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

Benjamin Fanjoy/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Google’s AI Fundraising; Anthropic’s IPO Option

By Martin Peers · Jun 1, 2026 5:01pm PDT

How is running an AI firm like running for Congress? In either case, you have to spend half your time raising money! Take Google’s surprising announcement on Monday afternoon that it plans to raise a total of $80 billion in equity “as part of its plan to fund investments” in AI. That’s in addition to the $85 billion it has already borrowed in... How is running an AI firm like running for Congress? In either case, you have to spend half your...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella via Getty

Microsoft’s AI Independence Day

By Aaron Holmes and Qianer Liu · May 31, 2026 2:56pm PDT

Two months after Microsoft’s conscious uncoupling from OpenAI, Microsoft wants to prove it’s thriving as an AI provider that doesn’t have to rely on the ChatGPT maker’s technology. Microsoft’s annual Build conference for roughly 2,500 app developers, which kicks off Tuesday in San Francisco, will be a “debutante ball” of sorts for its team... Two months after Microsoft’s conscious uncoupling from OpenAI, Microsoft wants to prove it’s...

The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploding on May 28 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. @JConcilus via AP.

Why SpaceX Isn’t Celebrating the Blue Origin Explosion

By Theo Wayt · May 29, 2026 3:31pm PDT

By now, you’ve probably seen the unbelievable video of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploding on its launchpad in Florida on Thursday night. On its face, Blue Origin’s pain would seem to be Elon Musk’s gain, further cementing SpaceX’s already significant lead in the space business just weeks before it goes public. While the explosion is... By now, you’ve probably seen the unbelievable video of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploding...

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Boomers, Beware of SpaceX Stock

By Anita Ramaswamy · May 28, 2026 4:59pm PDT

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Boomers, Beware of SpaceX Stock

By Anita Ramaswamy · May 28, 2026 4:59pm PDT

Greetings! Anita here. It’s been a relatively slow week for SpaceX news, but that will soon change. Musk’s rocketship company is expected to launch its investor roadshow next week ahead of a mid-June IPO. The milestone will likely usher in a flood of giddy headlines and a lot of debate on Reddit forums and cable TV on whether individual... Greetings! Anita here. It’s been a relatively slow week for SpaceX news, but that will soon...

Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy

Snowflake Shows Some Immunity to the SaaSpocalypse

By Kevin McLaughlin and Laura Bratton · May 27, 2026 5:36pm PDT

Shares of traditional software providers have been battered this year over AI fears. Investors’ reaction to Snowflake’s and Salesforce’s quarterly results Wednesday suggests some providers are in better shape than others.Snowflake shares jumped more than 35% to their highest point since December after the database provider said its most-watched... Shares of traditional software providers have been battered this year over AI fears. Investors’...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Photo by Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images

Anthropic Is Likely Generating at Least 35% More Revenue Than OpenAI

By Amir Efrati and Sri Muppidi · May 26, 2026 6:04pm PDT · 3 comments

On New Year’s Day, OpenAI leaders would have been happy to hear that the company’s monthly revenue would rise more than 50% over the first five months of 2026, roughly in line with the projections it previously shared with investors. But they’re not likely to feel that way now: That pace looks downright tame compared to that of Anthropic, whose... On New Year’s Day, OpenAI leaders would have been happy to hear that the company’s monthly...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Getty Images.

Salesforce and Snowflake Earnings to Focus Attention on AI’s Software Impact

By Martin Peers · May 25, 2026 3:00pm PDT

As we return from the long weekend, we’re preparing for a resumption this week of one of tech’s big debates: whether AI is killing enterprise software. Salesforce, Snowflake and Asana are each reporting earnings for the first fiscal quarter in the next few days, providing us with an update on how they’re doing in selling their own AI tools—and... As we return from the long weekend, we’re preparing for a resumption this week of one of tech’s...

SpaceX's new Starship V3 rocket docked on May 21 in South Padre Island, Texas. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty.

Why SpaceX is Worth $700 Billion, Not $1.75 Trillion

By Martin Peers · May 21, 2026 5:01pm PDT · 9 comments

SpaceX's new Starship V3 rocket docked on May 21 in South Padre Island, Texas. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty.

Why SpaceX is Worth $700 Billion, Not $1.75 Trillion

By Martin Peers · May 21, 2026 5:01pm PDT · 9 comments

If SpaceX pulls off what is widely described in the news media as the “largest IPO in history” next month, it will be a testament to Elon Musk’s skills as a salesman. The company’s newly public IPO prospectus makes it plain that SpaceX is largely a telecom firm with a rocket launch business on the side, with future growth coming from a cloud... If SpaceX pulls off what is widely described in the news media as the “largest IPO in history”...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Ian Maule/Bloomberg/Getty.

Nvidia’s Blowout and SpaceX’s Blue Sky Ambitions

By Martin Peers · May 20, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Nvidia, wow. The AI chip giant did it again, delivering better than projected 85% revenue growth for its April quarter, the first in its 2027 fiscal year. Even better, Nvidia forecast 95% growth for the second quarter. Its fiscal 2027 is shaping up to be a firecracker, with sharply faster growth than last year’s still-stellar 66% rate of... Nvidia, wow. The AI chip giant did it again, delivering better than projected 85% revenue growth...

Liz Reid, VP and head of search at Google, at Google I/O today. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty.

Google’s AI Search Leap Forward

By Martin Peers · May 19, 2026 5:00pm PDT

If you pay attention to one thing in AI this week, it should be Google’s I/O presentation on Tuesday. The tech giant unveiled a bunch of AI tools, most significantly the addition of new AI features such as agents to Google Search. Any distinction that existed between Google’s Gemini AI chatbot and its search bar is disappearing.No longer should... If you pay attention to one thing in AI this week, it should be Google’s I/O presentation on...

Michael Gonzalez/AFP/Getty.

Musk Loses in Court; Uber Buys More of Delivery Hero

By Martin Peers · May 18, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk’s big week isn’t starting out too well. Firstly, the all-important test launch of Starship got delayed by a day. Meanwhile, news broke that a worker died on Friday at SpaceX’s Starbase complex in Texas, where the rocket will launch. Separately, Musk on Monday lost the lawsuit against his fellow OpenAI founders, Sam Altman and Greg... Elon Musk’s big week isn’t starting out too well. Firstly, the all-important test launch of...

Elon Musk attends a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty.

SpaceX Launch, Google I/O Headline a Big News Week in Tech

By Martin Peers · May 17, 2026 3:00pm PDT

Elon Musk attends a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty.

SpaceX Launch, Google I/O Headline a Big News Week in Tech

By Martin Peers · May 17, 2026 3:00pm PDT

This should be an action-packed week in tech news, what with Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings, Google’s annual I/O developer conference and Meta Platforms’ scheduled layoffs of 8,000 employees. But it is Elon Musk who has the biggest week coming up.For one thing, the first test launch of SpaceX’s Starship in seven months is scheduled for Tuesday.... This should be an action-packed week in tech news, what with Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings,...

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Cerebras IPO Stock Pop; Apple-OpenAI Drama

By Martin Peers · May 14, 2026 5:00pm PDT

This was quite the day. OpenAI is jumping up and down about its unhappiness with Apple (it’s doubtful Tim Cook is shaking in his boots). Big telecom threw down the gauntlet to Elon Musk and Amazon (not that they should worry). We get to both news items lower down. But first…the AI trade on Wall Street is booming, as demonstrated by today's... This was quite the day. OpenAI is jumping up and down about its unhappiness with Apple (it’s...

Amazon HQ in Seattle. Getty Images.

Amazon’s AI Shopping Overhaul

By Martin Peers · May 13, 2026 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Remember Bard? It was the original name of Google’s AI chatbot, but the Gemini brand long ago replaced it. Just as you’ve likely forgotten that history, you’re not likely to remember Rufus in 12 months’ time, either. Rufus, the name of Amazon’s AI-powered shopping chatbot, got tossed on Wednesday and replaced with Amazon’s well-established Alexa... Remember Bard? It was the original name of Google’s AI chatbot, but the Gemini brand long ago...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Sven Hoppe/Getty Images.

Microsoft’s Stock Slide Raises Specter of Activist Investors

By Martin Peers · May 12, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Is it time for another activist investor to take a run at Microsoft? Shares of the iconic software giant are down nearly 16% so far this year, making it the worst performer of the big tech names. The Financial Times reported on Friday that British hedge fund TCI had sold “almost all” of its stake in Microsoft, citing uncertainty about how AI... Is it time for another activist investor to take a run at Microsoft? Shares of the iconic...

Eran Zinman, co-CEO of Monday.com. Screenshot via YouTube/SaaStr AI.

Monday.com’s AI Hiring Lesson; BuzzFeed’s Rescue

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Eran Zinman, co-CEO of Monday.com. Screenshot via YouTube/SaaStr AI.

Monday.com’s AI Hiring Lesson; BuzzFeed’s Rescue

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Digital media historians will be intrigued by news this afternoon that media mogul Byron Allen is buying control of once-important media outlet BuzzFeed. For more on this unusual deal, see below. Meanwhile... if you’re using mass layoffs as an indicator for AI’s impact on the job market, you may be looking in the wrong place. It might be smarter... Digital media historians will be intrigued by news this afternoon that media mogul Byron Allen is...

Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras Systems. Art by Clark Miller; YouTube.

Cerebras IPO Will Test Investor Appetite for AI Chip Startups

By Martin Peers · May 10, 2026 3:00pm PDT

How many AI chip designers can the public market support? We’ll get a sense of that on Thursday when Cerebras Systems, the biggest of a new generation of chip designers dedicated to AI, is expected to go public at a valuation of $35 billion. If it follows the pattern of other AI-related IPOs, such as cloud firm CoreWeave, Cerebras will be a big... How many AI chip designers can the public market support? We’ll get a sense of that on Thursday...

Coreweave CEO Michael Intrator. Getty Images.

CoreWeave’s Balancing Act

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2026 5:00pm PDT

If you’re getting dizzy watching CoreWeave’s balancing act, you’re not alone. The AI cloud startup reported first-quarter numbers Thursday evening showing that its business is ramping up quickly—revenue doubled in the quarter to $2 billion compared to the year-earlier period—but its investment spending and operating expenses are also taking off.... If you’re getting dizzy watching CoreWeave’s balancing act, you’re not alone. The AI cloud...

AP Images.

Elon Musk’s xAI Is Becoming a Cloud Firm

By Martin Peers · May 6, 2026 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Is xAI the next CoreWeave? SpaceX’s announcement on Wednesday that its xAI unit had struck a deal to supply computing capacity to Anthropic comes a couple of weeks after xAI struck a similar deal with AI coding startup Cursor. Last we checked, AI firms with leading models need all the computing capacity they can get, which means they’re... Is xAI the next CoreWeave? SpaceX’s announcement on Wednesday that its xAI unit had struck a deal...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Getty Images.

Coinbase’s Missed ‘Learning’ on Hiring

By Martin Peers · May 5, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Getty Images.

Coinbase’s Missed ‘Learning’ on Hiring

By Martin Peers · May 5, 2026 5:00pm PDT

Greetings!Before we get to today’s news, check out our new text-to-audio tool that lets you listen to all of our articles on desktop or mobile web. Just press the Listen button on any article (I promise you will not hear my voice, just in case the thought of that was offputting!).There must be a template out there somewhere, probably created by... Greetings!Before we get to today’s news, check out our new text-to-audio tool that lets you...