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

An Instacart shopper fulfills a grocery order at a Harris Teeter in Washington, D.C., in 2020. Photo by Getty.

Instacart Cuts Internal Valuation by Another 20% to $10 Billion

By Erin Woo · Dec 27, 2022 4:44pm PST · 2 comments

Instacart, the grocery delivery startup that bankers expect will list its shares publicly next year, has cut its internal valuation to around $10 billion, according to two people familiar with the situation. The new valuation is 20% lower than the one it had in October and nearly 75% lower than the price investors paid for shares early last... Instacart, the grocery delivery startup that bankers expect will list its shares publicly next...

Chart: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

The Year 2022 for Creators in Two Charts

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 27, 2022 3:10pm PST

When we look back at 2022—and ahead to next year—two trends stick out. First, it’s become even more clear that social media executives find some of their best ideas by copying rival apps, from giants like TikTok to upstarts such as BeReal. Plus, a table of the biggest creator funds shows how these pools of cash, designed to entice creators to... When we look back at 2022—and ahead to next year—two trends stick out. First, it’s become even...

Art by Shane Burke.

The Information’s 2023 Predictions

By The Information Staff · Dec 27, 2022 6:30am PST · 8 comments

It’s safe to say that the two biggest tech stories of 2022—the twists and turns of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and the collapse of FTX—were not on anyone’s minds this time last year. That raises the question of what 2023 will bring. We have some predictions to make. As we note below, the stage is set for big... It’s safe to say that the two biggest tech stories of 2022—the twists and turns of...

Art by Shane Burke.

What We Got Right (And Wrong) in Our Predictions for 2022

By The Information Staff · Dec 27, 2022 6:00am PST · 8 comments

Art by Shane Burke.

What We Got Right (And Wrong) in Our Predictions for 2022

By The Information Staff · Dec 27, 2022 6:00am PST · 8 comments

We’re near a wrap on 2022, which means it’s time to grade The Information’s predictions on technology and media. Each year our journalists check in with their sources and then tee up their forecasts for the most important mergers and acquisitions, stock offerings and CEO exits they expect to transpire. We got some predictions... We’re near a wrap on 2022, which means it’s time to grade The Information’s...

On Jasper! On YouTuber! On ChatGPT! A Special Holiday Edition of Weekend

On Jasper! On YouTuber! On ChatGPT! A Special Holiday Edition of Weekend

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 24, 2022 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your holiday Weekend!If you haven’t already slipped into a ’noghole (a bottomless tumbler of eggnog paired with an endless scroll of Netflix Christmas movies), we have a fascinating sampler of stories for you to indulge in this week.There’s Arielle’s dispatch from the red-hot AI scene in Texas, where a 6-foot-8-inch Kansan came up... Hi, welcome to your holiday Weekend!If you haven’t already slipped into a ’noghole (a bottomless...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Year in Art

The Information’s 22 Unskippable Culture Picks of 2022

By The Information Staff · Dec 23, 2022 11:00am PST · 2 comments

“White Lotus”? Check. Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”? Check. “Top Gun: Maverick”? Yes, of course, check. Those are the clear-cut cultural touchstones of the past year. But as we approach the holiday break, you may want to expand past the usual horizons and click on a podcast, take in a movie or crack open a... “White Lotus”? Check. Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”? Check. “Top...

Jasper founders Dave Rogenmoser, Chris Hull and J.P. Morgan. Art by Clark Miller; photo courtesy Jasper.

The Best Little Unicorn in Texas: Jasper Was Winning the AI Race—Then ChatGPT Blew Up the Whole Game

By Arielle Pardes · Dec 23, 2022 9:15am PST · 27 comments

A few weeks ago, Sam Altman, CEO of artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, logged onto a Zoom call. On the other side of the screen was Dave Rogenmoser, CEO of Jasper, a copywriting startup built on OpenAI’s flagship large-language model, GPT-3. The two companies share a Slack channel, where they trade updates and feedback about GPT-3,... A few weeks ago, Sam Altman, CEO of artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, logged onto a Zoom...

Boring Co. CEO Steve Davis, right, with Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images

Musk May Have Found a Hardcore Leader for Twitter

By Becky Peterson and Erin Woo · Dec 23, 2022 8:32am PST · 9 comments

Boring Co. CEO Steve Davis, right, with Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images

Musk May Have Found a Hardcore Leader for Twitter

By Becky Peterson and Erin Woo · Dec 23, 2022 8:32am PST · 9 comments

Like many new dads, The Boring Company CEO Steve Davis spent the first few weeks of fatherhood sleeping near his partner and newborn. Unlike other new fathers, Davis and his family were sleeping in an office—a makeshift bedroom at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, where Davis has spent the past two months acting as a proxy for... Like many new dads, The Boring Company CEO Steve Davis spent the first few weeks of fatherhood...

From left: Amarjit Gill, Johny Srouji, Lip-Bu Tan and Gerard Williams. Photos by Getty; SambaNova; Nuvia. Art by Mike Sullivan

At Apple, a War for Chip Talent Intensifies

By Wayne Ma · Dec 23, 2022 6:00am PST · 7 comments

For more than a decade, Apple’s silicon engineering group has helped give Apple a competitive edge in smartphones and laptops. The custom chips it designs make its products snappier to use or help them eke out an hour or more of extra battery life. Last year, though, Apple’s chip department hit a serious setback. Apple planned a... For more than a decade, Apple’s silicon engineering group has helped give Apple a...

Barry McCarthy and Reed Hastings. Photos by Bloomberg.

Netflix’s Fitness Move May Trip Up Peloton

By Martin Peers · Dec 22, 2022 5:00pm PST

Netflix chief Reed Hastings shouldn’t expect a holiday card from Barry McCarthy this year. The video-streaming giant likely spoiled the Peloton CEO’s Christmas this year with its announcement on Wednesday that it plans to start streaming fitness content from Nike on Dec. 30. Nike doesn’t offer everything that’s on Peloton—particularly when it... Netflix chief Reed Hastings shouldn’t expect a holiday card from Barry McCarthy this year. The...

Chart: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

The Price of Being a Creator Is Going Up

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 22, 2022 1:04pm PST

First came the layoffs, now come price hikes on creator tools. Startup Gumroad last week announced it would increase the cut it takes from creators’ sales of digital goods such as e-books, courses, memberships and newsletters on its platform. Online course platform Teachable also recently raised the prices of its monthly subscription plans... First came the layoffs, now come price hikes on creator tools. Startup Gumroad last week...

Art by Clark Miller

The Season’s Hottest Toy? Hint: It’s a YouTuber

By Abram Brown · Dec 22, 2022 12:00pm PST

Art by Clark Miller

The Season’s Hottest Toy? Hint: It’s a YouTuber

By Abram Brown · Dec 22, 2022 12:00pm PST

In September, Simon Philips found himself in an uncomfortable situation: seated across the aisle from two small children on a 10-hour work flight from Los Angeles to London. “Oh, god. What are they going to do?” Philips remembers thinking. As a father of two, Philips knows how bored kids can behave. Moreover, he’s spent a... In September, Simon Philips found himself in an uncomfortable situation: seated across the aisle...

Venture Capitalists Want to Save the Planet Again

Venture Capitalists Want to Save the Planet Again

By Kate Clark · Dec 22, 2022 11:00am PST · 1 comment

We’ve written so much about venture capitalists rushing to back instant-delivery and direct-to-consumer startups that never created any value and haven’t made a positive impact on the world. That’s why it’s a relief to hear investors are chasing deals in startups tackling climate change again.Brian Halligan, the former CEO of HubSpot, had his... We’ve written so much about venture capitalists rushing to back instant-delivery and...

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer. Photo by Getty Images

Q&A

OpenSea CEO Wants to Work With Apple on NFT Apps

By Aidan Ryan · Dec 22, 2022 10:53am PST

Reports last week that Apple is considering allowing alternative app stores to comply with new EU regulations could pave the way for a new wave of apps, including those that feature non-fungible tokens. That would be good news for OpenSea, the biggest marketplace for buying and selling NFTs. In an interview with The Information, OpenSea CEO... Reports last week that Apple is considering allowing alternative app stores to comply with new EU...

Art by Clark Miller

Anatomy of a Failure

Everything Must Go: The Inside Story of a Startup’s Sudden, Agonizing Collapse

By Mark Matousek · Dec 22, 2022 9:00am PST · 13 comments

Fridge No More was about to be no more. It was almost midnight on a cold late-winter night in Brooklyn, and there was little movement inside the failing startup’s once-bustling grocery-delivery hub. But Pavel Danilov, Fridge No More’s CEO, couldn’t resist the urge to tidy up. It might have been the muscle memory he had... Fridge No More was about to be no more. It was almost midnight on a cold late-winter night in...

Elon Musk.

Musk Lays Off Some in Twitter Policy Team in New Round of Cuts

By Erin Woo · Dec 22, 2022 7:42am PST

Elon Musk.

Musk Lays Off Some in Twitter Policy Team in New Round of Cuts

By Erin Woo · Dec 22, 2022 7:42am PST

Elon Musk continued to whittle down Twitter’s shrunken workforce on Wednesday night, laying off members of its public policy team, said two people familiar with the matter. Slashing that team could hamper Twitter’s ability to deal with regulators and politicians, even as the Federal Trade Commission investigates its handling of user... Elon Musk continued to whittle down Twitter’s shrunken workforce on Wednesday night, laying...

From left: Meagan Roth, Firefly Aerospace; Brandi Sippel, Muon Space; Will Bruey, Varda Space Industries; Ryan Westerdahl, Turion Space; Tom Mueller, Impulse Space. Source: The companies

How SpaceX Alumni Are Building the Next Generation of Space Startups

By Becky Peterson · Dec 22, 2022 6:00am PST

Elon Musk rose to prominence as a member of the “PayPal mafia,” a nickname for alumni of the digital payments provider who went on to create or work at other important tech startups. Now one of Musk’s companies—rocket maker SpaceX—is also pumping out alumni who are taking on key roles at a growing crop of aerospace... Elon Musk rose to prominence as a member of the “PayPal mafia,” a nickname for alumni...

Photo by Getty Images

YouTube’s Expected NFL Deal Puts Spotlight on Tech’s Streaming Adventures

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2022 5:00pm PST

Whoever put together the memo about big tech learning financial discipline appears to have left Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai off the distribution list. That’s assuming reports that YouTube will pay $2.5 billion a year for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket are accurate. Paying top dollar for live sports programming is a great way to burn cash. DirecTV, which... Whoever put together the memo about big tech learning financial discipline appears to have left...

Devin Finzer. Photo by Getty Images.

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer on the Future of NFTs and Surviving the Downturn

By Aidan Ryan · Dec 21, 2022 2:19pm PST

At the center of the NFT boom earlier this year was OpenSea, the NFT marketplace that has been the go-to shop for buying and selling NFTs. The company announced a $300 million Series C round in January, notching a $13.3 billion valuation. But since then, trading volumes have dropped more than 90% amid a bear market that has also seen a... At the center of the NFT boom earlier this year was OpenSea, the NFT marketplace that has been...

Photo: Shutterstock

Deserted Creators Search for New Homes for Newsletters; Twitter Could Break Even

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 21, 2022 2:00pm PST

Photo: Shutterstock

Creator Economy

Deserted Creators Search for New Homes for Newsletters; Twitter Could Break Even

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 21, 2022 2:00pm PST

Both Meta Platforms’ newsletter feature Bulletin and Twitter’s service Revue have announced plans to shut down next year. That means the creators who use those products need to find alternatives—and fast.Meta recruited some creators to write newsletters for the first time. Greg Mania, a comedy writer who published the book “Born to be Public”... Both Meta Platforms’ newsletter feature Bulletin and Twitter’s service Revue have announced plans...