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

Illustration by Josh Brill

If Apple Opens Up iPhone, Alternative App Stores Could Multiply—and Struggle

By Aaron Holmes, Jon Victor and Nick Wingfield · Dec 19, 2022 11:20am PST · 1 comment

If Apple lets consumers begin installing apps onto iPhones from sources other than Apple itself, could we see dozens of app stores bloom, from companies big and small, as some advocates of greater competition in the mobile market predict? Not likely. The odds of success are stacked against such alternatives, although a variety of companies are... If Apple lets consumers begin installing apps onto iPhones from sources other than Apple itself,...

Photos by Bloomberg.

Inside Meta’s Struggles to Gain an Edge on Apple in AR Race

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 19, 2022 6:00am PST

Before Meta Platforms released its Ray-Ban camera-equipped glasses last September, the team spent months trying to get them to work with Apple’s iPhone. Meta wanted photos taken on the glasses to automatically download to users’ phones without requiring them to open Meta’s app. But because of how Apple’s software... Before Meta Platforms released its Ray-Ban camera-equipped glasses last September, the team spent...

Elon Musk appearing via video at a conference in Qatar in June. Photo by Bloomberg

Even Elon Musk’s Allies Question Judgment After Link Ban, Account Suspensions

By Nick Wingfield and Erin Woo · Dec 18, 2022 2:54pm PST · 8 comments

Update: Sunday evening, Elon Musk asked Twitter users in poll whether he should step down as CEO and that he would abide by the results. As of 8pm eastern time, 58% of more than 4 million respondents had voted yes. He also tweeted an apology, implying he had erred in making recent policy changes. How chaotic has Elon Musk’s management... Update: Sunday evening, Elon Musk asked Twitter users in poll whether he should step down as CEO...

Piedmont Lithium has riled up local opposition to its mining plans. Photo: Courtesy Stop Piedmont Lithium

The Electric: Will Americans Embrace Dirty Plants Making Clean Technologies?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 18, 2022 2:00pm PST

Piedmont Lithium has riled up local opposition to its mining plans. Photo: Courtesy Stop Piedmont Lithium

The Electric: Will Americans Embrace Dirty Plants Making Clean Technologies?

By Steve LeVine · Dec 18, 2022 2:00pm PST

The U.S. has made a $250 billion bet that it can build a world-class battery industry, and puncture China's domination of the technology. But to get there, the country must reverse decades-old local opposition in the country to mining and heavy industry. This week, we look at Piedmont Lithium, a poster child for how not to win over local... The U.S. has made a $250 billion bet that it can build a world-class battery industry, and...

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty

Twitter Lays Off Engineers in Infrastructure Org, Days After Leaders Were Fired

By Erin Woo · Dec 17, 2022 7:24am PST · 23 comments

Twitter laid off engineers in its infrastructure organization on Friday evening, reducing the staff in the part of the company that keeps the social media sevice running, according to a person familiar with the situation. The layoffs, which came days after some leaders in the organization were fired, are the latest in a series of employee... Twitter laid off engineers in its infrastructure organization on Friday evening, reducing the...

Back to Work, the Party's Over

Back to Work, the Party's Over

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 17, 2022 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Compared to other austerity measures that have swept over tech this past year (the mass layoffs, the hiring freezes, the end of in-house laundry), the demise of the holiday party likely isn’t inspiring panic amongst tech workers. But should it? As Annie and Arielle write in this week’s cover story, it seems like... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Compared to other austerity measures that have swept over tech this...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Katelin Holloway Won’t Accept Your FaceTime Call

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 17, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Katelin Holloway has extremely decisive opinions on technology. FaceTime: never. Dark Mode: always. Inbox zero: essential. Siri and Alexa: toxic. And selfies? “I never learned how to take a selfie, kind of on principle,” said Holloway, a founding partner at Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six venture firm. “It was very of my... Katelin Holloway has extremely decisive opinions on technology. FaceTime: never. Dark Mode:...

Art by Clark Miller.

‘This Is the Best. I’ve Tried Everything’: Tech Execs on the Ski Gear They Won’t Go Downhill Without

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 16, 2022 12:00pm PST · 15 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Market Research

‘This Is the Best. I’ve Tried Everything’: Tech Execs on the Ski Gear They Won’t Go Downhill Without

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 16, 2022 12:00pm PST · 15 comments

For tech’s skiers and snowboarders, it’s the most wonderful time of the year—and also the most decision-packed. “Every year I feel like I have to pick a religion: either Epic or Ikon,” said Aziz Gilani, managing director at Mercury Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm. For Gilani, choosing between the two... For tech’s skiers and snowboarders, it’s the most wonderful time of the...

Midjourney art by Clark Miller

ChatGPT Is on Fire, and a Cottage Industry of Bot Builders Is Exploding Alongside It

By Chris Stokel-Walker · Dec 16, 2022 10:00am PST · 3 comments

Joshua Browder wakes up most mornings wanting to empower the little guy. The entrepreneur, who has been deemed the “Robin Hood of the internet,” has helped people annul marriages, get out of parking tickets and file lawsuits against failed crypto platforms through DoNotPay, his robo lawyer startup. DoNotPay works by automating the... Joshua Browder wakes up most mornings wanting to empower the little guy. The entrepreneur, who...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Buzz Is Gone: Tech Companies (With a Few Exceptions) Are Reining In Once-Legendary Holiday Parties

By Arielle Pardes and Annie Goldsmith · Dec 16, 2022 9:00am PST

On December 8, several thousand Adobe employees and their guests milled around San Francisco’s Chase Center arena for the company’s holiday-slash-40th-anniversary party. Starting at 7 p.m., the Adobe workers and their dates shot hoops in an arcade, received spray-on temporary tattoos, and grabbed drinks and food (tacos, sliders,... On December 8, several thousand Adobe employees and their guests milled around San...

Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest. Photo by Bloomberg

Pinterest Stock Prospects Hinge on ex-Googler’s Shopping Plans

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 16, 2022 6:00am PST

What a difference a year makes. At the start of 2022, Pinterest was on the outs with investors. Plagued by reports that executives were fleeing, along with falling user numbers, its stock was trading at a deep discount to that of Snap, a similar-size social media app that for the past few years had shown faster revenue growth. Today, the tables... What a difference a year makes. At the start of 2022, Pinterest was on the outs with investors....

Elon Musk. Photo by Baron Capital. Background generated in DALL E 2.

Why It’s Tough to Assess the True State of Musk’s Twitter

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Elon Musk. Photo by Baron Capital. Background generated in DALL E 2.

Why It’s Tough to Assess the True State of Musk’s Twitter

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Some companies that go private disappear from public view. Not Twitter. It’s hard to think of another corporate takeover whose aftermath has drawn so much media attention, with so many details leaking out. And that has surely complicated Elon Musk’s life by, for instance, scaring away advertisers and possibly making it harder to recruit... Some companies that go private disappear from public view. Not Twitter. It’s hard to think of...

Howl founder Li Haslett Chen. Photo: Spencer Ostrander

Creator Economy

Startup Howl Tries to Upend Influencer Marketing; Senate Passes TikTok Bill

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 15, 2022 2:40pm PST

As our Creator Economy Database shows, influencer marketing is a crowded field. The two-year old startup Howl hopes to stand out by focusing on a variety of collaborative tools on its marketplace for creators and retailers, including Samsung and Sephora. The startup has raised $27 million in Series A funding led by venture firm Highland Capital... As our Creator Economy Database shows, influencer marketing is a crowded field. The two-year old...

Elon Musk via Getty Images

Musk’s Twitter Layoffs Inspire Founders to Cut Deep

By Kate Clark · Dec 15, 2022 12:04pm PST · 2 comments

Some might call Elon Musk’s leadership style toxic. Others consider it heroic. It’s certainly influential. When the Tesla CEO and new Twitter owner fired more than half of the social network’s 7,500 staff in November, then took aim at standard tech-company perks like free cafeteria food and remote work flexibility, startup founders took... Some might call Elon Musk’s leadership style toxic. Others consider it heroic. It’s certainly...

Chris Britt, CEO of Chime. Photo by Getty Images.

Chime Made Two Offers to Buy DailyPay, Topping Out at $2 Billion, but Was Spurned

By Kate Clark · Dec 15, 2022 11:20am PST

Chime spent much of this year trying to buy paycheck-advance startup DailyPay, but both of its offers–including a $2 billion bid–were rejected, according to people with direct knowledge of the deal talks. The talks died during the second half of the year, the people said, with one of them characterizing it as a slow wind-down in... Chime spent much of this year trying to buy paycheck-advance startup DailyPay, but both of its...

Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Getty.

Microsoft Squeezed by Growing Resistance to Software Bundles

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 15, 2022 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Getty.

Microsoft Squeezed by Growing Resistance to Software Bundles

By Aaron Holmes · Dec 15, 2022 6:00am PST · 6 comments

It’s been a popular sales tactic at Microsoft for several years now: Approach a corporate customer paying for Microsoft’s popular 365 workplace apps and suggest they sign up for an all-in-one software bundle that also includes cybersecurity and compliance tools, along with a suite of other business apps. It costs 58% more per user a... It’s been a popular sales tactic at Microsoft for several years now: Approach a corporate...

Photos by Bloomberg

Big Tech Stocks Still Aren’t Cheap

By Martin Peers · Dec 14, 2022 5:01pm PST

In times like this, when people in Silicon Valley are gripped by a sense of “panic”—as my colleague Kate Clark wrote today—it’s tempting to think we’ve hit bottom in the yearlong market sell-off. Just as you might think it’s time to sell stocks when your neighbors are giving you stock tips, maybe it’s time to buy when everyone is freaking out.... In times like this, when people in Silicon Valley are gripped by a sense of “panic”—as my ...

Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

The SEC Slaps Financial Influencers; Seven Seven Six Backs Startup July

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 14, 2022 3:50pm PST

Financial influencers often like to attach disclaimers on their accounts, advising their Twitter followers and YouTube subscribers that their statements don’t amount to financial advice. Securities regulators have a retort: Those disclaimers are pointless when it comes to plain old fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday... Financial influencers often like to attach disclaimers on their accounts, advising their Twitter...

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Photo by Bloomberg.

Binance and Coinbase CEOs Go on the Defensive

By Aidan Ryan · Dec 14, 2022 3:03pm PST

Top executives at Binance and Coinbase have been busy penning messages to reassure their employees and customers that they’re no FTX.Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao told his staff that he expects the “next several months to be bumpy” but Binance will get through it and be “stronger for having been through it,” according to a Bloomberg report. Top executives at Binance and Coinbase have been busy penning messages to reassure their...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

Welcome to the Age of the Fit Startup

By Ben Narasin · Dec 14, 2022 9:00am PST · 14 comments

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

Welcome to the Age of the Fit Startup

By Ben Narasin · Dec 14, 2022 9:00am PST · 14 comments

In 2011, Eric Ries took a two-word concept—the “lean startup”—and turned it into a manifesto, a guidebook for a burgeoning class of entrepreneurs empowered by the new proliferation of seed investors. Lean startups ran fast and cheap, testing and deploying products repeatedly until they achieved the holy grail of product... In 2011, Eric Ries took a two-word concept—the “lean startup”—and turned...