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

From left: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei. Photos by Getty.

The Venture Investors Most Exposed to AI’s Boom—or Bust

By Rocket Drew · Jun 17, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Between 2022 and mid-2024, venture capitalists poured over $32 billion into artificial intelligence startups, despite the disappointing results of some high-profile bets. Not only have investors shrugged off those missteps since then—they have redoubled investments in companies they perceive as winners in their categories. Venture... Between 2022 and mid-2024, venture capitalists poured over $32 billion into artificial...

Sam Altman, left, and Satya Nadella. Photo via Getty

OpenAI Seeks New Financial Concessions From Microsoft, a Top Shareholder

By Sri Muppidi and Aaron Holmes · Jun 16, 2025 6:49pm PDT · 4 comments

Negotiations between Microsoft and OpenAI over the startup’s plan to restructure its for-profit unit, which requires Microsoft’s approval, have entered their eighth month with no end in sight and new conflicts emerging. OpenAI wants Microsoft, the startup’s biggest outside shareholder, to have a roughly 33% stake in the reshaped unit in exchange... Negotiations between Microsoft and OpenAI over the startup’s plan to restructure its for-profit...

Image via Getty

Meta’s New Way to Pay for AI Investments: WhatsApp Ads

By Kalley Huang · Jun 16, 2025 5:00pm PDT

The days of “No ads! No games! No gimmicks!” are over. That was the slogan coined by one of the founders of WhatsApp, Brian Acton, which the other founder of the messaging app, Jan Koum, used to keep taped to his desk on a sticky note. On Monday, though, WhatsApp’s owner, Meta Platforms, said the app will start showing ads for the first time in... The days of “No ads! No games! No gimmicks!” are over. That was the slogan coined by one of the...

Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang

Meta Agreed to Pay up for Scale AI but Then Wanted More for Its Money

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 16, 2025 12:37pm PDT · 4 comments

Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang

Meta Agreed to Pay up for Scale AI but Then Wanted More for Its Money

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 16, 2025 12:37pm PDT · 4 comments

The negotiations started as just one billionaire tech founder talking to another. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg approached Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang in mid-April about a potentially industry-shaking deal. Zuckerberg wanted Wang to join Meta and was willing to pay billions of dollars to make that happen. Zuckerberg floated a $5 billion... The negotiations started as just one billionaire tech founder talking to another. Meta Platforms...

Image by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

AI Cleaning Robot Firm Raises $800 Million to Sell Machines For a Low Monthly Cost

By Rocket Drew · Jun 16, 2025 7:00am PDT

Demand is rising for AI-powered robots that can clean offices or roll around moving items from one part of a building to another, allowing businesses to save on labor costs. But the upfront costs of these robots, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, can put them out of reach.Now, financiers are stepping in to front the cost of... Demand is rising for AI-powered robots that can clean offices or roll around moving items from...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

DoorDash and Uber’s Behind-the-Scenes Delivery Battles

By Ann Gehan · Jun 16, 2025 6:00am PDT

A recent delivery dealmaking frenzy in Europe has kicked off a race between DoorDash, Uber and investment firm Prosus, as the three firms aim to grab more business in the already fiercely competitive market. Some of that has been playing out publicly, with a series of rapid-fire announcements. But behind the scenes, U.S. delivery archrivals... A recent delivery dealmaking frenzy in Europe has kicked off a race between DoorDash, Uber and...

Art by Clark Miller (photo: Getty Images)

A Poachable AI Godfather?

By Abram Brown · Jun 14, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

• The Big Read: Bret Taylor, the Salesforce heir apparent who went rogue • The Top 5: The best Red Bull replacements • Plus, our Recommendations: A jungle mystery; a Florida farce; and “Predator” catches the “Spider-Verse” bugAs you might’ve heard, Mark Zuckerberg has lined up a new AI czar for himself: Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old... • The Big Read: Bret Taylor, the Salesforce heir apparent who went rogue • The Top 5: The ...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Favorite Alternative Energy Drinks

By Ann Gehan · Jun 14, 2025 6:00am PDT · 10 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Favorite Alternative Energy Drinks

By Ann Gehan · Jun 14, 2025 6:00am PDT · 10 comments

In Silicon Valley, cutting back on booze has been in vogue for a while. Now the tech elite is going cold turkey on something else: traditional energy drinks like Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy. That’s led to a fresh wave of beverage startups selling elixirs that purport to give an animating jolt to the system but with starkly different ingredients... In Silicon Valley, cutting back on booze has been in vogue for a while. Now the tech elite is...

A Waymo autonomous vehicle. Photo via Getty

Robotaxis Get Real

By Abram Brown · Jun 13, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Flying cars may not have arrived yet, but the long-awaited era of everyday robotaxis is here. And not just in America, if I’m correctly reading signals about the state of the industry from the last several days. They were all equally eye-opening, even if one was a little grim. In Los Angeles, a real-life “Black Mirror” moment played out,... Flying cars may not have arrived yet, but the long-awaited era of everyday robotaxis is here. And...

Eric Glyman, chief executive officer of Ramp. Image via Getty.

Ramp in Talks to Raise at $16 Billion Valuation in Round Led by Founders Fund

By Sri Muppidi and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 13, 2025 4:09pm PDT · 1 comment

Ramp, a six-year-old corporate card and expense management startup, is in talks to raise money at a valuation of about $16 billion including the new investment, according to two people with direct knowledge of the fundraising. It is planning to raise about $200 million for the round, according to one of the people. The new funding would be... Ramp, a six-year-old corporate card and expense management startup, is in talks to raise money at...

Kore.ai CEO, Raj Koneru, left, and Intercom CEO, Eoghan McCabe. Screenshots via YouTube

AI Customer Support Startups Intercom, Kore.ai Discuss Multibillion-Dollar Valuations With Investors

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Sri Muppidi · Jun 13, 2025 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment

Venture capitalists can’t stop betting on startups that are developing artificial intelligence to automate customer support, including those that are on pace to generate more than $100 million in revenue annually. In the latest examples, Intercom, a customer support software startup founded in 2011, is in talks to sell more than $100 million in... Venture capitalists can’t stop betting on startups that are developing artificial intelligence to...

Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images).

A Marc Benioff Protégé Has Morphed Into Salesforce’s Big Worry

By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 13, 2025 9:19am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images).

A Marc Benioff Protégé Has Morphed Into Salesforce’s Big Worry

By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 13, 2025 9:19am PDT · 2 comments

After an unexpected exit as Salesforce co-CEO in 2022, Bret Taylor sat down with a friend, Benchmark’s Peter Fenton, to brainstorm ideas for what to do next. He knew if he chose to go up against ex-boss Marc Benioff, who had shared the CEO duties with him, Benioff would be a formidable opponent. “He had an immense admiration for Marc,” Fenton... After an unexpected exit as Salesforce co-CEO in 2022, Bret Taylor sat down with a friend,...

Photo via Getty

Keeping Tabs on Meta AI

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 13, 2025 8:00am PDT

It’s weeks like these I’m so grateful for our Meta Platforms org chart. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently made a dizzying number of changes to the company’s artificial intelligence team—resembling a hockey coach completely redrawing their starting lineup—as Meta’s AI has struggled to keep pace with rivals. Then this week, we scooped that Meta... It’s weeks like these I’m so grateful for our Meta Platforms org chart. CEO Mark Zuckerberg...

A OnlyFans-sponsored motorcyclist in competition in Qatar last year. Photo via Getty.

Why OnlyFans May Sell for 75% Less Than It’s Worth

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jun 13, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

OnlyFans is up for sale. The most obvious question about the porn-centric creator site is not what it will sell for, but what it would fetch if it delivered more socially acceptable content. A deeper analysis of the company, though, raises other important questions about regulations, artificial intelligence and competition. OnlyFans is up for sale. The most obvious question about the porn-centric creator site is not...

Photo via Getty

OpenAI Employees Have Cashed Out $3 Billion in Shares

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 12, 2025 5:10pm PDT

My colleague Sri Muppidi broke the news Wednesday of OpenAI’s latest fundraising talks as it seeks to raise an unprecedented $40 billion. One previously unreported detail is that SoftBank bought about $240 million in shares from a small group of current and former employees this spring. That deal brought the total share sales by current and... My colleague Sri Muppidi broke the news Wednesday of OpenAI’s latest fundraising talks as it...

Photo Bloomberg via Getty Images

In IPO Market, FOMO Replaces Fear

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 12, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Photo Bloomberg via Getty Images

In IPO Market, FOMO Replaces Fear

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 12, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Did you hear that pop? Tech initial public offerings are getting loud, a little silly, and highly profitable for investors again. Banking app Chime’s share price jumped 37% above its IPO price Thursday, its first day of trading on Nasdaq, lifting its market cap past $15 billion. It’s the latest in a string of price pops that are helping to... Did you hear that pop? Tech initial public offerings are getting loud, a little silly, and highly...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information’s Future of Influence event last week. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy

Snapchat Now Wants (Some) Videos to Stick Around

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 12, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Snapchat has realized the limits of disappearing content—especially when it comes to attracting creators. On Thursday, the app said users will be able to automatically save their disappearing Stories to their public profiles. That’s a big change, and it’s one that should help make the app more of a destination for creators, whose Instagram,... Snapchat has realized the limits of disappearing content—especially when it comes to attracting...

Waymo cars are seen parked at a Waymo facility on June 10 in San Francisco.

Waymo Fleet Manager Targets Funding That Would Lift Valuation Past $1 Billion

By Alex Perry and Sri Muppidi · Jun 12, 2025 12:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Moove, a five-year-old startup whose employees clean and charge Waymo’s electric robotaxis, is aiming to raise about $300 million in new funding, according to a person who spoke to the startup’s executives. The new round is likely to lift the Uber-backed company’s valuation past $1 billion, according to an investor in Moove. The startup recently... Moove, a five-year-old startup whose employees clean and charge Waymo’s electric robotaxis, is...

Navan CEO Ariel Cohen. Photo via AP.

Travel Software Startup Navan to File This Month for Fall IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 12, 2025 12:05pm PDT

Navan, a corporate travel software startup, is planning to file confidentially for an initial public offering as early as next week, two people familiar with the matter said, a further sign of a rebound in public listings for venture-backed startups. The company, backed by Zeev Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, is... Navan, a corporate travel software startup, is planning to file confidentially for an initial...

Salesforce Challenges the Principle That Customers Control Their Data

Salesforce Challenges the Principle That Customers Control Their Data

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2025 10:40am PDT · 1 comment

Salesforce Challenges the Principle That Customers Control Their Data

Salesforce Challenges the Principle That Customers Control Their Data

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2025 10:40am PDT · 1 comment