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

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The Briefing

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

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Recent Editions

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, left, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Images via Getty

Why Cheaper Models Won't Win OpenAI the Enterprise

By Laura Bratton · Oct 27, 2026 11:33am PDT

OpenAI is trying to chip away at Anthropic’s lead with enterprises by fashioning itself as a cheaper, more flexible provider, Steph and I reported this weekend. But Anthropic's impressive prospectus for an initial public offering, filed Monday, shows OpenAI will need to do a lot more than that to really move the needle.To be sure, OpenAI has... OpenAI is trying to chip away at Anthropic’s lead with enterprises by fashioning itself as a...

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

How Is Anthropic So Efficient?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 27, 2026 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Anthropic on Monday dropped its long-awaited initial public offering prospectus filing, a lot of the details—see our top takeaways here—weren’t exactly new, given how much my colleagues and others had previously reported about it.Two items stood out to me, though: how Anthropic is running its models more efficiently than before, and changes... When Anthropic on Monday dropped its long-awaited initial public offering prospectus filing, a...

Art: Mike Sullivan (photos: Getty Images)

Can AI Help Ray Kurzweil Cheat Death?

By Amy Dockser Marcus · Oct 27, 2026 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Ray Kurzweil does not want to die, but at the age of 78, he has been thinking more about it, a preoccupation that he describes as a “major motivating force of human beings.” So over the past year, Kurzweil, whose keen observations and 2005 bestseller “The Singularity Is Near” have made him one of the most influential prophets of the AI age, has... Ray Kurzweil does not want to die, but at the age of 78, he has been thinking more about it, a...

Critical Loop's Battery System. Photo: Courtesy Critical Loop

Exclusive: Tiny Startup Critical Loop Lands Deal to Power New Anduril Facility

By Steve LeVine · Oct 27, 2026 5:01am PDT

Critical Loop's Battery System. Photo: Courtesy Critical Loop

Exclusive: Tiny Startup Critical Loop Lands Deal to Power New Anduril Facility

By Steve LeVine · Oct 27, 2026 5:01am PDT

Early this year, Anduril Industries, expanding fast with a slew of new aerospace deals, leased six buildings of manufacturing space in an industrial park next to the Long Beach, Calif., airport. The problem: Southern California Edison, the local utility, said it couldn’t meet the deadline to deliver sufficient power to run Anduril’s new... Early this year, Anduril Industries, expanding fast with a slew of new aerospace deals, leased...

Left to right: Elon Musk, Dario Amodei and Mark Zuckerberg. Getty Images.

Anthropic, SpaceX and Meta Cash Grabs

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 26, 2026 5:06pm PDT

If it feels like it’s getting stuffy, that’s because the AI industry’s biggest names are doing their best to suck all the air out of the room. On Monday, Anthropic, SpaceX and Meta Platforms all unveiled their respective plans for raising gobs of cash to fund their AI ambitions, which could collectively add up to almost a quarter of a trillion... If it feels like it’s getting stuffy, that’s because the AI industry’s biggest names are doing...

Art by Clark Miller.

The 50 Most Influential People in Tech Run Companies Worth a Year of U.S. GDP

By Eric Bellomo · Oct 26, 2026 4:27pm PDT

The tech industry is shaped by individuals whose ideas and investments propel the products and services that in turn influence everything from our personal interactions to global affairs like Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Information recently named the 50 Most Influential People in Tech, a list of the people we believe will have the most... The tech industry is shaped by individuals whose ideas and investments propel the products and...

Getty Images.

Anthropic’s S-1 Takeaways: From Giant Compute Commitments to Complex Lock-Ups

By Valida Pau, Stephanie Palazzolo, Aaron Holmes, Catherine Perloff, Dakin Campbell and Julia Hornstein · Oct 26, 2026 11:10am PDT

Anthropic publicly filed a preliminary prospectus for its planning initial public offering, providing a look inside its business for the first half of this year, as well as new details about its governance and more than 90 pages of risk factors. The S-1’s filing on Monday sets the stage for Anthropic to start its investor road show in about two... Anthropic publicly filed a preliminary prospectus for its planning initial public offering,...

Art via Getty Images; Mike Sullivan

The Argument in Favor of Tranched Rounds

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 26, 2026 7:21am PDT

Art via Getty Images; Mike Sullivan

The Argument in Favor of Tranched Rounds

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 26, 2026 7:21am PDT

Before we get to today’s column, the big day is here: Anthropic dropped its long-awaited public S-1 filing Monday morning. Tune in today for stories from my colleagues and me that will be breaking down the most important takeaways from the filing, such as improvements in the company’s compute efficiency, details on its spending and cash... Before we get to today’s column, the big day is here: Anthropic dropped its long-awaited...

Art via Getty Images.

Stripe’s AI Shopping Lead Puts Card Giants on Edge

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 26, 2026 6:01am PDT

As AI assistants like Instinct and Meta Platforms’ Muse start to gain traction in shopping, Stripe has taken a leading position in how the agents pay. That’s putting the credit card giants on edge. The reason for their apprehension: Stripe in many cases is enabling AI agent purchases through virtual cards for one-time use, which can leave... As AI assistants like Instinct and Meta Platforms’ Muse start to gain traction in shopping,...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Getty Images.

Anthropic’s Big Reveal

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 25, 2026 3:01pm PDT

The tech industry equivalent of the Super Bowl may finally be upon us. Anthropic could make public the paperwork for its initial public offering as early as Monday. Details about Anthropic’s finances from either drafts of the IPO filing or recent investor meetings have been dribbling out for weeks. As a result, some of the S-1’s revelations will... The tech industry equivalent of the Super Bowl may finally be upon us. Anthropic could make...

Matt Barnard, CEO of Upgrade Energy, in the company's Torrance, Calif. factory. Photo: Steve LeVine/The Information

Exclusive: Inside Unusual Machines' $52 Million Drone Battery Acquisition

By Steve LeVine · Oct 25, 2026 2:01pm PDT

In 2020, Matt Barnard built a drone by hand at his home in Missouri and thought he had the perfect buyers for it: cattle ranchers in neighboring Oklahoma, who he knew had a heck of a time keeping track of their grazing herds. Using drones equipped with cameras, ranchers could follow their cattle on their laptops. But then the ranchers came up... In 2020, Matt Barnard built a drone by hand at his home in Missouri and thought he had the...

Art by Clark Miller; Nano Banana

Data Center Late Fees Hit $5 Million or More Per Day, Spawning New Insurance

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Oct 25, 2026 8:31am PDT

Art by Clark Miller; Nano Banana

AI Infrastructure

Data Center Late Fees Hit $5 Million or More Per Day, Spawning New Insurance

By Ann Davis Vaughan · Oct 25, 2026 8:31am PDT

This spring, Mike Mathews, who leads the global digital infrastructure practice at insurance broker Marsh, raced to design a policy to protect a data center developer from a $1 million-a-day late fee. The developer’s tenant was demanding damages if electricity and facilities weren’t available on time during the first phase of a new... This spring, Mike Mathews, who leads the global digital infrastructure practice at insurance...

Art: Clark Miller

A Neocloud’s Gathering Storm

By Abram Brown · Oct 24, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome, Weekenders!Whenever I’m the slightest bit ill, I take to my bed and mope. If it goes more than a day or so, I assume the worst—that the end is nigh. I can’t honestly remember the last time I felt unwell for more than a couple days, but I imagine such a scenario would probably find me consulting ChatGPT about burial shrouds.So I’d like... Welcome, Weekenders!Whenever I’m the slightest bit ill, I take to my bed and mope. If it goes...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, left, and OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. Photos via Getty Images; art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic’s Margin is OpenAI’s Opportunity

By Laura Bratton and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 24, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI’s efforts to undercut Anthropic on price are producing some results. For instance, in May, Anthropic models powered 57% of the coding work of hundreds of engineers at Rippling, an HR software firm, while OpenAI models handled 16% of that work. Since then, the situation has reversed: 52% of the coding work is now handled by OpenAI models... OpenAI’s efforts to undercut Anthropic on price are producing some results. For instance, in May,...

Photo by Getty

Instacart Is Exploring a Sale

By Valida Pau, Jessica E. Lessin and Cory Weinberg · Oct 23, 2026 12:54pm PDT

Instacart is in talks to sell itself in a transaction that would cap the grocery delivery app’s 14-year run as a standalone company. Currently valued at $12 billion, Instacart has been working with an investment bank to weigh its options and held at least preliminary conversations with DoorDash and Uber, according to people familiar with the... Instacart is in talks to sell itself in a transaction that would cap the grocery delivery app’s...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

VC Firms Tap LP Pools, Warehouse Loans for Speedy AI Cash

By Julia Hornstein · Oct 23, 2026 7:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan.

VC Firms Tap LP Pools, Warehouse Loans for Speedy AI Cash

By Julia Hornstein · Oct 23, 2026 7:00am PDT

When Reflection AI set out to raise $2.5 billion early this year, one of its existing venture backers, B Capital, was eager to invest again in the startup, which has emerged as the most high-profile U.S. maker of open-source AI models. But Reflection’s valuation had more than tripled in just six months, forcing investors to write big checks for... When Reflection AI set out to raise $2.5 billion early this year, one of its existing venture...

Art: Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images)

Ramp Investors Went Nuclear Against Airwallex After Doomed Deal

By Michael Roddan · Oct 23, 2026 6:09am PDT

In April 2025, Eric Glyman, co-founder and co-CEO of Ramp, received some bad news: A deal was falling apart. Glyman had been hoping Ramp, a highly valued startup that sells corporate credit cards and expense management software, could strike a partnership with Airwallex—a fast-growing fintech founded in Melbourne, Australia—that... In April 2025, Eric Glyman, co-founder and co-CEO of Ramp, received some bad news: A deal was...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Anthropic’s Elevator Problem: Persuading Investors to Share Its AI Dream

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 22, 2026 5:30pm PDT

One quotation has rattled around in my head for a while, which I first heard from early Anthropic investor Jaan Tallinn: “The future of the world will be decided by a group of people who fit in an elevator.” The enigmatic billionaire said on a podcast earlier this year that a friend had used the illustration to describe the concentration of... One quotation has rattled around in my head for a while, which I first heard from early Anthropic...

Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman. Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Why Blackstone Thinks AI Bottlenecks Could Work in its Favor

By Alex Eichenstein · Oct 22, 2026 5:01pm PDT

Greetings! On their earnings calls earlier in the week, Meta Platforms and SpaceX delivered the same underlying message to investors: demand for AI is running ahead of the supply of AI compute. On Thursday, another important player in the AI ecosystem—Blackstone, the alternative asset management giant—repeated a version of that... Greetings! On their earnings calls earlier in the week, Meta Platforms and SpaceX...

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Salesforce Customers Brace For New Fees to Use Claude in Its Apps

By Laura Bratton · Oct 22, 2026 11:04am PDT · 1 comment

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Salesforce Customers Brace For New Fees to Use Claude in Its Apps

By Laura Bratton · Oct 22, 2026 11:04am PDT · 1 comment

Salesforce is leading the software industry’s attempt to collect fees from businesses that use Claude and other external AI tools to automate work in enterprise apps.As soon as next month, Salesforce plans to require companies to register outside AI agents, a step toward charging them each time those agents update or analyze data stored in... Salesforce is leading the software industry’s attempt to collect fees from businesses that use...