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

Art by Clark Miller

Clubhouse Isn’t Dead Yet

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 12, 2022 6:24am PDT · 3 comments

Maybe the eulogies for Clubhouse were a bit premature. Sure, the social audio app’s star has dimmed since it became a Silicon Valley sensation during the first phase of the pandemic, when millions of people were stuck at home, bored out of their minds. By some estimates, usage of the app is down more than 70% from its peak in February... Maybe the eulogies for Clubhouse were a bit premature. Sure, the social audio app’s star...

MasterClass CEO David Rogier. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Creator Economy Startup Layoffs Near 800

By Mahira Dayal · Jul 11, 2022 3:19pm PDT

It’s been a turbulent period for workers in the creator economy. Last month, we collected information on seven such startups, including 120 people at celebrity course provider MasterClass and 90 people at Picsart, which provides photo and video editing tools. In addition to those, at least five other creator startups have laid off staff in... It’s been a turbulent period for workers in the creator economy. Last month, we collected...

Mysten Labs co-founder and CEO Evan Cheng. Photo by Mysten Labs. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Startup Founded by Former Meta Crypto Execs Seeks $2 Billion Valuation

By Aidan Ryan · Jul 11, 2022 1:07pm PDT

Mysten Labs—a startup founded by former Meta Platforms employees that is building a new blockchain for decentralized applications including gaming and social media networks—is in talks with investors about raising a Series B round of at least $200 million led by FTX Ventures, according to two people with direct knowledge of the... Mysten Labs—a startup founded by former Meta Platforms employees that is building a new ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and an Apple test car. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

How Apple’s Eight-Year Quest to Build a Self-Driving Car Hit Roadblocks

By Wayne Ma · Jul 11, 2022 6:00am PDT · 12 comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook and an Apple test car. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

How Apple’s Eight-Year Quest to Build a Self-Driving Car Hit Roadblocks

By Wayne Ma · Jul 11, 2022 6:00am PDT · 12 comments

Last August, Apple sent several of its prototype self-driving cars on a roughly 40-mile trek through Montana. Aerial drones filmed the drive, from Bozeman to the ski resort town of Big Sky, so that Apple managers could produce a polished film, with picturesque mountains in the background, to show CEO Tim Cook how their costly and... Last August, Apple sent several of its prototype self-driving cars on a roughly 40-mile trek...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Drew Baglino, senior vice president for power train, introduce dry battery electrodes on Battery Day in September 2020. Photo: Tesla

The Little-Known U.S. Company Challenging Tesla on Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jul 10, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric!Save the date: Three centuries ago, Prussian blue was a revolutionary hue for painters. Now it’s the main component of one of the most interesting new batteries. For the next Live Chat, I’m excited to host Colin Wessells, CEO of Stanford spinoff Natron Energy, to discuss the past and future of Prussian blue,... Welcome back to The Electric!Save the date: Three centuries ago, Prussian blue was a...

A Tech Billionaire's Heir Makes Her Mark on Congress

A Tech Billionaire's Heir Makes Her Mark on Congress

By Jon Steinberg · Jul 9, 2022 8:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! We interrupt your regular Elon Musk programming to bring you several stories that have nothing to do with unbuying Twitter, siring secret children with underlings, or threatening to fire employees. You can thank us in the comments.Instead, this weekend’s lineup begins with a look at Rep. Sara Jacobs,... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! We interrupt your regular Elon Musk programming to bring...

Culling the ‘Chicken of the Tree’: YouTube Hunters Are Taking Down Invasive Species in the Name of the Environment

By Jessica Lucas · Jul 9, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Darcie Arahill started fishing at the age of 3 in her home state of Florida and never really stopped. Under the tutelage of her father, she learned to respect nature and the delicate balance of the ecosystems around her. Today, Arahill, 33, has gained notoriety as a bikini-clad “blonde babe” who posts clips on YouTube of herself reeling in... Darcie Arahill started fishing at the age of 3 in her home state of Florida and never really...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Firefighter Turned Venture Investor Matthew Ball Is Also a Fortnite Power User

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 9, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Firefighter Turned Venture Investor Matthew Ball Is Also a Fortnite Power User

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 9, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome back toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. To say Matthew Ball is all in on the metaverse would be a meta-understatement. The venture capitalist is wrapping up four years of research and writing for his new, succinctly titled book “The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything” (July 19). In it,... Welcome back toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. To say Matthew...

Photo Sara Jacobs. Art by Clark Miller.

‘My Body, My Data’: The Tech Heir Congresswoman Bringing a New Privacy Fight to the Capitol

By Nancy Scola · Jul 8, 2022 1:00pm PDT

“Mr. Speaker,” said California congresswoman Sara Jacobs, standing in the well of the House of Representatives one Thursday morning this past June. “As a young woman, reproductive health care is my health care, and like tens of millions of Americans, I’ve used apps to track my period.” Jacobs went on, “It is unconscionable that our personal... “Mr. Speaker,” said California congresswoman Sara Jacobs, standing in the well of the House of...

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, left, and CEO Safra Catz. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Oracle Discussed Laying Off Thousands of Workers

By Amir Efrati and Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 8, 2022 12:46pm PDT · 3 comments

Oracle recently considered cost reductions of up to $1 billion that could result in thousands of layoffs as soon as August, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The proposed job cuts could disproportionately impact U.S.- and Europe-based workers in units such as marketing for software applications that automate customer service... Oracle recently considered cost reductions of up to $1 billion that could result in thousands of...

Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Go Bargain Hunting for Beaten-Down Tech Stocks

By Kate Clark · Jul 8, 2022 11:49am PDT · 2 comments

Plunging shares of tech stocks have prompted venture capital firms to take an unusual step: buying publicly traded stocks. Thrive Capital early this year bought beaten-down shares in online used-car marketplace Carvana, according to securities filings. Andreessen Horowitz bought shares in Jack Dorsey’s Block, which partner Marc Andreessen... Plunging shares of tech stocks have prompted venture capital firms to take an unusual step:...

DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder leads a crypto horde into battle. Art by Clark Miller.

Crypto Wants Its Cash Back: Inside the Small but Mighty Legal Crusade to Win Back Lost Savings

By Margaux MacColl · Jul 8, 2022 10:03am PDT · 12 comments

DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder leads a crypto horde into battle. Art by Clark Miller.

Crypto Wants Its Cash Back: Inside the Small but Mighty Legal Crusade to Win Back Lost Savings

By Margaux MacColl · Jul 8, 2022 10:03am PDT · 12 comments

Before it collapsed on June 12, crypto lender Celsius Network made irresistible promises:Forget storing your money in a boring old bank—join the “unbanked” by holdingcryptocurrencies while earning up to 18.6% in interest. Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky bolstered these assurances with populist rallying cries: “Banks have become such monopolistic... Before it collapsed on June 12, crypto lender Celsius Network made irresistible promises:Forget...

Shutterstock; Mike Sullivan

More Job, Expense Cuts Are Coming, According to The Information’s Survey

By Mahira Dayal · Jul 8, 2022 6:00am PDT

Executives are freezing hiring or cutting jobs and curbing spending in areas including travel, marketing and software in the face of falling stock prices and an economic slowdown that threatens to turn into a recession. Investors, meanwhile, are reducing their deal flow, in some cases dramatically. Those conclusions emerge from a subscriber... Executives are freezing hiring or cutting jobs and curbing spending in areas including travel,...

Photo by Bloomberg

Can Musk Shake Up Sun Valley?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 7, 2022 5:15pm PDT

You have to love a jam-packed summer news day. The maestro behind Masayoshi Son’s tech investing—Rajeev Misra—is leaving SoftBank’s Vision Fund. This is a big deal. Misra is notorious for his rough-and-tumble tactics, including allegedly trying to oust his own colleague. His departure basically completes the exodus there. What will Masa do? It’s... You have to love a jam-packed summer news day. The maestro behind Masayoshi Son’s tech investing—...

Portrait photographer David Suh has 4 million TikTok followers. Photo: David Suh

Creator Economy

Livestreaming’s Boom and the Avid Fans of Minecraft

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 7, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Livestreaming ballooned during the pandemic, but as the world reopened, the hours people spent watching streams started to decline. Now usage is rising again. Total hours watched on Twitch rose to 1.81 billion in May from 1.78 billion the month prior, according to new data from StreamElements, a marketing and livestreaming startup,... Livestreaming ballooned during the pandemic, but as the world reopened, the hours people spent...

China wants to increase production of lithium from Qinghai province, shown here. Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The Electric: How China Responded to EV Supply-Chain Problems

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2022 11:37am PDT

China wants to increase production of lithium from Qinghai province, shown here. Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The Electric: How China Responded to EV Supply-Chain Problems

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2022 11:37am PDT

Today's column is from Dalibor Petkovic, a researcher specializing in Chinese industrial policies. Since 2017, he has focused on the Chinese EV market, as well as smart cities, urban logistics and battery recycling management.Supply chain disruptions over the past two years have prompted big changes in China’s market for electric vehicles and... Today's column is from Dalibor Petkovic, a researcher specializing in Chinese industrial...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Startup Founders Embrace 409A Cuts to Gain Recruiting Edge

By Mark Matousek · Jul 7, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Between 2016 and 2021, investors boosted the valuation of Sendbird, a communications software startup, to $1.1 billion, from $6.5 million. This June, a different kind of evaluator gave Sendbird what might have sounded like frightening news: It had determined the startup was worth around 50% less than it had been a year ago. But that conclusion... Between 2016 and 2021, investors boosted the valuation of Sendbird, a communications software...

Crypto Leads Fourth Straight Drop in Creator Funding

Creator Economy

Crypto Leads Fourth Straight Drop in Creator Funding

By Mahira Dayal · Jul 6, 2022 3:48pm PDT

On Wednesday, we published a quarterly update to our Creator Economy Database. We’ve now tracked four consecutive quarterly decreases in investments in creator startups—a downbeat sign for founders who had become used to seemingly unlimited check-writing over the last two years. Here are some other takeaways: Investors’ enthusiasm in crypto... On Wednesday, we published a quarterly update to our Creator Economy Database. We’ve now tracked...

Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk

When Your SPAC Dreams Fail, a Financing of Last Resort

By Maria Heeter · Jul 6, 2022 3:08pm PDT · 10 comments

Several electric vehicle and mobility startups went public and raised money in the past two years by merging with special purpose acquisition companies. Now, as companies find it far more difficult to raise cash, they are turning to unusual methods. Scooter rental service Bird, electric truck maker Nikola and electric vehicle startup Canoo are... Several electric vehicle and mobility startups went public and raised money in the past two years...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Bankrupt Crypto Lenders Aren't a Blockchain Problem

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 6, 2022 2:31pm PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

Bankrupt Crypto Lenders Aren't a Blockchain Problem

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 6, 2022 2:31pm PDT

Crypto has been really quiet this week (sarcasm!), so let’s get the headlines on paper first:Voyager Digital, a New York-based crypto lending company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company has $654 million in outstanding loans to Three Arrows Capital, the crypto hedge fund that a British Virgin Islands court ordered to... Crypto has been really quiet this week (sarcasm!), so let’s get the headlines on paper first:...