The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

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2025’s Best Performing Tech Stocks

By Martin Peers · Dec 31, 2025 2:00pm PST

Oh, to have been an investor in Sandisk in 2025. That company, probably best known to consumers for those little memory cards or USB drives, was one of the best performing tech stocks of 2025—gaining 559% since February, when it was spun out of Western Digital to be a standalone company. By comparison, the best performing of the big tech names,... Oh, to have been an investor in Sandisk in 2025. That company, probably best known to consumers...

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tesla's Pre-Emptive News

By Martin Peers · Dec 30, 2025 5:00pm PST

Talk about stepping on your own news. Tesla put out an unusual statement on Tuesday, detailing the number of cars that 20 Wall Street analysts expect the electric vehicle maker will deliver annually through 2029. Tesla said it “does not endorse” any of the information, mind you, which raises the question why it bothered to publish the summary.... Talk about stepping on your own news. Tesla put out an unusual statement on Tuesday, detailing...

Jensen Huang and Masayoshi Son. Getty Images.

Meta, SoftBank and Nvidia Splurge on Holiday AI Deals

By Martin Peers · Dec 29, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

The dealmakers of the AI sector didn’t take a break this holiday season. Meta revealed this afternoon it had bought Manus, the Singapore-based developer of AI agents. The price wasn’t disclosed but seeing as Manus’ last fundraising valuation was $500 million, Meta might have spent $2 billion or so but not hugely more than that. (More on Manus ... The dealmakers of the AI sector didn’t take a break this holiday season. Meta revealed this...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images.

How Elon Musk’s Promises for Self-Driving, AI and Robots Clashed With Reality

By Theo Wayt · Dec 28, 2025 3:00pm PST · 7 comments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images.

How Elon Musk’s Promises for Self-Driving, AI and Robots Clashed With Reality

By Theo Wayt · Dec 28, 2025 3:00pm PST · 7 comments

Whether you consider Elon Musk a visionary or a liar, he has a long record of publicly setting aggressive deadlines that his companies don’t meet. Barring any big breakthroughs over the next few days, the 2025 list will include high-profile promises on robotics manufacturing, robotaxis and AI models that fell short. On one hand, that’s... Whether you consider Elon Musk a visionary or a liar, he has a long record of publicly setting...

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

By Theo Wayt · Dec 24, 2025 12:35pm PST

In my hometown of Memphis, Tenn., Elon Musk’s xAI is a big topic of conversation for the second holiday season in a row thanks to the two gigantic data centers the company has opened here. The multibillion-dollar facilities have sparked a lot of local opposition because they’re being powered by gas generators that emit air pollution. In... In my hometown of Memphis, Tenn., Elon Musk’s xAI is a big topic of conversation for the second...

Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why ServiceNow Went Ahead With a $7.75 Billion Deal That the Market Didn't Like

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 23, 2025 5:15pm PST

When Bloomberg reported earlier this month that ServiceNow was considering an acquisition of the cybersecurity startup Armis for more than $7 billion, shares of the enterprise software firm fell 11%, erasing $20 billion in market capitalization.But ServiceNow gritted its teeth and signed the deal anyway, as it announced Tuesday. When Bloomberg reported earlier this month that ServiceNow was considering an acquisition of the...

Anduril CEO and co-founder of Erebor Bank, Palmer Luckey. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty.

Crypto’s Banking Woes Are Not Over

By Yueqi Yang · Dec 22, 2025 5:00pm PST

The crypto world has gotten some early Christmas presents. The Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed some Biden-era lawsuits, and the industry has helped push through landmark stablecoin legislation. Crypto companies have also made strides on a lingering problem: access to the mainstream financial system. But that is still a... The crypto world has gotten some early Christmas presents. The Securities and Exchange Commission...

Judge Amit Mehta. Getty Images.

Tech's Big Winners of 2025: Google, Musk and ByteDance

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2025 3:00pm PST

Judge Amit Mehta. Getty Images.

Tech's Big Winners of 2025: Google, Musk and ByteDance

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2025 3:00pm PST

We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make up for the relative lack of news!). Let’s start with Google’s amazing turnaround in 2025. Not only did it emerge mostly unscathed from the antitrust litigation regarding search, it made a giant leap forward in the AI market. Conspiracy theorists will... We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why Google’s AI Weakness Turned Out to Be a Strength

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2025 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

Sometimes people’s greatest weakness can be their biggest strength. And in AI, it is turning out that what we thought was a weakness for Google—the fact that it had both a search portal and an AI chatbot—is actually an advantage. People use search and AI chatbots interchangeably, to be sure, but it’s become clear through the course of this year... Sometimes people’s greatest weakness can be their biggest strength. And in AI, it is turning out...

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. Getty Images.

OpenAI's Funding Advantage Over Rivals Grows

By Martin Peers · Dec 17, 2025 5:00pm PST

Talk about an endorsement! For all the talk about OpenAI falling behind Google, the ChatGPT maker doesn’t seem to be having any problems attracting big backers. Last week it was Disney, putting in $1 billion, and soon it’s likely to be Amazon, judging from The Information’s scoop on Tuesday night that Amazon was in talks to invest more than $10... Talk about an endorsement! For all the talk about OpenAI falling behind Google, the ChatGPT maker...

George Osborne. Jack Taylor/Getty Images.

OpenAI Lands Its British Politician

By Martin Peers · Dec 16, 2025 5:00pm PST

What is it about former British government ministers that makes them so appealing to U.S. tech firms? Former U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is joining OpenAI to be head of OpenAI for Countries, based in London. The title is a little vague, but according to OpenAI’s chief global affairs executive, Chris Lehane, Osborne will be... What is it about former British government ministers that makes them so appealing to U.S. tech...

ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. Getty Images.

ServiceNow Sell-Off Highlights Jittery Market

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2025 5:00pm PST

ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. Getty Images.

ServiceNow Sell-Off Highlights Jittery Market

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2025 5:00pm PST

Talk about a jittery market. Shares of ServiceNow dropped 11.5% on Monday after a weekend report that the enterprise software firm was in “advanced talks” to buy cybersecurity firm Armis for $7 billion. The stock sell-off wiped $21 billion off ServiceNow’s market capitalization—reducing it to $159 billion—which seems something of an... Talk about a jittery market. Shares of ServiceNow dropped 11.5% on Monday after a weekend report...

Mario Tama/Getty Images

How Netflix and the Ellisons Could Compromise on Warner

By Martin Peers · Dec 14, 2025 3:00pm PST

We’re heading into our last full working week of the year, so the news flow is likely to start quieting down. (Be on the lookout for ServiceNow’s next big acquisition, however). One story that’s likely to chug along through the holidays is the battle between Netflix and the Ellison family’s Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros. Discovery. There’s... We’re heading into our last full working week of the year, so the news flow is likely to start...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Michael Reaves/Getty Images

OpenAI’s Mickey Mouse Deal

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

When you’re on your back foot, as OpenAI has lately been, what better way is there to take the offense than to announce a Mickey Mouse deal? Take OpenAI’s partnership with Walt Disney Co., unveiled on Thursday morning. Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in the ChatGPT creator and will license 200 characters from its film and... When you’re on your back foot, as OpenAI has lately been, what better way is there to take the...

Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk. Getty Images

Oracle’s Costly AI Expansion Turns Off Wall Street

By Martin Peers · Dec 10, 2025 5:00pm PST

The costs of Oracle’s AI data center expansion is becoming clear—and Wall Street isn’t happy. The software and cloud firm, which until recently was a solid moneymaker, said Wednesday it burned through $10 billion in cash in the November quarter thanks to a big ramp-up in capital expenditures on AI-focused data centers for its cloud business.... The costs of Oracle’s AI data center expansion is becoming clear—and Wall Street isn’t happy. The...

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Trump's Disappearing Messages

By Martin Peers · Dec 9, 2025 5:00pm PST

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Trump's Disappearing Messages

By Martin Peers · Dec 9, 2025 5:00pm PST

It sometimes feels there’s an element of the supernatural in the Trump administration’s dealings with the business world. Stuff gets announced and then disappears into the ether, never to be heard of again. Take President Donald Trump’s announcement in August that he’d let Nvidia sell its H20 AI chips to China, in exchange for a 15% cut of the... It sometimes feels there’s an element of the supernatural in the Trump administration’s dealings...

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Ted Sarandos and David Ellison. Getty Images.

Nvidia, Confluent and WBD’s Happy Day

By Martin Peers · Dec 8, 2025 5:00pm PST

This could be big news: President Donald Trump said he would allow Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 AI chip to China, in exchange for the U.S. government getting a 25% cut of those sales. That could re-open the Chinese market to Nvidia—if the Chinese government allows its local companies to buy the chips. Chances of that are good. The H200s are... This could be big news: President Donald Trump said he would allow Nvidia to sell its advanced...

Larry Ellison, Hock Tan Take the Stage This Week

Larry Ellison, Hock Tan Take the Stage This Week

By Martin Peers · Dec 7, 2025 3:00pm PST

Step aside, young folks of tech. This week we hear from the industry’s, ah, elder statesmen—specifically Larry Ellison at Oracle and Hock Tan from Broadcom, whose combined age is about 150. Oracle and Broadcom are each reporting their latest quarterly earnings this week, when the status of their newish AI businesses will be in the spotlight. In... Step aside, young folks of tech. This week we hear from the industry’s, ah, elder statesmen—...

OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei. Getty Images.

Amodei’s Advantage Over Altman Comes Into View

By Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2025 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

To a casual observer, OpenAI and Anthropic might have appeared—until recently—to be the Uber and Lyft of the AI world, with Anthropic the distant rival to the dominant OpenAI. That feels to be less the case nowadays. In fact, Anthropic—with its disciplined focus on serving businesses and expectations it will turn a profit several years before... To a casual observer, OpenAI and Anthropic might have appeared—until recently—to be the Uber and...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the 2025 Dreamforce conference last month. Getty Images

Salesforce’s (Small) AI Lift

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2025 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the 2025 Dreamforce conference last month. Getty Images

Salesforce’s (Small) AI Lift

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2025 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

There may be some blurry light at the end of the tunnel for Marc Benioff. Salesforce’s fiscal third-quarter numbers released on Wednesday suggest its revenue from AI products is growing enough to lift its annual growth rate just a bit. Salesforce is still growing very slowly—its new projection is for revenue to expand 9.2% in the current fiscal... There may be some blurry light at the end of the tunnel for Marc Benioff. Salesforce’s fiscal...