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

Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Photo: Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: A Critical Minerals War Game Signals How China May React to Trump

By Steve LeVine · Jun 5, 2025 4:30am PDT

Fast-forward to November, five months from now. The U.S. and China have escalated their tit-for-tat attacks in the trade war ignited by President Donald Trump. Trump has reimposed 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and China has tightened its choke hold on rare earth minerals and magnets, barring their reexport from third countries to the U.S. Fast-forward to November, five months from now. The U.S. and China have escalated their...

art via Mike Sullivan

Amazon Prepares to Test Humanoid Robots for Delivering Packages

By Rocket Drew · Jun 4, 2025 5:40pm PDT

Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery workers, according to a person who has been involved in the effort. In doing so, Amazon is paving the way to automate a major part of its operation, the delivery of parcels around the world. Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery...

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo via Getty

Squaring Away Circle’s IPO

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 4, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

One of the longest running stories in crypto, Circle Internet Group’s effort to go public, is finally wrapping up. After four years of trying, the stablecoin firm priced its initial public offering tonight at $31 per share, above its preliminary range of between $27 and $28, and valuing the company at $6.9 billion based on outstanding shares.... One of the longest running stories in crypto, Circle Internet Group’s effort to go public, is...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information's Future of Influence event on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Photo by Erin Beach

Snap’s Spiegel on Trump, Shopping and His New Role as a Creator

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 4, 2025 2:15pm PDT

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information's Future of Influence event on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy

Snap’s Spiegel on Trump, Shopping and His New Role as a Creator

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 4, 2025 2:15pm PDT

OMG! What a day we had in Hollywood on Tuesday at The Information’s Future of Influence event. I loved meeting new readers, seeing familiar faces and hearing from our fabulous lineup of speakers including creators Adam W and Victoria Garrick Browne and executives from Meta Platforms, YouTube, Spotify and Substack. A big thank you to... OMG! What a day we had in Hollywood on Tuesday at The Information’s Future of Influence event. I...

You.com founder and CEO Richard Socher.

AI Search Startup You.com in Talks to Raise Funds at $1.4 Billion Valuation

By Anissa Gardizy and Miles Kruppa · Jun 4, 2025 12:39pm PDT

You.com, an artificial-intelligence search startup making a push into business software, is in talks with media conglomerate Cox Enterprises to raise funds valuing the company at $1.4 billion, said people familiar with the discussions. The funding would support You.com’s push into selling AI search tools to businesses, after the company’s... You.com, an artificial-intelligence search startup making a push into business software, is in...

Substack CEO Chris Best, The Information's Kaya Yurieff, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Invisible Universe's Tricia Biggio.

Creator Economy Summit

Tough Year for Advertising, AI Opportunity: Future of Influence Highlights

By Ann Gehan, Kalley Huang and Sahil Patel · Jun 4, 2025 11:41am PDT

Economic uncertainty related to the Trump administration’s tariff programs has made advertisers more cautious about spending this year. But that caution could be an opportunity for influencers, who can often charge less and move faster than traditional ad agencies, said speakers at The Information’s Future of Influence conference on Tuesday. “I... Economic uncertainty related to the Trump administration’s tariff programs has made advertisers...

Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch. Photo by Village Global

Revenue at OpenAI Vendor Vercel Nearly Doubles in Past Year

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Rocket Drew · Jun 4, 2025 7:00am PDT

Among privately held firms, there’s no beating OpenAI when it comes to generating revenue from selling artificial intelligence. But startups selling the digital picks and shovels of the AI gold rush, including to OpenAI and other AI developers, are doing OK too. The latest example is Vercel, a cloud service companies use to develop... Among privately held firms, there’s no beating OpenAI when it comes to generating revenue from...

Microsoft's Satya Nadella (left) and Jay Parikh. Art by Clark Miller; Images via Getty

Satya Nadella’s New AI Battle Cry at Microsoft: Platform, Platform, Platform

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 4, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft's Satya Nadella (left) and Jay Parikh. Art by Clark Miller; Images via Getty

Satya Nadella’s New AI Battle Cry at Microsoft: Platform, Platform, Platform

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 4, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In March, at a Microsoft all-hands meeting, one of the company’s newest executives, Jay Parikh, laid out a rough vision for Microsoft’s path forward in artificial intelligence. AI models made by OpenAI and others were quickly becoming commoditized by more efficient models from DeepSeek and Microsoft’s own research arm that performed nearly... In March, at a Microsoft all-hands meeting, one of the company’s newest executives, Jay Parikh,...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Erin Beach

Creator Economy Summit

Snap’s Spiegel: Company Is on ‘Cusp’ of Computing Transformation

By Kalley Huang · Jun 3, 2025 8:13pm PDT · 2 comments

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel defended his company’s ability to stay independent despite competition from deep-pocketed rivals like Meta Platforms, predicting that the Snapchat parent was on “the cusp of a real transformation in the way that people think about and use computers.” That transformation, Spiegel said, will involve his company’s augmented... Snap CEO Evan Spiegel defended his company’s ability to stay independent despite competition from...

AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi. Photo via AppLovin

Venture Capital’s Big AppLovin Miss

By Martin Peers · Jun 3, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

One of venture capital’s big misses has to be AppLovin, an ad-tech firm specializing in selling ad space in gaming apps. Its shares have soared more than 900% since the beginning of last year, giving AppLovin a market capitalization today of $135 billion. That makes it just a bit smaller than Spotify, Shopify and Arm Holdings—and bigger than... One of venture capital’s big misses has to be AppLovin, an ad-tech firm specializing in selling...

Chris Best. Photo by Erin Beach.

Creator Economy Summit

Apple’s App Store Changes ‘Have Been Fantastic,’ Says Substack CEO

By Sahil Patel · Jun 3, 2025 4:27pm PDT

Apple’s court-ordered relaxation of controls on its App Store has been “a big win for independent media,” according to Substack’s co-founder and CEO Chris Best. But that’s one of the few positives in the media landscape, where Google’s use of AI-powered search results is hurting publishers’ traffic while advertisers are increasingly shifting... Apple’s court-ordered relaxation of controls on its App Store has been “a big win for independent...

Photo via Getty

Why CoreWeave’s Stock Surge Might Surprise the Doubters

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 3, 2025 3:13pm PDT · 2 comments

Photo via Getty

Why CoreWeave’s Stock Surge Might Surprise the Doubters

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 3, 2025 3:13pm PDT · 2 comments

The most dangerous game in artificial intelligence investing right now is CoreWeave. Retail traders have helped bid up its stock price by 277% since its lackluster initial public offering, powering its market valuation from $23 billion to a remarkable $72 billion in two months. “It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen,” one hedge fund... The most dangerous game in artificial intelligence investing right now is CoreWeave. Retail...

Photo via Adobe

Creator Economy

Why Creators Are Inking More FAST Channel Deals

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 3, 2025 1:00pm PDT

As we send out this newsletter, we are kicking off our Future of Influence event in Los Angeles. We look forward to seeing so many of our subscribers in person! Keep an eye on theinformation.com for our latest coverage from the event, and we’ll be back with more highlights in Wednesday’s newsletter. One of the major themes of our... As we send out this newsletter, we are kicking off our Future of Influence event in Los Angeles....

Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla in March. Photo by Getty.

How Anthropic Helps the PGA Tour Give Golf Fans Data on Every Shot

By Jon Victor · Jun 3, 2025 10:00am PDT

At any given moment during a typical professional golf tournament, 14 balls are in motion, and players hit upwards of 30,000 shots over the four-day event. It’s been next to impossible for the PGA Tour, which runs these tournaments, and sports broadcasters to provide commentary or information on every shot—even though the Tour thinks there’s... At any given moment during a typical professional golf tournament, 14 balls are in motion, and...

Image via Shutterstock

Stanford Math PhD’s AI Startup Targets $300 Million Valuation

By Aaron Holmes, Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 3, 2025 7:00am PDT

Mathematicians have been enthralled with artificial intelligence that can solve difficult math problems. And some developers behind these models at OpenAI and elsewhere believe AI that learns to solve hard math can use similar reasoning methods to solve other types of problems.But since today’s AI still hasn’t proven it can beat human experts at... Mathematicians have been enthralled with artificial intelligence that can solve difficult math...

Photo via AppLovin

How AppLovin Scared Google

By Catherine Perloff · Jun 3, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via AppLovin

How AppLovin Scared Google

By Catherine Perloff · Jun 3, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In 2023, Google ad executives noticed something alarming about one aspect of their business. Once-red hot revenue growth from selling ads promoting mobile apps, a business worth double-digit billions of dollars for Google, had slowed, a former employee said. When staffers discussed what was going on, they agreed a small ad tech firm called... In 2023, Google ad executives noticed something alarming about one aspect of their business....

Photo by Getty

Chime’s Founders Hedge Their Bets

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 2, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Chime executives and bankers will spend the next week trying to convince investors that its stock will rise after its initial public offering. The company’s cofounders seem to be preparing for the opposite.New stock awards granted to cofounders Christopher Britt and Ryan King as part of the offering set a low bar potentially at the expense of... Chime executives and bankers will spend the next week trying to convince investors that its stock...

Mike Cessario, founder and CEO of Liquid Death, on stage at an event. Photo by Getty.

The Takeover Targets Emerging Out of IPO Dead Ends

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 2, 2025 1:02pm PDT

This year has seen trickles of tech initial public offering activity, but there’s still a sizable list of IPO hopefuls whose public market ambitions have stalled. Bankers say that dynamic is encouraging more private companies to try to find a buyer instead. To that end, we updated our Tech IPO Tracker to highlight the likeliest takeover targets... This year has seen trickles of tech initial public offering activity, but there’s still a sizable...

Chris Lehane, head of policy at Open AI. Photo by Getty

OpenAI’s Democrats in Action; China’s Open-Source AI

By Rocket Drew · Jun 2, 2025 7:00am PDT

As OpenAI defends its planned corporate restructuring against a range of nonprofit critics, it’s probably feeling pretty good about its decision last year to hire a number of personnel with deep ties to the Democratic establishment.Those hires, including career Democrat Chris Lehane, who leads OpenAI’s global affairs team, looked like a... As OpenAI defends its planned corporate restructuring against a range of nonprofit critics, it’s...

From left: Eddie Wu, Jack Ma and Zhou Jingren. Photos by Getty

How Alibaba Helped China Take the Lead From the U.S. in Open-Source AI

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Jun 2, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

From left: Eddie Wu, Jack Ma and Zhou Jingren. Photos by Getty

How Alibaba Helped China Take the Lead From the U.S. in Open-Source AI

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Jun 2, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

When Alibaba Group’s cloud business unit announced the first generation of artificial intelligence models developed by its own team in 2023, the Chinese tech giant said in a statement that it would integrate the models, known as Qwen, into its various businesses “in the near future.” The reality wasn’t so simple. Each of the company’s six... When Alibaba Group’s cloud business unit announced the first generation of artificial...