The Information

Art by Mark Sullivan.

OpenAI Readies Itself for Its Facebook Era

By Kalley Huang, Erin Woo and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 24, 2025 6:03am PDT · 6 comments

This summer, Fidji Simo wasted no time addressing a concern among many at OpenAI. Leading her first all-hands meeting as the startup’s new CEO of applications, she acknowledged that she and many others at OpenAI shared the same background: They’d previously worked at Meta Platforms. And then Simo, who’d risen to be head of Facebook over a decade... This summer, Fidji Simo wasted no time addressing a concern among many at OpenAI. Leading her...

Art by Clark Miller

E-Commerce Startups Are Back From the Dead

By Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2025 9:24am PDT · 1 comment

Lately, venture capitalist Ben Lerer has found himself experiencing a bit of déjà vu: Once again, there’s a whole nest of thriving e-commerce startups worth his attention. When I reached him a couple weeks ago, his firm, Lerer Hippeau, was just putting money into two of them: Elm Biosciences, a new skin care startup, and Stiller’s... Lately, venture capitalist Ben Lerer has found himself experiencing a bit of déjà...

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...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

The $10 Billion Enigma of Mira Murati

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

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...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

How an Ex-Oilman Became the Face of Elon Musk’s Supercomputers

By Theo Wayt · Sep 19, 2025 9:00am PDT

In February, a peace summit of sorts took place on the top floor of Memphis City Hall. On one side there were a handful of local politicians and environmental activists. On the other was the city’s mayor, Paul Young, and Brent Mayo—a youthful, bearded, hoodie-clad Texan—who came with a message that his boss, Elon Musk, had become... In February, a peace summit of sorts took place on the top floor of Memphis City Hall. On one...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

As Tech Leaders Flatter Trump, Anthropic Takes a Cooler Approach

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 12, 2025 9:00am PDT

In June, the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic was finally getting close to hiring a candidate—a Republican—for its top government relations job after months of searching for someone. That decision marked a shift: Anthropic had hired several former Biden staffers earlier in the year, which had aggravated people in the... In June, the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic was finally getting close to hiring a...

Art by Clark Miller; photos from Getty Images

Why Silicon Valley Believes GLP-1s Are All-Purpose Wonder Drugs

By Ann Gehan · Sep 5, 2025 9:13am PDT · 1 comment

Over the past year, investor Brian Sugar has developed what he considers a “superpower,” finding it newly possible to push himself harder than ever before at home, in the gym—and in the office. What’s given him this boost? He attributes it to a recently acquired prescription for semaglutide, which places him among a sizable portion of the... Over the past year, investor Brian Sugar has developed what he considers a “superpower,” finding...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty images.

Why Musk’s Legal Battle Over OpenAI’s Structure Isn’t a Total Long Shot

By Rocket Drew, Theo Wayt and Sri Muppidi · Aug 29, 2025 9:01am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller; Getty images.

Why Musk’s Legal Battle Over OpenAI’s Structure Isn’t a Total Long Shot

By Rocket Drew, Theo Wayt and Sri Muppidi · Aug 29, 2025 9:01am PDT · 2 comments

Much is known about the pastimes of the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk. They include playing videogames, fathering children and reading Douglas Adams novels. Over the past couple of years, Musk has picked up another hobby: waging war against Sam Altman, an ex-friend with whom he co-founded OpenAI a decade ago as a nonprofit. And Musk’s... Much is known about the pastimes of the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk. They include...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

Struggling Snap Considers Outside Funding for AR Glasses

By Kaya Yurieff, Erin Woo and Jemima McEvoy · Aug 22, 2025 6:09am PDT · 2 comments

For nearly as long as Evan Spiegel has run Snap Inc., his big bet has been on Spectacles, the company’s augmented reality glasses. All together, he has poured $3 billion into the effort—a fraction of what Mark Zuckerberg at Meta Platforms has invested in wearable technology, but a major expense for a company of Snap’s modest size. Spiegel... For nearly as long as Evan Spiegel has run Snap Inc., his big bet has been on Spectacles, the...

Art by Clark Miller; Trump image via Getty

Tech Needs AI Talent From China and Other Countries. But Researchers Are Caught In a Bind

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Aug 15, 2025 9:04am PDT · 2 comments

In the fast-paced AI wars, time is precious. So when Google last month said it would pay Windsurf $2.4 billion to license the prominent AI startup’s technology and hire some of its employees, the search giant hurried to add Windsurf’s researchers and engineers to its ranks. Within a day, Google had onboarded most of the Windsurf staff it had... In the fast-paced AI wars, time is precious. So when Google last month said it would pay Windsurf...

Art by Clark Miller; image via Getty.

Nvidia’s Quiet Rising Stars? The Son and Daughter of Billionaire Founder Jensen Huang

By Anissa Gardizy · Aug 8, 2025 9:01am PDT · 3 comments

At an all-hands meeting earlier this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received a question that prompted him to talk about a personal topic: nepotism at Nvidia. In response, Huang acknowledged that Nvidia had indeed hired the children of many employees and insisted it didn’t bother him. He said he believed those parents wouldn’t have vouched for... At an all-hands meeting earlier this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received a question that...

Art by Clark Miller

How Microplastics Became Silicon Valley’s Big New Worry

By Ann Gehan · Aug 1, 2025 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

How Microplastics Became Silicon Valley’s Big New Worry

By Ann Gehan · Aug 1, 2025 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Lee Jacobs, co-founder of Long Journey Ventures, thought he had seen it all among his friends and acquaintances in Silicon Valley: the continuous glucose monitors, the cortisol tests, the frequent bloodwork to monitor hundreds of biomarkers and maximize longevity. Recently, another wellness obsession took him by surprise. “I didn’t know the... Lee Jacobs, co-founder of Long Journey Ventures, thought he had seen it all among his friends and...

Art by Clark Miller; image courtesy Joby Aviation.

A Flying Taxi Finally Nears Takeoff With an Unlikely Boost From Toyota

By Steve LeVine · Jul 18, 2025 9:15am PDT · 3 comments

We all grew up with wide-eyed ideas of flying cars—you know, one day zipping around town like the Jetsons. Their failure to materialize so disappointed investor Peter Thiel that he quipped: “We wanted flying cars; instead we got 140 characters.” You’re free not to believe him, but JoeBen Bevirt is here to tell you we are now... We all grew up with wide-eyed ideas of flying cars—you know, one day zipping around town...

Art by Clark Miller (photo: Getty Images)

With Figma IPO, Dylan Field Bounces Back From Adobe Fiasco

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 11, 2025 9:38am PDT · 3 comments

The main Department of Justice building, across from the National Archives in Washington, was the kind of brooding edifice Dylan Field had walked through a lot in 2023 as he tried to convince governments around the world to let him sell Figma, the design software startup that had been his life, to Adobe for $20 billion. He made a final attempt... The main Department of Justice building, across from the National Archives in Washington, was the...

Art by Clark Miller.

Inside the Great AI Talent Auction: The Deals, the Free Agents—and the Egos

By Erin Woo · Jun 27, 2025 9:04am PDT · 1 comment

Say you’re at the top of your field. Say you’ve been promoted to be a senior researcher at OpenAI, watching the paper value of your equity swell as your company’s valuation goes from less than $20 billion to $260 billion in just four years. Say Mark Zuckerberg—yes, Zuck, personally—comes texting and calling, offering you tens of... Say you’re at the top of your field. Say you’ve been promoted to be a senior researcher at...

Art by Clark Miller

Why Humanoid Robots Are the Latest Front in America’s Tech War With China

By Steve LeVine, Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 20, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Why Humanoid Robots Are the Latest Front in America’s Tech War With China

By Steve LeVine, Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 20, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Elon Musk’s forecasts of an ultralavish future for Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, have not only been a boon to his company’s share price: They’ve provided a broad lift to nearly everyone working on humanoids, a technology once considered a fantasy land. One of the biggest beneficiaries is Apptronik, a scrappy Austin, Texas, rival working, in a... Elon Musk’s forecasts of an ultralavish future for Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, have not only...

Art by Clark Miller (photos: Getty Images).

A Marc Benioff Protégé Has Morphed Into Salesforce’s Big Worry

By Jon Victor and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 13, 2025 9:19am PDT · 2 comments

After an unexpected exit as Salesforce co-CEO in 2022, Bret Taylor sat down with a friend, Benchmark’s Peter Fenton, to brainstorm ideas for what to do next. He knew if he chose to go up against ex-boss Marc Benioff, who had shared the CEO duties with him, Benioff would be a formidable opponent. “He had an immense admiration for Marc,” Fenton... After an unexpected exit as Salesforce co-CEO in 2022, Bret Taylor sat down with a friend,...

Art by Clark Miller

Why Eric Schmidt and Jeff Bezos Are High On Space Data Centers

By Evan Robinson-Johnson · Jun 6, 2025 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

If all goes as planned in August, a startup called Starcloud from Redmond, Wash., will load a rocket bound for space with a refrigerator-sized satellite, the first to contain an Nvidia H100 chip. Normally, that chip is at the heart of the sprawling data centers back on Earth that run the latest artificial intelligence models. Compared to... If all goes as planned in August, a startup called Starcloud from Redmond, Wash., will load a...

Art by Clark Miller

Jensen Huang Used to Delegate Politics—Until Trump’s Return

By Qianer Liu and Wayne Ma · May 29, 2025 10:41am PDT

Since the start of this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been thrust into an unexpected new role—chief lobbyist for his company—forcing him to carry its hopes, suggestions and pleas directly to President Donald Trump. Many of Huang’s conversations with Trump have happened at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s residence and private club in south... Since the start of this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been thrust into an unexpected new...

Art by Clark Miller. Portraits courtesy of TBPN.

How the ‘Technology Brothers’ Seized Silicon Valley

By Abram Brown · May 23, 2025 9:02am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller. Portraits courtesy of TBPN.

How the ‘Technology Brothers’ Seized Silicon Valley

By Abram Brown · May 23, 2025 9:02am PDT · 4 comments

In recent months, John Coogan and Jordi Hays, co-hosts of “TBPN,” a daily tech news talk show that has captured the attention of Silicon Valley’s investors and founders, have followed the same morning routine. The two men meet in downtown Los Angeles at the members-only Jonathan Club to work out, then sauna together while reading print... In recent months, John Coogan and Jordi Hays, co-hosts of “TBPN,” a daily tech news talk...