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

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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...

Signage outside of the Meta Store in Burlingame, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Making Sense of Mark Zuckerberg’s Manifesto

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 14, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

As if the technology industry hadn’t spit out enough news lately, today brought another big batch of headlines. Once again techies are closely tracking the arrival of OpenAI’s latest conversational artificial intelligence model, dubbed GPT-4. And then there are the sweeping layoffs at Meta Platforms. News of the layoffs, expected to total a... As if the technology industry hadn’t spit out enough news lately, today brought another big batch...

Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. Photo by Bloomberg.

How JPMorgan Maneuvered During the Fall of Silicon Valley Bank

By Lauren Tara LaCapra and Michael Roddan · Mar 14, 2023 3:10pm PDT

When Silicon Valley Bank was crumbling last week, eyes turned to the biggest lender in the country—the bank that had stepped in to save failing competitors during the financial crisis in 2008, whose CEO has been called “America’s banker” and whose views and decisions influence the corporate world. But JPMorgan Chase was... When Silicon Valley Bank was crumbling last week, eyes turned to the biggest lender in the...

Porsche executives discussed digital collectibles at its SXSW event. Photo via Porsche

Creator Economy

At SXSW, Artificial Intelligence Fills Crypto Void

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 14, 2023 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

A big shift at South by Southwest this year is the buzz around artificial intelligence and the relative absence of crypto events after a bonanza last year. Last year, crypto was hard to escape at the tech and arts festival: SXSW attendees sipped on mimosas at a brunch for women in Web3 or waited in long lines to see an interactive event... A big shift at South by Southwest this year is the buzz around artificial intelligence and the...

Marc Rowan, chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management LLC. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apollo Asks VCs to Back Its Bid For Silicon Valley Bank Assets

By Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Mar 14, 2023 12:44pm PDT · 2 comments

Marc Rowan, chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management LLC. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apollo Asks VCs to Back Its Bid For Silicon Valley Bank Assets

By Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Mar 14, 2023 12:44pm PDT · 2 comments

Private equity giant Apollo Global Management has asked major venture capital firms to help finance a bid for the assets of Silicon Valley Bank, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. Earlier, The Information reported that several firms, including General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz and Redpoint Ventures, had discussed the... Private equity giant Apollo Global Management has asked major venture capital firms to help...