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

Art via Clark Miller

The Seven Kinds of AI Agents

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 7, 2025 10:00am PDT · 4 comments

The term “agent” or “agentic” has become so ubiquitous in the business world that it can now seem to mean everything or nothing at all. In its simplest form, an agent is artificial intelligence that handles multistep tasks without requiring a human to steer it the whole time. In other words, an agent goes beyond what the basic version of ChatGPT... The term “agent” or “agentic” has become so ubiquitous in the business world that it can now seem...

An underground robot fight in San Francisco. Photo by Sam D'Amico

Two State AI Laws to Watch

By Rocket Drew · Jul 7, 2025 7:00am PDT

Artificial intelligence firms’ failure last week to convince U.S. lawmakers to ban state-based laws targeting AI means all eyes are now on state legislatures that aim to pass them.One law that’s close to the finish line is New York’s Responsible AI Safety and Education Act. The state legislature passed the bill in June, and eventually it will... Artificial intelligence firms’ failure last week to convince U.S. lawmakers to ban state-based...

Art by Clark Miller; Altman image via Getty.

OpenAI’s Stock Compensation Reflect Steep Costs of Talent Wars

By Sri Muppidi · Jul 7, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

OpenAI has signaled it will hike pay for some employees in the wake of a raid by Meta Platforms on its artificial intelligence researchers. That could mean a significant increase in the billions of dollars in stock awards it already accounts for, threatening to further dilute investors after a planned corporate restructuring. The San... OpenAI has signaled it will hike pay for some employees in the wake of a raid by Meta Platforms...

Tesla shows off its humanoid Optimus at an exhibition in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty

The Electric: How Trump Will Continue to Fund a Billion-Dollar Battery Buildout

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2025 4:30am PDT

Tesla shows off its humanoid Optimus at an exhibition in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty

The Electric: How Trump Will Continue to Fund a Billion-Dollar Battery Buildout

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2025 4:30am PDT

President Donald Trump doesn’t like electric vehicles, which he deems unworthy of U.S. strategic support. But he wants the government to spend on drones, humanoid robots, AI data centers and electric aircraft. The problem is, it is hard to have one without the other. President Donald Trump doesn’t like electric vehicles, which he deems unworthy of U.S. strategic...

TikTok U.S. offices in Culver City, Calif.

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected U.S. Sale

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Juro Osawa · Jul 6, 2025 9:18am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the U.S. ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors. The company has developed a plan to launch the new TikTok app, known internally as “M2,” to U.S. app stores on September 5, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. (The existing TikTok app is known... TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the U.S. ahead of a planned sale of the...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI and Meta Should Call a Cease-Fire

By Abram Brown · Jul 5, 2025 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• Lists: 25 great books for summer 2025 • The Arena: A counter-terrorism startup is a surprise WNBA partner• Artificial Intelligence: Why Meta and Google learned to love art• Plus, our Recommendations: a pop-critic laureate; Alexander Hamilton’s dual roles; and a nightly island getawayThe holiday... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• Lists: 25 great books for summer 2025 • The Arena:...

Art by Clark Miller

25 Great Books for Summer 2025

By Abram Brown · Jul 5, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Dead billionaires have piled up in modern pop culture to an almost absurd amount. Surely some Pacific Heights morgue is overflowing by this point. Well, “Dead Money” adds one more to the examiner’s table: Trevor Canon, the uber-wealthy founder of Journy, an Uber-like startup worth mega billions. His death throws his company’s future into doubt... Dead billionaires have piled up in modern pop culture to an almost absurd amount. Surely some...

Art by Clark Miller

AI’s Unexpected Consequence: Meta, Google and Big Tech Learn to Appreciate Art

By Josh Duboff · Jul 5, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

Artificial Intelligence

AI’s Unexpected Consequence: Meta, Google and Big Tech Learn to Appreciate Art

By Josh Duboff · Jul 5, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

On an unseasonably warm May afternoon in Manhattan’s bustling Rockefeller Center, the designers Wade Jeffree and Leta Sobierajski stood a few yards in front of a large, colorful sculpture—a “vibrant mirrored maze,” as a nearby placard puts it—that they’d spent the past year building. Billed as a Google Labs Collaboration, the... On an unseasonably warm May afternoon in Manhattan’s bustling Rockefeller Center, the designers...

Art by Clark Miller; images via Getty.

Why OpenAI and Anthropic Are the Best Bets in Artificial Intelligence

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jul 4, 2025 11:00am PDT · 10 comments

There are no bargains in artificial intelligence. Investors just gave $2 billion to Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, which is five months old, has no products and produces little revenue. There is value, though, if you look closely enough. Focusing on valuation, growth rates and revenue across the AI landscape separates the reasonable values... There are no bargains in artificial intelligence. Investors just gave $2 billion to Mira Murati’s...

Photo by Getty

Startups Navigate Walled Off Data

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 3, 2025 4:52pm PDT

Artificial intelligence startups aren’t just chasing capital. They’re seeking deals for customer data.As my colleague Kevin and I reported earlier this week, enterprise software firms such as Salesforce, Notion and Atlassian are limiting other companies’ access to customer data they host. The reason seems to be that AI startups like Glean... Artificial intelligence startups aren’t just chasing capital. They’re seeking deals for customer...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo via Getty

Nvidia Nears $4 Trillion Market Cap

By Martin Peers · Jul 3, 2025 3:00pm PDT

If anyone enjoys this holiday, it should be Jensen Huang. Nvidia stock on Thursday closed at $159.34 a share, up 18.6% for the year, giving it a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion. Getting to $4 trillion is within reach. (Remember when passing $1 trillion was a big deal for any company?) Right now, Nvidia is valued only a little below what... If anyone enjoys this holiday, it should be Jensen Huang. Nvidia stock on Thursday closed at...

Misbah Uraizee and Farah Uraizee, co-founders of Nectar Social. Image via Nectar Social.

A Startup’s AI Bots Scour Web for Social Sentiment

By Alex Perry · Jul 3, 2025 2:35pm PDT · 1 comment

Misbah Uraizee and Farah Uraizee, co-founders of Nectar Social. Image via Nectar Social.

Creator Economy

A Startup’s AI Bots Scour Web for Social Sentiment

By Alex Perry · Jul 3, 2025 2:35pm PDT · 1 comment

As you might’ve noticed from our latest Creator Economy database update, fundraising by creator startups in the second quarter dropped from the year-ago quarter as well as the first three months of the year. It’s notable though, that investments in startups focused on artificial intelligence and marketing rose over both periods. In fact, funding... As you might’ve noticed from our latest Creator Economy database update, fundraising by creator...

Art by Clark Miller; Cook image via Getty.

Apple Explored Launching a Cloud Service for Developers

By Aaron Tilley · Jul 3, 2025 10:36am PDT · 2 comments

Apple over the past few years considered launching a business renting out its servers to the millions of developers that create apps for the iPhone and Mac, in what would be a hugely ambitious move that would pit it against Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The idea discussed was for Apple to rent out servers running on Apple’s own chips, said three... Apple over the past few years considered launching a business renting out its servers to the...

Art by Clark Miller

Companies Spend More On Cursor, Less on Engineers

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 3, 2025 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Hi! If you’re finding value in our Applied AI newsletter, I encourage you to consider subscribing to The Information. It contains exclusive reporting on the most important stories in tech, like this story from Wayne on Microsoft's setbacks in developing an AI chip. Save up to $250 on your first year of access.Competition is... Hi! If you’re finding value in our Applied AI newsletter, I encourage you to consider subscribing...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photos via Getty

It’s Time to Take Anthropic and OpenAI’s Wild Revenue Projections Seriously

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jul 3, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Six months ago or so, when OpenAI and Anthropic projected how much revenue they would generate this year, the figures might have sounded crazy. Not anymore! This week, Natasha and I reported that Anthropic has passed $4 billion in annualized revenue, up from a $3 billion rate it was at just a month ago and about $1 billion at the start of... Six months ago or so, when OpenAI and Anthropic projected how much revenue they would generate...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo via Getty

Google Tries to Win Over Publishers Amid AI Search Tensions

By Catherine Perloff · Jul 3, 2025 6:00am PDT

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo via Getty

Google Tries to Win Over Publishers Amid AI Search Tensions

By Catherine Perloff · Jul 3, 2025 6:00am PDT

Google’s relations with publishers have suffered lately, as its shift to AI-powered searches has hurt traffic being sent to publishers’ web sites. But Google is now taking steps to curry favor with publishers. In recent weeks, Google staffers on its ad tech unit that helps publishers sell ad space, known as Google Ad Manager, have told... Google’s relations with publishers have suffered lately, as its shift to AI-powered searches has...

House Speaker Mike Johnson in Congress on July 2. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty

The Electric: How Chinese Joint Ventures Backed by Trump Could Help Save U.S. Battery Makers

By Steve LeVine · Jul 3, 2025 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

In Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term as president, he repeatedly invited Chinese electric vehicle makers to set up factories in the U.S. as long as they hired American workers. No one knew whether the welcome mat was serious, a sort of political psy-war—or just empty talk.It seems Trump was serious, or at least Senate Republicans think... In Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term as president, he repeatedly invited Chinese electric...

Photo via Getty

What Tesla’s Dismal Second Quarter Signals

By Martin Peers · Jul 2, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

This really isn’t Elon Musk’s week. On Tuesday, President Trump made the (obviously unserious) comment about looking into deporting Musk, who has renewed his criticism of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. On Wednesday, Tesla reported that vehicle deliveries fell 13.5% in the second quarter, a slightly greater decline than it sustained in the first... This really isn’t Elon Musk’s week. On Tuesday, President Trump made the (obviously unserious)...

Chart by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

U.S. Funding for Creator Startups Falls in the Second Quarter

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 2, 2025 2:00pm PDT

The rebound for U.S. creator economy startups has once again faded.Funding for these American companies declined 8% to about $678.9 million during the quarter ending in June compared to the same period a year earlier, according to new data from The Information’s Creator Economy Database. Global funding was also down slightly, decreasing 3% to... The rebound for U.S. creator economy startups has once again faded.Funding for these American...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella holding a Maia 100 chip. Screenshot via YouTube.

Microsoft Scales Back Ambitions for AI Chips to Overcome Delays

By Wayne Ma · Jul 2, 2025 9:25am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella holding a Maia 100 chip. Screenshot via YouTube.

Microsoft Scales Back Ambitions for AI Chips to Overcome Delays

By Wayne Ma · Jul 2, 2025 9:25am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft is revising its roadmap for its internally developed artificial intelligence server chips and will focus on releasing less ambitious designs through 2028, hoping to overcome problems that have caused delays in development, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Microsoft hopes that by scaling back some of the... Microsoft is revising its roadmap for its internally developed artificial intelligence server...