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

Amy Hood. Photo by Getty Images

How Microsoft Escaped the AI Margin Squeeze; An FDE Boom

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 30, 2025 10:33am PDT

Microsoft shared some good and bad news with investors during its quarterly earnings call Wednesday: More customers have been using Microsoft’s suite of AI copilots, but many of them aren’t paying for it. Microsoft said more people are using Copilot Chat, which provides ChatGPT-like features to Office 365 subscribers for free (more advanced... Microsoft shared some good and bad news with investors during its quarterly earnings call...

Asha Sharma, president of product development for Microsoft’s Core AI division. Photo by Erin Beach.

AI Leaders Get Practical; Gemini’s Ascent

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 30, 2025 7:00am PDT

At our Women in Tech, Media and Finance conference Wednesday, AI leaders from Microsoft, PagerDuty and Index Ventures got into the nitty gritty of what it’s like to invest in, develop, buy and use AI products. Our top takeaways.1. Not everyone’s a fan of vibe coding. Lucy Guo, the CEO of creator startup Passes and a cofounder of data labeling... At our Women in Tech, Media and Finance conference Wednesday, AI leaders from Microsoft, ...

Photo by Getty Images

Tesla’s Scaled Back Robotaxi Timeline Still Faces Obstacles

By Theo Wayt · Oct 30, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Elon Musk has already dampened expectations for when Tesla will widely roll out its robotaxi service, which the CEO says is critical to the automaker’s future. But it’s questionable whether Tesla will even be able to hit the lowball expansion figures Musk disclosed to Tesla shareholders last week. Tesla has yet to complete all the paperwork... Elon Musk has already dampened expectations for when Tesla will widely roll out its robotaxi...

Mitra Chem's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. Photo: Courtesy Mitra Chem

The Electric: In a $350 Million Strategic Shift, Trump Backs an Iron-Based Battery Startup

By Steve LeVine · Oct 30, 2025 4:30am PDT

Mitra Chem's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. Photo: Courtesy Mitra Chem

The Electric: In a $350 Million Strategic Shift, Trump Backs an Iron-Based Battery Startup

By Steve LeVine · Oct 30, 2025 4:30am PDT

In a surprise challenge to China’s chokehold on the most popular type of lithium-ion batteries, the Trump administration and Japan said they will invest about $350 million in a small U.S. startup that’s developing the main component in such batteries. In a surprise challenge to China’s chokehold on the most popular type of lithium-ion batteries,...

The Information Founder Jessica Lessin (L) and YouTube Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe (R). Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

YouTube Exec: Subscription Strength Prompted Reorg

By Erin Woo · Oct 29, 2025 6:16pm PDT · 1 comment

A major staff reorganization at YouTube on Wednesday in part reflects the growing importance of subscriptions to the streaming service’s business, a top executive from the video juggernaut said on Wednesday. Subscriptions are “a major monetization driver, so that deserves the attention of a senior leader reporting into [YouTube CEO] Neal... A major staff reorganization at YouTube on Wednesday in part reflects the growing importance of...

Getty Images

What Google, Meta and Microsoft Numbers Revealed

By Martin Peers · Oct 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Mark Zuckerberg is doubling down on AI—again. And the cost is mounting. Meta Platforms reported Wednesday that its increased investment in AI, both for hiring star AI researchers and for investing billions in data centers, hurt its operating profit margins and squeezed its free cash flow by one-third in the third quarter. Since the end of last... Mark Zuckerberg is doubling down on AI—again. And the cost is mounting. Meta Platforms reported...

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI Moves Up the Stack: Why Every Software Incumbent is Now a Target

By The Information Staff · Oct 29, 2025 1:24pm PDT

OpenAI is moving beyond its role as a technology partner, transforming its model lead into a multi-front assault on established software giants. This pivot positions the company not just as a supplier, but as a formidable application competitor, aiming to own the entire user workflow in markets like productivity, consulting, and e-commerce. This... OpenAI is moving beyond its role as a technology partner, transforming its model lead into a...

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China Fast-Tracks Tech IPOs to Counter US AI Rivalry

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Oct 29, 2025 8:00am PDT

Getty Images

China Fast-Tracks Tech IPOs to Counter US AI Rivalry

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Oct 29, 2025 8:00am PDT

The tech rivalry with the U.S. has made China take an unusual step: It is accelerating the pace at which startups go public in hopes of increasing investment in the tech sector. In recent months, securities regulators in China approved the public listings of two chip designers, MetaX and Moore Threads, in less than three months. Chinese... The tech rivalry with the U.S. has made China take an unusual step: It is accelerating the pace...

OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki and CEO Sam Altman.

How Realistic is OpenAI’s 2028 Timeline For Automating AI Research Itself?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 29, 2025 7:00am PDT

OpenAI flooded the zone yesterday with a long-awaited announcement regarding its revised agreement with Microsoft and corporate restructuring, and an hour-long livestream in which CEO Sam Altman and Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki answered questions from the public. (For more on the restructuring, check out this story from my colleagues.)On the... OpenAI flooded the zone yesterday with a long-awaited announcement regarding its revised...

Paris Hilton at WTF. Photo by Erin Beach.

WTF: Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Paris Hilton Has Been Training Her AI for Years

By Catherine Perloff and Erin Woo · Oct 29, 2025 6:19am PDT

Paris Hilton said she has spent years training an artificial intelligence chatbot based on her interviews, writing and songs that knows her “sometimes even better than I know myself.” “It’s studied every single thing I’ve done, everywhere I’ve been, every interview I’ve done,” she said onstage at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and... Paris Hilton said she has spent years training an artificial intelligence chatbot based on her...

How Shopify’s Leadership Shake-Up Affects Its Push for Growth

By Ann Gehan · Oct 29, 2025 6:00am PDT

Things have never been better for Shopify. The e-commerce firm’s stock is trading near all-time highs. And a recent deal with OpenAI has put Shopify in a position to capitalize on AI-fueled shopping by easily allowing its merchants to sell products through ChatGPT. And yet Shopify is seeing the kind of executive turnover normally associated with... Things have never been better for Shopify. The e-commerce firm’s stock is trading near all-time...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Getty Images

Nvidia and OpenAI Flood the Zone With AI News

By Martin Peers · Oct 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Getty Images

Nvidia and OpenAI Flood the Zone With AI News

By Martin Peers · Oct 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Where’s an AI agent when you need one? We got a flood of AI-related news today, including OpenAI’s revelation that it had completed its long-gestating restructuring into a near-normal company, one that can go public one day. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also was busy making news at the company’s GTC event in Washington, revealing the volume of orders... Where’s an AI agent when you need one? We got a flood of AI-related news today, including OpenAI’...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, left, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos via Getty

What the OpenAI Restructuring Means

By Sri Muppidi and Aaron Holmes · Oct 28, 2025 1:54pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI on Tuesday completed a yearlong restructuring that will allow it to one day go public, when it could raise tens of billions of dollars to help fund its costly artificial intelligence. The company will continue to be effectively controlled by a nonprofit board of directors, although the restructuring has converted the investments made by... OpenAI on Tuesday completed a yearlong restructuring that will allow it to one day go public,...

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Profit Pressure Spurs Chip Deals

By Valida Pau · Oct 28, 2025 12:41pm PDT

Giant tech companies are wreaking havoc on chipmakers, outcompeting them or shifting to new suppliers, and that’s spurring a dealmaking spree in the industry. We broke news last night about the largest chip deal of the year, Skyworks Solutions buying rival chipmaker Qorvo for $10.6 billion. Both companies, which make radio frequency chips... Giant tech companies are wreaking havoc on chipmakers, outcompeting them or shifting to new...

Photo by Shutterstock

Microsoft’s AI Bundle Gets In Trouble

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 28, 2025 10:30am PDT

Microsoft last year got more aggressive about getting people to pay up for artificial intelligence features in its Office productivity suite, such as those that draft emails or summarize documents. It began including AI features by default and raising the baseline price of Office for individual consumers by 30%. The maneuver paid off, as... Microsoft last year got more aggressive about getting people to pay up for artificial...

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How OpenAI’s Sora is Evolving Like TikTok

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 28, 2025 7:10am PDT

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How OpenAI’s Sora is Evolving Like TikTok

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 28, 2025 7:10am PDT

When OpenAI released its Sora video app last month, it seemed like an attempt to develop a TikTok-like viral video service with artificial intelligence at its core. And in some ways, usage of Sora has echoes in how TikTok is used.In a recent all-hands, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees that 20% to 30% of Sora users created AI-generated videos... When OpenAI released its Sora video app last month, it seemed like an attempt to develop a TikTok...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Creative Dealmaking Behind Meta’s $30 Billion Data Center Financing

By Miles Kruppa · Oct 28, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

It took a year and some financial acrobatics, but Meta Platforms and a small army of bankers and lawyers were able to secure funding for a $27 billion data center project without doing any immediate damage to the company’s finances. A private letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission helped seal the deal. ... It took a year and some financial acrobatics, but Meta Platforms and a small army of bankers...

Image by Getty Images.

Apple Supplier Skyworks Agrees to Buy Rival Qorvo for $10.6 Billion

By Valida Pau and Katie Roof · Oct 27, 2025 10:26pm PDT

Skyworks Solutions, which supplies radio frequency chips to Apple and other smartphone makers, is acquiring its main rival Qorvo for $10.6 billion in a combination of cash and stock. The news, announced Tuesday morning, confirmed a report in The Information late Monday night. Skyworks’ shares jumped 13% on Tuesday, while Qorvo shares... Skyworks Solutions, which supplies radio frequency chips to Apple and other smartphone makers, is...

Getty Images

Qualcomm’s AI Hope

By Martin Peers · Oct 27, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Another day, another chip company-A deal. This time, it’s Qualcomm, best known for its mobile phone chips (such as the modem in most iPhones). What Qualcomm is not known for is selling chips for data center servers, despite its valiant attempts to do so in the past. Will this time be different? We’ll see. At least Qualcomm has a customer for its... Another day, another chip company-A deal. This time, it’s Qualcomm, best known for its mobile...

Art via Getty Images; Mike Sullivan

Why Anthropic and OpenAI Are Using Cognition’s Coding Test

By Rocket Drew · Oct 27, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art via Getty Images; Mike Sullivan

Why Anthropic and OpenAI Are Using Cognition’s Coding Test

By Rocket Drew · Oct 27, 2025 7:00am PDT

As artificial intelligence models improve, the companies developing them are seeking more sophisticated ways to measure how good they are at a wide range of tasks. As a result, they are developing internal benchmarks to test models’ capabilities, rather than relying on publicly available tests.Cognition, which has created the Devin coding agent,... As artificial intelligence models improve, the companies developing them are seeking more...