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

Creator Thomas Frank. Photo: Frank

Creator Economy

The YouTuber Making $1 Million Selling Notion ‘Templates’

By Mahira Dayal · Feb 14, 2023 2:59pm PST

Influencers who dish out tips on improving daily routines—from early morning pilates to swilling trendy health drink Athletic Greens—are increasing in popularity. Among these, Denver-based Thomas Frank has carved out a lucrative niche: selling customized set-ups for people using Notion, the note-taking and list-making app. Frank, 31, said... Influencers who dish out tips on improving daily routines—from early morning pilates to swilling...

An Instacart shopper holds his badge. Photo by Shutterstock.

Instacart Plans Small-Business Service, Taking Aim at Amazon and Walmart

By Theo Wayt · Feb 14, 2023 2:01pm PST

Instacart is gearing up to launch a version of its site tailored to small businesses, a person familiar with the matter said, representing a challenge to Amazon and Walmart as the delivery giant looks to boost revenue ahead of potentially going public. The small-business offering, which the company is developing under the name Instacart... Instacart is gearing up to launch a version of its site tailored to small businesses, a person...

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Getty.

Reddit Aims for IPO in Second Half as Market’s Gears Quietly Turn

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 14, 2023 12:30pm PST · 4 comments

Social media company Reddit is far from profitability but has its sights set on finally going public later this year—likely in the second half, people familiar with the matter said. Reddit and other firms including Instacart are keeping their initial public offering paperwork up to date, priming them for potential debuts when market... Social media company Reddit is far from profitability but has its sights set on finally going...

Art by Clark Miller.

Self-Driving Cars Are Doing More Harm Than Good

By Paris Marx · Feb 14, 2023 9:00am PST · 42 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Self-Driving Cars Are Doing More Harm Than Good

By Paris Marx · Feb 14, 2023 9:00am PST · 42 comments

Apple has long been known for marrying hardware and software to create tech products that bring delight to millions of people around the world, so when rumors started spreading nearly a decade ago that it, too, had decided to chase the elusive goal of developing an autonomous vehicle, it seemed the iPhone maker might have a good chance of... Apple has long been known for marrying hardware and software to create tech products that bring...

Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Cuts Salesforce Bill 75% as More Buyers Scrutinize Software Spending

By Kevin McLaughlin and Erin Woo · Feb 14, 2023 6:00am PST · 7 comments

Twitter last month cut its contract for Salesforce’s customer-management software by 75%, to $5 million a year from $20 million, after reducing its workforce by roughly the same percentage, according to a person with direct knowledge. The move highlights the pain for enterprise software providers as some of their key customers—other... Twitter last month cut its contract for Salesforce’s customer-management software by 75%,...

Photo by Bloomberg

Google and Oracle’s Uber Boost Reignites a Classic Tech Debate

By Martin Peers · Feb 13, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Another Travis Kalanick legacy is disappearing from Uber. The ride-hailing and food-delivery firm revealed on Monday that it was shifting most of its computing work off its own data centers to the public cloud, reversing an Uber policy that has been in place since the company’s earliest days under co-founder Kalanick. That’s a big deal,... Another Travis Kalanick legacy is disappearing from Uber. The ride-hailing and food-delivery firm...

Photo by Getty

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Growth Hacking Includes Paywalled Video

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 13, 2023 2:00pm PST

At the end of last year, it felt like creator funds were a thing of the past, as companies such as YouTube shifted to other initiatives, such as ad-revenue sharing, and shut down funds that made payouts for viral videos. But that’s not the case at TikTok. As I reported in a story on Monday, the short-form video app is working on a new version,... At the end of last year, it felt like creator funds were a thing of the past, as companies such...

Photo by AP.

Microsoft’s LinkedIn Lays Off Staff Amid Hiring Slowdown

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 13, 2023 12:30pm PST

Photo by AP.

Microsoft’s LinkedIn Lays Off Staff Amid Hiring Slowdown

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 13, 2023 12:30pm PST

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn laid off staff in its recruiting department on Monday, the company confirmed to The Information, the latest sign of how Microsoft’s layoffs are rippling through the tech giant. Microsoft said earlier this year it would cut 10,000 people across the company this quarter as part of a broad effort to cut costs amid... Microsoft-owned LinkedIn laid off staff in its recruiting department on Monday, the company...

Capsule, once valued at $1.2 billion, is in talks to raise money at a $500 million valuation. Photo by Capsule.

Thrive-Backed Startup Capsule Could See Its Valuation Cut in Half

By Kate Clark, Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Feb 13, 2023 12:15pm PST · 1 comment

Capsule, an online prescription delivery startup that rode a wave of pandemic-driven growth to a $1.2 billion valuation, is in talks to raise money at a dramatically lower value of about $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The New York-based startup, which is burning cash, has been in discussions for a new $100 million... Capsule, an online prescription delivery startup that rode a wave of pandemic-driven growth to a...

Photo by Getty Images

Playing Catch-Up With AWS, Google Makes Progress With Data Center Chips

By Wayne Ma and Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 13, 2023 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Google has reached a key milestone in designing server processors aimed at reducing the cost of operating its data centers and keeping up with cloud business rival Amazon, according to one person with direct knowledge of the project and one person who was briefed about it. The progress means Google could start using the new chips by 2025, one of... Google has reached a key milestone in designing server processors aimed at reducing the cost of...

Art by Shane Burke

Benchmark Expected to Join Generative AI Rush With Deal for Startup LangChain

By Maria Heeter, Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Feb 13, 2023 6:22am PST · 3 comments

Benchmark, the Silicon Valley venture firm that made early bets on hit consumer apps such as Snap, Twitter and Uber, is pushing into another trendy sector: artificial intelligence that can quickly generate complex text and images based on simple prompts. Benchmark has been in talks to lead a seed funding of LangChain, according to two people who... Benchmark, the Silicon Valley venture firm that made early bets on hit consumer apps such as...

Art by Clark Miller

TikTok Turns to New Tactics to Spur Growth as Boom Times End

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 13, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

TikTok Turns to New Tactics to Spur Growth as Boom Times End

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 13, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Early last year, TikTok was on top of the world. It had temporarily dethroned Google as the most visited website on the internet, and competitors such as Instagram and YouTube were scrambling to mimic the short video clips that made TikTok a sensation. But at that very moment, inside TikTok, the app’s leaders were putting their heads... Early last year, TikTok was on top of the world. It had temporarily dethroned Google as the most...

Some Ford F-150 Lightning pickups will be equipped with batteries made by China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty.

The Electric: Ford Risks Political Heat With a Deal to Make Chinese Batteries on U.S. Soil

By Steve LeVine · Feb 13, 2023 4:30am PST

In a risky move that’s already creating political waves, Ford on Monday plans to announce a deal with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technologies Ltd. to build electric vehicle batteries in Michigan. In a display of the thorny politics, President Joe Biden declined an invitation to join Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Ford CEO Jim Farley at the... In a risky move that’s already creating political waves, Ford on Monday plans to announce a deal...

Byd displays its electric Tang SUV at the Brussels Expo in Belgium in January. Photo: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty

The Electric: Is the EV Race Already Over?

By Steve LeVine · Feb 12, 2023 2:00pm PST

As the world’s automakers intensify their scramble to go electric, Tesla and China’s Byd have run away from the pack with sales of millions of electric vehicles, and seem likely to maintain the lead through the end of the decade. The game isn’t over. But other auto manufacturers could be relegated to fighting over relative crumbs of EV sales... As the world’s automakers intensify their scramble to go electric, Tesla and China’s Byd have run...

A Quarter-Million Reasons to Not Trust Your Company

A Quarter-Million Reasons to Not Trust Your Company

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 11, 2023 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!When you're a tech company, life comes at you fast. Just last year around this time, things were looking mighty flush for both big firms and smaller startups. Evidence for this can be found in the sizable number of brands that splurged on multimillion-dollar Super Bowl ads in 2022: 18 of them, by our count. Now, can... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!When you're a tech company, life comes at you fast. Just last year...

Art by Clark Miller.

‘I’ve Been Driven by My Gut My Entire Life’: Bozoma Saint John Returns to the Spotlight

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 11, 2023 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller.

‘I’ve Been Driven by My Gut My Entire Life’: Bozoma Saint John Returns to the Spotlight

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 11, 2023 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Last month, Beyoncé’s team invited Bozoma Saint John to Dubai for the grand opening of the Atlantis The Royal hotel. The starring attraction was a performance by Queen B herself, but the event also coincided with Saint John’s 46th birthday, which she celebrated with champagne toasts, fireworks displays and walks on the red... Last month, Beyoncé’s team invited Bozoma Saint John to Dubai for the grand opening...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Founder Who Wants to Turn Drones Into Crime Fighters

By Margaux MacColl · Feb 11, 2023 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Blake Resnick’s life changed forever on October 1, 2017, when a shooter opened fire on the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest country music festival. While he was safe at his Las Vegas home, his best friend was near the shooting and called Resnick for help. It was a traumatic and sobering moment for Resnick, who at 17 became obsessed with how... Blake Resnick’s life changed forever on October 1, 2017, when a shooter opened fire on the...

Photo by Bloomberg

Google Miscalculates Stock Severance, Apologizes to Laid-Off Workers

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Feb 10, 2023 12:21pm PST · 13 comments

The severance package Google gave to 12,000 employees it laid off on Jan. 20 was among the best in the tech industry, but it wasn’t as good as many of the affected employees were initially told. Google on Thursday notified soon-to-be former employees in the U.S. that it had incorrectly calculated the number of the stock grants many of them... The severance package Google gave to 12,000 employees it laid off on Jan. 20 was among the best...

Illustration by Clark Miller

Corridors of Capital

A Sand Hill Road in the Sky: Inside Venture Capital’s New Power Building

By Abram Brown · Feb 10, 2023 11:00am PST · 6 comments

I really should show you the roof,” said Alexa von Tobel, perched on a white bouclé chair in the gleaming Manhattan offices of her venture firm, Inspired Capital. “Let’s pop up there.” We whisked out of the ninth-floor conference room, past a large portrait by Alex Katz, the Brooklyn-born artist currently receiving... I really should show you the roof,” said Alexa von Tobel, perched on a white bouclé...

Graphic by Clark Miller

Tales from the Shredder: How a Quarter-Million Fired Tech Workers Are Picking Up the Pieces

By Arielle Pardes · Feb 10, 2023 9:30am PST · 3 comments

Graphic by Clark Miller

Tales from the Shredder: How a Quarter-Million Fired Tech Workers Are Picking Up the Pieces

By Arielle Pardes · Feb 10, 2023 9:30am PST · 3 comments

On a brisk Wednesday in December, Pakin Wirojwatanakul made his usual commute to the downtown San Francisco office of fintech startup Plaid. But when he arrived, the front desk security guard told him to go home. Puzzled, he left the office and reversed his commute. Then he received a cryptic text from a friend: “Are you safe?”... On a brisk Wednesday in December, Pakin Wirojwatanakul made his usual commute to the downtown San...