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Waymo Discusses Raising Billions at More Than $100 Billion Valuation

By Katie Roof · Dec 16, 2025 2:29pm PST · 7 comments

Waymo is in early talks with potential investors to raise more money at a valuation of at least $100 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. The size of the round will at least be several billions of dollars, possibly even more than $10 billion, one of the people said. The exact valuation has not been set and the funding... Waymo is in early talks with potential investors to raise more money at a valuation of at least...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Small Bank Critical to Stablecoin Payments Tightens Risk Controls

By Yueqi Yang and Michael Roddan · Dec 16, 2025 6:00am PST

In just two years, Kansas City, Missouri–based lender Lead Bank has emerged as a major link between stablecoin startups and the traditional financial system, powering billions of dollars of payments around the world. But lately, signs have emerged that both the bank and its stablecoin clients are tightening their risk controls, potentially... In just two years, Kansas City, Missouri–based lender Lead Bank has emerged as a major link...

Elon Musk. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why xAI Has an Uphill Battle Selling Grok to Businesses

By Theo Wayt · Dec 15, 2025 8:00am PST · 12 comments

Elon Musk’s xAI wants companies around the world to buy its Grok AI models as it tries to build a moneymaking business. To get there, xAI has created an enterprise AI sales group over the past half-year that has expanded to more than a dozen people. But xAI’s lack of experience in selling to big businesses is holding many potential customers... Elon Musk’s xAI wants companies around the world to buy its Grok AI models as it tries to build a...

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Data Center Firm Rowan Explores Capital Raising or Sale

By Anissa Gardizy and Valida Pau · Dec 12, 2025 3:24pm PST

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Data Center Firm Rowan Explores Capital Raising or Sale

By Anissa Gardizy and Valida Pau · Dec 12, 2025 3:24pm PST

A spike of investor interest in the data center sector has prompted one major data center developer, Rowan Digital Infrastructure, to consider whether this is a good time to raise fresh capital or possibly even sell, say people familiar with the company’s thinking. If it were to raise money or sell, it would likely be valued at more than $10... A spike of investor interest in the data center sector has prompted one major data center...

Screenshot via YouTube.

‘ChatGPT for Doctors’ Startup Doubles Valuation to $12 Billion as Revenue Surges

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 12, 2025 1:35pm PST · 3 comments

OpenEvidence, which operates a ChatGPT-like product for doctors to find health information from medical journals and other trusted sources, is raising $250 million in equity financing that will value the three-year-old startup at $12 billion after the investment, doubling its last private valuation from a financing announced just two months ago,... OpenEvidence, which operates a ChatGPT-like product for doctors to find health information from...

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Salesforce Raises Prices on Apps That Tap Its Data

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 11, 2025 12:34pm PST

For years, thousands of companies have used Fivetran, a software tool for copying data between various applications and databases, including Salesforce apps. But earlier this year, Salesforce told Fivetran, a startup valued at more than $5 billion, that it would need to connect to Salesforce apps through the software giant’s formal program for... For years, thousands of companies have used Fivetran, a software tool for copying data between...

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Tencent Poaches ByteDance Researchers as China AI Race Heats Up

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Dec 11, 2025 5:00am PST · 1 comment

Throughout the past couple of years, as AI fever swept China’s technology sector, one giant—Tencent—seemed to mostly be sitting on the sidelines. The company, which owns the hugely popular WeChat app, didn’t seem enthusiastic to win a fierce race in the country to develop cutting-edge AI models, competing with the likes of DeepSeek,... Throughout the past couple of years, as AI fever swept China’s technology sector, one...

Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Photo by Getty Images

UAE Fund MGX Quietly Becomes One of the Biggest Data Center Financiers

By Miles Kruppa and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 10, 2025 10:06am PST

Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Photo by Getty Images

UAE Fund MGX Quietly Becomes One of the Biggest Data Center Financiers

By Miles Kruppa and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 10, 2025 10:06am PST

MGX, a United Arab Emirates–backed fund, is only a year old but has already become one of the biggest data center financiers in the world, leading the largest data center sale negotiated so far and quietly scooping up a stake in another provider with ties to OpenAI. MGX will be the biggest shareholder in Aligned Data Centers, one of the... MGX, a United Arab Emirates–backed fund, is only a year old but has already become one of...

Art by Mike Sullivan

DeepSeek is Using Banned Nvidia Chips in Race to Build Next Model

By The Information Staff · Dec 10, 2025 4:00am PST · 5 comments

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, has been developing its next major model using several thousand Nvidia’s state-of-the-art Blackwell chips which the U.S. has forbidden from being exported to China, according to six people with knowledge of the matter. The chips DeepSeek is using were smuggled into China, the people said, through a convoluted... DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, has been developing its next major model using several thousand...

Art by Clark Miller.

China Weighs Nvidia Chip Purchase in Emergency Meetings With Tech Companies

By Qianer Liu · Dec 10, 2025 2:00am PST

China on Wednesday gathered its biggest tech giants to discuss whether to allow them to buy Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips, as President Donald Trump’s recent decision to allow the export of the powerful hardware to the country suddenly complicated Beijing’s goal to become technologically self-sufficient. Officials convened a series of emergency... China on Wednesday gathered its biggest tech giants to discuss whether to allow them to buy...

Nick Turley. Screenshot via YouTube.

The ChatGPT Product Chief Responding to a ‘Code Red’

By Sri Muppidi, Rocket Drew, Jessica E. Lessin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 6, 2025 11:00am PST · 6 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently declared a “code red” to galvanize the AI startup’s staff to make bigger improvements to its flagship product, ChatGPT. The success of that push could hinge on Nick Turley, the little-known executive who runs the OpenAI chatbot. Turley, 30 years old, came to OpenAI three years ago after stints at Dropbox and... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently declared a “code red” to galvanize the AI startup’s staff to make...

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New Crypto Bank to be Unveiled by Billionaire Trump Backer Andy Beal

By Michael Roddan · Dec 5, 2025 2:32pm PST · 2 comments

Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

New Crypto Bank to be Unveiled by Billionaire Trump Backer Andy Beal

By Michael Roddan · Dec 5, 2025 2:32pm PST · 2 comments

Texas billionaire banker Andy Beal, a big donor to President Donald Trump, is shifting the focus of one of two banks he owns to crypto. The move would ease a bottleneck that has made it difficult for the crypto industry to access the financial system. Beal is renaming Beal Bank, one of the two federally chartered banks he owns, Monet Bank,... Texas billionaire banker Andy Beal, a big donor to President Donald Trump, is shifting the focus...

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SpaceX Aims For 2026 IPO After Hitting $800 Billion Valuation

By Katie Roof · Dec 5, 2025 11:33am PST · 9 comments

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has told investors and financial institution representatives that it is aiming for an initial public offering in the second half of next year, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The talks come as SpaceX is in the midst of holding a sale of shares held by investors and employees that would value... Elon Musk’s SpaceX has told investors and financial institution representatives that it is aiming...

Photos of Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak via Getty Images; screenshot of John Ternus via YouTube. Art by Mike Sullivan

Why Silicon Valley is Buzzing About Apple CEO Succession

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · Dec 5, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Tim Cook has been CEO of Apple for nearly 15 years, during which time he has achieved the highly improbable: After replacing an iconic founder, Steve Jobs, Cook transformed Apple into one of the top three most valuable companies in the world. Why, then, are some in his orbit already talking about who could replace him as CEO? Senior employees at... Tim Cook has been CEO of Apple for nearly 15 years, during which time he has achieved the highly...

Leopold Aschenbrenner. Art by Clark Miller; screenshot via YouTube.

Google’s Cloud Partner for Its AI Chips Is in Talks to Raise $700 Million

By Anissa Gardizy, Cory Weinberg and Miles Kruppa · Dec 4, 2025 10:29am PST

Fluidstack, a cloud provider aiding Google’s AI chip push, is in talks to raise more than $700 million in new financing, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. A one-year-old investment fund started by ex-OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner is in talks to lead the financing, one of the people said. Aschenbrenner’s fund,... Fluidstack, a cloud provider aiding Google’s AI chip push, is in talks to raise more than $700...

Photo via K2 Space

Satellite Startup Set to Quadruple Valuation to $3 Billion

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 3, 2025 12:42pm PST · 1 comment

Photo via K2 Space

Satellite Startup Set to Quadruple Valuation to $3 Billion

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 3, 2025 12:42pm PST · 1 comment

K2 Space, a young satellite manufacturing startup stocked with former SpaceX engineers, is raising hundreds of millions of dollars in a funding round that would roughly quadruple its valuation to about $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter and a corporate filing. The round underlines how defense and space investing has... K2 Space, a young satellite manufacturing startup stocked with former SpaceX engineers, is...

Art via Clark Miller

Microsoft Lowers Sales Staff’s Growth Targets For Newer AI Software

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 3, 2025 6:00am PST · 8 comments

Executives at Microsoft and other enterprise software firms heralded 2025 as the year artificial intelligence would be capable of automating tasks that involve multiple steps, such as generating dashboards based on company sales data. But as the year comes to a close, Microsoft has lowered expectations for how quickly it can get customers to... Executives at Microsoft and other enterprise software firms heralded 2025 as the year artificial...

Anthropic in Advanced Talks to Buy Developer Tool Startup in First Acquisition

By Sri Muppidi · Dec 2, 2025 9:11am PST · 1 comment

Anthropic is in advanced discussions to buy Bun, a maker of software used to run and manage code more efficiently, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The artificial intelligence company is in talks to pay in the low hundreds of millions of dollars for the startup, which would be Anthropic’s first acquisition, according to the... Anthropic is in advanced discussions to buy Bun, a maker of software used to run and manage code...

Marvell headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty

Marvell In Advanced Talks to Buy Celestial AI in Multibillion Deal

By Valida Pau and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 1, 2025 8:24pm PST

Marvell is in advanced talks to buy Santa Clara-based chip startup Celestial AI in a cash-and-stock deal worth several billion dollars, according to people with knowledge of the deal. Under the deal being discussed, Marvell would pay several billion dollars upfront for the startup, which has yet to generate any revenue, according to... Marvell is in advanced talks to buy Santa Clara-based chip startup Celestial AI in a...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Image via Getty, art via Clark Miller

OpenAI CEO Declares ‘Code Red’ to Combat Threats to ChatGPT, Delays Ads Effort

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Dec 1, 2025 8:11pm PST · 12 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Image via Getty, art via Clark Miller

OpenAI CEO Declares ‘Code Red’ to Combat Threats to ChatGPT, Delays Ads Effort

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Dec 1, 2025 8:11pm PST · 12 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday told employees he was declaring a “code red” to marshal more resources to improve ChatGPT as threats rise from Google and other artificial intelligence competitors, according to an internal memo. As a result, OpenAI plans to delay other initiatives, such as advertising, Altman said. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday told employees he was declaring a “code red” to marshal more...