AI Agenda by Stephanie Palazzolo — The Information

Four times/week (subscribers only)

AI Agenda

By Stephanie Palazzolo

Stay ahead of the technological breakthroughs, startups and leaders in AI with a 14-day free trial of the AI Agenda. After your trial, unlock 25% off on a subscription to The Information for full access to the newsletter, plus all of our original reporting on AI.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Art by Mike Sullivan

Universities Are Part of the Cursor Resistance

By Rocket Drew · Oct 15, 2025 7:00am PDT

I recently reported on the software engineers who have resisted using AI coding tools such as Cursor and Claude Code, even when their managers strongly encourage their use. AI still has technical limitations—and it threatens to make engineering jobs obsolete, they say. But there’s a wrinkle to this story: some engineering students have... I recently reported on the software engineers who have resisted using AI coding tools such...

Reducto cofounders Raunak Chowdhuri and Adit Abraham. Photo courtesy of Reducto.

The Startup Using AI to Translate Documents Into Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 14, 2025 7:00am PDT

If you’ve ever uploaded a picture of a receipt to an expense report or read a PDF of a book online, you’ve likely used optical character recognition, a decades-old technique that converts images of typed, handwritten or printed text into text that’s editable on a computer.OCR might not sound like the sexiest market. But it’s interesting enough... If you’ve ever uploaded a picture of a receipt to an expense report or read a PDF of a book...

A rendering of Inversion's Arc spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Inversion

The Robots that Could Beat Optimus to Space

By Rocket Drew · Oct 13, 2025 7:10am PDT

Before we get to our column, we should acknowledge OpenAI’s latest chip deal, this time with Broadcom, announced Monday morning. The Information first reported the two companies were in talks in July of last year but a lot has happened since then. Most obviously, OpenAI has also struck deals for supplies of AI chips with both Nvidia and AMD. We’... Before we get to our column, we should acknowledge OpenAI’s latest chip deal, this time with ...

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Is Catching Up To Anthropic in AI Coding

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

Art by Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Is Catching Up To Anthropic in AI Coding

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

OpenAI’s effort to catch up to Anthropic in code-generating artificial intelligence seems to be working. New data show OpenAI’s Codex coding assistant has pulled ahead of Anthropic’s Claude Code assistant in certain coding capabilities. Codex usage among developers is also catching up to Claude Code’s.Developers approved 74.3% of code... OpenAI’s effort to catch up to Anthropic in code-generating artificial intelligence seems to be...

Relace cofounders Preston Zhou and Eitan Borgnia. Photo courtesy of Relace.

Andreessen Backs a Startup Developing Tools That Coding Agents Use

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2025 7:00am PDT

Countless startups sell tools to software engineers, such as version control systems to track who’s making changes to a codebase, and sandboxes where code can be safely run and tested without affecting the main system.Now, a startup is building such tools for artificial intelligence agents that aim to do the work of human coders. Andreessen... Countless startups sell tools to software engineers, such as version control systems to track who...

Sam Altman. Screenshot via YouTube

OpenAI’s Walled-Garden Moment

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Catherine Perloff · Oct 7, 2025 7:00am PDT

OpenAI on Monday unveiled its biggest-yet effort to bring all of the web’s consumer activities directly into ChatGPT, as it aims to turn the chatbot into a so-called superapp that people can use to control any app in their lives—similar to Facebook’s efforts from 15 years ago. But before we get too excited, we should remember we’ve been... OpenAI on Monday unveiled its biggest-yet effort to bring all of the web’s consumer activities...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Why OpenAI Offered to Pay $500 Million For A Startup With Videogame Data

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 6, 2025 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Before we get to today’s column, in a sign of how insatiable OpenAI’s appetite for computing power is, the ChatGPT-maker and Nvidia rival Advanced Micro Devices announced a partnership Monday morning that would see OpenAI deploy six gigawatts of AMD’s chips over multiple years, starting in the second half of next year. As part of the deal,... Before we get to today’s column, in a sign of how insatiable OpenAI’s appetite for computing...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

XAI Broke Its Safety Policy With Coding Model

By Rocket Drew · Oct 2, 2025 7:00am PDT

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

XAI Broke Its Safety Policy With Coding Model

By Rocket Drew · Oct 2, 2025 7:00am PDT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 53 on Monday, a law that will require the largest AI companies to abide by their own safety and cybersecurity policies. One company that should take heed of the new law is Elon Musk's xAI.The ink had barely dried on xAI’s safety policy, which it published in August, when the company released its model Grok... California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 53 on Monday, a law that will require the largest AI...

Photo by Craig Warga

Will Reinforcement Learning Get Us to AGI? This Anthropic Researcher Thinks So

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 1, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Thanks to everyone who attended our AI Agenda Live event in New York yesterday! It was incredible to get to meet so many subscribers in person and hear from leaders in AI research, robotics and VC about what they’re seeing in this crazy industry right now. (For a full recap of the event, check out my colleagues’ write-up here.)My last panel with... Thanks to everyone who attended our AI Agenda Live event in New York yesterday! It was incredible...

Art by Clark Miller.

Three New Papers AI Researchers Are Reading; What To Expect at AI Agenda Live

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 30, 2025 7:00am PDT

It wouldn’t be the eve of our AI Agenda Live conference without a midnight scoop! In case you missed it, check out last night’s story from Amir, Cory and me on OpenAI’s financials for the first half of 2025.I might be slightly sleep-deprived, but I’m thrilled to be seeing many of you in just a few hours at our AI Agenda Live: The Next Wave event... It wouldn’t be the eve of our AI Agenda Live conference without a midnight scoop! In case you...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Product-List Startup Gets a ChatGPT Bump; Huang’s $1 Trillion Claim

By Ann Gehan · Sep 29, 2025 7:15am PDT

Before we get to today’s newsletter, Stephanie’s profile of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, the mysterious $10 billion startup, is a fascinating look at Murati’s background and explains why she’s got such a following among AI researchers and, as a result, investors. It’s definitely worth a read.On to today’s column…As artificial... Before we get to today’s newsletter, Stephanie’s profile of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab,...

Art via Mike Sullivan

More AI Startups Join the $100 Million ARR Club. But Will They Stay?

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 25, 2025 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Art via Mike Sullivan

More AI Startups Join the $100 Million ARR Club. But Will They Stay?

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 25, 2025 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

These days, it seems like each week another artificial intelligence startup announces it’s surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue, a milestone that historically meant a startup had achieved “product-market fit”—in other words, customers really want to pay for its products.In the last five months, our reporting shows that at least six “AI... These days, it seems like each week another artificial intelligence startup announces it’s...

Photo courtesy of Scale

Inside Scale AI’s New Robot Labs

By Rocket Drew · Sep 24, 2025 7:00am PDT

After Meta Platforms bought nearly half of the data labelling startup Scale AI and hired its co-founder Alexandr Wang and other key employees, Scale’s future looked uncertain. Even more so after the nine-year old startup laid off 200 employees and customer OpenAI wound down its work with the company.Now, we’re getting a sense of how Scale’s... After Meta Platforms bought nearly half of the data labelling startup Scale AI and hired its...

Sam Altman, left, and Jensen Huang. Photos via Getty

Nvidia and OpenAI’s Fates Get Even More Intertwined

By Anissa Gardizy · Sep 23, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Larry Ellison might have thought his firm’s 4.5 gigawatt cloud deal with OpenAI was unmatched.That is, until he woke up on Monday morning to see OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announcing something much bigger: data center plans that are more than double the size of Oracle’s. The numbers are quite staggering. If OpenAI and... Larry Ellison might have thought his firm’s 4.5 gigawatt cloud deal with OpenAI was unmatched....

Art via Mike Sullivan

Japan Strikes Back

By Juro Osawa · Sep 22, 2025 7:00am PDT

As Western artificial intelligence developers accelerate international expansion, Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, is shaping up to be a key battleground. ChatGPT and Gemini are already popular there. Anthropic is preparing to open a Tokyo office after appointing a Japan country head last month. Canada-based Cohere also hired a... As Western artificial intelligence developers accelerate international expansion, Japan, the...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon’s AR Glasses Could Help Train Its Humanoid Delivery Robots

By Rocket Drew · Sep 18, 2025 7:35am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon’s AR Glasses Could Help Train Its Humanoid Delivery Robots

By Rocket Drew · Sep 18, 2025 7:35am PDT

On Wednesday, Meta Platforms took a big step towards dominating the still-nascent augmented reality market when it unveiled the latest version of its Ray-Bans smart glasses, this time with a see-through display and a wristband for controlling the device. People will be able to send text messages via hand motions interpreted by the wristband.Meta... On Wednesday, Meta Platforms took a big step towards dominating the still-nascent augmented...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI’s Models Are Getting Too Smart For Their Human Teachers

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 17, 2025 7:00am PDT

In the fight to improve AI models, Anthropic and OpenAI have doubled down on two methods: letting models train on fake clones of apps—otherwise known as reinforcement learning environments or gyms—and getting experts in various fields to teach models new things, as I reported in this Tuesday story.One problem is emerging, though: It’s getting a... In the fight to improve AI models, Anthropic and OpenAI have doubled down on two methods: letting...

Art via Getty

The Secrets OpenAI Revealed About ChatGPT

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Aaron Holmes · Sep 16, 2025 7:00am PDT

Public interest in ChatGPT's impact on society is rising fast, especially given recent high-profile lawsuits filed by family members of people who used the chatbot before taking their own life. On Monday, OpenAI opened the chabot's kimono a little bit, with a new study showing exactly how users are using ChatGPT. Notably, non-work... Public interest in ChatGPT's impact on society is rising fast, especially given recent...

Here you go! Art via Getty

Everyone Wants To Be a Reinforcement Learning Startup

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 15, 2025 7:00am PDT

These days, artificial intelligence developers, investors and founders are all obsessed with “reinforcement learning,” a method for improving AI by rewarding it for accomplishing certain goals and penalizing it for other behaviors.Investors tell me that they’re getting pitched on dozens of RL-related startups per week, ranging from those ... These days, artificial intelligence developers, investors and founders are all obsessed with “...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI’s Spending Spree is Reordering the Cloud Market

By Amir Efrati · Sep 11, 2025 7:00am PDT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

OpenAI’s Spending Spree is Reordering the Cloud Market

By Amir Efrati · Sep 11, 2025 7:00am PDT

When OpenAI two months ago agreed to rent an unfathomably large amount of data center capacity from Oracle (4.5 gigawatts, or enough to power several large cities), we thought the market would have priced in the eventual mammoth revenue from that publicly announced deal. We were wrong.On Tuesday, Oracle disclosed that computing contracts would... When OpenAI two months ago agreed to rent an unfathomably large amount of data center capacity...