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

Why OpenAI, Anthropic Missed Their Own Gross Margin Forecasts

Why OpenAI, Anthropic Missed Their Own Gross Margin Forecasts

By Sri Muppidi · Feb 24, 2026 3:43pm PST · 6 comments

OpenAI has become increasingly optimistic about the revenue it expects to generate from both consumers and businesses, pushing up its projections for the next five years. Clouding those forecasts, however, are escalating cloud server costs that have outstripped revenue growth.Those pressures were stark last year, when OpenAI’s gross margins fell... OpenAI has become increasingly optimistic about the revenue it expects to generate from both...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei via Getty Images

Anthropic and OpenAI Take Different Stances On Disrupting Software Incumbents

By Laura Bratton, Stephanie Palazzolo and Aaron Holmes · Feb 24, 2026 11:58am PST · 1 comment

Anthropic on Tuesday unveiled new details of how businesses could use its Claude Cowork AI software to access and use data stored in enterprise apps, including DocuSign, LegalZoom and Salesforce. Given the recent market jitters about the disruptive impact of AI on these software firms, you’d think the news would have depressed stocks even more.... Anthropic on Tuesday unveiled new details of how businesses could use its Claude Cowork AI...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Research Memo Shows Focus on Rogue Agents, Scheming Models

By Rocket Drew · Feb 24, 2026 10:28am PST

Puncturing the buzz over AI agents such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and the open-source project OpenClaw is the prospect that these agents could get tricked into revealing sensitive information such as a person’s banking information. In a sign of those concerns, Anthropic earlier this year singled out rogue agents as a topic of focus for its... Puncturing the buzz over AI agents such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and the open-source project...

Art by Getty Images

Why ChatGPT Faces Language Barriers

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 24, 2026 7:00am PST

Art by Getty Images

Why ChatGPT Faces Language Barriers

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 24, 2026 7:00am PST

Many AI researchers believe AI models that listen and speak to people are trailing text-based models in capabilities and performance. That gap is even bigger when you look at audio models for languages other than English, especially outside the Western hemisphere.That could be a big issue for companies like OpenAI that are aggressively trying to... Many AI researchers believe AI models that listen and speak to people are trailing text-based...

Art by Clark Miller

Microsoft and Other Software Firms Plot Defense Against New OpenAI, Anthropic Threat

By Kevin McLaughlin, Aaron Holmes and Nick Wingfield · Feb 24, 2026 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Earlier this month, on an investor call for software company HubSpot, a Wall Street analyst asked CEO Yamini Rangan a question that was on the mind of practically everyone who follows the software business closely: How did HubSpot plan to respond to clients who use agents to pull their data out of HubSpot’s customer management software and... Earlier this month, on an investor call for software company HubSpot, a Wall Street analyst asked...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Software Quandary: Are OpenAI and Anthropic Frenemies or Foes?

By Martin Peers · Feb 23, 2026 5:00pm PST

When does a frenemy become a mortal threat? That question should be top of mind for executives atop enterprise software firms, such as ServiceNow, Salesforce and Snowflake, each of which at various times has announced partnerships with OpenAI. And yet OpenAI seems to be doing everything it can to put at least some of these firms out of business.... When does a frenemy become a mortal threat? That question should be top of mind for executives...

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Getty Images

AI Infrastructure

What OpenAI’s Stargate Issues Could Teach Anthropic

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 23, 2026 8:00am PST

Over the past year, the running joke in the data center industry—even inside OpenAI—has been that the $500 billion Stargate initiative was less of a master plan than a “vibe.”My reporting this weekend showed how little Stargate resembles the $500 billion effort touted at a White House event just over a year ago. Stargate now has no staff, nor... Over the past year, the running joke in the data center industry—even inside OpenAI—has been that...

Art by Getty Images

OpenAI’s GPT-5 Dip; Why Agents Are Hard to Evaluate

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Rocket Drew · Feb 23, 2026 7:00am PST

Art by Getty Images

OpenAI’s GPT-5 Dip; Why Agents Are Hard to Evaluate

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Rocket Drew · Feb 23, 2026 7:00am PST

Before we get into today’s column, Friday’s story from Sri and me confirmed what many had been hypothesizing since OpenAI’s release of GPT-5 in August: ChatGPT’s growth hasn’t been as strong as OpenAI hoped.The story is more nuanced, obviously. The chatbot has hit new highs in terms of weekly active users—910 million, to be exact as of earlier... Before we get into today’s column, Friday’s story from Sri and me confirmed what many had been...

SpaceX deploying 60 Starlink broadband data satellites. Courtesy of SpaceX.

SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms

By Theo Wayt · Feb 23, 2026 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Since launching in 2020, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has quickly eclipsed its rocket launch business to become its biggest source of revenue, and, investors hope, a significant cash generator in coming years. But recent efforts to maintain user growth have increasingly turned Starlink into a competitor to mass-market telecom... Since launching in 2020, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has quickly eclipsed its...

At AM Batteries' factory in Billerica, Mass. Photo: Courtesy AM Batteries

Exclusive From The Electric: This Battery Executive's Advantage is That He Has Sold a Startup to Elon Musk

By Steve LeVine · Feb 23, 2026 4:30am PST

In early 2019, Tesla paid $218 million to acquire a small San Diego battery startup that it believed could transform the economics of carmaking. Last month, Elon Musk’s gamble appeared to pay off when Tesla announced it was using the startup’s money-saving technology in an updated battery that powers the Cybertruck. In early 2019, Tesla paid $218 million to acquire a small San Diego battery startup that it...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Krisztian Bocsi/Getty Images.

OpenAI’s Magical Thinking; Nvidia on Deck This Week

By Martin Peers · Feb 22, 2026 3:00pm PST · 1 comment

Before we get to what’s coming this week, let’s take a moment to honor the company that has honed the power of magical thinking. That would be OpenAI, whose latest long term revenue and profit projections we reported on Friday night here. The most important element of the report was that in 2025, the cost of running AI models quadrupled, so the... Before we get to what’s coming this week, let’s take a moment to honor the company that has honed...

Art by Clark Miller

Inside OpenAI’s Scramble to Get Computing Power After Stargate Stalled

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 22, 2026 11:00am PST · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Inside OpenAI’s Scramble to Get Computing Power After Stargate Stalled

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 22, 2026 11:00am PST · 4 comments

When President Donald Trump announced the $500 billion Stargate AI data center project in January 2025, the three companies charged with developing it promised to move with lightning speed, spending $100 billion almost immediately to start building 10 gigawatts of computing capacity. More than a year later, the Stargate joint venture has not... When President Donald Trump announced the $500 billion Stargate AI data center project in January...

Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Sunday Insights

Why Reddit’s Stock Plunged 42% In Past Five Weeks

By Martin Peers · Feb 22, 2026 8:00am PST

Reddit’s explosive revenue growth of the past two years turbocharged the company’s stock after its 2024 initial public offering, lifting it nearly 700% to its highs of around $270 last fall. That rally was markedly different from the tepid performance that similarly sized social media companies such as Snap and Pinterest endured after their... Reddit’s explosive revenue growth of the past two years turbocharged the company’s stock after...

Art by Clark Miller

Google Turns Up in the Music in AI

By Abram Brown · Feb 21, 2026 7:00am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: A radical bet on a totally different type of longevity cure • The Top 5: The best home sauna tech• Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “The Secret World of Roald Dahl,” “Vigil” and “Love Story”Judging strictly by appearances, anyone who is anyone in tech is looking to... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: A radical bet on a totally different type...

Art by Clark Miller

Techies Are Getting Hot and Bothered For Home Saunas

By Jemima McEvoy · Feb 21, 2026 6:00am PST

The tech world is a realm that enjoys obsessing over the newest things: the vibe coding apps, the orchestrating agents, the driverless cars. It also enjoys modernizing the very ancient. The latest example: saunas, which are believed to have existed in some form or another since the Stone Age. They’ve been popular gathering points since the... The tech world is a realm that enjoys obsessing over the newest things: the vibe coding apps, the...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Prakash Singh/Getty Images.

OpenAI Boosts Revenue Forecasts, Predicts $111 Billion More Cash Burn Through 2030

By Sri Muppidi and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 20, 2026 2:44pm PST · 1 comment

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Prakash Singh/Getty Images.

OpenAI Boosts Revenue Forecasts, Predicts $111 Billion More Cash Burn Through 2030

By Sri Muppidi and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 20, 2026 2:44pm PST · 1 comment

OpenAI recently hiked its revenue outlook for the next five years, predicting that it would generate about 27% more than previously forecast from sales of its ChatGPT subscriptions, AI models, and newer business lines such as advertising and hardware, according to financial forecasts. But it warned it will burn more than twice as much cash... OpenAI recently hiked its revenue outlook for the next five years, predicting that it would...

Art by Clark Miller; Photo by Amy Dockser Marcus, Getty Images.

Longevity Treatments for a 91-Year-Old? A Bold Bet in Silicon Valley’s Immortality Race

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Feb 20, 2026 9:39am PST

In Silicon Valley, some quests for the fountain of youth have most definitely won the backing of tech’s leading names. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, personally invested $180 million to launch Retro Biosciences, which is working on ways to rejuvenate aging cells. CoinBase’s Brian Armstrong co-founded NewLimit, which has raised over $200 million for a... In Silicon Valley, some quests for the fountain of youth have most definitely won the backing of...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Plans to Price Smart Speaker at $200 to $300, as AI Device Team Takes Shape

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Qianer Liu · Feb 20, 2026 6:00am PST

OpenAI has more than 200 people working on a family of AI-powered devices that will include a smart speaker and possibly smart glasses and a smart lamp, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. New details are starting to emerge about the group and its development strategy. The smart speaker—the first device OpenAI will... OpenAI has more than 200 people working on a family of AI-powered devices that will include a...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi today. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images.

What OpenAI's Funding Says About Google's Value

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2026 5:00pm PST

The nervous Nellies in the investor community sold tech stocks again on Thursday, dragging down the Nasdaq 0.4%. Sounds like a normal day in February 2026, you might say. But it’s striking how anxieties about the disruption caused by AI continue to weigh on stock prices, including those of leading AI firms like Google, even as private AI leaders... The nervous Nellies in the investor community sold tech stocks again on Thursday, dragging down...

Ebay CEO Jamie Iannone. Photo by Getty Images

EBay’s Secondhand Depop Buy

By Valida Pau and Ann Gehan · Feb 19, 2026 3:00pm PST · 1 comment

Ebay CEO Jamie Iannone. Photo by Getty Images

EBay’s Secondhand Depop Buy

By Valida Pau and Ann Gehan · Feb 19, 2026 3:00pm PST · 1 comment

EBay struck a bargain this week with its agreement to purchase Depop, the popular secondhand clothing resale app, for $1.2 billion in cash. That’s less than the $1.63 billion Etsy paid for Depop five years ago. There’s a reason eBay got a good deal. Even while Depop increased its total sales last year by roughly 25% to $1 billion, Etsy had... EBay struck a bargain this week with its agreement to purchase Depop, the popular secondhand...