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

Which Tech Companies Are Returning to the Office, Staying Remote or in Between

By Akash Pasricha and Stephen Nellis · Apr 6, 2022 2:22pm PDT · 7 comments

After many fits and starts over the past two years, a critical mass of tech workers is finally returning to the office. Some companies, like Google and Uber, are requiring workers in their seats at least two days a week. Others like Salesforce are leaving commutes mostly up to employees and managers. Still others, such as Coinbase and... After many fits and starts over the past two years, a critical mass of tech workers is finally...

A Maximus glasses-style waveguide coupled to its display engine. Photo: Lumus. Illustration: Mike Sullivan.

Lumus Unveils New AR Waveguides; A Meta-Backed VR Education Program Expands

By Mathew Olson · Apr 6, 2022 11:00am PDT

Israel-based Lumus likes to say that its OE Maximus is one of the highest-quality see-through displays for AR glasses—a waveguide—currently available to device makers. Today the company is revealing two new Maximus variants, and the ways they differ from the original suggest the company is getting serious about putting its tech in consumer... Israel-based Lumus likes to say that its OE Maximus is one of the highest-quality see-through...

Art by Haejin Park

Pretty LinkedIn Profiles Are Overrated

By Hope Cochran · Apr 6, 2022 9:00am PDT · 15 comments

Every year, I work with a cohort of 30 women executives from all types of industries to help them position themselves for appointment to corporate boards. We spend an evening hunkered down in a conference room working through their LinkedIn profiles to craft a story that reflects the specific skills they can bring to a boardroom. As you can... Every year, I work with a cohort of 30 women executives from all types of industries to help them...

Fast CEO Domm Holland. Art by Mike Sullivan

Live Fast, Die Young: Behind the Fall of a One-Click Wonder

By Kate Clark and Malique Morris · Apr 6, 2022 6:08am PDT · 9 comments

Fast CEO Domm Holland. Art by Mike Sullivan

Live Fast, Die Young: Behind the Fall of a One-Click Wonder

By Kate Clark and Malique Morris · Apr 6, 2022 6:08am PDT · 9 comments

On Aug. 3 last year, after doing a round of victory donuts on a street near Sparkman Wharf in Tampa, Fla., Domm Holland stepped out of the passenger seat of a NASCAR racing pickup truck. The black Chevy Silverado was branded with the name of the startup he was leading: Fast, a developer of software that online stores could use to help shoppers... On Aug. 3 last year, after doing a round of victory donuts on a street near Sparkman Wharf in...

Hivemapper CEO Ariel Seidman (Photo courtesy of Hivemapper. Art courtesy of Mike Sullivan.)

Hivemapper, a Blockchain for Maps, Raises Funding; FTX Backs IEX

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 5, 2022 5:42pm PDT

If you’re a fan of neat ways entrepreneurs are applying blockchain, this one’s for you. Hivemapper, a San Francisco-based startup, said Tuesday it raised $18 million in a Series A led by Multicoin Capital for its decentralized mapping protocol that rewards users with tokens for collecting dashcam footage. Right now, mapping platforms like... If you’re a fan of neat ways entrepreneurs are applying blockchain, this one’s for you. ...

Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Musk Brings to Twitter

By Martin Peers · Apr 5, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk’s decision to plunge himself into the corporate morass that is Twitter, in a way that could spark a fight with securities regulators, suggests the Tesla CEO is a little bored and looking for a new distraction. The timing makes sense. After years of nail-biting struggle, Tesla is finally in a good place: It’s making real money.... Elon Musk’s decision to plunge himself into the corporate morass that is Twitter, in a way that...

Creative Juice CEO Sima Gandhi. Photo: Creative Juice

Creator Economy

Creative Juice Expands Pool for Financing Creators to $50 Million; Songfinch Raises Seed Round

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 5, 2022 3:04pm PDT

An emerging group of startups is investing directly in creators, betting that short-term financing now will pay off as these creators build brands and even bigger followings. Creative Juice, one of the newest, is increasing its pool of money for bankrolling creators to $50 million, CEO Sima Gandhi told The Information. The decision follows a... An emerging group of startups is investing directly in creators, betting that short-term...

While Digital Stragglers Remain, AI is Helping to Close the Gap

By The Information Staff · Apr 5, 2022 11:26am PDT

While Digital Stragglers Remain, AI is Helping to Close the Gap

By The Information Staff · Apr 5, 2022 11:26am PDT

On March 29, in partnership with Accenture, The Information hosted a conversation to discuss how platforms are helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to establish digital maturity. While big businesses have largely weathered the ill effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many SMBs face tumultuous waters when navigating the disruption and... On March 29, in partnership with Accenture, The Information hosted a conversation to discuss how...

Photo by Bloomberg

Musk and the SEC: A History

By Aidan Ryan · Apr 5, 2022 11:22am PDT

Twitter’s appointment of Elon Musk to its board this morning may very well inflame Musk’s already-tense relations with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk on Monday revealed a 9.2% stake in Twitter but filed as a passive shareholder, avoiding detailed financial disclosure that would have been required if he had filed as an... Twitter’s appointment of Elon Musk to its board this morning may very well inflame...

Dr. Grordbort’s Invaders, one of the AR games NZXR staffers helped create. Credit: Weta Workshop/Magic Leap.

Niantic Acquires Ex-Magic Leap Developers; Ready Player Me Inks Adidas Avatar Deal

By Mathew Olson · Apr 5, 2022 11:00am PDT

It hasn’t even been a month since Niantic’s last acquisition, but the AR juggernaut is growing yet again. The Pokemon Go makers are acquiring NZXR, a New Zealand-based AR game development team. NZXR joins a list of recent Niantic purchases that includes 8th Wall, Lowkey, Hoss and Scaniverse. Niantic hasn’t disclosed the price for any of these... It hasn’t even been a month since Niantic’s last acquisition, but the AR juggernaut is growing...

Fast CEO Domm Holland (center) at his office. Credit: Fast

Fast, the Troubled Fintech Startup, Is Shutting Down

By Jessica E. Lessin and Malique Morris · Apr 5, 2022 10:27am PDT · 10 comments

Update, April 6: The Information tracked Fast's rise and fall. Read our in-depth look at its over-the-top spending and rapid-fire hiring that masked the startup's chronic struggles. One-click checkout startup Fast is shutting down entirely and will discontinue its products and brand, according to several people familiar... Update, April 6: The Information tracked Fast's rise and fall. Read our in-depth...

Art by Josh Brill

China’s ‘Little Nvidia’ Has a Big Secret: Its Homegrown AI Chip Isn’t

By Juro Osawa and Stephen Nellis · Apr 5, 2022 8:09am PDT · 3 comments

Art by Josh Brill

China’s ‘Little Nvidia’ Has a Big Secret: Its Homegrown AI Chip Isn’t

By Juro Osawa and Stephen Nellis · Apr 5, 2022 8:09am PDT · 3 comments

Chinese microchip startup Moore Threads has a short history many Silicon Valley counterparts would envy. Within 100 days of its founding in October 2020, the Beijing-based company was worth more than $1 billion on paper after raising hundreds of millions of dollars from marquee investors including Sequoia Capital China and TikTok’s owner,... Chinese microchip startup Moore Threads has a short history many Silicon Valley counterparts...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

The Tech Tussle Over Gartner’s ‘Magic Quadrant’

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 5, 2022 6:00am PDT · 6 comments

Jay Chaudhry wasn’t happy when the interlopers arrived in his space—one of the most coveted corners in all of tech. The corner in question was part of a chart called a Magic Quadrant, published by Gartner. The tech research firm used it to show how the products made by Chaudhry’s company—a cybersecurity firm,... Jay Chaudhry wasn’t happy when the interlopers arrived in his space—one of the most...

Fractal CEO Justin Kan (Photo courtesy of Fractal)

Justin Kan on What The Axie Infinity Hack Means for Blockchain Gaming

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 4, 2022 6:50pm PDT

Justin Kan founded Twitch for people playing video games, but his new startup, Fractal, is for people making them. On Friday, the company announced it raised $35 million in a seed round led by Paradigm and Multicoin Capital. I spoke with Kan about the startup’s strategy helping game developers mint NFTs and trade them, and about other big trends... Justin Kan founded Twitch for people playing video games, but his new startup, Fractal, is for...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg

What is Elon Musk Hiding?

By Martin Peers · Apr 4, 2022 5:00pm PDT

You could call it Elon Musk’s Twitter Mystery. The world’s most talkative CEO has suddenly turned coy. Yes, he revealed today that he had bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter. But he said not a word on Twitter about it. And he made the disclosure in a way that allowed him to hide how he paid for the stake. As it likely cost him at least $2.4 billion,... You could call it Elon Musk’s Twitter Mystery. The world’s most talkative CEO has suddenly turned...

Activision Blizzard offices in Irvine, California. Photo: Bloomberg

Microsoft-Activision Review to Include Impact on Consumer Data, Game Developers

By Josh Sisco · Apr 4, 2022 4:18pm PDT

Activision Blizzard offices in Irvine, California. Photo: Bloomberg

Microsoft-Activision Review to Include Impact on Consumer Data, Game Developers

By Josh Sisco · Apr 4, 2022 4:18pm PDT

Federal regulators reviewing Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard are looking beyond the access Microsoft’s rivals will have to popular games like “Call of Duty” to such issues as the deal’s impact on consumer data and the market for game developers, according to people familiar with the... Federal regulators reviewing Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion takeover of Activision...

Dayslice CEO and co-founder Ishita Arora. Photo: Dayslice

Creator Economy

Dayslice, a Calendly Rival for Solopreneurs, Raises From Upfront; Women’s Social App Peanut Launches Creator Network

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 4, 2022 2:26pm PDT

Dayslice, a new software startup providing virtual storefronts for solopreneurs, raised $6 million in pre-seed and seed funding led by Upfront Ventures, The Information is the first to report. Other investors included Founder Collective, Ground Up Ventures, The House Fund and former Stripe COO Claire Hughes Johnson. The company, which... Dayslice, a new software startup providing virtual storefronts for solopreneurs, raised $6...

A person using an HTC Vive headset to play a VR racing simulator. Photo: Bloomberg.

HTC’s Vive-Centered Metaverse Push; Epic’s Upcoming Unreal Event

By Mathew Olson · Apr 4, 2022 11:00am PDT

While Meta Platforms continues to scale back its usage of the Oculus brand name, in favor of Quest, HTC appears dead-set on slapping its Vive label on an expanding number of products. But in doing so, HTC risks tarnishing the Vive name if its metaverse expansion flops.Over the weekend, HTC announced two new Vive products that fit into its... While Meta Platforms continues to scale back its usage of the Oculus brand name, in favor of...

Chart by Mike Sullivan.

In a Hot Year for Tech Hiring, Coinbase and Rivian Grew the Fastest

By Mark Matousek · Apr 4, 2022 6:24am PDT

Big hiring sprees could become less common this year as some companies look to keep a lid on costs in advance of a potential downturn. But over the past year, the race was on to see who could grow the fastest. The Information’s Headcount Tracker shows that newly public companies, like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Rivian, won by a long shot. ... Big hiring sprees could become less common this year as some companies look to keep a lid on...

Jeff Dahn's new brainchild is the "century battery." Photo: Courtesy Dalhousie University

Introducing the 36-Million-Mile 'Century Battery' for EVs

By Steve LeVine · Apr 3, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Jeff Dahn's new brainchild is the "century battery." Photo: Courtesy Dalhousie University

Introducing the 36-Million-Mile 'Century Battery' for EVs

By Steve LeVine · Apr 3, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric! You’ve probably heard of the million-mile battery, the effort by automobile companies such as Tesla and General Motors to put electric vehicles with extremely long life on the road. In this week's edition, the inventor of the million-mile battery ups his game with a surprising new concept. Correction: In... Welcome back to The Electric! You’ve probably heard of the million-mile battery, the effort...