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

Bullish's New York Stock Exchange debut. Photo via Getty

Crypto’s Bullish Day

By Ken Brown · Aug 13, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Crypto conquered the stock market again with the public debut of crypto exchange Bullish, whose stock soared as much as 220% on its opening day Wednesday after raising $1.1 billion in its IPO. The offering followed a glittering IPO from stablecoin issuer Circle and offerings from a raft of companies that have stuffed themselves with... Crypto conquered the stock market again with the public debut of crypto exchange Bullish, whose...

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. Photo via Getty

Perplexity’s PR Genius

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

For a relatively small player in the artificial intelligence sector, Perplexity AI certainly gets a lot of press. In the past couple of months, reports have suggested Apple and Meta Platforms have both contemplated buying it. At the same time, Perplexity offered to buy TikTok. And today we got news that Perplexity had offered to buy the Chrome... For a relatively small player in the artificial intelligence sector, Perplexity AI certainly gets...

Photo via Getty

The Pluses and Minuses of Trump’s Dealmaking

By Martin Peers · Aug 11, 2025 5:00pm PDT

For tech CEOs, having an investment banker playing the role of president has its advantages. President Donald Trump is displaying a willingness to consider all sorts of deals that might be verboten on national security grounds—as long as the government is getting paid. Not only is he allowing Nvidia to sell its China-specific H20 artificial... For tech CEOs, having an investment banker playing the role of president has its advantages....

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AI Gamble

By Martin Peers · Aug 8, 2025 3:00pm PDT

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo via Getty

Meta’s AI Gamble

By Martin Peers · Aug 8, 2025 3:00pm PDT

How much financial stress can tech companies handle in their efforts to win the artificial intelligence race? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said today on CNBC he thinks the ChatGPT creator should continue “running at a loss” so it can continue to invest in computing capacity to keep advancing its AI models. In one way, he has to take that stance: He’s... How much financial stress can tech companies handle in their efforts to win the artificial...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI.

OpenAI’s Apple-Like Moment

By Martin Peers · Aug 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple’s next iPhone unveiling is a month away, but OpenAI may have just sucked all the new tech product excitement out of the room with today’s GPT-5 unveiling. The livestream, featuring a parade of staffers highlighting the new flagship AI model’s range of impressive capabilities, was eerily reminiscent of an Apple iPhone event—slickly produced... Apple’s next iPhone unveiling is a month away, but OpenAI may have just sucked all the new tech...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo via Getty

Uber Leads Gig Economy Pack

By Martin Peers · Aug 6, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

For just a minute, can we put aside relentless fundraising from artificial intelligence startups? Let’s give some airtime to the gig economy firms of an older generation of startups that are now minting the kind of money these newer firms can only dream about. Yes, we’re talking about the second-quarter numbers out Wednesday from Uber, DoorDash,... For just a minute, can we put aside relentless fundraising from artificial intelligence startups?...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at The Information's Future of Influence event in June. Photo by Erin Beach.

Snap’s Earnings Show a Stalled Business

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

Last Friday, the day after Figma went public with a 250% pop, former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan tweeted that Figma’s success was “a great reminder that letting startups grow into independently successful businesses, rather than be bought by existing giants, can generate enormous value.” Good point. But for every Figma, there’s a... Last Friday, the day after Figma went public with a 250% pop, former Federal Trade Commission...

Photo via Getty

Is Tesla Musk’s AI Company—or is xAI?

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

Photo via Getty

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...

Photo via Getty

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

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

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

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...

Photo via Getty

Musk Giggles as Tesla Tanks

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

Photo via Getty

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...

Image via Getty

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...

Photo via Getty

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...

Photo via Getty

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...

Photo via Getty

As Crypto Bill Passes, Bank Bosses Feel Heat

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

Photo via Getty

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...