Startups

The Information team’s approach to covering up-and-coming companies focuses on previously unreported news of funding, plus the impact on the surrounding tech and finance ecosystems. Our newsroom produces The Information 50, an annual list of promising startups.

Recent Articles about Startups
Fidji Simo, CEO of Applications at OpenAI. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Message Shane Burke
The Briefing

OpenAI, Musk and Focus

By Martin Peers · Mar 17, 2026 5:00pm PDT
OpenAI has decided the “everything everywhere all at once” strategy isn’t ideal, after all. As we and others reported on Monday night, senior OpenAI executive Fidji Simo told staffers last week that the company needed to “refocus on business customers and cut down on side quests that were becoming a distraction.” (Is that the understatement of... OpenAI has decided the “everything everywhere all at once” strategy isn’t ideal, after all. As we...
A photo of the Getty Villa, where the Montgomery Summit held its opening event. Photo courtesy of March Capital.
Dealmaker

The AI Worries Keeping Investors Up at Night

By Julia Hornstein · Mar 17, 2026 3:45pm PDT
It’s no surprise that if you bring hundreds of venture capitalists and limited partners together in 2026, most will have bought into AI—literally. So it was interesting to hear what investors gathered in Santa Monica, Calif., last week for March Capital’s annual The Montgomery Summit thought were the AI boom’s weak links. Take Matt... It’s no surprise that if you bring hundreds of venture capitalists and limited partners together...
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, speaks during a keynote address at the Nvidia GTC. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images
AI Agenda

Nvidia Needed Groq After All

By Wayne Ma and Anissa Gardizy · Mar 17, 2026 7:00am PDT
Greetings from the San Jose Convention Center, where Nvidia is throwing its annual AI conference. The AI craze is palpable here. Humanoid robots offer fist-bumps to conferencegoers, and attendees are buying sweaters with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s face on them. Nebius, a cloud provider that rents out Nvidia graphics processing units, took... Greetings from the San Jose Convention Center, where Nvidia is throwing its annual AI conference....
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
What Meta’s Nebius Deal Signals
By Martin Peers · Mar 16, 2026 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
The Briefing

What Meta’s Nebius Deal Signals

By Martin Peers · Mar 16, 2026 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments
If you’ve got a ticket on the AI gravy train, times are good. That could be because you’re a supplier to Nvidia—and therefore enjoying booming business, as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pointed out in his speech on Monday at the company’s GTC convention. Or it could be because you’re a small data center operator picking up business from a big tech... If you’ve got a ticket on the AI gravy train, times are good. That could be because you’re a...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Reporter's Notebook

War Doesn’t Belong to U.S. Weapons Startups Yet

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 16, 2026 10:10am PDT
War focuses attention on the present. That was very clear from a week’s worth of conversations in Washington with leaders at defense tech startups, traditional military contractors and people close to the Pentagon. Until the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, buzz was building around startups such as Anduril and Saronic that promised to deliver... War focuses attention on the present. That was very clear from a week’s worth of conversations in...
Image via Shutterstock
AI Infrastructure

5 Ingenious Hacks That Are Boosting AI Data Centers

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Mar 16, 2026 8:00am PDT
The frantic rush to power and stand up AI data centers has spurred a range of speed hacks—from building AI tent cities, to firing up jet engines, to taking over abandoned industrial sites. What’s most surprising is all of the different ways the biggest AI data centers have improvised and scrounged to meet the staggering electricity demands of... The frantic rush to power and stand up AI data centers has spurred a range of speed hacks—from...
Elon Musk, left, and Sam Altman. Photos by Getty Images.
AI Agenda

What OpenAI Could Owe Elon Musk; An xAI Hiring Spree

By Rocket Drew · Mar 16, 2026 7:15am PDT
Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the judge hearing Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, has shown herself in other high profile tech cases—such as Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple—to be unafraid to skewer arguments or testimony from witnesses in her courtroom.That was clear on Friday, in a hearing in the OpenAI case to determine whether an economist Musk... Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the judge hearing Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, has shown herself...
OpenAI's Sachin Katti presenting at Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona. Photo courtesy of Intel.
OpenAI Names New Infrastructure Leaders Following Stargate Strategy Shift
By Anissa Gardizy · Mar 16, 2026 6:00am PDT
OpenAI's Sachin Katti presenting at Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona. Photo courtesy of Intel.
Org Charts

OpenAI Names New Infrastructure Leaders Following Stargate Strategy Shift

By Anissa Gardizy · Mar 16, 2026 6:00am PDT
OpenAI has appointed new leaders to oversee its Stargate computing initiative after deciding to rent more AI servers from major cloud providers rather than build its own data centers, according to two people familiar with the changes. As part of its reorganization, OpenAI has divided its computing effort into three groups: technical design of... OpenAI has appointed new leaders to oversee its Stargate computing initiative after deciding to...
SES AI CEO Qichao Hu has pivoted from batterymaking to scientific discovery with a database he calls Molecular Universe. Photo: Courtesy SES AI.
The Electric

The Electric: The U.S. Is Good at Finding New Molecules. But Can it Turn Them Into Products?

By Steve LeVine · Mar 16, 2026 4:30am PDT
In manufacturing, some factories use so few humans that operators can turn out the lights and save money on electricity. In the pharmaceutical industry, too, AI has discovered new drugs with almost no human involvement after the prompt. In manufacturing, some factories use so few humans that operators can turn out the lights and...
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images.
The Briefing

What to Expect From GTC: Nvidia’s Groq Chip

By Qianer Liu and Anissa Gardizy · Mar 15, 2026 3:00pm PDT
It’s party time in San Jose, Calif.! Nvidia on Monday kicks off its annual GTC developer conference in the city, the biggest event on the chip giant’s calendar—which, given the number of public events featuring its CEO, Jensen Huang, is saying something. Huang is scheduled to deliver his keynote tomorrow morning, and it is sure to be a... It’s party time in San Jose, Calif.! Nvidia on Monday kicks off its annual GTC developer...
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Art by Mike Sullivan
Exclusive

ByteDance Suspends Launch of Video AI Model After Copyright Disputes With Hollywood

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Mar 14, 2026 9:00am PDT
ByteDance has put on hold the global launch of its latest video-generation model, Seedance 2.0, due to a string of copyright disputes with major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. The TikTok parent released Seedance 2.0 to consumers and businesses in China last month, and... ByteDance has put on hold the global launch of its latest video-generation model, Seedance 2.0,...
Illustraiton: Clark Miller (Photo: Getty Images)
Patrick Collison’s Palace Intrigue Complaint
By Abram Brown · Mar 14, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments
Illustraiton: Clark Miller (Photo: Getty Images)
The Weekend

Patrick Collison’s Palace Intrigue Complaint

By Abram Brown · Mar 14, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments
Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Kings League, a fast-growing, internet-savvy soccer startup, takes a lean approach to pro sports• Tech Culture: Can protein-obsessed techies help save Sweetgreen? • Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “Real Vikings,” “Kutchinsky’s Egg” and “Sirat”Patrick Collison, one... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Kings League, a fast-growing,...
Illustration: Clark Miller (Photo: Getty Images)
Tech Culture

Can Protein-Obsessed Techies Help Save Sweetgreen?

By Jemima McEvoy · Mar 14, 2026 6:56am PDT
For a little salvation, Sweetgreen co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman has lately been looking beyond the piles of chopped romaine lettuce and maple-glazed squash that originally won his company a devoted following with the suit-and-salad lunch set in Washington, New York and Los Angeles. The high-earning young people who used to frequent... For a little salvation, Sweetgreen co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman has lately been looking...
Getty Images
Exclusive

Ex-Anthropic Researchers Are Raising Capital For New Startup at $1 Billion Valuation

By Julia Hornstein, Anissa Gardizy and Sri Muppidi · Mar 13, 2026 12:54pm PDT · 1 comment
Former Anthropic researchers are in talks to raise $175 million at a $1 billion valuation for a new startup that aims to conduct AI-driven research and development for scientific fields such as biology and materials science, according to people who have spoken to them. Andreesseen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins are in talks to co-lead the round,... Former Anthropic researchers are in talks to raise $175 million at a $1 billion valuation for a...