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

After a Decade of Declines, EV Battery Costs Are To Rise 14% This Year

After a Decade of Declines, EV Battery Costs Are To Rise 14% This Year

By Steve LeVine · May 24, 2022 11:08am PDT

The abrupt electrification of the auto industry has been fueled in large part by a steep drop in the cost of their batteries, bringing the price of electric cars closer to parity with traditional vehicles. But the International Energy Agency says those declines are about to end—and reverse.A surge in the price of critical metals is on track to... The abrupt electrification of the auto industry has been fueled in large part by a steep drop in...

A depiction of the Lightship VPS scanning process. Credit: Niantic.

Niantic’s New Social AR Tool; Meta’s Improved Room Mapping

By Mathew Olson · May 24, 2022 11:00am PDT

Niantic today launched its new visual positioning system for the Lightship AR platform, a tool that promises to make it easier for developers to deliver localized and persistent AR content in their apps. Niantic also unveiled today something even more intriguing: Campfire, a social tool coming first to the AR game Ingress. The company plans to... Niantic today launched its new visual positioning system for the Lightship AR platform, a tool...

Dan Levitan, co-founder of Maveron. Photo by Maveron.

Consumer VC Firm Maveron Raises $225 Million Amid ‘Serious Paradigm Shift’

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Venture firm Maveron, whose well-timed investments in eBay and Drugstore.com helped it get through the 2000 dot-com bust with relative ease, had a tougher time during the financial crisis eight years later, when it was forced to downsize and narrow its focus to early-stage investing in consumer brands. That experience has prepared Maveron to... Venture firm Maveron, whose well-timed investments in eBay and Drugstore.com helped it get...

Announcing the Creator Economy Summit Masterclasses 2022

By The Information Staff · May 23, 2022 5:58pm PDT

Creator Economy Summit

Announcing the Creator Economy Summit Masterclasses 2022

By The Information Staff · May 23, 2022 5:58pm PDT

We’re excited to see everyone on May 25 at The Information’s second annual Creator Economy Summit. Our masterclass breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have three sets of 45-minute masterclasses. Here is a preview of this year’s topics. For group ticket... We’re excited to see everyone on May 25 at The Information’s second annual ...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Sends Shiver Through Ad Stocks

By Martin Peers · May 23, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Uh oh. Snap’s warning this afternoon that its second-quarter revenue and profits will be below what it projected just a few weeks ago, thanks to a faster than expected deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, is an ominous signal for the ad market. Snap had outperformed many of its digital ad peers, most obviously Meta Platform, Twitter and... Uh oh. Snap’s warning this afternoon that its second-quarter revenue and profits will be below...

Creator Josh Richards, LTK exec Reesa Lake, Pinterest chief content officer Malik Ducard and Duolingo’s global social media manager Zaria Parvez (from left to right). Photo: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

An Insider’s Guide to Our Upcoming Creator Economy Summit

By Kaya Yurieff · May 23, 2022 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The Information’s second Creator Economy Summit is happening this Wednesday. For the past two months, I’ve been preparing for our interviews with creators, startup leaders and executives at major tech companies including Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. (You can still register here.) This prep work has come at a pivotal time for the... The Information’s second Creator Economy Summit is happening this Wednesday. For the past two...

A VMware office. Credit: VMware

Broadcom Deal to Buy ‘Switzerland’ of Data Center Software Would Face Swift Antitrust Backlash

By Kevin McLaughlin and Josh Sisco · May 23, 2022 1:16pm PDT · 2 comments

Shares of VMware, a major developer of data center software, on Monday rose by 25% on reports that Broadcom, a major developer of microchips for data centers equipment and other devices, wanted to buy it for $50 billion or more. But investors shouldn’t bet on a deal quickly passing muster with antitrust officials, even though the two... Shares of VMware, a major developer of data center software, on Monday rose by 25% on reports...

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Tests App for Employees to Grade Each Other During Meetings

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 23, 2022 12:02pm PDT · 6 comments

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Tests App for Employees to Grade Each Other During Meetings

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 23, 2022 12:02pm PDT · 6 comments

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading firm that garnered attention for banning salary negotiations and political speech among employees in recent years, is testing another practice that has raised eyebrows internally: asking employees to frequently rate each other. Some employees at the company have been using a real-time evaluation app invented by... Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading firm that garnered attention for banning salary negotiations...

Qualcomm's San Diego headquarters. Photo: Bloomberg.

Qualcomm’s Newest AR Design; Apple’s Gaming Hangup

By Mathew Olson · May 23, 2022 11:00am PDT

Since Qualcomm’s chips are so ubiquitous, each new AR or VR reference design from the chipmaker serves as a good yardstick for where glasses and headsets will move over the next few years. The company’s latest design is no different: Qualcomm’s new wireless AR glasses powered by its XR2 chip look positively slim compared to many existing... Since Qualcomm’s chips are so ubiquitous, each new AR or VR reference design from the chipmaker...

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix Could Boost U.S. Revenue 21% With Advertising Push

By Jessica Toonkel · May 23, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Netflix has spent its entire existence setting the trend for others in video streaming to follow. But as it prepares to launch an ad-supported tier, Netflix executives are pondering a different question: Which rival service should it follow as a model? At one extreme is Disney-controlled Hulu, which runs more ads than most services and therefore... Netflix has spent its entire existence setting the trend for others in video streaming to follow....

In 1770, Thomas Gainsborough unveiled what came to be called "The Blue Boy," in which he used Prussian blue. Photo: Courtesy The Huntington

Getting Ready for the Next-Next EV Battery

By Steve LeVine · May 22, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric! This is the second of our two-part series on the surprisingly fast arrival of next-generation battery technologies. Last week we looked at the imminent commercialization of electric vehicles powered by high-concentration silicon anodes. This week we turn to the even more unexpected debut of sodium-ion batteries... Welcome back to The Electric! This is the second of our two-part series on the surprisingly...

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

By Jon Steinberg · May 21, 2022 8:00am PDT

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

By Jon Steinberg · May 21, 2022 8:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! Feeling numb to the latest Elon Musk scandal, I went looking for another celebrity feud to obsess over for awhile. There was no way I was wading into the toxic cesspool that is Amber vs. Johnny. And I could care less about Ted Cruz’s opinion of Pete Davidson.But the Wagatha Christie trial? Oh, my friends, this... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! Feeling numb to the latest Elon Musk scandal, I went looking...

Art by Clark Miller

Former Musical.ly President Alex Hofmann Spends 9 Hours a Day on His Phone, Still Won’t Return Your Texts

By Annie Goldsmith · May 21, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. Alex Hofmann has an app for everything. His phone is filled with—literally—hundreds of them. Apps to meditate (Insight Timer), check air quality (AirVisual), remember birthdays (Birthdays), pursue romance (30-plus dating options, from... Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal...

Jonathan Ive. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Headset, a Fashion Fiasco in the Making?

By Nick Wingfield · May 20, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s hard to judge a product that hasn’t even been publicly acknowledged by the company making it, much less released. But let’s go ahead and be a little judgy of Apple’s mixed-reality headset anyway. After all, we got a bonanza of details about the secretive project in Wayne Ma’s terrific two-part series this week (click here for parts one and... It’s hard to judge a product that hasn’t even been publicly acknowledged by the company making...

Art by Clark Miller.

The New Resistance

A Firing, a Miscarriage and a Flight From America

By Flora Tsapovsky · May 20, 2022 1:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Janneke Parrish is relieved. A week ago, the former Apple product manager, who was fired in October 2021, had arrived in the town of Sassenheim in the Netherlands, which will be her new home—for now. “With everything that was going on in Texas, it stopped feeling like a safe place to be,” she said in a phone conversation, just days after the... Janneke Parrish is relieved. A week ago, the former Apple product manager, who was fired in...

Art by Clark Miller

Panic at the Discord

By The Information Staff · May 20, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Panic at the Discord

By The Information Staff · May 20, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments

The crypto party was as raucous as ever—and then someone turned on the lights. After a year of record-high token prices and newfound support from legacy financial institutions like Fidelity and BlackRock, reality bit hard the second week of May when the algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD (known as UST) crashed, taking down some $400 billion... The crypto party was as raucous as ever—and then someone turned on the lights. After a year...

(L-R) Jonathan Ive, Johny Srouji, Dan Riccio and Tim Cook. Photos by Bloomberg; Apple. Art by Mike Sullivan

Behind the Apple Design Decisions That Bogged Down Its Mixed-Reality Headset

By Wayne Ma · May 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Apple’s executives had a critical design decision to make about the company’s riskiest product in years. It was 2019, and a growing team of Apple engineers had been working for more than three years on a headset that combined augmented and virtual reality capabilities. Now they had to figure out whether the mixed-reality headset... Apple’s executives had a critical design decision to make about the company’s...

Utah senator Mike Lee, who led the introduction of the bill into the Senate. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Breakup Bill Shows Real Threat Facing Tech

By Martin Peers · May 19, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s never easy to differentiate, amid the hubbub of the day, a news item with far-reaching ramifications from something that will disappear into the ether. That’s particularly the case when we’re talking about bills introduced into Congress, which much of the time never seem to go anywhere. But the introduction today of legislation that would... It’s never easy to differentiate, amid the hubbub of the day, a news item with far-reaching...

Screenshots from Cameo. Graphic: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Lessons From Cameo’s Sales Shortfall; Talk of a ‘Creator Economy Winter’; Streaming Loses Some Luster

By Kaya Yurieff · May 19, 2022 3:05pm PDT

Our story earlier today detailing cooling demand and a slowdown in sales at celebrity-video shoutout app Cameo holds some warning signs for other creator economy startups and companies buoyed by the pandemic. Cameo’s operating expenses soared to nearly $79 million last year, from $30 million in 2020. That contributed to deeper losses:... Our story earlier today detailing cooling demand and a slowdown in sales at celebrity-video...

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase Global Inc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Slashes Costs, Freezes Hiring Amid Crypto Crash

By Mark Matousek and Aidan Ryan · May 19, 2022 1:08pm PDT

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase Global Inc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Slashes Costs, Freezes Hiring Amid Crypto Crash

By Mark Matousek and Aidan Ryan · May 19, 2022 1:08pm PDT

Cryptocurrency trading firm Coinbase, whose revenue has shrunk amid a downturn in the sector, is pausing new business projects, freezing hiring for two weeks and aiming to slash its cloud spending on Amazon Web Services, among other cost-cutting measures, according to a pair of internal emails sent to employees this week and viewed by The... Cryptocurrency trading firm Coinbase, whose revenue has shrunk amid a downturn in the sector, is...