The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP.

OpenAI Changes Narrative With Ads Push

By Martin Peers · Jan 16, 2026 2:00pm PST · 1 comment

Talk about taking control of the narrative. OpenAI’s announcements today that it would start testing ads in ChatGPT, and that it would also introduce an $8 a month tier of service called ChatGPT Go in the U.S., gives the AI company something positive to talk to investors about as it tries to raise a gargantuan amount of money (up to $100 billion... Talk about taking control of the narrative. OpenAI’s announcements today that it would start ...

MrBeast. Victoria Sirakova/Getty Images.

Bitmine’s Switch From Ether to MrBeast

By Yueqi Yang · Jan 15, 2026 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for ether tokens, woke up to some surprising news today. Bitmine is investing $200 million in Beast Industries, the company of MrBeast, the No.1 YouTuber. He’s known for making viral videos, not for his interest in ether. The investment is what you... Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for...

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Tech Stocks’ Bleak Day; Cerebras Gets Good News

By Martin Peers · Jan 14, 2026 5:00pm PST

Wow. Wednesday was not a fun day, particularly if you’re a Verizon customer (guilty!), thanks to a widespread cellular phone outage that hit many of its subscribers for much of the day. It also wasn’t fun for tech investors as stocks sold off across the board. What wasn’t uniform, though, was the severity of the selling. Microsoft, Amazon and... Wow. Wednesday was not a fun day, particularly if you’re a Verizon customer (guilty!), thanks to...

Microsoft's Brad Smith. Paul Devlin/Sportsfile via Getty Images.

Microsoft’s Proactive Data Center Promises

By Martin Peers · Jan 13, 2026 5:00pm PST

Microsoft's Brad Smith. Paul Devlin/Sportsfile via Getty Images.

Microsoft’s Proactive Data Center Promises

By Martin Peers · Jan 13, 2026 5:00pm PST

Maybe Brad Smith should run for office. The Microsoft vice chair and president put his name to a lengthy, detailed document released on Tuesday that demonstrates the tech giant is trying to get ahead of growing grass-roots complaints about the impact of data centers on local communities. Among other things, Microsoft promised to pay enough for... Maybe Brad Smith should run for office. The Microsoft vice chair and president put his name to a...

Dina Powell McCormick. Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images.

Why Google Should Take Note of Meta’s Savvy Hire

By Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2026 5:00pm PST

Google might be running away with the AI market right now—as demonstrated by today’s Apple deal—but Meta Platforms can’t be counted out. Meta’s hiring today of former Trump administration official and longtime Goldman Sachs partner Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chair was a savvy move by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It strengthens the... Google might be running away with the AI market right now—as demonstrated by today’s Apple deal—...

Getty Images

Google Matches OpenAI on Shopping

By Martin Peers · Jan 11, 2026 3:00pm PST · 1 comment

Sam Altman, look behind you. Sundar Pichai is catching up. Google on Sunday announced it was adding the ability to buy stuff within its Gemini AI chatbot, using Google Pay to complete the transaction, essentially matching OpenAI’s Instant Checkout feature. This is a big deal, according to my colleague Ann Gehan, who was at the NRF retail... Sam Altman, look behind you. Sundar Pichai is catching up. Google on Sunday announced it was...

David Ellison. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images.

Ellison Should Abandon WBD Battle

By Martin Peers · Jan 8, 2026 5:05pm PST

David Ellison just can’t get any respect. The son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and CEO of Paramount Skydance is going nowhere in his efforts to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of HBO Max, Warner Bros. Studio and a bunch of cable channels including CNN. Ellison has a very persuasive argument that his $30 a share offer—$108 billion in total—... David Ellison just can’t get any respect. The son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and CEO of...

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad. XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty.

Nvidia’s China Business Still Hostage to Geopolitics

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2026 5:00pm PST

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad. XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty.

Nvidia’s China Business Still Hostage to Geopolitics

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2026 5:00pm PST

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang must feel like a child whose parents are perpetually at war. Weeks after he glimpsed a chance to resume sales of AI chips to China—thanks to approval from President Donald Trump—China has said, “Not so fast.” As our Hong Kong reporter Qianer Liu scooped today, the Chinese government has asked local tech companies to... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang must feel like a child whose parents are perpetually at war. Weeks after...

Bloomberg/Getty Images.

The Ripple Effects of the AI Data Center Boom

By Martin Peers · Jan 6, 2026 5:00pm PST

Trade in stocks exposed to the AI boom is getting even more volatile. Shares of Sandisk rocketed 27% on Tuesday for no obvious reason other than a report by Morgan Stanley about bigger-than-expected price increases coming for NAND flash memory, which Sandisk makes, among others. Demand for NAND flash has taken off in recent months, thanks to its... Trade in stocks exposed to the AI boom is getting even more volatile. Shares of Sandisk rocketed...

The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone, with AI powered by Google’s Gemini, at CES. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images.

Google’s Samsung AI Advantage

By Martin Peers · Jan 5, 2026 5:00pm PST

Can anyone catch up with Google in the AI race? That question came to mind on Monday, after Reuters quoted Samsung’s co-CEO talking about his plans to double the number of mobile devices running Galaxy AI, Samsung’s branded AI features backed by Google’s Gemini AI technology, to 800 million this year. (That’s separate to Samsung phones that have... Can anyone catch up with Google in the AI race? That question came to mind on Monday, after...

CES 2025. Getty Images.

CES Kicks Off 2026 for Tech Sector

By Martin Peers · Jan 4, 2026 3:00pm PST

There’s no rest for the AI obsessed. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang kicks off the new year with an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, where he’s scheduled to speak on Monday. Huang appears so often at events like this that it’s hard to imagine he’ll have much new to say, but you never know. After all, there’s a lot... There’s no rest for the AI obsessed. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang kicks off the new year with an...

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2025’s Best Performing Tech Stocks

By Martin Peers · Dec 31, 2025 2:00pm PST

Getty Images

2025’s Best Performing Tech Stocks

By Martin Peers · Dec 31, 2025 2:00pm PST

Oh, to have been an investor in Sandisk in 2025. That company, probably best known to consumers for those little memory cards or USB drives, was one of the best performing tech stocks of 2025—gaining 559% since February, when it was spun out of Western Digital to be a standalone company. By comparison, the best performing of the big tech names,... Oh, to have been an investor in Sandisk in 2025. That company, probably best known to consumers...

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tesla's Pre-Emptive News

By Martin Peers · Dec 30, 2025 5:00pm PST

Talk about stepping on your own news. Tesla put out an unusual statement on Tuesday, detailing the number of cars that 20 Wall Street analysts expect the electric vehicle maker will deliver annually through 2029. Tesla said it “does not endorse” any of the information, mind you, which raises the question why it bothered to publish the summary.... Talk about stepping on your own news. Tesla put out an unusual statement on Tuesday, detailing...

Jensen Huang and Masayoshi Son. Getty Images.

Meta, SoftBank and Nvidia Splurge on Holiday AI Deals

By Martin Peers · Dec 29, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

The dealmakers of the AI sector didn’t take a break this holiday season. Meta revealed this afternoon it had bought Manus, the Singapore-based developer of AI agents. The price wasn’t disclosed but seeing as Manus’ last fundraising valuation was $500 million, Meta might have spent $2 billion or so but not hugely more than that. (More on Manus ... The dealmakers of the AI sector didn’t take a break this holiday season. Meta revealed this...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images.

How Elon Musk’s Promises for Self-Driving, AI and Robots Clashed With Reality

By Theo Wayt · Dec 28, 2025 3:00pm PST · 7 comments

Whether you consider Elon Musk a visionary or a liar, he has a long record of publicly setting aggressive deadlines that his companies don’t meet. Barring any big breakthroughs over the next few days, the 2025 list will include high-profile promises on robotics manufacturing, robotaxis and AI models that fell short. On one hand, that’s... Whether you consider Elon Musk a visionary or a liar, he has a long record of publicly setting...

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

By Theo Wayt · Dec 24, 2025 12:35pm PST

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

What xAI’s Memphis Christmas Lights Tell Us About Data Centers in Space

By Theo Wayt · Dec 24, 2025 12:35pm PST

In my hometown of Memphis, Tenn., Elon Musk’s xAI is a big topic of conversation for the second holiday season in a row thanks to the two gigantic data centers the company has opened here. The multibillion-dollar facilities have sparked a lot of local opposition because they’re being powered by gas generators that emit air pollution. In... In my hometown of Memphis, Tenn., Elon Musk’s xAI is a big topic of conversation for the second...

Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why ServiceNow Went Ahead With a $7.75 Billion Deal That the Market Didn't Like

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 23, 2025 5:15pm PST

When Bloomberg reported earlier this month that ServiceNow was considering an acquisition of the cybersecurity startup Armis for more than $7 billion, shares of the enterprise software firm fell 11%, erasing $20 billion in market capitalization.But ServiceNow gritted its teeth and signed the deal anyway, as it announced Tuesday. When Bloomberg reported earlier this month that ServiceNow was considering an acquisition of the...

Anduril CEO and co-founder of Erebor Bank, Palmer Luckey. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty.

Crypto’s Banking Woes Are Not Over

By Yueqi Yang · Dec 22, 2025 5:00pm PST

The crypto world has gotten some early Christmas presents. The Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed some Biden-era lawsuits, and the industry has helped push through landmark stablecoin legislation. Crypto companies have also made strides on a lingering problem: access to the mainstream financial system. But that is still a... The crypto world has gotten some early Christmas presents. The Securities and Exchange Commission...

Judge Amit Mehta. Getty Images.

Tech's Big Winners of 2025: Google, Musk and ByteDance

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2025 3:00pm PST

We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make up for the relative lack of news!). Let’s start with Google’s amazing turnaround in 2025. Not only did it emerge mostly unscathed from the antitrust litigation regarding search, it made a giant leap forward in the AI market. Conspiracy theorists will... We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why Google’s AI Weakness Turned Out to Be a Strength

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2025 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Why Google’s AI Weakness Turned Out to Be a Strength

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2025 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

Sometimes people’s greatest weakness can be their biggest strength. And in AI, it is turning out that what we thought was a weakness for Google—the fact that it had both a search portal and an AI chatbot—is actually an advantage. People use search and AI chatbots interchangeably, to be sure, but it’s become clear through the course of this year... Sometimes people’s greatest weakness can be their biggest strength. And in AI, it is turning out...