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

How a Big Agent Bet Reshaped AWS

By Catherine Perloff · Feb 1, 2026 11:00am PST · 1 comment

Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman has been overhauling the cloud giant’s AI product leadership to speed its development of new AI software for businesses. Among more recent moves, AWS hired a former Microsoft executive to lead a suite of enterprise search and agent-building tools, and brought back a former AWS executive who did a stint at... Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman has been overhauling the cloud giant’s AI product leadership...

Chart by Shane Burke.

Sunday Insights

In AI Shopping Wars, Rivals Team Up to Take On Amazon

By Ann Gehan · Feb 1, 2026 8:00am PST · 1 comment

AI firms are promoting shopping as a new area of growth for chatbots, and retail giants and payments companies don’t want to be left out. That’s spawned a web of partnerships among companies that could make money off AI-fueled purchases. We’ve mapped out the alliances between 10 companies at the center of the high-profile AI shopping efforts in... AI firms are promoting shopping as a new area of growth for chatbots, and retail giants and...

Art by Clark Miller

Weekend: Moltbook, Clawdbot and Their AI Hijinks—A Quick Explainer

By Abram Brown · Jan 31, 2026 7:14am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! Firstly, I want to tell you about an exciting addition to The Information’s Weekend section: reporter Eli Rosenberg, an alum of The New York Times, The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. He’ll cover tech wealth and culture—just as a slate of potential mega-IPOs from the likes of SpaceX, OpenAI and... Welcome, Weekenders! Firstly, I want to tell you about an exciting addition to The...

Art by Clark Miller

In Silicon Valley, A Priest and the Thinking Machines

By Abram Brown · Jan 31, 2026 6:50am PST · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Artificial Intelligence

In Silicon Valley, A Priest and the Thinking Machines

By Abram Brown · Jan 31, 2026 6:50am PST · 4 comments

Reaching for a metaphor to describe AI and today’s moment of technological upheaval, the Rev. Brendan McGuire picked out a whopper. “When fire was first discovered, it changed humanity: We learned how to reward ourselves,” hunting and then cooking over the flames, said McGuire, pastor of St. Simon Catholic Parish in Los Altos, Calif. “And it... Reaching for a metaphor to describe AI and today’s moment of technological upheaval, the Rev....

Art by Clark Miller

I Built a Word-a-Day App With Anthropic’s Cowork. It Took a Lot of Work

By Rocket Drew · Jan 31, 2026 6:29am PST · 3 comments

In the last several weeks, Anthropic’s Cowork has captured considerable attention. And no wonder—Cowork has an alluring promise: that it can apply all the power of Anthropic’s coding agent, Claude Code, to nonprogramming tasks in a simple tool. The reality is, like many freshly hired human co-workers, Anthropic’s tool has some... In the last several weeks, Anthropic’s Cowork has captured considerable attention. And no...

Art by Clark Miller

The Information’s Weekend Section Adds Eli Rosenberg to Cover Tech Wealth and Culture

By Abram Brown · Jan 31, 2026 6:22am PST

Another boom time has come to Silicon Valley, pouring an unprecedented amount of capital into AI—and making the industry’s moguls richer. How are they spending that money today, and what will interest them in the future—especially with mega-IPOs for OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX on the horizon? How will such an influx of money alter... Another boom time has come to Silicon Valley, pouring an unprecedented amount of capital into...

Art by Clark Miller

The Space Baby Era Is Here

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Jan 30, 2026 9:10am PST

Last fall, a plane took off from Ottawa, Ontario, with some unusual cargo: a collection of nonviable human embryos and eggs. Once the aircraft reached a high altitude, the pilot made arcs in the air, creating short intervals of weightlessness that gave researchers on board a chance to study the possible effects of space-like microgravity on... Last fall, a plane took off from Ottawa, Ontario, with some unusual cargo: a collection of...

Duane Kuang, founding managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners. Photo courtesy of Qiming.

U.S. Investors Should Return to China, Says Top Chinese Venture Capitalist

By Jing Yang · Jan 30, 2026 6:02am PST · 1 comment

Duane Kuang, founding managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners. Photo courtesy of Qiming.

Q&A

U.S. Investors Should Return to China, Says Top Chinese Venture Capitalist

By Jing Yang · Jan 30, 2026 6:02am PST · 1 comment

China’s AI startups need backing, and a slew of recent initial public offerings in the country should convince U.S. venture capitalists to return to its tech sector, says a top Chinese investor. “U.S. capital has the highest propensity to invest in breakthrough technology, and this pocket of capital has been hesitant about China,” said Duane... China’s AI startups need backing, and a slew of recent initial public offerings in the country...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images.

AI’s Dealmaking Frenzy

By Martin Peers · Jan 29, 2026 5:00pm PST

AI’s insatiable need for cash is proving to be a dream for dealmakers. Our scoop from Wednesday night that OpenAI was in talks to raise as much as $60 billion from Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon was followed by a Wall Street Journal report today that Amazon alone might put in $50 billion. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that Elon Musk was... AI’s insatiable need for cash is proving to be a dream for dealmakers. Our scoop from Wednesday...

Sundry Photography/Getty Images

A SpaceX Merger Would Reward Musk Loyalists

By Katie Roof · Jan 29, 2026 4:05pm PST · 1 comment

Before we get into today’s news, check out a string of scoops from my colleague Sri on the rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic. OpenAI, she reported last night, is talking to Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft about raising up to $60 billion to fill out its $100 billion fundraising, which would widen its funding lead over rival Anthropic. But Anthropic... Before we get into today’s news, check out a string of scoops from my colleague Sri on the...

Subscriber Survey

Optimism Wanes as AI Risks Take Center Stage

By Shane Burke · Jan 29, 2026 12:04pm PST

Optimism among The Information’s readers about the tech industry’s near-term outlook has fallen to its lowest level since President Donald Trump’s tariffs spooked markets last April, according to our latest monthly subscriber survey. This month, 38% of readers said conditions would worsen in the next six months, up from 25% in December 2025. At... Optimism among The Information’s readers about the tech industry’s near-term outlook has fallen...

Microsoft Commercial CEO Judson Althoff. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg.

Microsoft Reveals It’s the No. 2 Seller of AI Apps Behind OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes · Jan 29, 2026 10:30am PST · 6 comments

Microsoft Commercial CEO Judson Althoff. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg.

Microsoft Reveals It’s the No. 2 Seller of AI Apps Behind OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes · Jan 29, 2026 10:30am PST · 6 comments

Microsoft’s slightly-slowing growth in cloud server rentals cast a pall over its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, but the company had a salve to numb that sting: It’s generating significant revenue from AI software subscriptions.During its earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella revealed one of the most hotly anticipated figures investors and... Microsoft’s slightly-slowing growth in cloud server rentals cast a pall over its quarterly...

Photo by Christopher Juhn/Getty Images

ICE Says It Uses AI From Palantir, OpenAI; Meta’s Humanoid Robot Training Plan

By Erin Woo and Jyoti Mann · Jan 29, 2026 7:00am PST

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday released a new database describing its use of artificial intelligence last year, including how Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within DHS, relied on technology from Palantir and OpenAI.ICE has been a flashpoint around the country after government agents fatally shot two people... The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday released a new database describing its use...

Photos by Getty Images

ByteDance, Alibaba to Launch New Models in Race for AI Supremacy in China

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Jan 29, 2026 5:00am PST · 2 comments

The battle for AI dominance in China is reaching new heights. Tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba Group are both poised to release their next flagship AI models around the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, in what could be the most consequential battle in the country’s tech sector. ByteDance is preparing to release three new AI... The battle for AI dominance in China is reaching new heights. Tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a full pivot away from electric vehicles. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: Musk Talks Up Optimus, But Tesla's 2025 Was Saved By Plain Old Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jan 29, 2026 4:38am PST · 1 comment

Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes much of the shining future of the driverless Cybercab and the Optimus robot. As for revenue today, one of the company’s few bright spots is batteries. Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes much of the shining future of the driverless Cybercab and the Optimus...

CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images.

Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon in Talks to Invest Up to $60 Billion in OpenAI

By Sri Muppidi · Jan 28, 2026 6:55pm PST · 2 comments

CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images.

Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon in Talks to Invest Up to $60 Billion in OpenAI

By Sri Muppidi · Jan 28, 2026 6:55pm PST · 2 comments

OpenAI is lining up huge checks from some of its biggest tech partners, as it seeks to raise up to $100 billion to fund growing demand for its AI. Nvidia, an existing investor whose chips power OpenAI’s AI models, is in talks to invest up to $30 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Microsoft, a longstanding backer with... OpenAI is lining up huge checks from some of its biggest tech partners, as it seeks to raise up...

Orlando Bravo, co-founder of Thoma Bravo. Photo by Getty Images.

Thoma Bravo-Backed Anaplan Prepares Confidential IPO Filing

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Jan 28, 2026 5:20pm PST

Anaplan, a business-planning software provider owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, is taking steps toward an initial public offering and could file confidentially for the listing in the coming weeks, people familiar with the discussions said. The listing would be a sign that IPOs for PE-backed software companies could soon rebound. ... Anaplan, a business-planning software provider owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, is...

Satya Nadella and Mark Zuckerberg. Getty Images

What We Learned From Meta, Microsoft and Tesla

By Martin Peers · Jan 28, 2026 5:00pm PST

If quarterly earnings announcements were a contest, Mark Zuckerberg would have won Wednesday. You might even say investors are coming to terms with Meta Platforms’ you-only-live-once approach to spending on AI. The owner of Facebook and Instagram reported stronger than projected fourth-quarter growth of 24% and projected that revenue growth... If quarterly earnings announcements were a contest, Mark Zuckerberg would have won Wednesday. You...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Hires at Least Seven Staffers From Coding Startup Cline

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 28, 2026 3:10pm PST

OpenAI has recently hired more than a half dozen employees from Cline, a startup that develops an open-source, AI-powered coding assistant, an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed. The hires could help OpenAI accelerate improvements for its Codex coding product, which it sees as a key tool to make its AI more essential to large corporations as it... OpenAI has recently hired more than a half dozen employees from Cline, a startup that develops an...

Jerry Tworek. Screenshot via YouTube

Ex-OpenAI Researcher’s Startup Targets Up to $1 Billion in Funding to Develop a New Type of AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Wayne Ma · Jan 28, 2026 1:09pm PST · 2 comments

Jerry Tworek. Screenshot via YouTube

Ex-OpenAI Researcher’s Startup Targets Up to $1 Billion in Funding to Develop a New Type of AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Wayne Ma · Jan 28, 2026 1:09pm PST · 2 comments

The wave of so-called AI neolabs seeking breakthroughs they think incumbents like OpenAI will miss continues to rise. Core Automation, an AI startup founded by former senior OpenAI researcher Jerry Tworek in recent weeks, aims to raise between $500 million and $1 billion in funding, according to a person who has spoken with the company. He wants... The wave of so-called AI neolabs seeking breakthroughs they think incumbents like OpenAI will...