The Big Read

Below is a collection of every The Big Read article by The Information.
Art by Clark Miller; Photo by Amy Dockser Marcus, Getty Images.
The Big Read

Longevity Treatments for a 91-Year-Old? A Bold Bet in Silicon Valley’s Immortality Race

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Feb 20, 2026 9:39am PST
In Silicon Valley, some quests for the fountain of youth have most definitely won the backing of tech’s leading names. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, personally invested $180 million to launch Retro Biosciences, which is working on ways to rejuvenate aging cells. CoinBase’s Brian Armstrong co-founded NewLimit, which has raised over $200 million for a... In Silicon Valley, some quests for the fountain of youth have most definitely won the backing of...
Art by Clark Miller (photo: Getty Images)
The Big Read

Blue Owl Eyes New Deals as It Pushes Deeper Into AI Boom

By Miles Kruppa · Feb 13, 2026 6:00am PST · 1 comment
If there are growing worries about the scale of money pouring into AI, word of that hasn’t reached Marc Lipschultz. He is co-CEO of Blue Owl Capital, a publicly traded investment firm that has struck a series of huge AI data center deals. And he’s gearing up for far more of them. Right now, he says Blue Owl is working on more than $100 billion... If there are growing worries about the scale of money pouring into AI, word of that hasn’t...
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
The Big Read

Parties, PR and Epstein: How Investor Masha Bucher Shot to Fame in Silicon Valley

By Jemima McEvoy · Feb 7, 2026 6:00am PST · 9 comments
January 30 was an eventful day for Masha Bucher. That evening she held a blowout 8th birthday party for her venture capital firm, Day One Ventures, at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The dress code: elegant. On the invites, Bucher promised the festivities would include a new performance art piece that would weave together “choreography,... January 30 was an eventful day for Masha Bucher. That evening she held a blowout 8th birthday...
Art by Clark Miller
The Space Baby Era Is Here
By Amy Dockser Marcus · Jan 30, 2026 9:10am PST
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

The Space Baby Era Is Here

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Jan 30, 2026 9:10am PST
Last fall, a plane took off from Ottawa, Ontario, with some unusual cargo: a collection of nonviable human embryos and eggs. Once the aircraft reached a high altitude, the pilot made arcs in the air, creating short intervals of weightlessness that gave researchers on board a chance to study the possible effects of space-like microgravity on... Last fall, a plane took off from Ottawa, Ontario, with some unusual cargo: a collection of...
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
The Big Read

How Greg and Anna Brockman Became MAGA Megadonors

By Jemima McEvoy, Stephanie Palazzolo and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jan 23, 2026 11:07am PST · 2 comments
In November, Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and co-founder, and his wife, Anna, enjoyed a glitzy night out in Washington: a White House state dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Brockmans were among a broad contingent of tech elite in attendance at the fete, hosted by President Donald Trump. Soon after the event, the... In November, Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and co-founder, and his wife, Anna, enjoyed a...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Forget Vibe Coders: ‘Cracked Engineers’ Are All the Rage in Tech

By Rocket Drew · Jan 16, 2026 9:04am PST · 4 comments
In November, a young robotics startup called Gradient began interviewing applicants for an engineering internship at the Palo Alto, Calif.–based company. But after talking to a half-dozen of them, the startup decided to ditch its plan to add interns. Why exactly? “Not worth our time,” said J.X. Mo, 23, Gradient’s co-founder. While some of... In November, a young robotics startup called Gradient began interviewing applicants for an...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Why Silicon Valley Is Obsessed With Biological Age Tests, Despite Dubious Science

By Jemima McEvoy · Jan 9, 2026 10:11am PST · 5 comments
Venture capitalist Meltem Demirors isn’t above the occasional splurge on bags, jewelry and other material things. But she much prefers to use her disposable income for an expanding array of exotic wellness experiments, including injecting peptides and hiring a personal longevity coach. “The only dollars I spend that really have a noticeable... Venture capitalist Meltem Demirors isn’t above the occasional splurge on bags, jewelry and other...
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
Local Crime Fighting Gets Anduril-ized: How Tech Startups Are Changing City Police Forces
By Abram Brown · Dec 20, 2025 6:00am PST
Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)
The Big Read

Local Crime Fighting Gets Anduril-ized: How Tech Startups Are Changing City Police Forces

By Abram Brown · Dec 20, 2025 6:00am PST
Recently, Nick Noone, co-founder and CEO of Peregrine, was introduced to Candace Parker, sports broadcaster and retired WNBA star, by mutual friends. They hit it off. The two share a passion for athletics. (Noone was a Stanford gymnast.) And both have an interest in startups. (Parker is an active angel investor.) After Noone described how his... Recently, Nick Noone, co-founder and CEO of Peregrine, was introduced to Candace Parker, sports...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Whatnot’s Schlock Empire Shows Digital Live Shopping Can Thrive in America

By Ann Gehan · Dec 12, 2025 9:02am PST
In the weird, wild world of Whatnot, the startup defying Silicon Valley’s dismal track record with live shopping, the merchants speak a unique lingo. Whatnot is a resale market, where sellers auction off items like sports cards, last season’s suede sneakers and off-brand cologne through video livestreams: It’s eBay crossed with TikTok. So if... In the weird, wild world of Whatnot, the startup defying Silicon Valley’s dismal track record...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

‘Diamonds and Turds’: How Hock Tan Turned Broadcom Into Nvidia’s Nightmare

By Jemima McEvoy, Qianer Liu and Wayne Ma · Dec 5, 2025 9:02am PST · 9 comments
Early last year, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan decided to host what he likes to call a “coffee chat” with the employees of VMware, the software giant that the Broadcom CEO had recently purchased for $84 billion. The companywide meeting was Tan’s effort to introduce himself and answer questions from those employees about life at the semiconductor firm. ... Early last year, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan decided to host what he likes to call a “coffee chat” with...
Klay co-founder and CEO Ary Attie. (Art by Clark Miller; photo courtesy of Klay)
The Big Read

Secretive Startup Klay Jumps Into the Fray Over AI Music

By Abram Brown · Nov 29, 2025 6:00am PST
“So here’s a real surprise,” said Ary Attie, holding open a hidden door in the bowels of the Walker Hotel in the city’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. “There used to be a lot more cool, interesting places in New York—and there’s still a few left.” Attie, the 30-year-old founder of Klay, a new AI music startup, has a taste for such... “So here’s a real surprise,” said Ary Attie, holding open a hidden door in the bowels of the...
Art by Clark Miller
Zach Dell Thinks He Can Solve America’s Energy Crisis
By Steve LeVine · Nov 22, 2025 4:59am PST · 1 comment
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Zach Dell Thinks He Can Solve America’s Energy Crisis

By Steve LeVine · Nov 22, 2025 4:59am PST · 1 comment
To get inside why Zach Dell believes he will shake up the half-trillion-dollar U.S. power industry and then go global, it helps to take account of who’s inspiring the moves. That would be his father, Michael Dell, who sold computer parts out of his college dorm at 19, took Dell Computer public four years later and by age 26 had entirely... To get inside why Zach Dell believes he will shake up the half-trillion-dollar U.S. power...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Before Buyout Offer, a Boardroom Feud Festered at Grindr

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 14, 2025 9:04am PST · 1 comment
The week before Halloween, Grindr, the gay dating-and-hookup app, threw a big party near New York’s Chelsea neighborhood—its second annual Pleasure Ball. The theme: sexy garden, essentially. (“Nature’s gay and it’s hungry,” read the invitation.) Attendees showed up as scantily clad gnomes and fawns, and the crowd included influencers, New... The week before Halloween, Grindr, the gay dating-and-hookup app, threw a big party near New York...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

Why Data Centers Want James Bond–Style Security Consultants

By Jemima McEvoy · Nov 7, 2025 9:00am PST
On a quiet September morning, Alex Leithiser was out in the woods somewhere in the South on a secret mission: to break into a data center. First, he slipped through a small gap in the facility’s barbed wire fence, and as soon as he hit the ground, he switched clothes, pulling a fresh set from a small backpack. With cameras and alarms all over... On a quiet September morning, Alex Leithiser was out in the woods somewhere in the South on a...
Art by Clark Miller; images via YouTube
The Big Read

Benchmark’s AI Pressure Test: High Prices, Smaller Stakes—and a Poached Star

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 31, 2025 9:49am PDT · 2 comments
Last year, Benchmark, the storied venture capital firm, embarked on a lavish courtship of Brendan Foody, founder and CEO of Mercor, a startup that fills a lucrative niche in AI by hiring workers to train AI programs. First, General Partner Victor Lazarte chatted with Foody over Zoom. Then Peter Fenton, the firm’s longest-tenured active GP, took... Last year, Benchmark, the storied venture capital firm, embarked on a lavish courtship of Brendan...
Art by Mark Sullivan.
OpenAI Readies Itself for Its Facebook Era
By Kalley Huang, Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 24, 2025 6:03am PDT · 6 comments
Art by Mark Sullivan.
The Big Read

OpenAI Readies Itself for Its Facebook Era

By Kalley Huang, Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 24, 2025 6:03am PDT · 6 comments
This summer, Fidji Simo wasted no time addressing a concern among many at OpenAI. Leading her first all-hands meeting as the startup’s new CEO of applications, she acknowledged that she and many others at OpenAI shared the same background: They’d previously worked at Meta Platforms. And then Simo, who’d risen to be head of Facebook over a decade... This summer, Fidji Simo wasted no time addressing a concern among many at OpenAI. Leading her...
Art by Clark Miller
The Big Read

E-Commerce Startups Are Back From the Dead

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2025 9:24am PDT · 1 comment
Lately, venture capitalist Ben Lerer has found himself experiencing a bit of déjà vu: Once again, there’s a whole nest of thriving e-commerce startups worth his attention. When I reached him a couple weeks ago, his firm, Lerer Hippeau, was just putting money into two of them: Elm Biosciences, a new skin care startup, and Stiller’s... Lately, venture capitalist Ben Lerer has found himself experiencing a bit of déjà...
Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images, YouTube.
The Big Read

Can Reed Jobs Be More Than the Son of Steve?

By Jemima McEvoy · Oct 3, 2025 6:06am PDT · 1 comment
Last month, Reed Jobs was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and representatives from America’s top hospitals, universities and medical organizations. He came to deliver an impassioned plea: Save the National Institutes of Health, which faces a push by President Donald Trump to slash its budget 40%. As a keynote speaker at the... Last month, Reed Jobs was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and representatives from America...
Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images
The Big Read

The $10 Billion Enigma of Mira Murati

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 26, 2025 6:00am PDT · 7 comments
This summer, Meta Platforms offered multiple researchers at artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab sizable compensation packages to join its new AI lab. When all of the researchers declined the offers, Thinking Machines CEO Mira Murati sent a flattering news report about Meta’s attempted raid to her staff over Slack. At the same... This summer, Meta Platforms offered multiple researchers at artificial intelligence startup...
Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images
How an Ex-Oilman Became the Face of Elon Musk’s Supercomputers
By Theo Wayt · Sep 19, 2025 9:00am PDT
Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images
The Big Read

How an Ex-Oilman Became the Face of Elon Musk’s Supercomputers

By Theo Wayt · Sep 19, 2025 9:00am PDT
In February, a peace summit of sorts took place on the top floor of Memphis City Hall. On one side there were a handful of local politicians and environmental activists. On the other was the city’s mayor, Paul Young, and Brent Mayo—a youthful, bearded, hoodie-clad Texan—who came with a message that his boss, Elon Musk, had become... In February, a peace summit of sorts took place on the top floor of Memphis City Hall. On one...