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

Photos of Zhang Yiming by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok’s Fate Rests With ByteDance’s Elusive Founder

By Juro Osawa, Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Jan 9, 2025 6:18am PST · 3 comments

The business world is watching to see whether the Supreme Court—or possibly Donald Trump—saves TikTok. But another man may be more important to the app’s fate: Zhang Yiming, the elusive founder of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Zhang holds supervoting shares that give him effective control over ByteDance and its... The business world is watching to see whether the Supreme Court—or possibly Donald...

Photos: Getty

The Electric: China Wants to Block the West From Catching Up in Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jan 9, 2025 4:30am PST

Less than two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the U.S. and China have escalated their tit-for-tat battery war, part of their rivalry to dominate the next generation of strategic technologies. Less than two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the U.S. and China...

Jensen Huang at CES this week. Photo via Getty

At CES, Autonomous Cars Are Hot Again

By Martin Peers · Jan 8, 2025 5:00pm PST

If ever there was a moment for Alphabet to spin off Waymo, it would be now. Optimism about self-driving cars is back, driven (sorry for the pun!) by the very real success Waymo is having with its robotaxi service in markets like San Francisco. Elon Musk’s high-profile presentation last fall about Tesla’s robotaxi plans has surely fueled the new... If ever there was a moment for Alphabet to spin off Waymo, it would be now. Optimism about...

IJW co-founders, from left to right: Radu-Sebastian Amarie, Stefan-Gabriel Muscalu and Paul Robert Cary. Photo courtesy of company.

A Startup Uses AI to Find the Perfect Video Clip

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 8, 2025 2:00pm PST

IJW co-founders, from left to right: Radu-Sebastian Amarie, Stefan-Gabriel Muscalu and Paul Robert Cary. Photo courtesy of company.

Creator Economy

A Startup Uses AI to Find the Perfect Video Clip

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 8, 2025 2:00pm PST

Creators sometimes have trouble sifting through their vast libraries of videos to find a specific clip or sponsorship. A new artificial intelligence startup is developing new products to quickly surface those visual moments.IJW, which stands for It Just Works, plans to unveil its first offering, StarZero, on Sunday at the 1 Billion Followers... Creators sometimes have trouble sifting through their vast libraries of videos to find a specific...

Photo via Getty.

Chinese AI Hardware and Robotics Firms Flock to CES, Despite Tariff Threats

By Wayne Ma · Jan 8, 2025 10:35am PST

LAS VEGAS—Donald Trump takes office in less than two weeks, vowing to impose a new round of tariffs on imports—particularly those coming from China. And yet Chinese electronics makers—including those in cutting-edge industries like clean energy, artificial intelligence, robotics and electric vehicles—are out in full force... LAS VEGAS—Donald Trump takes office in less than two weeks, vowing to impose a new round of...

Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic. Photo by Getty.

Anthropic Makes OpenAI Look Cheap—Again

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 8, 2025 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Well that didn’t take long! We’re barely a week into the new year and already we’ve reported that Anthropic is in talks to raise $2 billion in new funding at a $60 billion post-investment valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that’s also backed rival AI developers including Mistral, Stability AI and Cartesia, is set... Well that didn’t take long! We’re barely a week into the new year and already we’ve reported...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Digital Health Companies Brace for Ad-mageddon 2.0

By Catherine Perloff and Ann Gehan · Jan 8, 2025 6:00am PST

Telehealth companies including Hims & Hers, Sesame and Noom have flocked to Facebook and Instagram to promote their booming weight loss drugs. But pressure from regulators concerned about consumers’ health data privacy has prompted Meta Platforms to limit how advertisers target users with health-related ads, starting this month. That... Telehealth companies including Hims & Hers, Sesame and Noom have flocked to Facebook and...

Screenshot via Meta

Meta’s Seismic Shift

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Screenshot via Meta

Meta’s Seismic Shift

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

The year is just a week old and already things are getting shaken up. Meta Platforms’ announcement on Tuesday that it was eliminating its fact-checking program in favor of an X-like community notes feature is a seismic event for social media. No longer will Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, try to pretend it has a monopoly on... The year is just a week old and already things are getting shaken up. Meta Platforms’ ...

Michael Grimes on Tech Markets; A Chart on Megadeals

Michael Grimes on Tech Markets; A Chart on Megadeals

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 7, 2025 3:41pm PST · 1 comment

We’re in a new year, but the major headline in venture capital is the same: It’s all about megadeals for artificial intelligence startups. Lightspeed Venture Partners is expected to lead a $2 billion round of funding for Anthropic at a $60 billion valuation, Stephanie confirmed. The new funding, at a higher valuation than we reported four... We’re in a new year, but the major headline in venture capital is the same: It’s all about...

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Meta’s Fact-Checking Reversal Ups Ante for YouTube

By Erin Woo · Jan 7, 2025 3:04pm PST

These are not golden days for the individuals working in the trust and safety teams of social apps. Late last year, we reported on the fights within TikTok to make the app more appealing for President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters in which the company’s lobbying arm prevailed over its content moderation staff. Then on Tuesday,... These are not golden days for the individuals working in the trust and safety teams of social...

Art by Clark Miller

The Future of Software Engineers and Industries We’re Watching in 2025

By Jon Victor · Jan 7, 2025 1:15pm PST · 1 comment

Welcome to Applied AI, The Information’s twice-weekly newsletter that will take you inside how businesses are using artificial intelligence.I’m Jon Victor, the lead writer for Applied AI. For seven years I have been reporting on technology and most recently on how businesses are using AI. I recently interviewed Marc Benioff for a profile of... Welcome to Applied AI, The Information’s twice-weekly newsletter that will take you inside how...

Turing CEO Jonathan Siddharth. Collage via Clark Miller

OpenAI’s Latest Model Is a Gift to Coders, Not an Existential Threat, Turing CEO Says

By Jon Victor · Jan 7, 2025 9:00am PST

Turing CEO Jonathan Siddharth. Collage via Clark Miller

Q&A

OpenAI’s Latest Model Is a Gift to Coders, Not an Existential Threat, Turing CEO Says

By Jon Victor · Jan 7, 2025 9:00am PST

Within hours of OpenAI’s demonstration of its latest advanced reasoning model, o3, social media platforms and online forums were filled with posts from software engineers questioning their future: What happens to their jobs when artificial intelligence can write code better than they can? But Turing CEO Jonathan Siddharth, whose firm helps... Within hours of OpenAI’s demonstration of its latest advanced reasoning model, o3, social...

Photo via Getty.

Why OpenAI is Taking So Long to Launch Agents

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 7, 2025 7:00am PST

Imagine you’re asking a computer-using agent from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google to find and order a new outfit for your upcoming holiday party, and in the process, that model inadvertently ends up on a malicious website that instructs it to forget its prior instructions, log into your email and steal your credit card information.That’s a very real... Imagine you’re asking a computer-using agent from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google to find and order a...

Michael Grimes, head of global technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Photo via Getty.

Silicon Valley’s Top IPO Salesman Wants a New Sales Training Ground

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 7, 2025 6:00am PST · 8 comments

Michael Grimes, Morgan Stanley’s investment banker to the stars of Silicon Valley, has earned the trust of tech-industry luminaries from Elon Musk to Brian Chesky, thanks to his ability to orchestrate multibillion-dollar mergers and initial public offerings. He offers prospective job candidates visiting his Menlo Park, Calif., office a... Michael Grimes, Morgan Stanley’s investment banker to the stars of Silicon Valley, has...

Art by Clark Miller

Employer.com Offers to Buy Shuttered Startup Level

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 6, 2025 9:08pm PST

Employer.com, part of a San Francisco–based company pursuing buyouts of human resources companies, recently offered to acquire troubled benefits startup Level, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The talks, which are ongoing, come just days after Level said it was shutting down because a different acquisition fell... Employer.com, part of a San Francisco–based company pursuing buyouts of human resources...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo via Getty.

Disney-Fubo Tie-Up and Uber Speedy Buyback Signal Smarter Dealmaking

By Martin Peers · Jan 6, 2025 5:00pm PST

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo via Getty.

Disney-Fubo Tie-Up and Uber Speedy Buyback Signal Smarter Dealmaking

By Martin Peers · Jan 6, 2025 5:00pm PST

Dealmaking in 2025 is off to a good start. Walt Disney’s deal on Monday to offload its Hulu+Live TV business—the clunky name for the part of Hulu that offers a cable TV–like package of old-fashioned TV channels—to smaller rival FuboTV is a smart move. Disney comes out of the transaction with 70% of a larger FuboTV, one that is making money... Dealmaking in 2025 is off to a good start. Walt Disney’s deal on Monday to offload its Hulu+Live...

Art by Clark Miller.

How Much Should Consumers Pay For AI?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 6, 2025 7:00am PST

If the last month of AI product updates has demonstrated anything, it’s that AI firms are diverging meaningfully in their pricing strategies.On one hand, we have companies like Google, whose new “Flash” model drew droves of price-sensitive developers looking for an uber-cheap yet still high-quality alternative. And on the other hand, we have ... If the last month of AI product updates has demonstrated anything, it’s that AI firms are...

Photo via Getty

Google Plays Catch-Up in Video Ad Tech as Streaming Ads Take Off

By Catherine Perloff · Jan 6, 2025 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Google is good at operating the technology independent websites use to sell their ads—so good that the U.S. says it has a monopoly in that area. But it has been surprisingly poor at developing streaming TV ad technology—advertisers, TV ad sellers and former Google employees say its technology lag those of rivals. Buyers say... Google is good at operating the technology independent websites use to sell their ads—so...

SES AI CEO Qichao Hu. Photo: Courtesy SES AI

Exclusive From The Electric: After a Topsy-Turvy Year, SES AI Surprises With a Silicon-Based Battery

By Steve LeVine · Jan 6, 2025 4:30am PST

Last year was tough for Western makers of electric vehicles and batteries. Industry leader Tesla sold fewer cars than in 2023. Upstart battery makers declared bankruptcy and shifted their attention to solar panels or smartphones. Last year was tough for Western makers of electric vehicles and batteries. Industry leader Tesla...

Protestors gather on Las Americas Highway in San Juan, Puerto Rico to decry the island's power crisis in 2021. (Getty Images)

An Island That Needs an Elon

By Abram Brown · Jan 4, 2025 7:00am PST

Protestors gather on Las Americas Highway in San Juan, Puerto Rico to decry the island's power crisis in 2021. (Getty Images)

An Island That Needs an Elon

By Abram Brown · Jan 4, 2025 7:00am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• Predictions: 18 things we think will happen in 2025 • Predictions: What happened with our guesses about 2024 • How to transform your productivity in the year ahead • Plus: Holmes at home; spilling tea on the Town; and Taylor Sheridan strikes againElon Musk already keeps a pretty full... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• Predictions: 18 things we think will happen in...