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

MIchael Moritz. Photo via Getty

This IPO Slate Won’t Have Many Major VC Winners

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 25, 2025 3:36pm PDT

Three technology companies are preparing to go public with valuations north of $15 billion over the next few weeks. So, cue the balloons on Sand Hill Road, the party at the Rosewood, the juicy bonuses for venture capitalists? Not so fast. The largest shareholder of AI cloud upstart CoreWeave is a debt-focused hedge fund. The biggest backer... Three technology companies are preparing to go public with valuations north of $15 billion over...

The Information Wins Four SABEW Awards for Tech, Finance and Transportation

By The Information Staff · Mar 25, 2025 2:41pm PDT

The Information won four awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing for its 2024 reporting on Tesla, TikTok, Stripe, as well as the growing market for private stock investing. Members of the industry group also awarded four honorable mentions for The Information articles on chip giant TSMC, a U.S. trade loophole exploited... The Information won four awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing for...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

TikTok Bidders Seek Potential Cloud Support from Microsoft, Google

By Kaya Yurieff and Sri Muppidi · Mar 25, 2025 1:00pm PDT

TikTok bidders are trying to get their ducks in a row as President Trump’s April 5 deadline to find a buyer for TikTok’s U.S. operations approaches. That means making sure they have a cloud firm lined up to keep TikTok running after a sale.Those interested include smaller investor groups who want to run the app and leverage the TikTok brand, but... TikTok bidders are trying to get their ducks in a row as President Trump’s April 5 deadline to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How AI Is Changing Hollywood’s United Talent Agency

By Jon Victor · Mar 25, 2025 10:41am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

How AI Is Changing Hollywood’s United Talent Agency

By Jon Victor · Mar 25, 2025 10:41am PDT

United Talent Agency, whose agents represent Hollywood stars like Will Ferrell and Cynthia Erivo, has struggled to give its staff real-time information on film and TV viewership or ratings because such data come from numerous sources. Agents have long wanted such data at their fingertips so they could share it with clients, said Joe... United Talent Agency, whose agents represent Hollywood stars like Will Ferrell and Cynthia Erivo,...

ALOHA Robot. Screenshot via YouTube

Why Apple, Meta and Google Are Buying Remote-Controlled Robot Arms

By Rocket Drew · Mar 25, 2025 7:00am PDT

During Nvidia’s conference for developers last week, CEO Jensen Huang showed off software that creates computer simulations of robots. Those simulations aim to teach robots how to perform tasks, from washing dishes to picking up household objects.But some robot makers I spoke to say it’s better to train robots to do such tasks by having a person... During Nvidia’s conference for developers last week, CEO Jensen Huang showed off software that...

Photo by Getty

Google Strips DEI Language From Some Internal Research Studies

By Erin Woo · Mar 25, 2025 6:00am PDT

Google employees have told staffers doing user research around Google devices to remove language related to diversity, equity and inclusion from their work or else lock down access to their documents, according to a person with direct knowledge of the instructions. Employees working on internal research studies for building new products and... Google employees have told staffers doing user research around Google devices to remove language...

Photo via Getty

Advertiser Anxiety is Rising

By Sahil Patel · Mar 24, 2025 5:00pm PDT

A truism in the media sector is that economic uncertainty leads marketers to reduce ad spending. And right now, President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and other countries are beginning to make marketers question how much they actually want to spend on advertising in the coming months.In the past week,... A truism in the media sector is that economic uncertainty leads marketers to reduce ad spending....

Evan Robinson-Johnson (from left), Aaron Tilley and Rocket Drew

The Information Hires Reporters to Cover Apple and Musk’s Companies

By The Information Staff · Mar 24, 2025 2:05pm PDT · 4 comments

Evan Robinson-Johnson (from left), Aaron Tilley and Rocket Drew

The Information Hires Reporters to Cover Apple and Musk’s Companies

By The Information Staff · Mar 24, 2025 2:05pm PDT · 4 comments

The Information is pleased to announce the addition of two new reporters to The Information’s newsroom—and the extended fellowship of a third reporter who is already here. Aaron Tilley is returning to The Information as a reporter after more than five years at The Wall Street Journal to cover Apple at one of the most fascinating junctures... The Information is pleased to announce the addition of two new reporters to The Information’s...

Gabriel Stengel, CEO and Co-Founder of Rogo. Screenshot via YouTube

Thrive Capital Leads New Deal in Wall Street AI Startup Rogo

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Anita Ramaswamy · Mar 24, 2025 7:00am PDT

Is Wall Street ready to work with artificial intelligence? Two of OpenAI’s biggest investors think so.Thrive Capital is set to lead at least a $40 million financing into Rogo AI, an artificial intelligence startup selling AI software for investment bankers and Wall Street analysts and investors, at a valuation of up to $350 million, according to... Is Wall Street ready to work with artificial intelligence? Two of OpenAI’s biggest investors...

Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd has returned as chief executive. Photo by Getty

Bumble and Match Need to Woo Investors

By Anita Ramaswamy · Mar 24, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Dating apps are looking for love. Consumers, and investors, are looking elsewhere. Bumble, Tinder, Hinge and the like were once part of the popular crowd. That’s been changing for a while now. Any lingering affection that investors had for them was wiped out last month when weak earnings, poor outlooks and declining users sent stocks tumbling. Dating apps are looking for love. Consumers, and investors, are looking elsewhere. Bumble,...

In 2023, China's JAC Group released the Yiwei, powered by a sodium-ion battery. Photo: Courtesy JAC

The Electric: Sodium Ion Batteries Only Seem Cheaper Than Traditional Lithium Ion

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

In a drive to cut costs and their reliance on China’s supply chain, Western startups have been developing batteries using cheap and abundant sodium in place of lithium, today’s standard. But an extended plunge in the price of the fastest-growing type of lithium-ion battery has flipped the script, making it far cheaper to snub sodium for now. In a drive to cut costs and their reliance on China’s supply chain, Western startups have been...

From left, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos via Getty

OpenAI and Meta Seek AI Alliance With India’s Reliance

By Sri Muppidi and Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2025 9:18am PDT · 1 comment

From left, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos via Getty

OpenAI and Meta Seek AI Alliance With India’s Reliance

By Sri Muppidi and Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2025 9:18am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI executives in recent months have spoken multiple times with their counterparts at Reliance Industries, which owns the world’s largest oil refinery, India’s top wireless carrier and numerous retailers, about a potential product and sales partnership, according to two people who spoke to executives at both companies. OpenAI wants Reliance... OpenAI executives in recent months have spoken multiple times with their counterparts at Reliance...

Art by Clark Miller

Heroes, Villains and a Startup Spy

By Abram Brown · Mar 22, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Inside the Deel-Rippling spy drama• The Arena: Exclusive new database! Meet all the techies who own sports teams• The Top 5: The people who help Silicon Valley hone its taste in art • Politics and Policy: Why Section 230 may finally get changed • Biotech: The woolly mammoth gets... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Inside the Deel-Rippling spy drama• The...

Art by Clark Miller

Why the Woolly Mammoth Startup Felt It Needed to Hire a Hollywood Director

By Abram Brown · Mar 22, 2025 6:00am PDT

A while back, Thomas Tull, billionaire Hollywood mogul turned venture capitalist, invited a group of friends to a rodeo in Dallas. One of those people was Ben Lamm, co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based startup backed by Tull that hopes to resurrect the woolly mammoth. Another was Mike Dougherty, a director who has made several... A while back, Thomas Tull, billionaire Hollywood mogul turned venture capitalist, invited a group...

Art by Clark Miller

The Art Advisers Who Help Tech Moguls Buy Masterpieces

By Todd Plummer · Mar 22, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Well-chosen art is the ultimate flex. The right Twombly or Basquiat on a wall telegraphs more than just taste: It implies access, wealth and an understanding of very expensive assets and how they appreciate over time. In other words, it’s exactly the type of thing to hang in a bedroom or the front hall of an Atherton manse. But should you go... Well-chosen art is the ultimate flex. The right Twombly or Basquiat on a wall telegraphs more...

Photo via Getty

StubHub's Pricey IPO Ticket

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 21, 2025 3:52pm PDT

Photo via Getty

StubHub's Pricey IPO Ticket

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 21, 2025 3:52pm PDT

For the second Friday in a row, a long-anticipated IPO candidate made it official. Last week it was Klarna, and today it’s StubHub. And as I read StubHub’s prospectus today, I couldn’t help but think of a twist on an old idiom: Hell hath no fury like a founder scorned. The filing revealed that Eric Baker—StubHub’s founder, who was fired... For the second Friday in a row, a long-anticipated IPO candidate made it official. Last week it...

Art by Clark Miller. (Photos: Getty Images)

The Information’s Database of the Tech Moguls Who Own Sports Teams

By Sara Germano · Mar 21, 2025 12:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Last June, the Boston Celtics clinched their 18th NBA Championship, making them the most decorated pro basketball franchise of all time. On Thursday, Symphony Technology co-founder Bill Chisholm reached an agreement to buy the team at a valuation of $6.1 billion, giving the Celtics yet another title: the most expensive U.S. sports club ever... Last June, the Boston Celtics clinched their 18th NBA Championship, making them the most...

Google’s $32B Deal and a Silicon Valley Spy Scandal!

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 21, 2025 11:14am PDT

On this week’s More or Less: Google’s $32B deal and a Silicon Valley spy scandal! Apple Spotify On this week’s More or Less: Google’s $32B deal and a Silicon Valley spy scandal! Apple Spotify ...

Pro Weekly: Big Tech Pessimism Sets In

Pro Weekly: Big Tech Pessimism Sets In

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 21, 2025 8:00am PDT

Talk about a U-turn. In January and February, readers of The Information were overwhelmingly optimistic about the tech sector’s prospects. This month, however, readers turned the most pessimistic they’ve been in two years.Readers also said they feel less confident about each of the 14 companies we ask them about each month. That largely aligns... Talk about a U-turn. In January and February, readers of The Information were overwhelmingly...

Art by Clark Miller.

Section 230 May Finally Get Changed as Lawmakers Prep New Bill

By Paris Martineau · Mar 21, 2025 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Politics and Policy

Section 230 May Finally Get Changed as Lawmakers Prep New Bill

By Paris Martineau · Mar 21, 2025 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

In June 1995, two young congressmen reached across the aisle to introduce legislation that would become the defining legal protection of the internet era: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields internet companies from liability for content created by users. Now, nearly 30 years later, another bipartisan duo hopes to... In June 1995, two young congressmen reached across the aisle to introduce legislation that would...