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

As Shopify Battles E-Commerce Slowdown, Lending Emerges as a Bright Spot

By Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2022 6:00am PST

Shopify’s sales growth has evaporated over the past year as the boom in online spending sparked by the pandemic has dissipated. But the e-commerce software giant has focused on squeezing more money out of its existing merchants from the sale of other services. One notable way it’s doing that is by fronting money to cash-strapped... Shopify’s sales growth has evaporated over the past year as the boom in online spending...

Will lithium from Australia's Greenbushes, the world's largest lithium mine, qualify for U.S. tax credits even though it's 51% owned by China's Tianqi Lithium and just 49% by U.S.-based Albemarle? Photo: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

The Electric: Biden Seems Likely to Try to Thwart Chinese Battery Factories in the U.S.

By Steve LeVine · Nov 6, 2022 2:00pm PST

The U.S. badly wants an electric vehicle battery industry, and it hopes that the tens of billions of dollars contained in the Inflation Reduction Act get it there. This week we look at the difficult policy choices ahead for the Biden Administration: China holds much of the world's battery-making know-how, but many U.S. officials are hostile to... The U.S. badly wants an electric vehicle battery industry, and it hopes that the tens of billions...

Kuaishou ads in Beijing, 2021. Photo by Bloomberg

Beijing Increases Control Over ByteDance Rival Kuaishou Through Equity Stake

By Juro Osawa · Nov 6, 2022 12:51am PDT · 3 comments

A Chinese state-owned broadcaster recently took an equity stake in the domestic business of Kuaishou, one of the country’s most popular video apps, and also appeared to gain a seat on the board of that business, according to corporate records. Beijing’s actions involving Kuaishou, which haven’t been previously reported,... A Chinese state-owned broadcaster recently took an equity stake in the domestic business of...

Alexis Ohanian in Heaven, Elon Musk in Hell

Alexis Ohanian in Heaven, Elon Musk in Hell

By Jon Steinberg · Nov 5, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Alexis Ohanian in Heaven, Elon Musk in Hell

Alexis Ohanian in Heaven, Elon Musk in Hell

By Jon Steinberg · Nov 5, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Last week, we generously offered our readers a 100% Elon Musk-free newsletter. I got a few thank you notes for that. Now I’m sorry to inform you the moratorium’s over. Yesterday was the Massacre on Market Street. The day when Elon Musk unceremoniously axed thousands of Twitter employees, all while the world... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!Last week, we generously offered our readers a 100% Elon Musk-free...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Screentime: The Millennial Tech Founder Who Wonders If She’s Too Old for TikTok

By Annie Goldsmith · Nov 5, 2022 7:00am PDT

Kathryn Minshew, founder of online jobs marketplace The Muse, has basically been on a nationwide tour for the past month. Traveling from her home in New York’s East Village, she’s turned up in Aspen, Colo.; the Catskills, N.Y.; Dana Point, Calif.; and Boston. Though some of the travel was just for fun (seeing her niece in Boston, for one), much... Kathryn Minshew, founder of online jobs marketplace The Muse, has basically been on a nationwide...

From left:Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, Stephen King. Photo of Elon Musk from Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside Elon Musk’s Wild First Week at Twitter

By Erin Woo, Kaya Yurieff and Becky Peterson · Nov 5, 2022 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

On Thursday afternoon last week at Twitter’s San Francisco offices, employees in costumes milled about at the company’s Halloween party as a magician performed tricks. Some attendees speculated that the emcee for the event, dressed in a scarecrow costume, was Elon Musk, who was then hours away from becoming Twitter’s new owner... On Thursday afternoon last week at Twitter’s San Francisco offices, employees in costumes...

Twitter offices in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter Slashes Staff in Ad Product, Data Center Management

By Becky Peterson, Erin Woo and Kaya Yurieff · Nov 4, 2022 2:59pm PDT · 2 comments

Several key departments at Twitter were reduced to a shadow of their former selves in mass layoffs on Friday undertaken by Elon Musk, the company’s new owner, according to employees. Among the worst hit were the teams responsible for product and engineering for ads, as well as the infrastructure team that runs data centers known internally... Several key departments at Twitter were reduced to a shadow of their former selves in mass...

Graphic: Shane Burke

What Happens To Twitter Spaces?

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 4, 2022 2:31pm PDT

Graphic: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

What Happens To Twitter Spaces?

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 4, 2022 2:31pm PDT

As a Twitter super user, Elon Musk hasn’t wasted time rethinking tools for other active tweeters. In the past week or so since completing his takeover, Musk instructed engineers to resurrect six-second video app Vine, revamp subscription offering Twitter Blue, and build new functionalities such as paid direct messages and paywalled video,... As a Twitter super user, Elon Musk hasn’t wasted time rethinking tools for other active tweeters....

Art by Clark Miller

Department of Musk Studies

Elon Musk’s Meme-Spreading, Critic-Blocking, Ego-Inflating Twitter Feed by the Numbers

By Annie Goldsmith, Margaux MacColl and Arielle Pardes · Nov 4, 2022 1:30pm PDT · 2 comments

On October 27, new Twitter owner Elon Musk posted his third-most-liked tweet ever: “The bird is freed.” (No. 1 was his infamous putting-cocaine-back-into-Coke joke. No. 2 was his free-speech bear hug to critics.) Suddenly Musk’s obsessive Twitter use became more than just a headline generator. It also offered a tantalizing peek... On October 27, new Twitter owner Elon Musk posted his third-most-liked tweet ever: “The...

Art by Clark Miller

Could Gambling on Elections Be ‘Bigger Than Sports Betting’? A Trading Startup Shoots Its Shot

By Nancy Scola · Nov 4, 2022 12:14pm PDT · 2 comments

Running his fingers through his halo of dark hair while bouncing like a kid with the right answer, Tarek Mansour explained the derivation of his company’s name. “Kel shi” is Lebanese Arabic for “everything,” he said during a recent Zoom call from San Francisco. It’s why he and his co-founder Luana Lopes Lara named their company Kalshi—because... Running his fingers through his halo of dark hair while bouncing like a kid with the right...

Composite art by Clark Miller. Photos Ohanian, Creative Commons and Roberto Faccenda.

Ohanian in Paradise: Still Nursing Old Wounds From Reddit, the Former Founder Chases a New Legacy

By Abram Brown · Nov 4, 2022 9:00am PDT · 13 comments

A while back, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, and his wife Serena Williams, the tennis legend and angel investor, reached a compromise. They’d been working under the same roof during the pandemic, Ohanian running his venture shop, Seven Seven Six, and Williams overseeing her growing empire of endorsements,... A while back, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, and his wife Serena...

Sunnyside Beach in Toronto. High levels of bacteria made the water unsafe for swimming on 50 days this past summer. Photo by John Vetterli/Flickr

Toronto Tapped Artificial Intelligence to Warn Swimmers. The Experiment Failed

By Paris Martineau · Nov 4, 2022 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Sunnyside Beach in Toronto. High levels of bacteria made the water unsafe for swimming on 50 days this past summer. Photo by John Vetterli/Flickr

Toronto Tapped Artificial Intelligence to Warn Swimmers. The Experiment Failed

By Paris Martineau · Nov 4, 2022 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Earlier this year, Toronto’s public health department quietly flipped the switch on an experiment targeting the city’s most pollution-prone beaches. Instead of relying on day-old laboratory tests to ensure that people don’t swim in unsafe water, the city tapped the magic of artificial intelligence, contracting with Cann... Earlier this year, Toronto’s public health department quietly flipped the switch on an...

Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Plans to Fire Employees by Email

By Erin Woo · Nov 3, 2022 5:39pm PDT · 4 comments

Twitter employees will be notified by email by 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Friday whether they will be laid off, according to a communication sent out to all Twitter employees on Thursday evening. It was the first employee-wide communication since Elon Musk closed his takeover of the social network a week ago. In an unsigned email,... Twitter employees will be notified by email by 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Friday...

Patrick Collision. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Truth About Tech Layoffs

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 3, 2022 5:34pm PDT · 5 comments

Today, tech layoffs accelerated as Stripe slashed 1,000 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, and Lyft and Affirm joined the fray. The flood will continue tomorrow if Elon Musk slashes Twitter’s employee count in half, as he is expected to do. The first big takeaway from the massive recalibrations going on is that leaders dramatically... Today, tech layoffs accelerated as Stripe slashed 1,000 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, and Lyft...

Dani Austin. Photo: Fortuna, Fort Lion Studio

Creator Economy

QVC Emerges as a Draw for Influencers

By Mahira Dayal · Nov 3, 2022 3:25pm PDT

Maybe we were too quick to write off QVC. In the last few years, a handful of live-shopping startups and social media apps have offered live-streamed shopping, all versions of QVC’s shopping channel but tailored for smartphone users. As it turns out, the 36-year-old unit of media conglomerate Qurate Retail still is a draw—even with influencers... Maybe we were too quick to write off QVC. In the last few years, a handful of live-shopping...

A fixed-gear Aventon bike in New York in 2018. Photo by Getty Images

Sequoia Capital China Backs E-Bike Maker at $590 Million Valuation

By Juro Osawa · Nov 3, 2022 1:01pm PDT

A fixed-gear Aventon bike in New York in 2018. Photo by Getty Images

Sequoia Capital China Backs E-Bike Maker at $590 Million Valuation

By Juro Osawa · Nov 3, 2022 1:01pm PDT

E-bike and scooter rental businesses are struggling, but it’s boom times for companies with Chinese roots that make the vehicles, as commuters increasingly snap them up. Several such e-bike manufacturers have attracted venture capital this year, including Aventon, which is based in the U.S. and China. Sequoia Capital’s Chinese arm is... E-bike and scooter rental businesses are struggling, but it’s boom times for companies with...

Marc Andreessen. Photo: Bloomberg

How Andreessen Horowitz’s Limited Partners Are Feeling These Days

By Kate Clark · Nov 3, 2022 11:36am PDT · 1 comment

Andreessen Horowitz has had quite a colorful autumn. The firm gave Elon Musk $400 million to help finance his messy effort to take Twitter private, a transaction The Economist said could go down in history as the “deal from hell.” It floated $350 million to Adam Neumann, the disgraced former WeWork founder, for his new startup, Flow. And... Andreessen Horowitz has had quite a colorful autumn. The firm gave Elon Musk $400 million to help...

Google’s Cloud Deals Hit a Wall

By Amir Efrati · Nov 3, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts last week that some customers of Google’s cloud servers and productivity apps “are taking longer to decide, and some have committed to deals with shorter terms or smaller deal sizes, which we attribute to a more challenging [macroeconomic] environment.” That was an... Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts last week that some customers of...

Photo by Shutterstock

Ripple Effects of Tech Layoffs Will Sink In Soon

By Martin Peers · Nov 2, 2022 5:05pm PDT

Be happy if you’re a tech worker with a job. More and more people in the industry are losing theirs. Today alone, The Information reported that online banking startup Chime was cutting 12% of its workforce and Bloomberg reported that Opendoor slashed 18% of its headcount. Those cuts follow other layoffs in recent days instituted by recruiting... Be happy if you’re a tech worker with a job. More and more people in the industry are losing...

Robinhood Co-Founder and CEO Vlad Tenev. Photo by Bloomberg.

Robinhood’s Crypto Doldrums; NFT Fyre Festival

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 2, 2022 4:35pm PDT · 1 comment

Robinhood Co-Founder and CEO Vlad Tenev. Photo by Bloomberg.

Robinhood’s Crypto Doldrums; NFT Fyre Festival

By Aidan Ryan · Nov 2, 2022 4:35pm PDT · 1 comment

Robinhood’s latest financial results show that the crypto winter isn’t thawing anytime soon, at least when it comes to trading.The stock and crypto trading app generated $361 million in revenue in the third quarter, essentially flat versus the same period last year. Crypto trading revenue was flat too, coming in at $51 million. Overall... Robinhood’s latest financial results show that the crypto winter isn’t thawing anytime soon, at...