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

Art by Mike Sullivan

Why an AI Data Center on the Prairie Is Sitting Empty

By Anissa Gardizy · May 10, 2025 10:00am PDT · 3 comments

For a town with a population of just over 1,000, a Bible college and a quaint main street, there’s an unusual amount of bustle in Ellendale, N.D. A housing project with 20 homes is going up, along with a 38-unit apartment complex. Even a new pickleball court just opened. All of the developments are meant to support an anticipated influx of... For a town with a population of just over 1,000, a Bible college and a quaint main street, there’...

Art by Clark Miller. Gates image via Getty.

Bill Gates is the Smart Resistance

By Abram Brown · May 10, 2025 6:40am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Tech’s worries about privacy concerns are disappearing • The Top 5: The landscape designers who make Silicon Valley’s gardens bloom • Plus, our Recommendations: Life after “Conclave”; an original manosphere king; and crime up in the canyonsFor the wealthy and powerful who want to... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Tech’s worries about privacy concerns are...

Clark Miller

The Garden Designers Who Make Silicon Valley Beautiful

By Todd Plummer · May 10, 2025 6:00am PDT

Land is scarce in the Bay Area, which makes a well-designed outdoor space at a Marin cottage or Atherton manse a tremendous status symbol. The perfect allée of heritage olive trees or the right mise-en-scène of native grasses does more than elevate a property’s curb appeal—it telegraphs panache, access and a deep... Land is scarce in the Bay Area, which makes a well-designed outdoor space at a Marin cottage or...

Photo via Getty

Google’s Summer Wait For Search Shakeup Ruling

By Martin Peers · May 9, 2025 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty

Google’s Summer Wait For Search Shakeup Ruling

By Martin Peers · May 9, 2025 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

This summer is likely to be a bit of a tense time at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. The company is awaiting a judge’s ruling on what shackles to put on the company’s search business to curb its monopoly, which the court previously ruled was illegal. A three-week trial deciding on those shackles wrapped up on Friday in a Washington... This summer is likely to be a bit of a tense time at Google’s Mountain View, Calif.,...

ClickHouse CEO Aaron Katz. Image via YouTube. Art by Clark Miller.

Snowflake Challenger ClickHouse Targets $6 Billion Valuation

By Sri Muppidi · May 9, 2025 1:12pm PDT · 3 comments

Investors have reaped billions of dollars in gains from backing database software firms Snowflake and Databricks. Now venture capitalists are circling ClickHouse, a startup some investors believe could rival the incumbents, particularly as the rise of artificial intelligence increases demand for its database software. The startup is in... Investors have reaped billions of dollars in gains from backing database software firms Snowflake...

Fidji Simo, left, and Sam Altman. Photos via Getty

How Simo Will Fill Altman’s Management Gaps at OpenAI

By Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · May 9, 2025 12:45pm PDT · 3 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s surprise decision to hand over much of his company’s business to Instacart CEO Fidji Simo sets up a key partnership that will be closely watched as one of the world’s fastest-growing technology companies looks to extend its lead in artificial intelligence. For her part, Simo will have to wring more revenue from and... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s surprise decision to hand over much of his company’s business to...

OpenAI Acquires Windsurf for $3B, Google’s Stock Dips

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 9, 2025 12:22pm PDT

A vibe coding vibe check, the M&A uptick and VC goes retail on this week’s More or Less. Apple Spotify A vibe coding vibe check, the M&A uptick and VC goes retail on this week’s More or Less. ...

Photo via SaaStr Annual

Pro Weekly: New IPO Rumbings, Tech Events Cheat Sheet

By Akash Pasricha · May 9, 2025 8:00am PDT

Photo via SaaStr Annual

Pro Weekly: New IPO Rumbings, Tech Events Cheat Sheet

By Akash Pasricha · May 9, 2025 8:00am PDT

In case you missed it, we published our first-ever Tech Events Calendar last week, exclusively for Pro subscribers. We mapped out the must-know events for 2025, including key conferences where deals are struck and big decisions are made. Check out the full calendar here. We also asked our newsroom experts what to expect from upcoming... In case you missed it, we published our first-ever Tech Events Calendar last week, exclusively...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Software’s New Turf Wars

By Jon Victor · May 9, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

The rise of new artificial intelligence–powered business software threatens the future of long-established software firms. Their response is to jump into new markets with their own AI-powered software. That’s pitting companies against each other in new ways. ServiceNow earlier this week announced an AI agent to handle sales management,... The rise of new artificial intelligence–powered business software threatens the future of...

Incoming OpenAI CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo. Photo via Getty

AI Firms Get Religion on Marketing

By Martin Peers · May 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Artificial intelligence scientists and researchers, make room. You’re about to get an influx of new colleagues from the world of advertising and marketing, as the headlong race for AI dominance moves into a new, more commercial, phase. Exhibit A: As we scooped today, veteran marketing executive Mark D’Arcy, who spent a decade at Meta Platforms... Artificial intelligence scientists and researchers, make room. You’re about to get an influx of...

Photo via Skild

Skild AI Round Gets Pricier as Robot Fever Rises

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Rocket Drew · May 8, 2025 3:51pm PDT

Robotics startups are taking over the fundraising market.On Wednesday, my colleague Michael and I published a scoop about Foundation, a robotics startup launched by the former CEO of failed fintech firm Synapse, seeking capital at a $1 billion valuation despite just a year under its belt. That’s one of several robotics rounds in play. Skild... Robotics startups are taking over the fundraising market.On Wednesday, my colleague Michael and I...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo via Getty

Instagram Keeps Highlighting the TikTok Threat

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kaya Yurieff · May 8, 2025 2:39pm PDT

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Instagram Keeps Highlighting the TikTok Threat

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kaya Yurieff · May 8, 2025 2:39pm PDT

A central tenet of the government's antitrust case against Meta Platforms is that its 2012 Instagram acquisition crushed competition and left consumers with too few social networking options—just Snapchat, Facebook and a few others. Meta has argued that it actually competes with many more, notably TikTok. To buttress its argument, Instagram... A central tenet of the government's antitrust case against Meta Platforms is that its 2012...

Mark D’Arcy. Photo via Getty

Microsoft Hires Former Meta Marketing Exec to Work on Copilot AI

By Aaron Holmes and Jessica E. Lessin · May 8, 2025 11:55am PDT · 5 comments

Microsoft has hired a veteran marketing executive, with experience at both Meta Platforms and Time Warner, to serve as a creative director of the company’s Copilot consumer artificial intelligence chatbot, according to two people briefed on the situation. The hiring is a sign of how AI firms are starting to focus their attention on... Microsoft has hired a veteran marketing executive, with experience at both Meta Platforms and...

Wayve, May Mobility, Einride and Nuro self-driving vehicles. Photos: Wayve, May Mobility, Nuro, Einride, Getty. Art: Shane Burke

Startups to Watch

Nine Self-Driving Startups Chasing Waymo’s Lead

By Alex Perry · May 8, 2025 10:30am PDT · 5 comments

For years, self-driving cars were a feature of the sci-fi future. But Waymo’s leap from testing to ferrying paying customers in four cities has made robotaxis a reality. That’s set off a race among newcomers and industry stalwarts to expand new businesses that support autonomous vehicles. Below we provide exclusive details on nine startups worth... For years, self-driving cars were a feature of the sci-fi future. But Waymo’s leap from testing...

Illustration via Getty

Why Voice AI Is Hard to Listen To

By Jon Victor · May 8, 2025 10:00am PDT

Artificial intelligence has gotten great at automating customer support emails and text chats. But automating customer support phone calls is far more challenging because AI that can understand and generate human-sounding speech is still too costly, slow and unreliable, said Jesse Zhang, CEO of Decagon, a developer of AI for customer support.... Artificial intelligence has gotten great at automating customer support emails and text chats....

Robotic arms harvesting crops inside a greenhouse. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI’s Big Hire; Farming Robots Seed New Startups, Despite Setbacks

By Rocket Drew · May 8, 2025 7:42am PDT

Robotic arms harvesting crops inside a greenhouse. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI’s Big Hire; Farming Robots Seed New Startups, Despite Setbacks

By Rocket Drew · May 8, 2025 7:42am PDT

Before we get into today’s column, OpenAI late Wednesday evening announced the hire of Fidji Simo, currently the Instacart CEO and a member of OpenAI’s board, in the newly created position of CEO of OpenAI Applications, to run “the product, business, and other company functions,” reporting to CEO Sam Altman. (My colleagues Jessica Lessin and... Before we get into today’s column, OpenAI late Wednesday evening announced the hire of Fidji Simo...

Art by Clark Miller.

Spies Are Everywhere in Cutthroat Fintech Industry

By Michael Roddan · May 8, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

It’s easier than ever to spy on a rival company. It’s also easier than ever to catch a spy. The result is a surge in spy-versus-spy lawsuits in the fintech industry, one of the most cutthroat in Silicon Valley. It’s easier than ever to spy on a rival company. It’s also easier than ever to catch a spy. The...

Coreshell Technologies headquarters in San Leandro, Calif. Photo: Courtesy Coreshell

Exclusive From The Electric: With a Poached Gigafactory Veteran, Coreshell Looks for Manufacturing Street Cred

By Steve LeVine · May 8, 2025 4:30am PDT

Asia’s battery powerhouses have frightened many next-generation Western startups into abandoning their ambitions to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. But California-based silicon anode developer Coreshell Technologies is pushing ahead with a well-tested survival strategy: It has poached a key South Korean gigafactory expert to help take on... Asia’s battery powerhouses have frightened many next-generation Western startups into abandoning...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo via Getty

OpenAI Hires Instacart CEO Simo For Major Leadership Role

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · May 7, 2025 9:43pm PDT · 6 comments

Update: OpenAI confirmed it is hiring Instacart CEO Fidji Simo to oversee some of the company’s divisions in a major leadership restructuring at the artificial intelligence firm. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, confirming an earlier report by The Information, said he would continue overseeing research and infrastructure teams that are core to... Update: OpenAI confirmed it is hiring Instacart CEO Fidji Simo to oversee some of the...

A Foundation robot. Screenshot via YouTube

Ex-Synapse CEO’s Robot Startup Targets $1 Billion Valuation

By Michael Roddan and Natasha Mascarenhas · May 7, 2025 5:33pm PDT · 2 comments

A Foundation robot. Screenshot via YouTube

Ex-Synapse CEO’s Robot Startup Targets $1 Billion Valuation

By Michael Roddan and Natasha Mascarenhas · May 7, 2025 5:33pm PDT · 2 comments

A humanoid robotics startup founded by the former chief executive of failed fintech firm Synapse is aiming to finalize a $100 million fundraising that will value the year-old company at $1 billion, according to people who spoke to the company’s founders this week. The startup is in talks to raise money from the family office of a member of the... A humanoid robotics startup founded by the former chief executive of failed fintech firm Synapse...