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

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

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Is Tesla Musk’s AI Company—or is xAI?

By Martin Peers · Aug 4, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a question: Which of Elon Musk’s companies is his most AI-focused business? The answer might seem obvious: xAI, developer of Grok. But it’s not that simple, as a letter from two Tesla directors to company shareholders on Monday demonstrates. The letter, explaining the board’s decision to grant Musk a new stock award valued at $23.7... Here’s a question: Which of Elon Musk’s companies is his most AI-focused business? The answer...

An Amazon data center in Virginia. Photo via Getty.

Why Big Tech’s Cloud Shift Threatens Microsoft and Google’s Margins

By Martin Peers · Aug 1, 2025 3:00pm PDT

Don’t count out Amazon. This was not the commerce cloud giant’s week, to be sure. When it comes to the great artificial intelligence cloud race, which now overwhelms all else in tech, Microsoft and Google appear to be ahead. Both companies posted accelerating growth in their cloud units for the June quarter, unlike Amazon. But one element is... Don’t count out Amazon. This was not the commerce cloud giant’s week, to be sure. When it comes...

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Figma’s Bubble and Apple’s Surprise

By Martin Peers · Jul 31, 2025 5:00pm PDT

What a day! Apple surprised with a much better quarter than it had projected, lifting revenue in the June quarter 10%, thanks to 13% higher iPhone revenue, the best iPhone quarter in four years. Amazon, meanwhile, reported the best growth for its online stores in three years. (See below for more on the quarterly results.) The biggest news today,... What a day! Apple surprised with a much better quarter than it had projected, lifting revenue in...

Mark Zuckerberg and Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty

Microsoft and Meta Have a Bonanza June Quarter

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

Mark Zuckerberg and Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty

Microsoft and Meta Have a Bonanza June Quarter

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

For big tech, business is booming. That’s good, because their costs are also skyrocketing. Microsoft and Meta Platforms both reported better than projected June-quarter earnings on Wednesday, sending stocks of the two leaping 9% and 11.7%, respectively, in after-hours trading. But there may well be a reckoning, as both companies projected... For big tech, business is booming. That’s good, because their costs are also skyrocketing....

Lee Brown (left) and Daniel Ek (right). Photos via Getty

Spotify Throws Former Ad Chief Under Bus

By Martin Peers · Jul 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Talk about hanging someone out to dry! A day after DoorDash confirmed it had hired Lee Brown, Spotify’s longtime ad chief, as chief revenue officer, Spotify executives went out of their way to complain about the company’s ad performance—and by implication, the job Brown had done. When asked on the company’s second-quarter earnings call about... Talk about hanging someone out to dry! A day after DoorDash confirmed it had hired Lee Brown,...

Figma CEO Dylan Field. Photo via Flickr/TechCrunch

Figma’s IPO Looks to Be Set for Charmed Debut

By Martin Peers · Jul 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Sometimes good things happen to nice guys. I’m talking about Dylan Field, one of the more grounded founder-CEOs you’re likely to meet in tech. His design software firm, Figma, looks to be sailing toward a very strong public debut in the next week. Figma on Monday raised the preliminary pricing range for its IPO to between $30 and $32 a share—... Sometimes good things happen to nice guys. I’m talking about Dylan Field, one of the more...

Larry Ellison and David Ellison in 2013. Photo via Getty

Larry Ellison’s New Hollywood Drama Is About to Debut

By Martin Peers · Jul 25, 2025 4:00pm PDT

Oracle chair Larry Ellison's power in American business is about to expand. The Federal Communications Commission’s approval on Thursday of Ellison-backed Skydance’s takeover of film and TV icon Paramount Global cleared the last major hurdle standing in the way of the $8 billion deal. It’s expected to close on Aug. 7, when Larry Ellison’s son... Oracle chair Larry Ellison's power in American business is about to expand. The Federal...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo via Getty

Why Google Should Combine Gemini and the Search Bar

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

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo via Getty

Why Google Should Combine Gemini and the Search Bar

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

Here’s a question: If Google was started today, would it have a search bar on its website separate from its artificial intelligence chatbot, Gemini? I asked Gemini that question earlier today, and the chatbot thought that was “extremely unlikely” and that a “unified interface would be the almost certain choice.” As Gemini said, “the fundamental... Here’s a question: If Google was started today, would it have a search bar on its website...

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Musk Giggles as Tesla Tanks

By Theo Wayt · Jul 23, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Most CEOs reporting a 12% decline in quarterly revenues would adopt a sober attitude on their earnings call. Not Elon Musk, who opened Tesla’s analyst call on Wednesday with what sounded suspiciously like a penis joke, and then proceeded to make the rather, er, ambitious prediction that Tesla’s robotaxis would be available to half the U.S.... Most CEOs reporting a 12% decline in quarterly revenues would adopt a sober attitude on their...

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Will the Meme Stock Rally Save Tesla?

By Theo Wayt · Jul 22, 2025 5:03pm PDT · 1 comment

If you’re a renter who’s worried you’ll never be able to afford to buy a home, consider looking for ways to get rich quick in the stock market! For instance, investing in an unprofitable, shrinking home-flipping company can be a surprising moneymaker. I’m talking specifically about Opendoor, whose shares are up more than 400% this month. ... If you’re a renter who’s worried you’ll never be able to afford to buy a home, consider looking...

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Microsoft’s Persistent Cybersecurity Sore

By Martin Peers · Jul 21, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Will Microsoft dock Satya Nadella’s pay again this year? The software giant faced the latest in a seemingly endless string of security breaches over the weekend, when it told customers that hackers were exploiting a flaw in its SharePoint file-sharing software. According to a statement by cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, the fact that... Will Microsoft dock Satya Nadella’s pay again this year? The software giant faced the latest in a...

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What’s Missing From Netflix’s Results

By Martin Peers · Jul 18, 2025 3:00pm PDT

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What’s Missing From Netflix’s Results

By Martin Peers · Jul 18, 2025 3:00pm PDT

Imagine buying a house from someone who refused to show you the interior. The roof might be leaking, but the sellers don’t want you to know. That’s what it’s like buying shares in many of the biggest tech companies, which refuse to disclose key details about their business. More strikingly, many of these companies—such as Netflix and Apple—... Imagine buying a house from someone who refused to show you the interior. The roof might be...

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As Crypto Bill Passes, Bank Bosses Feel Heat

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 17, 2025 5:00pm PDT

The crypto industry today scored its biggest win in Congress with the passage in the House of Representatives of the Genius Act. The bill, which the Senate cleared last month, legitimizes and regulates stablecoins, crypto tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar. President Donald Trump is expected to sign it quickly. It’s a moment of rejoicing for... The crypto industry today scored its biggest win in Congress with the passage in the House of...

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No, the AI Bubble Isn’t Worse Than 1999

By Martin Peers · Jul 16, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a sobering thought. Today’s AI bubble is bigger than the tech bubble of the 1990s, according to Torsten Slok, the chief economist for Apollo whose brief daily emails are widely followed. He bases that statement on his analysis that the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 are today “more overvalued than they were in the 1990s.”If this is... Here’s a sobering thought. Today’s AI bubble is bigger than the tech bubble of the 1990s,...

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Waymo’s Debatable Growth Milestone

By Martin Peers · Jul 15, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Way to go, Waymo! The Alphabet-owned robotaxi service has hit a 100-million-mile autonomous driving milestone, the company announced Tuesday to much fanfare. That figure is 10 times what it was two months ago. Take that, Elon Musk, whose Tesla has barely launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.Waymo’s success reflects a growing acceptance... Way to go, Waymo! The Alphabet-owned robotaxi service has hit a 100-million-mile autonomous...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Zuckerberg’s AI Psychological Warfare

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

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Zuckerberg’s AI Psychological Warfare

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

Mark Zuckerberg is trying to psych out his rivals in artificial intelligence. That’s one interpretation of his Threads post on Monday, declaring that Meta is “going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars” on AI computing capacity to build “superintelligence”—a new buzzword for the most advanced AI imaginable. That’s a more aggressive... Mark Zuckerberg is trying to psych out his rivals in artificial intelligence. That’s one...

Meta's Menlo Park, Calif. campus. Photo via Getty

Where AI Researchers Will Be Happy

By Martin Peers · Jul 11, 2025 3:00pm PDT

We got big news this afternoon in the AI world, as we learned that OpenAI’s talks to buy Windsurf, maker of the popular Codeium AI coding assistant, have ended—and Google has hired Windsurf’s CEO and some staff. For more on this drama, see our story here. Lots of questions remain unanswered, including what these developments mean for... We got big news this afternoon in the AI world, as we learned that OpenAI’s talks to buy...

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Tesla’s Late to Shareholder Meeting—and Why It Doesn’t Matter

By Martin Peers · Jul 10, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Here’s a question: When was the last time anyone paid attention to a company’s annual shareholder meeting? More to the point, perhaps, when was the last time a company’s annual meeting really mattered? The answer to the first one (and maybe the second) is when a company drags its feet scheduling the meeting, as Tesla did—until today. On... Here’s a question: When was the last time anyone paid attention to a company’s annual shareholder...

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Why Elon Musk’s AI Focus Doomed Linda Yaccarino

By Theo Wayt · Jul 9, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Oh, how times have changed! Just two years ago, Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino as the CEO of Twitter with a mandate to clean up relationships with advertisers, many of whom were worried about their products showing up next to hate speech. On Wednesday, Yaccarino unexpectedly announced her departure at a time when the merger of X with Musk’... Oh, how times have changed! Just two years ago, Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino as the CEO...

Apple's Jeff Williams. Photo via Getty

Apple’s COO Retirement Offers Clues About Cook Succession

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Apple's Jeff Williams. Photo via Getty

Apple’s COO Retirement Offers Clues About Cook Succession

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Exciting news on the home front: Today, we launched a powerful new AI chatbot, The Information Deep Research, trained on over a decade of our exclusive reporting on the most important tech companies and people, including our stories, org charts and proprietary data. You can use it to generate reports on the top talent at Nvidia and Meta... Exciting news on the home front: Today, we launched a powerful new AI chatbot, The Information...