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 Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

AI Infrastructure

The ‘Bragawatt’ Data Center Era Brings Reality Checks—and Energy Breakthroughs

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Dec 15, 2025 9:30am PST · 8 comments

Welcome to AI Infrastructure, a new newsletter focused on how the data center boom is reshaping the energy sector and turning Silicon Valley into a rising industrial power.Ann Davis Vaughan has covered the intersection of energy and technology as both an investment analyst and journalist for two decades, including 14 years at The Wall Street... Welcome to AI Infrastructure, a new newsletter focused on how the data center boom is reshaping...

Elon Musk. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why xAI Has an Uphill Battle Selling Grok to Businesses

By Theo Wayt · Dec 15, 2025 8:00am PST · 12 comments

Elon Musk’s xAI wants companies around the world to buy its Grok AI models as it tries to build a moneymaking business. To get there, xAI has created an enterprise AI sales group over the past half-year that has expanded to more than a dozen people. But xAI’s lack of experience in selling to big businesses is holding many potential customers... Elon Musk’s xAI wants companies around the world to buy its Grok AI models as it tries to build a...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

When Will We Reach AGI—And Other Prediction Market Bets

By Rocket Drew · Dec 15, 2025 7:00am PST

On Friday, I wrote about how companies are scrambling to prevent employees from using confidential company information to bet on prediction markets, sites like Polymarket and Kalshi that offer derivatives to wager on events. Opportunities to bet on AI outcomes, say a model release, have exploded in popularity—bets for the latest OpenAI model ... On Friday, I wrote about how companies are scrambling to prevent employees from using...

The People Running Apple After Its Executive Exodus

By Wayne Ma and Aaron Tilley · Dec 15, 2025 6:00am PST

The People Running Apple After Its Executive Exodus

By Wayne Ma and Aaron Tilley · Dec 15, 2025 6:00am PST

For years, Apple was known for having very little turnover in its top ranks. Not anymore. In recent weeks, the company has seen a stream of high-profile executives head for the exits, at a moment when Apple is scrambling to build the AI features consumers increasingly expect from the iPhone. Today, we’re publishing a major update to our Apple... For years, Apple was known for having very little turnover in its top ranks. Not anymore. In...

A Nokia drone. Photo: Courtesy Nokia

The Electric: Nokia’s Battery Choice Reflects a Sudden Lifeline to Battery Startups

By Steve LeVine · Dec 15, 2025 4:30am PST

Thomas Eder, head of embedded wireless solutions at Nokia, was hunting for a better battery to power the Finnish company’s industrial drones, so they could stay in the air longer and be easier to recharge. Thomas Eder, head of embedded wireless solutions at Nokia, was hunting for a better battery to...

Mario Tama/Getty Images

How Netflix and the Ellisons Could Compromise on Warner

By Martin Peers · Dec 14, 2025 3:00pm PST

We’re heading into our last full working week of the year, so the news flow is likely to start quieting down. (Be on the lookout for ServiceNow’s next big acquisition, however). One story that’s likely to chug along through the holidays is the battle between Netflix and the Ellison family’s Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros. Discovery. There’s... We’re heading into our last full working week of the year, so the news flow is likely to start...

Sunday Insights

Why Elon Musk Is Suddenly Talking So Much About Space Data Centers

By Nick Wingfield and Cory Weinberg · Dec 14, 2025 8:00am PST · 16 comments

Every so often, prominent figures in tech begin amplifying the same topic so energetically that it makes you wonder if they’re all on the same group chat (or if the hive mind from “Pluribus,” the Apple TV+ sci-fi show, is a real thing). One such moment occurred this past week, when it became hard to escape the deafening online chatter about data... Every so often, prominent figures in tech begin amplifying the same topic so energetically that...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Testosterone Party Could Get Bigger

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Dec 13, 2025 7:05am PST

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Testosterone Party Could Get Bigger

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Dec 13, 2025 7:05am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Cheap goods, sales gimmicks fuel WhatNot’s $11.5 billion live-shopping empire• Shopping and Style: A tech mogul’s guide to black tie • Plus, our weekly pop culture Recommendations: “Wisecrack,” “Threads of Empire” and “Jay Kelly”The FDA said at a panel this week that it is open to... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Cheap goods, sales gimmicks fuel WhatNot’...

Art by Clark Miller (Photos: Getty Images)

Style and Shopping

A Tech Mogul’s Guide to Black Tie

By Derek Guy · Dec 13, 2025 6:46am PST · 2 comments

Lately, the rich and restless of Silicon Valley have been appearing more often at the sort of formal events that call for black tie. It has not been going well. At the Breakthrough Prize ceremony in April, for instance, Sam Altman wore a shrunken dinner jacket with low-rise trousers, which exposed a bit of shirt beneath his coat’s... Lately, the rich and restless of Silicon Valley have been appearing more often at the sort of...

Getty Images

Data Center Firm Rowan Explores Capital Raising or Sale

By Anissa Gardizy and Valida Pau · Dec 12, 2025 3:24pm PST

A spike of investor interest in the data center sector has prompted one major data center developer, Rowan Digital Infrastructure, to consider whether this is a good time to raise fresh capital or possibly even sell, say people familiar with the company’s thinking. If it were to raise money or sell, it would likely be valued at more than $10... A spike of investor interest in the data center sector has prompted one major data center...

Screenshot via YouTube.

‘ChatGPT for Doctors’ Startup Doubles Valuation to $12 Billion as Revenue Surges

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 12, 2025 1:35pm PST · 3 comments

OpenEvidence, which operates a ChatGPT-like product for doctors to find health information from medical journals and other trusted sources, is raising $250 million in equity financing that will value the three-year-old startup at $12 billion after the investment, doubling its last private valuation from a financing announced just two months ago,... OpenEvidence, which operates a ChatGPT-like product for doctors to find health information from...

Art by Clark Miller

Whatnot’s Schlock Empire Shows Digital Live Shopping Can Thrive in America

By Ann Gehan · Dec 12, 2025 9:02am PST

Art by Clark Miller

Whatnot’s Schlock Empire Shows Digital Live Shopping Can Thrive in America

By Ann Gehan · Dec 12, 2025 9:02am PST

In the weird, wild world of Whatnot, the startup defying Silicon Valley’s dismal track record with live shopping, the merchants speak a unique lingo. Whatnot is a resale market, where sellers auction off items like sports cards, last season’s suede sneakers and off-brand cologne through video livestreams: It’s eBay crossed with TikTok. So if... In the weird, wild world of Whatnot, the startup defying Silicon Valley’s dismal track record...

Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images

Polymarket Bets on OpenAI, Google Raise Insider Trading Suspicions

By Rocket Drew · Dec 12, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Over the past week, a handful of accounts on Polymarket, the predictions site, bet OpenAI would release a new large language model by December 13. On Thursday December 11, OpenAI released GPT-5.2, and four of these accounts together made over $13,000, according to the trades displayed on their accounts. The payout is adding fuel to suspicions... Over the past week, a handful of accounts on Polymarket, the predictions site, bet OpenAI would...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Michael Reaves/Getty Images

OpenAI’s Mickey Mouse Deal

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

When you’re on your back foot, as OpenAI has lately been, what better way is there to take the offense than to announce a Mickey Mouse deal? Take OpenAI’s partnership with Walt Disney Co., unveiled on Thursday morning. Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in the ChatGPT creator and will license 200 characters from its film and... When you’re on your back foot, as OpenAI has lately been, what better way is there to take the...

Tripplaar Kristoffer/SIPA via AP

The Private Credit Market’s New Target

By Miles Kruppa · Dec 11, 2025 2:53pm PST · 1 comment

It’s not every day we write about debt in this newsletter, but tech investors are increasingly paying attention to credit as a growing source of funding for AI. One big question going into next year is whether lenders will have the stomach to continue backing massive data center projects.A recent debt offering from Blackstone-owned QTS, one of... It’s not every day we write about debt in this newsletter, but tech investors are increasingly...

Artwork by Clark Miller

Why Tech Giants Are Partnering with Broadcom to Break Free from Nvidia

By The Information Staff · Dec 11, 2025 1:17pm PST

Artwork by Clark Miller

Why Tech Giants Are Partnering with Broadcom to Break Free from Nvidia

By The Information Staff · Dec 11, 2025 1:17pm PST

Broadcom has established itself as the premier design partner for custom AI chips (ASICs), carving out a lucrative role at the center of the industry’s “shadow war” against Nvidia dominance. The company’s strategy is to enable major tech giants, including Google, Apple, and OpenAI, to reduce their costly reliance on proprietary hardware by... Broadcom has established itself as the premier design partner for custom AI chips (ASICs),...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff via Getty

Salesforce Raises Prices on Apps That Tap Its Data

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 11, 2025 12:34pm PST

For years, thousands of companies have used Fivetran, a software tool for copying data between various applications and databases, including Salesforce apps. But earlier this year, Salesforce told Fivetran, a startup valued at more than $5 billion, that it would need to connect to Salesforce apps through the software giant’s formal program for... For years, thousands of companies have used Fivetran, a software tool for copying data between...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Job Market Is Worsening. AI Is ‘Part of the Story,’ Fed Chair Says

By Amir Efrati and Laura Mandaro · Dec 11, 2025 10:49am PST · 1 comment

Is AI hurting American jobs? A bit, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell, whose comments Wednesday gave the AI fearmongers a good amount of material to work with.In a press conference, Powell said AI was “part of the story” behind the worsening unemployment that prompted the Fed to lower interest rates for the second time in two... Is AI hurting American jobs? A bit, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell, whose...

Getty Images

Disney-OpenAI; AI Startup Valuations Keep Falling as Revenue Rises

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 11, 2025 8:34am PST

Before we get to today’s column, we have to mention Disney and OpenAI’s big partnership announcement this morning. As part of a new three-year licensing agreement, OpenAI’s video app Sora and ChatGPT will be able to generate image and video content that includes characters such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Mickey Mouse and Iron Man from... Before we get to today’s column, we have to mention Disney and OpenAI’s big partnership...

Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Tencent Poaches ByteDance Researchers as China AI Race Heats Up

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Dec 11, 2025 5:00am PST · 1 comment

Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Tencent Poaches ByteDance Researchers as China AI Race Heats Up

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Dec 11, 2025 5:00am PST · 1 comment

Throughout the past couple of years, as AI fever swept China’s technology sector, one giant—Tencent—seemed to mostly be sitting on the sidelines. The company, which owns the hugely popular WeChat app, didn’t seem enthusiastic to win a fierce race in the country to develop cutting-edge AI models, competing with the likes of DeepSeek,... Throughout the past couple of years, as AI fever swept China’s technology sector, one...