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

Bullish's New York Stock Exchange debut. Photo via Getty

Crypto’s Bullish Day

By Ken Brown · Aug 13, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Crypto conquered the stock market again with the public debut of crypto exchange Bullish, whose stock soared as much as 220% on its opening day Wednesday after raising $1.1 billion in its IPO. The offering followed a glittering IPO from stablecoin issuer Circle and offerings from a raft of companies that have stuffed themselves with... Crypto conquered the stock market again with the public debut of crypto exchange Bullish, whose...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Getty

Perplexity Explored Buying Other Search Browsers Before Chrome Bid

By Sri Muppidi, Erin Woo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 13, 2025 2:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Perplexity made headlines this week when the artificial intelligence startup said it had offered to buy Google’s Chrome, the world’s largest internet browser, for a price amounting to nearly double its valuation. While that acquisition seems unlikely to transpire, the company has been on the prowl for smaller browsers it could more easily bite... Perplexity made headlines this week when the artificial intelligence startup said it had offered...

Jonathan Katz-Moses, a woodworking creator, recently raised venture funding. Photo courtesy of subject

Creator Economy

The Woodworking Creator Who Raised $2 Million

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 13, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Jonathan Katz-Moses, a woodworking creator with nearly 600,000 YouTube subscribers, is an example of how the creator economy is evolving: creators are growing online followings with super niche content while running booming offline businesses. The 43-year-old creator posts educational woodworking videos on YouTube, but also is the founder... Jonathan Katz-Moses, a woodworking creator with nearly 600,000 YouTube subscribers, is an example...

A Rivos employee shown in a company video from last year. Photo via YouTube/Rivos.

Chip Startup Rivos Seeks Up to $500 Million to Compete With Nvidia

By Valida Pau and Wayne Ma · Aug 13, 2025 7:36am PDT

A Rivos employee shown in a company video from last year. Photo via YouTube/Rivos.

Chip Startup Rivos Seeks Up to $500 Million to Compete With Nvidia

By Valida Pau and Wayne Ma · Aug 13, 2025 7:36am PDT

Rivos, a chip startup that aims to compete with Nvidia, is seeking to raise between $400 million and $500 million, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Santa Clara, Calif.–based startup, backed by Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan, is seeking a valuation of more than $2 billion, one of the people said. It’s not clear if the valuation... Rivos, a chip startup that aims to compete with Nvidia, is seeking to raise between $400 million...

Protege co-founder and CEO Bobby Samuels

The One-Year-Old Startup Notching Data Deals For Model Makers

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 13, 2025 7:00am PDT

Companies like Scale AI and Surge have proven there’s a market for human-labeled data, like professionals’ answers to complex math or law questions, that AI research labs can use to train their models. Now, a young startup is tapping a similar opportunity, linking large model makers and AI startups with organizations that naturally generate... Companies like Scale AI and Surge have proven there’s a market for human-labeled data, like...

The People With Power at SAP as It Remakes Itself for the AI Era

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 13, 2025 6:00am PDT

SAP is in the midst of an artificial intelligence–fueled overhaul. The 53-year-old German enterprise software giant has undertaken a massive reorganization over the past year and a half, cutting 8,000 jobs since the start of 2024 as it aims to use AI for cost savings while hiring in new areas focused on selling enterprise AI applications.... SAP is in the midst of an artificial intelligence–fueled overhaul. The 53-year-old German...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Getty

Perplexity’s PR Genius

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

For a relatively small player in the artificial intelligence sector, Perplexity AI certainly gets a lot of press. In the past couple of months, reports have suggested Apple and Meta Platforms have both contemplated buying it. At the same time, Perplexity offered to buy TikTok. And today we got news that Perplexity had offered to buy the Chrome... For a relatively small player in the artificial intelligence sector, Perplexity AI certainly gets...

Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group. Image via Getty.

OpenAI Starts to Look Like Masa’s Savior

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 12, 2025 3:19pm PDT · 3 comments

Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group. Image via Getty.

OpenAI Starts to Look Like Masa’s Savior

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 12, 2025 3:19pm PDT · 3 comments

SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 has performed so terribly it seems like fiction. Yet SoftBank Group’s stock hit an all-time high on Tuesday. To followers of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, none of this is surprising. Once again, he’s pulling a rabbit out of a hat, finding a blockbuster investment that overpowers his string of losers. The... SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 has performed so terribly it seems like fiction. Yet SoftBank Group’s...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Who Will Run a U.S. TikTok?

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kaya Yurieff · Aug 12, 2025 2:00pm PDT

If TikTok does eventually sell its U.S. business, who is going to lead the new company?That’s a question we’ve been mulling as TikTok nears the September 17 deadline for a law to go into effect that will ban the video app in the U.S. unless it breaks off from its Chinese parent company. And now we have a little more insight into the possible... If TikTok does eventually sell its U.S. business, who is going to lead the new company?That’s a...

Replit CEO Amjad Masad. Photo via Getty

Why Flat Pricing for AI Agents Won’t Last

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 12, 2025 10:30am PDT

AI agents are getting more advanced—but they’re also getting more expensive to run. That trend is beginning to force AI agent sellers to change their pricing models to pass on more of the cost of running the agents to their users.Traditionally, AI companies have sold their products to businesses like most other types of software: by charging a... AI agents are getting more advanced—but they’re also getting more expensive to run. That trend is...

Venture and Deals Reporter Katie Roof to Join The Information

By The Information Staff · Aug 12, 2025 9:11am PDT · 3 comments

The Information’s editors shared this note with staff today. Hi - We’re delighted to announce Katie Roof is joining The Information to continue what she does best: break news about the most important tech deals. She will also share her years of experience by mentoring other reporters on the craft of deal-scooping. She’ll be our... The Information’s editors shared this note with staff today. Hi - We’re delighted to announce...

Dave Orr, Anthropic's new head of safeguards.

Anthropic’s New Safety Lead; The Startup Making Nvidia’s Software Easier To Use

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 12, 2025 7:00am PDT

Dave Orr, Anthropic's new head of safeguards.

Anthropic’s New Safety Lead; The Startup Making Nvidia’s Software Easier To Use

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 12, 2025 7:00am PDT

We might be a long way away from sipping Pina Coladas on a beach while AI-powered humanoid robots handle all our work. But we’re already starting to see how AI is upending society. Some ChatGPT users are lamenting that they’ve lost their “only friend overnight” with the latest GPT-5 update, while other headlines suggest AI chatbots can even... We might be a long way away from sipping Pina Coladas on a beach while AI-powered humanoid robots...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing in July. Photo via Getty

China Demands Companies to Halt Nvidia Chip Orders Over Security Concerns

By Qianer Liu · Aug 12, 2025 5:55am PDT

Just weeks after Nvidia reached a deal with President Trump allowing it to sell AI chips in China, the chipmaker has hit a new hurdle—Chinese authorities. China’s internet regulator in the past two weeks ordered local tech companies including ByteDance, Alibaba Group, and Tencent Holdings to suspend their purchases of Nvidia chips, citing... Just weeks after Nvidia reached a deal with President Trump allowing it to sell AI chips in...

Photo via Getty

The Pluses and Minuses of Trump’s Dealmaking

By Martin Peers · Aug 11, 2025 5:00pm PDT

For tech CEOs, having an investment banker playing the role of president has its advantages. President Donald Trump is displaying a willingness to consider all sorts of deals that might be verboten on national security grounds—as long as the government is getting paid. Not only is he allowing Nvidia to sell its China-specific H20 artificial... For tech CEOs, having an investment banker playing the role of president has its advantages....

OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and Cursor CEO Michael Truell demo GPT-5. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI.

GPT-5 Ushers In AI’s ‘Trough of Disillusionment’

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 11, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

There’s no doubt: OpenAI’s GPT-5 is a good model.I’ve been talking to developers, who’ve had a chance to to use the AI now. As we predicted, the flagship AI improved in domains like coding—where it got better at both practical coding tasks and designing websites and apps—and creative writing. Developers told me that the new model is also better... There’s no doubt: OpenAI’s GPT-5 is a good model.I’ve been talking to developers, who’ve had a...

Unsolicited Term Sheets, Declining Dry Powder: Inside the AI Deal Rush

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 11, 2025 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Unsolicited Term Sheets, Declining Dry Powder: Inside the AI Deal Rush

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 11, 2025 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Last year, when money was surging into artificial intelligence startups, even some venture capitalists involved in those deals worried that the high costs of AI and unreliable demand from businesses were setting up many startups for disappointment. Such skepticism, if not dead, is on its last legs. Monthly revenue that is doubling or quadrupling... Last year, when money was surging into artificial intelligence startups, even some venture...

Aionics' office in Palo Alto, Calif. Photo: Courtesy Aionics

The Electric: AI for Batteries Startups Don’t Earn Much. How They Hope to Make More

By Steve LeVine · Aug 11, 2025 4:30am PDT

Artificial intelligence startups like OpenAI are growing fast, generating multibillions of dollars in revenue. But the small industry of AI startups hoping to design better batteries is not sharing in the largesse. Artificial intelligence startups like OpenAI are growing fast, generating multibillions of...

Art by Clark Miller

A Fix for the Anxious Generation?

By Abram Brown · Aug 9, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Nvidia’s quiet rising stars? The CEO’s kids • The Top 5: The best at-home longevity tests• Plus, our Recommendations: “StanLand,” “King of Kings” and “Pee-wee as Himself” In Piedmont, Calif., a group of parents have been encouraging their friends to do the unthinkable: Take their kids... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Nvidia’s quiet rising stars? The CEO’s...

Art by Clark Miller

The Best At-Home Longevity Tests

By Todd Plummer · Aug 9, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Green juices and meditation apps are so 2015. In the quest to live better and healthier, anyone interested in wellness is likely into data-heavy optimization for greater insight on their body’s longevity. And such data is now increasingly easy to accumulate at home with just a few drops of blood or saliva in tests that purport to reveal how fast... Green juices and meditation apps are so 2015. In the quest to live better and healthier, anyone...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AI Gamble

By Martin Peers · Aug 8, 2025 3:00pm PDT

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AI Gamble

By Martin Peers · Aug 8, 2025 3:00pm PDT

How much financial stress can tech companies handle in their efforts to win the artificial intelligence race? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said today on CNBC he thinks the ChatGPT creator should continue “running at a loss” so it can continue to invest in computing capacity to keep advancing its AI models. In one way, he has to take that stance: He’s... How much financial stress can tech companies handle in their efforts to win the artificial...