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

Image: Good Luck Games

FTX’s New Gaming Exec Aims to Develop ‘Crypto as a Service’ for Publishers

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 22, 2022 5:39pm PDT

Steve Sadin, the former vice president and studio head at WB Games Boston, joined FTX earlier this month to lead gaming partnerships for the fast-growing crypto exchange. I spoke to Sadin via Zoom about the news Tuesday that FTX’s U.S. affiliate was buying Good Luck Games, the publisher of digital card game “Storybook Brawl.”Sadin said one of... Steve Sadin, the former vice president and studio head at WB Games Boston, joined FTX earlier...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

It’s Déjà Vu at BuzzFeed

By Martin Peers · Mar 22, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Greetings!So, BuzzFeed executives are talking about making the company’s news division profitable. And they’re pivoting part of its business after realizing it was too reliant on Facebook to drive traffic. No, you didn’t just wake up in 2018. BuzzFeed executives are really saying the same things they were saying four years ago about some of the... Greetings!So, BuzzFeed executives are talking about making the company’s news division...

Ronak Trivedi, Co-Founder and CEO of Pietra, Rushir Parikh, Co-Founder and CEO of Popchew

Creator Economy

The Startups Helping Creators Sell Food and Goods IRL; What Happens After a Youtube Channel Is Demonetized

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 22, 2022 3:49pm PDT

Creators are making their mark outside social media apps. Probably the best known is Jimmy Donaldson, better known by his YouTube name MrBeast, whose MrBeast Burger sells fast food through delivery apps like UberEats, DoorDash and GrubHub. Donaldson, YouTube’s highest paid creator, uses restaurant services company Virtual Dining Concepts to run... Creators are making their mark outside social media apps. Probably the best known is Jimmy ...

A photo of Worldcoin operators and the orb device in Chile. Photo: Worldcoin.

Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Back Worldcoin in Deal Valuing Tokens at $3 Billion

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Mar 22, 2022 3:30pm PDT · 3 comments

A photo of Worldcoin operators and the orb device in Chile. Photo: Worldcoin.

Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Back Worldcoin in Deal Valuing Tokens at $3 Billion

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Mar 22, 2022 3:30pm PDT · 3 comments

Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency startup co-founded by former Y Combinator president Sam Altman, is raising $100 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, a previous backer, and Khosla Ventures through the sale of its Worldcoin tokens, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The new investment values the total... Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency startup co-founded by former Y Combinator president Sam Altman, is...

A close-up view of the X-Craft AR device, designed for industrial use. Credit: Rokid.

Two Upstarts, Rokid and Nimo, Push Forward With AR Glasses; Epic’s Latest Unreal Partner

By Mathew Olson · Mar 22, 2022 11:01am PDT

The past few years in AR tech have seen plenty of acquisitions and more than a few startups shut down. Still, there are a few small hardware companies hoping to make it big with AR before the tech giants and major gadget brands swoop in.One of those companies, China manufacturer Rokid, just announced that it raised an additional $110 million for... The past few years in AR tech have seen plenty of acquisitions and more than a few startups shut...

Aart de Geus, chairman and co-CEO of Synopsys. Photo by Bloomberg.

Q&A

Synopsys CEO Sees Downsides in Tech’s ‘Deglobalization’

By Stephen Nellis · Mar 22, 2022 10:00am PDT

Synopsys is one of two key American companies that dominate the global market in software for designing advanced chips. The Mountain View, Calif.–based company is a choke point that U.S. regulators turn to when they seek to cut off a country’s or company’s ability to create its own chips, as American officials did with Huawei... Synopsys is one of two key American companies that dominate the global market in software for...

Illustration by Danielle Davis.

Tech Companies Want HR Execs in the C-Suite. Finding Them Is the Hard Part

By Mark Matousek · Mar 22, 2022 6:00am PDT

Lynne Oldham was impressed when Stash CEO Brandon Krieg flew from Dallas to Santa Barbara just to have lunch with her. Oldham, who was then chief people officer at Zoom, was weighing taking the same job at Stash. And the personal touch sealed the deal—she started at the fintech startup in March. “The gesture to fly to me was... Lynne Oldham was impressed when Stash CEO Brandon Krieg flew from Dallas to Santa Barbara just to...

Robert Leshner, chief executive officer of Compound Labs. Photo: Bloomberg

Compound Labs CEO on How Interest Rate Hikes Will Buoy Crypto Lending

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 21, 2022 5:25pm PDT

Robert Leshner, chief executive officer of Compound Labs. Photo: Bloomberg

Compound Labs CEO on How Interest Rate Hikes Will Buoy Crypto Lending

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 21, 2022 5:25pm PDT

Federal Reserve interest rate hikes should do more than just raise the costs of credit card loans. They should also boost investors’ demand to earn money from lending their crypto holdings to other investors. Crypto lending, or yield farming, is already a booming activity offered by startups specializing in decentralized finance. It’s also... Federal Reserve interest rate hikes should do more than just raise the costs of credit card...

Thoma Bravo founder Orlando Bravo. Photo by Bloomberg

Private Equity Feasts on Software Bargains

By Martin Peers · Mar 21, 2022 5:00pm PDT

If there’s one group of deal makers that hasn’t been slowed by market volatility, it’s those private equity folks buying up much of the enterprise software industry. Thoma Bravo’s $10.7 billion deal on Sunday to buy Anaplan, a maker of business planning software, follows Vista Equity Partner’s $16.5 billion purchase of Citrix Systems in January.... If there’s one group of deal makers that hasn’t been slowed by market volatility, it’s those...

Kale’s co-founders Isha Patel and Luis Molina met while working at LinkedIn. Photo: Kale

Creator Economy

Kale, a Startup That Makes Influencers Out of Customers, Raises Funding from Forerunner

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 21, 2022 3:00pm PDT

Kale, a New York-based startup, is taking a different approach to influencer marketing. It works with loyal customers of a brand who generally have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, rather than going for creators with hundreds of thousands—or millions—of followers. These super fans are then eligible for cashback rewards on items they’ve... Kale, a New York-based startup, is taking a different approach to influencer marketing. It works...

A depiction of a Snapdragon-branded plaza in the metaverse. Credit: Qualcomm.

Qualcomm’s $100 Million AR/VR Fund; A Startup Fighting Toxicity in Virtual Worlds

By Mathew Olson · Mar 21, 2022 11:30am PDT

Qualcomm made two announcements on Monday morning, one launching a $100 million metaverse developer fund and the other revealing a gaming collaboration with Japanese publisher Square Enix. Considered in tandem, the moves show Qualcomm putting its money where its mouth has been—first expanding its focus to include software and developer tools for... Qualcomm made two announcements on Monday morning, one launching a $100 million metaverse...

Illustration by Josh Brill.

The Amazon Rollup Model Starts to Show Strain

By Mark Di Stefano · Mar 21, 2022 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Illustration by Josh Brill.

The Amazon Rollup Model Starts to Show Strain

By Mark Di Stefano · Mar 21, 2022 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

It was not long ago that Factory14, a Luxembourg-based startup focused on buying small firms that sell directly to consumers on Amazon and other online marketplaces, was flying high. The company came out of stealth mode in May with a $200 million war chest in equity and debt and announced its first acquisition: U.K.-based Pro Bike Tool, a seller... It was not long ago that Factory14, a Luxembourg-based startup focused on buying small firms that...

On Battery Day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, and top deputy Drew Baglino promised a 56% cut in battery costs. Photo: Screenshot

Tesla’s Rivals Are Finally in the Fight but Are Still Struggling to Catch Up

By Steve LeVine · Mar 20, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric!Coming on Tuesday: The electric vehicle race often looks like a competition among companies fighting to be first to the same technologies. That’s why I’m excited to host Mujeeb Ijaz, founder of Our Next Energy, as my next guest on Live Chat With The Electric. One of the sharpest minds in the field today, Ijaz has... Welcome back to The Electric!Coming on Tuesday: The electric vehicle race often looks like a...

Paris Hilton, Bored Apes and the Making of a Hollywood Crypto Cabal

Paris Hilton, Bored Apes and the Making of a Hollywood Crypto Cabal

By Jon Steinberg · Mar 19, 2022 8:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! Before you jump ahead to Margaux’s cover story about the Hollywood cabal behind a surge of celebrity crypto investments, I wanted to share another story from one of this weekend’s contributors.Katia Savchuk, a former reporter at Forbes, was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of four. Two weeks... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! Before you jump ahead to Margaux’s cover story about the...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

The New Resistance

Meet the Volunteers Cold-Calling Russians to Change their Minds about the Ukraine War

By Katia Savchuk · Mar 19, 2022 7:00am PDT · 8 comments

On Thursday morning, Katia Zalkind, a vice president at a medical communications firm in Chicago, dialed an unfamiliar number. A man picked up. “I’m a volunteer, and we’re calling people in Russia to answer questions about what’s going on in Ukraine,” said Zalkind, who is 48, speaking Russian. “May I talk with you?” “Yes, let’s do it,” he said.... On Thursday morning, Katia Zalkind, a vice president at a medical communications firm in Chicago,...

SoftBank Chief Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Bails on Cruise, Possibly In a Sign of the Times

By Martin Peers · Mar 18, 2022 5:00pm PDT

SoftBank Chief Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Bails on Cruise, Possibly In a Sign of the Times

By Martin Peers · Mar 18, 2022 5:00pm PDT

If there’s one company that’s likely to be harder hit than most by the recent stock market upheaval, its Japanese investor SoftBank. Today’s news that SoftBank is selling out of the GM-controlled self-driving car unit Cruise, instead of investing more money as was expected just six weeks ago, might be an indication that SoftBank is feeling the... If there’s one company that’s likely to be harder hit than most by the recent stock market...

Photograph courtesy of Shashank Samala. Art by Haejin Park.

How a Founder’s Childhood in India Inspired His Fight Against Climate Change

By Annie Goldsmith · Mar 18, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 5 comments

This is “My Life’s Work,” a series about the unique life experiences that influenced the careers of tech founders and executives. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. After reading the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, Shashank Samala saw a need to not only reduce carbon emissions, but remove... This is “My Life’s Work,” a series about the unique life experiences that influenced the careers...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Paris Hilton, Bored Apes and the Making of a Hollywood Crypto Clique

By Margaux MacColl · Mar 18, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments

“Did you see our NFT stunt on Fallon that went viral this week?? Ha,” venture capitalist Carter Reum joked over email. Reum was referring, of course, to his wife, Paris Hilton, and her Jan. 24 appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Perhaps you saw it. The “stunt” opened with Hilton, glittering in a lime-green minidress,... “Did you see our NFT stunt on Fallon that went viral this week?? Ha,” venture capitalist Carter...

Photo by AP.

Surging Fuel Costs Hit Amazon’s Uber-Like Trucking Service

By Paris Martineau · Mar 18, 2022 10:05am PDT

The truckers Amazon relies on to move goods between its warehouse facilities are seeing their take-home pay dwindle due to a spike in fuel prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Six owners of small trucking companies that book jobs transporting cargo for the e-commerce giant through an Uber-like platform called Amazon Relay said the... The truckers Amazon relies on to move goods between its warehouse facilities are seeing their...

Art by Mike Sullivan

A Vibe Shift Is Brewing in Streaming

By Andrew A. Rosen · Mar 18, 2022 9:00am PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

A Vibe Shift Is Brewing in Streaming

By Andrew A. Rosen · Mar 18, 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. Change is a constant in the streaming marketplace, which may be the most dynamic marketplace out there (unless you believe the metaverse is a marketplace, which it isn’t…at least not... PARQOR is part of The Information’s newsletter network. To receive it in your inbox every...