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

Sam Altman. Screenshot via YouTube

OpenAI’s Walled-Garden Moment

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Catherine Perloff · Oct 7, 2025 7:00am PDT

OpenAI on Monday unveiled its biggest-yet effort to bring all of the web’s consumer activities directly into ChatGPT, as it aims to turn the chatbot into a so-called superapp that people can use to control any app in their lives—similar to Facebook’s efforts from 15 years ago. But before we get too excited, we should remember we’ve been... OpenAI on Monday unveiled its biggest-yet effort to bring all of the web’s consumer activities...

Art by Clark Miller; Optimus image courtesy of Tesla.

As Elon Musk Preps Tesla’s Optimus for Prime Time, Big Hurdles Remain

By Theo Wayt · Oct 7, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

When Elon Musk takes the stage at Tesla’s annual meeting next month, one of the centerpieces of his plan to impress shareholders will be a dancing troupe of Optimus bots, the humanoid machines that he says will eventually eclipse Tesla’s electric vehicle business, which is suffering from flagging sales growth. Behind the scenes, however, the... When Elon Musk takes the stage at Tesla’s annual meeting next month, one of the centerpieces of...

Sam Altman at OpenAI DevDay 2025. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI

OpenAI’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Strategy

By Martin Peers · Oct 6, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Sam Altman’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” strategy for OpenAI was on full display on Monday. Early in the day, the ChatGPT creator revealed that it will work with Advanced Micro Devices to use that company’s artificial intelligence chips, the latest example of OpenAI’s wide-ranging efforts to assure itself of more computing capacity. The... Sam Altman’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” strategy for OpenAI was on full display on...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Why OpenAI Offered to Pay $500 Million For A Startup With Videogame Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 6, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art via Mike Sullivan

Why OpenAI Offered to Pay $500 Million For A Startup With Videogame Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 6, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Before we get to today’s column, in a sign of how insatiable OpenAI’s appetite for computing power is, the ChatGPT-maker and Nvidia rival Advanced Micro Devices announced a partnership Monday morning that would see OpenAI deploy six gigawatts of AMD’s chips over multiple years, starting in the second half of next year. As part of the deal,... Before we get to today’s column, in a sign of how insatiable OpenAI’s appetite for computing...

Sam Altman, left, and Peter Thiel. Photos by Getty

Founders Fund Shifts From Caution to Concentrated Bets on AI

By Miles Kruppa · Oct 6, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is doubling down on its biggest artificial intelligence bets, embracing a concentrated strategy as rivals spread their bets across a wide swath of startups. Among them are OpenAI, data center builder Crusoe and General Matter, a nuclear fuel startup the firm has incubated, Founders Fund said at its recent annual... Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is doubling down on its biggest artificial intelligence bets,...

Iron, XPeng's humanoid robot. Photo: Sven Hoppe/Picture Alliance/Getty

The Electric: In a Big Month, China's XPeng Will Unveil a Humanoid Robot and a Flying Car

By Steve LeVine · Oct 6, 2025 4:30am PDT

China’s XPeng is best known for its electric vehicles, which have begun to take off in Europe. But later this month, the company also plans to introduce a new version of its humanoid robot, Iron, to be deployed in its factories and showrooms. China’s XPeng is best known for its electric vehicles, which have begun to take off in Europe....

OpenAI, Sora—and the Internet’s Cheetos Brain

OpenAI, Sora—and the Internet’s Cheetos Brain

By Abram Brown · Oct 4, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Can Reed Jobs be more than the son of Steve?• Electric Vehicles: The Chinese flying car that should worry Detroit—and Silicon Valley • Plus, our Recommendations: “The Romesh Ranganathan Show,” “When It All Burns” and “The Eastern Gate”The ultimate winner from the artificial... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Can Reed Jobs be more than the son of...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

The Chinese Billionaire Whose Robots and Cars Should Worry Detroit—and Silicon Valley

By Steve LeVine · Oct 4, 2025 4:41am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Electric Vehicles

The Chinese Billionaire Whose Robots and Cars Should Worry Detroit—and Silicon Valley

By Steve LeVine · Oct 4, 2025 4:41am PDT · 1 comment

For years, Chinese billionaire He Xiaopeng has been pegged as an Elon Musk wannabe, and his electric vehicle company, XPeng, as a mere Tesla copycat. And until recently the company seemed laggardly, raising questions about whether it would survive. All of that is changing quickly. In other words, XPeng has moved up a stair from the realm of mere... For years, Chinese billionaire He Xiaopeng has been pegged as an Elon Musk wannabe, and his...

Jeff Bezos today at Italian Tech Week 2025. Photo via Getty

Bezos Calls the AI Bubble

By Martin Peers · Oct 3, 2025 3:09pm PDT · 4 comments

Jeff Bezos made news today, putting his imprimatur on the idea that we’re in an AI bubble, although I think the fact that he’s now sporting a light beard was just as interesting. But that’s just me. Bezos’ declaration—at an Italian tech conference—shows that the idea of a bubble is no longer much of a debate. In fact, it’s pretty much... Jeff Bezos made news today, putting his imprimatur on the idea that we’re in an AI bubble,...

Photo via Getty.

‘We’ll Double Revenue This Year’: Anduril’s CEO on Growth, Shutdowns and Space War

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 3, 2025 1:46pm PDT · 1 comment

It’s hard to think of a company that faces a bigger perception gap than Anduril. Talk to investors in Silicon Valley, and they will be clamoring to get in on its next round—last priced at $30 billion. Talk to generals and others in the traditional defense industry, and they’ll ask whether the eight-year-old company has any contracts yet.... It’s hard to think of a company that faces a bigger perception gap than Anduril. Talk to...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images, YouTube.

Can Reed Jobs Be More Than the Son of Steve?

By Jemima McEvoy · Oct 3, 2025 6:06am PDT · 1 comment

Last month, Reed Jobs was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and representatives from America’s top hospitals, universities and medical organizations. He came to deliver an impassioned plea: Save the National Institutes of Health, which faces a push by President Donald Trump to slash its budget 40%. As a keynote speaker at the... Last month, Reed Jobs was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and representatives from America...

Photos via Getty

As AI Buying Frenzy Heats Up, Bending Spoons Looks Backward

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

Photos via Getty

As AI Buying Frenzy Heats Up, Bending Spoons Looks Backward

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

Anyone of a certain age will remember Uri Geller, the magician who became a big star in the 1970s for bending spoons with his mind, a trick that was later discredited. Given that sorry history, you might wonder why an internet conglomerate based in Italy chose Bending Spoons as its name. Is the management trying to prove it can perform acts of... Anyone of a certain age will remember Uri Geller, the magician who became a big star in the 1970s...

Paige and Leura Craig. Photo courtesy of Outlander VC.

How an Early Scale AI Investor Picks Founders

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 2, 2025 1:52pm PDT

How do early-stage venture capitalists pick which unproven founders to back? Most don’t overcomplicate things. Backing a Stanford University computer science grad or an early OpenAI employee often seems like a good bet. Some VCs even use AI to score early startups based on their technical expertise or past successes.Paige and Leura Craig, the... How do early-stage venture capitalists pick which unproven founders to back? Most don’t...

Photo by Craig Warga

Anthropic Says Its AI Can Clone Enterprise Apps Like Slack

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 2, 2025 10:30am PDT · 2 comments

When AI coding tools came into vogue in 2023 and 2024, chief information officers salivated at the idea of using them to develop their own versions of Salesforce and Slack and stop paying a fortune for enterprise apps. But the AI wasn’t accurate or consistent enough to do that.Now Anthropic is reawakening these app-replacement dreams. In a... When AI coding tools came into vogue in 2023 and 2024, chief information officers salivated at...

Image via Getty.

Partner Content

What’s Holding Back Agentic AI? Not Employee Resistance

By The Information Partnerships · Oct 2, 2025 8:59am PDT · 1 comment

Read a handful of tech headlines, or even spend a few minutes on LinkedIn, and you’ll likely see the same hurdle to AI adoption cited over and over: a lack of employee buy-in, especially among workers who fear AI agents might one day be able to do large portions of their current jobs. But pushback from employees is not holding back agentic AI,... Read a handful of tech headlines, or even spend a few minutes on LinkedIn, and you’ll likely see...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

XAI Broke Its Safety Policy With Coding Model

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

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

XAI Broke Its Safety Policy With Coding Model

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

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 53 on Monday, a law that will require the largest AI companies to abide by their own safety and cybersecurity policies. One company that should take heed of the new law is Elon Musk's xAI.The ink had barely dried on xAI’s safety policy, which it published in August, when the company released its model Grok... California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 53 on Monday, a law that will require the largest AI...

Art by Clark Miller.

Beyond the Ban: The Complex Questions Raised by TikTok’s New Deal

By The Information Staff · Oct 2, 2025 6:39am PDT

Following the President’s recent executive order, a path has been created for TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. However, the proposed deal is proving to be a highly complex and controversial arrangement, raising new questions about the company’s future. We turned to our Deep Research AI to get insights. Following the President’s recent executive order, a path has been created for TikTok to continue...

Meta's Yann LeCun. Photo via Getty

A Meta Change on Publishing Research Causes a Stir in Its AI Group

By Kalley Huang and Cory Weinberg · Oct 2, 2025 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

In recent weeks, Meta Platforms made a change to its Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research lab that rubbed members of the group the wrong way: FAIR, as the group is known, would have to undergo additional review of its research before publishing it, according to two people familiar with the matter. The new policy was a tough pill to... In recent weeks, Meta Platforms made a change to its Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research...

Wildfires triggered blackouts in successive years in California. Above, the town of Sausalito in October 2019. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: Sunrun and Tesla Residential Batteries Could Help Power Data Centers

By Steve LeVine · Oct 2, 2025 4:30am PDT

At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, California-based solar and battery provider Sunrun received an urgent email from Puerto Rico. Starting in just an hour, the U.S. territory needed a big infusion of electricity or it would have to initiate rolling blackouts across the island. At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, California-based solar and battery provider Sunrun received an urgent...

Judson Althoff. Photo via Getty

Nadella Wants to Spend More Time With Engineers

By Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Judson Althoff. Photo via Getty

Nadella Wants to Spend More Time With Engineers

By Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2025 5:00pm PDT

It seems Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to spend more time hanging out with engineers and less with customers and government officials. That’s the upshot of Microsoft’s announcement early Wednesday that Nadella would hand off some of his business responsibilities to Microsoft’s chief commercial officer, Judson Althoff. Nadella, an engineer by... It seems Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to spend more time hanging out with engineers and less...