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 Mike Sullivan

TikTok Plans Big Shopping Push

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jan 21, 2026 6:04am PST

TikTok’s U.S. business may be about to take off. The scheduled completion this week of TikTok’s sale of its U.S. data security arm to a joint venture ends years of uncertainty about its future in the U.S. And the video app maker is now redoubling its efforts to build a much bigger e-commerce business in the U.S., in a new challenge to Amazon. TikTok’s U.S. business may be about to take off. The scheduled completion this week of TikTok’s...

Photo by Getty.

OpenAI Lines Up Advertisers, Reveals Key Details Ahead of Ads Launch

By Catherine Perloff and Sri Muppidi · Jan 20, 2026 7:29pm PST · 1 comment

OpenAI has started offering its new chatbot ads to dozens of advertisers, according to two people familiar with the matter. To start off, the company is charging on the basis of ad views as opposed to per-ad clicks that are typical at large sellers of search ads like Google and Amazon, the people said. OpenAI is asking that small pool of... OpenAI has started offering its new chatbot ads to dozens of advertisers, according to two people...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on TITV at Davos today. Photo via TITV

Andy Jassy in Davos; Netflix’s Q4

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 20, 2026 5:00pm PST

My second day in Davos began way too early—in a sit-down with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy for The Information’s TITV. It has been two years and three months since I last sat down with Jassy in Seattle. While he’s always calm and measured—and, for what it is worth, he’s one of the nicest people to interview—one could sense a little defensiveness... My second day in Davos began way too early—in a sit-down with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy for The...

Applied Compute co-founders Rhythm Garg and Linden Li.

Applied Compute, Founded by Ex-OpenAI Researchers, in Talks for $1.3 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Valida Pau · Jan 20, 2026 3:01pm PST · 1 comment

Applied Compute co-founders Rhythm Garg and Linden Li.

Applied Compute, Founded by Ex-OpenAI Researchers, in Talks for $1.3 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Valida Pau · Jan 20, 2026 3:01pm PST · 1 comment

Applied Compute, a startup founded by three former OpenAI researchers that helps companies customize models with their own data, is in talks to raise new funding at a $1.3 billion valuation, including the investment, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. The funding would more than double the company’s valuation from its... Applied Compute, a startup founded by three former OpenAI researchers that helps companies...

Art by Clark Miller.

JPMorgan Moves To Cut Off Fintech With Questionable Customers

By Michael Roddan · Jan 20, 2026 12:19pm PST

Fintech startup Checkbook began with the promise to help banks eliminate paper checks and transformed itself into an international payments company that leveraged a relationship with JPMorgan Chase to give all manner of customers access to the U.S. financial system. JPMorgan recently told Checkbook it was winding down its relationship with the... Fintech startup Checkbook began with the promise to help banks eliminate paper checks and...

Getty Images

How xAI Plans to Automate White-Collar Workers

By Theo Wayt and Aaron Holmes · Jan 20, 2026 10:31am PST

AI startups talk a lot these days about how their products will be revolutionary by automating white collar work. But it’s rarer to hear messy stories about the hiccups AI startups face when trying to build such products for businesses, or the awkward situations that can arise when they roll out their own technology internally. That makes a... AI startups talk a lot these days about how their products will be revolutionary by automating...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Gemini

Why AI Startups' Fixation on 'Cracked' Engineers is Short-Sighted

By Rocket Drew · Jan 20, 2026 7:37am PST

Before we get to today’s column, OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar pulled back the curtain this weekend on how the ChatGPT maker’s consumption of computational resources and annualized revenue have grown at approximately the same pace over time. That isn’t super surprising, given that most companies would expect their revenue to grow... Before we get to today’s column, OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar pulled back the...

My Interview With Andy Jassy: OpenAI, Trump, Power and the Future of AWS

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 20, 2026 5:44am PST · 1 comment

My Interview With Andy Jassy: OpenAI, Trump, Power and the Future of AWS

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 20, 2026 5:44am PST · 1 comment

AI-powered shopping has the potential to be a big boost to Amazon’s retail business, CEO Andy Jassy said on Tuesday. And while Amazon already has its own shopping chatbot, it is also looking for ways to partner with other companies to run their chatbots on its site. In an interview with The Information’s Jessica Lessin at the World Economic... AI-powered shopping has the potential to be a big boost to Amazon’s retail business, CEO Andy...

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...