Silicon Valley is basically a sieve. If you spend enough time reading tech news, you’ve probably noticed that the biggest stories about Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot to AI or Sam Altman’s latest fundraising rounds don’t usually come from official press releases. They come from "people familiar with the matter." Specifically, they often come from source Meta OpenAI The Information.
The Information has carved out a weirdly specific, high-stakes niche in the tech ecosystem. While the legacy papers are busy covering the broad strokes of the economy, Jessica Lessin’s team at The Information is busy figuring out exactly which H100 GPU clusters Meta is buying or why OpenAI’s latest model—internally known as Strawberry or Orion—is running behind schedule. It’s almost a meme at this point: if you see a massive scoop about the internal drama at OpenAI, there’s a 90% chance it originated from a reporter at The Information who probably spent weeks DMing engineers on Signal.
Why does this matter to you? Because the "source" isn't just a footnote. In the world of generative AI, information is the only currency that hasn't been devalued by inflation yet. When a report drops about Meta’s Llama 4 training costs or OpenAI’s shift from a non-profit to a for-profit entity, it moves billions of dollars in market cap.
The Weird Symbiosis Between Meta and OpenAI Leaks
Honestly, the rivalry between Meta and OpenAI is the most entertaining thing in tech right now. You have Mark Zuckerberg, who has basically rebranded his entire persona into an open-source warrior, and Sam Altman, who is leading what is arguably the most secretive and well-funded startup in human history.
Meta is trying to "democratize" AI by releasing the weights of their Llama models. OpenAI is building a walled garden. But here’s the kicker: they both leak like crazy.
When a source Meta OpenAI The Information story breaks, it’s usually because someone internally is frustrated. In OpenAI’s case, we saw this during the "palace coup" when Sam Altman was briefly ousted. The Information was one of the few outlets that actually had the granular details of the board's internal Slack messages. They aren't just reporting on the tech; they’re reporting on the egos.
At Meta, the leaks are different. They’re more about the logistics of scale. Meta is spending tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure. Every time a reporter gets their hands on an internal memo about "Compute Clusters," it gives us a glimpse into the actual physical reality of AI. We talk about the "cloud" like it's magic. It’s not. It’s a series of massive warehouses in Iowa and Oregon filled with Nvidia chips that get hot enough to cook an egg.
How The Information Actually Gets the Goods
You might wonder how one relatively small publication consistently out-scoops the New York Times. It’s about the "beat."
The Information doesn't care about general news. They don't write about politics or local sports. They write for people who work in tech or invest in it. This creates a feedback loop. Because everyone in the industry reads it, everyone in the industry knows that if they want to get a message out—anonymously, of course—The Information is the place to do it.
It’s a specific kind of tradecraft. Journalists there, like Stephanie Palazzolo or Amir Efrati, have built networks over years. When a source Meta OpenAI The Information report mentions that OpenAI's revenue hit $3.4 billion on an annualized basis, that didn't come from a LinkedIn post. It came from a series of "hush-hush" meetings and verified internal documents.
OpenAI’s Profit Pivot: What the Leaks Revealed
One of the most significant stories to come out of these sources recently is the structural change at OpenAI. For a long time, the "non-profit" label was OpenAI’s shield. It made them look like the good guys.
But as the costs of training models skyrocketed—we are talking about $100 billion data centers—that shield started to crack. Reports surfaced (again, largely via The Information) that OpenAI was looking to give Sam Altman equity and remove the "profit cap" for investors.
This isn't just "business news." It’s a fundamental shift in how the most powerful technology of our generation is being governed. If OpenAI is a pure for-profit entity, their incentive to prioritize "safety" over "speed" goes out the window.
- The Funding Gap: Building AGI is expensive.
- The Talent War: Meta is poaching OpenAI researchers with $5 million+ packages.
- The Pivot: Moving to a traditional corporate structure to keep the lights on.
Meta’s Open Source Gambit
On the flip side, Meta’s leaks usually focus on their "Open Source" strategy. Why would a company that makes money on ads give away its best tech for free?
According to internal Meta sources, it’s a strategic move to kill the competition's moats. If everyone uses Llama, then OpenAI’s proprietary models become less valuable. It’s the "Android vs. iPhone" strategy applied to LLMs. If you can't be the only player, make sure the other guy can't charge a premium for his product.
But even "open source" has its limits. Internal reports suggest that Meta’s Llama 3 training was hampered by power supply issues. You can have all the engineers in the world, but if the local power grid can't handle 100,000 GPUs running at once, you’re stuck. These are the kinds of details that source Meta OpenAI The Information provides—the gritty, unglamorous reality of the AI race.
Why You Should Be Skeptical of Every Leak
Look, we have to be real for a second. Leaks aren't always "accidental."
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In many cases, a leak is a controlled release of information. If OpenAI wants to scare off competitors, they might "leak" how powerful their next model is. If Meta wants to attract top-tier researchers, they might "leak" the massive compute resources they have available.
When you read a headline citing a source Meta OpenAI The Information, ask yourself: Who benefits from this being public? Sometimes it’s a whistleblower who is genuinely worried about AI safety. Other times, it’s an executive trying to pump the company’s valuation before a funding round. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle, buried under layers of NDAs and off-the-record background chats.
The Future of "The Information" as a Tech Gatekeeper
We are entering an era of "Deep Tech" where the average person can't really understand what’s happening under the hood. We rely on translators.
The Information has positioned itself as the primary translator for the AI boom. But this creates a power dynamic. If one publication becomes the primary "source" for Meta and OpenAI news, they have the power to shape the narrative of the entire industry.
It’s a lot of responsibility for a subscription-based news site. But so far, their track record for accuracy has been annoyingly good. They were the first to report on the internal friction at Google’s DeepMind, the first to detail the specs of Apple’s Vision Pro years before it launched, and they continue to be the thorn in the side of every PR person at Meta and OpenAI.
Moving Beyond the Headlines: Actionable Steps
If you’re trying to keep up with the AI arms race without losing your mind, you need a strategy. You can't just react to every "breaking" tweet.
- Verify the Source: If a story about Meta or OpenAI is making waves, check if the original reporting came from a vetted source like The Information, Reuters, or Bloomberg. Avoid "news aggregators" that add their own hype.
- Look for the "Why": Why is this leak happening now? Usually, leaks coincide with product launches, board meetings, or earnings calls.
- Monitor the "Compute" Narrative: Don't just watch the software. Watch the hardware. The most reliable leaks are about GPU orders and data center permits. That’s where the real power lies.
- Follow the Talent: Watch where the researchers go. If top people are leaving OpenAI for Meta (or vice versa), something is brewing. Use platforms like LinkedIn or specialized tech newsletters to track "brain drain."
The AI world moves fast. One day OpenAI is the king of the hill, the next day Meta releases a model that matches GPT-4 for free. Staying informed isn't about reading every headline; it's about understanding the machinery of how that information gets to you in the first place. Whether it's a disgruntled engineer or a calculated executive move, the source Meta OpenAI The Information remains the most important signal in a world full of noise.
Keep an eye on the infrastructure. The next big scoop won't be about a chatbot's "feelings"—it'll be about the power grid in northern Virginia and the proprietary chips being designed in Menlo Park. That's where the future is being built, one leaked memo at a time.