Venture Capital News & Analysis — The Information

Recent Articles about Venture Capital

Art: Mike Sullivan

AI’s Blithe Spending and Crusoe’s Stargate Woes

By Abram Brown · Jun 13, 2026 8:09am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Tech readies itself for a Reta-aissance • Politics and Policy: A Silicon Valley politician’s counter move to the big tech PACs• Biotech: Longevity startups’ holy grail pursuit faces a prosaic roadblock• Plus, Recommendations—our weekly pop culture picks: “Last Resort,” “The Yahoo Boys”... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Tech readies itself for a...

Congressman Sam Liccardo. Art by Clark Miller

Politics and Policy

How One Silicon Valley Congressman is Trying Get AI Mega Money Out of Politics

By Leo Schwartz · Jun 13, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In early April, a staffer for Sam Liccardo, a freshman congressman representing the heart of Silicon Valley, got a call from a reporter telling them he was about to receive an endorsement—from Leading the Future, the $125 million political action committee funded by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Palantir... In early April, a staffer for Sam Liccardo, a freshman congressman representing the heart of...

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth. Art by Shane Burke/Getty Images/Shutterstock

Tokenminimizing: Meta Moves to Curb Employee AI Usage as AI Costs Reach Billions

By Jyoti Mann · Jun 12, 2026 11:57am PDT

Meta Platforms plans to clamp down on skyrocketing AI costs inside the company by imposing limits on employees’ token usage, the company told staff in a memo on Tuesday, just weeks after it pushed them to adopt AI tools in their work. The company is building an internal platform to track employee AI usage and spending in real time, set budgets... Meta Platforms plans to clamp down on skyrocketing AI costs inside the company by imposing limits...

Getty Images/Adobe.

Meta Bought Rivos to Accelerate Its AI Chip Push. It Isn’t Working.

By Jyoti Mann and Qianer Liu · Jun 12, 2026 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Getty Images/Adobe.

Meta Bought Rivos to Accelerate Its AI Chip Push. It Isn’t Working.

By Jyoti Mann and Qianer Liu · Jun 12, 2026 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Meta Platforms bought semiconductor startup Rivos last year to accelerate development of in-house chips and reduce its reliance on Nvidia as it pours cash into data centers for its AI ambitions. Now six months since the acquisition closed, Meta is struggling to make it work, beset by problems that illustrate the social media giant’s bigger... Meta Platforms bought semiconductor startup Rivos last year to accelerate development of in-house...

Photo of Dario Amodei by Getty Images; art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Blindsides Its Business Partners

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2026 2:23pm PDT · 7 comments

Weeks before Anthropic in April revealed Claude Design, an AI tool for creating designs and software application prototypes, it asked firms including Figma and Canva to be “partners” of the launch announcement showcasing the tool’s capabilities. These two design firms, longtime Anthropic customers, saw the launch as an opportunity to show how... Weeks before Anthropic in April revealed Claude Design, an AI tool for creating designs and...

Art by Clark Miller.

AI Race Upends Big Tech Balance Sheets

By The Information Staff · Jun 11, 2026 1:18pm PDT

For years, the biggest tech companies occupied an unusual place in corporate America. They grew quickly and still generated so much cash that they could spend aggressively, buy back huge amounts of stock and even start paying dividends. That model helped make Big Tech look almost uniquely powerful: part growth company, part cash machine. A Deep... For years, the biggest tech companies occupied an unusual place in corporate America. They grew...

Art via Mike Sullivan/Getty Images

Why Microsoft and Other Anthropic Customers Held Off On Using Claude Fable

By Aaron Holmes and Catherine Perloff · Jun 11, 2026 7:25am PDT

Anthropic’s latest AI is so good at coding tasks that many firms are willing to pay top dollar to use it even as Anthropic effectively raises prices. But some customers are holding off over cybersecurity concerns.In releasing its latest model, Claude Fable, Anthropic started a new policy of holding onto any data that customers feed into the... Anthropic’s latest AI is so good at coding tasks that many firms are willing to pay top dollar to...

Dario Amodei. Photo via Getty Images

Anthropic’s New Model Targets Power Users But Cuts Off AI Rivals

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2026 7:00am PDT

Dario Amodei. Photo via Getty Images

Anthropic’s New Model Targets Power Users But Cuts Off AI Rivals

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2026 7:00am PDT

App developers finally got their first real look at Anthropic’s Mythos Tuesday when Anthropic released a somewhat neutered version of the model, Claude Fable 5, following weeks of breathless chatter about it.Developers who tried the new model said the AI largely deserved the hype. They said it thoroughly outperformed earlier Anthropic models in... App developers finally got their first real look at Anthropic’s Mythos Tuesday when Anthropic...

Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/Getty

GM Doubles Down on Next-Gen Batteries in a Move on AI Data Centers

By Steve LeVine · Jun 9, 2026 2:00pm PDT

For a year, General Motors has been talking up plans to commercialize a next-generation manganese-based battery that would help it bypass China’s dominance of the electric vehicle and battery industries. For a year, General Motors has been talking up plans to commercialize a next-generation...

Anthropic, OpenAI Stoke Brisk Pace of VC Fundraising

By Julia Hornstein · Jun 9, 2026 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Founders Fund earlier this year set out to raise its latest fund, a $6 billion vehicle to back mature startups like Anduril, it was the first time in the firm’s two-decade history it had asked its limited partners for more cash within two years of its prior fundraise. The reason: It had already blown through the $4.6 billion fund it raised... When Founders Fund earlier this year set out to raise its latest fund, a $6 billion vehicle to...

Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Databricks. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Databricks in Talks for Valuation of at Least $165 Billion

By Katie Roof and Cory Weinberg · Jun 8, 2026 5:27pm PDT

Databricks, a provider of database management software, has discussed raising more money in a funding round that could kick off within the next month, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations. Databricks has indicated to investors the new round could lift its valuation to between $165 billion and $175 billion. That... Databricks, a provider of database management software, has discussed raising more money in a...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Sounds Alarm on Recursive Self-Improvement

By Rocket Drew · Jun 8, 2026 7:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Sounds Alarm on Recursive Self-Improvement

By Rocket Drew · Jun 8, 2026 7:00am PDT

Last week, Anthropic boasted that Claude is now writing 80% of Anthropic’s code, which the company presented as a harbinger of a critical leap in artificial intelligence called recursive self-improvement. That’s when models are so capable that they can create the next generation of AI without human involvement. Excitement about recursive... Last week, Anthropic boasted that Claude is now writing 80% of Anthropic’s code, which the...

SpaceX Millionaires Mull IPO Windfall: A Mansion, a College Fund—or ‘Chill on the Beach’?

By Eli Rosenberg · Jun 6, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

SpaceX’s expected IPO next week will mean a banner day for many of Silicon Valley’s biggest names. But given the offering’s stratospheric size—it’s the largest ever stock market debut—it will also create life-altering wealth for a cast of lower-profile overnight billionaires, centimillionaires and millionaires. In some cases, those... SpaceX’s expected IPO next week will mean a banner day for many of Silicon Valley’s biggest...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

SpaceX Mafia Eagerly Track Mega IPO, Hoping for Industrywide Liftoff

By Theo Wayt · Jun 6, 2026 6:00am PDT

SpaceX’s offices in Texas and California may host the most raucous celebrations when the company’s shares start trading this coming Friday—but an extensive network of companies founded by SpaceX alums will also be popping bottles of bubbly. SpaceX’s offices in Texas and California may host the most raucous celebrations when the company’...

Benchmark partners Eric Vishria, left, and Peter Fenton. Screenshot via YouTube

Benchmark Joins the Late-Stage Crowd

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 4, 2026 4:48pm PDT · 1 comment

For most of this decade, venture capital has morphed from a game of spotting the best young startups to making a more complex range of investments—from public stocks and cryptocurrencies to multibillion-dollar bets on older startups. General Catalyst even bought a hospital system!But industry stalwart Benchmark had held fast to a definition of... For most of this decade, venture capital has morphed from a game of spotting the best young...

Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI. Photo by Marc Fong

Billionaire Databricks and Perplexity Co-Founder Pitches AI Researchers to Not Work for Big Tech

By Laura Bratton · Jun 4, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI. Photo by Marc Fong

Billionaire Databricks and Perplexity Co-Founder Pitches AI Researchers to Not Work for Big Tech

By Laura Bratton · Jun 4, 2026 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

The billionaire co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI, Andy Konwinski, is singularly focused on plugging the years-long drain of talent from academia to Big Tech.He wants to encourage academics to focus on publishing more openly available research, a reaction to the move by frontier AI companies to reduce the amount of AI research they... The billionaire co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI, Andy Konwinski, is singularly focused...

Art by Clark Miller.

Tech’s 2026 Halftime Report: From AI Hype to Hard Limits

By The Information Staff · Jun 4, 2026 6:22am PDT

The first half of 2026 has been a reality check for the tech industry. After two years defined by the rush to build, fund and deploy generative AI, the biggest questions are moving beyond model rankings and chip counts. The year’s defining stories are increasingly about what happens when huge ambitions collide with harder limits on cost,... The first half of 2026 has been a reality check for the tech industry. After two years defined by...

Helion’s 7th generation fusion generator, Polaris. Photo courtesy of Helion Energy

Fusion Startup Helion Nearly Triples Valuation to $15.5 Billion in Thrive-led Round

By Nick Wingfield · Jun 4, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Helion Energy, a nuclear fusion startup backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, still has to prove it can produce electricity to serve data centers and other customers. But investors seem confident it can deliver. The Everett, Wash.–based company said it has raised $465 million in a funding round led by Thrive Capital, the investment firm founded... Helion Energy, a nuclear fusion startup backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, still has to prove it can...