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

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Recent Editions

Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google speaks onstage during Google Cloud Next “25: AI Exclusive at the Sphere” on April 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Image via Getty.

How Companies Are Approaching AI’s Cost-Benefit Analysis

By Erin Woo and Jon Victor · Apr 10, 2025 10:00am PDT

Google Cloud pulled out all the stops at its annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week to demonstrate that customers are getting good results from artificial intelligence services, speeding up production and offering new services to customers. But as tariffs roil markets and dampen the economic outlook, how much businesses spend on AI... Google Cloud pulled out all the stops at its annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week...

ByteDance's Singapore office. Photo via Getty

ByteDance’s 2024 Revenue Shows Importance of TikTok

By Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Apr 10, 2025 7:37am PDT

ByteDance’s revenue from international operations, which are primarily TikTok, rose 63% to $39 billion in 2024, said a person with knowledge of the company’s financials. The international revenue accounted for a quarter of ByteDance’s total last year, the highest it has ever been, as growth in the company’s Chinese operations slowed. The results... ByteDance’s revenue from international operations, which are primarily TikTok, rose 63% to $39...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Midjourney

AI Startups’ Revenue Disclosures Get Worse

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 10, 2025 7:00am PDT

I don’t envy AI investors right now. The price of AI startup shares (unlike the value of my stock portfolio) seem to be only going up, which means it’s riskier to make new bets. And the way startups are disclosing financial metrics to investors seems to be getting more muddied. Take annual recurring revenue, which typically multiplies the... I don’t envy AI investors right now. The price of AI startup shares (unlike the value of my stock...

John Giannandrea, left, and Craig Federighi. Photos via Getty

How Apple Fumbled Siri’s AI Makeover

By Wayne Ma · Apr 10, 2025 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

John Giannandrea, left, and Craig Federighi. Photos via Getty

How Apple Fumbled Siri’s AI Makeover

By Wayne Ma · Apr 10, 2025 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Last June, at Apple’s annual developers conference, the company offered a dazzling demonstration of how artificial intelligence could supercharge Siri, the iPhone’s virtual assistant. But behind the scenes and in the months that followed, the Siri team couldn’t make up its mind about the basic technology needed to make it all work. One option... Last June, at Apple’s annual developers conference, the company offered a dazzling demonstration...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Photo via YouTube

Google Cloud’s Thomas Kurian Keeps Focus on AI

By Martin Peers · Apr 9, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Shoutout to Thomas Kurian, chief of Google Cloud, who delivered a roughly 90-minute-long keynote address at the cloud unit’s developer conference in Las Vegas today. Even as chaos reigned in the markets and talk of a looming recession circulated, Kurian stood onstage wearing a suit, calmly talking up Google Cloud’s new artificial intelligence... Shoutout to Thomas Kurian, chief of Google Cloud, who delivered a roughly 90-minute-long keynote...

An event hosted by the Creators Guild of America. Photo via CGA.

Creator Economy

Guild Unveils Creator ‘Rider’

By Kaya Yurieff and Erin Woo · Apr 9, 2025 2:15pm PDT

A nonprofit is trying to bring more legal rigor to the creator economy. Creators Guild of America is releasing a legal document for creators that outlines basic protections for their deals with brands, social platforms and agencies. It aims to provide a standard for the industry, covering topics including timely payments and how a creator's... A nonprofit is trying to bring more legal rigor to the creator economy. Creators Guild of...

Partner Content

Recap: What’s Working and What’s Not With AI Agents

By The Information Partnerships · Apr 9, 2025 12:35pm PDT

Although many businesses are stillexperimentingwith LLMs, some enterprise leaders are already eyeing the next evolution of AI: autonomous agents that act on their own rather than merely generating outputs on command. But which early use cases are the most promising? What benchmarks can organizations use to measure the success (or failure) of... Although many businesses are stillexperimentingwith LLMs, some enterprise leaders are already...

Outtake CEO Alex Dhillon. Photo courtesy of Outtake.

The Year-Old Security Startup Keeping OpenAI’s Name Off Phishing Lures

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 9, 2025 7:00am PDT

Outtake CEO Alex Dhillon. Photo courtesy of Outtake.

The Year-Old Security Startup Keeping OpenAI’s Name Off Phishing Lures

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 9, 2025 7:00am PDT

Large language models have a lot of great applications but a few bad ones as well: for instance, they help criminals launch targeted cyberattacks faster than they previously did. In the year after ChatGPT was released, the number of sites found to be “phishing,” or trying to convince victims to disclose their ID and payment credentials,... Large language models have a lot of great applications but a few bad ones as well: for instance,...

Photos by Getty

Market Sell-Off Makes Amazon a Bargain Worthy of Walmart

By Anita Ramaswamy · Apr 9, 2025 6:00am PDT

Big stock market sell-offs present surprising opportunities. Here’s one: Amazon, the killer of bricks-and-mortar retail, is now much cheaper than Walmart, the king of bricks-and-mortar retail. This swap has been happening in slow motion for the past few months. President Donald Trump’s liberation day put the shift into high gear. Trump’s tariffs... Big stock market sell-offs present surprising opportunities. Here’s one: Amazon, the killer of...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photo via Getty

What Amazon’s Not-So-Secret Agent Could Do to Shopping

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

Forget tariffs and the stock market roller coaster just for a moment. As much as Trump’s tariffs pose a worry to tech (as we discussed here and here), a much bigger existential threat is lurking in the background for many app-based companies. And that is artificial intelligence agents, software that enables a chatbot to order a pizza, book a... Forget tariffs and the stock market roller coaster just for a moment. As much as Trump’s tariffs...

Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures. Photo via Getty

How Charles Hudson’s Precursor Is Navigating the IPO Drought

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Apr 8, 2025 4:46pm PDT · 1 comment

Charles Hudson’s Precursor Ventures, a nine-year-old firm specializing in writing the first investment checks to nascent startups, just raised $66 million for its fifth fund. That’s 20% less than Hudson raised for his firm’s fourth fund, in 2021, and shows the rising challenge of VC fundraising these days.Since venture funds can’t rely on... Charles Hudson’s Precursor Ventures, a nine-year-old firm specializing in writing the first...

Photo via Getty

Instagram’s Mosseri Positions App for TikTok Turmoil

By Kaya Yurieff and Kalley Huang · Apr 8, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

Instagram’s Mosseri Positions App for TikTok Turmoil

By Kaya Yurieff and Kalley Huang · Apr 8, 2025 2:00pm PDT

Meta Platforms has put the turmoil around TikTok to good use. Amid a barrage of headlines about the White House’s efforts to broker a deal for the app—and China’s move to quash one—the Instagram owner has been reiterating to creators that it’s a smart alternative. Last week, Instagram head Adam Mosseri told his staff that if TikTok were... Meta Platforms has put the turmoil around TikTok to good use. Amid a barrage of headlines about...

Photo by Getty.

Merchants Hike Prices on Amazon and DTC Sites, Pause China Inventory Orders

By Ann Gehan and Theo Wayt · Apr 8, 2025 10:37am PDT

Online sellers are responding to President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements by tacking on checkout fees—some with cheeky names—or planning to do so. At the same time, sellers are gaming out exactly how much to increase their list prices and when, based on fast-evolving trade policies and competitive pressures. Jolie Skin Co, a New... Online sellers are responding to President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements by tacking on...

Photo via Getty/Shane Burke

Rivals Unite Behind New Software for Agents, Threatening App Makers

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

Before we get to AI agents, we wanted to make sure you saw our story from last night on how the effects of the new U.S. tariffs are already rippling across tech—even prompting some companies to pause new enterprise software deals. We’ll be watching closely for any more disruptions as companies continue to make sense of what the changes in... Before we get to AI agents, we wanted to make sure you saw our story from last night on how the...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Llama 4’s Rocky Debut

By Kalley Huang and Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 8, 2025 7:15am PDT · 2 comments

Meta Platforms on Saturday released two versions of Llama 4, the newest generation of its flagship open-source large language model, called Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick. The release came a day after we reported that Meta had hit some snags with the new model, which had delayed its release a bit. At first glance, the new AI seemed to... Meta Platforms on Saturday released two versions of Llama 4, the newest generation of its...

A port in Shenzhen, China. Photo via Getty.

Tech’s Biggest Trade War Losers

By Theo Wayt · Apr 8, 2025 6:00am PDT

A port in Shenzhen, China. Photo via Getty.

Tech’s Biggest Trade War Losers

By Theo Wayt · Apr 8, 2025 6:00am PDT

Trump’s aggressive trade moves mean every U.S. tech company, large and small, now faces threats to its business. A pullback in e-commerce and ad spending could hammer Amazon and Meta Platforms, and general macroeconomic malaise could hurt cloud computing growth. Less obvious threats, however, are brewing as a global trade war intensifies. EU... Trump’s aggressive trade moves mean every U.S. tech company, large and small, now faces threats...

The Port of Oakland this weekend. Photo via Getty

Tariffs Threaten Silicon Valley’s AI Gold Rush

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Jon Victor, Sri Muppidi and Rocket Drew · Apr 7, 2025 6:13pm PDT · 1 comment

A stock market rout triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese and European goods is threatening to end the artificial intelligence–powered gold rush that has buoyed Silicon Valley for more than two years. Eric Bahn, a co-founder of early-stage venture firm Hustle Fund, is advising startups the firm has backed to be more... A stock market rout triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese and European goods...

Photo via Getty

Microsoft and Netflix Are Safe Tech Names in Storm

By Martin Peers · Apr 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Is your seatbelt still holding? Monday’s ups and downs in the stock market would be enough to give anyone whiplash. The good news, for tech investors at least, is that things weren’t all bad. Quite a few stocks went up, including Nvidia, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Broadcom. The biggest losers included Apple, down 3.7%, and Tesla, down 2.6%,... Is your seatbelt still holding? Monday’s ups and downs in the stock market would be enough to...

The construction site of the Docklands Data Centre Campus where Microsoft was negotiating to lease space. Photo by Getty.

Tariffs Trouble Oracle

By Anissa Gardizy · Apr 7, 2025 7:15am PDT · 1 comment

Before we get to tariffs, we wanted to make sure you saw Stephanie and Jessica’s scoop on OpenAI discussing acquiring a startup created by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and ex-iPhone designer Jony Ive to develop a personal artificial intelligence device. Although Altman isn’t technically classified as a cofounder of the startup, io Products, the... Before we get to tariffs, we wanted to make sure you saw Stephanie and Jessica’s scoop on OpenAI...

Sam Altman, Left, and Larry Ellison. Photos via Getty, art by Clark Miller

Pressure Rises on Oracle to Finish OpenAI Data Center

By Anissa Gardizy · Apr 7, 2025 6:00am PDT

Sam Altman, Left, and Larry Ellison. Photos via Getty, art by Clark Miller

Pressure Rises on Oracle to Finish OpenAI Data Center

By Anissa Gardizy · Apr 7, 2025 6:00am PDT

Oracle is building a data center in Abilene, Texas, the size of 17 football fields for OpenAI. Currently, it’s empty and incomplete. If it stays that way much longer, OpenAI can walk away from the deal, which could cost Oracle billions of dollars, according to two people working with the company on the project. While it’s unlikely OpenAI would... Oracle is building a data center in Abilene, Texas, the size of 17 football fields for OpenAI....