The Information AM

Save 25% on an annual subscription to read the most important news about technology and business first. For even more, Save $250 on The Information Pro for unlimited access to our proprietary org charts, databases and surveys.

1.	Thinking Machines Co-Founder Leaves for Meta By Abram Brown Source: The Wall Street Journal

A co-founder of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Labs is headed to Meta Platforms, the latest high-profile hire by Meta amid a heated frenzy for AI talent.

The Thinking Machines co-founder, Andrew Tulloch, had previously worked at Meta for 13 years before departing in 2023 for OpenAI, where Murati was chief technology officer. He and Murati then left OpenAI and founded Thinking Machines earlier this year.

Thanks partly to Murati’s profile, Thinking Machines quickly accumulated an enormous amount of venture capital, but it has been slow to reveal how it intends to commercialize AI. Tulloch returns to a Meta that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has sought to turn into an AI powerhouse by recruiting a string of star researchers to jump ship from OpenAI and other companies.

2.	Benioff Says Trump Should Deploy Troops in San Francisco By Abram Brown Source: The New York Times

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who was once seen as a leading voice for liberal politics in the Bay Area, voiced strong support for President Donald Trump in a new interview with the New York Times and advocated for Trump to send National Guard troops to San Francisco.

“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” Benioff told the Times.

Since Trump won reelection last year, tech and politics have become increasingly intertwined, and many among the Silicon Valley elite have worked to shore up their relationship with the Republican president. Meanwhile, Trump has made crime and public safety a hot-button issue in America: He has sent National Guard troops into Washington D.C., Chicago and Portland—and has said he might deploy more forces, including to San Francisco.

3.	China Vows to Retaliate if Trump Imposes New 100% Tariff By Juro Osawa Source: The Information

In response to President Donald Trump’s threat to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports, China’s commerce ministry said that the country will retaliate if the U.S. goes ahead with such a move.

“China’s position on the tariff war is consistent. We don’t want to fight, but we are not afraid to fight,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said on Sunday. The U.S. government’s behavior harms China’s interests and undermines the trade talks between the two countries, the spokesperson said.

Trump’s new tariff threat and Beijing’s response indicate a re-escalation of the U.S.-China trade war since the two countries’ high-level negotiations in Spain last month. “If the United States is determined to act alone, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the Chinese ministry spokesperson said.

Trump announced his plan to impose the new tariff against China on Friday, after Beijing announced additional export controls on rare earths and launched an antitrust probe into Qualcomm. In late September, Washington stepped up its effort to block Chinese companies’ access to U.S. technology and suppliers by expanding its trade blacklist.

4.	Tech Stocks Fall Across the Board After Trump Issues Tariff Threat By Martin Peers Source: The Information

Tech stocks fell across the board, as investors responded to President Trump’s threat to impose a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese imports, in the wake of new Chinese restrictions on the export of rare earths. Trump also said there was “no reason” for him to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping, as he is scheduled to do in two weeks.

Among the worst hit was shares of chip designer Nvidia, which fell 4.5%, and AMD, which fell 7.7%. Big tech stocks such as Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Apple fell between 2% and 5%. The Nasdaq fell 3.6%, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.7%.

Oracle, whose stock had rebounded after a selloff earlier this week sparked by The Information’s report on its cloud business’ gross margins, fell 1.3% to just below $293. Even despite the drop, Oracle shares have recovered all the ground it lost earlier this week.

5.	Kalshi Raises at $5 Billion Valuation Led by Sequoia, a16z By Yueqi Yang Source: The Information

Kalshi, a U.S.-regulated prediction market, said it raised more than $300 million at a $5 billion valuation led by Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz. The company will face new competition with the return of rival Polymarket to the U.S. market.

Kalshi and Polymarket are the two biggest prediction markets, which allow people to bet on everything from elections to the length of the government shutdown. Polymarket said Tuesday it will raise up to $2 billion from Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock exchange, at an $8 billion valuation. Polymarket recently gained approval from U.S. regulators to re-enter the country after barring U.S.-based users under a settlement in 2022.

Kalshi said existing investor Paradigm, which led its June round at a $2 billion valuation, also made a significant investment. Other investors included CapitalG, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, and Spark Capital. The company plans to use the funding to launch more types of bets and integrate with more brokerages.