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

Nicola Mendelsohn and Mark Zuckerberg. Art by Shane Burke/Bloomberg

Meta Tries to Lure Advertisers With Reels Discounts, AI Tools

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sahil Patel · Apr 17, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

After suffering its first-ever drop in ad sales, Meta Platforms has abandoned its once-brash tone with advertisers in favor of a more flexible approach to winning business. Instead of demanding that ad agencies commit to increases in spending of 20% or more, as they typically did in past years, Meta's salespeople are signaling... After suffering its first-ever drop in ad sales, Meta Platforms has abandoned its...

Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act, reversing decades of policy and putting the U.S. in the game of state-led industrial development. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty

The Electric: Beware the Pitfalls of a Subsidized EV and Battery Industry

By Steve LeVine · Apr 17, 2023 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

For years, U.S. economists, politicians and pundits have denigrated China’s battery and electric vehicle industries, suggesting that because the government has subsidized them, they are somehow mere inventions and not real. Now the U.S. itself is aggressively pursuing the subsidy path to industrialization, arguably conceding that China has been... For years, U.S. economists, politicians and pundits have denigrated China’s battery and electric...

Photo of Bob Lee from Instagram. Art by Clark Miller.

His Death Turned Bob Lee Into a Symbol—His Friends Are Trying to Take Him Back

By Scott Alan Lucas · Apr 16, 2023 11:38am PDT · 10 comments

I’ve got some bad news. It’s about Bob.” A friend was on the phone, calling Jake Shields with news about their buddy Bob Lee. “Oh, shit. Is he OK?” said Shields, a mixed martial arts fighter who lives near Las Vegas. “No.” The news of Lee’s killing on April 4 spread quickly among the close-knit but... I’ve got some bad news. It’s about Bob.” A friend was on the phone, calling...

Why Parker Conrad Won’t Read This

Why Parker Conrad Won’t Read This

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 15, 2023 7:00am PDT

Why Parker Conrad Won’t Read This

Why Parker Conrad Won’t Read This

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 15, 2023 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend.While I hope everyone carves out some time this weekend to read Abe’s fascinating cover story about the tech hero-turned-villain-turned-hero-again Parker Conrad, there’s one person I know will not be reading it: Conrad himself.As the Rippling CEO admitted to Abe during a lengthy interview in Vermont earlier this... Hi, welcome to your Weekend.While I hope everyone carves out some time this weekend to read Abe’s...

Photo-illustration by Clark Miller

Market Research

Biohacking Spas Are Becoming the New Starbucks

By Zara Stone · Apr 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

The first time Joslyn Lacy tried neurofeedback, she was skeptical. A finance administrator for a large cloud software company, Lacy dealt in numbers, not woo-woo. But she’d long struggled with chronic pain and anxiety related to underlying medical conditions. “As an African American, I wasn’t feeling heard by my doctors,”... The first time Joslyn Lacy tried neurofeedback, she was skeptical. A finance administrator for a...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: The Creator Who Quit Google to Experiment With AI

By Margaux MacColl · Apr 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Last December, Bilawal Sidhu was living a double life. By day, he was a full-time product manager at Google, working on projects like building virtual reality tools. By night, he was experimenting with a barrage of new artificial intelligence models like Midjourney and Dall-E. He started posting TikToks and YouTube videos showing off the... Last December, Bilawal Sidhu was living a double life. By day, he was a full-time product manager...

Art by Clark Miller

The Rise of the Not-Home Not-Office

By Arielle Pardes · Apr 14, 2023 11:00am PDT · 11 comments

When Jamie Snedden moved to San Francisco from London in late 2021, it occurred to him that he didn’t actually know how to make friends. In college, an abundance of common areas and extracurricular clubs had made it easy to meet new people. Now, working remotely for a startup, he barely left the house. He considered roving between coffee... When Jamie Snedden moved to San Francisco from London in late 2021, it occurred to him that he...

Rippling CEO Parker Conrad at his home in San Francisco on April 10, 2023. Photo by Carolyn Fong for The Information

Parker Conrad Takes the Pain

By Abram Brown · Apr 14, 2023 9:00am PDT · 8 comments

Rippling CEO Parker Conrad at his home in San Francisco on April 10, 2023. Photo by Carolyn Fong for The Information

Parker Conrad Takes the Pain

By Abram Brown · Apr 14, 2023 9:00am PDT · 8 comments

Parker Conrad was touring me around a personal sliver of heaven when I asked him to relive his personal hell. As we traipsed through his sister Louisa’s hilly 100-acre farm at the eastern base of Vermont’s Green Mountains—Louisa’s chickens strutting in the spring sun, her goats poking their heads amiably from their... Parker Conrad was touring me around a personal sliver of heaven when I asked him to relive his...

Gina Moon, Tia Sherringham and Flavia Naves. Photos by Santa Clara University, Doordash and Circle Financial.

Pro Weekly: Meet the Female GCs. How Do They Climb Higher?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 14, 2023 8:00am PDT

Welcome back!Every time The Information publishes another great org chart, I scan the names listed in the C-suite and see what trends pop out at me. And lately there’s one that’s pretty clear: There are a relatively large number of female general counsels and chief legal officers in the world of tech. I counted 10 females and 22 males among... Welcome back!Every time The Information publishes another great org chart, I scan the names...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Palo Alto Networks Woos Customers With Years of Free Software as Cloud Security Sales Slow

By Aaron Holmes · Apr 14, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

The slowdown in enterprise software spending is forcing some software firms to go to extraordinary lengths to win business. Palo Alto Networks, for instance, is giving away cloud security service—literally. The company, which is the biggest stand-alone security software firm measured by market capitalization, is offering its cloud security... The slowdown in enterprise software spending is forcing some software firms to go to...

Andy Jassy. Photo by Getty.

Amazon’s Andy Jassy Needs a Raise

By Martin Peers · Apr 13, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

Andy Jassy needs a raise. Amazon's annual disclosure of its top executives' compensation, released today, portrays a CEO who is woefully underpaid given the immensity of the job he has. The company's stock-heavy executive compensation packages are laudable in how they align the interests of executives and shareholders. But shareholders also need... Andy Jassy needs a raise. Amazon's annual disclosure of its top executives' compensation,...

Chart by Shane Burke

Creator Database Tops 350 While Deals Slow to a Trickle

By Isabelle Sarraf · Apr 13, 2023 3:50pm PDT

Chart by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

Creator Database Tops 350 While Deals Slow to a Trickle

By Isabelle Sarraf · Apr 13, 2023 3:50pm PDT

Our latest update to the Creator Economy Database shows signs of life in the industry despite doom-and-gloom fundraising totals. We tallied 15 U.S.-based creator startups that raised money in the first quarter of this year, all of which were early-stage funding rounds. We also added more than two dozen startups as well as tracked the closure or... Our latest update to the Creator Economy Database shows signs of life in the industry despite...

Art by Shane Burke. Photos by Shutterstock, Bloomberg, Bluesky and Super Plastic.

Creator Economy Database

Some Creator Economy Deals Are Still Getting Done, Thanks to Twitter Chaos

By Isabelle Sarraf · Apr 13, 2023 2:35pm PDT

Two Twitter alternatives, two Web3-based startups and a social music platform for communal DJing: These are some of the 15 creator startups that bucked a severe downturn in funding to raise money in the first quarter, according to The Information’s newly updated Creator Economy Database. The database now tracks more than 350 private... Two Twitter alternatives, two Web3-based startups and a social music platform for communal DJing:...

DoorDash’s Secret to Success: Stable, Experienced Management Team

By Mark Matousek · Apr 13, 2023 1:33pm PDT · 1 comment

Tech firms may be known for their big personalities and frequent turnover. But that’s not DoorDash. The restaurant-meal delivery service’s CEO and co-founder, Tony Xu, keeps a low profile and his management team has been remarkably stable. Seven of his nine direct reports have been with him for an average tenure of five years, half... Tech firms may be known for their big personalities and frequent turnover. But that’s not...

Photo: Shutterstock

The AI Rush Could Shake Up Venture Capital's Ranks

By Kate Clark · Apr 13, 2023 1:27pm PDT · 4 comments

We probably all know by now that artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is venture capital’s current obsession. What’s interesting, though, is that firms like Spark Capital and Greylock Partners, respectable outfits but generally not considered in the same league as Sequoia Capital or Benchmark, have led the industry’s latest push... We probably all know by now that artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is venture...

Art by Clark Miller.

What Comes After TikTok

By Ryan Broderick · Apr 13, 2023 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

What Comes After TikTok

By Ryan Broderick · Apr 13, 2023 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Last month, the U.S. gave TikTok a choice—either its owner, Chinese artificial intelligence company ByteDance, has to sell it, or it will face a federal ban. As we wait to see how ByteDance responds, more than 25 U.S. states have gone ahead and banned the app from state employees’ devices. And in the event that ByteDance won’t... Last month, the U.S. gave TikTok a choice—either its owner, Chinese artificial intelligence...

Fraser Kelton, venture partner at Spark Capital. Photo via Fraser Kelton

Former OpenAI Exec Joins Spark Capital as Venture Push Into AI Heats Up

By Kate Clark · Apr 13, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

To gain an edge in the suddenly hot artificial intelligence category, one venture firm is hiring from the startup—OpenAI—that set off the generative AI craze in the first place. Spark Capital has hired Fraser Kelton, the former head of product at OpenAI, as a venture partner, Kelton and Nabeel Hyatt, a Spark general partner, told The... To gain an edge in the suddenly hot artificial intelligence category, one venture firm is hiring...

Moving salt at a lithium mine in the Salar de Atacama, Chile. Photo: Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu/Getty

The Electric: Lithium Industry Veterans Are Forecasting a New Surge in the Metal’s Price

By Steve LeVine · Apr 13, 2023 4:30am PDT

Lithium prices are down almost 70% since a peak in November, depressing shares of a number of mining companies, but many analysts and industry veterans say a shortfall of the metal will soon drive a new surge in prices. The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a plan to significantly accelerate the creation of a U.S. electric vehicle... Lithium prices are down almost 70% since a peak in November, depressing shares of a number of...

HBO & Max Content CEO Casey Bloys at today's event. Photo by Getty

Warner’s New Max Service Is a Decade Overdue

By Martin Peers · Apr 12, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Better late than never. That could be the motto of Warner Bros. Discovery, which today put on a glitzy presentation to promote its overhauled streaming service, to be renamed Max (dropping HBO from the name) on May 23. The new service, combining shows from the company’s Discovery portfolio of reality shows with HBO Max’s lineup, is a worthy... Better late than never. That could be the motto of Warner Bros. Discovery, which today put on a...

Graphic by Shane Burke

The Waning Clout of Social Media Verification

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 12, 2023 2:48pm PDT

Graphic by Shane Burke

Creator Economy

The Waning Clout of Social Media Verification

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 12, 2023 2:48pm PDT

When I got verified on Instagram in October 2020, my friends were very impressed. It felt like a big flex. The coveted symbol gave my account an aura of importance. But the significance of that checkmark has been going through a major upheaval across social media. The genesis of the shift, of course, comes from Elon Musk’s acquisition of... When I got verified on Instagram in October 2020, my friends were very impressed. It felt like a...