The Information

Art by Mike Sullivan

How an Apple iCloud Policy Fueled Employee Leaks Ahead of OpenAI Suit

By Aaron Tilley · Aug 3, 2026 6:00am PDT

In a lawsuit early last month, Apple accused former employees who are now at OpenAI of stealing a trove of trade secrets from the iPhone maker—in part by improperly accessing confidential Apple documents after they left the company. Even before the suit was filed, some of the more than 400 former Apple employees who now work at OpenAI... In a lawsuit early last month, Apple accused former employees who are now at OpenAI of stealing a...

A CyrusOne data center in Aurora, Illinois. Photo by Getty Images.

Data Center Operator CyrusOne Lays IPO Groundwork

By Valida Pau · Jul 30, 2026 7:02pm PDT

CyrusOne, a data center operator owned by private equity giants KKR and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, is getting ready to interview and hire investment banks to advise on what could be one of the largest initial public offerings next year, according to people familiar with the discussions. The IPO preparations indicate that some of... CyrusOne, a data center operator owned by private equity giants KKR and BlackRock’s Global...

Art by Mike Sulllivan; Getty Images

TSMC Develops AI Chip Packaging Tech to Counter Intel

By Qianer Liu · Jul 30, 2026 6:00am PDT

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is developing an advanced chip-packaging technology similar to what Intel already offers, according to two people with direct knowledge of the project, a sign that the world’s leading chip manufacturer is worried about competition from a distant rival. Chip packaging is the final stage of chip production,... Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is developing an advanced chip-packaging technology...

Alex Atallah, CEO of OpenRouter, left, and Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan; Getty Images

OpenRouter Financials Suggest Steep Price For Possible Acquirer Stripe

By Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 29, 2026 5:59am PDT

Alex Atallah, CEO of OpenRouter, left, and Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan; Getty Images

OpenRouter Financials Suggest Steep Price For Possible Acquirer Stripe

By Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 29, 2026 5:59am PDT

If Stripe ends up buying three-year-old startup OpenRouter for close to $10 billion, the payments firm would be paying a substantial premium of about 70 times the startup’s recent annualized revenue, according to a person with knowledge of OpenRouter’s financials. OpenRouter, which helps app developers access hundreds of AI models, was recently... If Stripe ends up buying three-year-old startup OpenRouter for close to $10 billion, the payments...

Image via Getty

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Nears 1 Billion Weekly Active Users Seven Months After Target

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Jul 28, 2026 7:36pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI’s chatbot is on the precipice of having 1 billion weekly active users, a milestone the company was hoping to hit by the end of last year, according to information the company has shared internally. Though the milestone comes seven months after the company originally expected to hit it, ChatGPT is still one of the fastest, if not the... OpenAI’s chatbot is on the precipice of having 1 billion weekly active users, a milestone the...

People visit the Moonshot AI stand, featuring Kimi K3, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 17, 2026. Photo by CN-STR/Getty Images.

Chinese AI Startup Moonshot Seeks More Nvidia Blackwell Chips for Next Model

By The Information Staff · Jul 28, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI, flush from the breakout success of its recently released model, Kimi K3, is already discussing plans for Kimi K4, which would be significantly larger in size than K3, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. There’s just one problem: To train that new model, Moonshot would need access to more of... Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI, flush from the breakout success of its recently released...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Trump Administration Nears AI Framework as Open-Source Questions Loom

By Leo Schwartz · Jul 27, 2026 1:12pm PDT

The Trump administration is close to finalizing its voluntary framework for AI companies to submit their most advanced models to the government before releasing them to the public, according to three people familiar with the matter. The White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director circulated a draft of the framework to OpenAI, Anthropic... The Trump administration is close to finalizing its voluntary framework for AI companies to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

China Begins Mass Production of Homegrown DUV Chip Tools

By The Information Staff · Jul 27, 2026 6:01am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

China Begins Mass Production of Homegrown DUV Chip Tools

By The Information Staff · Jul 27, 2026 6:01am PDT

A Chinese state-backed company has begun manufacturing one of the key pieces of equipment used in chip manufacturing for the first time, a significant development in Beijing’s drive to reduce its reliance on foreign technology to make chips. The Shanghai-based company is making immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machines, used by chipmakers... A Chinese state-backed company has begun manufacturing one of the key pieces of equipment used in...

Jaakko Kokko, CEO and founder of AlphaSense. Art by Clark Miller; image via YouTube.

AlphaSense Tops $700 Million in Annual Recurring Revenue, Takes IPO Steps

By Kevin McLaughlin and Valida Pau · Jul 23, 2026 8:00am PDT

AlphaSense, which sells AI-powered search and market research tools to banks and other businesses, has been working with advisers on a potential initial public offering in the coming months, according to people with direct knowledge of its plans. The plans follow recent fast growth at the 15-year-old company, which was valued at $7.5 billion... AlphaSense, which sells AI-powered search and market research tools to banks and other...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

Anthropic Considers Unusual Plan for Employee Stock Sales After It Goes Public

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 23, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

As Anthropic prepares to go public, it is considering a highly unusual move to require rank-and-file employees to sell stock through rigid trading schedules so they don’t run afoul of insider trading laws, said a person familiar with the matter and a person briefed on it. At companies that have used such trading plans, typically only top... As Anthropic prepares to go public, it is considering a highly unusual move to require...

Left to right: Howard Lutnick, Michael Kratsios and Scott Bessent. Photos via Getty Images

U.S. Investigates Chinese AI Companies’ Access to Chips Amid Moonshot Accusations

By Leo Schwartz · Jul 22, 2026 3:42pm PDT · 1 comment

This week, Trump administration officials have taken to the airwaves and X to blast Chinese open source AI companies like Moonshot, accusing them of stealing intellectual property from the likes of Anthropic and other U.S. AI developers. The administration’s concerns aren’t just rhetoric, though. The Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency... This week, Trump administration officials have taken to the airwaves and X to blast Chinese open...

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Getty Images.

Stripe Minted $3.2 Billion in Cash in 2025, Setting Up Acquisition Hunt

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 22, 2026 12:12pm PDT

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Getty Images.

Stripe Minted $3.2 Billion in Cash in 2025, Setting Up Acquisition Hunt

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 22, 2026 12:12pm PDT

Stripe is coming off a banner year thanks to booming growth in the AI sector, where the company processes payments for big AI labs and small developers alike. The payment giant’s revenue jumped by a third to $6.8 billion last year, according to a person familiar with its financial figures, marking its fastest revenue growth since 2021. Stripe is... Stripe is coming off a banner year thanks to booming growth in the AI sector, where the company...

Elon Musk. Getty Images.

SpaceXAI Explores Major Data Center Expansion in Texas

By Grace Kay · Jul 22, 2026 6:00am PDT

Elon Musk’s AI company, SpaceXAI, is laying the groundwork for at least one new large-scale data center in Texas, three people with knowledge of the effort said. Such a move could substantially expand SpaceX’s AI computing capacity outside its existing data center hub in Memphis, Tenn. An expansion could position SpaceXAI to be a major cloud... Elon Musk’s AI company, SpaceXAI, is laying the groundwork for at least one new large-scale data...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Meta’s AI Incubator Is Developing an OpenRouter Rival to Cut Coding Costs

By Jyoti Mann · Jul 21, 2026 3:36pm PDT

Meta Platforms’ internal incubator for AI-powered products and tools is developing a version of the OpenRouter service that would help cut costs by sending some AI tasks to lower-cost models. The incubator, called AAI Labs, is part of Meta’s Applied AI Engineering team, which Meta set up in March and allows employees to pitch AI-powered products... Meta Platforms’ internal incubator for AI-powered products and tools is developing a version of...

Mercor co-founder and CEO Brendan Foody. Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Mercor’s Fast Growth Relies on Biggest AI Companies, Documents Show

By Cory Weinberg and Julia Hornstein · Jul 21, 2026 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Mercor, a three-year-old data startup whose army of contractors teaches AI to give better answers, is growing fast but relies heavily on revenue from AI foundation model companies, financial documents seen by The Information show. The company generated $614 million in gross revenue in the first half of the year, up 70% from all of last year,... Mercor, a three-year-old data startup whose army of contractors teaches AI to give better...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Plans New ‘Frozen’ Chip to Run Its AI Models Much More Efficiently

By Erin Woo and Qianer Liu · Jul 20, 2026 6:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Plans New ‘Frozen’ Chip to Run Its AI Models Much More Efficiently

By Erin Woo and Qianer Liu · Jul 20, 2026 6:00am PDT

Google is working on a new server chip that would directly integrate the blueprint of its Gemini AI model, enabling the company to serve its AI models to users much more efficiently, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Google intends the new chip, informally dubbed “Frozen v2,” to help it address a major shortage in AI... Google is working on a new server chip that would directly integrate the blueprint of its Gemini...

OpenEvidence Co-Founder Daniel Nadler. Photo by Getty.

‘ChatGPT for Doctors’ Mulls New Financing at $20 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Valida Pau · Jul 17, 2026 3:27pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenEvidence, the fast-growing startup that helps doctors find medical information through an AI chatbot, has considered raising $200 million after receiving offers from investors at a valuation of around $20 billion, according to a person involved in the discussions. The company is unlikely to proceed, in part because a round would dilute... OpenEvidence, the fast-growing startup that helps doctors find medical information through an AI...

Alex Atallah, CEO of OpenRouter. Screenshot via YouTube

Startup OpenRouter Fields Multibillion-Dollar Takeover Interest

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Kevin McLaughlin and Valida Pau · Jul 17, 2026 12:28pm PDT

OpenRouter, which helps app developers access hundreds of AI models, has discussed a potential sale to a bigger tech company that could value the startup at billions of dollars, a steep premium to its $1.3 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter said. The discussions reflect a swell of interest this year in technology that makes it... OpenRouter, which helps app developers access hundreds of AI models, has discussed a potential...

CEO of Valar Atomics, Isaiah Taylor. Photo by Getty Images.

Nuclear Startup Valar Atomics in Talks for $6 Billion Valuation After Power Milestone

By Julia Hornstein and Jemima McEvoy · Jul 16, 2026 5:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Valar Atomics, a three-year-old startup that makes small nuclear reactors intended to power data centers and other industrial facilities, is in talks to raise $1 billion at around a $5 billion valuation before the investment, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Sequoia Capital, which hasn’t previously disclosed an... Valar Atomics, a three-year-old startup that makes small nuclear reactors intended to power data...

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo by Getty Images.

Anthropic in Talks to Add Billions to Bank Credit Line Ahead of IPO

By Valida Pau · Jul 15, 2026 4:06pm PDT · 2 comments

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo by Getty Images.

Anthropic in Talks to Add Billions to Bank Credit Line Ahead of IPO

By Valida Pau · Jul 15, 2026 4:06pm PDT · 2 comments

Anthropic is in talks with banks to arrange credit lines worth a few billions of dollars in a move that would increase its access to cash ahead of a planned initial public offering this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The new loans would build on the $2.5 billion, five-year revolving credit facility Anthropic received... Anthropic is in talks with banks to arrange credit lines worth a few billions of dollars in a...