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

Art by Clark Miller.

The Astrophysicist Who Pivoted to AI and Nanotech

By Annie Goldsmith · Jan 21, 2023 7:00am PST · 1 comment

“I always bring an umbrella and sunglasses—hope for the best, plan for the worst,” said Alice Globus, who is building her career on the same philosophy. Globus is the New York–based chief financial officer of Nanotronics, which is bringing artificial intelligence to manufacturing, automating processes for making... “I always bring an umbrella and sunglasses—hope for the best, plan for the...

Citizen Andreessen Is Still Looking for His Rosebud

Citizen Andreessen Is Still Looking for His Rosebud

By Jon Steinberg · Jan 21, 2023 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!“I am very bullish on the future of the news business,” wrote Marc Andreessen in 2014, predicting 10x to 100x growth for the journalism industry over the next 20 years. “But as Tommy Lasorda said: ‘Nobody said this f—king job would be all that f—king easy.’”Andreessen was half right, anyway: The last decade hasn’... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!“I am very bullish on the future of the news business,” wrote...

Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Laid Off High Performers and Earners While Largely Sparing ‘Brain’ AI Lab

By Amir Efrati and Jon Victor · Jan 20, 2023 2:20pm PST · 3 comments

Google's move to lay off 6.4% of staff on Friday didn’t come as a shock to most employees, but it stunned some of the individuals who were cut. Laid-off employees included those who had previously received high performance reviews or held managerial positions with annual compensation packages of $500,000 to $1 million, according... Google's move to lay off 6.4% of staff on Friday didn’t come as a shock to most...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: The Venture Investor Who Runs Through Antarctica in Silence

By Margaux MacColl · Jan 20, 2023 1:00pm PST · 3 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: The Venture Investor Who Runs Through Antarctica in Silence

By Margaux MacColl · Jan 20, 2023 1:00pm PST · 3 comments

Out of the 13 million Diablo II players, Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Moritz Baier-Lentz was No. 1. During his peak gamer years—2001 to 2005—Baier-Lentz was playing the action role-playing game 6 to 8 hours a day, crushing his competitors. It was a lucrative gig: “I traded the digital swords and armor that I earned... Out of the 13 million Diablo II players, Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Moritz Baier-Lentz...

Art by Clark Miller.

Founders' Keepers

Founders’ Keepers: The Gadgets, Mugs and Mementos That CEOs Can’t Work Without

By Paul Armstrong · Jan 20, 2023 11:00am PST · 1 comment

Athletes wear lucky socks. Children have their favorite stuffies. But tech founders? Their most prized workplace possessions run an exceptionally wide gamut, ranging from the idiosyncratic (a Jesuit obelisk) to the alarmingly practical (a pistol lockbox) to the comfortingly basic (a yellow pad and pen). Whether a founder works from home, the... Athletes wear lucky socks. Children have their favorite stuffies. But tech founders? Their most...

Marcelo Claure. Photo via Bloomberg.

Before Bankruptcy, Genesis Won Rich Clients With Blue-Chip Reputation

By Akash Pasricha and Aidan Ryan · Jan 20, 2023 9:18am PST · 1 comment

Of all the crypto lenders to spring up in the past couple of years, Genesis had won over rich individuals—such as former SoftBank executive Marcelo Claure—and families with its Wall Street approach to doing business. That makes Thursday’s late-night bankruptcy filing by Genesis’ lending unit one that will hit the rich... Of all the crypto lenders to spring up in the past couple of years, Genesis had won over rich...

Art by Clark Miller

Citizen Marc: Why the Andreessen Horowitz Founder Can’t Stop Chasing Dreams of a New Media

By Abram Brown · Jan 20, 2023 9:10am PST · 11 comments

The pitch was right up Marc Andreessen’s alley: a fledgling but buzzy digital media startup, which intended not only to produce its own content but to sell its content-management software to other publishers—and, if that worked, to scale its platform to anyone willing to pay. The co-founders? Three men in their 30s, deeply fascinated... The pitch was right up Marc Andreessen’s alley: a fledgling but buzzy digital media...

Illustration by Matheus Costa.

Investors Ready to Pounce on Three Arrows, FTX Startup Stakes as Sales Gear Up

By Akash Pasricha and Aidan Ryan · Jan 20, 2023 6:00am PST

Illustration by Matheus Costa.

Investors Ready to Pounce on Three Arrows, FTX Startup Stakes as Sales Gear Up

By Akash Pasricha and Aidan Ryan · Jan 20, 2023 6:00am PST

Now-bankrupt crypto firms that had been active venture investors will be looking to sell off anything they can to repay creditors—a situation that could soon create a broad reshuffling of investments. First out the gate could be crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which had invested in at least 40 blockchain projects before it imploded... Now-bankrupt crypto firms that had been active venture investors will be looking to sell off...

Neil Shen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Sequoia Capital China Chief Leaves Beijing’s Top Political Advisory Body

By Shai Oster and Juro Osawa · Jan 20, 2023 4:06am PST · 4 comments

Neil Shen, the head of Sequoia Capital’s hugely successful Chinese arm, is no longer a member of Beijing’s top political advisory body, raising questions about his relationship with the Chinese government. His absence comes at a time when Sequoia Capital China is navigating a sensitive environment amid growing geopolitical tensions... Neil Shen, the head of Sequoia Capital’s hugely successful Chinese arm, is no longer a...

Photo by Getty Images

Hastings Turns Wheel Over as Streaming Market Slows

By Martin Peers · Jan 19, 2023 5:00pm PST

It’s the end of an era in streaming. Reed Hastings, co-founder of video-streaming pioneer Netflix, is stepping down as co-CEO, kicking himself upstairs to be executive chair (as he was already chair, he’s giving up more than he’s gaining). Greg Peters, chief operating officer and a 15-year veteran of Netflix, was promoted to be Ted Sarandos’... It’s the end of an era in streaming. Reed Hastings, co-founder of video-streaming pioneer...

Noam Shazeer, co-founder and CEO of Character. Photo by Getty

Don’t Sleep on Google in AI Battle with OpenAI and Microsoft, Says a Key Former Engineer

By Amir Efrati · Jan 19, 2023 2:37pm PST · 5 comments

OpenAI has sparked an explosion of funding and software development around artificial-intelligence software that understands human language. While the technology still makes plenty of mistakes, new applications are coming out in droves, from tools that help marketers write copy to audio chatbots that may be able to negotiate discounts for... OpenAI has sparked an explosion of funding and software development around...

via Bloomberg

What Creators Really Want From Twitter

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 19, 2023 2:16pm PST

via Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What Creators Really Want From Twitter

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 19, 2023 2:16pm PST

Since taking over Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk has made some efforts to court creators, from speaking with them over Zoom to telling staff about his aspirations to turn the social network into a home for video creators. Musk has even indicated he’s open to a potential acquisition of newsletter publisher Substack. But he faces an uphill... Since taking over Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk has made some efforts to court creators, from ...

Photo via Bloomberg

Founders, Beware. An AI Chatbot May Have Written That Pitch Rejection

By Kate Clark · Jan 19, 2023 11:36am PST

Founders, remember that note in your inbox from a venture capitalist who’s “decided not to invest” but “would still like to stay in touch”? It might have been written by an artificial intelligence chatbot.Venture capital investors are tripping over themselves to buy stakes in OpenAI, the company behind the ultra popular new AI tool ChatGPT,... Founders, remember that note in your inbox from a venture capitalist who’s “decided not to invest...

Chart by Shane Burke.

After Apple, Amazon May Face Pressure on Executive Pay This Year

By Mark Matousek · Jan 19, 2023 6:00am PST

Apple may not be the only tech company to cut its CEO’s target compensation this year. Apple drew headlines last week when it announced a 40% cut to Tim Cook’s target pay this year. What was more interesting is that it attributed that cut to a big increase in shareholders voting against its executive compensation at its annual... Apple may not be the only tech company to cut its CEO’s target compensation this year. ...

Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Really Holding Back Twitter Ads

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 18, 2023 5:39pm PST

A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with a former magazine editor in New York when the subject of Elon Musk and Twitter came up. We talked about the advertisers spooked by Musk’s disastrous rollout of the Twitter Blue subscription service, among other things. “Oh, they’ll come back,” he said. “They always do.”Now, we all know how bad the... A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with a former magazine editor in New York when the subject of...

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Photo by Bloomberg

The DOJ’s Bitzlato Buzzkill; Genesis Teeters Toward the Edge

By Aidan Ryan · Jan 18, 2023 4:38pm PST

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Photo by Bloomberg

The DOJ’s Bitzlato Buzzkill; Genesis Teeters Toward the Edge

By Aidan Ryan · Jan 18, 2023 4:38pm PST

So, how about that DOJ presser? The U.S. Department of Justice promised a “major, international cryptocurrency enforcement action” on Wednesday, prompting speculation that it might announce news related to the crypto exchange Binance (which it has reportedly been investigating for its compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws and sanctions... So, how about that DOJ presser? The U.S. Department of Justice promised a “major, international...

Barry Silbert. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Genesis Bankruptcy Would Burn DCG’s Investors

By Akash Pasricha, Aidan Ryan and Lauren Tara LaCapra · Jan 18, 2023 3:25pm PST · 1 comment

Whatever happens to crypto broker and lender Genesis, investors in its parent company, Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, are likely to get badly burned. As DCG endeavors to solve Genesis’ financial crisis, it has discussed proposals to pay cash, crypto and issue equity to Genesis’ creditors, say people familiar with the... Whatever happens to crypto broker and lender Genesis, investors in its parent company, Barry...

Photo: Getty

Creator Economy

Why YouTube’s Plan to Share Ad Revenue on Shorts May Disappoint

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 18, 2023 3:03pm PST

YouTube made a splash when it announced last fall it would begin sharing ad revenue with creators who make short-form videos known as Shorts, starting February 1. But I predict that creators will be disappointed by the payouts they receive. Creators have long considered the Google-owned video sharing site the most consistent and lucrative... YouTube made a splash when it announced last fall it would begin sharing ad revenue with creators...

A woman walks by the New York City Twitter office on January 12, 2023. Photo via Getty Images.

Musk’s Twitter Saw Revenue Drop 35% in Q4, Sharply Below Projections

By Erin Woo · Jan 18, 2023 9:49am PST · 3 comments

Twitter’s fourth quarter revenue fell about 35% year over year to $1.025 billion, a top ad executive revealed at a staff meeting Wednesday, the most detailed sign yet of how much revenue has fallen. That was 72% of Twitter’s internal goal for the quarter, according to a slide showed to employees. The executive, Twitter’s... Twitter’s fourth quarter revenue fell about 35% year over year to $1.025 billion, a top ad...

Illustration by Jesús Escudero.

Red Flags Are (Mostly) in the Eye of the Beholder

By Aaron Harris · Jan 18, 2023 9:00am PST · 9 comments

Illustration by Jesús Escudero.

Red Flags Are (Mostly) in the Eye of the Beholder

By Aaron Harris · Jan 18, 2023 9:00am PST · 9 comments

Let’s accept, for the purposes of this essay, that founders and venture capitalists are engaged in a simple trade. Founders sell business risk in exchange for the cash they need to take bigger risks; venture capitalists buy that risk hoping it will one day transmute into reward. Each side does this because they believe that ultimately the... Let’s accept, for the purposes of this essay, that founders and venture capitalists are...