AI in China, The Current State of Seed Investing | July 17, 2025

We hear from Tom Schmidt of Dragonfly Capital about what the stablecoin legislation means for startups and why crypto M&A is so hot right now. Co-executive editor talks about how Netflix has matured over the years, Weekend editor Abe Brown goes into detail about our flying cars story, and our CEO Jessica Lessin gets into our Vibe Coding survey results. Hosted by Akash Pasricha. Articles discussed on this episode: A Flying Taxi Finally Nears Takeoff With an Unlikely Boost From ToyotaAs Crypto Bill Passes, Bank Bosses Feel HeatThe Education of Roku’s Anthony Wood25 Great Books for Summer 2025The Information Survey: Nearly 75% of Respondents Are Vibe Coding

The Information’s Asia Bureau Chief Jing Yang gives us a view from the ground on the AI startup scene in China, diving deep into DeepSeek’s challenges, Manus, and the hurdles humanoid robotics companies are facing there. Plus, banking reporter Michael Roddan shares his findings from an investigation into quantum and AI company SandboxAQ, and TITV host Akash Pasricha speaks with Slow Ventures General Partner Sam Lessin about why seed investing is a tale of two cities right now. Articles discussed on this episode: DeepSeek’s Progress Stalled by U.S. Export ControlsWhy Humanoid Robots Are the Latest Front in America’s Tech War With ChinaLavish Spending and Weak Growth Engulf Billionaire-Backed AI Startup SandboxAQThe Information’s Creator Economy Database

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg sits down with The Information's Jessica Lessin to talk about his vision of personal super intelligence and how that differs from the way the world is talking about AI today. The conversation also covered Zuckerberg's strategy for deploying capital and why he's putting servers inside tents.

Jessica sits down with journalist and Pivot host Kara Swisher to discuss what's wrong with Silicon Valley and next in news. 

Sand Hill Road has gone crypto-crazy, making it the best time ever to be a cryptocurrency or blockchain-based startup. Six such companies drew our attention enough to make it into this year’s The Information 50 list of promising startups. They range from an environmentally friendly cryptocurrency to the “picks and shovels” businesses enabling others to develop crypto products—such as nonfungible token marketplaces—or make sure they’re legally compliant.In today’s episode, executive editor Amir Efrati speaks with crypto reporter Hannah Miller about the startups that made the cut. Then Hannah talks to the co-founder of one of them—Audius, a blockchain-based music-streaming service trying to give musicians a bigger cut of streaming revenue. Its crypto tokens are already worth $1 billion collectively. Check out the final episode of our five-part series.

Cryptocurrency is soaking up attention, but financial services technologies involving fiat currency have also never been hotter. This week we continue our special five-episode series on The Information 50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion, by taking a look at five fintech startups that made the cut.In this episode, The Information’s Amir Efrati speaks with reporter Kate Clark about the startups that made our list, why “banking as a service” is on the rise, and why this year’s record $87 billion in fintech startup funding doesn’t represent the peak. Then Kate interviews Itai Damti, co-founder of Unit, the top startup on our list, and Henrique Dubugras, co-founder and co-CEO of corporate card startup Brex, about the fintech frenzy and what’s coming next.

This week we continue our special five-episode series on The Information 50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion, by taking a look at the B2B category. More than half the startups in this group reflect two big pandemic related trends: companies trying to control spending on subscription software apps, and their constant search for new employees. The Information’s Amir Efrati talks to reporter Kevin McLaughlin about the six startups that made the cut and valuation trends in enterprise software. Efrati then talks to Jonathan Siddarth, founder and CEO of Turing, which helps companies hire pre-vetted, remote engineers from all over the world. Listen to find out why the fast-growing company, barely three year old, is No. 1 on our list.

This week we continue our special five episode series on The Information 50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion.In episode two, executive editor Amir Efrati first talks to reporter Malique Morris about commerce startups worth watching, including a budding rival to Shopify, a fashion marketplace and a facilitator of limited-edition merchandise “drops” for celebrities and shows such as “Succession." Next, Malique talks to Rachel Tipograph, founder and CEO of MikMak, an advertising-tech provider for consumer brands, which could be a beneficiary of Apple’s restrictions on iPhone advertisers.

This week, The Information released TI50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion. Over the next five episodes of The Information 411 podcast, you’ll hear from The Information reporters who put the list together and from the founders whose companies made the list. In episode one, executive editor Amir Efrati first talks to reporter Kevin McLaughlin about the companies in the list’s Enterprise AI category and how machine learning tools and services are proliferating and being applied in the real world. Next, Amir talks to Clement Delangue, co-founder and CEO of Hugging Face, the #1 ranked company in the Enterprise AI category. It’s a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Why are so many instant delivery startups popping up? Cory talks to The Information's Mark Di Stefano about the buzzy sector and one controversial company in particular, Gorillas. Then, Steve LeVine, author of the new The Information newsletter The Electric, explains the geopolitical dynamics in the battery industry.