The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Chris Dixon, who leads crypto investments at Andreessen Horowitz. Photo by Getty Images

The Pro Weekly: Andreessen Horowitz Plays a Vital Role in the Creator Economy

By Scott Thurm · Mar 17, 2023 8:32am PDT

Andreessen Horowitz plays an outsize role in the startup ecosystem. But its influence among startups catering to creators is even greater. The firm has been a lead investor in at least one funding round for 23 companies in The Information’s Creator Economy Database. No other firm comes close: The next most common backers of creator startups are... Andreessen Horowitz plays an outsize role in the startup ecosystem. But its influence among...

The People With Power at Binance and Binance.US

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 17, 2023 6:03am PDT

After a series of crypto collapses over the past year, Binance has cemented its position as the industry’s powerhouse. But the world’s biggest crypto exchange by volume had been under mounting scrutiny from regulators even before the implosion of its top rival, FTX. Media reports over the past year have also revealed... After a series of crypto collapses over the past year, Binance has cemented its position as the...

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft, speaks during an interview in Redmond, Washington, on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.

Tech Rivalries Are Getting Feisty Again

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 16, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The year was 2008 or so and Silicon Valley was in full swing. As an internet reporter—this is back when most of the internet companies were under one beat—it was my job to cover announcements out of Google, Yahoo, Facebook and the other rising tech giants. And I was pretty busy. Facebook was expanding to new geographies, and Google responded to... The year was 2008 or so and Silicon Valley was in full swing. As an internet reporter—this is...

Photo by Shutterstock

Venture Capitalists Made a Big Mess of SVB

By Kate Clark · Mar 16, 2023 3:30pm PDT · 25 comments

Photo by Shutterstock

Venture Capitalists Made a Big Mess of SVB

By Kate Clark · Mar 16, 2023 3:30pm PDT · 25 comments

Venture capitalists just gave a master class in how not to handle a crisis. My sympathy goes out to the founders. They’ve been bombarded with conflicting advice for days, from all-caps emails written by panicked “seasoned” venture investors urging them to pull their funds out of Silicon Valley Bank, to emergency Zoom calls asking them to... Venture capitalists just gave a master class in how not to handle a crisis. My sympathy goes...

Photo via AP

Creator Economy

TikTokers Have Been Through Ban Threats Before

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 16, 2023 3:15pm PDT · 1 comment

The threat of a TikTok ban is once again a real possibility, after U.S. officials said the ByteDance-owned app needed to rid itself of its Chinese ownership. Creators, having been through this rigmarole three years ago, are more prepared this time.In August 2020—when a U.S. ban felt imminent under former President Donald Trump—many of them ... The threat of a TikTok ban is once again a real possibility, after U.S. officials said the...

Photo by AP.

TikTok Sale Likely to Be Rejected by China

By Juro Osawa, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan, Kaya Yurieff and Shai Oster · Mar 16, 2023 2:55pm PDT · 10 comments

The Chinese government is likely to oppose any attempt by the Biden administration to force TikTok’s Chinese shareholders to sell their stakes in the hugely popular app, said China-based lawyers and investors, setting the stage for a protracted standoff between Beijing and Washington over the future of TikTok. “Why would China agree?... The Chinese government is likely to oppose any attempt by the Biden administration to force...

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. Photo by Getty.

No More Four-Year Lockups: Stripe’s Sprint to a $7 Billion Fundraising Haul

By Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Mar 16, 2023 2:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Two years ago, when Stripe raised money at a valuation of $95 billion, the payments giant had such an upper hand over investors that it could institute some highly unusual conditions in its fundraising round. Investors had to agree to hold onto their shares for four years after the company went public. And Stripe had the option to sell them even... Two years ago, when Stripe raised money at a valuation of $95 billion, the payments giant had...

A First Republic Bank in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

First Republic CEO Told Regulators Earlier This Year His Bank Didn’t Need More Rules

By Michael Roddan and Lauren Tara LaCapra · Mar 16, 2023 2:02pm PDT

A First Republic Bank in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

First Republic CEO Told Regulators Earlier This Year His Bank Didn’t Need More Rules

By Michael Roddan and Lauren Tara LaCapra · Mar 16, 2023 2:02pm PDT

On Thursday, First Republic Bank CEO Mike Roffler hashed out a $30 billion rescue plan for his bank with the biggest institutions on Wall Street at the urging of the federal government. But less than two months ago, he was pleading with the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to exclude his San Francisco-based lender from... On Thursday, First Republic Bank CEO Mike Roffler hashed out a $30 billion rescue plan for his...

The Information's Jessica Lessin, appearing live on CNN on Wednesday, March 15. Composite art by Clark Miller

Notes from a Meltdown

Five Years in Five Days: How I Panicked, Pivoted and Ultimately Survived as My Bank Melted Down

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 16, 2023 12:42pm PDT · 23 comments

It started with a text from a tech investor last Wednesday afternoon. Shares in Silicon Valley Bank were tanking following the announcement of an emergency stock sale, the person told me. The bank that I had used to establish The Information 10 years ago, and that I had stuck with since, was in danger of spontaneously combusting. The investor... It started with a text from a tech investor last Wednesday afternoon. Shares in Silicon Valley...

Subscriber Survey

The Information Readers Turn Bearish

By Scott Thurm · Mar 16, 2023 9:30am PDT · 1 comment

What a difference a month makes. In early February readers of The Information were optimistic about 2023, with nearly three times as many respondents saying they expected conditions for tech companies to improve over the next six months as expected conditions to worsen. Now that sentiment has reversed. By more than 2-to-1, respondents to our... What a difference a month makes. In early February readers of The Information were optimistic...

Art by Clark Miller.

Robots Don’t Make Art

By Ryan Broderick · Mar 16, 2023 9:00am PDT · 7 comments

One of the central tensions of the past 30 years when it comes to art and culture has been the need to balance the unbridled creativity afforded us by the internet with the ability of our legal institutions to make sense of who owns it. Since the artificial intelligence revolution began in earnest last summer with the launch of OpenAI’s... One of the central tensions of the past 30 years when it comes to art and culture has been the...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

In Search of Profits, Google Cloud Shifts Focus to Midsize Customers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 16, 2023 6:00am PDT

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

In Search of Profits, Google Cloud Shifts Focus to Midsize Customers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 16, 2023 6:00am PDT

During Thomas Kurian’s nearly five years at the helm of Google’s cloud-server business, the unit has raised its profile by inking long-term agreements with companies such as Deutsche Bank, Dun & Bradstreet Holdings and Mayo Clinic. But Google Cloud has struggled to get those companies to quickly increase their spending on cloud... During Thomas Kurian’s nearly five years at the helm of Google’s cloud-server...

The TikTok offices in Culver City, Calif. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Ban Threat Is Déjà Vu Moment

By Martin Peers · Mar 15, 2023 5:33pm PDT · 1 comment

What a bunch of Keystone cops. That’s the only way to think about the national security folks behind the latest U.S. threat to ban TikTok. As The Information reported just now, following an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration is demanding that Chinese tech giant ByteDance sell TikTok—or else face a ban. That’s... What a bunch of Keystone cops. That’s the only way to think about the national security folks...

A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco, on Monday, March 13, 2023. Photo by AP.

SVB’s $9.5 Billion Venture Unit Included Large Investments in Andreessen, Sequoia, Documents Show

By Kate Clark · Mar 15, 2023 5:29pm PDT · 4 comments

As potential buyers circle the remnants of Silicon Valley Bank and its affiliates, one asset could be particularly appealing: the company’s venture capital arm. The unit manages $9.5 billion with stakes in many of Silicon Valley's top-tier venture firms, including Sequoia Capital, giving it indirect access to some of the tech... As potential buyers circle the remnants of Silicon Valley Bank and its affiliates, one asset...

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok, in November 2022. Photo by Bloomberg

U.S. Officials Demand ByteDance Sell TikTok

By Juro Osawa · Mar 15, 2023 4:23pm PDT · 5 comments

The Biden administration in recent days demanded that Chinese internet giant ByteDance sell TikTok despite the company’s yearslong effort to avoid such a decision, according to a person briefed about the situation. U.S. officials told TikTok to rid itself of Chinese ownership and implied the app could face an outright ban if ByteDance... The Biden administration in recent days demanded that Chinese internet giant ByteDance sell...

Sima Gandhi, CEO and co-founder of Creative Juice. Art by Shane Burke.

Creators Get Help With Their Taxes

By Isabelle Sarraf · Mar 15, 2023 3:19pm PDT · 1 comment

Sima Gandhi, CEO and co-founder of Creative Juice. Art by Shane Burke.

Creator Economy

Creators Get Help With Their Taxes

By Isabelle Sarraf · Mar 15, 2023 3:19pm PDT · 1 comment

With the April 18 tax deadline creeping up, many creators are firing up QuickBooks for the first time and wading through online forums to identify the tax write-offs they can claim. It’s not as intuitive as it seems, particularly for those new to reporting income from their online careers that have to string together multiple sources of... With the April 18 tax deadline creeping up, many creators are firing up QuickBooks for the first...

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo by Bloomberg.

Circle CEO on Where Crypto Goes After Bank ‘Whack-a-mole’

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 15, 2023 2:09pm PDT

“Whack-a-mole of banking activity.”That was how Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described the current crypto banking climate, when I caught up with him Wednesday. And he’s right! Over just a few short days, crypto-focused banks Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank and startup favorite Silicon Valley Bank all collapsed. While Silicon Valley Bank had... “Whack-a-mole of banking activity.”That was how Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described the current...

Art by Clark Miller.

Microsoft Rations Access to AI Hardware for Internal Teams

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 15, 2023 1:32pm PDT · 4 comments

Microsoft is poised to announce a suite of Office 365 tools powered by GPT-4, the powerful new artificial intelligence software made by OpenAI. But now Microsoft is facing an internal shortage of the server hardware needed to run the AI, according to three current Microsoft employees. That has forced the company to ration access to the hardware... Microsoft is poised to announce a suite of Office 365 tools powered by GPT-4, the powerful new...

Two Silicon Valley Bank customers enter a branch in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday. Photo by AP.

Government Will Likely Only Sell Silicon Valley Bank to Another Bank, Sources Say

By Michael Roddan, Erin Woo and Lauren Tara LaCapra · Mar 15, 2023 11:18am PDT · 9 comments

The U.S. government will likely only sell Silicon Valley Bank to another bank, people familiar with the matter said, essentially ruling out the private equity firms and venture capitalists that had been exploring making a bid. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over SVB, which failed Friday, and is in the process of selling it. A person... The U.S. government will likely only sell Silicon Valley Bank to another bank, people familiar...

A recent New York Knicks/Los Angeles Lakers game. Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images.

NBA Wants Billions More in Sports Deals: Media and Tech Firms Are Resistant

By Sahil Patel · Mar 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

A recent New York Knicks/Los Angeles Lakers game. Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images.

NBA Wants Billions More in Sports Deals: Media and Tech Firms Are Resistant

By Sahil Patel · Mar 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. It also has high hopes for squeezing far more money out of media outlets in negotiations for future TV broadcast rights, in part because tech giants including Amazon and Google have told the league of their interest in streaming the games. According to two people who have recently... The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. It also has high hopes for...