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

Jack Conte. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Where Patreon Goes From Here

By Mahira Dayal · Jan 24, 2023 3:03pm PST

Patreon, a nearly 10-year-old startup, became a pandemic success story when lockdowns left artists dependent on online sources for income. But its newfound stature and freshly minted, $4 billion valuation, masked years of mismanagement by founder and CEO Jack Conte and his inner circle, my colleague Paris reported Tuesday. The report covers... Patreon, a nearly 10-year-old startup, became a pandemic success story when lockdowns left...

Art by Shane Burke/Shutterstock.

CISOs Beware: The Government Is Watching

By Don Aviv and Jeremy Hurewitz · Jan 24, 2023 9:00am PST · 2 comments

Uber’s former chief of security, Joe Sullivan, was convicted in October of obstructing a federal government investigation and concealing a felony from the Federal Trade Commission. The trial got plenty of attention, particularly from those working as chief information security officers. Not only was this about Uber, one of the... Uber’s former chief of security, Joe Sullivan, was convicted in October of obstructing a...

Patreon CEO Jack Conte. Art by Mike Sullivan

At Patreon, Mismanagement Thwarts a Pandemic-Era Star

By Paris Martineau · Jan 24, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Two years ago, Jack Conte seemed to have pulled off one of the most remarkable makeovers in recent Silicon Valley memory. A musician and popular YouTuber, Conte had found his rhythm as an entrepreneur through Patreon, the startup he co-founded to help creators like himself find fans willing to support them financially. The number of creators... Two years ago, Jack Conte seemed to have pulled off one of the most remarkable makeovers in...

The back windshield of a Waymo Chrysler Pacifica robotaxi prototype. Photo by Bloomberg

Alphabet’s Waymo Robotaxi Subsidiary Cuts Staff, Including Trucking Engineers

By Jon Victor · Jan 23, 2023 10:41pm PST · 2 comments

The back windshield of a Waymo Chrysler Pacifica robotaxi prototype. Photo by Bloomberg

Alphabet’s Waymo Robotaxi Subsidiary Cuts Staff, Including Trucking Engineers

By Jon Victor · Jan 23, 2023 10:41pm PST · 2 comments

Alphabet’s self-driving vehicle unit Waymo quietly laid off staff Monday, continuing a wave of job cuts at the parent company of Google, according to LinkedIn posts from affected employees and one person briefed about the move. The posts indicated that Waymo cut recruiters, people who help train other employees to operate... Alphabet’s self-driving vehicle unit Waymo quietly laid off staff Monday, continuing a wave...

Daniel Ek and Marc Benioff. Photos by Bloomberg.

Salesforce’s Board Needs Fresh Talent and Spotify Needs an Activist

By Martin Peers · Jan 23, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Investors sometimes seem to have over-the-top expectations of what activists can achieve in a poorly run company. But the bar is low for them to make an impact at Salesforce. The stock is in the doghouse thanks to weak profit margins, partly a result of costly acquisitions such as the Slack deal, as well as a revolving door of top management.... Investors sometimes seem to have over-the-top expectations of what activists can achieve in a...

Photos: Dulma Altan. Art: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

What TikToker Dulma’s Success Says About Instagram and Videos

By Mahira Dayal · Jan 23, 2023 4:56pm PST

Dulma Altan has attracted 100,000 followers on her TikTok account (@iamdulma) by fashioning an online “business school for women” with videos on how creators make VC investments, how to measure brand success and which influencer brands are retreating. But Altan, who founded online fragrance store Potion, would be happy to post more on rival app... Dulma Altan has attracted 100,000 followers on her TikTok account (@iamdulma) by fashioning an...

Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok Warns Remote Employees They Risk Losing Jobs

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 23, 2023 3:26pm PST · 5 comments

TikTok is cracking down on remote work, telling some U.S. workers they could lose their jobs unless they show they have already moved near their assigned offices. Last week, TikTok informed some employees over its internal software, Lark, that they may face disciplinary action—including job termination—because their home address... TikTok is cracking down on remote work, telling some U.S. workers they could lose their jobs...

Sumo Logic CEO Ramin Sayar. Photo by Bloomberg.

Thoma Bravo, Vista Approach Sumo Logic About a Possible Buyout

By Maria Heeter and Aaron Holmes · Jan 23, 2023 11:50am PST

Sumo Logic CEO Ramin Sayar. Photo by Bloomberg.

Thoma Bravo, Vista Approach Sumo Logic About a Possible Buyout

By Maria Heeter and Aaron Holmes · Jan 23, 2023 11:50am PST

Private equity firms including Thoma Bravo, Vista Equity Partners and Francisco Partners have approached data analytics software company Sumo Logic expressing interest in a possible acquisition, according to a person familiar with the matter. This adds Sumo to the current list of possible enterprise software buyout targets. Thoma Bravo and Vista... Private equity firms including Thoma Bravo, Vista Equity Partners and Francisco Partners have...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Gemini is Laying Off More Staff, Citing ‘Bad Actors’ in Crypto Industry

By Aidan Ryan · Jan 23, 2023 9:08am PST

Gemini, the crypto startup whose customers have been caught up in the Genesis bankruptcy, is laying off 10% of staff, according to an internal message viewed by The Information. It’s at least the third round of cuts at Gemini in the past eight months. Gemini President Cameron Winklevoss informed staff, known internally as... Gemini, the crypto startup whose customers have been caught up in the Genesis bankruptcy, is...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

How Microsoft’s Stumbles Led to Its OpenAI Alliance

By Kevin McLaughlin and Aaron Holmes · Jan 23, 2023 6:00am PST · 4 comments

For more than a decade, Microsoft Research, the company’s in-house research group, has touted artificial intelligence breakthroughs such as translating speech to text and software that could understand human language or recognize objects in images. But the company’s effort to commercialize its AI research moved at more of a crawl,... For more than a decade, Microsoft Research, the company’s in-house research group, has...

Left to right, battery-grade nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate, both produced in Finland. Photo: Courtesy Finnish Minerals Group.

The Electric: Europe’s Battery Supply Chain Is Likely to Be Far-Flung—and Mostly Not in Europe

By Steve LeVine · Jan 22, 2023 2:00pm PST

In the early years of this century, Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia controlled nearly 40% of global handset sales, creating a windfall for the country’s economy. Nokia accounted for a quarter of the country’s economic growth and corporate tax revenue, a fifth of its exports, and almost two-thirds of the value of the Helsinki stock market. But... In the early years of this century, Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia controlled nearly 40% of...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Astrophysicist Who Pivoted to AI and Nanotech

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

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

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

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

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

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. 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...