip...

Sam Altman. Art via Getty Images

OpenAI Raises the Safety Bar on Anthropic; Anthropic Expands Its Revenue Lead

By Amir Efrati · Aug 19, 2026 7:01am PDT

In the Anthropic-OpenAI horse race, the now-much-smaller OpenAI has been looking to slow down its ascendant rival. That includes undercutting Anthropic’s model prices, as we covered yesterday, and playing nice with federal officials that have gone to war with Anthropic.Another potential avenue is safety. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday... In the Anthropic-OpenAI horse race, the now-much-smaller OpenAI has been looking to slow down its...

From left: OpenAI's Sam Altman, U.S. President Donald Trump and Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis at G7 Summit in June. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

For AI Companies, Unanswered Questions About White House Model Testing Plan

By Leo Schwartz · Aug 19, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

From left: OpenAI's Sam Altman, U.S. President Donald Trump and Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis at G7 Summit in June. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

For AI Companies, Unanswered Questions About White House Model Testing Plan

By Leo Schwartz · Aug 19, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In early August, the White House hosted tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google to share details on its new AI framework, which would encourage labs to voluntarily share their most advanced new models with the government before releasing them to the public. But more than two weeks later, much of the AI sector remains in the dark... In early August, the White House hosted tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google to...

From left, Nicolas Kopp, CEO and founder of Rillet; Campfire founder and CEO John Glasgow.

QuickBooks Challengers Are Fetching $1 Billion Valuations

By Julia Hornstein and Valida Pau · Aug 18, 2026 5:31pm PDT

Fast growth at AI startups like Mercor and Replit is also boosting the fortunes of startups that help them balance their books.Rillet, which makes AI-powered accounting software it sells to other companies, said Tuesday it has raised $100 million in a funding round led by returning investor Iconiq, valuing Rillet at $1 billion. And rival... Fast growth at AI startups like Mercor and Replit is also boosting the fortunes of startups that...

Erin Popolo, who lost her 17-year-old daughter to suicide, speaks to the press outside the federal courthouse in Oakland, Calif. on Aug. 18 as opening arguments began in the Meta trial. Godofredo A. Vasquez/AFP/Getty Images.

What’s at Stake for Meta in Youth Addiction Trial

By Martin Peers · Aug 18, 2026 5:01pm PDT

You might be shocked to learn there is a world outside AI! And we got a glimpse of it in an Oakland, Calif., courtroom today, at the opening of the trial in a lawsuit brought by California and several other states against Meta Platforms over the alleged harms its social media apps have done to kids. This case, part of a deluge of such lawsuits... You might be shocked to learn there is a world outside AI! And we got a glimpse of it in an...

Andi Gutmans, vice president and general manager, Google Data Cloud. Photo courtesy of Google

Google Says Its AI Can Do the Work of Forward Deployed Engineers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 18, 2026 2:19pm PDT · 1 comment

Following the playbook Palantir pioneered, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Amazon are investing billions of dollars to hire so-called forward deployed engineers to get newfangled AI to work in enterprises. Then there’s Google, which says AI can automate some of what these FDEs do. While Google Cloud recently said it plans to hire... Following the playbook Palantir pioneered, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Amazon are investing...

Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei. Photo by Getty.

Anthropic Prepares Supervoting Power for Founders as it Readies for Mega-IPO

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · Aug 18, 2026 1:29pm PDT

Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei. Photo by Getty.

Anthropic Prepares Supervoting Power for Founders as it Readies for Mega-IPO

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · Aug 18, 2026 1:29pm PDT

Anthropic has been preparing to give CEO Dario Amodei and other co-founders a class of stock with extra voting power to help insulate them from outside shareholder pressure, two people familiar with the matter said. It would be the first time Anthropic’s leaders have extra voting power, which has become common practice for tech founders. It is... Anthropic has been preparing to give CEO Dario Amodei and other co-founders a class of stock with...