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

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Recent Editions

iStock. Art by Haejin Park.

Subscriber Survey

The Technology 1,000-Plus Tech Leaders Do (and Don’t) Give Their Kids

By The Information Staff · Mar 25, 2022 12:11pm PDT

Silicon Valley’s children spend far less time on screens than the average American kid, according to the Information’s first-ever Kids and Technology Survey. However, many get access to tablets and log onto social media younger than their peers across the nation. Surprising? Yes and no. Between privacy concerns, health risks to teenagers, and... Silicon Valley’s children spend far less time on screens than the average American kid, according...

A scene from the 1998 teen flick "Can't Hardly Wait" that probably couldn't happen today. Art by Clark Miller.

‘You’re Grounded’: Home Security Cams and GPS Trackers Are Killing the Teenage House Party

By Zoe Bernard · Mar 25, 2022 11:39am PDT · 2 comments

It was 10:30 p.m. in San Francisco, and Nick V., 33, noticed a strange notification on his phone. Some 1,700 miles away, the Ring camera outside his Dallas home had captured footage of two shadowy, unfamiliar figures walking out of his front door. Odder still, the Ring camera hadn’t recorded anyone entering the home all night, aside from his... It was 10:30 p.m. in San Francisco, and Nick V., 33, noticed a strange notification on his phone....

Art by Clark Miller.

Parental Guidance

The iPhone Abstinence Movement Has Failed. Is There a Better Way to Keep Kids Off Smartphones?

By Rachel Levin · Mar 25, 2022 11:38am PDT · 7 comments

Brooke Shannon, a mother of three in Austin, Tex., was traumatized by what she witnessed one day in 2017 while driving by her local middle school. She saw dozens of tweens standing around with their heads down, phones up, glazed eyes staring into their devices: alone together. “I went home and emailed 20 moms,” Shannon said, posing a heretical... Brooke Shannon, a mother of three in Austin, Tex., was traumatized by what she witnessed one day...

Art by Haejin Park.

From CodeSpark to “Shark Tank,” the Apps, Shows and Devices Silicon Valley Parents Swear By

By Annie Goldsmith · Mar 25, 2022 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Haejin Park.

From CodeSpark to “Shark Tank,” the Apps, Shows and Devices Silicon Valley Parents Swear By

By Annie Goldsmith · Mar 25, 2022 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Silicon Valley’s kids—are they just like us? In our tech and parenting survey, we asked 1,053 subscribers about the technology they use with their children. We mined the survey for their specific recommendations, from kids’ shows to coding apps. Top 5 Shows on Streaming Networks or TV “Bluey” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” “Wild Kratts” “... Silicon Valley’s kids—are they just like us? In our tech and parenting survey, we asked 1,053...

Neil Shen, head of Sequoia China, in 2013. Photo: Fortune via Flickr

Sequoia Capital’s China Arm Seeks $8 Billion in New Funds, Defying Tech Rout

By Juro Osawa · Mar 25, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

The Chinese affiliate of Sequoia Capital, whose vast portfolio includes TikTok owner ByteDance and online fashion startup Shein, is in early talks with U.S.-based and other institutional investors to raise more than $8 billion across four new funds, according to three people familiar with the matter. It is trying to pull off one of the biggest... The Chinese affiliate of Sequoia Capital, whose vast portfolio includes TikTok owner ByteDance...

Ben Silbermann, co-founder and CEO of Pinterest. Photo by Bloomberg; Art by Mike Sullivan

Indecision at Pinterest

By Jessica Toonkel · Mar 25, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Last fall, executives at Pinterest were inching toward an agreement to acquire Verishop, an online shopping platform that Pinterest had been negotiating with for at least two months, according to two people familiar with the situation. The deal could have helped the internet scrapbooking service accelerate its belated commerce efforts. But the... Last fall, executives at Pinterest were inching toward an agreement to acquire Verishop, an...

Near Foundation CEO Marieke Flament. Photo: Near Foundation. Art by Mike Sullivan

Larry Ellison’s Sailing League to Form a DAO With Blockchain Protocol

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 24, 2022 5:37pm PDT

People are still figuring out what to do with DAOs, the decentralized autonomous organizations that typically allow members to vote on proposals through the number of crypto tokens they hold. Some are social clubs, others buy land, and some venture capitalists are using them to mingle with founders. Now an international sailing league co-founded... People are still figuring out what to do with DAOs, the decentralized autonomous organizations...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber's NYC Taxi Deal Is Biggest Retreat Yet From Kalanick Era

By Martin Peers · Mar 24, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber's NYC Taxi Deal Is Biggest Retreat Yet From Kalanick Era

By Martin Peers · Mar 24, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Talk about waving the white flag! In recent years, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has pulled back from many of founder Travis Kalanick’s more ambitious initiatives, including autonomous car development and operations in many international markets. But Thursday’s news that Uber would partner with New York’s taxi industry to make all of the city’s... Talk about waving the white flag! In recent years, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has pulled back...

Kaeya Majmundar, co-founder and CEO of Swaypay. Credit: Michael Schacht

Creator Economy

The Startup Making TikTok Product Placements Easier; Q&A With Writer Polina Marinova Pompliano

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 24, 2022 3:44pm PDT

Creators have long expressed disappointment about how they make money from TikTok. Some receive payouts from the short-form video app’s $1 billion Creator Fund, but many others rely solely on brand partnerships. Swaypay, a startup launched in July, tries to provide an additional path: linking creators with advertisers for in-video product... Creators have long expressed disappointment about how they make money from TikTok. Some receive...

Photo by Shutterstock.

Startups That Were Pandemic Darlings Look Overvalued as Stocks Drop

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 24, 2022 12:48pm PDT · 3 comments

Many of the stocks that benefited most from pandemic-driven bumps have since fallen to their pre-pandemic levels, even when their businesses remain much bigger than they were back then. Now, startups that privately raised money at sky-high valuations during the pandemic, piggybacking off the soaring valuations of public companies, could be due... Many of the stocks that benefited most from pandemic-driven bumps have since fallen to their...

Tilt Five's glasses (designed to be plugged into a PC or Android device), controller and game board. Photo: Tilt Five.

Tilt Five Founder Jeri Ellsworth Talks AR Board Gaming; Autodesk’s AR/VR Acquisition

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

Tilt Five, the AR startup focused on making glasses suited for digital board gaming, is finally shipping glasses to its early crowdfunding backers and today announced a lineup of 16 titles that will be available at the system’s commercial launch next quarter. For CEO and co-founder Jeri Ellsworth, both are major milestones along a winding path... Tilt Five, the AR startup focused on making glasses suited for digital board gaming, is finally...

Clockwise from upper left: Doug Merritt, Beth Axelrod, Christine Moy, Stacy Minero, Carolyn Everson, Bozoma Saint John, Gabor Cselle, Ada Yeo

On the Market: Executives From Airbnb, Netflix and J.P. Morgan

By The Information Staff · Mar 24, 2022 6:33am PDT

Clockwise from upper left: Doug Merritt, Beth Axelrod, Christine Moy, Stacy Minero, Carolyn Everson, Bozoma Saint John, Gabor Cselle, Ada Yeo

On the Market: Executives From Airbnb, Netflix and J.P. Morgan

By The Information Staff · Mar 24, 2022 6:33am PDT

In our latest installment of Free Agents, we’re highlighting trailblazers who are likely to continue making waves wherever they land next. They include Christine Moy, a J.P. Morgan executive who played a groundbreaking role at the intersection of Wall Street and crypto, and Doug Merritt, who as Splunk CEO led the company’s... In our latest installment of Free Agents, we’re highlighting trailblazers who are likely to...

Drew Forman, Head of Cowen Digital. (Photo courtesy of Cowen. Art by Mike Sullivan)

Cowen’s Crypto Launch Highlights Growing Role of Crypto Custodian Startups

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 23, 2022 5:45pm PDT

Every week, Wall Street warms up a little more to crypto. On Wednesday, New York investment bank Cowen Inc. launched a digital assets arm dubbed Cowen Digital to trade 16 different cryptocurrencies on behalf of its clients. It tapped its former head of derivatives sales and trading, Drew Forman, to run the group. And like a growing number of... Every week, Wall Street warms up a little more to crypto. On Wednesday, New York investment bank...

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Pressured by Google-Spotify Deal

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

It may only be a matter of time before the Berlin Wall of the mobile app ecosystem, Apple’s rigid App Store rules, falls. Google’s announcement today that its Google Play app store will allow a “dual billing option” in U.S. apps, starting with Spotify, puts pressure on Apple to follow suit. Giving consumers a choice about the payment systems... It may only be a matter of time before the Berlin Wall of the mobile app ecosystem, Apple’s rigid...

Drake Rehfeld, Day One Ventures. Credit: Deanie Chen. Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Day One’s Rehfeld: Creators’ Embrace of Crypto is Years Away

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 23, 2022 3:32pm PDT · 1 comment

Drake Rehfeld, a principal at Day One Ventures, has had a ring-side seat on the rise of the creator economy. He joined the early-stage venture firm two years ago from NTWRK, a video-shopping startup that had bought his startup Demeanor.co, which helps creators build digital and physical brands. Rehfeld had also led product and engineering at ... Drake Rehfeld, a principal at Day One Ventures, has had a ring-side seat on the rise of the...

Fidji Simo, chief executive officer of Instacart Inc.

Instacart to Open Gopuff-Like Warehouses for 15-Minute Delivery

By Berber Jin · Mar 23, 2022 12:24pm PDT · 1 comment

Fidji Simo, chief executive officer of Instacart Inc.

Instacart to Open Gopuff-Like Warehouses for 15-Minute Delivery

By Berber Jin · Mar 23, 2022 12:24pm PDT · 1 comment

Instacart plans to launch a 15-minute–delivery service for grocery retailers including Publix as early as next month, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. For the initiative, Instacart would operate its own network of warehouses, which it calls nano-fulfillment centers, that supermarket chains could use to store their... Instacart plans to launch a 15-minute–delivery service for grocery retailers including...

Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Advertisers Unexpectedly See Recovery After Apple Mess

By Sarah Krouse and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 23, 2022 11:19am PDT · 4 comments

Beginning last May, Samuel Gherman, creator of a drawing app called Da Vinci Eye, cut his spending on Facebook ads targeting iPhone users by about 90% to less than $100 per day. The move cratered his revenue, but he had no choice: Apple implemented privacy changes that made it harder for Facebook advertisers to target ads to certain iPhone users... Beginning last May, Samuel Gherman, creator of a drawing app called Da Vinci Eye, cut his...

Two NextMind developer devices, fitted with arrays of EEG sensors. Photo: NextMind.

Snap Makes a Brain Interface Bet; Yuga’s Ape Hype Meets the Metaverse

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

Snap’s hunger for hardware acquisitions evidently hasn’t been satiated, as is clear from today’s news of the purchase of NextMind, a small Paris-based startup focused on brain computer interface tech. But this deal goes beyond Snap’s near-term AR glasses goals.Snap’s other recent hardware purchases have concerned highly sought-after AR display... Snap’s hunger for hardware acquisitions evidently hasn’t been satiated, as is clear from today’s...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

Congress’s Big Antitrust Bills Have a Problem: The Happy Customer

By Adam Kovacevich · Mar 23, 2022 9:00am PDT · 4 comments

A pair of bills that take aim at vertical integration in Big Tech—regulating app stores and prohibiting the highest-profile platforms from favoring their own services (a practice known as self-preferencing)—is lying in wait in Congress. While it’s still in dispute how much of an impact the laws would have on the marketplace,... A pair of bills that take aim at vertical integration in Big Tech—regulating app stores and...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photos by Bloomberg; Amazon. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Four Amazon Projects Jassy Might Cut Next

By Paris Martineau, Mark Di Stefano and Nick Wingfield · Mar 23, 2022 6:18am PDT

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photos by Bloomberg; Amazon. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Four Amazon Projects Jassy Might Cut Next

By Paris Martineau, Mark Di Stefano and Nick Wingfield · Mar 23, 2022 6:18am PDT

Earlier this month, Amazon said it would close dozens of bookstores, pop-up shops and other brick-and-mortar outlets, ending a detour into a part of physical retailing that had caused some head-scratching in recent years. Those aren’t likely to be the last of the quixotic Amazon experiments that the company’s CEO, Andy Jassy, scales... Earlier this month, Amazon said it would close dozens of bookstores, pop-up shops and other...