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

Art by Clark Miller.

The Instant Oral History of ‘Trench Foot Burning Man’

By Annie Goldsmith, Margaux MacColl, Natasha Mascarenhas, Akash Pasricha and Erin Woo · Sep 8, 2023 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Burning Man 2023 began on Sunday, August 27, as it normally does: with several days of blistering sunshine, pounding bass and playa dust. Then, between Friday and Saturday, a surprise deluge hit northwest Nevada—dumping two months’ worth of rain in 24 hours—and things really began to get interesting. Justin Kan, general partner... Burning Man 2023 began on Sunday, August 27, as it normally does: with several days of blistering...

Why There Will Never Be Another 200 Million Subscriber App

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 8, 2023 10:31am PDT

There aren’t many business books that tell you to fire your customers. But there should be. Enterprise value > revenue was a big theme on this week's pod along with more conversation about the huge shifts happening in how consumer startups make money and get financed. I even got a John Malone fax story in. Hope you enjoy, and please... There aren’t many business books that tell you to fire your customers. But there should be....

Art by Clark Miller

The Head of the Anti-Defamation League Wants to Make Peace With Elon Musk

By Jon Steinberg · Sep 8, 2023 9:00am PDT · 4 comments

By the time Jonathan Greenblatt jumped on the phone at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time this Wednesday, he had already made the rounds on CNN, CNBC and MSNBC. It had been a high blood pressure day for the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League. And that was before X owner Elon Musk fired off the latest in a barrage of tweets taking... By the time Jonathan Greenblatt jumped on the phone at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time this Wednesday, he...

Instacart submitted documents for an initial public offering on Aug. 25. Photo via Instacart

Pro Weekly: IPO Chatter Doesn’t Move Private Markets

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 8, 2023 8:00am PDT

Instacart submitted documents for an initial public offering on Aug. 25. Photo via Instacart

Pro Weekly: IPO Chatter Doesn’t Move Private Markets

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 8, 2023 8:00am PDT

Chatter around initial public offerings appears to be enticing investors to bid for shares of private companies on secondary markets, but not always the price they’re willing to pay for those shares. Caplight, which tracks private markets, said the dollar value of bids to buy shares of pre-public companies more than doubled this year... Chatter around initial public offerings appears to be enticing investors to bid for shares of...

Joe Ravitch (left) and Jeff Sine, co-founders of The Raine Group. Photos via Getty.

The SoftBank Ally Pulling the Strings Behind Arm’s IPO

By Rachel Graf · Sep 8, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

For more than a decade, the Raine Group has wielded its connections—especially to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son—to land big deals and punch above its weight on Wall Street. Next week, one of the most hotly anticipated initial public offerings in years will serve as the latest test of their partnership. Raine holds a flagship position on... For more than a decade, the Raine Group has wielded its connections—especially to SoftBank...

Alex Bouaziz, CEO of Deel. Photo by Getty.

Deel, Coinbase Handled Tens of Millions in Payments for Frozen Prop Trader, Government Says

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Aidan Ryan and Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 6:50pm PDT

A U.S. government probe of a high-risk “trading site” called MyForexFunds, which the government has accused of operating a Ponzi scheme, has entangled others from the fintech industry. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, during an investigation of MyForexFunds that covered a period between late 2021 and late 2022, subpoenaed... A U.S. government probe of a high-risk “trading site” called MyForexFunds, which the...

An Apple Store in Shanghai on August 23. Photo by Getty.

Why the Dave Clarks Should Watch Out

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 5:00pm PDT

So much for business as usual. The abrupt ouster of Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport is not just a story about the startup world rejecting a big tech (in this case Amazon) executive. It’s not just a story about a founder who regretted stepping aside, who probably didn’t love the life of a venture capitalist and decided to jump back in. It... So much for business as usual. The abrupt ouster of Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport is not...

Dave Clark. Photo by AP

Dave Clark’s Last Days at Flexport

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 7, 2023 3:52pm PDT · 5 comments

Dave Clark. Photo by AP

Dave Clark’s Last Days at Flexport

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 7, 2023 3:52pm PDT · 5 comments

Dave Clark knew something was off when the executive chairman of Flexport, Ryan Petersen, showed up on the video call on Wednesday with Robert Swan, a board member at the freight forwarder. Clark—a former star Amazon executive whom Petersen had lured to Flexport to become its CEO last year—had expected Petersen to be on the call by... Dave Clark knew something was off when the executive chairman of Flexport, Ryan Petersen, showed...

Brands are turning college students into mini influencers. Photo: Her Campus Media

Creator Economy

How Brands Are Turning College Students into Influencers

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 7, 2023 2:37pm PDT · 1 comment

A decade ago, companies tapped college students to hand out t-shirts, rep their gear (think: wearing a Red Bull backpack to class), and give out flyers on university campuses. Now, many of these college ambassador programs are turning college students into mini influencers. For beauty company Clinique, for example, students create and post... A decade ago, companies tapped college students to hand out t-shirts, rep their gear (think:...

Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Discord’s Midjourney Deal Could Supercharge Its Revenue

By Kate Clark · Sep 7, 2023 12:49pm PDT · 1 comment

Welcome back!For months I’d heard murmurings about Midjourney, a little artificial intelligence image generator company that had grown to almost 15 million users and hundreds of millions in revenue without any venture funding. I found that the company is also profitable, a major feat for a bootstrapped startup. (Read my profile of the startup ... Welcome back!For months I’d heard murmurings about Midjourney, a little artificial intelligence...

Left: Dave Clark. Photo by AP. Right: Ryan Petersen. Photo by Getty.

Why Dave Clark and Ryan Petersen Butted Heads at Flexport

By Theo Wayt, Ann Gehan, Paris Martineau and Nick Wingfield · Sep 7, 2023 12:34pm PDT · 7 comments

Dave Clark, a veteran Amazon executive who helped transform the company into a logistics juggernaut, made a huge splash last summer when he announced he was joining Flexport, a startup looking to shake up the old school freight business that had ballooned to an $8 billion valuation with backing from SoftBank and Andreessen Horowitz. But Clark,... Dave Clark, a veteran Amazon executive who helped transform the company into a logistics...

Art by Clark Miller.

A Hopeful Sign for Big Media?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sep 7, 2023 9:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

A Hopeful Sign for Big Media?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sep 7, 2023 9:00am PDT

The one constant of 2023 has been a sense of accelerating change as media businesses shift from distributing content through intermediaries such as cable providers to engaging directly with consumers. Change alone creates uncertainty. Change in areas where recent attempts to navigate a transition have largely failed is scary for managers and... The one constant of 2023 has been a sense of accelerating change as media businesses shift from...

John Giannandrea. Photo via YouTube/TechCrunch.

Apple Enters the AI Race, Boosting Google in the Process

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 7, 2023 7:00am PDT

In the race to win the large-language model race, one big tech name has not surfaced as a contestant: Apple. Until now.My colleague Wayne Ma reported on Wednesday that Apple created a team four years ago, long before the current generative AI hype cycle, to develop large-language models. In other words, Apple may not be as much of an LLM laggard... In the race to win the large-language model race, one big tech name has not surfaced as a...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifying in Congress in 2018. Photo by Getty

As Google Case Heads to Trial, a Judge’s Decisions Worry Company’s Critics

By Jon Victor · Sep 7, 2023 6:00am PDT

After years of anticipation, a trial next week in Washington, D.C., will attempt to answer a critical question: Did Google break antitrust laws by striking deals with companies like Apple and Samsung to make its search engine the default on their products? Those business arrangements are expected to be at the heart of the 10-week trial, which... After years of anticipation, a trial next week in Washington, D.C., will attempt to answer a...

China's Huayou Cobalt is trying to figure out how to supply battery nickel to the U.S. market despite U.S.-China tensions. Photo: VCG/Getty

Exclusive from The Electric: A Leading Chinese Nickel Producer Tries Its Luck in the U.S.

By Steve LeVine · Sep 7, 2023 4:30am PDT

The Inflation Reduction Act was meant to keep companies like Huayou Cobalt, a leading Chinese supplier of battery-grade nickel to Western carmakers including Tesla, Ford and Volkswagen, out of the U.S. battery supply chain. But the company is attempting to break into the U.S. market anyway and qualify for IRA tax credits.In a conversation this... The Inflation Reduction Act was meant to keep companies like Huayou Cobalt, a leading Chinese...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Getty.

Arm’s IPO Pitch to Wall Street: Don’t Worry, Growth Is Coming

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 6, 2023 5:40pm PDT · 3 comments

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Getty.

Arm’s IPO Pitch to Wall Street: Don’t Worry, Growth Is Coming

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 6, 2023 5:40pm PDT · 3 comments

Behind the scenes of its much-anticipated initial public offering, SoftBank-owned chip designer Arm has pushed a clear message to skeptical analysts and investors: Growth is coming soon. The company told investment banking analysts last month in Cambridge, England, that its recently flat revenue growth would re-accelerate over the next few... Behind the scenes of its much-anticipated initial public offering, SoftBank-owned chip...

Dave Clark in 2018. Photo by AP.

Flexport Founder Has a CEO Change of Heart

By Martin Peers · Sep 6, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Memo to would-be CEOs: Next time a company founder approaches you about taking the reins from them, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. As we were reminded on Wednesday, when former Amazonian Dave Clark said he was yielding the top job at freight forwarder Flexport to founder Ryan Petersen, successfully filling a founder’s shoes... Memo to would-be CEOs: Next time a company founder approaches you about taking the reins from...

Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison. Photo by Getty.

Creator Economy

Clubhouse Is Now an Audio Messaging App

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 6, 2023 3:08pm PDT · 1 comment

Clubhouse, after laying off half its staff in April to “reset” the company, on Wednesday revealed a long-awaited revamp. It’s updating the app to feature voice-only group chats with friends or friends of friends that happen asynchronously. The live, public audio groups that Clubhouse popularized during the pandemic shutdowns aren’t going... Clubhouse, after laying off half its staff in April to “reset” the company, on Wednesday revealed...

Apple's AI chief, John Giannandrea. Photo via Getty

Apple Boosts Spending to Develop Conversational AI

By Wayne Ma · Sep 6, 2023 10:49am PDT

Apple has been expanding its computing budget for building artificial intelligence to millions of dollars a day. One of its goals is to develop features such as one that allows iPhone customers to use simple voice commands to automate tasks involving multiple steps, according to people familiar with the effort. The technology, for instance,... Apple has been expanding its computing budget for building artificial intelligence to millions of...

Photo via Getty

Gemini’s Pitch to Genesis Creditors

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 6, 2023 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Photo via Getty

Gemini’s Pitch to Genesis Creditors

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 6, 2023 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Crypto firm Genesis, whose lending unit filed for bankruptcy in January, said last week that its parent company, Digital Currency Group, and a committee of creditors had tentatively agreed to a restructuring deal that would be a big step toward paying back customers. But there’s been a lot more going on behind the scenes.Crypto exchange ... Crypto firm Genesis, whose lending unit filed for bankruptcy in January, said last week that...