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

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Recent Editions

Illustration by Clark Miller

Corridors of Capital

A Sand Hill Road in the Sky: Inside Venture Capital’s New Power Building

By Abram Brown · Feb 10, 2023 11:00am PST · 6 comments

I really should show you the roof,” said Alexa von Tobel, perched on a white bouclé chair in the gleaming Manhattan offices of her venture firm, Inspired Capital. “Let’s pop up there.” We whisked out of the ninth-floor conference room, past a large portrait by Alex Katz, the Brooklyn-born artist currently receiving... I really should show you the roof,” said Alexa von Tobel, perched on a white bouclé...

Graphic by Clark Miller

Tales from the Shredder: How a Quarter-Million Fired Tech Workers Are Picking Up the Pieces

By Arielle Pardes · Feb 10, 2023 9:30am PST · 3 comments

On a brisk Wednesday in December, Pakin Wirojwatanakul made his usual commute to the downtown San Francisco office of fintech startup Plaid. But when he arrived, the front desk security guard told him to go home. Puzzled, he left the office and reversed his commute. Then he received a cryptic text from a friend: “Are you safe?”... On a brisk Wednesday in December, Pakin Wirojwatanakul made his usual commute to the downtown San...

Serena Williams partnering with Tonal. Photos by Tonal.

Home Gym Maker Tonal Looks for Buyer After Burning Through Cash

By Maria Heeter, Ann Gehan and Cory Weinberg · Feb 10, 2023 8:50am PST · 3 comments

Tonal, a celebrity-backed home fitness startup that saw its valuation balloon to $1.6 billion in 2021, has explored options including a sale, two people familiar with the matter said. Tonal—an even more upmarket alternative to Peloton—burned through cash last year after spending heavily on hiring, opening bricks-and-mortar showrooms... Tonal, a celebrity-backed home fitness startup that saw its valuation balloon to $1.6 billion in...

Photo by Getty

HR Software Startups Enjoy Booming Business Despite Tech’s Hiring Pullback

By Mark Matousek · Feb 10, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Photo by Getty

HR Software Startups Enjoy Booming Business Despite Tech’s Hiring Pullback

By Mark Matousek · Feb 10, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

You might think with so many tech firms laying off staff, this wouldn’t be a good time for the startups that specialize in selling recruiting and other human resources–related software, such as Deel, Rippling and Pave. The opposite may actually be true. These firms are enjoying robust business, as at least some companies that last... You might think with so many tech firms laying off staff, this wouldn’t be a good time for...

Photo by Shutterstock.

The Flaw in Apple’s ‘Installed Base’ Metric

By Martin Peers · Feb 9, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Here’s an idea for the new AI-powered Bing: Write the script for the next Apple quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. It wouldn’t be difficult. Throw in the phrases “installed base rose to a new all-time high” and “customers are loving the new iPhone” and you’re halfway there. The same would be true for many other big tech... Here’s an idea for the new AI-powered Bing: Write the script for the next Apple quarterly...

Spillt co-founders Maddy and Ann Baum (left to right). Photo courtesy of subjects

Creator Economy

An Ex-Instagram Engineer Launches a Social Cooking App

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 9, 2023 2:30pm PST · 2 comments

Short cooking videos have exploded on TikTok and other social media networks, but the food bloggers who make them still largely depend on their personal websites to bring in income from ads. For people looking for online recipes created by these bloggers, it can be hard to keep track of them or save favorites in one place. Spillt, an app... Short cooking videos have exploded on TikTok and other social media networks, but the food...

Photo via Bloomberg

VC’s Limited Partners Are Still Pissed

By Kate Clark · Feb 9, 2023 2:13pm PST · 3 comments

The rush to join the Church of Sam Altman marked the beginning of an entirely new hype cycle, this time relating to generative AI. But venture capital’s limited partners are still reeling from the last cycle and their trust in startup investors might be at an all-time low.LPs, the individuals who represent family offices, funds of funds,... The rush to join the Church of Sam Altman marked the beginning of an entirely new hype cycle,...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Kills Its Industrial Metaverse Team After 4 Months

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 9, 2023 1:07pm PST · 3 comments

Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Kills Its Industrial Metaverse Team After 4 Months

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 9, 2023 1:07pm PST · 3 comments

In a surprising reversal, Microsoft has killed a team it formed four months ago to help customers use the metaverse in industrial settings, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The group’s roughly 100 employees have all been laid off, the person said. Microsoft created its Industrial Metaverse Core team in October to... In a surprising reversal, Microsoft has killed a team it formed four months ago to help customers...

Art by Clark Miller and Shane Burke.

Section 230 Has to Go

By Bradley Tusk · Feb 9, 2023 9:00am PST · 56 comments

On Monday, The Information published an opinion piece with the headline “Let Section 230 Stay.” Today, we present an opposing point of view. If you’re reading The Information, you already know that the internet is a toxic waste dump. How could it not be? Negative content attracts more eyeballs than positive content. The... On Monday, The Information published an opinion piece with the headline “Let Section 230...

Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Without Genesis, the Future of Barry Silbert’s DCG Hinges on a Bitcoin Bounce

By Akash Pasricha and Aidan Ryan · Feb 9, 2023 6:00am PST

Barry Silbert spent nearly a decade building Digital Currency Group, a cryptocurrency giant with subsidiaries spanning trading, media, mining, venture investing and more. After a turbulent few months, that empire is set to shrink dramatically. The big question now is what the remaining pieces of the DCG, which landed a $10 billion valuation in a... Barry Silbert spent nearly a decade building Digital Currency Group, a cryptocurrency giant with...

Bob Iger. Photo by Bloomberg.

Iger’s Disney Fix-It Plan Has Something for Everyone

By Martin Peers · Feb 8, 2023 5:00pm PST

Bob Iger really should have run for president, as he once considered doing. His political instinct is unmatched, at least among CEOs. On Wednesday, in his first quarterly earnings call since returning to the top job at Disney, Iger offered something for everyone. A return of the dividend! Layoffs! Creative executives get their power back!... Bob Iger really should have run for president, as he once considered doing. His political...

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Photo by Getty Images.

Robinhood’s Post-FTX Bump Turned Out to Be Short Lived

By Aidan Ryan · Feb 8, 2023 4:29pm PST

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Photo by Getty Images.

Robinhood’s Post-FTX Bump Turned Out to Be Short Lived

By Aidan Ryan · Feb 8, 2023 4:29pm PST

Robinhood’s crypto trading business got a boost from the implosion of FTX in November, but it turned out to be very short lived. As we’d reported at the time, Robinhood’s crypto trading volume surged 60% from October to November, which likely reflected former FTX customers moving over to Robinhood’s app. But the question was how much of... Robinhood’s crypto trading business got a boost from the implosion of FTX in November, but it...

Photo by Getty

Creator Economy

Reddit’s Ad Gains Could Mean More Cash for Creators

By Isabelle Sarraf · Feb 8, 2023 3:34pm PST · 1 comment

This morning, I published a story about Reddit, the online news aggregator and discussion forum, which benefited from a jump in year-over-year advertising spending at the end of 2022, a contrast with drops for competitors including Meta Platforms, Snap and Pinterest. Reddit may still only draw a sliver of spending from large advertisers, but a... This morning, I published a story about Reddit, the online news aggregator and discussion forum,...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

Musk Tells Twitter Staff to Pause Development Amid Outage

By Erin Woo · Feb 8, 2023 3:11pm PST

Elon Musk told employees on Wednesday afternoon to pause feature development as Twitter staff worked to solve an outage that left users unable to tweet or send and read direct messages for more than an hour. “Please pause for now on new feature development in favor of maximizing system stability and robustness, especially with the Super... Elon Musk told employees on Wednesday afternoon to pause feature development as Twitter staff...

Alexis Ohanian. Photo by AP.

Alexis Ohanian Venture Fund Plots $776 Million in New Funds

By Kate Clark · Feb 8, 2023 12:26pm PST

Seven Seven Six, the venture capital fund launched by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2020, plans to raise $776 million for two new funds, according to investment documents viewed by The Information. The planned fundraising is more than 50% bigger than what it raised last year and will test investor appetite for bigger funds during a tough... Seven Seven Six, the venture capital fund launched by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2020,...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. Art by Clark Miller. Photos by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

OpenAI’s Hidden Weapon: Ex-Google Engineers

By Jon Victor · Feb 8, 2023 11:00am PST · 3 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. Art by Clark Miller. Photos by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

OpenAI’s Hidden Weapon: Ex-Google Engineers

By Jon Victor · Feb 8, 2023 11:00am PST · 3 comments

As OpenAI’s web chatbot became a global sensation in recent months, artificial intelligence practitioners and investors have wondered how a seven-year-old startup beat Google to the punch. Google runs two of the world’s foremost AI research groups, yet a startup quickly developed a product, ChatGPT, that tens of millions of people... As OpenAI’s web chatbot became a global sensation in recent months, artificial intelligence...

Art by Shane Burke. Photos via Reddit/Shutterstock.

How Reddit Grew Its Ad Business, Bolstering IPO Hopes

By Isabelle Sarraf · Feb 8, 2023 6:00am PST

While whiling away the hours on Call of Duty and other videogames, gamers love to chew on Kraft Singles. At least, that’s what research done by food giant Kraft Heinz implies. So to drive more sales of the individually wrapped pieces of processed cheese, Kraft Heinz targeted gaming interest groups on Reddit and launched an ad in the form... While whiling away the hours on Call of Duty and other videogames, gamers love to chew on Kraft...

In the Enovix lab in Fremont, Calif. Photo: Courtesy Enovix

The Electric: Two More Senior Executives Leave Silicon Battery Maker Enovix

By Steve LeVine · Feb 8, 2023 4:30am PST

Two more senior executives have stepped down from silicon anode developer Enovix in recent weeks, including co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Ashok Lahiri, part of a widening shakeup after the company missed key milestones in scaling up. Two more senior executives have stepped down from silicon anode developer Enovix in recent weeks,...

Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Might Keep Losing in Search and Still Win

By Nick Wingfield · Feb 7, 2023 5:00pm PST

Could Microsoft win even if it loses in the next chapter of internet search? That was the question running through my head at an event in Redmond, Wash., earlier today, where Microsoft confirmed reporting from The Information and others when it announced it will remake its Bing search engine using artificial intelligence technology from... Could Microsoft win even if it loses in the next chapter of internet search? That was the...

Ben Schwerin. Photo: Getty

The Questions Around Snap’s TikTok Clone After Top Exec Resigns

By Mahira Dayal · Feb 7, 2023 3:22pm PST

Ben Schwerin. Photo: Getty

Creator Economy

The Questions Around Snap’s TikTok Clone After Top Exec Resigns

By Mahira Dayal · Feb 7, 2023 3:22pm PST

After eight years at the company, Snap’s senior vice president of content and partnerships, Ben Schwerin, is departing to join Coatue Management as a general partner, my colleague Kate reported. Schwerin helped lead Snap’s Spotlight, the app’s TikTok clone launched at the end of 2020. His replacement will face the task of maintaining Spotlight’s... After eight years at the company, Snap’s senior vice president of content and partnerships, Ben...