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

Photo of Mark Zuckerberg by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Meta’s Abandoned Shopping Cart: How Mark Zuckerberg’s Commerce Plans Went Wrong

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Oct 5, 2022 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

It was 2020 and Mark Zuckerberg’s focus on his latest project began to intensify. Online shopping was booming, and the CEO of Facebook—now called Meta Platforms—wanted to transform Facebook and Instagram into shopping destinations. Zuckerberg threw himself into the effort, hosting daily meetings and taking a hands-on approach... It was 2020 and Mark Zuckerberg’s focus on his latest project began to intensify. Online...

Photo by Bloomberg

Elon Musk Learns to Prioritize

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 4, 2022 5:00pm PDT

So what happened? After spending weeks preparing for a legal battle to avoid buying Twitter, Elon Musk shrugged and said, “OK, I’ll buy it”—at exactly the $44 billion price he originally offered in April. Grand speculation greeted the move—as with all things Musk—about what was really going on behind the scenes. Was this another... So what happened? After spending weeks preparing for a legal battle to avoid buying Twitter, Elon...

Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What Bulletin’s Closure Says About Facebook’s Creator Plans; The Fight Over Section 230 Returns

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 4, 2022 2:58pm PDT

Last summer, Facebook made a splash when it announced a new newsletter publishing platform called Bulletin that would go head to head with Substack. It signed big names ranging from author Malcolm Gladwell to “Queer Eye” star Tan France, offering them unspecified multi-year licensing deals. On Tuesday, Facebook parent company Meta Platforms... Last summer, Facebook made a splash when it announced a new newsletter publishing platform called...

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images.

Musk Could Own Twitter Next Week: What Happens Next

By Becky Peterson and Akash Pasricha · Oct 4, 2022 12:14pm PDT · 2 comments

Elon Musk. Photo by Getty Images.

Musk Could Own Twitter Next Week: What Happens Next

By Becky Peterson and Akash Pasricha · Oct 4, 2022 12:14pm PDT · 2 comments

Elon Musk has spent months criticizing Twitter for everything from its management to its prevalence of phony users. Now he needs to figure out how to fix its business as advertiser spending evaporates. Musk’s decision to reverse course and offer to complete his $44 billion purchase of Twitter according to the original terms could mean he... Elon Musk has spent months criticizing Twitter for everything from its management to its...

Chart by Mike Sullivan.

More Tech IPOs From 2021 Burn Cash Today Than 2019 and 2020 Debuts

By Akash Pasricha · Oct 4, 2022 8:00am PDT · 3 comments

If you want more evidence of how much of last year’s IPO market was a bubble, here it is. Nearly two-thirds of tech companies that went public in 2021 are now burning cash, compared with less than half of companies that went public in 2019 and 2020. That means far more of the companies that hit the public markets in 2021 were businesses in... If you want more evidence of how much of last year’s IPO market was a bubble, here it is....

John Curtius. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Tiger Global’s Tech Portfolio in Limbo as Key Partner Curtius Exits

By Kate Clark · Oct 4, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

John Curtius over the last two years became synonymous with the most disruptive force in venture capital—Tiger Global Management. The news that he will start his own startup investment fund next year throws the future of Tiger’s tech investing into question. During Curtius’ tenure, the hedge fund turned startup investor poured... John Curtius over the last two years became synonymous with the most disruptive force in venture...

Photo by Bloomberg

What Poshmark’s Discounted Sale to South Korea’s Naver Tells Us

By Martin Peers · Oct 3, 2022 5:14pm PDT

News tonight that Poshmark is selling itself to South Korea’s Naver, for just $1.2 billion—less than half Poshmark’s value when it went public early last year—signals that it’s not just private equity folks taking advantage of the stock market slump to shop for more reasonably-priced companies. Naver proclaims itself as South Korea’s biggest... News tonight that Poshmark is selling itself to South Korea’s Naver, for just $1.2 billion—less...

Photo via Tiger Global Management.

Tiger Partner John Curtius is Leaving to Launch His Own Fund

By Kate Clark · Oct 3, 2022 3:54pm PDT · 4 comments

Photo via Tiger Global Management.

Tiger Partner John Curtius is Leaving to Launch His Own Fund

By Kate Clark · Oct 3, 2022 3:54pm PDT · 4 comments

Tiger Global Management partner John Curtius plans to leave the firm next year to launch his own fund called Cedar Investment Management, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Curtius, one of Tiger’s most active startup investors, shook up Silicon Valley by backing more than 200 private companies since joining Tiger in... Tiger Global Management partner John Curtius plans to leave the firm next year to launch his own...

Kim Kardashian. Soure: Getty Images. Art: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

Crypto Startups Multiply in Creator Economy Database; Instagram Tests Links-in-Bio

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 3, 2022 3:51pm PDT

Our latest update to the Creator Economy Database shows that investor interest in crypto startups hasn’t died down even as token prices cratered. Eight Web3 startups focused on offerings such as non-fungible tokens and decentralized communities raised a total of $86.9 million in the third quarter. That’s slightly higher than the $80 million... Our latest update to the Creator Economy Database shows that investor interest in crypto startups...

Matt Mazzeo. Image via YouTube

Coatue General Partner Matt Mazzeo Departs to Launch Fund

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Oct 3, 2022 12:36pm PDT · 1 comment

Matt Mazzeo, a general partner at New York-based investment firm Coatue Management since 2018, has left to start his own investment fund, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Mazzeo’s deals at Coatue, one of the world’s biggest private tech investors, included augmented reality developer Niantic and OpenSea, a... Matt Mazzeo, a general partner at New York-based investment firm Coatue Management since 2018,...

Mobileye CEO, Amnon Shashua, and Instacart CEO, Fidji Simo. Photos by Bloomberg.

Instacart Sitting Tight on IPO Even As Mobileye Pushes Ahead

By Maria Heeter and Erin Woo · Oct 3, 2022 7:07am PDT

It’s been a slow year for tech initial public offerings. Companies have held off as the market has spiraled down in one of the most intense slumps in years. But Friday’s IPO filing by Intel-controlled self-driving–tech firm Mobileye shows some companies are still ready to pounce if the opportunity presents itself. Aside from... It’s been a slow year for tech initial public offerings. Companies have held off as the...

The Buzz Over Creator Economy Dulls to a Quiet Roar

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 3, 2022 6:00am PDT

Creator Economy Database

The Buzz Over Creator Economy Dulls to a Quiet Roar

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 3, 2022 6:00am PDT

The creator economy is going through a shakeout. Tech companies focused on creators are laying off workers, shelving products and curbing perks such as cash advances for online influencers. Funding for U.S. creator startups in the third quarter sank 53% from the year-ago period, the third straight quarter of annual decline. But it’s not... The creator economy is going through a shakeout. Tech companies focused on creators are laying...

The Electric Quarterly: China Inc. in the U.S.?

The Electric Quarterly: China Inc. in the U.S.?

By Steve LeVine · Oct 2, 2022 2:00pm PDT

The Biden Administration has allocated about $100 billion to establish a U.S. battery supply chain and thwart a Chinese stranglehold on the industry. Will the U.S. now allow Chinese companies to open factories in the U.S.? This week, we look at an attempt by Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech to build a gigafactory in a Michigan... The Biden Administration has allocated about $100 billion to establish a U.S. battery supply...

Photo Sampei Omichi. Art by Clark Miller

The Founder Who Escaped Deportation by Building a Business in 60 Days

By Margaux MacColl · Oct 1, 2022 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

It was early 2021 when Sampei Omichi’s deportation countdown started: He had 60 days left on his student visa before he would have to leave the country. The then–21-year-old’s only option was to found a startup to qualify for an international entrepreneur parole, which allows entrepreneurs to stay in the country for over two years— assuming, of... It was early 2021 when Sampei Omichi’s deportation countdown started: He had 60 days left on his...

A Secret Power Clique Revealed

A Secret Power Clique Revealed

By Jon Steinberg · Oct 1, 2022 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!If you’re like the rest of the tech world, you may have spent the latter part of this past week flipping through “The Texts”—Elon Musk’s subpoenaed SMS chats with a rogues’ gallery of Silicon Valley power brokers and suck-ups. They make for fascinating reading, revealing how a bunch of guys named Joe, Jason and Jack... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!If you’re like the rest of the tech world, you may have spent the...

Art by Clark Miller.

Silicon Valley’s ‘Swag Gap’: A Colorful Rival Comes for Patagonia’s Abdicated Throne

By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 30, 2022 11:00am PDT · 5 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Market Research

Silicon Valley’s ‘Swag Gap’: A Colorful Rival Comes for Patagonia’s Abdicated Throne

By Annie Goldsmith · Sep 30, 2022 11:00am PDT · 5 comments

Earlier this month, Peter Coats was milling about a block party in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood wearing one of his most discussed articles of clothing: a Cotopaxi windbreaker with army green and blue colorblocking across the chest and a barely visible Google logo on the sleeve. Coats, Google’s head of strategic finance, said he wears... Earlier this month, Peter Coats was milling about a block party in San Francisco’s Glen Park...

Photo by Getty Images

Wall Street’s Expectations for Legacy Media Are Getting Weird

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sep 30, 2022 9:00am PDT

Parqor is part of The Information’s newsletter network. To receive it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, sign up here. Maximizing subscriber growth was a fun objective for media executives and Wall Street investors alike. Hollywood bosses got to rack up billions of dollars in annual losses on content spending... Parqor is part of The Information’s newsletter network. To receive it in your inbox...

Art by Clark Miller

Saint Frances of the Whistle: A Year After Frances Haugen’s Facebook Leak, Every Corporate Secret Is Now Up for Grabs

By Abram Brown · Sep 30, 2022 8:30am PDT · 1 comment

When Frances Haugen has sought refuge during the past year of personal attacks, speaking engagements, and congressional and parliamentary hearings, she has found it beside a placid blue lagoon in Puerto Rico. She shares a home in Miramar—“the Brooklyn of San Juan,” she said—with her new husband, Alex, whose last name and background she prefers,... When Frances Haugen has sought refuge during the past year of personal attacks, speaking...

Photo by Getty Images.

Tesla Makes Cash, Not Stock, the Default for Many Employees’ Compensation Awards

By Mark Matousek and Becky Peterson · Sep 30, 2022 7:28am PDT · 5 comments

Tesla will start giving its employees cash grants as their default incentive to stick with the company, rather than the equity awards it has traditionally handed out, according to internal documents viewed by The Information. The electric car maker’s employees will still be able to receive stock awards instead of cash grants if they prefer... Tesla will start giving its employees cash grants as their default incentive to stick with the...

FTX Org Charts: Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 30, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

FTX Org Charts: Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 30, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

FTX, the second-biggest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume, has recently been dubbed a “central bank” of crypto as the firm—under the helm of co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried—emerged as a lender of last resort to struggling businesses amid the market meltdown. That level of influence has been possible in... FTX, the second-biggest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume, has recently been dubbed...