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

Illustration by Josh Brill

Elon Musk Risks Being an Also-Ran in the Mobile Space Race

By Becky Peterson · Sep 7, 2022 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

If Elon Musk’s SpaceX and T-Mobile are to have any hope of beating a wide range of rivals—including Amazon and potentially Apple—to the market for satellite-delivered cellphone services, they need to overcome an array of both regulatory and technological roadblocks. Musk and SpaceX engineers are racing to clear key engineering... If Elon Musk’s SpaceX and T-Mobile are to have any hope of beating a wide range of...

Photo by Bloomberg

Instagram Takes an Ax to E-Commerce

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 6, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Imagine that you’re taking care of a tree—and all of a sudden it starts sprouting new limbs. And little by little those limbs start to suck more resources away from the heart of the tree. Then the main trunk gets hit with, I dunno, a big rock and all of a sudden is very weak. What do you do? You start chopping off those branches one by one... Imagine that you’re taking care of a tree—and all of a sudden it starts sprouting new limbs. And...

Graphic: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

YouTube Scrapped Planned Creator Payments Revamp After Shooting, According to New Book

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 6, 2022 2:00pm PDT

For years, YouTube was working toward a revamp of its payment system for creators. Then, in 2018, the company killed it, according to the new book “Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination” by Bloomberg Technology reporter Mark Bergen. The company faced a major advertiser boycott in 2017 over YouTube’s... For years, YouTube was working toward a revamp of its payment system for creators. Then, in 2018,...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram Scaling Back Shopping Features Amid Commerce Retreat

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 6, 2022 1:45pm PDT

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram Scaling Back Shopping Features Amid Commerce Retreat

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 6, 2022 1:45pm PDT

Instagram is planning to drastically scale back its shopping features, the company told Instagram staffers on Tuesday, as it shifts the focus of its e-commerce efforts to those that directly drive advertising. The retreat shows how Meta Platforms is moving away from some long-term projects as it focuses on building its short-form video business.... Instagram is planning to drastically scale back its shopping features, the company told Instagram...

CEO of Nasdaq, Adena Friedman. Photo by Bloomberg

‘I’m Not Going to Wade Into That One’: Nasdaq’s CEO on the Downturn, Crypto and ‘Super Apps’

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 6, 2022 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

2022 has been a brutal year for the markets. But what about the markets business? With initial public offerings slumping to the lowest levels since 2009, I sat down with a woman who sees it all very up close—Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman. Friedman runs one of the world’s most important public markets, and she is also a software CEO,... 2022 has been a brutal year for the markets. But what about the markets business? With initial...

From left, C3.ai CEO Thomas Siebel, DataRobot interim CEO Debanjan Saha, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp. Photos by Bloomberg, DataRobot

CEOs Want AI, but Deals Are Getting Stuck

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 6, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In the early days of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services and other providers of cloud-based servers and storage struggled to grow because IT departments of large companies took a long time to approve such purchases. Now, those bureaucratic barriers are being exacerbated by macroeconomic pressures on corporate spending, hammering a host of... In the early days of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services and other providers of cloud-based...

Biden signed the climate bill, containing about $100 billion for batteries, on Aug. 16. To his left, Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg

The Electric: The U.S. Is Making Innovative Batteries. Will China Make Them Irrelevant?

By Steve LeVine · Sep 4, 2022 2:00pm PDT

This Thursday: The Electric celebrates its 1-year anniversary with a special Live Chat featuring Bob Galyen, one of the foremost experts on establishing a battery supply chain. Bob is the former chief technology officer of Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., or CATL, the Chinese battery giant, and is now a major force in standing up a... This Thursday: The Electric celebrates its 1-year anniversary with a special Live Chat featuring...

A Jokr ad in New York last year. Photo by AP

Jokr in Talks to Raise Up to $50 Million at $1.3 Billion Valuation

By Erin Woo · Sep 3, 2022 10:02am PDT · 6 comments

A Jokr ad in New York last year. Photo by AP

Jokr in Talks to Raise Up to $50 Million at $1.3 Billion Valuation

By Erin Woo · Sep 3, 2022 10:02am PDT · 6 comments

Instant-delivery startup Jokr is in talks with investors to raise between $35 million and $50 million in Series C funding at a pre-money valuation of $1.3 billion, according to two people familiar with the company’s fundraising efforts. That represents a slight increase from its valuation of $1.2 billion set last December. The fundraising... Instant-delivery startup Jokr is in talks with investors to raise between $35 million and $50...

Snap Hits Stormy, Shark-Infested Waters

Snap Hits Stormy, Shark-Infested Waters

By Jon Steinberg · Sep 3, 2022 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! I can’t remember the first time I heard of Snapchat, but I do remember being instantly nonplussed by it. What was it with these wacky millennials taking pictures of themselves vomiting rainbows (among other NFSW activities)? Why would you want photos of your friends to disappear after only a few seconds?... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! I can’t remember the first time I heard of Snapchat, but I do...

Art by Clark Miller

Screentime: The Social Media Founder Who Controls His Vibrating Bed From His Phone

By Margaux MacColl · Sep 3, 2022 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Alex Ma describes the last week of May 2021 as both “a dream and a nightmare at the same time.” That was the week when his social media app, Poparazzi, made a dramatic breakthrough, soaring to the top of Apple’s App Store chart, which landed the app a $15 million Series A led by Benchmark the following month. A precursor to this summer’s BeReal... Alex Ma describes the last week of May 2021 as both “a dream and a nightmare at the same time.”...

Market Research

‘Like an Hour of Meditation in 10 Minutes’: How Tech Insiders Do Fitness Recovery

By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 2, 2022 11:00am PDT · 5 comments

Silicon Valley is always optimizing. We’ve heard about intermittent fasting, cryotherapy and microdosing, but the fix-it-before-it-breaks mindset also extends to workout recovery. Sports medicine experts maintain that recuperating after strenuous exercise is essential for preventing injuries and soreness. A focus on recovery can also help... Silicon Valley is always optimizing. We’ve heard about intermittent fasting, cryotherapy and...

Art by Clark Miller

A Visionary Afloat: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Helped Create the Social Web as We Know It. Now He’s Sinking Under It.

By Ryan Broderick · Sep 2, 2022 9:00am PDT · 25 comments

Art by Clark Miller

A Visionary Afloat: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Helped Create the Social Web as We Know It. Now He’s Sinking Under It.

By Ryan Broderick · Sep 2, 2022 9:00am PDT · 25 comments

Evan Spiegel published his first blog post about Snapchat in 2012. Ten years later, itis still the most coherent description of an app that has proudly confused the tech world ever since. “Snapchat isn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment,” the 22-year-old future Snap CEO wrote. “We’re building a photo app that doesn’t conform to... Evan Spiegel published his first blog post about Snapchat in 2012. Ten years later, itis still...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Tech Firms Race to Hire Policy Leaders, Triggering Ripple Effects Across Washington

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 2, 2022 6:00am PDT

Policy leaders are in short supply thanks to new hiring demand from big tech and crypto firms as both industries barrel toward regulatory showdowns. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is on the hunt for someone to lead policy and government affairs for its crypto practice, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cryptocurrency... Policy leaders are in short supply thanks to new hiring demand from big tech and crypto firms as...

Photo by Bloomberg.

What Shopify and Snap Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Sep 1, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s been a bad week to be a mid-size tech firm. News broke today that Shopify is telling its merchants not to use Amazon’s Buy with Prime feature, which lets online stores use Amazon Prime’s speedy shipping service. The news signals that those at Shopify opposing integration with Amazon’s new service won an internal debate we previously... It’s been a bad week to be a mid-size tech firm. News broke today that Shopify is telling its...

OnlyFans CEO Ami Gan. Photo: OnlyFans

Creator Economy

OnlyFans’ Sustained Pandemic Boom; Twitter Finally Tests Edit Button

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 1, 2022 2:00pm PDT

OnlyFans’ business boomed last year, with revenue surging 160% to $932 million year-over-year, according to financial results the adult content site released on Thursday for the year ending November 2021.The results show that 2020—when reported revenue rose 553%—wasn’t some fluke. OnlyFans' business has continued to grow, with pre-tax profits... OnlyFans’ business boomed last year, with revenue surging 160% to $932 million year-over-year,...

Employees walking outside the Shenzen headquarters of Tencent. Photo by Getty

From Apps to Dumplings: China’s Tech Workers Switch Careers, Countries As Layoffs Mount

By Juro Osawa · Sep 1, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Employees walking outside the Shenzen headquarters of Tencent. Photo by Getty

From Apps to Dumplings: China’s Tech Workers Switch Careers, Countries As Layoffs Mount

By Juro Osawa · Sep 1, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Early this year, Mars Zhao was full of optimism about the future. He had just landed a new job in Shanghai at Chinese internet giant Tencent, putting together advertising campaigns for brands, a position that paid 30% more than his previous job. Despite a government crackdown on tech companies, Zhao was confident enough about the sector’s... Early this year, Mars Zhao was full of optimism about the future. He had just landed a new job in...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Media Versus Time

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 31, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Beneath the news of Snap’s massive layoff and cutbacks is a far bigger story that’s well worth paying attention to: The mania around original short-video programming is officially over. Let’s not forget one big nail in that coffin: Quibi, of course, which raised some $1.75 billion against the thesis that people wanted to watch "Game of... Beneath the news of Snap’s massive layoff and cutbacks is a far bigger story that’s well worth...

Graphic: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Snap and Substack Moves Signal Shifts in the Creator Economy

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 31, 2022 2:07pm PDT

As we detailed in a story yesterday, Substack is doling out fewer perks to writers, including cutting a healthcare subsidy offered to some top names and paring back how frequently it offers upfront cash advances to potential writers. It’s also “not being as aggressive” in offering other services designed to draw in and support writers, ranging... As we detailed in a story yesterday, Substack is doling out fewer perks to writers, including...

Chart by Mike Sullivan.

How Snap’s Pandemic Hiring Frenzy Set It Up for Mass Layoffs

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 31, 2022 9:49am PDT · 1 comment

Snap’s decision, announced Wednesday, to shrink its workforce 20% marks the biggest round of layoffs at a prominent internet ad firm so far in this downturn, at least in percentage terms. The cuts put Snap in the company of startups that went on overly optimistic hiring binges and crypto firms that got caught flat-footed by the crypto... Snap’s decision, announced Wednesday, to shrink its workforce 20% marks the biggest round...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Venture Capital Isn’t the Problem—It’s Venture Capitalists

By Del Johnson · Aug 31, 2022 9:00am PDT · 25 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

Venture Capital Isn’t the Problem—It’s Venture Capitalists

By Del Johnson · Aug 31, 2022 9:00am PDT · 25 comments

The market downturn has sent many tech company valuations into freefall, leading to questions about whether the venture model—based on the power law, the notion that a small number of mega-successful bets will outweigh a larger number of abject failures—can continue to replicate its past wins. Critics point to the drought in new,... The market downturn has sent many tech company valuations into freefall, leading to questions...