The Information

Fidji Simo, CEO of Apps for OpenAI.

OpenAI Agrees to Buy AI Healthcare App For About $100 Million

By Laura Mandaro · Jan 12, 2026 12:39pm PST · 3 comments

OpenAI has agreed to buy Torch, a one-year-old AI healthcare app, for about $100 million in equity, according to a person with direct knowledge of the acquisition. Torch enables customers to view and analyze their health data from health systems such as Kaiser Permanente, medical scanning firms like Prenuvo, and apps that track physical... OpenAI has agreed to buy Torch, a one-year-old AI healthcare app, for about $100 million in...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Dashcam Maker Motive Touts AI but Relies on Humans

By Cory Weinberg and Michael Roddan · Jan 12, 2026 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Last summer, a manager at startup Motive Technologies sent an urgent Slack message to 400 employees based in Pakistan. “WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” it said in all caps. Motive sells AI-powered dashcams that allow trucking companies to monitor drivers and send alerts about crashes and other safety issues. In August, the dashcams recorded a string of... Last summer, a manager at startup Motive Technologies sent an urgent Slack message to 400...

Andrew Dai, co-founder of Elorian and former researcher at Google DeepMind. Photo via YouTube/Databricks.

Former Google, Apple Researchers Raising $50 Million for New Visual AI Startup

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 10, 2026 11:48am PST · 3 comments

Andrew Dai, a veteran AI researcher who recently left Google DeepMind after 14 years, is launching a new startup focused on AI models that understand and process text, images, video and audio simultaneously, Dai said. The new startup, Elorian, is in talks with investors to raise a seed round of around $50 million, said Dai and another person... Andrew Dai, a veteran AI researcher who recently left Google DeepMind after 14 years, is...

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DeepSeek To Release Next Flagship AI Model With Strong Coding Ability

By The Information Staff · Jan 9, 2026 5:11am PST

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DeepSeek To Release Next Flagship AI Model With Strong Coding Ability

By The Information Staff · Jan 9, 2026 5:11am PST

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is expected to launch its next-generation AI model that features strong coding capabilities in the coming weeks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan. The new model, V4, is a successor to the V3 model DeepSeek released in December 2024. Initial tests done by DeepSeek employees based on the company... Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is expected to launch its next-generation AI model that features...

Lambda Labs CEO Stephen Balaban. Screenshot via YouTube

Nvidia-Backed Cloud Provider Lambda in Talks to Raise $350 Million Ahead of IPO

By Cory Weinberg, Aaron Holmes, Valida Pau and Katie Roof · Jan 8, 2026 4:10pm PST

Lambda, an upstart cloud provider that rents out Nvidia AI chips—and whose biggest customer was recently Nvidia itself—is trying to raise at least $350 million before a potential initial public offering this year, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Mubadala Capital, which manages money for the United Arab Emirates... Lambda, an upstart cloud provider that rents out Nvidia AI chips—and whose biggest customer...

Art: Shane Burke. Photos: Getty Images.

Strava Filed Confidentially for IPO, Hired Goldman Sachs

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · Jan 8, 2026 1:08pm PST · 1 comment

Strava, a fitness app popular with runners and cyclists, filed confidentially in recent weeks for an initial public offering and hired Goldman Sachs to run the listing, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The San Francisco–based firm, founded in 2009, has recently been meeting with prospective investors ahead of the... Strava, a fitness app popular with runners and cyclists, filed confidentially in recent weeks for...

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI’s Shopping Ambitions Hit Messy Data Reality

By Ann Gehan · Jan 8, 2026 6:00am PST

OpenAI’s efforts to turn ChatGPT into a go-to personal shopper are off to a slow start. Challenges with wrangling product data mean in-app checkouts aren’t yet widely available to the millions of shops that OpenAI said in September would soon be coming to ChatGPT. OpenAI and its early partners, Shopify and Stripe, have been working on ways to... OpenAI’s efforts to turn ChatGPT into a go-to personal shopper are off to a slow start. ...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Aurelien Morissard/AP.

OpenAI Reserves $50 Billion for Stock Grant Pool

By Sri Muppidi · Jan 7, 2026 4:04pm PST · 3 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Aurelien Morissard/AP.

OpenAI Reserves $50 Billion for Stock Grant Pool

By Sri Muppidi · Jan 7, 2026 4:04pm PST · 3 comments

OpenAI last fall set aside an employee stock grant pool worth 10% of the company, which was valued in October at $500 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. The $50 billion pool of restricted stock units should last for roughly five years and should rise in value as the company’s private share price continues to increase.... OpenAI last fall set aside an employee stock grant pool worth 10% of the company, which was...

Image via Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Preps Personal Health Features in ChatGPT

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Jan 7, 2026 11:11am PST

OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a personal health coach, hoping to keep the chatbot one step ahead of rivals like Google. One feature would let people use ChatGPT to analyze data contained in their personal health apps and wearable devices, such as an Oura ring, Apple Watch or Whoop bracelet, according to two people who have seen designs for... OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a personal health coach, hoping to keep the chatbot one step ahead...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images

China Tells Tech Companies to Halt Nvidia H200 Chip Orders

By Qianer Liu · Jan 7, 2026 7:38am PST · 4 comments

The Chinese government this week asked some tech companies to temporarily halt plans to buy Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, according to two people involved in the communication, throwing up a possible roadblock in Nvidia’s hopes of restarting chip sales to one of its biggest markets. The instruction came roughly a month after President Donald Trump... The Chinese government this week asked some tech companies to temporarily halt plans to buy...

The Ant Group station at a conference in Shanghai. Getty Images.

Ant Builds a Mobile Payment Network as an Alternative to Visa, Mastercard

By Jing Yang · Jan 7, 2026 6:00am PST

Five years after the Chinese government quashed Ant Group’s plans for what would have been the world’s largest initial public offering, the Chinese fintech giant has built a fast-growing international business. That offshoot runs a global payment network for digital wallets that could one day be a formidable alternative to Visa or Mastercard. ... Five years after the Chinese government quashed Ant Group’s plans for what would have been the...

Anastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder of LMArena.

AI Evaluation Startup LMArena Valued at $1.7 Billion in New Funding Round

By Katie Roof and Rocket Drew · Jan 6, 2026 6:59am PST · 2 comments

Anastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder of LMArena.

AI Evaluation Startup LMArena Valued at $1.7 Billion in New Funding Round

By Katie Roof and Rocket Drew · Jan 6, 2026 6:59am PST · 2 comments

LMArena, a startup that operates a widely cited ranking of AI models based on their performance, has raised $150 million at a valuation of $1.7 billion, including the new money, according to the company. That’s nearly triple the valuation of its seed funding round, announced in May 2025. The funding round, co-led by existing investors... LMArena, a startup that operates a widely cited ranking of AI models based on their...

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Amazon Tries to Move Beyond AI Basics

By Catherine Perloff · Jan 6, 2026 6:00am PST

After nearly three years of building its own version of cutting-edge large language models, Amazon has come up with models that offer a reliable, cheap alternative to the flashiest ones made by rivals but don’t fully replace them. That’s true even in Amazon’s own products: Amazon’s Rufus shopping assistant uses a mix of its in-house Nova models... After nearly three years of building its own version of cutting-edge large language models,...

Art by Clark Miller

Nvidia’s Big Ambitions to Solve Manufacturing Shows Slow Returns So Far

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Jan 5, 2026 6:00am PST · 3 comments

In the past two years, Nvidia’s business of selling chips for AI has rocketed into the stratosphere, lifting the company’s revenue to nearly $148 billion in the nine months through October, up from $27.5 billion for the same period in 2023. But CEO Jensen Huang isn’t satisfied. Perpetually worried about threats to his business, Huang has been... In the past two years, Nvidia’s business of selling chips for AI has rocketed into the...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo via YouTube/OpenAI

OpenAI Ramps Up Audio AI Efforts Ahead of Device

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 1, 2026 7:00am PST · 2 comments

OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its eventual release of an AI-powered personal device, said a person with knowledge of the effort. The device is expected to be largely audio-based, said three people with knowledge of it. When people speak to ChatGPT, the chatbot can talk back but the large language model... OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its eventual release of...

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Uber Considers Deal for Parking App SpotHero

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Dec 31, 2025 7:58am PST · 1 comment

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Uber Considers Deal for Parking App SpotHero

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Dec 31, 2025 7:58am PST · 1 comment

Uber has been in talks to acquire parking app SpotHero, a popular service that allows drivers to reserve parking spaces, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. Founded in 2011, SpotHero connects drivers looking to reserve and pay for parking spaces with parking lots, parking garages and valet services. SpotHero raised more than... Uber has been in talks to acquire parking app SpotHero, a popular service that allows drivers to...

Sikander Rashid, Brookfield Asset Management's global head of AI infrastructure. Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Brookfield to Start Cloud Business to Lower Cost of AI

By Miles Kruppa · Dec 31, 2025 6:00am PST

Private-equity firm Brookfield is starting its own cloud business, going up against tech giants like Amazon by arguing it can bring down the costs of developing AI. The firm, which has long invested in infrastructure and energy, is becoming the first major investment firm to try to lease chips inside data centers directly to developers, rather... Private-equity firm Brookfield is starting its own cloud business, going up against tech giants...

Art by Clark Miller

Elon Musk’s xAI Buys Building for Third Supersized Data Center

By Theo Wayt · Dec 30, 2025 10:56am PST · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s xAI has bought a building for a third supersized data center it’s planning outside Memphis, Tennessee, in pursuit of the company’s goal of getting 1 million chips online to power its artificial intelligence models, according to property records and a person with direct knowledge of the project. The expansion plan shows xAI is... Elon Musk’s xAI has bought a building for a third supersized data center it’s planning outside...

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Stablecoin Startups Spark Trouble for JPMorgan

By Michael Roddan and Yueqi Yang · Dec 26, 2025 6:00am PST

JPMorgan Chase in recent months has frozen accounts used by at least two fast-growing stablecoin startups, highlighting the risk that cryptocurrency transactions pose for banks, which are required to know the people they do business with and the source of their cash. The stablecoin startups did business in Venezuela and other places that posed... JPMorgan Chase in recent months has frozen accounts used by at least two fast-growing stablecoin...

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI’s Ads Push Starts Taking Shape

By Sri Muppidi and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 24, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

OpenAI’s Ads Push Starts Taking Shape

By Sri Muppidi and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 24, 2025 6:00am PST · 5 comments

OpenAI executives have kept a tight lid on how the company could show advertisements to users of its popular ChatGPT chatbot, leaving the broader digital ad industry eager for clues. Behind the scenes, staff are working through key details. Employees have discussed ways for AI models to prioritize sponsored information in ChatGPT’s responses... OpenAI executives have kept a tight lid on how the company could show advertisements to users of...