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

Photo by Bloomberg

Pro Weekly: Twitter’s Intern and Our IPO Tracker’s New Winners and Losers

By Kalley Huang · May 19, 2023 8:00am PDT

Since Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, he and his deputies have aggressively cut jobs and slashed costs. During that process, Twitter’s internship program was canceled. But Twitter now has one intern: Arjun Chimni, who was hired as a corporate functions intern in April, according to The Information’s reporting. That’s... Since Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, he and his deputies have...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

YouTube Undercuts Amazon on Streaming Push

By Sahil Patel · May 19, 2023 6:00am PDT

YouTube and Netflix are the most-watched streaming services in America. But it is Amazon that has come closest to building a streaming version of cable TV with its Prime Video Channels service, which lets Prime subscribers easily sign up for a wide range of streaming services run by other companies. It’s an enormously profitable business,... YouTube and Netflix are the most-watched streaming services in America. But it is Amazon that has...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Don’t Dismiss Apple’s Mixed-Reality Headset Just Yet

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 18, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

When I attended a press event showcasing the Apple Watch back in 2015, I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t really care about the custom gold alloys the company bragged about or think that people would buy it for a price that would go as high as $10,000 (for the very fancy version).Of course, I was wrong about the overall product. Today, the Apple Watch... When I attended a press event showcasing the Apple Watch back in 2015, I wasn’t impressed. I didn...

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo: Getty Images for YouTube

YouTube’s Ad Pitch Helped by Hollywood Upheaval

By Kaya Yurieff · May 18, 2023 3:34pm PDT

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo: Getty Images for YouTube

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Ad Pitch Helped by Hollywood Upheaval

By Kaya Yurieff · May 18, 2023 3:34pm PDT

YouTube played up its longstanding relationships with creators at its Brandcast event for advertisers on Wednesday night, showing the increasing importance of creator-generated content during a tumultuous time for Hollywood. Such annual presentations, known as upfronts because advertisers book ad spending commitments in advance for the... YouTube played up its longstanding relationships with creators at its Brandcast event for...

Art via Shutterstock

An Accelerator Implodes, Leaving Founders in Shock

By Kate Clark · May 18, 2023 3:01pm PDT · 4 comments

If you ask a startup founder what they look for in an accelerator program, they’d probably hope for access to startup veterans and connections to prominent venture capitalists. By all accounts, they didn’t get much of that from Newchip, whose parent Astralabs last week entered into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving creditors owed $4.8 million... If you ask a startup founder what they look for in an accelerator program, they’d probably hope...

Art by Clark Miller.

How to Be a Crypto Whistleblower

By Poppy Alexander · May 18, 2023 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

In the past few months, both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have brought aggressive enforcement actions against crypto exchanges. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Tron founder Justin Sun and Terra founder Do Kwon have all been either charged or sued by one of these two agencies. Meanwhile, the... In the past few months, both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.

Instacart’s Ad Business Surges

By Cory Weinberg · May 18, 2023 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Instacart has become an advertising powerhouse. The grocery-delivery firm’s ad revenue totaled about $740 million last year, up 30% from 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. That’s a striking increase, given that the digital ad market was largely stagnant last year. Nearly 30% of Instacart’s 2022 revenue came... Instacart has become an advertising powerhouse. The grocery-delivery firm’s ad revenue...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, fourth from left, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, fifth from left. Photo: Courtesy Office of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Electric: Tesla’s Rivals Are Missing a Big Opportunity to Slash Battery Costs

By Steve LeVine · May 18, 2023 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, fourth from left, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, fifth from left. Photo: Courtesy Office of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Electric: Tesla’s Rivals Are Missing a Big Opportunity to Slash Battery Costs

By Steve LeVine · May 18, 2023 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

Early this month in the Texan port city of Corpus Christi, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a phalanx of local officials shoveled dirt onto the site of the first commercial-scale factory of its kind: a $375 million lithium refinery using equipment that slashes operating costs by a third while processing enough of the metal to power 1 million electric... Early this month in the Texan port city of Corpus Christi, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a phalanx of...

Photo by Bloomberg

WeWork Sinks Lower as Its Task Ahead Grows Taller

By Martin Peers · May 17, 2023 5:00pm PDT

There’s a saying that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” You could apply that to a bunch of money-losing companies in the (very broadly defined) tech sector that are still hanging around such as Lyft, Bird Global and BuzzFeed. But the best example would have to be WeWork, which has deflated like a blowup swimming pool with a puncture... There’s a saying that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” You could apply that to a...

Photo via Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Facebook Doubles Down on Reels; Montana Bans TikTok

By Isabelle Sarraf · May 17, 2023 3:20pm PDT

Facebook has been doubling down on its creator efforts this week, emphasizing Reels above all else.The flagship Meta Platforms app held the first in a series of livestreams it’s calling Reels School on Wednesday. Facebook invited creators who have found success posting short-form videos to the site to educate other Reel makers on strategy and... Facebook has been doubling down on its creator efforts this week, emphasizing Reels above all...

Sridhar Ramaswamy. Photo by Getty

Snowflake in Talks to Buy Search Startup Neeva in AI Push

By Kevin McLaughlin, Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · May 17, 2023 1:36pm PDT · 6 comments

Database software provider Snowflake has been in advanced talks to acquire Neeva, a search startup founded by former top Google ad tech executive Sridhar Ramaswamy, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. Buying Neeva could help Snowflake offer artificial intelligence software that helps companies search for information... Database software provider Snowflake has been in advanced talks to acquire Neeva, a search...

Art by Shane Burke

Why Bakkt Delisting Tokens is a Big Deal for Fintechs

By Aidan Ryan · May 17, 2023 9:00am PDT

Art by Shane Burke

Why Bakkt Delisting Tokens is a Big Deal for Fintechs

By Aidan Ryan · May 17, 2023 9:00am PDT

A behind-the-scenes crypto company is roiling crypto trading apps. In case you missed it, I scooped on Friday that Bakkt is delisting three-fourths of the crypto tokens supported by Apex Crypto, a custody and clearing service the company bought last month. These companies aren’t exactly household names, but their services help power crypto... A behind-the-scenes crypto company is roiling crypto trading apps. In case you missed it, I ...

Subscriber Survey

Readers Are Split on the Tech Outlook, but Bullish on Big Names

By Kalley Huang · May 17, 2023 7:00am PDT

Readers of The Information are split on the outlook for technology companies, but they’ve turned more optimistic about some big tech names. Asked whether conditions for technology companies would improve or worsen over the next six months, 35% of respondents to our latest reader survey said they would improve, 35% said they would worsen... Readers of The Information are split on the outlook for technology companies, but they’ve...

Workers at a Veho facility in Atlanta in 2021. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank-Backed Veho Struggles as Logistics Startups Fail to Deliver

By Ann Gehan · May 17, 2023 6:00am PDT

After landing nearly $300 million from investors including SoftBank and Tiger Global Management in back-to-back funding rounds in late 2021 and early 2022, delivery startup Veho planned an ambitious expansion that would bring its home dropoff services to 50 cities across the U.S. by the end of last year. But Veho, which offers package deliveries... After landing nearly $300 million from investors including SoftBank and Tiger Global Management...

Linda Yaccarino, incoming CEO of Twitter. Photo by Getty.

Musk and Yaccarino Are Bound to Clash

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

As I have been digesting the news that Elon Musk is going to officially install NBC advertising veteran Linda Yaccarino as head of Twitter, I’m perplexed. In at least one dimension that seems fairly important to Musk—thriftiness—I suspect they are worlds apart. Yaccarino has spent her career wooing Madison Avenue in all the ways heads... As I have been digesting the news that Elon Musk is going to officially install NBC advertising...

Photo by Shutterstock.

PayPal, Under Shareholder Pressure, Looks to Sell Xoom

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · May 16, 2023 3:57pm PDT

Photo by Shutterstock.

PayPal, Under Shareholder Pressure, Looks to Sell Xoom

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · May 16, 2023 3:57pm PDT

PayPal has been seeking buyers for Xoom, a service that allows people to transfer money internationally, according to a person familiar with the matter. The sale efforts could signal that activist investor Elliott Management, which accumulated a stake last year, is having an impact on PayPal’s strategic thinking. PayPal acquired Xoom... PayPal has been seeking buyers for Xoom, a service that allows people to transfer money...

Matt Kirkland, creator of the Dracula Daily newsletter. Photo via Matt Kirkland. Art by Shane Burke.

Creator Economy

The Substacker Whose Dracula Serial Spawned a Newsletter Craze

By Isabelle Sarraf · May 16, 2023 2:47pm PDT

Everyone has a hefty classic sitting on their bookshelf collecting dust that they swear they’ll eventually get to but never do. Matt Kirkland has made a side project of helping some of those intimidated readers: Over 262,000 have signed up to read Bram Stoker’s “Dracula" serialized in his free Substack newsletter, Dracula Daily.Kirkland, 42,... Everyone has a hefty classic sitting on their bookshelf collecting dust that they swear they’ll...

Art by Clark Miller.

AI Will Destroy Jobs. So What Are We Going to Do About It?

By Ben Parr · May 16, 2023 9:00am PDT · 34 comments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s appearance on Capitol Hill this morning is a powerful signal of just how quickly generative artificial intelligence has changed our lives. In the span of just a few months, large language model-based tools have gone from tech novelty to ubiquitous convenience that can do many of the things humans can do, from ... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s appearance on Capitol Hill this morning is a powerful signal of...

Twitter Org Chart Shows the 120 Leaders Musk’s New CEO Inherits

By Erin Woo · May 16, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

As Twitter’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino is set to step into what may be the most difficult job in advertising: rehabilitating Twitter’s tattered reputation among major advertisers. A fresh update to our Twitter org chart gives a detailed look at the executive team who will help her. The chart lists more than 120 executives, managers... As Twitter’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino is set to step into what may be the most difficult...

Photo via Shutterstock

How Vice Media Became a Money Pit

By Martin Peers · May 15, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Shutterstock

How Vice Media Became a Money Pit

By Martin Peers · May 15, 2023 5:00pm PDT

There is such a thing as having too much money. At least, that is, if you’re a startup, as was clear in the paperwork accompanying today’s bankruptcy filing by Vice Media, famously valued at $5.7 billion a few years ago (mostly thanks to the blustery claims of its founder, Shane Smith). This court filing today by a restructuring executive at... There is such a thing as having too much money. At least, that is, if you’re a startup, as was...