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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Amazon and Google Take Another Stab at Being Glean

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 9, 2025 5:00pm PDT

It’s been nearly a year since we scooped the news that OpenAI, Google, Snowflake and Cohere were all working on artificial intelligence search products similar to the one startup Glean made a big splash with. Glean’s AI-powered search lets workers at companies easily find emails, Slack messages and other data scattered across business... It’s been nearly a year since we scooped the news that OpenAI, Google, Snowflake and Cohere were...

AMD CEO Lisa Su and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photos via Getty

Nvidia Chief’s Not-So-Subtle Dig at AMD

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

AMD CEO Lisa Su should hope Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang takes digs at her more often. After Huang turned up on CNBC on Wednesday morning—where he discussed both the AMD-OpenAI chip deal announced on Monday and Nvidia's own dealmaking—AMD’s stock rallied 11%! The stock, which had jumped 24% on Monday but only inched up a bit on Tuesday, is now up 43%... AMD CEO Lisa Su should hope Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang takes digs at her more often. After Huang...

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The AI Profit Fantasy

By Martin Peers · Oct 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 6 comments

In years to come, we might look back at this period in tech as one in which the entire industry was in the grip of a mass delusion, namely the idea that artificial intelligence would prove to be good for business. Of course, it’s still early days. But so far, AI has proven lucrative primarily for the companies involved in making and selling AI... In years to come, we might look back at this period in tech as one in which the entire industry...

Sam Altman at OpenAI DevDay 2025. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI

OpenAI’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Strategy

By Martin Peers · Oct 6, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Sam Altman at OpenAI DevDay 2025. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI

OpenAI’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Strategy

By Martin Peers · Oct 6, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Sam Altman’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” strategy for OpenAI was on full display on Monday. Early in the day, the ChatGPT creator revealed that it will work with Advanced Micro Devices to use that company’s artificial intelligence chips, the latest example of OpenAI’s wide-ranging efforts to assure itself of more computing capacity. The... Sam Altman’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” strategy for OpenAI was on full display on...

Jeff Bezos today at Italian Tech Week 2025. Photo via Getty

Bezos Calls the AI Bubble

By Martin Peers · Oct 3, 2025 3:09pm PDT · 4 comments

Jeff Bezos made news today, putting his imprimatur on the idea that we’re in an AI bubble, although I think the fact that he’s now sporting a light beard was just as interesting. But that’s just me. Bezos’ declaration—at an Italian tech conference—shows that the idea of a bubble is no longer much of a debate. In fact, it’s pretty much... Jeff Bezos made news today, putting his imprimatur on the idea that we’re in an AI bubble,...

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As AI Buying Frenzy Heats Up, Bending Spoons Looks Backward

By Martin Peers · Oct 2, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Anyone of a certain age will remember Uri Geller, the magician who became a big star in the 1970s for bending spoons with his mind, a trick that was later discredited. Given that sorry history, you might wonder why an internet conglomerate based in Italy chose Bending Spoons as its name. Is the management trying to prove it can perform acts of... Anyone of a certain age will remember Uri Geller, the magician who became a big star in the 1970s...

Judson Althoff. Photo via Getty

Nadella Wants to Spend More Time With Engineers

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

It seems Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to spend more time hanging out with engineers and less with customers and government officials. That’s the upshot of Microsoft’s announcement early Wednesday that Nadella would hand off some of his business responsibilities to Microsoft’s chief commercial officer, Judson Althoff. Nadella, an engineer by... It seems Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to spend more time hanging out with engineers and less...

Shohei Ohtani. Photo via Getty.

Slop-Proof Investing Strategies

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 30, 2025 5:18pm PDT

Shohei Ohtani. Photo via Getty.

Slop-Proof Investing Strategies

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 30, 2025 5:18pm PDT

The biggest stars of MLB, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, are taking the field on day one of the playoffs this evening. The league’s attendance and TV ratings are up. America’s pastime, often left for dead, has proven to be good business for its players and owners.I mention this not just because... The biggest stars of MLB, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via Getty

OpenAI Goes Shopping

By Martin Peers · Sep 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

You might think the $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts would be today’s biggest business event. But that’s yesterday’s news—word of the deal broke on Friday. (For more on that, see below). Today’s biggest news, in reality, is OpenAI’s launch of its shopping feature, which puts the ChatGPT creator in competition with everyone from Amazon to... You might think the $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts would be today’s biggest business...

Silver Lake's Egon Durban. Photo via Getty

Silver Lake’s Big Week

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 26, 2025 5:00pm PDT

This week’s biggest business headlines should convince you: One of the most interesting non-founders in tech or finance is Silver Lake’s Egon Durban.First, the under-the-radar tech investor squeezed into the middle of the Trump administration’s deal to split TikTok from its Chinese parent company, and at a seemingly bargain-basement price.... This week’s biggest business headlines should convince you: One of the most interesting...

Vice President J.D. Vance, left, and President Donald Trump. Photo via Getty

TikTok’s Fire Sale

By Martin Peers · Sep 25, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Talk about a fire-sale price. That’s the only way to describe the $14 billion valuation we learned today is being put on TikTok U.S. in the Trump administration–orchestrated sale of the app. Given what we’ve reported about TikTok parent ByteDance’s revenues, and our guesstimate about how much came from TikTok, the valuation may be less than one... Talk about a fire-sale price. That’s the only way to describe the $14 billion valuation we...

Jessica Chastain. Photo via Getty

Apple’s Missing Savant

By Martin Peers · Sep 24, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Jessica Chastain. Photo via Getty

Apple’s Missing Savant

By Martin Peers · Sep 24, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

If you’ve ever wondered why Apple has never bought a TV giant like Warner Bros. Discovery, just look at the minidrama over its upcoming Apple TV+ thriller “The Savant.” Apple this week delayed release of the show, about a “top-secret undercover investigator known as the Savant, who infiltrates online hate groups to take down the most violent... If you’ve ever wondered why Apple has never bought a TV giant like Warner Bros. Discovery, just...

Sam Altman. Photo via Getty

Can We Afford AI?

By Martin Peers · Sep 23, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Hey, ChatGPT, can you explain this artificial intelligence disconnect? In a blog post today, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “Growth in the use of AI services has been astonishing.” Meanwhile, countless news reports cite businesses who say they’ve yet to see enough benefit in AI to pay for it. We reported last week, for instance, that Microsoft was... Hey, ChatGPT, can you explain this artificial intelligence disconnect? In a blog post today,...

Jensen Huang, left, and Sam Altman. Photos via Getty

Nvidia Pays OpenAI to Buy Its Chips

By Martin Peers · Sep 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

OpenAI loves to make grand announcements. Earlier this year we had the hoopla about its Stargate data center venture, worth up to $500 billion. Today the ChatGPT creator announced a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership with Nvidia to “build and deploy” artificial intelligence data centers holding “millions” of Nvidia’s AI chips. To... OpenAI loves to make grand announcements. Earlier this year we had the hoopla about its Stargate...

People lined up on Friday for the release of Apple's new iPhone 17 in New York. Photo via Getty

Why the Phone is the Best AI Device

By Martin Peers · Sep 19, 2025 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

It’s hard to believe, but 18 years after the iPhone first hit store shelves, people still line up outside Apple stores whenever a new model first becomes available. We saw that again on Friday, when the iPhone 17 series went on sale. As we reported earlier, preorders for the entry-level iPhone 17—the cheap one—were strong enough to prompt Apple... It’s hard to believe, but 18 years after the iPhone first hit store shelves, people still line up...

Mark Zuckerberg introduces the Meta Oakley Vanguard AI glasses at Meta Connect. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AR Presence

By Martin Peers · Sep 18, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Mark Zuckerberg introduces the Meta Oakley Vanguard AI glasses at Meta Connect. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AR Presence

By Martin Peers · Sep 18, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

If Mark Zuckerberg has his way, in a few weeks you could be talking to a friend wearing Meta’s new “display” glasses (you might call them augmented reality-lite glasses). All of a sudden, your friend will get a glazed look in their eyes and their fingers will start twitching. “Oh no,” you’ll realize. “They got just a text and now they’re... If Mark Zuckerberg has his way, in a few weeks you could be talking to a friend wearing Meta’s...

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StubHub’s IPO Miss

By Martin Peers · Sep 17, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Note to private tech CEOs: The IPO market may look like it’s rocking but looks can be deceiving. If your company isn’t growing fast, and/or has a lot of debt, and doesn’t have either a crypto or AI angle, don’t expect a crush of demand. Check out StubHub, which fails on all the counts I just mentioned. Its stock tanked on its opening day as a... Note to private tech CEOs: The IPO market may look like it’s rocking but looks can be deceiving....

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Why TikTok America’s Growth Could Surge

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

Our long international nightmare may soon be over. Both China and the U.S. seem to be in agreement about the terms under which TikTok U.S. will be sold to a new company majority-owned by Americans, judging by a statement overnight from a Chinese government official. We don’t know the details, including the full investor lineup in the new TikTok,... Our long international nightmare may soon be over. Both China and the U.S. seem to be in...

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On Quarterly Earnings, Trump Has a Point

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

Imagine a world where companies report earnings only twice a year, instead of every quarter. As John Lennon put it, “you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” Donald Trump reminded us on Monday that he is a big proponent of switching to a half-yearly corporate reporting cadence, away from the quarterly one. His pitch is that doing so... Imagine a world where companies report earnings only twice a year, instead of every quarter. As...

Satya Nadella, left, and Sam Atman. Photos by Getty

Why Microsoft and OpenAI Announced a Tentative Deal

By Amir Efrati · Sep 12, 2025 3:00pm PDT

Satya Nadella, left, and Sam Atman. Photos by Getty

Why Microsoft and OpenAI Announced a Tentative Deal

By Amir Efrati · Sep 12, 2025 3:00pm PDT

As we wrap up what has been a busy week in artificial intelligence-cloud land—one dominated by Oracle—we want to circle back to the striking announcement on Thursday night from Microsoft and OpenAI. Anytime two companies, worth at least $4.5 trillion combined, issue a three-sentence press release with no concrete information about a highly... As we wrap up what has been a busy week in artificial intelligence-cloud land—one dominated by...