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

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Recent Editions

OpenHands cofounders Graham Neubig, Robert Brennan and Xingyao Wang. Photo courtesy of OpenHands.

Gemini 3 Arrives; Open-Source Coding Agent Raises $19 Million

By Erin Woo · Nov 18, 2025 8:00am PST

Before we get to today’s news about Gemini, we should mention that this morning, Microsoft and Nvidia announced that they’re investing in Anthropic, who will be spending at least $30 billion over an unspecified amount of time to rent servers from Microsoft’s Azure cloud equipped with Nvidia chips.... Before we get to today’s news about Gemini, we should mention that this morning, ...

Pinterest CEO Bill Ready. Getty Images.

Pinterest’s AI Strategy Focuses on What Users Want

By Catherine Perloff · Nov 18, 2025 6:54am PST

Since ChatGPT came out three years ago, there has been no shortage of tech companies whose businesses some see as potential victims of competition from chatbots. That list has ranged from Google to Salesforce to Adobe. Now it’s Pinterest’s turn. The digital scrapbooking firm came of age during an earlier tech era by giving its users a way to... Since ChatGPT came out three years ago, there has been no shortage of tech companies whose...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Art by Clark Miller; Screenshot via YouTube

Databricks in Talks to Raise Capital at a Valuation Above $130 Billion

By Katie Roof and Amir Efrati · Nov 17, 2025 6:21pm PST · 1 comment

Databricks, a database provider whose tools help customers develop and use AI, is in talks to raise money at a valuation of more than $130 billion, up around 30% from its valuation in a financing round just two months ago, according to two people involved in the discussion. The possible capital raise reflects investor interest in companies... Databricks, a database provider whose tools help customers develop and use AI, is in talks to...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Getty Images.

What Google Has That OpenAI Doesn't

By Martin Peers · Nov 17, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Getty Images.

What Google Has That OpenAI Doesn't

By Martin Peers · Nov 17, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Who let the dogs out? Shares of Google parent Alphabet, which was in Wall Street’s doghouse for the past couple of years, are now running freely. Friday night’s news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had bought a $4.3 billion stake in Alphabet sent the shares rising 3% on Monday, even as other tech stocks sagged amid a broader market... Who let the dogs out? Shares of Google parent Alphabet, which was in Wall Street’s doghouse for...

Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Blockchain.com Plans to Go Public in 2026, Adds Co-CEO

By Yueqi Yang · Nov 17, 2025 8:36am PST

Blockchain.com, a crypto brokerage and wallet provider, is planning to go public next year, the company’s newly named co-chief executive revealed, aiming to list after several volatile years. The company said it promoted its president Lane Kasselman to be co-CEO, alongside its founder and CEO Peter Smith, as part of its listing efforts.... Blockchain.com, a crypto brokerage and wallet provider, is planning to go public next year, the...

Photo from Getty Images

A Coding Assistant’s Bet on Ads Seems to Be Paying Off

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 17, 2025 7:00am PST

Before we get to today’s column, it’s worth pointing out that Google CEO Sundar Pichai strongly hinted on X that Gemini 3, the long-awaited next update to Google’s line of Gemini models, would be coming out this week. Google has done an impressive job of catching up to the other labs when it comes to conversational AI models, and Gemini 3 will... Before we get to today’s column, it’s worth pointing out that Google CEO Sundar Pichai strongly...

Art by Mike Sullivan; Shutterstock

How Musk Could Tie Together Tesla and xAI

By Theo Wayt · Nov 17, 2025 6:00am PST

At Tesla’s annual meeting earlier this month, shareholders showed little enthusiasm for a proposal that the electric vehicle maker invest in one of CEO Elon Musk’s other companies, xAI. But Musk’s revelation at the meeting that Tesla is considering building its own chip fabrication plant signaled another way his two companies could work... At Tesla’s annual meeting earlier this month, shareholders showed little enthusiasm for a...

Joby and L3's jointly made prototype hybrid electric aircraft, aimed at the Pentagon. Photo: Courtesy Joby Aviation.

The Electric: Air Taxi Makers Are Seeking to be the Latest Defense Contractors

By Steve LeVine · Nov 17, 2025 4:30am PST · 1 comment

Joby and L3's jointly made prototype hybrid electric aircraft, aimed at the Pentagon. Photo: Courtesy Joby Aviation.

The Electric: Air Taxi Makers Are Seeking to be the Latest Defense Contractors

By Steve LeVine · Nov 17, 2025 4:30am PST · 1 comment

An aggressive new acquisition policy at the Pentagon appears to have strengthened the chances that electric air taxi startups Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation will win contracts to produce a new generation of hybrid aircraft for use in war zones. An aggressive new acquisition policy at the Pentagon appears to have strengthened the chances...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Getty Images.

What to Expect From Nvidia Earnings

By Martin Peers · Nov 16, 2025 3:00pm PST

We’re heading into the last full workweek before Thanksgiving and plenty is going on. A short time ago, bets on prediction market Polymarket were giving an 88% chance that Google would release its much-anticipated Gemini 3 AI model this week. Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday fueled the speculation with this cryptic X post. Meanwhile, Microsoft... We’re heading into the last full workweek before Thanksgiving and plenty is going on. A short...

Sunday Insights

Bitcoin Is Falling and Crypto Stocks Are Crashing

By Yueqi Yang · Nov 16, 2025 8:00am PST · 3 comments

Bitcoin has tumbled into a bear market, but the real damage is in the companies that have hoarded crypto, hoping to mimic the gains of Michael Saylor’s bitcoin stock, Strategy. Strategy is down 44% since bitcoin peaked in early October. More importantly, it is now trading slightly below the value of its bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin is down 24% from... Bitcoin has tumbled into a bear market, but the real damage is in the companies that have hoarded...

Art by Clark Miller

Apple’s Short Supply of Good Ideas

By Abram Brown · Nov 15, 2025 7:00am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Inside Grindr’s boardroom feud • Plus, our Recommendations: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “A Biography of a Mountain” and “Materialists”A bit of housekeeping: The Information’s Weekend section is looking for a reporter for a beat we’re calling “tech wealth and culture.” This... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Inside Grindr’s boardroom feud • ...

An Apollo humanoid robot prototype, made by Apptronik. Getty Images.

Google-Backed Apptronik in Talks to Raise Funding at $5 Billion Valuation

By Rocket Drew and Katie Roof · Nov 14, 2025 4:26pm PST

An Apollo humanoid robot prototype, made by Apptronik. Getty Images.

Google-Backed Apptronik in Talks to Raise Funding at $5 Billion Valuation

By Rocket Drew and Katie Roof · Nov 14, 2025 4:26pm PST

Apptronik, a humanoid robot maker backed by Google, is in the process of raising at least $400 million at a $5 billion valuation not including the new money, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The new round, led by B Capital, would at least triple the startup’s valuation from earlier this year, when it raised $415... Apptronik, a humanoid robot maker backed by Google, is in the process of raising at least $400...

Art by Clark Miller

Before Buyout Offer, a Boardroom Feud Festered at Grindr

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 14, 2025 9:04am PST · 1 comment

The week before Halloween, Grindr, the gay dating-and-hookup app, threw a big party near New York’s Chelsea neighborhood—its second annual Pleasure Ball. The theme: sexy garden, essentially. (“Nature’s gay and it’s hungry,” read the invitation.) Attendees showed up as scantily clad gnomes and fawns, and the crowd included influencers, New... The week before Halloween, Grindr, the gay dating-and-hookup app, threw a big party near New York...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google and Anthropic Tap Crypto Miners for AI Computing Power

By Miles Kruppa · Nov 14, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

TeraWulf was limping along as a publicly traded bitcoin mining business until AI companies suddenly wanted access to its data centers. Now the cloud company is at the center of one of the hottest meme-stock trades. Shares in TeraWulf and competing crypto miners have soared in recent months after they struck deals with tech companies desperate... TeraWulf was limping along as a publicly traded bitcoin mining business until AI companies...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Getty Images

Anthropic’s Cybersecurity Cause and Cure

By Martin Peers · Nov 13, 2025 5:00pm PST

If you listen to tech executives nowadays, AI can solve all of the world’s problems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman likes to talk about AI’s potential to cure cancer. Elon Musk the other day promised that Optimus robots—AI in a hardware form—would “eliminate poverty” and prevent crime. But will AI cause almost as many problems as it solves? When it comes... If you listen to tech executives nowadays, AI can solve all of the world’s problems. OpenAI CEO...

WTF Summit Recap: AI Adoption 2.0: What Comes After the Pilot Projects

By The Information Partnerships · Nov 13, 2025 4:27pm PST

Partner Content

WTF Summit Recap: AI Adoption 2.0: What Comes After the Pilot Projects

By The Information Partnerships · Nov 13, 2025 4:27pm PST

After years of hype and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment, many executives are asking the same question: When will AI start paying off? Reports like MIT’s much-debated survey estimating that 95% of generative AI pilots fail suggest widespread frustration, but some companies are finally moving beyond experiments to projects with... After years of hype and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment, many executives are asking...

Elad Gil. Getty Images.

Elad Gil Doubles Fund Target to Nearly $3 Billion

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 13, 2025 3:35pm PST

Elad Gil, the venture capitalist who made early investments in Perplexity, Harvey, Stripe and Airbnb, has doubled the target size of his new fund to nearly $3 billion from $1.5 billion earlier this summer, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraise. If Gil succeeds in raising that much money, it would be the largest known fund... Elad Gil, the venture capitalist who made early investments in Perplexity, Harvey, Stripe and...

Kabir Barday, founder and CEO of OneTrust. Photo by Getty Images

OneTrust, Privacy Startup Last Valued at $4.5 Billion, Discusses Private Equity Sale

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Nov 13, 2025 3:13pm PST · 1 comment

OneTrust, a nine-year-old startup that benefited from a wave of European and U.S. laws regulating how companies collect and share website data, is exploring a sale—possibly to private equity buyers, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Atlanta-based startup, which sells privacy and compliance software, is the latest... OneTrust, a nine-year-old startup that benefited from a wave of European and U.S. laws regulating...

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, speaks during the 2025 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Photo by Getty Images

The Real Winners of the Enterprise Software Market’s AI Agent Free-For-All

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 13, 2025 10:30am PST

Something curious has happened in software: Nearly every established seller of enterprise tools started marketing the same general-purpose AI agents that aim to handle everything from drafting emails to customers to resolving IT service tickets. Even old-guard database providers like Snowflake are now in the AI applications game, going head... Something curious has happened in software: Nearly every established seller of enterprise tools...

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang. Photo by Getty Images

Why Nvidia Keeps Backing Would-Be Competitors to OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 13, 2025 7:36am PST

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang. Photo by Getty Images

Why Nvidia Keeps Backing Would-Be Competitors to OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Nov 13, 2025 7:36am PST

As we wrote in this story on Tuesday, investors are rushing to back a new crop of research-focused AI labs (dubbed neolabs) hoping to outflank OpenAI and Anthropic. One investor, in particular, is driving most of these new startups: Nvidia.In Reflection AI’s October fundraising, for instance, Nvidia contributed $800 million out of the $2 billion... As we wrote in this story on Tuesday, investors are rushing to back a new crop of...