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

An Amazon Fulfillment center in New Jersey. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Caps Warehouse Inventory Amid Tariff Turmoil

By Theo Wayt · May 20, 2025 6:00am PDT

For many merchants selling on Amazon, a 90-day pause in steep U.S. tariffs on China should be a chance to stockpile inventory. But Amazon has already grown cautious about letting goods pile up in its warehouses, as it tries to keep its massive logistics and commerce business running efficiently amid trade turmoil. In recent weeks, Amazon told... For many merchants selling on Amazon, a 90-day pause in steep U.S. tariffs on China should be a...

Satya Nadella returns to the stage after a pre-recorded interview with Elon Musk at the Microsoft Build conference. Photo via Getty.

What We Learned About xAI’s Grok From Microsoft Build

By Martin Peers · May 19, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Uh-oh. We’re in conference hell, one of those periods of the year when tech companies try to seize control of the news cycle with a seemingly never-ending stream of product announcements (many incomprehensible to ordinary folks) and/or partnership deals. Today Microsoft kicked off its Build developer conference (not to be confused with its... Uh-oh. We’re in conference hell, one of those periods of the year when tech companies try to...

Photo via Getty

What’s Helping Perplexity’s 60% Gross Profit Margin

By Laura Mandaro and Sri Muppidi · May 19, 2025 7:31am PDT

Earlier today we published a deep dive on Perplexity’s financials. The three-year-old startup’s AI powered search engine has made it one of the most highly valued and fastest growing AI startups. Supporting that growth is expensive. As a sign of its growing popularity, the number of questions people have asked the search engine increased... Earlier today we published a deep dive on Perplexity’s financials. The three-year-old startup’s...

Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity. Photo via Getty

For Google Challenger Perplexity, Growth Comes at a High Cost

By Sri Muppidi · May 19, 2025 6:00am PDT · 14 comments

Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity. Photo via Getty

For Google Challenger Perplexity, Growth Comes at a High Cost

By Sri Muppidi · May 19, 2025 6:00am PDT · 14 comments

Artificial intelligence–powered search engine Perplexity has rapidly increased its subscription revenue and users in the past year, despite tough competition from the free AI search tools of Google and OpenAI. Previously unreported financials show the cost of that growth. Perplexity generated $34 million in revenue last year. But it burned... Artificial intelligence–powered search engine Perplexity has rapidly increased its...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. (Getty Images)

Quantum Computing

Nvidia in Talks to Invest in Quantum Startup PsiQuantum

By Anissa Gardizy · May 18, 2025 6:41pm PDT · 1 comment

Nvidia is in advanced talks to invest in PsiQuantum, a quantum computing startup, according to a person involved in the discussions. The investment would be the latest signal that Nvidia has shifted its stance on quantum computing after CEO Jensen Huang earlier this year seemed to cast doubt on the field, saying it was likely two decades... Nvidia is in advanced talks to invest in PsiQuantum, a quantum computing startup, according to a...

Art via Clark Miller

Behind Microsoft Layoffs, Automation Efforts Boom

By Aaron Holmes · May 17, 2025 1:29pm PDT · 9 comments

Jeff Hulse, a Microsoft vice president who oversees roughly 400 software engineers, told the team in recent months to use the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot, powered by OpenAI, to generate half the computer code they write, according to a person who heard the remarks. That would represent an increase from the 20% to 30% of code AI... Jeff Hulse, a Microsoft vice president who oversees roughly 400 software engineers, told the team...

Art: Clark Miller

Is Brian Chesky’s Big Bet Big Enough?

By Abram Brown · May 17, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The AI euphoria—and peril—driving ServiceNow’s Bill McDermott• The Top 5: Silicon Valley’s most exotic fitness goals• Plus, our Recommendations: A wager to save a dad; “Fargo” in Maine; and a band of brothers from Down UnderLately, I’ve lived exactly as Brian Chesky might want. Yet the... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The AI euphoria—and peril—driving...

Art by Clark Miller

The Exotic Fitness Goals of the Tech Elite

By Nick Wingfield · May 17, 2025 6:00am PDT · 9 comments

Art by Clark Miller

The Exotic Fitness Goals of the Tech Elite

By Nick Wingfield · May 17, 2025 6:00am PDT · 9 comments

When normies want to set lofty fitness goals for themselves, they train for half- or full-marathons. If they’re feeling ambitious, perhaps they shoot for a triathlon or a Tough Mudder. For the type A personalities of tech, though, those events are sometimes warmups, literally, for even more extravagant athletic feats. Last Friday night, for... When normies want to set lofty fitness goals for themselves, they train for half- or...

John Malone. Photo via Getty

Why the Charter-Cox $34.5 Billion Cable Deal Matters

By Martin Peers · May 16, 2025 2:30pm PDT

Misery loves company, as they say. Friday’s announcement that two of the three biggest cable-broadband firms, Charter Communications and Cox Communications, are combining is a logical next step in the consolidation of a stagnant but still significant industry. Charter, whose biggest shareholder is controlled by aging cable magnate John Malone,... Misery loves company, as they say. Friday’s announcement that two of the three biggest...

Clark Miller

Bots or Bust: ServiceNow’s Bill McDermott Makes an All-In Bet on AI

By Akash Pasricha · May 16, 2025 9:02am PDT · 2 comments

Late on a Friday night in March, Bill McDermott, ServiceNow’s CEO and chairman, walked off a flight in San Jose, Calif., and then immediately asked his chief of staff to get his top sales and engineering execs on the phone. He had a task for them. McDermott had just spent a week in New York meeting with customers, including the heads of banks... Late on a Friday night in March, Bill McDermott, ServiceNow’s CEO and chairman, walked off a...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo via AP

Pro Weekly: AI M&A Heats Up

By Akash Pasricha · May 16, 2025 8:00am PDT

One of the most exciting stories in tech lately is just four letters long: AI M&A. On Wednesday, Databricks said it was paying around $1 billion to buy Neon, a database software startup that can be used to develop AI agents. Then, on Thursday, Salesforce said it was buying AI agent developer Convergence. And OpenAI has reportedly been... One of the most exciting stories in tech lately is just four letters long: AI M&A. On...

Chime headquarters in San Francisco. Photo via Shutterstock

Chime’s Approach to Payday Lending Is Costly—for Chime

By Cory Weinberg · May 16, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Chime headquarters in San Francisco. Photo via Shutterstock

Chime’s Approach to Payday Lending Is Costly—for Chime

By Cory Weinberg · May 16, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last summer, banking app Chime introduced a lending product that let customers borrow small amounts to get them through to their next paycheck. Typical payday lenders charge exorbitant fees, but Chime was making the loans largely for free. The fintech’s big bet is that fronting cash to customers—and only charging people that want... Last summer, banking app Chime introduced a lending product that let customers borrow small...

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo via Getty

Why YouTube Should Say How Much Money It Makes

By Martin Peers · May 15, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Video-streaming and TV executives were out in force in New York this week, as outlets pitched their program schedules to marketers at lavish star-studded presentations. None other than Lady Gaga performed at YouTube’s party in Lincoln Center, for instance. There’s no doubt YouTube has come a long way since its founding 20 years ago. It now has a... Video-streaming and TV executives were out in force in New York this week, as outlets pitched...

Screenshot of Andy Chen, left, via YouTube. Photo of Mercedes Bent via Getty

Why Andreessen, Lightspeed and Coatue Partners Are Leaving

By Natasha Mascarenhas · May 15, 2025 3:21pm PDT

After tech stocks crashed three years ago, the correction in private startup valuations led to a wave of partners leaving their venture firms. Over the past year, a new exodus has emerged as investors depart with plans to set up their own funds. Six early-stage partners from Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, Founders Fund, Lightspeed... After tech stocks crashed three years ago, the correction in private startup valuations led to a...

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan at the company's Brandcast event for advertisers in New York. Image via Getty for YouTube

Creator Economy

YouTube Flexes Its Size to Gain Podcast Listeners

By Kaya Yurieff and Sahil Patel · May 15, 2025 2:33pm PDT

It’s been a busy week for YouTube! The company on Wednesday hosted its annual Brandcast event for advertisers in New York where it announced updates ranging from new deals with the NFL to features for creators. On Thursday, CEO Neal Mohan told a MoffettNathanson investor conference that revenue generated per hour watched on YouTube Shorts ... It’s been a busy week for YouTube! The company on Wednesday hosted its annual Brandcast...

Image via Getty.

Saudi Arabia Did Deals With Trump, but Much of the Cash Is Staying Home

By Miles Kruppa · May 15, 2025 12:36pm PDT

Image via Getty.

Saudi Arabia Did Deals With Trump, but Much of the Cash Is Staying Home

By Miles Kruppa · May 15, 2025 12:36pm PDT

Saudi Arabia, long viewed as a fountain of cash for the tech industry, has flipped the script, getting U.S. companies to fund its build-out of artificial intelligence. President Donald Trump announced hundreds of billions of dollars in deals when he visited Riyadh this week. The announcements touted investments in the U.S., but in many cases the... Saudi Arabia, long viewed as a fountain of cash for the tech industry, has flipped the script,...

Photo by Getty

Businesses’ Impatience with AI Models Spurred Cohere’s App Push

By Jon Victor · May 15, 2025 11:44am PDT

These have been difficult years for roughly a dozen of the major startups trying to sell artificial intelligence models to app developers or corporate customers. OpenAI and other AI firms that sell ready-to-use products for knowledge workers have sucked the oxygen out of the room for startups like Cohere, whose revenue has severely lagged... These have been difficult years for roughly a dozen of the major startups trying to sell...

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez. Photos via Getty

Why OpenAI Challenger Cohere Fell 85% Short of Its Revenue Forecast

By Jon Victor · May 15, 2025 9:33am PDT · 3 comments

The conversational intelligence boom sparked by OpenAI unleashed a flood of venture capital dollars for the sector, but AI developers that didn’t focus on selling revenue-generating applications fast enough have been left in the dust. One of the best examples is Cohere, an OpenAI rival that was developing similar technology years before the... The conversational intelligence boom sparked by OpenAI unleashed a flood of venture capital...

Photo courtesy of K-Scale Labs

The Open-Source Robotics Startup That Caught OpenAI’s Eye

By Rocket Drew · May 15, 2025 7:15am PDT

In the last year, dozens of new robotics startups have launched. One of them, a recent graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator, is trying to distinguish itself by developing open-source AI models and other software for the humanoid robots it plans to sell, an increasingly popular approach in the sector. The proposition has attracted... In the last year, dozens of new robotics startups have launched. One of them, a recent graduate...

Art by Mike Sullivan

China Tightens Control Over AI Data Centers

By Qianer Liu · May 15, 2025 6:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

China Tightens Control Over AI Data Centers

By Qianer Liu · May 15, 2025 6:00am PDT

Chinese officials in the past two months told some of the country’s top technology companies that the government will take a more active role in overseeing their data centers for artificial intelligence and the specialized chips for developing the technology, according to two people involved in the conversations. The Chinese government wants... Chinese officials in the past two months told some of the country’s top technology companies that...