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Judgment Labs cofounders (from left to right): Chief Scientist Andrew Li, CEO Alex Shan and CTO Joseph Camyre. Photo courtesy of Judgment Labs.

Why Lightspeed Backed This Agent Evaluation Startup’s Back-to-Back Rounds

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 12, 2026 7:00am PDT

Alex Shan may not have been old enough to legally buy alcohol in 2023, but he was still old enough to start his own company and join the AI boom.Shan was 20 when he was first introduced to James Alcorn, an investment partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, through a fellow Stanford University classmate. Shan, who started college at 16, had... Alex Shan may not have been old enough to legally buy alcohol in 2023, but he was still old...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI to Save $97 Billion Through 2030 in Latest Microsoft Deal

By Sri Muppidi and Aaron Holmes · May 11, 2026 6:09pm PDT · 2 comments

OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has plenty of things to worry about. But paying OpenAI’s early backer Microsoft as much as $135 billion through 2030 as part of a revenue-sharing deal is no longer one of them. OpenAI’s initial agreement to pay 20% of its revenue to Microsoft could have amounted to that much if the ChatGPT maker ended... OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has plenty of things to worry about. But paying OpenAI...

A CATL battery swapping station in Ningde, China. Photo: Steve LeVine

The Electric: China's Biggest Battery Maker Is Quickly Expanding Its Rental Business

By Steve LeVine · May 11, 2026 9:00am PDT

As they attempt to lower the cost of their electric vehicles, major Western automakers have mostly struggled with a single component: the battery, which can be up to 40% of an EV’s cost. As they attempt to lower the cost of their electric vehicles, major Western automakers have ...

Employees at Xylem, a water testing and monitoring provider. Photo: Xylem.

Water Use Isn’t a Data Center Problem, It’s an AI Problem

By Ann Davis Vaughan · May 11, 2026 8:00am PDT

Employees at Xylem, a water testing and monitoring provider. Photo: Xylem.

AI Infrastructure

Water Use Isn’t a Data Center Problem, It’s an AI Problem

By Ann Davis Vaughan · May 11, 2026 8:00am PDT

Critics of the AI build-out are picking the wrong fight when they attack data centers for their water use. But they are right when they say the digital economy is getting thirstier and the tech industry should answer for it.The whole AI supply chain is water intensive, and reducing use in one place can increase it elsewhere. New research shows... Critics of the AI build-out are picking the wrong fight when they attack data centers for their...

Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras Systems. Art by Clark Miller; YouTube.

Cerebras IPO Will Test Investor Appetite for AI Chip Startups

By Martin Peers · May 10, 2026 3:00pm PDT

How many AI chip designers can the public market support? We’ll get a sense of that on Thursday when Cerebras Systems, the biggest of a new generation of chip designers dedicated to AI, is expected to go public at a valuation of $35 billion. If it follows the pattern of other AI-related IPOs, such as cloud firm CoreWeave, Cerebras will be a big... How many AI chip designers can the public market support? We’ll get a sense of that on Thursday...

DeepSeek To Raise More than $7 Billion as Startup Plots Revenue Efforts

By The Information Staff · May 8, 2026 4:40am PDT

Liang Wenfeng, billionaire founder and CEO of DeepSeek, is planning to write the biggest check for the startup’s first-ever funding round, which the company now hopes will raise up to 50 billion yuan ($7.35 billion), according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks. That would make it the biggest funding round by a Chinese AI company... Liang Wenfeng, billionaire founder and CEO of DeepSeek, is planning to write the biggest check...

Coreweave CEO Michael Intrator. Getty Images.

CoreWeave’s Balancing Act

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2026 5:00pm PDT

If you’re getting dizzy watching CoreWeave’s balancing act, you’re not alone. The AI cloud startup reported first-quarter numbers Thursday evening showing that its business is ramping up quickly—revenue doubled in the quarter to $2 billion compared to the year-earlier period—but its investment spending and operating expenses are also taking off.... If you’re getting dizzy watching CoreWeave’s balancing act, you’re not alone. The AI cloud...

From left, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella via Getty. Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI’s AI Chip Deal With Broadcom Hits $18 Billion Financing Snag

By Anissa Gardizy · May 7, 2026 11:09am PDT

From left, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella via Getty. Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI’s AI Chip Deal With Broadcom Hits $18 Billion Financing Snag

By Anissa Gardizy · May 7, 2026 11:09am PDT

When OpenAI and chip designer Broadcom announced last fall that they would make custom artificial intelligence chips together, they positioned it as a done deal. The companies said the deal would bring enough chips online before 2030 to consume 10 gigawatts of power, equivalent to five Hoover Dams’ worth of electricity, in a bid to lessen OpenAI... When OpenAI and chip designer Broadcom announced last fall that they would make custom artificial...

Binance's Yi He, left, and Richard Teng. Photos by Getty Images

Treasury Department Demands Binance Compliance After Iran Crypto Reports

By Leo Schwartz · May 7, 2026 9:05am PDT

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has privately demanded that Binance comply with a monitoring program U.S. regulators imposed on the crypto exchange in 2023, when it pleaded guilty to charges related to sanctions and anti–money-laundering violations, The Information has learned. The Treasury Department’s request—which it sent to... The U.S. Department of the Treasury has privately demanded that Binance comply with a monitoring...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Why Musk is Giving xAI’s Servers to Anthropic; AI Video-App Developer Reka Acquires Video-Generating Startup

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Anissa Gardizy · May 7, 2026 7:00am PDT

OpenAI and Anthropic’s servers are generally bursting at the seams, while xAI’s mountain of servers aren’t as busy, as we and others recently reported. That’s burning a multibillion-dollar hole in the pocket of new xAI owner SpaceX, which is trying to go public soon and is sure to receive tremendous scrutiny over its AI-related losses.So after... OpenAI and Anthropic’s servers are generally bursting at the seams, while xAI’s mountain of...

Shivon Zilis, former board member of OpenAI Inc., center, exits the federal court in Oakland, California, on May 6, 2026. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Artificial Intelligence

How Elon Musk’s Team Is Struggling to Prove His Case in Court

By Rocket Drew · May 7, 2026 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Elon Musk’s lawyers are close to resting their case against OpenAI, but his path to winning a blockbuster legal victory looks steeper than when the trial began, according to lawyers following the case. The Musk team is expected to wrap up its presentation by Monday, after nearly two weeks trying to prove his claim that OpenAI’s other co-founders... Elon Musk’s lawyers are close to resting their case against OpenAI, but his path to winning a...

Art by Mike Sullivan; Shutterstock

Rising AI Costs Are Becoming a Problem For Even Investors

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 6, 2026 7:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan; Shutterstock

Rising AI Costs Are Becoming a Problem For Even Investors

By Stephanie Palazzolo · May 6, 2026 7:00am PDT

In recent months, a lot of discussion has centered around the rising costs of AI, with even large, sophisticated public companies like Uber blowing through their 2026 AI budgets in a matter of months.Even venture capitalists are feeling the pain. One partner at a large fund told me that they previously gave five of their staffers enterprise ... In recent months, a lot of discussion has centered around the rising costs of AI, with even...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Meta Is Building an AI Agent Called ‘Hatch’ and an AI Shopping Tool in Instagram

By Jyoti Mann · May 5, 2026 3:33pm PDT

Meta Platforms is building a consumer version of the AI agent OpenClaw and a new agentic shopping tool, people familiar with the efforts said, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushes for products to deliver returns on the company’s huge artificial intelligence investments. Meta is training the OpenClaw-inspired agent, internally called “Hatch,” with the... Meta Platforms is building a consumer version of the AI agent OpenClaw and a new agentic shopping...

CEO of Palantir Technologies Alex Karp speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 20, 2026 Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images

Palantir’s AI Boom; Ryan Cohen’s Chutzpah

By Martin Peers · May 4, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Is Palantir soaking up all the growth in the enterprise software sector? That seems like a reasonable question judging by the company’s first-quarter results released on Monday, which showed 85% revenue growth. That’s an astounding growth rate for a business that’s 23 years old. Even better, Palantir turns a lot of that revenue into pure cash.... Is Palantir soaking up all the growth in the enterprise software sector? That seems like a...