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

Travel creator Tanyka Renee Henry. Photo by Yanic Barrett

Creator Economy

The Travel Creator Using Jasper AI as a Muse

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 6, 2023 2:00pm PST

When travel creator Tanyka Renee Henry is stuck on an idea, she sometimes turns to a virtual source of help: Jasper AI, an artificial intelligence-powered copywriter. Henry, who has 320,000 Instagram followers, says she uses Jasper to help her come up with written material for social media captions, business pitches, or the newsletter she... When travel creator Tanyka Renee Henry is stuck on an idea, she sometimes turns to a virtual...

Art by Clark Miller

How Apple’s Need for Cutting Edge Screens Kept Tech’s Unhappiest Marriage Alive

By Wayne Ma · Mar 6, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

There are complicated relationships in the tech industry. And then there is the rocky marriage between Apple and Samsung Electronics. While Apple has long depended on the Korean electronics giant to supply key parts for the iPhone, it has also waged a long-running court battle against Samsung, accusing it of ripping off Apple patents in its own... There are complicated relationships in the tech industry. And then there is the rocky marriage...

Last month, Ford CEO Jim Farley describes the company's new battery-building association with Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, China's largest battery manufacturer. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty

The Electric: How States And Companies Are Frustrating Efforts to Create a China-Free U.S. Battery Industry

By Steve LeVine · Mar 5, 2023 2:00pm PST

Over the last five months, Joshua Hundt and his Michigan negotiating team have outcompeted a dozen U.S. states to land two multibillion-dollar battery factories. But there’s a catch: Both plants involve Chinese companies, clashing with a new U.S. law that aims to exclude them from the U.S. battery industry. Hundt, chief projects officer for... Over the last five months, Joshua Hundt and his Michigan negotiating team have outcompeted a...

It's Wunderkind Week

It's Wunderkind Week

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 4, 2023 7:00am PST

It's Wunderkind Week

It's Wunderkind Week

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 4, 2023 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Ever since Covid lockdowns began three years ago, young people have seemed a bit adrift. I see it at home with my two daughters, 13 and 11, who still can’t break some of the annoying screen habits they formed during the pandemic. I see it with their public school peers in San Francisco, many of whom are still climbing... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Ever since Covid lockdowns began three years ago, young people have...

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty.

Musk Delayed Paying Twitter’s Amazon Cloud Bill, Sparking Ad Threat

By Erin Woo · Mar 3, 2023 4:06pm PST

Elon Musk is running into an obstacle in his relentless drive to cut costs at Twitter: some of the same vendors that Twitter is squeezing to save money are also its advertising clients. As recently as last month, Twitter sales and marketing staff were told by their colleagues that Amazon had threatened to withhold payment for advertising it runs... Elon Musk is running into an obstacle in his relentless drive to cut costs at Twitter: some of...

Art by Clark Miller

The Wunderkind Issue

Plight of the Wunderkind: The Hidden Struggles of Tech’s Teenage Entrepreneurs

By Margaux MacColl · Mar 3, 2023 9:00am PST

On October 19, 2020, Jai Bhavnani paced around his University of Southern California dorm room in his pajamas, sending nervous Snapchats to his friends. It would either be a night for celebration or one for damage control. Bhavnani, who was just 18 years old at the time, had founded the decentralized finance platform Rari Capital with two other... On October 19, 2020, Jai Bhavnani paced around his University of Southern California dorm room in...

All photos courtesy of the subjects; art by Clark Miller

The Wunderkind Issue

Here Come the Zoomers: Silicon Valley Greets a New Generation of Teen Founders

By Margaux MacColl · Mar 3, 2023 9:00am PST · 2 comments

Eric Zhu, 15, was zooming me from his high school bathroom. “We got kicked out of the janitor’s closet,” he explained, holding up a pink hall pass that lets him leave class anytime he wants. (He said he had to fabricate some “urinary issues” to convince his school to give it to him.) The boys’ room is now... Eric Zhu, 15, was zooming me from his high school bathroom. “We got kicked out of the...

From left, Jamie Xie (Christian Vierig/Getty Images), Alexis Cuban, Phoebe Gates and Eve Jobs (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images). Art by Clark Miller.

Their Last Names Are Gates, Jobs, Xie and Cuban. Their Brands Are Still Loading

By Annie Goldsmith · Mar 3, 2023 9:00am PST

From left, Jamie Xie (Christian Vierig/Getty Images), Alexis Cuban, Phoebe Gates and Eve Jobs (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images). Art by Clark Miller.

The Wunderkind Issue

Their Last Names Are Gates, Jobs, Xie and Cuban. Their Brands Are Still Loading

By Annie Goldsmith · Mar 3, 2023 9:00am PST

The 6-second video (caption: “When dad gets the #boxball for Christmas”) seems like standard TikTok fare. Posted on December 26, it features a white-haired man in glasses punching at a red ball. The ball is attached to the man’s forehead by a bungee cord. The man keeps trying to jab the target, but like a cat... The 6-second video (caption: “When dad gets the #boxball for Christmas”)...

Art by Clark Miller; all photos courtesy of the schools and programs.

The Wunderkind Issue

So You Want to Raise a Wunderkind: The Tech Parent’s Guide to Alt Education

By Diana Kapp · Mar 3, 2023 9:00am PST · 3 comments

Brothers Navid and Nadeem Nathoo are on a quest to create “unicorn people.” That is, young people who want to learn about nanotechnology, blockchain, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and more, and who welcome questions with no possible solutions. “We want to get kids comfortable with ambiguity,” said Navid. And... Brothers Navid and Nadeem Nathoo are on a quest to create “unicorn people.” That is,...

The Pro Weekly: More Insights From Our Reader Survey

The Pro Weekly: More Insights From Our Reader Survey

By Scott Thurm · Mar 3, 2023 8:00am PST

Welcome back to the Pro Weekly! We hope you’re enjoying The Information Pro and finding insights in our databases. We’ll be updating them as we learn more, so check back often. Next week, look for additions to the Cloud Database. This week, we published results from our reader survey, which will be a monthly feature. By a 51% to 18% margin,... Welcome back to the Pro Weekly! We hope you’re enjoying The Information Pro and finding insights...

A customer holds a Shein bag outside Shein's Tokyo showroom. Photo by Bloomberg.

Shein Had Informal Talks With U.S. Tech Giants About Potential Investment

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Mar 3, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Shein, the online fashion giant that started in China, recently had an interesting pitch for both Amazon and Google. As it considered buying more advertising on Google properties and more cloud time on either Amazon or Google, Shein executives wondered whether either company might be interested in buying a stake in it, people familiar with the... Shein, the online fashion giant that started in China, recently had an interesting pitch for both...

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon and Brian Millham, Chief Operating Officer at Salesforce. Photos by Bloomberg and Salesforce.

Walking Back Remote Work Won’t Woo Wall Street

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 2, 2023 5:00pm PST · 6 comments

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon and Brian Millham, Chief Operating Officer at Salesforce. Photos by Bloomberg and Salesforce.

Walking Back Remote Work Won’t Woo Wall Street

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 2, 2023 5:00pm PST · 6 comments

Technology companies are trying a new way to please Wall Street: Promise to go back to the office. After years of extolling the value of remote work—and long after the rest of the business world has reverted to their in-office ways—tech companies are seeing if they can buck up investors by showing how much more productive they are when they... Technology companies are trying a new way to please Wall Street: Promise to go back to the...

Photo by Shane Burke/Shutterstock

Creator Economy

At Clubhouse, Many Notable Hires Have Departed

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 2, 2023 3:58pm PST

Roughly 20 leaders have departed Clubhouse over the past year or so, including many of the notable hires the social audio app recruited from major companies such as Meta Platforms, Google, TikTok, Spotify and Netflix. All these ex-staffers had vice president, head or lead in their titles or job descriptions (most were heads of something).The... Roughly 20 leaders have departed Clubhouse over the past year or so, including many of the...

Josh Kushner and Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty and Bloomberg

What Josh Kushner Can Learn From Marc Andreessen

By Kate Clark · Mar 2, 2023 3:19pm PST · 4 comments

There are different ways to ascend venture capital’s top ranks. Move fast, be loud and raise a lot of money. Or, build slowly, stay quiet and let the deals speak for themselves.For examples of these two approaches, just look at Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital. Both launched near the depths of the 2009 financial crisis and both have... There are different ways to ascend venture capital’s top ranks. Move fast, be loud and raise a...

Art via Shutterstock.

Disney’s Hulu Deal Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

By Andrew A. Rosen · Mar 2, 2023 9:00am PST · 1 comment

Sign up for Rosen’s newsletter, Parqor, part of The Information’s newsletter network. Among many newsmaking statements during his debut earnings season as Disney’s recently returned CEO, Robert Iger declared that “everything is on the table” concerning the Hulu-Disney relationship. Over the years, Disney has... Sign up for Rosen’s newsletter, Parqor, part of The Information’s newsletter...

Art by Clark Miller.

NFT Wars: How a Zero-Fee Upstart Is Roiling Big Marketplaces Like OpenSea

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 2, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

NFT Wars: How a Zero-Fee Upstart Is Roiling Big Marketplaces Like OpenSea

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 2, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Revenue has evaporated nearly overnight at non-fungible token marketplaces like OpenSea, thanks to a fierce price war that’s sent many NFT trading fees tumbling to zero. Now it’s a waiting game to see who can survive the drought. Blur, a marketplace that has no transaction fees, started picking up steam in October and eclipsed... Revenue has evaporated nearly overnight at non-fungible token marketplaces like OpenSea, thanks...

Photo by Shutterstock

Crypto VCs Aren’t Celebrating This Rally Just Yet

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 1, 2023 5:10pm PST · 1 comment

Here are some staggering numbers for you. Year to date, bitcoin is up 43%, ether is up 39%, and Coinbase shares are up more than 92%. In fact, Coinbase is now trading around 5 times its projected next 12 month sales, up from 2.1 times when 2023 began, according to Koyfin. Where’s all this coming from?It turns out, startups and venture... Here are some staggering numbers for you. Year to date, bitcoin is up 43%, ether is up 39%, and...

Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Benioff Discovers Efficiency (and Profits)

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2023 5:00pm PST

Some people are easily pleased. Salesforce stock jumped 15% in after-hours trading after the enterprise software firm reported fourth-quarter results that were a little better than it had projected. Free cash flow was solid. And Salesforce announced it was doubling its stock buyback program. Wall Street will enjoy those goodies—and the... Some people are easily pleased. Salesforce stock jumped 15% in after-hours trading after the...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew via Getty

Creator Economy

Apple Could Trip Up TikTok If Politicians Do Not

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 1, 2023 2:41pm PST

Could Apple and Google trip up TikTok even if saber-rattling politicians do not? It’s an intriguing idea sparked by a story we published today, especially as it resurfaces a perennial gripe of many startup founders: the iron grip the two tech giants have on smartphone apps. According to new reporting from my colleague Juro on Wednesday, the... Could Apple and Google trip up TikTok even if saber-rattling politicians do not? It’s an...

A Waymo prototype robotaxi in San Francisco. Credit: Waymo

Alphabet’s Robotaxi Unit Waymo Says it Laid Off 8%

By Jon Victor · Mar 1, 2023 8:37am PST

A Waymo prototype robotaxi in San Francisco. Credit: Waymo

Alphabet’s Robotaxi Unit Waymo Says it Laid Off 8%

By Jon Victor · Mar 1, 2023 8:37am PST

Alphabet’s robotaxi developer Waymo laid off 137 employees on Wednesday, its second round of cuts this year as the parent company reins in spending across its subsidiaries. The layoffs mean around 8% of Waymo employees, or 209 employees, have been cut this year, Waymo’s co-CEOs told staff in an internal email viewed by The... Alphabet’s robotaxi developer Waymo laid off 137 employees on Wednesday, its second round...