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

Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Anthropic’s CFO Wields Power Behind the Scenes

By Sri Muppidi, Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Apr 18, 2026 7:30am PDT · 4 comments

These days, Anthropic is a crowded place: a startup with its own in-house philosopher, researchers devoted to preventing Armageddon and a CEO willing to go toe-to-toe with the Pentagon. And then there’s Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao, who has emerged as a key force within the company while staying far out of the spotlight. When Rao... These days, Anthropic is a crowded place: a startup with its own in-house philosopher,...

Art by Clark Miller; YouTube

How Dylan Patel and SemiAnalysis Grabbed Sway in Silicon Valley

By Abram Brown · Apr 17, 2026 9:05am PDT · 4 comments

For Dylan Patel, founder of SemiAnalysis, an influential AI industry newsletter and research firm, Nvidia deserves the kind of dogged observation and study the tabloid press once devoted to Princess Diana. He scrutinizes the chip giant’s new products, documents its delays and scoops details about its inner workings.... For Dylan Patel, founder of SemiAnalysis, an influential AI industry newsletter and research...

Art by Mike Sullivan

China’s DeepSeek is Raising Money for First Time, At $10 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Qianer Liu, Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Apr 17, 2026 7:36am PDT

DeepSeek is in talks to raise outside capital for the first time, seeking to beef up its financial war chest so it can better compete in the costly battle to develop leading AI models, according to five people familiar with the matter. DeepSeek is owned by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management, which has financed the startup so far.... DeepSeek is in talks to raise outside capital for the first time, seeking to beef up its...

A Flock Safety license plate reader in Boulder, Colo. Photo by Getty.

Police Tech Startup Flock Safety Valued at $8.4 Billion Amid Civic Protests

By Cory Weinberg and Julia Hornstein · Apr 17, 2026 6:00am PDT

A Flock Safety license plate reader in Boulder, Colo. Photo by Getty.

Police Tech Startup Flock Safety Valued at $8.4 Billion Amid Civic Protests

By Cory Weinberg and Julia Hornstein · Apr 17, 2026 6:00am PDT

Flock Safety, which sells cameras, drones and AI software to police departments, was valued at $8.4 billion in a new round of funding completed in recent weeks, a modest bump from its financing last year, according to a publicly filed corporate charter and people familiar with the round. The company raised the new funds amid the largest... Flock Safety, which sells cameras, drones and AI software to police departments, was valued at...

Sam Altman (left) and Andrew Feldman (right). Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

OpenAI to Spend More Than $20 Billion on Cerebras Chips, Receive Equity Stake

By Anissa Gardizy and Valida Pau · Apr 16, 2026 6:19pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI recently struck an unusual deal to lessen its dependence on Nvidia’s AI chips and potentially lower its computing expenses in the coming years. OpenAI has agreed to pay chip designer Cerebras more than $20 billion to use servers powered by the firm’s AI server chips over the next three years, according to multiple people with knowledge of... OpenAI recently struck an unusual deal to lessen its dependence on Nvidia’s AI chips and...

TSMC CEO C. C. Wei. Getty Images.

TSMC’s Strong Results is One More Bullish AI Sign

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Upbeat signals about the AI business are proliferating. The latest was chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s first-quarter report on Thursday, showing revenue growth of 40.6%, above the top end of its projected range. The company raised its full-year growth rate to above 30%. According to TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, “AI-related demand... Upbeat signals about the AI business are proliferating. The latest was chipmaking giant Taiwan...

Wonder CEO Marc Lore. Kimberly White/Getty Images.

Marc Lore’s Wonder Preps a Pre-IPO Round

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 16, 2026 3:17pm PDT

E-commerce veteran Marc Lore hasn’t been shy about his food delivery startup’s IPO aspirations. In recent months, he has written on the whiteboards in Wonder’s Midtown Manhattan office the date when it should be IPO-ready: March 31, 2027, according to a person close to the company.First, however, the company will try to tap private investors... E-commerce veteran Marc Lore hasn’t been shy about his food delivery startup’s IPO aspirations....

Art by Clark Miller.

Can OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ad Ambitions Add Up?

By The Information Staff · Apr 16, 2026 12:00pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Can OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ad Ambitions Add Up?

By The Information Staff · Apr 16, 2026 12:00pm PDT

OpenAI has mapped out ambitious targets for its recently launched ChatGPT advertising business, telling investors it plans to hit around $2.4 billion in ad revenue this year and nearly $11 billion in 2027. An analysis by The Information’s Deep Research shows there are still significant hurdles OpenAI needs to clear in order to turn a small,... OpenAI has mapped out ambitious targets for its recently launched ChatGPT advertising business,...

LinkedIn CEO and Microsoft EVP Ryan Roslansky. Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

LinkedIn’s AI Agent Product Becomes a Surprise Bright Spot for Microsoft

By Aaron Holmes and Laura Bratton · Apr 16, 2026 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft has so far seen mixed results in its efforts to sell AI-powered products to businesses, with only around 3% of its Office 365 users paying to use 365 Copilot as of the end of last year. But a seemingly niche AI product released last fall by its subsidiary LinkedIn has taken off as a surprise hit. And I’m told that leaders... Microsoft has so far seen mixed results in its efforts to sell AI-powered products to businesses,...

The Electric: Repurposed EV Batteries Are a New Power Source in AI Data Centers

The Electric: Repurposed EV Batteries Are a New Power Source in AI Data Centers

By Steve LeVine · Apr 16, 2026 9:00am PDT

EV batteries are turning out to have useful lives even after they stop powering vehicles. The battery industry, along with academics who study battery life, say the batteries turn out to still have a lot of juice when they seem dead. Rather than ripping them apart and recycling their metals, they say, EV batteries should be repurposed for... EV batteries are turning out to have useful lives even after they stop powering...

Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot, Atlas. Photo by Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Google’s New Model Makes Robotic Brains Slightly Smarter

By Rocket Drew · Apr 16, 2026 7:00am PDT

Earlier this week, Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics-ER-1.6, a new vision and language model to help robots make sense of their surroundings. To show off its capabilities, Boston Dynamics—which has an agreement to use Gemini in its humanoid robots—published a video of its robot dogs using the model to read a thermometer during an... Earlier this week, Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics-ER-1.6, a new vision and language...

Art by Clark Miller

Google and Pentagon Discuss Classified AI Deal as Company Rebuilds Military Ties

By Erin Woo · Apr 16, 2026 6:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Google and Pentagon Discuss Classified AI Deal as Company Rebuilds Military Ties

By Erin Woo · Apr 16, 2026 6:00am PDT

Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of Defense that would allow the Pentagon to deploy Google’s Gemini AI models in classified settings, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. If the two parties come to an agreement, it would expand Google’s connection to the Pentagon as a tech contractor and... Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of Defense that would allow the Pentagon...

Mike Krieger from Anthropic. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Figma’s Apple Moment; Allbirds’ AI Pivot

By Martin Peers · Apr 15, 2026 5:00pm PDT

AI really is transforming the world! The latest example: Dying shoemaker Allbirds is turning itself into an AI chip firm called NewBird AI. Its stock rocketed 600% in response. But before we dig into that bizarre story, we should highlight what may be today’s more meaningful news: Anthropic executive Mike Krieger’s departure from the board of... AI really is transforming the world! The latest example: Dying shoemaker Allbirds is turning...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Shutterstock

Apple Sends Siri Staffers to Coding ‘Bootcamp’ in Latest Shakeup For Organization

By Aaron Tilley and Amir Efrati · Apr 15, 2026 12:44pm PDT · 2 comments

Apple is sending a portion of its Siri programmers back to coding school just two months before the company is expected to unveil a major, AI-powered revamp of the voice assistant, people familiar with the team said. The company plans to send a significant chunk of people working on Siri—a group that totals in the hundreds—to a... Apple is sending a portion of its Siri programmers back to coding school just two months before...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Q&A

The Hidden Costs of AI Shopping Payments

By Ann Gehan · Apr 15, 2026 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

Shoppers using AI are seeking refunds and disputing credit card charges at an elevated rate, highlighting the financial risks of AI-powered shopping, according to Carlo Bruno, vice president of product at payments firm Adyen. Companies must figure out how to handle that risk before AI can reliably tackle online purchases, Bruno said. The... Shoppers using AI are seeking refunds and disputing credit card charges at an elevated rate,...

SpaceX’s Hawthorne, Calif. facility. Ethan Swope/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

I Helped Pick Stocks for the Dow. I’m Watching the SpaceX IPO Carefully

By Guest · Apr 15, 2026 8:00am PDT · 5 comments

SpaceX’s Hawthorne, Calif. facility. Ethan Swope/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

The Information Finance

I Helped Pick Stocks for the Dow. I’m Watching the SpaceX IPO Carefully

By Guest · Apr 15, 2026 8:00am PDT · 5 comments

Please join The Information at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, April 27, for our “Financing the AI Revolution” forum. Hear from top executives and investors on how the rapid build-out of AI is reshaping tech, finance and capital markets. Learn more here.SpaceX’s financial challenges have become clearer in the past week, thanks to new... Please join The Information at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, April 27, for our “...

Art by Mike Sullivan

China’s Probe of Meta’s Manus Purchase Sends Startups Scrambling

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Apr 15, 2026 7:00am PDT

China’s AI startup founders are jittery. The Chinese government’s investigation of Manus’ sale to Meta Platforms has cast a shadow over a popular exit path for startup founders. And it has caused some startups to consider moving out of China or to shift some operations to Singapore.While some AI startups are happy to stay in China, relying on... China’s AI startup founders are jittery. The Chinese government’s investigation of Manus’ sale to...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

OpenAI Plans New Pricing for ChatGPT Ads, Explores Other Upgrades

By Ann Gehan · Apr 15, 2026 6:00am PDT

OpenAI plans to start pricing some ChatGPT ads based on whether people click on the ads rather than just how many people see them, an agency executive who spoke with OpenAI employees and works with ChatGPT advertisers said. At the same time, OpenAI has also indicated it plans to introduce ads aimed at getting people to take a specific action,... OpenAI plans to start pricing some ChatGPT ads based on whether people click on the ads rather...

Photo via Globalstar

What Amazon’s Globalstar Purchase Means for SpaceX

By Martin Peers · Apr 14, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Every now and then we get a reminder that big tech’s pockets are as deep as the Mariana Trench. Amazon’s purchase of satellite firm Globalstar offers one of those reminders. Despite spending $200 billion this year on capital expenditures for its AI expansion and committing $50 billion on an OpenAI investment, Amazon can still find a few loose... Every now and then we get a reminder that big tech’s pockets are as deep as the Mariana Trench....

Jared Siskin/Getty Images.

Billion Dollar Grüns Sale Gives Consumer Investors Hope

By Katie Roof · Apr 14, 2026 4:18pm PDT

Jared Siskin/Getty Images.

Billion Dollar Grüns Sale Gives Consumer Investors Hope

By Katie Roof · Apr 14, 2026 4:18pm PDT

When Unilever last week announced its $1.2 billion acquisition of Grüns, a three-year-old brand of gummy vitamins, I had a flashback to a decade ago when Unilever bought Dollar Shave Club for almost the same price. That earlier deal marked the heyday of venture-backed consumer exits, which have been few and far between more recently. The... When Unilever last week announced its $1.2 billion acquisition of Grüns, a three-year-old brand...