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

Netflix Defies Big Tech Pessimism

Netflix Defies Big Tech Pessimism

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 25, 2025 8:00am PDT

Here’s a statistic that sums up how gloomy The Information’s readers are feeling about big tech companies right now: Sentiment scores comparing the proportion of optimists and pessimists for 11 of the 14 companies we track are the most negative we’ve seen since we started our surveys in February 2023. That includes particularly bleak readings... Here’s a statistic that sums up how gloomy The Information’s readers are feeling about big tech...

Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang Photo via AP.

Scale AI Missed Revenue and Profit Targets Ahead of Share Sale

By Cory Weinberg and Kalley Huang · Apr 25, 2025 6:00am PDT

Scale AI, the fast-growing data-labeling startup, missed its revenue and profit targets last year, but its investors are undeterred. The company is close to finalizing about a $150 million share sale, largely to existing investors, that values it at around $25 billion, up about 80% from a year ago. Scale AI told prospective investors early last... Scale AI, the fast-growing data-labeling startup, missed its revenue and profit targets last...

Photo by Getty

What Google’s First-Quarter Numbers Revealed

By Martin Peers · Apr 24, 2025 5:00pm PDT

In earnings season, which we’re in the midst of right now, no (bad) news is good news. Google delivered middling growth for the first quarter, with revenue rising 12%, in line with the fourth quarter, despite a noticeable slowdown in its cash machine of search and in YouTube ads. But despite the ever-present worries about President Donald Trump’... In earnings season, which we’re in the midst of right now, no (bad) news is good news. Google...

Tony Kim, Managing Director of Fundamental Equities at BlackRock, speaks at last year's Private Capital Conference. Photo via Getty.

Your Cheat Sheet for AI and Finance Summit

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 24, 2025 3:06pm PDT

Tony Kim, Managing Director of Fundamental Equities at BlackRock, speaks at last year's Private Capital Conference. Photo via Getty.

Your Cheat Sheet for AI and Finance Summit

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 24, 2025 3:06pm PDT

My colleagues and I are sharpening our questions for Monday’s Financing the AI Revolution summit at the New York Stock Exchange. It will be the perfect New York spring afternoon to pressure-test how investors and executives are adjusting to new realities in the business. More companies are slowing their spending on artificial intelligence... My colleagues and I are sharpening our questions for Monday’s Financing the AI Revolution summit...

The Unreasnbl’s Martin Desmond Roe, Travon Free and Mickey Meyer. Photo by Robyn Von Swank.

Creator Economy

A New Hollywood Fund Finances Creators' AI Projects

By Sahil Patel and Kaya Yurieff · Apr 24, 2025 2:52pm PDT

Hollywood filmmakers say it’s increasingly difficult to get funding to develop projects as studios and streaming companies rein in spending. Now two young companies are trying to finance those projects and help their makers use artificial intelligence in development. DreamFlare, an AI video startup, and The Unreasnble, an entertainment... Hollywood filmmakers say it’s increasingly difficult to get funding to develop projects as...

Jane Street’s Crypto Trading Tripled Last Year

By Yueqi Yang · Apr 24, 2025 2:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Jane Street, a Wall Street powerhouse, more than tripled its crypto trading in 2024 during the market rebound, boosted by bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the expected easing of crypto rules under President Donald Trump. The New York–based company purchased $110 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, and sold $110... Jane Street, a Wall Street powerhouse, more than tripled its crypto trading in 2024 during the...

Subscriber Survey

Half of Tech Workers Report Staff Cuts, Hiring Pullbacks: The Information Subscriber Survey

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 24, 2025 10:00am PDT

Tech companies are rethinking their hiring and spending on key areas including software and marketing, amid fast-changing tariff policies and mounting recession fears. Meanwhile, many are hitting the pause button on capital projects, dealmaking and expanding in new markets. The Information’s latest exclusive reader survey detailed these moves as... Tech companies are rethinking their hiring and spending on key areas including software and...

Fritz Lanman, CEO of Classpass. Photo via Getty.

How ClassPass Got Its Support Bot on Par With Humans

By Jon Victor · Apr 24, 2025 10:00am PDT

Fritz Lanman, CEO of Classpass. Photo via Getty.

How ClassPass Got Its Support Bot on Par With Humans

By Jon Victor · Apr 24, 2025 10:00am PDT

When it comes to using artificial intelligence for customer support, businesses are learning that the technology isn’t something you set and forget. Instead, they need to keep an eye on how the AI is performing and make improvements even after it goes live.ClassPass, which operates a subscription platform for fitness classes, learned that lesson... When it comes to using artificial intelligence for customer support, businesses are learning that...

Why the Crypto Industry Is Closely Tracking the Fate of a Tiny Texas Bank

By Yueqi Yang · Apr 24, 2025 7:00am PDT

A small Texas bank that’s a crucial cog in the global crypto market lost a key leader last week, potentially complicating its closely watched efforts to emerge from regulatory purgatory. United Texas Bank is tiny by all measures except in its role as one of the few U.S. banks willing to do business with crypto-friendly overseas banks. That role... A small Texas bank that’s a crucial cog in the global crypto market lost a key leader last week,...

The Startups Developing Robot Hands; OpenAI’s Revenue Hopes

The Startups Developing Robot Hands; OpenAI’s Revenue Hopes

By Rocket Drew · Apr 24, 2025 7:00am PDT

Before we get into Thursday’s column, be sure to read my colleague Sri’s story on OpenAI’s revenue forecasts. The projections go a long way in explaining why investors led by SoftBank think OpenAI is worth $260 billion. While subscriptions to OpenAI’s pioneering ChatGPT will continue to make up the majority of revenue for the next five years,... Before we get into Thursday’s column, be sure to read my colleague Sri’s story on OpenAI’s...

Art by Clark Miller

Apple’s India Manufacturing Push Faces Spoilers, Including China

By Wayne Ma · Apr 24, 2025 6:00am PDT

For several years, Apple has been working hard to make more of its iPhones in India so it can reduce its dependence on China, where around 80% of its smartphones are currently made. The Chinese government and its tensions with India are getting in the way of that goal. Earlier this year, Chinese authorities refused to allow one of Apple’s... For several years, Apple has been working hard to make more of its iPhones in India so it can...

Elon Musk and his son X Æ walk off Marine One. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty

The Electric: A Reset for Tesla? Musk Pledges Focus But Robotaxi Remains Fuzzy

By Steve LeVine · Apr 24, 2025 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk and his son X Æ walk off Marine One. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty

The Electric: A Reset for Tesla? Musk Pledges Focus But Robotaxi Remains Fuzzy

By Steve LeVine · Apr 24, 2025 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

The market-moving news from Tesla’s earnings call was Elon Musk promising to spend more time at the car company and less in Washington. It helped send the stock up nearly 8% on Wednesday, and it turned the outlook of even recently critical analysts positive again. Among them was Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives, who said the damage Musk had... The market-moving news from Tesla’s earnings call was Elon Musk promising to spend more time at...

Left to right: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and President Donald Trump. Photos via Getty.

Walmart Helps Bail Out Amazon

By Theo Wayt · Apr 23, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to send a thank-you card to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon—because it looks like Walmart just helped bail out Amazon. President Donald Trump’s signal on Tuesday that he might reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from the current level of 145% followed a meeting the president held with McMillon and the CEOs of Target and Home... Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to send a thank-you card to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon—because it...

Tastemade co-founder Steven Kydd. Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Creator Economy M&A Picks Up in Q1

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 23, 2025 2:21pm PDT

This year is off to a solid start for creator economy acquisitions.We tallied at least a dozen acquisitions during the first three months of the year, up from four during the same period a year ago. In all of 2024, 31 companies in The Information’s Creator Economy Database were acquired. This year is off to a solid start for creator economy acquisitions.We tallied at least a dozen...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI Forecasts Revenue Topping $125 Billion in 2029 as Agents, New Products Gain

By Sri Muppidi · Apr 23, 2025 10:16am PDT · 10 comments

For two years, ChatGPT has been OpenAI’s cash cow. But by the end of the decade, the company has told some potential and current investors it expects combined sales from agents and other new products to exceed its popular chatbot, lifting total sales to $125 billion in 2029 and $174 billion the next year, according to documents seen by The... For two years, ChatGPT has been OpenAI’s cash cow. But by the end of the decade, the company has...

Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Bid To Get Google’s Search Data

By Erin Woo · Apr 23, 2025 7:00am PDT

Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Bid To Get Google’s Search Data

By Erin Woo · Apr 23, 2025 7:00am PDT

Hello! Erin here, reporting from the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C. as federal judge Amit Mehta oversees a hearing on how to remedy Google’s illegal search monopoly.Much of the trial so far has centered not on Google’s traditional search engine—famous for its blue links—but on the AI-powered search market, as the government... Hello! Erin here, reporting from the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C. as...

Art by Clark Miller.

AI Agents Fall Short on Shopping

By Ann Gehan · Apr 23, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Artificial intelligence heavyweights including OpenAI and Perplexity, along with commerce giant Amazon, are painting visions of AI tools acting as personal shoppers that can seamlessly buy stuff across the internet. But the handful of AI agents that have so far been released have had trouble with online shopping, since they’re easily tripped up... Artificial intelligence heavyweights including OpenAI and Perplexity, along with commerce giant...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

Tesla’s First Quarter Signals Bleak Year

By Martin Peers · Apr 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

When Elon Musk said in January that 2025 would be “a pivotal year for Tesla,” he surely wasn’t thinking of what has come to pass. The electric vehicle giant reported Tuesday that its auto revenues plunged 20% in the first quarter to their lowest level since 2021, dragging down Tesla’s overall revenue 9% and operating profit 66%. Tesla, which had... When Elon Musk said in January that 2025 would be “a pivotal year for Tesla,” he surely wasn’t...

Henry Ward, CEO and co-founder of Carta. Photo via YouTube.

Carta, the Startup for Startups, Tries to Restart Growth

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 22, 2025 3:47pm PDT

There are many ways to visualize the boom and slowdown in tech startups. One is the image of Carta CEO Henry Ward, dressed in a suit in a Midtown Manhattan hotel, describing how he once raised billions and is now trying to restart his company’s growth.Ward and I were sitting together, across the street from offices that house some of the largest... There are many ways to visualize the boom and slowdown in tech startups. One is the image of...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Getty

Why Facebook Mulled Wiping Friends Lists

By Kalley Huang and Kaya Yurieff · Apr 22, 2025 2:02pm PDT

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Getty

Creator Economy

Why Facebook Mulled Wiping Friends Lists

By Kalley Huang and Kaya Yurieff · Apr 22, 2025 2:02pm PDT

Trials are great for airing technology executives’ private ruminations, including some of their most out-there strategies. Among the most extraordinary that have so far come to light in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Meta Platforms is CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “potentially crazy idea” in 2022 for refreshing Facebook: ... Trials are great for airing technology executives’ private ruminations, including some of their...