The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Brian Freeman, CEO and founder of Creatorland. Art by Shane Burke.

Creator Economy

A Startup Wants to Help Creators Network and Hire

By Isabelle Sarraf · Mar 22, 2023 3:20pm PDT

Creators need to mingle. To market themselves and their work, they need to constantly connect with their peers, professionals supporting creators and advertisers. But traditional networking and recruiting sites such as LinkedIn and Fiverr can come up short for creators, especially when it comes to finding industry-specific opportunities... Creators need to mingle. To market themselves and their work, they need to constantly connect...

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last August. Photo by Bloomberg

SpaceX Plans New Funding With Backing From Saudi, UAE Investors

By Becky Peterson · Mar 22, 2023 3:07pm PDT

A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are planning to invest in a multibillion-dollar funding round for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, according to people familiar with the investor discussions. Representatives of SpaceX and Morgan Stanley, which is organizing the ongoing funding effort,... A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are...

Brian Armstrong, chairman and chief executive officer of Coinbase Global Inc., during an interview in New York, US, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Best and Worst Time for Coinbase

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 22, 2023 1:00pm PDT

Bitcoin has been on a tear in recent days following the collapse of banks including crypto-friendly Silvergate and Signature. Crypto bulls take the bitcoin rally as a sign investors are seeking a safe haven in crypto, while skeptics are pointing out the gains likely have more to do with macro trends like inflation and interest rates. ... Bitcoin has been on a tear in recent days following the collapse of banks including...

U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Governor Jared Polis. Background: TikTokers Naomi Hearts (@naomiheartsxo), Kristine Thompson (@trendycurvy), Duncan Joseph (@duncanyounot) and Grace Amaku (@grace_africa). Photos via Bloomberg, Getty and TikTok. Collage by Shane Burke.

TikTok CEO Goes to Washington With a Disparate Band of Allies

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 22, 2023 10:55am PDT · 1 comment

U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Governor Jared Polis. Background: TikTokers Naomi Hearts (@naomiheartsxo), Kristine Thompson (@trendycurvy), Duncan Joseph (@duncanyounot) and Grace Amaku (@grace_africa). Photos via Bloomberg, Getty and TikTok. Collage by Shane Burke.

TikTok CEO Goes to Washington With a Disparate Band of Allies

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 22, 2023 10:55am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok is one of the most popular entertainment services in the U.S., used monthly by nearly half of the population. Yet as the app battles for its life, it has remarkably few allies to provide support. Even those that directly benefit from TikTok, such as music labels and creators, have mixed feelings about TikTok, largely because they say it... TikTok is one of the most popular entertainment services in the U.S., used monthly by nearly half...

The entrance to Indeed.com's office in Dublin. Photo by Shutterstock.

Indeed Lays Off 2,200 People, or 15% of Staff, as Job Postings Drop

By Theo Wayt · Mar 22, 2023 10:00am PDT · 3 comments

Job listings site Indeed.com told employees on Wednesday that it’s laying off 2,200 people, representing 15% of its headcount, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. Indeed CEO Chris Hyams broke the news to employees in an all-hands meeting on Wednesday morning, saying that the cuts would affect teams across the... Job listings site Indeed.com told employees on Wednesday that it’s laying off 2,200 people,...

Nick Grudin. Photo by Dapper Labs.

Meta Rehires Partnerships Executive After Vowing to Shrink Management

By Sahil Patel and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 22, 2023 7:16am PDT · 2 comments

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to cut back on middle managers isn’t stopping the company hiring more middle managers. Meta has re-hired a veteran manager, Nick Grudin, to oversee its relationships with media companies and other creators, just seven months after Grudin quit to join Dapper Labs, an NFT startup. Grudin will... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to cut back on middle managers isn’t...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon Faces Moment of Truth on Alexa as ChatGPT Steals Its Thunder

By Theo Wayt · Mar 22, 2023 6:05am PDT

At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon announced one of its biggest partnerships yet to help make its Alexa voice assistant ubiquitous: a deal with Toyota to integrate Alexa into the auto giant’s cars. “Our vision for Alexa is that she should be everywhere a customer might need her—at home, in the office, on... At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon announced one of its biggest partnerships yet to...

Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary, at a conference in 2019.

Larry Summers Has a Message for Silicon Valley

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 21, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary, at a conference in 2019.

Larry Summers Has a Message for Silicon Valley

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 21, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Larry Summers has a message to all of us here in Silicon Valley: It’s time to switch up that reading list. “Perhaps pay a little more attention to history relative to science fiction in terms of understanding all the things that the future may hold,” he said during a conversation with me and The Information subscribers Tuesday. Larry Summers has a message to all of us here in Silicon Valley: It’s time to switch up that...

Larry Summers. Photo by Bloomberg.

Summers Predicts “Cleaning Out” of Fintech Sector After SVB Failure

By The Information Staff · Mar 21, 2023 4:44pm PDT · 4 comments

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Silicon Valley will see a “cleaning out” in the fintech sector as a result of regulatory attention flowing from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. In an interview with The Information’s editor in chief Jessica Lessin, Summers also said that the banking crisis of the past 10... Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Silicon Valley will see a “cleaning...

Tonal’s now-shuttered Palo Alto, Calif. retail store. Photo by Getty.

Tonal’s Valuation May Fall 90% in ‘Cram-Down’ Financing

By Maria Heeter · Mar 21, 2023 3:11pm PDT · 7 comments

Tonal, a fitness startup with a cadre of celebrity backers, is crunched for cash after failing to find a buyer. The company now may take a drastic step: raising money at a valuation nearly 90% lower than its last one, in a deal that would effectively wipe out the stakes of many existing investors, people familiar with the matter said. Private... Tonal, a fitness startup with a cadre of celebrity backers, is crunched for cash after failing to...

Photo via Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Twitter’s Tipping and Coin Features Are Disappearing

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 21, 2023 1:30pm PDT

Twitter over the last two years introduced several features to help creators make money off the platform. But in recent weeks, some have stopped functioning, throwing its efforts to court creators into disarray. Its 18-month-old tipping feature has disappeared from creators’ accounts on its website, but still appears on mobile, according to... Twitter over the last two years introduced several features to help creators make money off the...

Musical.ly's Shanghai headquarters in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.

Biden’s Path to Forcing TikTok Sale Leads to Now-Dead App Musical.ly

By Juro Osawa and Maria Heeter · Mar 21, 2023 1:00pm PDT

Musical.ly's Shanghai headquarters in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.

Biden’s Path to Forcing TikTok Sale Leads to Now-Dead App Musical.ly

By Juro Osawa and Maria Heeter · Mar 21, 2023 1:00pm PDT

Would TikTok have become a powerhouse without Musical.ly? As arcane as that question might appear, it could become the paramount issue in court if the Biden administration tries to force TikTok’s parent ByteDance to sell the app. That’s because ByteDance’s 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, a rival to the then-young TikTok, is what... Would TikTok have become a powerhouse without Musical.ly? As arcane as that question might...

Art by Shane Burke / Dall-E 2.

Twitter Used to Make Us Smarter

By Jillian York · Mar 21, 2023 9:00am PDT · 6 comments

A handful of months into Twitter’s new management and it’s clear an era has ended. For the site’s power users, which include academics, journalists and lawmakers, the sudden changes in the social network’s policies, practices and culture have destroyed years of careful network building. What that will cost us in the... A handful of months into Twitter’s new management and it’s clear an era has...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, left, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photos by Getty Images; Bloomberg.

OpenAI and Microsoft Are Partners, Until They Vie for the Same Customers

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 21, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has enraptured the business world since its November release and OpenAI is signing up customers eager to pay to use its artificial intelligence models in their own products. But the Microsoft-backed startup faces a surprising rival: Microsoft itself. As part of its multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, Microsoft has... OpenAI’s ChatGPT has enraptured the business world since its November release and OpenAI is...

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Takes Its Time Delivering Second Round of Job Cuts

By Martin Peers · Mar 20, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Amazon is in the lead! The e-commerce behemoth has moved ahead of Alphabet in the contest to win this year’s IBM Cup, awarded occasionally to the most bureaucratic and slow-moving big tech company around. That’s one takeaway from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s explanation today for cutting another 9,000 jobs, on top of the 18,000 layoffs already... Amazon is in the lead! The e-commerce behemoth has moved ahead of Alphabet in the contest to win...

Chart: Shane Burke

How Meta Verified Compares to Other Social Subscriptions

By Isabelle Sarraf · Mar 20, 2023 3:20pm PDT

Chart: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

How Meta Verified Compares to Other Social Subscriptions

By Isabelle Sarraf · Mar 20, 2023 3:20pm PDT

Pegged as a bundle “to help creators establish their presence” on its platforms, Meta Verified grants subscribers a blue checkmark, extra protection from impersonation and a direct line to customer support for an $11.99 monthly price tag (or $14.99 on mobile). But it will no longer include an increase in visibility and reach for paid users.... Pegged as a bundle “to help creators establish their presence” on its platforms, Meta Verified...

The TikTok Investors With the Most to Lose From a U.S. Ban

By Juro Osawa · Mar 20, 2023 2:29pm PDT

For venture investors that have collectively invested more than $8 billion in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, the fate of the video app in the U.S., where officials are seeking changes to its ownership, could mean the difference between a huge portfolio win and a soul-crushing loss. Early backers of ByteDance such as Susquehanna... For venture investors that have collectively invested more than $8 billion in TikTok’s...

Partner Content

Event Recap: Now Presenting the Metaverse

By The Information Partnerships · Mar 20, 2023 12:42pm PDT

The term “metaverse” has been around for years, but what’s the state of it today—and where is it going next? Jillian Goodman, opinion editor of The Information, sat down for a virtual discussion with Kevan Yalowitz, software and platform global industries lead at Accenture, Vince Cacace, founder and CEO of Vertebrae, a... The term “metaverse” has been around for years, but what’s the state of it...

Clockwise from top left: Julie Bornstein, Esther Crawford, Mark Hammond, Max Cutler, Kağan Sümer. Photos via Julie Bernstein, Robert Cowherd, Microsoft, Wikimedia and Kağan Sümer.

On the Market: The Founders Who Joined Microsoft, Spotify, Coinbase and Twitter

By The Information Staff · Mar 20, 2023 6:00am PDT

Call them acqui-fires. Several founders who took positions at the bigger tech companies that bought their startups recently lost their jobs when layoffs rolled through Silicon Valley. That means managers and engineers who also have the entrepreneurial bug are now on the market. Twitter’s most recent round of job cuts included at least four... Call them acqui-fires. Several founders who took positions at the bigger tech companies that...

Manganese-rich nodules on the seafloor 2.5 miles below the surface of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Photo: Courtesy The Metals Co.

The Electric: An Undersea Drama Could Roil the EV Industry

By Steve LeVine · Mar 19, 2023 2:00pm PDT

Manganese-rich nodules on the seafloor 2.5 miles below the surface of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Photo: Courtesy The Metals Co.

The Electric: An Undersea Drama Could Roil the EV Industry

By Steve LeVine · Mar 19, 2023 2:00pm PDT

More than 30 countries including France, Spain, Singapore and Brazil fiercely oppose deep-sea mining, warning of irreversible damage to one of the world’s few remaining pristine areas. But they may not be able to overcome the wishes of the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru. The island country is sponsoring a bid by The Metals Co., a Canadian mining... More than 30 countries including France, Spain, Singapore and Brazil fiercely oppose deep-sea...