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

Art by Clark Miller.

Grüns Lands Valuation Around $500 Million as Supplement Startups Boom

By Ann Gehan · Apr 14, 2025 3:43pm PDT

Investors are on a health kick and looking for new ways to tap into fast-growing brands in the nutrition sector. That includes pouring money into startups selling supplements, particularly those that offer new ways for people to load up on vitamins, protein and other ingredients. The latest example is two-year-old gummy supplement startup... Investors are on a health kick and looking for new ways to tap into fast-growing brands in the...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI’s Latest Breakthrough: AI That Comes Up With New Ideas

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Apr 14, 2025 7:30am PDT · 4 comments

Even as artificial intelligence has made strides in summarizing research papers or solving mathematical problems, professionals in many fields still believed humans would be in charge of coming up with ideas for new discoveries. Now AI is getting good at such brainstorming, too. OpenAI is preparing to launch new AI models as soon as this week... Even as artificial intelligence has made strides in summarizing research papers or solving...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

Revenue Lags at AI Evaluation Startups

By Sri Muppidi · Apr 14, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Startups whose products evaluate artificial intelligence to make sure it isn’t making things up or delivering unsafe results, like Patronus and Braintrust, have caught the attention of investors. But previously undisclosed sales data from these and other startups selling evaluation software show corporate customers have been relatively slow to... Startups whose products evaluate artificial intelligence to make sure it isn’t making things up...

Photos via Getty

Meta Antitrust Trial Tests Its Bid to Win White House Favor

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Apr 14, 2025 6:00am PDT

Photos via Getty

Meta Antitrust Trial Tests Its Bid to Win White House Favor

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Apr 14, 2025 6:00am PDT

In the months after Donald Trump was elected president in November, Meta Platforms pulled out all the stops to get on his good side. So far though, it hasn’t helped its executives put an end to a long-running antitrust lawsuit that could potentially force Meta to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. Barring an unlikely last-minute agreement between... In the months after Donald Trump was elected president in November, Meta Platforms pulled out all...

A Clarios battery manufacturing plant. Courtesy: Clarios

The Electric: Some Investors Are Using IRA Tax Credits to Pay Themselves

By Steve LeVine and Ken Brown · Apr 14, 2025 4:30am PDT

Since 2021, lead-acid battery maker Clarios has been talking about going public. But in January, the company said it was scrapping its plans for an initial public offering. That would normally have been a blow to the company’s owners, private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management and Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du... Since 2021, lead-acid battery maker Clarios has been talking about going public. But in January,...

Art by Clark Miller

A Safe Investment in Turbulent Times

By Sara Germano · Apr 12, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Patrick Collison’s political philosophy could change America • The Top 5: The very best podcasting gear• A look inside the Breakthrough Prize gala • Plus, our Recommendations: An “All-In” alternative; the liberal hoax that fueled deep-state paranoia; and John le Carré meets Agatha... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Patrick Collison’s political philosophy...

Art by Clark Miller

Silicon Valley’s Favorite Podcasting Gear

By Paris Martineau · Apr 12, 2025 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

When Ed Zitron launched his podcast “Better Offline” in 2024, a gift from the show’s publisher soon arrived at his Las Vegas home: an imposing seven-foot-tall black felt-clad box known as a VocalBooth. “It’s like a foam prison with lights inside it,” said Zitron. “It’s wonderful.” Nowadays, he steps inside the chamber usually once a week to “get... When Ed Zitron launched his podcast “Better Offline” in 2024, a gift from the show’s publisher...

Photo via Getty

Google’s Continuous Cost-Cutting

By Martin Peers · Apr 11, 2025 3:27pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Google’s Continuous Cost-Cutting

By Martin Peers · Apr 11, 2025 3:27pm PDT

Google appears to have learned a lesson from 2023, when its layoffs of 12,000 people, or 6.4% of its workforce, became big news and sparked anger among employees used to its cushy culture. In the past 18 months or so, Google has made a series of smaller cuts, mostly at the scale of “hundreds of people” each time, according to news reports in The... Google appears to have learned a lesson from 2023, when its layoffs of 12,000 people, or 6.4% of...

Trump’s Chaos & AI’s China Threat (with Joanna Coles)

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 11, 2025 2:58pm PDT

Jessica is joined by Daily Beast Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles to discuss the latest secret tech confabs and this wild, wild week. Apple Spotify Jessica is joined by Daily Beast Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles to discuss the latest secret...

Photo via Adobe

Pro Weekly: AI Venture Funding Extends Hot Streak

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 11, 2025 8:00am PDT

The stock market had a rough start to the year. Artificial intelligence venture funding, however, is still on an upward trajectory. Startups in our Generative AI Database raised more than $18.8 billion in the first quarter, more than threefold with the same period last year. We logged 79 funding rounds across the 441 companies in our database.To... The stock market had a rough start to the year. Artificial intelligence venture funding, however,...

Art by Clark Miller

Patrick Collison Dreams of an Abundance-Verse

By Julia Black · Apr 11, 2025 7:05am PDT

Nearly every summer in recent years, Patrick Collison, Stripe’s 36-year-old Irish billionaire co-founder, has hosted a multiday summit on the West Coast with a bold underlying intention: unlock a more abundant future. The very first such conclave happened in 2018 when Collison and several other co-founders, including his brother John and GitHub... Nearly every summer in recent years, Patrick Collison, Stripe’s 36-year-old Irish billionaire...

Art by Clark Miller

What Happens When Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Science Combine

By The Information Staff · Apr 11, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

What Happens When Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Science Combine

By The Information Staff · Apr 11, 2025 7:00am PDT

Scientists and starlets can make strange bedfellows. But at this year’s Breakthrough Prize ceremony in Santa Monica, Calif., hundreds of scientists, tech leaders and Hollywood stars gathered for a night of celebrating breakthroughs in subjects such as gene editing, mathematics and physics. A crowd including Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez and... Scientists and starlets can make strange bedfellows. But at this year’s Breakthrough Prize...

Photos via Getty/Shutterstock

ByteDance Is Developing AI Smart Glasses

By Juro Osawa · Apr 11, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is planning to sell its own version of artificial intelligence–powered smart glasses, according to two people with direct knowledge of the effort. It’s the latest sign that tech giants globally see gadgets as the next new market for AI services. Meta Platforms has had success with its Ray-Ban smart glasses,... ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is planning to sell its own version of artificial...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today. Photo via Getty

Europe’s Tax Threat Looms Over Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 10, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

A global trade war could get very ugly for big tech—and not just for importers of physical products, like Apple. A Financial Times report on Thursday quoted the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, as suggesting that Europe could retaliate against U.S. tariffs by imposing a levy on digital ad revenues generated by companies like... A global trade war could get very ugly for big tech—and not just for importers of physical...

Hemant Taneja. Photo by Getty

What Worries General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 10, 2025 3:26pm PDT · 1 comment

Venture capitalists typically aren’t macroeconomic or geopolitical experts, despite what you may read on X or hear on podcasts. But they do need to have a sufficient worldview to understand where markets are growing, where to put investment dollars and how to raise money.In that way, it’s become clear that General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja was... Venture capitalists typically aren’t macroeconomic or geopolitical experts, despite what you may...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Midjourney

How AI Could Eat Creators’ Affiliate Revenue

By Ann Gehan · Apr 10, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan/Midjourney

Creator Economy

How AI Could Eat Creators’ Affiliate Revenue

By Ann Gehan · Apr 10, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Creators are staring down what they say is a growing threat: artificial intelligence-powered searches cutting into their lucrative product recommendations. More people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity to search the web for information and shopping inspiration, and Google has started adding more AI-powered features to its... Creators are staring down what they say is a growing threat: artificial intelligence-powered...

As Advertisers Rethink Spending, Meta and Google Look Better Positioned

As Advertisers Rethink Spending, Meta and Google Look Better Positioned

By Catherine Perloff · Apr 10, 2025 1:05pm PDT · 1 comment

Advertisers are rethinking their spending plans, a sign that economic uncertainty sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariff program is having an impact on business investment. But the impact won’t be felt evenly. Big tech companies that sell advertising—Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon—are likely to hold up better than other... Advertisers are rethinking their spending plans, a sign that economic uncertainty sparked by...

Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google speaks onstage during Google Cloud Next “25: AI Exclusive at the Sphere” on April 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Image via Getty.

How Companies Are Approaching AI’s Cost-Benefit Analysis

By Erin Woo and Jon Victor · Apr 10, 2025 10:00am PDT

Google Cloud pulled out all the stops at its annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week to demonstrate that customers are getting good results from artificial intelligence services, speeding up production and offering new services to customers. But as tariffs roil markets and dampen the economic outlook, how much businesses spend on AI... Google Cloud pulled out all the stops at its annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week...

ByteDance's Singapore office. Photo via Getty

ByteDance’s 2024 Revenue Shows Importance of TikTok

By Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Apr 10, 2025 7:37am PDT

ByteDance’s revenue from international operations, which are primarily TikTok, rose 63% to $39 billion in 2024, said a person with knowledge of the company’s financials. The international revenue accounted for a quarter of ByteDance’s total last year, the highest it has ever been, as growth in the company’s Chinese operations slowed. The results... ByteDance’s revenue from international operations, which are primarily TikTok, rose 63% to $39...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

AI Startups’ Revenue Disclosures Get Worse

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 10, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

AI Startups’ Revenue Disclosures Get Worse

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 10, 2025 7:00am PDT

I don’t envy AI investors right now. The price of AI startup shares (unlike the value of my stock portfolio) seem to be only going up, which means it’s riskier to make new bets. And the way startups are disclosing financial metrics to investors seems to be getting more muddied. Take annual recurring revenue, which typically multiplies the... I don’t envy AI investors right now. The price of AI startup shares (unlike the value of my stock...