The Information

Art by Clark Miller

Sleeping in Warehouses: The Hidden Costs of Shein and Temu Deliveries

By Theo Wayt · Apr 30, 2025 6:00am PDT

In January, three police officers arrived at a warehouse in central Connecticut run by a company called UniUni, a logistics startup that handles millions of packages each week for mostly China-founded e-commerce clients like Temu, Shein and TikTok Shop. Inside, they found piles of cardboard boxes and plastic mailing bags in the brightly lit main... In January, three police officers arrived at a warehouse in central Connecticut run by a company...

Mira Murati. Photo via Getty

Thinking Machines Lab CEO Has Unusual Control in Andreessen-Led Deal

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Apr 29, 2025 1:00pm PDT · 3 comments

It’s common nowadays for founders of hot startups to hold special shares that give them more voting power than most investors. But Mira Murati, a former OpenAI chief technology officer who is now a founder and the CEO of artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab, may exert an unusual level of control even by those standards. Murati... It’s common nowadays for founders of hot startups to hold special shares that give them more...

Sridhar Ramaswamy. Photo by Getty

Snowflake Sets $100 Million Target in AI Sales Push

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 29, 2025 10:46am PDT

Snowflake and other enterprise software firms whose success predates the rise of ChatGPT are trying to recast themselves as artificial intelligence companies. They’ll have to persuade corporate customers to choose their offerings in what has become a very crowded field. The pressure is particularly acute for Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy, who... Snowflake and other enterprise software firms whose success predates the rise of ChatGPT are...

Art by Clark Miller; images via Getty.

Andreessen Horowitz Comes to Deel’s Defense in Spy Battle

By Cory Weinberg and Michael Roddan · Apr 26, 2025 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Clark Miller; images via Getty.

Andreessen Horowitz Comes to Deel’s Defense in Spy Battle

By Cory Weinberg and Michael Roddan · Apr 26, 2025 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has landed in the middle of a nasty Silicon Valley spy scandal between one of its most successful startups and a company run by a chief executive the VC firm pushed out nearly a decade ago from the company he founded. The VC firm is playing a central role in the fight between rival human resources... Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has landed in the middle of a nasty Silicon Valley spy...

Yichao "Peak" Ji, co-founder and Chief Scientist at Manus AI. Photo via YouTube/Manus AI.

Startup Behind Manus AI Agent Navigates U.S.-China Tensions After Benchmark Deal

By Juro Osawa · Apr 25, 2025 3:19pm PDT

Leaders of the Chinese startup behind the hit artificial intelligence agent Manus have discussed setting up new headquarters outside China, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The discussions signal that the startup doesn’t want its ability to do business in the U.S. to be constrained by its Chinese roots. The startup,... Leaders of the Chinese startup behind the hit artificial intelligence agent Manus have discussed...

Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang Photo via AP.

Scale AI Missed Revenue and Profit Targets Ahead of Share Sale

By Cory Weinberg and Kalley Huang · Apr 25, 2025 6:00am PDT

Scale AI, the fast-growing data-labeling startup, missed its revenue and profit targets last year, but its investors are undeterred. The company is close to finalizing about a $150 million share sale, largely to existing investors, that values it at around $25 billion, up about 80% from a year ago. Scale AI told prospective investors early last... Scale AI, the fast-growing data-labeling startup, missed its revenue and profit targets last...

Why the Crypto Industry Is Closely Tracking the Fate of a Tiny Texas Bank

By Yueqi Yang · Apr 24, 2025 7:00am PDT

A small Texas bank that’s a crucial cog in the global crypto market lost a key leader last week, potentially complicating its closely watched efforts to emerge from regulatory purgatory. United Texas Bank is tiny by all measures except in its role as one of the few U.S. banks willing to do business with crypto-friendly overseas banks. That role... A small Texas bank that’s a crucial cog in the global crypto market lost a key leader last week,...

Art by Clark Miller

Apple’s India Manufacturing Push Faces Spoilers, Including China

By Wayne Ma · Apr 24, 2025 6:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller

Apple’s India Manufacturing Push Faces Spoilers, Including China

By Wayne Ma · Apr 24, 2025 6:00am PDT

For several years, Apple has been working hard to make more of its iPhones in India so it can reduce its dependence on China, where around 80% of its smartphones are currently made. The Chinese government and its tensions with India are getting in the way of that goal. Earlier this year, Chinese authorities refused to allow one of Apple’s... For several years, Apple has been working hard to make more of its iPhones in India so it can...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI Forecasts Revenue Topping $125 Billion in 2029 as Agents, New Products Gain

By Sri Muppidi · Apr 23, 2025 10:16am PDT · 10 comments

For two years, ChatGPT has been OpenAI’s cash cow. But by the end of the decade, the company has told some potential and current investors it expects combined sales from agents and other new products to exceed its popular chatbot, lifting total sales to $125 billion in 2029 and $174 billion the next year, according to documents seen by The... For two years, ChatGPT has been OpenAI’s cash cow. But by the end of the decade, the company has...

AWS Faces Backlash Over Limits on Anthropic’s AI

By Kevin McLaughlin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Apr 21, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon has hitched its artificial intelligence wagon to Anthropic, investing $8 billion in the startup and heavily promoting its AI to customers of the Amazon Web Services cloud unit. But AWS has fumbled Bedrock, a key service its customers use to build applications with Anthropic AI models. Customers who have used Bedrock say its application... Amazon has hitched its artificial intelligence wagon to Anthropic, investing $8 billion in the...

Photo of Mark Zuckerberg by Getty.

Meta Asked Amazon, Microsoft to Help Fund Llama

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Apr 17, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Meta Platforms over the past year asked Microsoft, Amazon and others to help pay the costs of training Meta’s flagship large language model, Llama, according to four people briefed on the discussions. Meta’s overtures reflected worries about the growing costs of its artificial intelligence development, according to two of the people. In exchange... Meta Platforms over the past year asked Microsoft, Amazon and others to help pay the costs of...

Art by Clark Miller.

CEOs Choose More AI, Fewer Jobs

By Aaron Holmes · Apr 17, 2025 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

CEOs Choose More AI, Fewer Jobs

By Aaron Holmes · Apr 17, 2025 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Advances in artificial intelligence are prompting executives at companies such as PayPal, United Wholesale Mortgage, Shopify and others to move in a direction that has long been a taboo: using AI to fill roles people would have held previously. These firms have either instructed staff to avoid hiring for new roles unless they show the roles can’... Advances in artificial intelligence are prompting executives at companies such as PayPal, United...

Michael Beckerman. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Policy Chief Who Fought Ban to Leave Job

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 16, 2025 6:36pm PDT

TikTok U.S. public policy chief Michael Beckerman, a key architect of TikTok’s efforts to fight a U.S. government ban, has said he is planning to leave Washington and transition to a global advisory role, according to a memo sent to staff viewed by The Information. “Over the coming months, I’ll continue in my current role while leading... TikTok U.S. public policy chief Michael Beckerman, a key architect of TikTok’s efforts to fight a...

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Pinterest Went on Acquisition Hunt To Fulfill Ad Dreams

By Catherine Perloff · Apr 16, 2025 12:42pm PDT · 1 comment

Pinterest in January considered spending hundreds of millions on an acquisition to supercharge its ad sales, said a person familiar with its plans, underlining its ambition to compete more effectively with bigger firms like Meta Platforms. The company, which hasn’t bought a business of any size before, contemplated buying one of five ad tech... Pinterest in January considered spending hundreds of millions on an acquisition to supercharge...

Art by Clark Miller; Musk image via Getty.

How Elon Musk Stopped Loving Cars and Left Tesla in the Lurch

By Steve LeVine · Apr 15, 2025 6:00am PDT · 17 comments

Early last year, Elon Musk decided that Tesla wouldn’t be an electric vehicle company anymore. It would keep making cars, but not the new, mass-market model that investors, many Tesla fans and his senior advisers were asking for. Instead, he would bet the company on artificial intelligence products like the Robotaxi and humanoid robots. He... Early last year, Elon Musk decided that Tesla wouldn’t be an electric vehicle company anymore. It...

Art by Clark Miller.

Grüns Lands Valuation Around $500 Million as Supplement Startups Boom

By Ann Gehan · Apr 14, 2025 3:43pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Grüns Lands Valuation Around $500 Million as Supplement Startups Boom

By Ann Gehan · Apr 14, 2025 3:43pm PDT

Investors are on a health kick and looking for new ways to tap into fast-growing brands in the nutrition sector. That includes pouring money into startups selling supplements, particularly those that offer new ways for people to load up on vitamins, protein and other ingredients. The latest example is two-year-old gummy supplement startup... Investors are on a health kick and looking for new ways to tap into fast-growing brands in the...

Art by Clark Miller

OpenAI’s Latest Breakthrough: AI That Comes Up With New Ideas

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Apr 14, 2025 7:30am PDT · 4 comments

Even as artificial intelligence has made strides in summarizing research papers or solving mathematical problems, professionals in many fields still believed humans would be in charge of coming up with ideas for new discoveries. Now AI is getting good at such brainstorming, too. OpenAI is preparing to launch new AI models as soon as this week... Even as artificial intelligence has made strides in summarizing research papers or solving...

Photos via Getty/Shutterstock

ByteDance Is Developing AI Smart Glasses

By Juro Osawa · Apr 11, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is planning to sell its own version of artificial intelligence–powered smart glasses, according to two people with direct knowledge of the effort. It’s the latest sign that tech giants globally see gadgets as the next new market for AI services. Meta Platforms has had success with its Ray-Ban smart glasses,... ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is planning to sell its own version of artificial...

As Advertisers Rethink Spending, Meta and Google Look Better Positioned

As Advertisers Rethink Spending, Meta and Google Look Better Positioned

By Catherine Perloff · Apr 10, 2025 1:05pm PDT · 1 comment

Advertisers are rethinking their spending plans, a sign that economic uncertainty sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariff program is having an impact on business investment. But the impact won’t be felt evenly. Big tech companies that sell advertising—Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon—are likely to hold up better than other... Advertisers are rethinking their spending plans, a sign that economic uncertainty sparked by...

ByteDance's Singapore office. Photo via Getty

ByteDance’s 2024 Revenue Shows Importance of TikTok

By Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Apr 10, 2025 7:37am PDT

ByteDance's Singapore office. Photo via Getty

ByteDance’s 2024 Revenue Shows Importance of TikTok

By Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Apr 10, 2025 7:37am PDT

ByteDance’s revenue from international operations, which are primarily TikTok, rose 63% to $39 billion in 2024, said a person with knowledge of the company’s financials. The international revenue accounted for a quarter of ByteDance’s total last year, the highest it has ever been, as growth in the company’s Chinese operations slowed. The results... ByteDance’s revenue from international operations, which are primarily TikTok, rose 63% to $39...