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

Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images

The Loopholes in OpenAI’s Pentagon Deal

By Erin Woo · Mar 2, 2026 7:00am PST

What a weekend! Anthropic is now poised to sue the Pentagon, after being labeled a “supply chain risk,” while OpenAI has its own agreement allowing the agency to use OpenAI’s models in “classified environments.”There are still plenty of unanswered questions, including how big of a business risk being designated a “supply chain risk” poses... What a weekend! Anthropic is now poised to sue the Pentagon, after being labeled a “supply chain...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple Discusses Google Hosting New Siri as Need for Cloud Help Grows

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · Mar 2, 2026 6:00am PST

In January, when Apple announced an agreement to use Google’s Gemini models in Apple products, it was an admission that the iPhone maker hasn’t been able to compete in AI on its own over the past couple years. But the deal also showed that Apple is again relying on an outside company to help it with another deficiency: in cloud computing. Now... In January, when Apple announced an agreement to use Google’s Gemini models in Apple products, it...

Firebird Metals plans to mine Western Australia's Oakover deposit. Photo: Courtesy Firebird.

The Electric: This Startup Says Winning in Critical Minerals Means Learning From the Chinese

By Steve LeVine · Mar 2, 2026 4:30am PST

Ford and General Motors are banking on a new manganese-based battery to leapfrog China in the EV battery race. The catch is that they won’t break China’s stranglehold on the global supply of the material that goes into the battery—high-purity manganese. Ford and General Motors are banking on a new manganese-based battery to leapfrog China in the EV...

Getty Images

What OpenAI Saw That Anthropic Didn’t

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2026 3:00pm PST

Getty Images

What OpenAI Saw That Anthropic Didn’t

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2026 3:00pm PST

Before we get to the scheduled events for this coming week—Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, starring SpaceX, as well as Apple’s master class in hyping product releases—we should acknowledge just how much of a turn the AI debate has taken from humdrum concerns about spending. Friday night’s decision by the Trump administration to declare war... Before we get to the scheduled events for this coming week—Mobile World Congress in Barcelona,...

Sunday Insights

Thrive, Andreessen Horowitz Head Fastest-Growing VC Firms

By Julia Hornstein · Mar 1, 2026 8:00am PST · 1 comment

The biggest venture capital funds are getting even bigger. In the past three years, the top firms have raised billions of dollars—in some cases more than half the total amount they’ve raised in their lifetimes. Take Thrive Capital, which in February said it had raised $10 billion in new funds. The backer of OpenAI and Stripe has raised... The biggest venture capital funds are getting even bigger. In the past three years, the top firms...

Illustration: Clark Miller

Weekend: AI, Land of Make-Believe

By Abram Brown · Feb 28, 2026 8:38am PST · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: What Anthropic’s Pentagon feud means across Silicon Valley• Artificial Intelligence: Otters, Minesweeper and Will Smith’s spaghetti dinner—the at-home tests for judging AI’s abilities• Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “Murder at the U,” “End of Days” and “How to Get to... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: What Anthropic’s Pentagon feud means...

Art by Clark Miller

Lost on AI’s Advancements? Just Watch Will Smith Eat Spaghetti

By Rocket Drew · Feb 28, 2026 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In 2022, Ethan Mollick, an AI researcher and University of Pennsylvania professor, found himself needing to amuse his daughter on a boring plane ride. For some help, he turned to what he knows best and began prompting Midjourney’s latest model to generate an image of an otter—his daughter’s favorite animal. Taking inspiration from their... In 2022, Ethan Mollick, an AI researcher and University of Pennsylvania professor, found himself...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo by Getty Images.

As Pentagon Targets Anthropic, OpenAI Moves to Fill the Void

By Rocket Drew and Erin Woo · Feb 27, 2026 7:52pm PST · 8 comments

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo by Getty Images.

As Pentagon Targets Anthropic, OpenAI Moves to Fill the Void

By Rocket Drew and Erin Woo · Feb 27, 2026 7:52pm PST · 8 comments

A rapid escalation of a dispute between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over military use of its AI models has threatened to cut off Anthropic from wide swathes of its customers, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to declare Anthropic a “supply chain risk” on Friday. But the government’s threat to bar military contractors from... A rapid escalation of a dispute between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over military use...

Sam Altman, left, and Andrew Jassy. Photos by Getty Images, AP.

What Amazon and Microsoft Will Win or Lose From OpenAI’s New Deals

By Aaron Holmes, Catherine Perloff, Stephanie Palazzolo, Anissa Gardizy, Valida Pau and Shane Burke · Feb 27, 2026 10:38am PST · 2 comments

OpenAI’s wide-ranging partnership with Amazon, announced on Friday as part of a bigger series of funding agreements valuing the company at $730 billion before the investment, means the ChatGPT creator will soon have two of the three biggest cloud firms pitching its services. But can both Amazon and Microsoft get a big boost without encroaching... OpenAI’s wide-ranging partnership with Amazon, announced on Friday as part of a bigger series of...

Subscriber Survey

77% of Chatbot Users Don’t Trust AI With Ads

By Shane Burke · Feb 27, 2026 9:08am PST

OpenAI’s rollout of advertising in ChatGPT earlier this month has ratcheted up debate over whether AI chatbots can show ads without alienating users. And for most of The Information’s readers, ads in chatbots are a nonstarter. In our latest subscriber survey, 77% of chatbot users said they would not trust an AI service with ads to give them... OpenAI’s rollout of advertising in ChatGPT earlier this month has ratcheted up debate over...

Illustration: Clark Miller (Photos: Getty Images)

Military Worries Simmer at OpenAI, Google As Anthropic Hits Stalemate With Pentagon

By Erin Woo · Feb 27, 2026 7:34am PST · 1 comment

The conflict between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over how the Pentagon can use the startup’s AI has turned into a standoff. The agency has given the company a Friday evening deadline to give it unfettered access to its technology—or else be cut off from working with military contractors. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei... The conflict between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over how the Pentagon can use the...

Block CEO Jack Dorsey. Getty Images.

Jack Dorsey Proves AI Job Cut Fears Are True; Ellisons Win Warner

By Martin Peers · Feb 26, 2026 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Block CEO Jack Dorsey. Getty Images.

Jack Dorsey Proves AI Job Cut Fears Are True; Ellisons Win Warner

By Martin Peers · Feb 26, 2026 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Jack Dorsey has been many things in his career, including social media pioneer and crypto advocate. Now he’s the grim reaper of AI. Dorsey on Thursday revealed he will lay off 40% of the employees, or about 4,000 people, at his fintech firm, Block. The reason? AI. “The core thesis is simple,” he explained in a shareholder letter. “Intelligence... Jack Dorsey has been many things in his career, including social media pioneer and crypto...

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images.

OpenAI Builds an M&A War Chest

By Katie Roof · Feb 26, 2026 4:34pm PST

Will OpenAI make more acquisitions? The ChatGPT maker is in the process of raising $100 billion in additional cash. I wouldn’t be surprised if it uses some of that money or its richly valued shares to buy startups or lure even more talent. After all, it’s done this before. It used its stock to buy hardware guru Jony Ive’s startup, Io... Will OpenAI make more acquisitions? The ChatGPT maker is in the process of raising $100 billion...

From left: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google CEO Sundar Pichai via Getty

Google Strikes Multibillion-Dollar AI Chip Deal With Meta, Sharpening Nvidia Rivalry

By Amir Efrati and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 26, 2026 3:14pm PST

Meta Platforms has signed a deal to rent Google’s AI chips, known as tensor processing units, to develop new AI models, according to a person involved in the talks. The multi-year deal is worth billions of dollars, said a person who was briefed about it. Meta has also been talking to Google about buying TPUs for its data centers as... Meta Platforms has signed a deal to rent Google’s AI chips, known as tensor processing...

Meta’s Internal Chip Design Efforts Hit Roadblocks

By Jyoti Mann, Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Feb 26, 2026 12:59pm PST

As Meta Platforms strikes new chip supply deals with AMD and Nvidia, it has been running into problems with AI chips it is designing internally, according to six people with direct knowledge of the matter. Meta last week scrapped the most advanced chip it was developing for training AI models, after struggling with the chip’s design, and shifted... As Meta Platforms strikes new chip supply deals with AMD and Nvidia, it has been running into...

Marc Benioff. Photo by Krisztian Bocsi/ Getty Images

From ‘Parasites’ to ‘SaaSquatch,’ Salesforce and Workday Leaders Take Swipes at AI Rivals

By Kevin McLaughlin and Laura Bratton · Feb 26, 2026 12:38pm PST

Marc Benioff. Photo by Krisztian Bocsi/ Getty Images

From ‘Parasites’ to ‘SaaSquatch,’ Salesforce and Workday Leaders Take Swipes at AI Rivals

By Kevin McLaughlin and Laura Bratton · Feb 26, 2026 12:38pm PST

Leaders from Salesforce, Workday and Snowflake tried different tactics this week to show they’re benefiting from AI and will emerge as winners—even though their fast-growing AI products aren’t boosting overall revenue growth, fueling concerns known as the SaaSpocalpyse. (See details of their financial results here, here and here.) Some... Leaders from Salesforce, Workday and Snowflake tried different tactics this week to show they’re...

Image from Getty Images.

A Robot Data Startup Raises $60 Million

By Rocket Drew · Feb 26, 2026 7:00am PST

Companies developing AI models to power humanoid and other robots have been hard at work collecting videos and other data for training their models, even paying people to record themselves completing tasks in homes and workplaces. As these data-collection efforts start to pay off, and robots take on some of those tasks, the robot developers... Companies developing AI models to power humanoid and other robots have been hard at work...

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Alphabet and Other Big Tech Could Borrow Hundreds of Billions Each

By Anita Ramaswamy · Feb 26, 2026 6:10am PST

Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms in recent months have each turned to the bond markets to raise tens of billions of dollars for their massive investments in AI data centers. And all three are likely to borrow much more in the next couple of years, with their projected capital expenditures now likely to come close to or surpass the cash they... Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms in recent months have each turned to the bond markets to...

Form Energy's Weirton, W.Va. facility. Photo: Courtesy Form

Exclusive From The Electric: A $1 Billion Payday From Google For Battery Startup Form Energy

By Steve LeVine · Feb 26, 2026 4:30am PST

Since it launched nine years ago, next-generation battery developer Form Energy has faced a single skeptical question: Do businesses really need a battery that lasts 100 hours or longer? Since it launched nine years ago, next-generation battery developer Form Energy has faced a...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Amazon’s $50 Billion Investment in OpenAI Could Hinge on IPO, AGI

By Sri Muppidi, Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Feb 25, 2026 5:51pm PST · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Amazon’s $50 Billion Investment in OpenAI Could Hinge on IPO, AGI

By Sri Muppidi, Anissa Gardizy and Aaron Holmes · Feb 25, 2026 5:51pm PST · 4 comments

Amazon’s decision to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI could hang on whether OpenAI goes public or reaches a loosely defined milestone known as artificial general intelligence, which generally refers to AI that is on par with human abilities, according to three people involved who have communicated with OpenAI executives. Under the terms of the... Amazon’s decision to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI could hang on whether OpenAI goes public...