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

Workday Chief Technology Officer Peter Bailis. Art by Clark Miller; image via YouTube.

Every Enterprise Software Firm is Selling the Same AI Products

By Amir Efrati and Aaron Holmes · Sep 23, 2025 10:30am PDT · 1 comment

Workday has spent most of its 20-year existence selling applications that businesses use to manage their employees and financial operations. Now, the company is joining the growing list of software incumbents that are competing head-on in ways they didn’t use to, by selling the same artificial intelligence-powered applications.Last week, Workday... Workday has spent most of its 20-year existence selling applications that businesses use to...

Sam Altman, left, and Jensen Huang. Photos via Getty

Nvidia and OpenAI’s Fates Get Even More Intertwined

By Anissa Gardizy · Sep 23, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Larry Ellison might have thought his firm’s 4.5 gigawatt cloud deal with OpenAI was unmatched.That is, until he woke up on Monday morning to see OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announcing something much bigger: data center plans that are more than double the size of Oracle’s. The numbers are quite staggering. If OpenAI and... Larry Ellison might have thought his firm’s 4.5 gigawatt cloud deal with OpenAI was unmatched....

Blackstone's Jon Gray, left, and Macquarie's Shemara Wikramanayake. Photos by Getty

AI Data Center Lenders to Watch

By Miles Kruppa · Sep 23, 2025 6:00am PDT

The astounding financial demands of artificial intelligence have forced the tech industry to embrace a new source of funding: lenders that can quickly write multi-billion dollar checks. These banks and investors range from giants like JPMorgan Chase and Blackstone to lesser known lenders such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Macquarie. They... The astounding financial demands of artificial intelligence have forced the tech industry to...

A Volvo EX30. Photo via Getty

Volvo’s Top U.S. Exec Says Carmaker Will Proceed With New EVs

By Steve LeVine · Sep 23, 2025 3:00am PDT · 1 comment

A Volvo EX30. Photo via Getty

Volvo’s Top U.S. Exec Says Carmaker Will Proceed With New EVs

By Steve LeVine · Sep 23, 2025 3:00am PDT · 1 comment

A wave of automakers has cancelled plans to produce electric vehicles in the U.S., responding to slow sales of the cars. But Volvo Cars, an automaker owned by China’s Geely Group, is boosting its EV manufacturing plans at its South Carolina plant, a move that could be a model for other Chinese automakers amid a potential thaw in U.S.-China... A wave of automakers has cancelled plans to produce electric vehicles in the U.S., responding to...

Image courtesy of 1X Technologies.

Humanoid Robot Developer 1X Targets $1 Billion in New Funding

By Wayne Ma, Natasha Mascarenhas and Valida Pau · Sep 22, 2025 5:26pm PDT

Humanoid robotics startup 1X has told investors and employees it is trying to raise as much as $1 billion, according to three people who spoke to CEO Bernt Øivind Børnich. The decade-old company is aiming for a valuation of at least $10 billion, Børnich said, or more than 12 times its previous valuation from a January... Humanoid robotics startup 1X has told investors and employees it is trying to raise as much as $1...

Jensen Huang, left, and Sam Altman. Photos via Getty

Nvidia Pays OpenAI to Buy Its Chips

By Martin Peers · Sep 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

OpenAI loves to make grand announcements. Earlier this year we had the hoopla about its Stargate data center venture, worth up to $500 billion. Today the ChatGPT creator announced a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership with Nvidia to “build and deploy” artificial intelligence data centers holding “millions” of Nvidia’s AI chips. To... OpenAI loves to make grand announcements. Earlier this year we had the hoopla about its Stargate...

Arjun Prakash, co-founder & CEO Distyl AI. Image via YouTube. Art by Clark Miller.

AI Consulting Startup Founded by Ex-Palantir Employees Raises at $1.8 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 22, 2025 12:57pm PDT · 4 comments

A raft of venture-backed startups are emerging to offer high-tech consultants for businesses needing help with artificial intelligence, posing competition for companies like Palantir and McKinsey & Co. that specialize in high-priced consulting services. One is Distyl AI. The three-year-old startup provides companies like T-Mobile with what’s... A raft of venture-backed startups are emerging to offer high-tech consultants for businesses...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Japan Strikes Back

By Juro Osawa · Sep 22, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art via Mike Sullivan

Japan Strikes Back

By Juro Osawa · Sep 22, 2025 7:00am PDT

As Western artificial intelligence developers accelerate international expansion, Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, is shaping up to be a key battleground. ChatGPT and Gemini are already popular there. Anthropic is preparing to open a Tokyo office after appointing a Japan country head last month. Canada-based Cohere also hired a... As Western artificial intelligence developers accelerate international expansion, Japan, the...

Art by Clark Miller.

How Crypto Upended Financial Markets and What Comes Next

By Yueqi Yang · Sep 22, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Crypto stormed into the traditional financial system over the past four months, wedging itself deeper than ever into banking and the stock market. The head-spinning changes created billions in profits for the industry and added more risks for investors and regulators. The changes came so fast that they were hard to keep straight. We’ve rolled... Crypto stormed into the traditional financial system over the past four months, wedging itself...

A SunPower project in Utah. Photo: Courtesy SunPower

Exclusive: With an Acquisition, SunPower's T.J. Rodgers Leads New Solar Industry Consolidation

By Steve LeVine · Sep 22, 2025 4:00am PDT

In a sign of a new wave of renewable energy industry consolidation, SunPower has agreed to acquire solar power sales company Sunder Energy for $55 million in cash and stock. It’s the latest deal in the industry, which was already struggling before President Donald Trump slashed subsidies. In a sign of a new wave of renewable energy industry consolidation, SunPower has agreed to...

Flavio Cobolli takes a selfie of Team Europe ahead of the Laver Cup in San Francisco on Wednesday. Photo by Getty

What I Asked Alcaraz in the Land of Alcatraz

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 20, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Musk’s Memphis supercomputer fixer • The Arena: The highlightification of sports. • The Top 5: Tech elites turn to luxury matchmakers to find love.• Plus, our Recommendations: “Home Cooking,” “The World’s Worst Best” and “Three Days of the Condor.” It definitely wasn’t the... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Musk’s Memphis supercomputer...

Art by Clark Miller

$500,000 to Find Love? Silicon Valley Upgrades From Dating Apps

By Jemima McEvoy · Sep 20, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

$500,000 to Find Love? Silicon Valley Upgrades From Dating Apps

By Jemima McEvoy · Sep 20, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

There’s a big public breakup underway: People are dumping their dating apps. Over the past year, Bumble lost nearly 9% of its paying users, the company reported in its earnings report last month. Match Group, meanwhile, saw about 5% of paying users abandon its flagship apps, including Tinder and Bumble, during the same period. “The companies... There’s a big public breakup underway: People are dumping their dating apps. Over the past year,...

Bleacher Report's Katie Arkins. Art by Clark Miller. Photos via Getty Images and Bleacher Report

NBA Commissioner’s Viral Comment Sparks a Sports Highlights Debate

By Sara Germano · Sep 20, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Late last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver inadvertently went viral on social media with a passing comment that quickly got under the skin of basketball fans. When asked during a press conference about how expensive being an NBA fan has become—mainly due to fragmented TV broadcasts and streaming price hikes—part of Silver’s... Late last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver inadvertently went viral on social media with a...

People lined up on Friday for the release of Apple's new iPhone 17 in New York. Photo via Getty

Why the Phone is the Best AI Device

By Martin Peers · Sep 19, 2025 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

It’s hard to believe, but 18 years after the iPhone first hit store shelves, people still line up outside Apple stores whenever a new model first becomes available. We saw that again on Friday, when the iPhone 17 series went on sale. As we reported earlier, preorders for the entry-level iPhone 17—the cheap one—were strong enough to prompt Apple... It’s hard to believe, but 18 years after the iPhone first hit store shelves, people still line up...

Q&A

Meta’s Wearables VP Alex Himel Discusses New Display Glasses

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 19, 2025 12:43pm PDT

Meta Platforms hopes to make money out of its augmented reality glasses through software features, such as subscriptions to its artificial intelligence service, its vice president of wearables Alex Himel said in an interview with The Information’s TITV this week. But Meta doesn’t have near-term plans to try and sell ads on the glasses,... Meta Platforms hopes to make money out of its augmented reality glasses through software...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Image via Getty.

Apple Rushes to Boost Production of Cheaper iPhone 17

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Sep 19, 2025 10:59am PDT

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Image via Getty.

Apple Rushes to Boost Production of Cheaper iPhone 17

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Sep 19, 2025 10:59am PDT

Apple is rushing to boost production of its newly released entry-level model iPhone 17 after strong pre-orders last weekend. The tech giant told at least two suppliers to boost their daily output of the standard model by at least 30%, according to people familiar with the matter. The shift suggests more consumers than Apple expected opted to buy... Apple is rushing to boost production of its newly released entry-level model iPhone 17 after...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

How an Ex-Oilman Became the Face of Elon Musk’s Supercomputers

By Theo Wayt · Sep 19, 2025 9:00am PDT

In February, a peace summit of sorts took place on the top floor of Memphis City Hall. On one side there were a handful of local politicians and environmental activists. On the other was the city’s mayor, Paul Young, and Brent Mayo—a youthful, bearded, hoodie-clad Texan—who came with a message that his boss, Elon Musk, had become... In February, a peace summit of sorts took place on the top floor of Memphis City Hall. On one...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

OpenAI to Spend $100 Billion on Backup Servers for AI Breakthroughs

By Sri Muppidi · Sep 19, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

When OpenAI in March released ChatGPT features that could turn photos into animated characters, a spike in usage forced the company to put temporary limits on the features. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference last week that the company has to regularly hold... When OpenAI in March released ChatGPT features that could turn photos into animated characters, a...

Photos of Jony Ive and Sam Altman via Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Raids Apple for Hardware Talent, Manufacturing Partners

By Wayne Ma, Aaron Tilley, Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · Sep 19, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

As OpenAI’s plans to make devices infused with its artificial intelligence get closer to reality, the company is increasingly plucking talent from Silicon Valley’s most successful device maker: Apple. In recent months, the startup behind ChatGPT has been raiding the ranks of Apple’s design, manufacturing and supply chain teams, in addition to ... As OpenAI’s plans to make devices infused with its artificial intelligence get closer to reality,...

Mark Zuckerberg introduces the Meta Oakley Vanguard AI glasses at Meta Connect. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AR Presence

By Martin Peers · Sep 18, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Mark Zuckerberg introduces the Meta Oakley Vanguard AI glasses at Meta Connect. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AR Presence

By Martin Peers · Sep 18, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

If Mark Zuckerberg has his way, in a few weeks you could be talking to a friend wearing Meta’s new “display” glasses (you might call them augmented reality-lite glasses). All of a sudden, your friend will get a glazed look in their eyes and their fingers will start twitching. “Oh no,” you’ll realize. “They got just a text and now they’re... If Mark Zuckerberg has his way, in a few weeks you could be talking to a friend wearing Meta’s...