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Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI. Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images

Microsoft to Release New Coding Model Next Week in Comeback Attempt

By Aaron Holmes · May 28, 2026 7:00am PDT

Microsoft next week will unveil a suite of new homegrown AI models at its annual Build conference for app developers in San Francisco. The question is whether it can win over these people.The company plans to unveil a coding model to boost the competitiveness of Microsoft-owned GitHub Copilot, a coding assistant whose early lead in the AI coding... Microsoft next week will unveil a suite of new homegrown AI models at its annual Build conference...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple to Renew Push for AI That Runs on Devices, Instead of the Cloud

By Aaron Tilley · May 28, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

At Apple’s annual developer conference next month, the star of the show will be a series of long-delayed artificial intelligence upgrades to the iPhone. But the company is also expected to emphasize what could be an underrated asset in its efforts to catch up in AI: Its ability to run AI models on the billions of Apple devices in circulation. ... At Apple’s annual developer conference next month, the star of the show will be a series of...

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy

Snowflake Shows Some Immunity to the SaaSpocalypse

By Kevin McLaughlin and Laura Bratton · May 27, 2026 5:36pm PDT

Shares of traditional software providers have been battered this year over AI fears. Investors’ reaction to Snowflake’s and Salesforce’s quarterly results Wednesday suggests some providers are in better shape than others.Snowflake shares jumped more than 35% to their highest point since December after the database provider said its most-watched... Shares of traditional software providers have been battered this year over AI fears. Investors’...

Venture capitalist Ethan Choi.

Khosla Partner Ethan Choi Raising $500 Million Fund

By Katie Roof · May 27, 2026 3:29pm PDT

Venture capitalist Ethan Choi.

Khosla Partner Ethan Choi Raising $500 Million Fund

By Katie Roof · May 27, 2026 3:29pm PDT

Khosla Ventures partner Ethan Choi, who focused on investing in mature startups such as Vercel, has left the early-stage firm and is launching a new venture firm. The firm, called Atomus, is in the process of raising a new venture fund of at least $500 million, according to a person familiar with Choi’s plans. About half of the fund has already... Khosla Ventures partner Ethan Choi, who focused on investing in mature startups such as Vercel,...

Naomi Gleit, Meta’s head of product. Henrique Casinhas/Getty Images.

Internal Memo Reveals Meta’s Plan to Kickstart Its Enterprise AI Business

By Jyoti Mann · May 27, 2026 3:09pm PDT · 2 comments

Meta Platforms plans to place engineers and product managers inside large corporate customers as part of a new unit at the social-media giant to push businesses to use its AI tools and services. In an internal memo, senior executive Naomi Gleit said the new organization, called Enterprise Solutions, will be made up of product managers who... Meta Platforms plans to place engineers and product managers inside large corporate...

Art via Getty Images

The Hot New Way to Communicate with AI? Whispering

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 27, 2026 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

If you wander into the Manhattan office of AI startup Basis on a workday, you’ll see most of its 100 or so staffers whispering quietly into gooseneck microphones at their desks. They aren’t taking phone calls or talking with other humans at all. They’re speaking softly to their AI agents and chatbots. Such whispering has become a... If you wander into the Manhattan office of AI startup Basis on a workday, you’ll see most of its...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo by Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images

Anthropic Is Likely Generating at Least 35% More Revenue Than OpenAI

By Amir Efrati and Sri Muppidi · May 26, 2026 6:04pm PDT · 3 comments

On New Year’s Day, OpenAI leaders would have been happy to hear that the company’s monthly revenue would rise more than 50% over the first five months of 2026, roughly in line with the projections it previously shared with investors. But they’re not likely to feel that way now: That pace looks downright tame compared to that of Anthropic, whose... On New Year’s Day, OpenAI leaders would have been happy to hear that the company’s monthly...

Art by Clark Miller.

Boom Times for Inference Providers?

By Laura Mandaro and Stephanie Palazzolo · May 26, 2026 5:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Boom Times for Inference Providers?

By Laura Mandaro and Stephanie Palazzolo · May 26, 2026 5:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Less than a year ago, our reporters kept hearing doubts about a group of startups called inference providers. Companies like Fireworks, Baseten and Together AI, which rent out Nvidia servers to app developers and help them customize open-source models, had grown quickly but seemed at risk of getting steamrolled by major cloud providers that... Less than a year ago, our reporters kept hearing doubts about a group of startups called...

Tuhin Srivastava, CEO of Baseten. Photo via Getty Images

AI Inference Provider Baseten in Talks to Raise $1 Billion at $11 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Katie Roof · May 26, 2026 3:09pm PDT

AI startup Baseten has recently been in talks with investors to raise $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation including the money, according to a person with knowledge of the fundraise. That would more than double the company’s $5 billion valuation from its last round, which was announced just three months ago. The fundraising comes on the back... AI startup Baseten has recently been in talks with investors to raise $1 billion at an $11...

Uber CEO Andrew Macdonald. Photo by Zed Jameson/ Getty Images

Uber COO Says AI Lacks ROI

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 26, 2026 1:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Many corporate leaders say they’re getting value from AI as their spending on it skyrockets, but hype is outpacing reality in plenty of cases.On a podcast over the weekend, for instance, Uber Chief Operating Officer Andrew Macdonald said the ride-hailing company isn’t seeing a clear increase in productivity from using AI coding services despite... Many corporate leaders say they’re getting value from AI as their spending on it skyrockets, but...

Photo via Getty Images

OpenAI’s PR Challenge

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 26, 2026 7:01am PDT

The battle between OpenAI, Anthropic and Google spans revenue, models, server access and research talent. But as OpenAI and Anthropic barrel toward initial public offerings, public perception is also an important factor in the race as political backlash to the industry grows.OpenAI seems particularly vulnerable in PR after a series of awkward or... The battle between OpenAI, Anthropic and Google spans revenue, models, server access and research...

As SpaceX and OpenAI Prepare for Public Debuts, What Recent IPO History Signals

By Julia Hornstein · May 24, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Sunday Insights

As SpaceX and OpenAI Prepare for Public Debuts, What Recent IPO History Signals

By Julia Hornstein · May 24, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Smart-ring maker Oura and crypto company Blockchain.com said last week they had filed paperwork to go public, adding to a growing number of companies, including OpenAI, that are making moves to list in the wake of SpaceX’s upcoming mega initial public offering. If recent history is any guide, the startups closely tied to AI will do well. For the... Smart-ring maker Oura and crypto company Blockchain.com said last week they had filed paperwork...

A Complicated Comeback for Stanford’s Ex-President

A Complicated Comeback for Stanford’s Ex-President

By Amy Dockser Marcus · May 23, 2026 8:01am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The tech elite’s go-to real estate broker? The mayor’s brother • Crypto: Inside crypto’s Washington command center • Lists: 20 great books for summer 2026 • Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “John Kiriakou’s Dead Drop,” “Returning”... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: The tech elite’s go-to real estate...

Art by Clark Miller; covers courtesy of publishers.

20 Great Books for Summer 2026

By Abram Brown · May 23, 2026 7:01am PDT

It may feel like AI has seeped deep into our lives, but compared to the world within “Certainty,” a new dystopian novel by best-selling author John Twelve Hawks, we’re practically in the Flintstones era. In Twelve Hawks’ realm, self-driving tractor-trailers dominate the highways. Parents delegate child-rearing to AI-powered stuffed... It may feel like AI has seeped deep into our lives, but compared to the world within “Certainty,”...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Opens a New Front in the Fight Over Data for AI Agents

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 22, 2026 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Microsoft has opened a new front in the AI data wars, blocking partners from connecting their data management tools to a popular product as it tries to defend its business software strength in the era of AI agents. The friction centers on Power BI, a Microsoft product nearly all Fortune 500 firms use to analyze data about their operations in... Microsoft has opened a new front in the AI data wars, blocking partners from connecting their...

SpaceX's new Starship V3 rocket docked on May 21 in South Padre Island, Texas. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty.

Why SpaceX is Worth $700 Billion, Not $1.75 Trillion

By Martin Peers · May 21, 2026 5:01pm PDT · 9 comments

SpaceX's new Starship V3 rocket docked on May 21 in South Padre Island, Texas. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty.

Why SpaceX is Worth $700 Billion, Not $1.75 Trillion

By Martin Peers · May 21, 2026 5:01pm PDT · 9 comments

If SpaceX pulls off what is widely described in the news media as the “largest IPO in history” next month, it will be a testament to Elon Musk’s skills as a salesman. The company’s newly public IPO prospectus makes it plain that SpaceX is largely a telecom firm with a rocket launch business on the side, with future growth coming from a cloud... If SpaceX pulls off what is widely described in the news media as the “largest IPO in history”...