Circle Company News & Analysis — The Information

Recent Articles about Circle

Art by Clark Miller.

How Crypto Upended Financial Markets and What Comes Next

By Yueqi Yang · Sep 22, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Crypto stormed into the traditional financial system over the past four months, wedging itself deeper than ever into banking and the stock market. The head-spinning changes created billions in profits for the industry and added more risks for investors and regulators. The changes came so fast that they were hard to keep straight. We’ve rolled... Crypto stormed into the traditional financial system over the past four months, wedging itself...

Art by Clark Miller

$500,000 to Find Love? Silicon Valley Upgrades From Dating Apps

By Jemima McEvoy · Sep 20, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

There’s a big public breakup underway: People are dumping their dating apps. Over the past year, Bumble lost nearly 9% of its paying users, the company reported in its earnings report last month. Match Group, meanwhile, saw about 5% of paying users abandon its flagship apps, including Tinder and Bumble, during the same period. “The companies... There’s a big public breakup underway: People are dumping their dating apps. Over the past year,...

Art by Clark Miller

IPOs Roar Back, Injecting Cash Into Venture Firms

By Katie Roof · Sep 17, 2025 6:21am PDT · 1 comment

September is on track for six venture-backed tech listings, the most since November 2021. The rising number of IPOs means venture funds can start returning more cash to the limited partners that back them, relieving one of the strains that had held back VC fundraising over the last few years. Nearly all of September’s listings are from companies... September is on track for six venture-backed tech listings, the most since November 2021. The...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Is Steve Ballmer Too Rich for the NBA?

By Sara Germano · Sep 13, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Is Steve Ballmer Too Rich for the NBA?

By Sara Germano · Sep 13, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Earlier this week, a handful of the richest people in the world convened at a five-star hotel in midtown Manhattan to discuss typical titans-of-industry fodder: overseas expansion, the future of media, yadda yadda. But there was an elephant in the room: Did a billionaire in their ranks secretly siphon millions of dollars to an NBA star through a... Earlier this week, a handful of the richest people in the world convened at a five-star hotel in...

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...

CEO of Kalshi, Tarek Mansour, left, and CEO of Polymarket, Shayne Coplan. Photos by Getty

Polymarket Fields Offer for $9 Billion Valuation; Kalshi Nears $5 Billion Valuation

By Katie Roof and Yueqi Yang · Sep 12, 2025 10:23am PDT

Startups that enable people to bet on events such as the New York mayoral race, NFL games and the Federal Reserve rate decisions are in talks to raise more money at multi-billion-dollar valuations, as trading volume and rivalry between the two apps intensifies. Polymarket has considered an offer that would value the company as much as $9... Startups that enable people to bet on events such as the New York mayoral race, NFL games and the...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Crypto Exchange Sets Off Price War for Stablecoins

By Yueqi Yang · Sep 10, 2025 5:00am PDT · 1 comment

Just two months after Congress passed a cryptocurrency law that gave a big boost to stablecoins, a price war has broken out, potentially wiping away the lucrative profits these tokens could generate. The battle is taking place among users of Hyperliquid, a fast-growing decentralized crypto exchange. They are considering reducing their use of... Just two months after Congress passed a cryptocurrency law that gave a big boost to stablecoins,...

Art by Clark Miller.

Sequoia Poised for Nearly $3 Billion Gain From Klarna IPO

By Katie Roof · Sep 9, 2025 5:23pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Sequoia Poised for Nearly $3 Billion Gain From Klarna IPO

By Katie Roof · Sep 9, 2025 5:23pm PDT

Klarna’s two-decade journey to a public listing means a lucrative return for its biggest backer—Sequoia Capital. The Silicon Valley firm stands to make about $2.65 billion on paper from its investment in the buy now, pay later lender, which endured boardroom drama and tumbling valuations on its way to a public listing. Sequoia owns 21% of... Klarna’s two-decade journey to a public listing means a lucrative return for its biggest...

Art by Clark Miller; photos from Getty Images

Tesla Hastens the Era of the Trillionaire

By Abram Brown · Sep 6, 2025 7:28am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The tech elite sees GLP-1s as all-purpose wonder drugs• The Arena: Inside the NFL’s feud with venerable ol’ Nielsen• The Top 5: The AI era’s favorite hacker houses• Does a shoeless office stink? Depends on who you ask in Silicon Valley• Plus, our Recommendations: “Bad Elizabeth,” “Dirtbag... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The tech elite sees GLP-1s as all-purpose...

Photo via Getty

Nvidia Buys Coding Startup as AI Deal Blitz Grows

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 2, 2025 4:37pm PDT · 1 comment

We’re in the midst of an M&A boom—for artificial intelligence startups. Among the latest: Nvidia last month bought Solver, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The three-year-old startup formerly known as Laredo Labs has developed an AI coding agent that completes software development tasks for users. The company... We’re in the midst of an M&A boom—for artificial intelligence startups. Among the...

Art by Clark Miller.

Solana Gets Respectable and Sets Its Sights on Wall Street

By Yueqi Yang · Aug 21, 2025 6:00am PDT

Solana, the wild younger sibling of the crypto world, wants to be taken seriously. Best known for memecoins and its connection to crypto exchange FTX, the blockchain is getting close to breaking into mainstream finance. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has turned crypto-friendly under President Donald Trump, is expected to... Solana, the wild younger sibling of the crypto world, wants to be taken seriously. Best known for...

Art by Clark Miller; Trump image via Getty

Tech Needs AI Talent From China and Other Countries. But Researchers Are Caught In a Bind

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Aug 15, 2025 9:04am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Trump image via Getty

Tech Needs AI Talent From China and Other Countries. But Researchers Are Caught In a Bind

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Aug 15, 2025 9:04am PDT · 2 comments

In the fast-paced AI wars, time is precious. So when Google last month said it would pay Windsurf $2.4 billion to license the prominent AI startup’s technology and hire some of its employees, the search giant hurried to add Windsurf’s researchers and engineers to its ranks. Within a day, Google had onboarded most of the Windsurf staff it had... In the fast-paced AI wars, time is precious. So when Google last month said it would pay Windsurf...

Photo by AP.

Dry Powder Is Falling. SPVs May Be a Lifeline.

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 14, 2025 5:44pm PDT

Earlier this week, I published a look at the blitz of fundraising deals for artificial intelligence startups, often triggered by unsolicited term sheets. A few days later, my colleagues Sri, Erin and I reported on Perplexity’s talks to raise more money at a valuation of more than $20 billion, which, if it closes, would be its third fundraising... Earlier this week, I published a look at the blitz of fundraising deals for artificial...

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...