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

Ready, Madrigal screenshots via Youtube.

What’s Working at Pinterest

By Jon Victor · Feb 11, 2025 10:00am PST

Two artificial intelligence trends have converged at Pinterest: the growing usefulness of AI in improving advertising, and how falling costs of such technology can benefit large application developers more than other types of companies.Pinterest is a bit of a rarity in AI. For years, the online scrapbooking company has trained its own AI models... Two artificial intelligence trends have converged at Pinterest: the growing usefulness of AI in...

Photos by Getty

The Strategy Behind Musk’s $97 Billion Bid for OpenAI

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Rocket Drew · Feb 11, 2025 7:00am PST · 1 comment

You've got to hand it to Elon Musk: He is great at getting attention for his causes. In the latest example, the OpenAI cofounder-turned-rival made a $97.4 billion bid for the assets of OpenAI’s nonprofit—namely, control over the OpenAI for-profit arm that runs ChatGPT. This is all part of Musk’s monthslong effort to stop the for-profit from... You've got to hand it to Elon Musk: He is great at getting attention for his causes. In the...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Apple Partners With Alibaba to Develop AI Features for iPhone Users in China

By Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Feb 11, 2025 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to roll out artificial intelligence features in China, according to one person with direct knowledge of the decision. The move is part of Apple’s strategy to offer more compelling software features to counter declining sales in the country, where it faces... Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday, Feb. 7. Photo from Bloomberg via Getty Images

OpenAI Board Will Reject Musk’s ‘Embarrassing’ Takeover Bid, CEO Says

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Feb 10, 2025 7:46pm PST · 3 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday, Feb. 7. Photo from Bloomberg via Getty Images

OpenAI Board Will Reject Musk’s ‘Embarrassing’ Takeover Bid, CEO Says

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Feb 10, 2025 7:46pm PST · 3 comments

Shortly after Elon Musk made a surprise $97 billion bid for OpenAI’s assets on Monday, its CEO Sam Altman told staff in a message that its board of directors intends to make clear it has no interest in Musk’s “supposed ‘bid’” and that the offer wasn’t in the interest of OpenAI’s mission to develop advanced artificial intelligence for all of... Shortly after Elon Musk made a surprise $97 billion bid for OpenAI’s assets on Monday, its CEO...

Photo via Getty.

Stripe Considers Employee Share Sale at $85 Billion Valuation or More

By Sri Muppidi · Feb 10, 2025 6:32pm PST

Stripe is considering arranging a sale of shares held by employees that would value the company at $85 billion or more, according to a person who has spoken to the company. The transaction would extend a series of share buybacks, secondary sales and fundraises that have lifted the payments provider’s valuation close to its $95 billion peak,... Stripe is considering arranging a sale of shares held by employees that would value the company...

Photo via AP

Musk’s Shrewd OpenAI Bid

By Martin Peers · Feb 10, 2025 5:00pm PST

Elon Musk’s ability to multitask has got to be one of his superpowers. In the past couple of weeks, he’s been all in on his contentious DOGE cost-cutting campaign for the Trump administration, a task he’s handling in addition to his CEO roles at Tesla and SpaceX. Today comes the news, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, that he’s also... Elon Musk’s ability to multitask has got to be one of his superpowers. In the past couple of...

Aaron Ginn, cofounder and CEO of Hydra Host

The ‘GPU Whisperer’ Making Software for Data Centers

By Anissa Gardizy · Feb 10, 2025 7:00am PST

Is going “bare metal” in data centers the future for cloud computing? If so, it could signal a shift away from big cloud firms toward a new group of AI computing startups.Bare metal isn’t a subset of rock music but an industry term for renting servers to cloud customers on terms that give them access to the hardware, allowing customers to... Is going “bare metal” in data centers the future for cloud computing? If so, it could signal a...

Art by Clark Miller. Photo via Getty

Meta Curbs Privacy Teams’ Sway Over Product Releases

By Kalley Huang · Feb 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Art by Clark Miller. Photo via Getty

Meta Curbs Privacy Teams’ Sway Over Product Releases

By Kalley Huang · Feb 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Meta Platforms has erected guardrails around how it develops new products over the past decade to better protect the privacy of its more than 3 billion users following high-profile breaches. Now executives are lowering those guardrails so the company can release products more quickly. Among the changes, privacy teams will have less authority to... Meta Platforms has erected guardrails around how it develops new products over the past decade to...

In December in Angola, Biden inaugurates U.S. funding for the Lobito railway corridor. With him, left to right: Tanzania Vice-President Philip Isdor Mpango; President Felix Tshisekedi of Democratic Republic of Congo; Angola President Joao Lourenco; and Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema. Photo: Getty.

The Electric: Trump May Be Jeopardizing a Critical Metals Win in Africa

By Steve LeVine · Feb 10, 2025 4:30am PST · 1 comment

In December, then-President Joe Biden traveled to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito in a challenge to China’s grip on Africa’s rich supplies of metals used in electric vehicles, high-tech devices and weapons.With a flourish, Biden announced $560 million in funding to build projects along an 800-mile railway from the Democratic Republic of Congo... In December, then-President Joe Biden traveled to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito in a challenge...

Art by Clark Miller

The AI Scene Awaiting JD Vance

By Abram Brown · Feb 8, 2025 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The Thiel protégé set to dispense a dose of abrupt change to the U.S. Health Department• The Top 5: The best high-tech protective gear for skiers and snowboarders• Plus, our Recommendations: A tricky traitor in the Troubles; a deeply researched television set; and Michael... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The Thiel protégé set to dispense a dose...

Art by Clark Miller

The Best High-Tech Protective Gear for Skiers and Snowboarders

By Brigid Mander · Feb 8, 2025 5:00am PST · 1 comment

My first ski helmet was ridiculous. Whenever I wore it, it looked like I had an upside-down fruit bowl on my head. I initially bought it back around 2002, a time when just a quarter of skiers wore helmets, according to the National Ski Areas Association’s annual survey. And no wonder: Back then, ski goggles and helmets were often shaped... My first ski helmet was ridiculous. Whenever I wore it, it looked like I had an upside-down fruit...

Photo via Getty

Amazon’s Server Signal

By Martin Peers · Feb 7, 2025 3:00pm PST

Photo via Getty

Amazon’s Server Signal

By Martin Peers · Feb 7, 2025 3:00pm PST

How long can computer servers be expected to last? Don’t groan—that’s a real issue. After all, if a company is spending tens of billions on servers annually, they presumably don’t want to replace them every other year. But as we learned in the past week or two from December quarterly earnings reports, the big tech companies have differing... How long can computer servers be expected to last? Don’t groan—that’s a real issue. After all, if...

Photos of Elon Musk (from left), Jim O’Neill and Peter Thiel via YouTube screenshots. Art by Clark Miller

As DOGE Shakeup Looms, a Thiel Protégé Looks to Disrupt U.S. Health Department

By Julia Black · Feb 7, 2025 9:00am PST · 3 comments

In November, virologist Beata Halassy announced to the world that she had cured her own breast cancer using a treatment developed in a laboratory she runs. Many in the medical community celebrated her breakthrough, which she says has allowed her to live cancer-free for over four years. But some bioethicists worried that overpublicizing the... In November, virologist Beata Halassy announced to the world that she had cured her own breast...

Photo via Shutterstock

Pro Weekly: Chime Taps IPO Veterans in Run-Up to Likely Stock Debut

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 7, 2025 8:00am PST

In the run-up to its expected initial public offering this year, Chime has been adding C-suite executives and leaders from public companies, according to The Information’s updated Chime Org Chart. More than one-third of the 42 people on our chart have joined the digital banking company in the past two years. New hires include Sarah Wagener,... In the run-up to its expected initial public offering this year, Chime has been adding C-suite...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Shopify’s ‘Trojan Horse’ to Beat Salesforce

By Ann Gehan · Feb 7, 2025 6:00am PST

Shopify, best known for selling software and services to help small entrepreneurs run online shops, wants to boost its growth by landing bigger retailers as clients. One obvious target is merchants that use e-commerce software from enterprise giants like Salesforce, Adobe and Oracle. While Shopify has highlighted its success in winning some... Shopify, best known for selling software and services to help small entrepreneurs run online...

General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja. Art by Clark Miller. Photo via Getty.

General Catalyst Stretches the Definition of Venture Capital

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 6, 2025 5:15pm PST

General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja. Art by Clark Miller. Photo via Getty.

General Catalyst Stretches the Definition of Venture Capital

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 6, 2025 5:15pm PST

General Catalyst seems to be drawing a blueprint for what it means to be a venture capital firm that is not just a venture capital firm. Earlier this week, the 25-year-old firm announced it would be expanding into wealth management, led by a team of former First Republic Bank staffers. And now, three people who have spoken to the firm tell... General Catalyst seems to be drawing a blueprint for what it means to be a venture capital firm...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photo via Getty

Amazon Ups AI Capex Ante

By Martin Peers · Feb 6, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Amazon is upping the ante in tech’s great capex stakes. The commerce cloud giant’s CEO, Andy Jassy, intimated Thursday, as the company reported fourth-quarter earnings, that it would spend around $100 billion on capital expenditures this year. That’s up around 29% from what Amazon spent in 2024, and roughly $20 billion to $25 billion ahead of... Amazon is upping the ante in tech’s great capex stakes. The commerce cloud giant’s CEO, Andy...

ByteDance's Shanghai office. Photo via Getty.

Creator Economy

Why ByteDance Could Afford to Shut Down TikTok’s U.S. Business

By Sri Muppidi and Juro Osawa · Feb 6, 2025 2:48pm PST · 1 comment

How painful would it be for ByteDance to shut down TikTok in the U.S. altogether? Such a question may be moot if you only listened to President Donald Trump, who has frequently weighed in on the likelihood of a deal to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations—perhaps to Oracle, maybe to Elon Musk, or even to the U.S. government itself! But as we’ve... How painful would it be for ByteDance to shut down TikTok in the U.S. altogether? Such a question...

Photo by Shutterstock

DeepSeek Will Pressure Microsoft, Salesforce to Drop AI Prices, Software Executives Say

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 6, 2025 10:00am PST

The falling cost of artificial intelligence—underscored by the arrival of DeepSeek—is likely to pressure software firms to stop charging customers for ChatGPT-like features such as summarizing documents and automatically drafting emails, which are fast becoming a commodity, executives from security firm Palo Alto Networks and file storage firm... The falling cost of artificial intelligence—underscored by the arrival of DeepSeek—is likely to...

Photos by Getty

Google Closes In On DeepSeek’s AI Efficiency, While DeepSeek’s Chatbot Blows Past Google’s

By Amir Efrati and Rocket Drew · Feb 6, 2025 7:00am PST

Photos by Getty

Google Closes In On DeepSeek’s AI Efficiency, While DeepSeek’s Chatbot Blows Past Google’s

By Amir Efrati and Rocket Drew · Feb 6, 2025 7:00am PST

Google doesn’t get the accolades OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepSeek are getting in advancing artificial intelligence, but it’s arguably doing some things right.Case in point: On Wednesday, Google made a trio of new Gemini AI models generally available to app developers, including a reasoning model akin to OpenAI’s o1 and the much-discussed DeepSeek... Google doesn’t get the accolades OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepSeek are getting in advancing...