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

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Recent Editions

A SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket booster on display outside the SpaceX facilities in Hawthorne, Calif. Ethan Swope/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Wall Street Expects SpaceX to Burn $350 Billion of Cash Through 2030

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 4, 2026 10:41am PDT · 1 comment

SpaceX, planning the largest initial public offering of all time next week, will already need to raise more cash by next year if private forecasts from analysts at Goldman Sachs come to fruition. SpaceX’s lead bank on the IPO, in aggressive forecasts shared with prospective investors this week, expects the company to burn $120 billion this year... SpaceX, planning the largest initial public offering of all time next week, will already need to...

Mike Blandina, Chief Information Officer at Snowflake. Screenshot via YouTube and Money20/20 TV.

Snowflake CIO Says He Used Layoffs to Convince Staff to Use AI

By Laura Bratton and Aaron Holmes · Jun 4, 2026 10:30am PDT

Tech firms ranging from Block to Meta Platforms have announced mass layoffs in the past year, frequently citing AI as allowing them to do more with less people. In a variation on that approach Snowflake says it used layoffs to force software engineers to use AI tools and become more productive.“At the time, my team hated me, but I thought it was... Tech firms ranging from Block to Meta Platforms have announced mass layoffs in the past year,...

The new electric Chevy Bolt, released after its prior cancellation. Photo: Josh Lefkowitz/Getty

Exclusive: With Some 100 Rehired Cruise Employees, GM Pursues Eyes-Off Autonomous Cars

By Steve LeVine · Jun 4, 2026 9:00am PDT

Eighteen months after killing off Cruise, its independent robotaxi subsidiary, General Motors has hired back more than 100 members of the unit’s former team, including senior managers who have moved back into their old roles. Eighteen months after killing off Cruise, its independent robotaxi subsidiary, General Motors has...

Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI. Photo by Marc Fong

Billionaire Databricks and Perplexity Co-Founder Pitches AI Researchers to Not Work for Big Tech

By Laura Bratton · Jun 4, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI. Photo by Marc Fong

Billionaire Databricks and Perplexity Co-Founder Pitches AI Researchers to Not Work for Big Tech

By Laura Bratton · Jun 4, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

The billionaire co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI, Andy Konwinski, is singularly focused on plugging the years-long drain of talent from academia to Big Tech.He wants to encourage academics to focus on publishing more openly available research, a reaction to the move by frontier AI companies to reduce the amount of AI research they... The billionaire co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI, Andy Konwinski, is singularly focused...

Art by Clark Miller.

Tech’s 2026 Halftime Report: From AI Hype to Hard Limits

By The Information Staff · Jun 4, 2026 6:22am PDT

The first half of 2026 has been a reality check for the tech industry. After two years defined by the rush to build, fund and deploy generative AI, the biggest questions are moving beyond model rankings and chip counts. The year’s defining stories are increasingly about what happens when huge ambitions collide with harder limits on cost,... The first half of 2026 has been a reality check for the tech industry. After two years defined by...

Helion’s 7th generation fusion generator, Polaris. Photo courtesy of Helion Energy

Fusion Startup Helion Nearly Triples Valuation to $15.5 Billion in Thrive-led Round

By Nick Wingfield · Jun 4, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Helion Energy, a nuclear fusion startup backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, still has to prove it can produce electricity to serve data centers and other customers. But investors seem confident it can deliver. The Everett, Wash.–based company said it has raised $465 million in a funding round led by Thrive Capital, the investment firm founded... Helion Energy, a nuclear fusion startup backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, still has to prove it can...

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Cybersecurity’s AI Paradox

By Martin Peers · Jun 3, 2026 5:00pm PDT

It's no secret that criminals are using AI to streamline computer hacks in hopes of emptying out people’s bank accounts (never has it looked more appealing to stash cash under the mattress!). Cybersecurity executives, meanwhile, are rubbing their hands with glee at the influx of business they expect to get as a result. “What I see is AI... It's no secret that criminals are using AI to streamline computer hacks in hopes of emptying out...

Art by Clark Miller; YouTube.

Meta Looks to Charge Up to $200 a Month for Planned ‘Hatch’ AI Agent

By Jyoti Mann · Jun 3, 2026 3:01pm PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller; YouTube.

Meta Looks to Charge Up to $200 a Month for Planned ‘Hatch’ AI Agent

By Jyoti Mann · Jun 3, 2026 3:01pm PDT · 2 comments

Meta Platforms is considering charging up to $200 a month for its planned consumer version of the OpenClaw AI agent tool, according to internal documents, an ambitious target that would rival top tier offerings from established AI giants. The product, currently called Hatch, could launch with tiered pricing including the $199.99 premium... Meta Platforms is considering charging up to $200 a month for its planned consumer version...

Vanja Josifovski, CEO of Kumo.AI. Art by Clark Miller, YouTube.

Nvidia Buys Enterprise Model-Maker Kumo AI for at Least $400 Million

By Valida Pau and Phoebe Liu · Jun 3, 2026 2:47pm PDT

Nvidia has bought Kumo AI, a five-year-old startup that sells predictive AI software to enterprises, for more than $400 million, said a person with knowledge of the deal. The acquisition, first revealed by an Nvidia executive in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, should expand Nvidia’s roster of AI models that can be optimized for Nvidia hardware and... Nvidia has bought Kumo AI, a five-year-old startup that sells predictive AI software to...

Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images.

The Information Finance

Alphabet’s Fine Print Reveals Hidden Cost of the AI Talent War

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 3, 2026 9:23am PDT · 2 comments

Alphabet’s plan to sell $80 billion worth of shares, billed as a way to pay for AI infrastructure and compute, is surprising enough, given the capital raise’s size and the fact that the company last raised equity 21 years ago, when Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” was the song of the summer. But there’s another eye-catching detail in the offering... Alphabet’s plan to sell $80 billion worth of shares, billed as a way to pay for AI infrastructure...

Partner Content

How to Streamline Employee Engagement Surveys with the Google Gemini app

By The Information Partnerships · Jun 3, 2026 8:40am PDT

Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys sound simple: Ask your workers about their experience, and then see what they have to say. But in practice, these survey cycles often turn into months-long marathons, with HR teams sometimes taking weeks to agree on the right questions and then manually combing through messy, unstructured data after... Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys sound simple: Ask your workers about their...

Art via Shutterstock/Mike Sullivan

The Unintended Consequences of Codex’s Comeback

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 3, 2026 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Art via Shutterstock/Mike Sullivan

The Unintended Consequences of Codex’s Comeback

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 3, 2026 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI’s Codex—which was once pitched as a coding agent for developers and is now being framed as a more general-purpose agent for knowledge workers—is having a moment, as OpenAI chief revenue officer Denise Dresser put it on Tuesday. As I wrote about in this story from Tuesday, lots of developers are making the switch from Anthropic’s more... OpenAI’s Codex—which was once pitched as a coding agent for developers and is now being framed as...

Walmart CTO, Hari Vasudev. Photo courtesy of Walmart.

Walmart Looks Offline for AI Shopping Data Advantage

By Ann Gehan · Jun 3, 2026 6:00am PDT

Walmart is trying to make its Sparky assistant smarter and more capable for shoppers by collecting more real-world data on how people shop inside its 3,500-plus U.S. superstores. Gathering more in-store information has been a focus for the company since Sparky launched about a year ago, said Hari Vasudev, Walmart’s U.S. chief technology officer,... Walmart is trying to make its Sparky assistant smarter and more capable for shoppers by...

Getty Images.

The SpaceX IPO Domino Effect

By Katie Roof · Jun 2, 2026 5:16pm PDT

SpaceX’s $75 billion offering will impact a lot more than just the employees and investors who are looking to cash in on their stock. It will also be a gauge of enthusiasm for tech IPOs, helping set the stage for other mega IPOs like Anthropic and OpenAI. If SpaceX’s IPO doesn’t take off, “you’d see a pullback in institutional capital that... SpaceX’s $75 billion offering will impact a lot more than just the employees and investors who...

OpenAI chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, speaks today. Screenshot via OpenAI.

OpenAI (and Microsoft) Make New AI Pitches to Businesses

By Martin Peers · Jun 2, 2026 5:01pm PDT

The poor souls responsible for technology buying decisions at companies must be overwhelmed these days. Not only does seemingly every other tech firm want to send consultants—invariably calling themselves forward-deployed engineers as though they’re on maneuver in the desert—to help companies learn how to use their AI services, but the array of... The poor souls responsible for technology buying decisions at companies must be overwhelmed these...

Sam Altman via Getty Images

Inside OpenAI’s Decision to Combine Codex and ChatGPT

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 2, 2026 1:45pm PDT · 5 comments

Sam Altman via Getty Images

Inside OpenAI’s Decision to Combine Codex and ChatGPT

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 2, 2026 1:45pm PDT · 5 comments

Early last year, after Anthropic released a preview of its coding tool, Claude Code, OpenAI realized it had allowed the then-smaller AI rival to surpass it in coding. Around that time, OpenAI threw resources behind a new dedicated team that would focus specifically on developing AI tools for coding. Nearly 18 months later, OpenAI... Early last year, after Anthropic released a preview of its coding tool, Claude Code, OpenAI...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Meta Adds Limits to Employee Tracking Tool After Staff Backlash

By Jyoti Mann · Jun 2, 2026 12:31pm PDT

Meta Platforms is scaling back elements of its employee tracking tool after staff raised concerns about the tool, according to an internal memo reviewed by The Information. A Meta executive told employees in the memo that the company is updating its Model Capability Initiative, or MCI, launched in April to help train its AI models, by... Meta Platforms is scaling back elements of its employee tracking tool after staff raised concerns...

Art by Clark Miller.

5 Ways Companies Keep AI Bills in Check

By Aaron Holmes and Laura Bratton · Jun 2, 2026 10:31am PDT

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy on Monday became the latest executive to voice concerns over rising AI costs.“Are we worried about how much we are spending on AI inference across our internal teams? Absolutely,” he told my colleague Laura during Snowflake’s annual conference in San Francisco. (Snowflake is a major customer of Anthropic, OpenAI... Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy on Monday became the latest executive to voice concerns over...

Photo by AP Images

SpaceX Targets $1.75 Trillion Valuation Ahead of IPO Roadshow

By Valida Pau · Jun 2, 2026 9:24am PDT

SpaceX is seeking a valuation of $1.75 trillion in its initial public offering next week, including additional shares the underwriting banks could sell if investor demand is strong, according to people familiar with the matter. The latest valuation target solidifies earlier discussions previously reported by The Information, though is short of... SpaceX is seeking a valuation of $1.75 trillion in its initial public offering next week,...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Cognition Aims to Be the Switzerland of AI Agents with App Makeover

By Rocket Drew · Jun 2, 2026 7:01am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

Cognition Aims to Be the Switzerland of AI Agents with App Makeover

By Rocket Drew · Jun 2, 2026 7:01am PDT

AI coding startup Cognition is revamping its app to help users manage coding agents from many providers, executives told The Information. Cognition is betting that being a neutral platform will strengthen its hand in the increasingly competitive market for AI coding tools.The change, to be announced on Tuesday, involves the Windsurf application... AI coding startup Cognition is revamping its app to help users manage coding agents from many...