The Information

Brex CEO Pedro Franceschi. Photo via Brex.

Brex, a Year After Turmoil, has Profits in Sight

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 24, 2025 6:00am PST

Just over a year ago, Brex had the makings of the latest Silicon Valley trainwreck. The corporate credit card startup was blowing through the billions in venture capital it had raised. Growth had slowed, competition increased and its valuation had tumbled. Brex named its 28-year-old cofounder Pedro Franceschi as sole CEO. He launched a... Just over a year ago, Brex had the makings of the latest Silicon Valley trainwreck. The corporate...

OpenAI Forecast Shows Shift From Microsoft to SoftBank

By Cory Weinberg, Jon Victor and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 21, 2025 8:30am PST

New forecasts from OpenAI show the beginning of a dramatic shift in its alliances from Microsoft, its biggest shareholder, to SoftBank, its newest benefactor. The company has told investors in recent weeks that it expects Stargate, the fledgling data center expansion project to be heavily financed by SoftBank, to support three-quarters of the... New forecasts from OpenAI show the beginning of a dramatic shift in its alliances from Microsoft,...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Photos via Getty.

Salesforce in Talks With Microsoft, Oracle and Google About Cloud Deal to Handle AI

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 20, 2025 7:31am PST

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has long been a vocal critic of Microsoft. A couple of years ago, he accused the company of violating antitrust laws in how it sells software bundles. More recently, he has slammed its artificial intelligence chatbot for giving inaccurate responses and being difficult to use. But that history hasn’t stopped Salesforce... Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has long been a vocal critic of Microsoft. A couple of years ago, he...

Mark Zuckerberg introducing Facebook Connect in 2010. Photo via AP.

Meta Woos Creators in Bid to Make Facebook Cool Again

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 20, 2025 6:00am PST

Mark Zuckerberg introducing Facebook Connect in 2010. Photo via AP.

Meta Woos Creators in Bid to Make Facebook Cool Again

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 20, 2025 6:00am PST

To make Facebook cool again, Meta Platforms is asking some of the most popular creators on YouTube for advice, ranging from MrBeast to Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer who explains scientific concepts. The creators aren’t holding back. Facebook has a “big hill to climb,” said Rober, who has 64 million followers on YouTube and 5.3 million on... To make Facebook cool again, Meta Platforms is asking some of the most popular creators on...

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng. Photo via Getty.

DeepSeek Weighs Raising Outside Money For First Time

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Feb 19, 2025 6:00am PST · 2 comments

DeepSeek’s sudden rise to artificial intelligence stardom has created a dilemma for the Chinese startup: whether to raise money. A two-year-old offshoot of a Chinese quantitative hedge fund, DeepSeek so far has not raised outside funding, partly to avoid pressure from investors to commercialize its products too quickly. But since its AI chatbot... DeepSeek’s sudden rise to artificial intelligence stardom has created a dilemma for the Chinese...

Photo via Field AI.

Nvidia-Backed Robotics Startup Field Targets $2 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 18, 2025 4:23pm PST

Field AI, a two-year-old startup that makes artificial intelligence models to power robots, is in talks to raise several hundred million dollars at a $2 billion valuation, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising discussions. That would quadruple the startup’s valuation last summer when investors including Nvidia valued it... Field AI, a two-year-old startup that makes artificial intelligence models to power robots, is in...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Logistics Firm Forto, Last Valued at $2.1 Billion, Hires Moelis to Explore Sale

By Theo Wayt · Feb 18, 2025 9:31am PST

Even after a shakeout that’s lasted two years, consolidation is still coming for logistics startups. Forto, a Germany-based freight forwarding company that has raised more than $600 million from investors including SoftBank, has been working with investment bank Moelis & Co. to explore options including a potential merger or sale, according... Even after a shakeout that’s lasted two years, consolidation is still coming for logistics...

Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind. Photo by Getty

Google’s AI Efforts Marred by Turf Disputes

By Erin Woo · Feb 18, 2025 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind. Photo by Getty

Google’s AI Efforts Marred by Turf Disputes

By Erin Woo · Feb 18, 2025 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Google scored a rare hit with an artificial intelligence–powered product last fall: NotebookLM, which helps people summarize documents, even generating podcasts from its results. The podcast feature drew a glowing review from The Wall Street Journal. After the product’s release, CEO Sundar Pichai praised the “small, dedicated team... Google scored a rare hit with an artificial intelligence–powered product last fall: ...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

From BNY to Citi, Wall Street Moves In on Crypto

By Yueqi Yang · Feb 14, 2025 6:00am PST

Some of the biggest U.S. banks are muscling into crypto services for big funds, investors and traders, taking advantage of fast-loosening regulations under President Donald Trump to launch digital asset versions of businesses they have long dominated. For now, most of the action involves the business of custody, or safekeeping crypto on behalf... Some of the biggest U.S. banks are muscling into crypto services for big funds, investors and...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at the inauguration. Photo via AP.

TikTok CEO Hints At Cuts as Talks With Trump Team Continue

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Juro Osawa · Feb 13, 2025 8:19am PST

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a staff meeting Wednesday evening that he is working closely with the Trump administration to determine the best course of action for the app’s future in the U.S. At the meeting, Chew also discussed another priority: To continue shedding layers and overlapping roles within TikTok. “We have to review our teams. We... TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a staff meeting Wednesday evening that he is working closely with...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo via Getty

Anthropic Projects Soaring Growth to $34.5 Billion in 2027 Revenue

By Jon Victor and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 12, 2025 4:07pm PST

After burning $5.6 billion in cash last year, Anthropic said it would reduce that amount by nearly half in 2025 and projected up to $3.7 billion in revenue for the year as it gains on OpenAI, according to two people who have viewed the company’s figures. Anthropic is also projecting that its revenue could grow to as high as $34.5 billion in... After burning $5.6 billion in cash last year, Anthropic said it would reduce that amount by...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Apple Partners With Alibaba to Develop AI Features for iPhone Users in China

By Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Feb 11, 2025 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Apple Partners With Alibaba to Develop AI Features for iPhone Users in China

By Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Feb 11, 2025 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to roll out artificial intelligence features in China, according to one person with direct knowledge of the decision. The move is part of Apple’s strategy to offer more compelling software features to counter declining sales in the country, where it faces... Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday, Feb. 7. Photo from Bloomberg via Getty Images

OpenAI Board Will Reject Musk’s ‘Embarrassing’ Takeover Bid, CEO Says

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Feb 10, 2025 7:46pm PST · 3 comments

Shortly after Elon Musk made a surprise $97 billion bid for OpenAI’s assets on Monday, its CEO Sam Altman told staff in a message that its board of directors intends to make clear it has no interest in Musk’s “supposed ‘bid’” and that the offer wasn’t in the interest of OpenAI’s mission to develop advanced artificial intelligence for all of... Shortly after Elon Musk made a surprise $97 billion bid for OpenAI’s assets on Monday, its CEO...

Photo via Getty.

Stripe Considers Employee Share Sale at $85 Billion Valuation or More

By Sri Muppidi · Feb 10, 2025 6:32pm PST

Stripe is considering arranging a sale of shares held by employees that would value the company at $85 billion or more, according to a person who has spoken to the company. The transaction would extend a series of share buybacks, secondary sales and fundraises that have lifted the payments provider’s valuation close to its $95 billion peak,... Stripe is considering arranging a sale of shares held by employees that would value the company...

Art by Clark Miller. Photo via Getty

Meta Curbs Privacy Teams’ Sway Over Product Releases

By Kalley Huang · Feb 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Meta Platforms has erected guardrails around how it develops new products over the past decade to better protect the privacy of its more than 3 billion users following high-profile breaches. Now executives are lowering those guardrails so the company can release products more quickly. Among the changes, privacy teams will have less authority to... Meta Platforms has erected guardrails around how it develops new products over the past decade to...

JP Morgan’s Greek Tragedy

By Michael Roddan · Feb 6, 2025 6:00am PST · 6 comments

JP Morgan’s Greek Tragedy

By Michael Roddan · Feb 6, 2025 6:00am PST · 6 comments

JPMorgan Chase’s $917 million investment in a Greek fintech company has gone so wrong that the bank last year offered to sell back half of its stake at a valuation of $175 million. The fintech, Viva Wallet, didn’t take the offer. JPMorgan responded with a lawsuit that accused Viva’s founder of bullying and threatening its... JPMorgan Chase’s $917 million investment in a Greek fintech company has gone so wrong that...

Mercury CEO Immad Akhund. Art by Clark Miller; Akhund screenshot via YouTube.

Banking Startup Mercury In Financing Talks As Investors Warm to Fintechs

By Sri Muppidi and Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 5, 2025 8:52pm PST

Investors are warming to fintech startups after a spike in interest rates made these once-hot companies look overvalued. Mercury, a business banking startup whose profile soared after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank nearly two years ago, is in talks to raise more capital, targeting about $250 million, according to a person with direct... Investors are warming to fintech startups after a spike in interest rates made these once-hot...

Art by Mike Sullivan/Midjourney

Why Net Retention Rates Are All the Rage for AI Investors

By Sri Muppidi · Feb 5, 2025 6:00am PST

Investors in artificial intelligence startups have been wowed by the growth of many young AI startups, which are hitting revenue milestones years earlier than a previous generation of software companies did. But they are worried many of those startups won’t be able to hang on to this phenomenal growth—and are hunting for clues on... Investors in artificial intelligence startups have been wowed by the growth of many young AI...

Art by Clark Miller

How Google Cleaned Up Its Cloud Act

By Kevin McLaughlin and Catherine Perloff · Feb 3, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

In the months after Thomas Kurian became CEO of Google Cloud in early 2019, he made a discovery: Another Google team that oversaw the company’s centrally managed information technology services had been overcharging the cloud unit for its use of software and other computing resources, according to a former Google Cloud manager who saw the... In the months after Thomas Kurian became CEO of Google Cloud in early 2019, he made a discovery:...

Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

ChatGPT Subscribers Nearly Tripled to 15.5 Million in 2024

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jan 31, 2025 4:41pm PST · 8 comments

Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

ChatGPT Subscribers Nearly Tripled to 15.5 Million in 2024

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jan 31, 2025 4:41pm PST · 8 comments

Paid subscribers to ChatGPT nearly tripled to 15.5 million last year from 5.8 million a year earlier, OpenAI recently told some shareholders, despite competition from chatbots made by Google, Anthropic and Meta Platforms. Based on what OpenAI charges for the chatbot subscriptions, the increase means ChatGPT was likely generating at least $4... Paid subscribers to ChatGPT nearly tripled to 15.5 million last year from 5.8 million a year...