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

GM CEO Mary Barra. Photo: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: GM CEO Takes Some Swipes at Tesla and Chinese Cars

By Steve LeVine · Oct 23, 2025 4:30am PDT

General Motors CEO Mary Barra presided over a big show of tech prowess on Wednesday, promising a pioneering autonomous electric Cadillac that will fully navigate highways while the driver zones out, and a battery that will beat the Chinese. General Motors CEO Mary Barra presided over a big show of tech prowess on Wednesday, promising a...

Getty Images

Musk Dials Back Near Term Robotaxi and Optimus Targets

By Theo Wayt · Oct 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT

As a car manufacturer, Tesla’s latest financial results released Wednesday were a definite (if expected) improvement on the first half of the year. Instead of auto sales falling 16%, as they did in the second quarter, they rose 6%. And thanks to even stronger growth in battery sales and services, Tesla’s total revenue grew 12% year over year to... As a car manufacturer, Tesla’s latest financial results released Wednesday were a definite (if...

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Adobe Discussed $3 Billion Acquisition of AI Video Startup Synthesia

By Katie Roof · Oct 22, 2025 2:10pm PDT

Adobe in recent months held talks with Synthesia, a London-based maker of artificial intelligence software that generates video avatars of people, to buy the startup for about $3 billion, a premium from the startup’s $2.1 billion valuation in a January financing, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Synthesia and ... Adobe in recent months held talks with Synthesia, a London-based maker of artificial...

Art by Clark Miller

Why OpenAI Just Declared War on Google’s $100 Billion Search Moat

By The Information Staff · Oct 22, 2025 1:09pm PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

Why OpenAI Just Declared War on Google’s $100 Billion Search Moat

By The Information Staff · Oct 22, 2025 1:09pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI has launched a direct strategic assault on Google’s advertising empire by introducing its new AI browser, ChatGPT Atlas. This is a high-stakes move that positions the AI model as the ultimate user interface for all web activity, aiming to entirely bypass the traditional search page where Google makes its money. This aggressive move forces... OpenAI has launched a direct strategic assault on Google’s advertising empire by introducing its...

Art by Clark Miller

Can AI Deliver What Shoppers Want?

By Li Haslett Chen · Oct 22, 2025 8:34am PDT · 4 comments

Much of the rhetoric around commerce and AI imagines a revolution in how we find and buy things. OpenAI joined the discourse when it announced that you can buy directly through ChatGPT via partnerships with Walmart, Shopify and Etsy—all powered by Stripe. They’re not alone. AI answer engine Perplexity launched one-click checkout with... Much of the rhetoric around commerce and AI imagines a revolution in how we find and buy things....

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OpenAI’s New Browser War; Google’s College Developer Play

By Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 22, 2025 7:00am PDT

Before we get to today’s column, we’d be remiss not to mention OpenAI’s release on Tuesday of its new web browser, news of which we first scooped almost a year ago. The new browser, ChatGPT Atlas, is yet another example of OpenAI expanding its reach into consumers’ online lives, just as other tech incumbents such as Google and Apple... Before we get to today’s column, we’d be remiss not to mention OpenAI’s release on Tuesday of its...

Getty Images.

TikTok Shop’s New Ad Policy Risks Alienating Merchants

By Ann Gehan · Oct 22, 2025 6:00am PDT

As TikTok readies itself for the expected sale of its U.S. business to a new venture controlled by American investors, the company is trying to boost its commerce business, TikTok Shop. But the measures it has taken risk alienating merchants who sell on the shopping service. TikTok Shop in recent weeks has begun pushing its sellers to switch to... As TikTok readies itself for the expected sale of its U.S. business to a new venture controlled...

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Getty Images.

Netflix’s Success Spotlights Warner’s Failure

By Martin Peers · Oct 21, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Getty Images.

Netflix’s Success Spotlights Warner’s Failure

By Martin Peers · Oct 21, 2025 5:00pm PDT

OpenAI continued its march to world domination, unveiling its long-anticipated Web browser, ChatGPT Atlas. It offers some snazzy features, including a split-screen view that allows you to ask ChatGPT questions related to the webpage you’re on without switching tabs. Given how difficult it is to change people’s ingrained habits, getting consumers... OpenAI continued its march to world domination, unveiling its long-anticipated Web browser, ...

Photo by Alyssa Ringler

Partner Content

2026: The Year of an IPO Thaw?

By The Information Partnerships · Oct 21, 2025 2:47pm PDT

After four years in a deep freeze, initial public offerings are finally showing signs of life. Tech companies like Klarna, StubHub, and Figure have recently hit the exchange, signaling that the long initial public offering winter may—at last—be coming to an end. But it’s not just IPOs driving renewed optimism. Mergers and acquisitions, special... After four years in a deep freeze, initial public offerings are finally showing signs of life....

Latham & Watkins partners Seth Gottlieb (left) and Alex Kelly (right). Photo courtesy of the subjects.

AI Is Speeding Up M&A Deals, Says Latham

By Valida Pau · Oct 21, 2025 2:03pm PDT

A flurry of tech mergers and acquisitions catalyzed by the artificial intelligence boom has been big business for lawyers. Latham & Watkins, which has landed on some of the highest-profile deals, says tech is moving fast and companies are keeping pace, sometimes getting transactions done in days. “It’s speed oftentimes because the deal... A flurry of tech mergers and acquisitions catalyzed by the artificial intelligence boom has been...

Andrej Karpathy. Getty Images

A Reality Check on Agents

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 21, 2025 10:30am PDT · 2 comments

Around the start of this year, executives at artificial intelligence providers like OpenAI and Salesforce said 2025 would be “the year of agents,” making it seem like fully autonomous AI would soon take over human jobs. Since then, Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP and many others pitched roughly seven types of agent to automate white collar tasks in... Around the start of this year, executives at artificial intelligence providers like OpenAI and...

Youtube/Dwarkesh Patel.

Is Andrej Karpathy Right About Overhyped AI?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 21, 2025 7:05am PDT · 2 comments

Youtube/Dwarkesh Patel.

Is Andrej Karpathy Right About Overhyped AI?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 21, 2025 7:05am PDT · 2 comments

Andrej Karpathy, one of the founding members of OpenAI, on Friday threw cold water on the idea that artificial general intelligence is around the corner. He also cast doubt on various assumptions about AI made by the industry’s biggest boosters, such as Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.The highly regarded Karpathy called ... Andrej Karpathy, one of the founding members of OpenAI, on Friday threw cold water on the idea...

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AI Enigma: Search Traffic Drops to Sites, but Revenue Doesn’t—Yet

By Catherine Perloff · Oct 21, 2025 6:00am PDT

In the past year, Mexican hotel chain Tafer Hotels & Resorts has seen traffic to its website fall 25%. Despite that, Tafer’s revenue is up year over year, according to Max Gomez Montejo, chief digital marketing officer at the hotel chain. Tafer isn’t alone. A growing number of companies say their websites are losing traffic, thanks to how... In the past year, Mexican hotel chain Tafer Hotels & Resorts has seen traffic to its website...

Sakana AI CEO David Ha. AP Images.

OpenAI’s Japanese Rival Sakana in Talks to Raise Capital at $2.5 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Juro Osawa and Katie Roof · Oct 20, 2025 8:57pm PDT

Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based developer of artificial intelligence, is in talks with U.S. and Japanese investors to raise $100 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion, up 66% from a financing a year ago, according to two people involved in the discussions. The funding talks come months after CEO David Ha said publicly that the company would operate... Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based developer of artificial intelligence, is in talks with U.S. and Japanese...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Getty Images

What Investors Are Missing in Apple’s iPhone 17 Sales Surge

By Martin Peers · Oct 20, 2025 5:00pm PDT

It’s the calm before the earnings storm. Netflix kicks off tech earnings on Tuesday with its third-quarter report, and most of the big tech names come next week. Already, though, investors are anticipating the news. That’s most obviously true of Apple, whose shares jumped 4% on Monday on a research report about strong sales of the recently... It’s the calm before the earnings storm. Netflix kicks off tech earnings on Tuesday with its...

The Oracle data center for OpenAI in Abilene, Texas. Photo via Getty

The Data Center Boom Enters a Speculative Era

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 20, 2025 10:19am PDT

The Oracle data center for OpenAI in Abilene, Texas. Photo via Getty

AI Infrastructure

The Data Center Boom Enters a Speculative Era

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 20, 2025 10:19am PDT

The Wynn in Las Vegas was buzzing last week as executives, investors and dealmakers from across the data center, cloud and finance world converged at an event to trade notes on how quickly the industry has changed. A year ago, most conversations at Infra/Structure, hosted by Structure Research, focused on how hard it was to find land and... The Wynn in Las Vegas was buzzing last week as executives, investors and dealmakers from across...

Peter Hoeschele. Screenshot via YouTube

OpenAI Executive Explains the Insatiable Appetite For AI Chips

By Sri Muppidi · Oct 20, 2025 7:00am PDT

Peter Hoeschele, who runs OpenAI’s Stargate data center team, said at an event last week that the company’s models are essentially in constant training mode. That’s a change from the past, when OpenAI would stop training them when they reached a certain point. “Let’s stop talking about training versus inference,” Hoeschele said after Oracle... Peter Hoeschele, who runs OpenAI’s Stargate data center team, said at an event last week that the...

Art by Clark Miller.

Yan image via YouTube.

Inside Hyperliquid, Ground Zero for the Latest Crypto Controversy

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 20, 2025 6:44am PDT · 5 comments

When a crypto crash ricocheted across markets earlier this month, the spotlight landed on Hyperliquid, an exchange that handles more than $13 billion in trades a day with around 11 employees based largely in Singapore. The two-year-old exchange is little known outside crypto markets but wildly popular among traders for offering anonymity, high... When a crypto crash ricocheted across markets earlier this month, the spotlight landed on...

DeepRoute CEO Maxwell Zhou, in Seoul in April. Photo: Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty

The Electric: A Chinese AI Expert On What It Will Take For Cars To Go Completely Autonomous

By Steve LeVine · Oct 20, 2025 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Global automakers agree that very soon consumers will expect all new cars to function autonomously, requiring little or no attention from the driver. But they are sharply divided about how to get there. Global automakers agree that very soon consumers will expect all new cars to function...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI’s Erotica Experiment Won’t Last

By Abram Brown · Oct 18, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI’s Erotica Experiment Won’t Last

By Abram Brown · Oct 18, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Arena: Call it moneyball for minors—inside the booming business of youth sports apps• The Top 5: Best new places for a tech holiday party • Plus, our Recommendations: “The Big Short” with “Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion,” “Murderland,” and “John Candy: I Like Me”Two months ago, Cleo... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Arena: Call it moneyball for minors—inside the...