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

Satya Nadella returns to the stage after a pre-recorded interview with Elon Musk at the Microsoft Build conference. Photo via Getty.

What We Learned About xAI’s Grok From Microsoft Build

By Martin Peers · May 19, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Uh-oh. We’re in conference hell, one of those periods of the year when tech companies try to seize control of the news cycle with a seemingly never-ending stream of product announcements (many incomprehensible to ordinary folks) and/or partnership deals. Today Microsoft kicked off its Build developer conference (not to be confused with its... Uh-oh. We’re in conference hell, one of those periods of the year when tech companies try to...

John Malone. Photo via Getty

Why the Charter-Cox $34.5 Billion Cable Deal Matters

By Martin Peers · May 16, 2025 2:30pm PDT

Misery loves company, as they say. Friday’s announcement that two of the three biggest cable-broadband firms, Charter Communications and Cox Communications, are combining is a logical next step in the consolidation of a stagnant but still significant industry. Charter, whose biggest shareholder is controlled by aging cable magnate John Malone,... Misery loves company, as they say. Friday’s announcement that two of the three biggest...

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo via Getty

Why YouTube Should Say How Much Money It Makes

By Martin Peers · May 15, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Video-streaming and TV executives were out in force in New York this week, as outlets pitched their program schedules to marketers at lavish star-studded presentations. None other than Lady Gaga performed at YouTube’s party in Lincoln Center, for instance. There’s no doubt YouTube has come a long way since its founding 20 years ago. It now has a... Video-streaming and TV executives were out in force in New York this week, as outlets pitched...

Chime CEO Chris Britt. Photo via Getty

Chime, Snap and Founder Stock

By Martin Peers · May 14, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Chime CEO Chris Britt. Photo via Getty

Chime, Snap and Founder Stock

By Martin Peers · May 14, 2025 5:00pm PDT

How much motivation does a company founder need to make their company a success? In the case of Chime, a fintech firm whose mission is to offer banking services to low- and mid-income people, quite a lot, it seems. When Chime filed paperwork to go public on Tuesday, it revealed that last month it awarded co-founders Chris Britt (who is also CEO)... How much motivation does a company founder need to make their company a success? In the case of...

An advertisement in Hong Kong in April. Photo via Getty

Crypto Gets Its Trump Bounce

By Yueqi Yang · May 13, 2025 5:30pm PDT

After a rocky few months for bitcoin investors following Donald Trump’s inauguration, crypto insiders are on a high once again. Consider the case of David Bailey, the Bitcoin Magazine CEO who advised Donald Trump on crypto policy and helped fundraise for his 2024 campaign. Yesterday, Bailey announced that he has raised $710 million to launch... After a rocky few months for bitcoin investors following Donald Trump’s inauguration, crypto...

Orange Temu parcels at the United States Postal Service Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center in Los Angeles in 2022. Photo via Getty

Temu’s Clouded Future

By Martin Peers · May 12, 2025 5:00pm PDT

You wouldn’t know it from checking out Temu’s website today—it’s as full of schlocky cheap items as ever—but the Chinese-owned shopping site is not what it was a few months ago. Thanks to changes made in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, it now lists all the items on the home page as coming from “local” warehouses rather than being... You wouldn’t know it from checking out Temu’s website today—it’s as full of schlocky cheap items...

Photo via Getty

Google’s Summer Wait For Search Shakeup Ruling

By Martin Peers · May 9, 2025 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

This summer is likely to be a bit of a tense time at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. The company is awaiting a judge’s ruling on what shackles to put on the company’s search business to curb its monopoly, which the court previously ruled was illegal. A three-week trial deciding on those shackles wrapped up on Friday in a Washington... This summer is likely to be a bit of a tense time at Google’s Mountain View, Calif.,...

Incoming OpenAI CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo. Photo via Getty

AI Firms Get Religion on Marketing

By Martin Peers · May 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Incoming OpenAI CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo. Photo via Getty

AI Firms Get Religion on Marketing

By Martin Peers · May 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Artificial intelligence scientists and researchers, make room. You’re about to get an influx of new colleagues from the world of advertising and marketing, as the headlong race for AI dominance moves into a new, more commercial, phase. Exhibit A: As we scooped today, veteran marketing executive Mark D’Arcy, who spent a decade at Meta Platforms... Artificial intelligence scientists and researchers, make room. You’re about to get an influx of...

Photo via Getty

Disney's Sports Advantage Over Netflix

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Television advertising is becoming a one-trick pony—it’s all about sports. Check out Walt Disney Co.’s March-quarter results, released Wednesday. Ad revenue from its sports TV and streaming businesses rose 22%, due to staggering growth at ESPN’s U.S. business. “Live sports, as you know, is doing extremely well,” said Chief Financial... Television advertising is becoming a one-trick pony—it’s all about sports. Check out Walt...

Photo via Getty

DoorDash Buys European Fixer-Upper

By Martin Peers · May 6, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Food delivery’s great rivalry is heating up. DoorDash and Uber, the two giants of the restaurant-meal delivery scene in the U.S., are now poised to duke it out in Europe. DoorDash unveiled on Tuesday a $3.8 billion proposed takeover of UK-based Deliveroo, its biggest step yet to expand in Europe. Uber, meanwhile, did its best to rain on DoorDash... Food delivery’s great rivalry is heating up. DoorDash and Uber, the two giants of the...

Elon Musk and Sam Altman in 2015. Photo via Getty

Elon Musk Wins OpenAI Battle, but Altman May Win the War

By Martin Peers · May 5, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Elon Musk might have won the battle over OpenAI’s future, but who’s to say Sam Altman isn’t going to win the war? Today’s announcement by the ChatGPT creator that it was abandoning plans to move its for-profit arm out from under control of the nonprofit—conceding to Musk’s legal efforts to stop the restructuring—could end up cementing... Elon Musk might have won the battle over OpenAI’s future, but who’s to say Sam Altman isn’t going...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo via Getty

Microsoft’s Big Week

By Martin Peers · May 2, 2025 2:59pm PDT · 3 comments

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo via Getty

Microsoft’s Big Week

By Martin Peers · May 2, 2025 2:59pm PDT · 3 comments

Satya Nadella, take a bow! Microsoft finished the week as the most valuable company in the world, worth $3.235 trillion, above Apple, long the market leader, which closed Friday with a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion. It’s no mystery why: Microsoft shares have outperformed all year, and this week they rallied strongly following the... Satya Nadella, take a bow! Microsoft finished the week as the most valuable company in the world,...

Photo via Getty

How Apple Is Dealing With Tariffs, So Far

By Martin Peers · May 1, 2025 5:00pm PDT

What a buzzkill. After Wednesday’s robust results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft, sparking Thursday’s tech stock rally, we came down to earth with results from Apple and Amazon Thursday evening. The numbers were pretty much par for the course for two companies whose high-growth days are in the past—5% top-line growth for Apple and 9%... What a buzzkill. After Wednesday’s robust results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft, sparking...

Photos via Getty

Meta Ramps Up AI Spending—Again

By Martin Peers · Apr 30, 2025 5:00pm PDT

When it comes to artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg is not holding back. Meta Platforms revealed Wednesday it was raising its projected capital spending for this year to as high as $72 billion, from a previous high of $65 billion outlined in January. If Meta spent at the upper level of its new projection, its capital outlays this year... When it comes to artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg is not holding back. Meta Platforms...

Photo via Getty

What Temu’s and Shein’s Travails Mean for Snap, Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT

The end of the Temu-Shein era of cheap prices may be hurting digital ad firms just as much as bargain shoppers. Snap on Tuesday said the Trump administration’s closure of the duty-free import loophole—which allowed Temu and Shein to ship cheap stuff from China without paying duties—was affecting its ad business. Google forecast a similar impact... The end of the Temu-Shein era of cheap prices may be hurting digital ad firms just as much as...

Art by Clark Miller

Elite Group Chats Are Only Part of the Story

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Elite Group Chats Are Only Part of the Story

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Group chats are definitely having a moment. First, there were the headlines about how Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, had participated in private Signal discussion groups with Trump administration officials and family members in which he reportedly discussed upcoming U.S. military operations. Then, on Sunday, Ben Smith at Semafor ... Group chats are definitely having a moment. First, there were the headlines about how Pete...

Photo via Getty

DoorDash and Deliveroo on Brink of Marriage

By Martin Peers · Apr 25, 2025 3:45pm PDT

We could have a big deal coming soon. DoorDash looks likely to buy UK-based meal and grocery delivery firm Deliveroo for about $3.6 billion in cash, judging by a statement from Deliveroo on Friday that was also posted by DoorDash on its website. The U.S. delivery firm made an offer at that price earlier this month and Deliveroo said Friday it “... We could have a big deal coming soon. DoorDash looks likely to buy UK-based meal and grocery...

Photo by Getty

What Google’s First-Quarter Numbers Revealed

By Martin Peers · Apr 24, 2025 5:00pm PDT

In earnings season, which we’re in the midst of right now, no (bad) news is good news. Google delivered middling growth for the first quarter, with revenue rising 12%, in line with the fourth quarter, despite a noticeable slowdown in its cash machine of search and in YouTube ads. But despite the ever-present worries about President Donald Trump’... In earnings season, which we’re in the midst of right now, no (bad) news is good news. Google...

Left to right: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and President Donald Trump. Photos via Getty.

Walmart Helps Bail Out Amazon

By Theo Wayt · Apr 23, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to send a thank-you card to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon—because it looks like Walmart just helped bail out Amazon. President Donald Trump’s signal on Tuesday that he might reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from the current level of 145% followed a meeting the president held with McMillon and the CEOs of Target and Home... Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to send a thank-you card to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon—because it...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

Tesla’s First Quarter Signals Bleak Year

By Martin Peers · Apr 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

Tesla’s First Quarter Signals Bleak Year

By Martin Peers · Apr 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

When Elon Musk said in January that 2025 would be “a pivotal year for Tesla,” he surely wasn’t thinking of what has come to pass. The electric vehicle giant reported Tuesday that its auto revenues plunged 20% in the first quarter to their lowest level since 2021, dragging down Tesla’s overall revenue 9% and operating profit 66%. Tesla, which had... When Elon Musk said in January that 2025 would be “a pivotal year for Tesla,” he surely wasn’t...