The Information

An Apollo humanoid robot prototype, made by Apptronik. Getty Images.

Google-Backed Apptronik in Talks to Raise Funding at $5 Billion Valuation

By Rocket Drew and Katie Roof · Nov 14, 2025 4:26pm PST

Apptronik, a humanoid robot maker backed by Google, is in the process of raising at least $400 million at a $5 billion valuation not including the new money, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The new round, led by B Capital, would at least triple the startup’s valuation from earlier this year, when it raised $415... Apptronik, a humanoid robot maker backed by Google, is in the process of raising at least $400...

Kabir Barday, founder and CEO of OneTrust. Photo by Getty Images

OneTrust, Privacy Startup Last Valued at $4.5 Billion, Discusses Private Equity Sale

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Nov 13, 2025 3:13pm PST · 1 comment

OneTrust, a nine-year-old startup that benefited from a wave of European and U.S. laws regulating how companies collect and share website data, is exploring a sale—possibly to private equity buyers, according to people familiar with the discussions. The Atlanta-based startup, which sells privacy and compliance software, is the latest... OneTrust, a nine-year-old startup that benefited from a wave of European and U.S. laws regulating...

Andy Rubin. Getty Images

Android Creator Andy Rubin Launches Robotics Startup in Tokyo

By Juro Osawa · Nov 12, 2025 10:02am PST

Andy Rubin, creator of Android and a former Google executive, has launched a new startup focused on humanoid robots, said a person with direct knowledge of the venture. His venture is the latest addition to the red-hot and frothy humanoid space, crowded with companies ranging from Tesla to startups such as Figure AI. Rubin’s startup, Genki... Andy Rubin, creator of Android and a former Google executive, has launched a new startup focused...

Art by Clark Miller.

Investors Chase Neolabs to Outflank OpenAI, Anthropic

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Sri Muppidi · Nov 11, 2025 5:10pm PST · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Investors Chase Neolabs to Outflank OpenAI, Anthropic

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Sri Muppidi · Nov 11, 2025 5:10pm PST · 2 comments

Investors are rushing to back a new generation of research-focused AI startups. In just over a month, they’ve made or discussed $2.5 billion of investments into five of these startups, called neolabs, despite the high costs and risk of failure. The neolab startups’ founders say they hope to exploit new approaches to developing AI models and... Investors are rushing to back a new generation of research-focused AI startups. In just over a...

Marc Lipschultz. Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

OpenAI’s Stargate Project Gets $3 Billion Blue Owl Investment

By Miles Kruppa · Nov 11, 2025 6:00am PST

Blue Owl Capital, one of Wall Street’s biggest private lenders, is ramping up its big bet on artificial intelligence with a roughly $3 billion investment in a New Mexico data center that’s part of OpenAI’s Stargate project, said a person with knowledge of the deal. Blue Owl, which has nearly $300 billion in assets, has emerged as a crucial... Blue Owl Capital, one of Wall Street’s biggest private lenders, is ramping up its big bet on...

Image by Getty

Comcast Cable Spinoff Versant Explores Sale of Youth Sports App

By Sara Germano · Nov 10, 2025 4:11pm PST

Versant, Comcast’s planned spinoff of its cable channels, is exploring a sale of its youth sports management app, SportsEngine, people familiar with the matter said. It’s the latest indication that the market for youth sports technology is headed for consolidation. SportsEngine is a platform that manages communications and scheduling for kids’... Versant, Comcast’s planned spinoff of its cable channels, is exploring a sale of its youth sports...

An Apple store in Mumbai. Getty Images

Apple Delays Release of Next iPhone Air Amid Weak Sales

By Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Nov 10, 2025 11:10am PST · 1 comment

Apple is delaying the release of next year’s version of the iPhone Air, its thinnest smartphone, after the first model sold below expectations, according to three people involved in the project. Although the length of the delay remains uncertain, the product won’t be released in fall 2026 as previously planned, they said. Apple has already... Apple is delaying the release of next year’s version of the iPhone Air, its thinnest smartphone,...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. AP Images.

Anthropic to Outpace OpenAI in Server Efficiency, Internal Projections Show

By Sri Muppidi · Nov 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. AP Images.

Anthropic to Outpace OpenAI in Server Efficiency, Internal Projections Show

By Sri Muppidi · Nov 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 3 comments

As OpenAI and Anthropic seek to make similar breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, their financial paths may be headed in different directions. Both companies produced financial projections a few months ago that show a divergence in how much they plan to spend on computational resources, which make up the vast majority of their costs. While... As OpenAI and Anthropic seek to make similar breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, their...

Richard Socher. Screenshot via YouTube

You.com CEO Socher Seeks $1 Billion for New AI Lab

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Natasha Mascarenhas and Miles Kruppa · Nov 7, 2025 9:46am PST

Richard Socher, CEO of AI search startup You.com and a former chief scientist at Salesforce, hopes to raise around $1 billion for a new AI research startup he will oversee, said two people who spoke to senior staff at You.com. Socher will remain at the helm of You.com, he said in an interview. Socher said his new AI lab will focus on developing... Richard Socher, CEO of AI search startup You.com and a former chief scientist at Salesforce,...

Photo of Noam Shazeer by Getty Images. Art by Mike Sullivan

Google’s $2.7 Billion AI Hire Tests Company’s Speech Limits With Inflammatory Posts

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Erin Woo · Nov 7, 2025 6:00am PST · 13 comments

This spring, Google AI leader Noam Shazeer posted a comment in one of the company’s internal discussion forums, in response to a post about how Google employees could support their transgender and nonbinary colleagues on International Transgender Day of Visibility. “I do not believe that humans have an attribute called gender,” Shazeer wrote,... This spring, Google AI leader Noam Shazeer posted a comment in one of the company’s internal...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Getty Images

U.S. to Block Nvidia’s Sale of Scaled-Back AI Chips to China

By Qianer Liu · Nov 6, 2025 5:32pm PST · 5 comments

The White House has told others in the federal government it won’t allow Nvidia to sell its latest scaled-down AI chips to China, despite President Donald Trump’s hints over the summer that he might allow the company to do so, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The decision is a major blow to the AI chip giant, which has... The White House has told others in the federal government it won’t allow Nvidia to sell its...

Tom Vice, the former CEO of Sierra Space, speaks in front of the company's Dream Chaser space plane in 2023. Getty Images

Sierra Space Is Raising Cash in Pivot to Defense

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 6, 2025 6:00am PST

Tom Vice, the former CEO of Sierra Space, speaks in front of the company's Dream Chaser space plane in 2023. Getty Images

Sierra Space Is Raising Cash in Pivot to Defense

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 6, 2025 6:00am PST

Sierra Space reached for the stars but never got off the ground. The privately held company burned through much of the $1.7 billion it raised in large part to build a space plane for NASA called Dream Chaser that has never flown into orbit. Now Sierra is seeking about $300 million in fresh funding to pivot from primarily building a space shuttle... Sierra Space reached for the stars but never got off the ground. The privately held company...

Decagon CEO and co-founder Jesse Zhang. YouTube/Startup Grind.

Customer Support AI Startup Decagon in Talks to Raise at $4 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 5, 2025 1:21pm PST · 1 comment

Decagon, which develops AI for automating customer service, is discussing raising equity funding from new investors at a valuation of $4 billion to $5 billion, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal. The discussions come just five months after the company announced financing at a $1.5 billion valuation. The deal discussions... Decagon, which develops AI for automating customer service, is discussing raising equity funding...

Crusoe CEO Chase Lochmiller. Photo via Getty

OpenAI’s Data Center Partner Nears $120 Million Stock Sale For Its Employees

By Anissa Gardizy, Natasha Mascarenhas and Sri Muppidi · Nov 5, 2025 11:28am PST

Crusoe, a startup developing a large data center in Texas for Oracle and OpenAI, is arranging an employee share sale that values the seven-year-old firm at around $13 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction. The deal involves selling around $120 million worth of employee shares and would value them at a 30% premium to... Crusoe, a startup developing a large data center in Texas for Oracle and OpenAI, is arranging an...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Getty Images.

Anthropic Projects $70 Billion in Revenue, $17 Billion in Cash Flow in 2028

By Sri Muppidi · Nov 4, 2025 6:30am PST · 2 comments

Anthropic this summer hiked its most optimistic growth forecasts by roughly 13% to 28% over the next three years and projected generating as much as $70 billion in revenue in 2028, up from close to $5 billion this year, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s financials. The company expects demand from businesses for its AI models... Anthropic this summer hiked its most optimistic growth forecasts by roughly 13% to 28% over the...

Ilan Twig, co-founder and chief technology officer of Navan, center left, and Ariel Cohen, co-founder and chief executive officer of Navan, center right, during the company’s initial public offering in New York.

Lightspeed, Zeev Win Billions From Navan IPO

By Katie Roof · Oct 30, 2025 7:44pm PDT

Ilan Twig, co-founder and chief technology officer of Navan, center left, and Ariel Cohen, co-founder and chief executive officer of Navan, center right, during the company’s initial public offering in New York.

Lightspeed, Zeev Win Billions From Navan IPO

By Katie Roof · Oct 30, 2025 7:44pm PDT

Travel software firm Navan, which weathered a pandemic, name change and government shutdown on its path to an initial public offering, had a disappointing start as a public company. Shares fell 20% on the first day. Its earliest investors still made big gains on paper though. Investor Oren Zeev and his affiliated funds, which invested $150... Travel software firm Navan, which weathered a pandemic, name change and government shutdown on...

Photo by Getty Images

Tesla’s Scaled Back Robotaxi Timeline Still Faces Obstacles

By Theo Wayt · Oct 30, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Elon Musk has already dampened expectations for when Tesla will widely roll out its robotaxi service, which the CEO says is critical to the automaker’s future. But it’s questionable whether Tesla will even be able to hit the lowball expansion figures Musk disclosed to Tesla shareholders last week. Tesla has yet to complete all the paperwork... Elon Musk has already dampened expectations for when Tesla will widely roll out its robotaxi...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Creative Dealmaking Behind Meta’s $30 Billion Data Center Financing

By Miles Kruppa · Oct 28, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

It took a year and some financial acrobatics, but Meta Platforms and a small army of bankers and lawyers were able to secure funding for a $27 billion data center project without doing any immediate damage to the company’s finances. A private letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission helped seal the deal. ... It took a year and some financial acrobatics, but Meta Platforms and a small army of bankers...

Photo of Palmer Luckey by Getty Images. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Anduril Is a Hot Ticket Despite Burning More Than $800 Million in Cash

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 27, 2025 6:00am PDT

Defense tech company Anduril expects to burn through $800 million to $900 million in cash this year in an aggressive bid to win giant Pentagon contracts. Investors big and small are unperturbed, lining up to back the fast-growing seller of drones, missiles and border surveillance towers. The company appears to be the most coveted stock in the... Defense tech company Anduril expects to burn through $800 million to $900 million in cash this...

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son (left) and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images

SoftBank Greenlights Remaining $22.5 Billion of OpenAI Investment

By Sri Muppidi · Oct 25, 2025 1:19pm PDT · 1 comment

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son (left) and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images

SoftBank Greenlights Remaining $22.5 Billion of OpenAI Investment

By Sri Muppidi · Oct 25, 2025 1:19pm PDT · 1 comment

SoftBank has taken the next step to complete its gargantuan $30 billion investment in OpenAI. The Japanese conglomerate’s board has approved a second installment of $22.5 billion on that investment, as long as the artificial intelligence startup completes a corporate restructuring that would pay the way for an eventual public offering, according... SoftBank has taken the next step to complete its gargantuan $30 billion investment in OpenAI. The...