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

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

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

Who Will Run a U.S. TikTok?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

Art by Clark Miller; image via Getty.

Nvidia’s Quiet Rising Stars? The Son and Daughter of Billionaire Founder Jensen Huang

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 8, 2025 9:01am PDT · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller; image via Getty.

Nvidia’s Quiet Rising Stars? The Son and Daughter of Billionaire Founder Jensen Huang

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 8, 2025 9:01am PDT · 3 comments

At an all-hands meeting earlier this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received a question that prompted him to talk about a personal topic: nepotism at Nvidia. In response, Huang acknowledged that Nvidia had indeed hired the children of many employees and insisted it didn’t bother him. He said he believed those parents wouldn’t have vouched for... At an all-hands meeting earlier this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received a question that...

Khosla Ventures’ Rabois on How AI Is Changing Everything About Startups

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 8, 2025 7:22am PDT · 2 comments

Silicon Valley is governed by a set of rules about how Silicon Valley is supposed to operate. There are pecking orders for just about everything from employees (engineers are king) to investors (most founders would take a check from Sequoia). But every once in a while, those rules change. And right now, they are changing a lot. The rise of... Silicon Valley is governed by a set of rules about how Silicon Valley is supposed to operate....

Art by Mike Sullivan

Crypto’s Red-Hot Stock Trade Shows Signs of Cooling

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 8, 2025 6:00am PDT

Cracks are beginning to show in the booming market for stocks of companies—like Michael Saylor’s Strategy—that do little other than hold cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. These stocks became a wildly popular way for investors to speculate on bitcoin and recently on more exotic cryptocurrencies. Valuations for Strategy, and for... Cracks are beginning to show in the booming market for stocks of companies—like Michael...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI.

OpenAI’s Apple-Like Moment

By Martin Peers · Aug 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple’s next iPhone unveiling is a month away, but OpenAI may have just sucked all the new tech product excitement out of the room with today’s GPT-5 unveiling. The livestream, featuring a parade of staffers highlighting the new flagship AI model’s range of impressive capabilities, was eerily reminiscent of an Apple iPhone event—slickly produced... Apple’s next iPhone unveiling is a month away, but OpenAI may have just sucked all the new tech...

Illustration via Getty

AI Startups Emulate China’s Hardcore 9-9-6 Work Culture

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 7, 2025 3:35pm PDT · 1 comment

Illustration via Getty

AI Startups Emulate China’s Hardcore 9-9-6 Work Culture

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 7, 2025 3:35pm PDT · 1 comment

For a long time, U.S.-based founders and investors looked at China’s tech work culture—nicknamed 9-9-6 because employees work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—as a grueling anomaly. But lately I’ve been hearing about employees at hard-charging artificial intelligence startups working even longer hours.The most vivid example came this week,... For a long time, U.S.-based founders and investors looked at China’s tech work culture—nicknamed...