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

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

By Theo Wayt · Dec 24, 2025 12:35pm PST

In my hometown of Memphis, Tenn., Elon Musk’s xAI is a big topic of conversation for the second holiday season in a row thanks to the two gigantic data centers the company has opened here. The multibillion-dollar facilities have sparked a lot of local opposition because they’re being powered by gas generators that emit air pollution. In... In my hometown of Memphis, Tenn., Elon Musk’s xAI is a big topic of conversation for the second...

Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Information Finance

Predicting Prediction Markets Is a Tough Call

By Ken Brown · Dec 24, 2025 8:00am PST

The best prediction for 2025 would have been predicting the soaring growth of prediction markets. My prediction for 2026 is it will be a tough year for prediction markets.My colleagues Sara Germano and Yueqi Yang chronicled the stunning rise of these markets last weekend. They focused on the dramatic growth in sports betting and the tumult this... The best prediction for 2025 would have been predicting the soaring growth of prediction markets....

Art by Clark Miller.

How OpenAI and Anthropic Are Navigating the Research-Product Divide

By The Information Staff · Dec 24, 2025 8:00am PST

The tension between “pure research” and “commercial growth” is being put to the test as OpenAI and Anthropic attempt to scale into global giants while pursuing the horizon of AGI. We asked Deep Research to investigate how these companies are managing this messy transformation to ensure that their scientific DNA doesn’t become a bottleneck for... The tension between “pure research” and “commercial growth” is being put to the test as OpenAI...

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chen Yongnuo/CNS/VCG via Getty Images.

Two IPO-Bound AI Model Developers Reveal Their Losses

By Juro Osawa · Dec 24, 2025 7:00am PST

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chen Yongnuo/CNS/VCG via Getty Images.

Two IPO-Bound AI Model Developers Reveal Their Losses

By Juro Osawa · Dec 24, 2025 7:00am PST

Two Chinese AI startups are vying to be the first publicly traded AI model providers in the global stock market, ahead of expected future initial public offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The Chinese firms’ IPO filings offer a window into the hardship facing smaller AI firms that don’t have older cash-cow businesses.Shanghai-based MiniMax... Two Chinese AI startups are vying to be the first publicly traded AI model providers in the...

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI’s Ads Push Starts Taking Shape

By Sri Muppidi and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 24, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

OpenAI executives have kept a tight lid on how the company could show advertisements to users of its popular ChatGPT chatbot, leaving the broader digital ad industry eager for clues. Behind the scenes, staff are working through key details. Employees have discussed ways for AI models to prioritize sponsored information in ChatGPT’s responses... OpenAI executives have kept a tight lid on how the company could show advertisements to users of...

Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why ServiceNow Went Ahead With a $7.75 Billion Deal That the Market Didn't Like

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 23, 2025 5:15pm PST

When Bloomberg reported earlier this month that ServiceNow was considering an acquisition of the cybersecurity startup Armis for more than $7 billion, shares of the enterprise software firm fell 11%, erasing $20 billion in market capitalization.But ServiceNow gritted its teeth and signed the deal anyway, as it announced Tuesday. When Bloomberg reported earlier this month that ServiceNow was considering an acquisition of the...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images

Where Could OpenAI’s Next $100 Billion in Funding Come From?

By Katie Roof and Miles Kruppa · Dec 23, 2025 4:44pm PST

The eye-popping $100 billion of capital OpenAI wants in a new funding round has everyone wondering where that kind of cash might come from. The round would value the company at about $750 billion prior to the cash infusion, we’ve reported. U.S. financial investors—including big retail fund managers that back private startups—are likely to... The eye-popping $100 billion of capital OpenAI wants in a new funding round has everyone...

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Snowflake in Talks to Buy App Monitoring Startup Observe Inc. For Around $1 Billion

By Valida Pau, Kevin McLaughlin and Katie Roof · Dec 23, 2025 4:12pm PST

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Snowflake in Talks to Buy App Monitoring Startup Observe Inc. For Around $1 Billion

By Valida Pau, Kevin McLaughlin and Katie Roof · Dec 23, 2025 4:12pm PST

Snowflake is in talks to buy app monitoring startup Observe Inc. for around $1 billion, which would likely be the biggest deal in Snowflake’s history, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Observe, based in San Mateo, Calif., sells so-called observability tools that help developers to understand how their applications are... Snowflake is in talks to buy app monitoring startup Observe Inc. for around $1 billion, which...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff via Getty, art by Clark Miller

Why Our Story on Salesforce’s Declining Trust in LLMs Hit a Nerve

By Amir Efrati · Dec 23, 2025 11:04am PST · 4 comments

On Friday, Aaron and Kevin’s article about Salesforce calling out the ingrained limitations of large language models struck a major nerve, as have our other in-depth articles about Salesforce AI challenges this year.Business people saw the piece as further evidence that marketing of generative AI got ahead of what the technology could actually... On Friday, Aaron and Kevin’s article about Salesforce calling out the ingrained limitations of...

Art by Clark Miller. Screenshots via YouTube.

A $4 Billion Enterprise Software Firm Acquires AI Coding Startup Codegen

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 23, 2025 7:00am PST

This year has been a big one for AI coding startup acquisitions. Who can forget the dramatic Google-Windsurf-Cognition saga from this summer? And this month alone, Anthropic acquired developer tool startup Bun and Cursor bought code review startup Graphite.Another coding deal is sneaking in before the end of the year. ClickUp, a $4... This year has been a big one for AI coding startup acquisitions. Who can forget the dramatic ...

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Poor Tech IPO Performance Clouds Outlook for New Listings

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · Dec 23, 2025 6:00am PST · 1 comment

More than two-thirds of this year’s tech initial public offerings are trading below their listing prices, a poor reception that is casting doubt on the prospects for companies hoping to hit the market next year. The exceptions are the eagerly awaited deals from giants such as SpaceX and Anthropic. Among this year’s stumbles were venture-backed... More than two-thirds of this year’s tech initial public offerings are trading below their listing...

Anduril CEO and co-founder of Erebor Bank, Palmer Luckey. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty.

Crypto’s Banking Woes Are Not Over

By Yueqi Yang · Dec 22, 2025 5:00pm PST

Anduril CEO and co-founder of Erebor Bank, Palmer Luckey. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty.

Crypto’s Banking Woes Are Not Over

By Yueqi Yang · Dec 22, 2025 5:00pm PST

The crypto world has gotten some early Christmas presents. The Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed some Biden-era lawsuits, and the industry has helped push through landmark stablecoin legislation. Crypto companies have also made strides on a lingering problem: access to the mainstream financial system. But that is still a... The crypto world has gotten some early Christmas presents. The Securities and Exchange Commission...

Photo by An Rong Xu/Getty Images

Nvidia Restructures Cloud Team After Retreating From AWS Competition

By Anissa Gardizy and Wayne Ma · Dec 22, 2025 12:40pm PST · 1 comment

More than two years after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shared his vision to develop a cloud service that could rival Amazon Web Services, he has backed away from competing with such firms and last week reorganized his company’s cloud team, according to several people with knowledge of the organizational change and an internal memo about it. The... More than two years after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shared his vision to develop a cloud service...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Artificial Intelligence

Robot Makers Wrestle With How to Safely Pull the Plug on Humanoids

By Rocket Drew · Dec 22, 2025 10:21am PST

Tech titans from Elon Musk to SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son have envisioned humanoid robots working next to people in factories, schools and homes. Realizing that future will require humanoid makers to assure their human customers that the robots won’t harm them. To help ease those concerns, robotics companies are working on a set of standards that... Tech titans from Elon Musk to SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son have envisioned humanoid robots working...

Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

AI Infrastructure

Why Data Centers Are Falling Behind Schedule; Jensen Huang’s Power Summit

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 22, 2025 9:24am PST · 1 comment

You’re about to start hearing a lot about data center delays. In fact, executives and investors I’ve been speaking with expect this will be one of the defining themes of 2026, as delays separate world-class operators from the rest of the pack. But to understand what this will actually mean for the artificial intelligence buildout, it helps... You’re about to start hearing a lot about data center delays. In fact, executives and investors I...

Clay CEO Kareem Amin. Photo courtesy of Clay.

Why Some App Developers View ChatGPT as an Opportunity, Not a Threat

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 22, 2025 7:00am PST

Clay CEO Kareem Amin. Photo courtesy of Clay.

Why Some App Developers View ChatGPT as an Opportunity, Not a Threat

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 22, 2025 7:00am PST

When OpenAI in October announced “apps in ChatGPT,” allowing people to use external apps like Zillow or Spotify in ChatGPT—essentially bringing the apps’ core functions into the chatbot—some developers wondered if this would be a blow to consumer apps that would further separate them from their customers. That’s a fear DoorDash, for instance,... When OpenAI in October announced “apps in ChatGPT,” allowing people to use external apps like ...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Getty Images

Microsoft’s Nadella Pressures Deputies to Accelerate Copilot Improvements

By Aaron Holmes, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Dec 22, 2025 6:00am PST · 4 comments

A few weeks ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent an email to engineering leaders at the company who were working on a consumer version of Copilot, the AI-powered assistant inside several Microsoft products. A Microsoft manager on the email thread noted that Google’s Gemini chatbot had recently gotten better at connecting with Google Drive for... A few weeks ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent an email to engineering leaders at the company...

Ford has canceled the electric F-150 pickup and will reintroduce it as an extend-drive hybrid. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty

The Electric: Ford’s Leap Into Powering AI Data Centers Reflects an Industry Adrift

By Steve LeVine · Dec 22, 2025 4:30am PST

In Ford’s third-quarter earnings call in October, Ford CEO Jim Farley was typically optimistic about the company’s prospects for selling electric vehicles, predicting that a planned midsize electric pickup, to be released in 2027, would wow customers. In Ford’s third-quarter earnings call in October, Ford CEO Jim Farley was typically optimistic...

Judge Amit Mehta. Getty Images.

Tech's Big Winners of 2025: Google, Musk and ByteDance

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2025 3:00pm PST

We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make up for the relative lack of news!). Let’s start with Google’s amazing turnaround in 2025. Not only did it emerge mostly unscathed from the antitrust litigation regarding search, it made a giant leap forward in the AI market. Conspiracy theorists will... We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make...

OpenAI Is Getting More Efficient at Running Its AI, Internal Financials Show

By Sri Muppidi · Dec 21, 2025 8:00am PST · 17 comments

Sunday Insights

OpenAI Is Getting More Efficient at Running Its AI, Internal Financials Show

By Sri Muppidi · Dec 21, 2025 8:00am PST · 17 comments

As OpenAI discusses raising an unprecedented investment round of up to $100 billion, it can crow about some key improvements to how it runs its business. While its total computing costs are still high as a percentage of revenue, it is wringing more revenue out of every dollar it spends to run the servers that power ChatGPT’s subscription... As OpenAI discusses raising an unprecedented investment round of up to $100 billion, it can crow...