Venture Capital News & Analysis — The Information

Recent Articles about Venture Capital

Jeff Bezos today at Italian Tech Week 2025. Photo via Getty

Bezos Calls the AI Bubble

By Martin Peers · Oct 3, 2025 3:09pm PDT · 4 comments

Jeff Bezos made news today, putting his imprimatur on the idea that we’re in an AI bubble, although I think the fact that he’s now sporting a light beard was just as interesting. But that’s just me. Bezos’ declaration—at an Italian tech conference—shows that the idea of a bubble is no longer much of a debate. In fact, it’s pretty much... Jeff Bezos made news today, putting his imprimatur on the idea that we’re in an AI bubble,...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images, YouTube.

Can Reed Jobs Be More Than the Son of Steve?

By Jemima McEvoy · Oct 3, 2025 6:06am PDT · 1 comment

Last month, Reed Jobs was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and representatives from America’s top hospitals, universities and medical organizations. He came to deliver an impassioned plea: Save the National Institutes of Health, which faces a push by President Donald Trump to slash its budget 40%. As a keynote speaker at the... Last month, Reed Jobs was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and representatives from America...

Paige and Leura Craig. Photo courtesy of Outlander VC.

How an Early Scale AI Investor Picks Founders

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 2, 2025 1:52pm PDT

How do early-stage venture capitalists pick which unproven founders to back? Most don’t overcomplicate things. Backing a Stanford University computer science grad or an early OpenAI employee often seems like a good bet. Some VCs even use AI to score early startups based on their technical expertise or past successes.Paige and Leura Craig, the... How do early-stage venture capitalists pick which unproven founders to back? Most don’t...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

XAI Broke Its Safety Policy With Coding Model

By Rocket Drew · Oct 2, 2025 7:00am PDT

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

XAI Broke Its Safety Policy With Coding Model

By Rocket Drew · Oct 2, 2025 7:00am PDT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 53 on Monday, a law that will require the largest AI companies to abide by their own safety and cybersecurity policies. One company that should take heed of the new law is Elon Musk's xAI.The ink had barely dried on xAI’s safety policy, which it published in August, when the company released its model Grok... California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 53 on Monday, a law that will require the largest AI...

Art by Clark Miller.

Beyond the Ban: The Complex Questions Raised by TikTok’s New Deal

By The Information Staff · Oct 2, 2025 6:39am PDT

Following the President’s recent executive order, a path has been created for TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. However, the proposed deal is proving to be a highly complex and controversial arrangement, raising new questions about the company’s future. We turned to our Deep Research AI to get insights. Following the President’s recent executive order, a path has been created for TikTok to continue...

Snyk CEO Peter McKay. Screenshot via YouTube

Cybersecurity Startup Snyk Considers Buyout Interest as IPO Plans Stall

By Valida Pau, Cory Weinberg, Katie Roof and Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 1, 2025 10:36am PDT · 3 comments

Snyk, a startup that sells security tools for developers, seemed like a shoo-in for a lucrative initial public offering a few years ago. Sales were doubling or tripling every year, reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually, as exploding corporate use of open-source software code created vulnerabilities that businesses needed to... Snyk, a startup that sells security tools for developers, seemed like a shoo-in for a lucrative...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Fermi America IPO Is a Leap of Faith on Debt, Data Centers—and Trump

By Miles Kruppa · Oct 1, 2025 7:52am PDT · 2 comments

Fermi America has a grand plan: Assemble the largest data center complex ever, an Amarillo, Texas, facility that will suck up enough energy to power 8 million homes. Still, newly public Fermi is essentially asking investors to take a Texas-size leap of faith on a months-old business that could become the next topsy-turvy meme stock. Adding to... Fermi America has a grand plan: Assemble the largest data center complex ever, an Amarillo,...

Photo by Craig Warga

Will Reinforcement Learning Get Us to AGI? This Anthropic Researcher Thinks So

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 1, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Craig Warga

Will Reinforcement Learning Get Us to AGI? This Anthropic Researcher Thinks So

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 1, 2025 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Thanks to everyone who attended our AI Agenda Live event in New York yesterday! It was incredible to get to meet so many subscribers in person and hear from leaders in AI research, robotics and VC about what they’re seeing in this crazy industry right now. (For a full recap of the event, check out my colleagues’ write-up here.)My last panel with... Thanks to everyone who attended our AI Agenda Live event in New York yesterday! It was incredible...

Shohei Ohtani. Photo via Getty.

Slop-Proof Investing Strategies

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 30, 2025 5:18pm PDT

The biggest stars of MLB, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, are taking the field on day one of the playoffs this evening. The league’s attendance and TV ratings are up. America’s pastime, often left for dead, has proven to be good business for its players and owners.I mention this not just because... The biggest stars of MLB, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New...

Photos by Craig Warga

Business Adoption of AI Will Take Years, Say Venture Capitalists and Executives

By The Information Staff · Sep 30, 2025 3:50pm PDT · 5 comments

Artificial intelligence services will take years to penetrate the economy, because businesses need to figure out how to use new AI products and train workers to use them, according to speakers at The Information’s AI Agenda Live conference on Tuesday. Sarah Guo, founder and partner at venture capital firm Conviction, noted that cloud computing... Artificial intelligence services will take years to penetrate the economy, because businesses...

Cyberstarts Founder Gili Raanan. Photo provided by Unlmtdpartners.

Cyberstarts’ New Fund Is a Bet on Cybersecurity M&A

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 30, 2025 11:33am PDT

Venture capitalist Gili Raanan is best known for his first investments in cloud security startups Wiz and Cyera. But as startups stay private for longer, his Israel-based venture firm Cyberstarts is now also investing in later rounds. It now has another $380 million for those more mature investments, thanks to a new fund raised this week to... Venture capitalist Gili Raanan is best known for his first investments in cloud security startups...

Art by Clark Miller.

Three New Papers AI Researchers Are Reading; What To Expect at AI Agenda Live

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 30, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Three New Papers AI Researchers Are Reading; What To Expect at AI Agenda Live

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 30, 2025 7:00am PDT

It wouldn’t be the eve of our AI Agenda Live conference without a midnight scoop! In case you missed it, check out last night’s story from Amir, Cory and me on OpenAI’s financials for the first half of 2025.I might be slightly sleep-deprived, but I’m thrilled to be seeing many of you in just a few hours at our AI Agenda Live: The Next Wave event... It wouldn’t be the eve of our AI Agenda Live conference without a midnight scoop! In case you...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Product-List Startup Gets a ChatGPT Bump; Huang’s $1 Trillion Claim

By Ann Gehan · Sep 29, 2025 7:15am PDT

Before we get to today’s newsletter, Stephanie’s profile of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, the mysterious $10 billion startup, is a fascinating look at Murati’s background and explains why she’s got such a following among AI researchers and, as a result, investors. It’s definitely worth a read.On to today’s column…As artificial... Before we get to today’s newsletter, Stephanie’s profile of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab,...

The People Running Elon Musk’s xAI

By Theo Wayt · Sep 29, 2025 6:00am PDT

Elon Musk has been paying closer attention to his artificial intelligence company, xAI, over the past few months, pushing staff to move as quickly as possible to catch up with rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. The xAI CEO’s increased involvement has led to frequent reorganizations, demotions and firings on the teams building the company’s AI... Elon Musk has been paying closer attention to his artificial intelligence company, xAI, over the...

Dbt Labs founder and CEO Tristan Handy, left, and Fivetran founder and CEO George Fraser. Photos via YouTube; Getty

Data Startup Fivetran In Talks to Buy Dbt Labs in Multibillion Dollar Deal

By Valida Pau, Katie Roof and Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 27, 2025 4:30pm PDT

Fivetran, a startup used by companies to manage and prepare data for analytics and artificial intelligence, is in talks to buy data management company dbt Labs, according to people with direct knowledge of the deal. The deal would combine two data companies that are facing competition from artificial intelligence. Fivetran and dbt Labs have... Fivetran, a startup used by companies to manage and prepare data for analytics and artificial...

Art by Clark Miller

Working at AI Speed Without Going Crazy

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 27, 2025 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Working at AI Speed Without Going Crazy

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 27, 2025 7:00am PDT

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: Mira Murati’s enigma machine • Artificial Intelligence: Nvidia’s AI stimulus plan• Plus, our Recommendations: “Desk Set,” “Mission Accomplished” and “It’s Only Drowning”When you’ve worked in an industry for a while, you learn its rhythm. For... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: ...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

Artificial Intelligence

How Jensen Huang is Using Nvidia Cash to Rule the AI Economy

By Anissa Gardizy, Nick Wingfield, Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu · Sep 27, 2025 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Even by the standards of one of the most prodigious dealmakers in tech, the past month or so has been a head-spinning one for Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Just in September, Nvidia agreed to buy any unused Nvidia graphics processing units that cloud provider CoreWeave doesn’t sell to other customers over the next seven years, a deal potentially... Even by the standards of one of the most prodigious dealmakers in tech, the past month or so has...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

The $10 Billion Enigma of Mira Murati

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 26, 2025 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

This summer, Meta Platforms offered multiple researchers at artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab sizable compensation packages to join its new AI lab. When all of the researchers declined the offers, Thinking Machines CEO Mira Murati sent a flattering news report about Meta’s attempted raid to her staff over Slack. At the same... This summer, Meta Platforms offered multiple researchers at artificial intelligence startup...

Human Interest CEO Jeff Schneble. Image courtesy of YouTube. Art by Clark Miller.

Retirement startup Human Interest in Talks for Fundraising at $3 Billion Valuation

By Katie Roof · Sep 25, 2025 8:42pm PDT

Human Interest, a startup that manages employer retirement accounts, is in talks with investors to raise about $200 million at a valuation of close to $3 billion, more than doubling its valuation from a fundraising a year ago, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising. The decade-old startup provides employers with 401(K)... Human Interest, a startup that manages employer retirement accounts, is in talks with investors...

Vice President J.D. Vance, left, and President Donald Trump. Photo via Getty

TikTok’s Fire Sale

By Martin Peers · Sep 25, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Vice President J.D. Vance, left, and President Donald Trump. Photo via Getty

TikTok’s Fire Sale

By Martin Peers · Sep 25, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Talk about a fire-sale price. That’s the only way to describe the $14 billion valuation we learned today is being put on TikTok U.S. in the Trump administration–orchestrated sale of the app. Given what we’ve reported about TikTok parent ByteDance’s revenues, and our guesstimate about how much came from TikTok, the valuation may be less than one... Talk about a fire-sale price. That’s the only way to describe the $14 billion valuation we...