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

An Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Post-Pandemic Hangover; Apple Avoids Carnage

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 28, 2022 4:17pm PDT

Greetings!Headed into this earnings season, there was a lot of concern that big tech companies would be reporting ugly quarters left and right. So far, though, Amazon is the only one to truly lay an egg. We’re not talking about the $3.8 billion net loss the company reported for the first quarter, a paper-only loss due to a drop in the value of... Greetings!Headed into this earnings season, there was a lot of concern that big tech companies...

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Photo: Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Robinhood Reports Drop in Crypto Revenue; Apollo Hires Ex-J.P. Morgan Crypto Banker

By Aidan Ryan · Apr 28, 2022 4:07pm PDT

Is it finally safe to say the meme stock craze is dead?It was another rough quarter for retail brokerage and crypto trading firm Robinhood, which reported its first quarter results on Thursday. The company reported total net revenue of $299 million, a 43% decrease from the first quarter last year when the explosion of “meme-stock” activity led... Is it finally safe to say the meme stock craze is dead?It was another rough quarter for retail...

Snap executive Jim Shepherd. Photo: Snap. Art by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Snap Gives Creators More Edit Tools; How Musk’s Twitter Could Follow the LinkedIn Premium Model

By Mahira Dayal · Apr 28, 2022 2:35pm PDT · 1 comment

Snap Thursday announced new editing features that could be a big deal for creators, particularly as new social networks (we see you, BeReal) spring up with their own nifty photo features. At Snap’s developer summit Thursday, the company announced a Director Mode that will make it easier for people to make videos with special effects without... Snap Thursday announced new editing features that could be a big deal for creators, particularly...

The Pixy drone isn't an AR device, but users can apply Lenses to photos and videos taken with it. Photo: Snap.

The Biggest AR News From Snap’s Annual Summit

By Mathew Olson · Apr 28, 2022 11:00am PDT

The Pixy drone isn't an AR device, but users can apply Lenses to photos and videos taken with it. Photo: Snap.

The Biggest AR News From Snap’s Annual Summit

By Mathew Olson · Apr 28, 2022 11:00am PDT

Just shy of a year ago, Snap unveiled its developer-only AR Spectacles. Today’s annual Partner Summit demonstrated Snap’s doggedness to keep shipping new features and products, showcasing a slew of announcements focused mainly on mobile AR and shopping. The event was light on updates regarding the Spectacles but CTO and co-founder Bobby Murphy... Just shy of a year ago, Snap unveiled its developer-only AR Spectacles. Today’s annual Partner...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Elon Musk’s Early Twitter Purchase Under FTC Scrutiny

By Josh Sisco and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 28, 2022 9:32am PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover is unlikely to raise antitrust concerns. But what is already being scrutinized is Musk’s failure to comply with rules regarding disclosure of his initial 9% stake, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The Federal Trade Commission recently opened an inquiry into whether Musk... Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover is unlikely to raise antitrust concerns. But what...

Shopify Is an Advertising Holdout. How Long Can That Last?

By Malique Morris · Apr 28, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Shopify has long held back from selling ads even as Amazon and other e-commerce rivals have leaned in. That’s because Shopify, which operates a shopping app and powers the websites of around 2 million online merchants, feared small merchants might be turned off if they felt pressure to spend more to get their products in front of... Shopify has long held back from selling ads even as Amazon and other e-commerce rivals have...

Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey. Photo: Bloomberg.

Anduril Seeks to Raise at Least $500 Million as Defense Stocks Rally

By Kate Clark · Apr 27, 2022 5:59pm PDT

Anduril Industries, a startup that sells artificial intelligence–powered defense technology, is raising capital that could propel its pre-investment valuation to more than $7 billion from $4.6 billion about a year ago, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The company is planning to raise at least $500 million in a... Anduril Industries, a startup that sells artificial intelligence–powered defense...

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo: Bloomberg

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Clarifies His Comments on Yield Farming

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 27, 2022 5:30pm PDT

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo: Bloomberg

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Clarifies His Comments on Yield Farming

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 27, 2022 5:30pm PDT

Part of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s goal in staging Crypto Bahamas is to legitimize digital assets and the companies behind them, similar to the way traditional financial institutions engender trust, he told me in an interview on Tuesday.We spoke in Nassau ahead of the conference, which started Wednesday, in partnership with hedge fund... Part of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s goal in staging Crypto Bahamas is to legitimize digital...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Meta Talks Up Metaverse Creators; Earnings News from Spotify and Pinterest

By Mahira Dayal · Apr 27, 2022 5:13pm PDT

Meta Platforms had plenty of topics to talk about on its first quarter earnings call, but creators weren’t one of them. After shining the spotlight on Reels the previous quarter, Meta executives had little to say about the most pressing issues on the minds of creators today, such as its creator fund.Instead, creators came up in the context of... Meta Platforms had plenty of topics to talk about on its first quarter earnings call, but...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

Meta's Bleak Q1; Spotify's Netflix Moment

By Martin Peers · Apr 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Score one for Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook, for accurately predicting how bad its first-quarter performance was going to be. The social media giant this afternoon reported what by any standards were dismal results, with revenue up just 7%. What’s more, Meta projected growth would be even weaker in the second quarter.... Score one for Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook, for accurately predicting...

An illustration of what a two-way call could look like using Webex Hologram. Credit: Cisco.

A Look at Cisco’s AR Headset Teleconferencing

By Mathew Olson · Apr 27, 2022 11:00am PDT

Of the many companies looking to use AR or VR tech to improve upon the video conference calls we’ve all grown accustomed to, Cisco’s new approach might have the best chances of catching on. A demonstration for a group of journalists earlier this week showed a technology able to capture and transmit a decent hologram. Given that Cisco already... Of the many companies looking to use AR or VR tech to improve upon the video conference calls we’...

A Cryptolocker ransomware attack, 2015. Photo via Malwarebytes/Flickr.

Accel Leads $50 Million Funding of Cybersecurity Startup Veza at $500 Million Valuation

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 27, 2022 7:00am PDT

A Cryptolocker ransomware attack, 2015. Photo via Malwarebytes/Flickr.

Accel Leads $50 Million Funding of Cybersecurity Startup Veza at $500 Million Valuation

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 27, 2022 7:00am PDT

Accel has led a $50 million funding round for cybersecurity startup Veza at a valuation of around $500 million, CEO and co-founder Tarun Thakur said in an exclusive interview. The deal underscores how some young startups in hot sectors are still garnering generous valuations despite little revenue. Two-year-old Veza, which was previously called... Accel has led a $50 million funding round for cybersecurity startup Veza at a valuation of around...

People's Liberation Army personnel near a banner of Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Despite Rising Risks, U.S. Investors Pump Billions of Dollars Into China VC Funds

By Juro Osawa · Apr 27, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

American institutional investors are pouring billions of dollars of fresh capital into some of China’s top venture capital firms despite rising geopolitical tensions between the two nations and regulatory attacks that hurt China’s biggest public tech stocks and some private companies over the past year. The investors are betting that... American institutional investors are pouring billions of dollars of fresh capital into some of...

Inca Digital CEO on the Crypto Hacks That Keep on Coming. Photo: Inca Digital

Inca Digital CEO on the Wave of Crypto Hacks

By Aidan Ryan · Apr 26, 2022 5:23pm PDT

A $3 million theft from holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club and other related NFTs has added to what’s a rapidly growing list of large cryptocurrency thefts. On Monday, Yuga Labs—the startup behind the popular digital art collection—said a hacker posted a fraudulent link on the collection’s Instagram account publicizing a fake airdrop, or free... A $3 million theft from holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club and other related NFTs has added to what’...

Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft, Alphabet Push the Power of Positive Thinking

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2022 5:00pm PDT

What a day! For the second time in three days, the stock market plunged off a cliff, a reminder that anxiety about the economy and rising interest rates remain as intense as ever. The recovery in stocks we saw starting in mid-March is now just a distant memory. The Nasdaq’s closing level today was its lowest all year and was 22% below the high... What a day! For the second time in three days, the stock market plunged off a cliff, a reminder...

Art: Mike Sullivan

YouTube’s Big Chill; TikTok is Top App; Our One-Year Anniversary

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 26, 2022 4:48pm PDT

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Big Chill; TikTok is Top App; Our One-Year Anniversary

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 26, 2022 4:48pm PDT

A year ago today, we published the first Creator Economy newsletter! What a year it’s been: besides exclusive news and analysis, original charts, and interviews with startup founders and influencers, we also launched our one-of-a-kind database of creator economy startups for The Information subscribers, and brought on a second reporter, Mahira,... A year ago today, we published the first Creator Economy newsletter! What a year it’s been:...

Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg.

Musk’s Buyout Playbook Means Big Job Cuts at Twitter

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2022 11:11am PDT · 11 comments

For all of Elon Musk’s talk about ridding Twitter of spam bots and introducing an edit button, his top priority when he takes charge may be more mundane—how to quickly cut costs. Given the amount of debt he is taking on in the acquisition, Musk will have a big incentive to lift Twitter’s profits as fast as possible. That almost... For all of Elon Musk’s talk about ridding Twitter of spam bots and introducing an edit...

A person wearing the Nreal Air AR glasses. Photo: Nreal.

China’s Nreal Air to Make U.K. Debut; Vive’s Filmmaking Tool

By Mathew Olson · Apr 26, 2022 11:01am PDT

The U.K. is about to become an early adopter’s playground. Yesterday, Chinese AR glasses maker Nreal announced plans to release its Nreal Air AR glasses there later this spring through a partnership with British telecom EE. This will mark the first new market for Nreal Air since it launched across China, Japan and South Korea late last year.The... The U.K. is about to become an early adopter’s playground. Yesterday, Chinese AR glasses maker...

Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Haejin Park

Modest Proposals

Elon Musk Is Silicon Valley’s New Hero—for Better or Worse

By Sam Lessin · Apr 26, 2022 9:00am PDT · 10 comments

The hero’s journey of ancient mythology follows a well-understood and well-documented pattern: The hero receives a call to adventure, overcomes a series of trials, encounters an otherworldly figure who helps them achieve greatness, and finally makes a celebrated return, their adventure complete, to live in peace and freedom. Silicon Valley... The hero’s journey of ancient mythology follows a well-understood and well-documented...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Hatches Plan to Sell Cloud Services to ‘Holdout’ Businesses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 26, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Hatches Plan to Sell Cloud Services to ‘Holdout’ Businesses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 26, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft has become a cloud powerhouse provider primarily on the strength of its decadeslong, deep relationships with Fortune 500 companies. Now it’s stepping up its efforts to go after business customers who haven’t previously spent much on the cloud—call them cloud holdouts—so rivals like Amazon, Zoom and Salesforce... Microsoft has become a cloud powerhouse provider primarily on the strength of its decadeslong,...