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

Writer Elle Griffin. Photo courtesy of subject

Creator Economy

The Writer Who Serialized Her Novels on Substack

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 10, 2023 3:12pm PST

Elle Griffin's Substack career over the last two years is a testament to how tech platforms have transformed what it means to be an aspiring novelist. The former content marketing writer found success on Substack by taking a page from Alexandre Dumas and Charles Dickens: starting in 2021, she serialized her gothic and utopian novels to her... Elle Griffin's Substack career over the last two years is a testament to how tech platforms have...

A scene from the 2017 day when Okta went public. Photo by AP.

Okta Chief Revenue Officer Departs Amid Sales Shakeup

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 10, 2023 12:38pm PST · 2 comments

Okta’s chief revenue officer, Steve Rowland, is leaving the identity and access management software provider at the end of the month, according to a current Okta employee. Rowland’s departure, less than two years after the enterprise software veteran joined Okta, comes as Okta is grappling with an industrywide slowdown in the... Okta’s chief revenue officer, Steve Rowland, is leaving the identity and access management...

Redfin, with a market capitalization of less than $600 million, had $1.3 billion of convertible debt on its books as of September. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Looming Debt Crunch Facing Tech Companies Like The RealReal

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 10, 2023 8:08am PST · 5 comments

In 2020, a wave of public tech companies—including The RealReal, Vroom and Redfin—began selling record amounts of ultra-low-interest bonds that would convert into shares if the companies’ stocks kept soaring. Instead, stocks have been crushed, and a wall of potentially crippling or course-altering debt now looms over some... In 2020, a wave of public tech companies—including The RealReal, Vroom and...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Shutterstock.

After ‘Irrational Cycle,’ Venture’s Limited Partners Exert More Power Over Funds

By Kate Clark · Jan 10, 2023 6:00am PST · 7 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan via Shutterstock.

After ‘Irrational Cycle,’ Venture’s Limited Partners Exert More Power Over Funds

By Kate Clark · Jan 10, 2023 6:00am PST · 7 comments

The increasingly bloodied market for tech startups is strengthening the hand of one group of investors: the wealthy individuals and institutions that put money into venture capital funds. These limited partners are seeking better terms, such as guaranteed access to startup deals, reductions in the fees they pay the VC firms and even stakes in a... The increasingly bloodied market for tech startups is strengthening the hand of one group of...

Photo by Bloomberg

Why Netflix’s Streaming Edge Won’t Erode

By Martin Peers · Jan 9, 2023 5:00pm PST

It’s the quiet before the earnings storm, which makes it a good time to take a step back and consider the situation of Netflix, the first big tech name to report December quarter numbers, on Jan. 19. Its stock has nearly doubled since it bottomed out at around $167 in June, although even at current levels of around $315 it is still down 47% from... It’s the quiet before the earnings storm, which makes it a good time to take a step back and...

Graphic: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Our Creator Economy Summit Kicks Off April 20

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 9, 2023 2:22pm PST

We are kicking off today’s newsletter with an exciting announcement: Our annual Creator Economy Summit is happening for the first time in person on April 20 in Los Angeles at The London West Hollywood. We’ll have a jam-packed day of fireside chats, masterclasses and panel discussions, with lots of time to ask questions and network with... We are kicking off today’s newsletter with an exciting announcement: Our annual Creator Economy...

ByteDance's Beijing headquarters. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Parent ByteDance’s E-Commerce Volume Surged in 2022, Internal Data Show

By Juro Osawa · Jan 9, 2023 2:13pm PST

TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is making inroads in e-commerce. Consumers in China last year spent 1.41 trillion yuan, or $208 billion, buying things on ByteDance’s Douyin video app, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, an increase of 76% from 2021, according to two people with knowledge of the internal data. Meanwhile,... TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is making inroads in e-commerce. Consumers in...

Art by Mike Sullivan via Shutterstock

Six OpenAI Rivals Google and Microsoft Are Watching

By Jon Victor · Jan 9, 2023 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan via Shutterstock

Six OpenAI Rivals Google and Microsoft Are Watching

By Jon Victor · Jan 9, 2023 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Microsoft’s big bet on OpenAI, whose ChatGPT software can understand and generate conversational text, is starting to look like a stroke of genius. Microsoft plans to use OpenAI’s tech to improve results in Bing searches and help Word and Outlook customers automatically generate documents and emails using simple prompts, as The... Microsoft’s big bet on OpenAI, whose ChatGPT software can understand and generate...

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, with the concept electric Ram Revolution. Photo: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg

The Electric: EV Makers Brag About Next-Gen Batteries, but They Won’t Be Ready Soon

By Steve LeVine · Jan 8, 2023 2:00pm PST

Late to the electric vehicle race, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares bounded onstage Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest tech event of the year, and boasted: In 2026, he said, Stellantis would produce a sleek new electric version of the popular Ram pickup truck. Among other bells and whistles, a breakthrough solid-state... Late to the electric vehicle race, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares bounded onstage Thursday at the...

The Pied Piper of Defense Startups

The Pied Piper of Defense Startups

By Jon Steinberg · Jan 7, 2023 7:00am PST

Hi, welcome to the first Weekend of 2023!You have to hand it to Josh Wolfe. The co-founder of Lux Capital has spent the past two decades zigging while many in the Valley have zagged. This week’s cover story by Margaux focuses on the rise of defense tech as a booming startup sector in Silicon Valley. It’s a space Wolfe and Lux have owned for... Hi, welcome to the first Weekend of 2023!You have to hand it to Josh Wolfe. The co-founder of Lux...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Art by Mike Sullivan

Ghost Writer: Microsoft Looks to Add OpenAI’s Chatbot Technology to Word, Email

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 7, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments

In a move that could change how more than a billion people write documents, presentations and emails, Microsoft has discussed incorporating OpenAI’s artificial intelligence in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and other apps so customers can automatically generate text using simple prompts, according to a person with direct knowledge of the... In a move that could change how more than a billion people write documents, presentations and...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Anti-Apple Watches: Silicon Valley’s Other Status Timepieces Are Beautifully Analog

By Tim Stevens · Jan 6, 2023 1:00pm PST · 16 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Market Research

The Anti-Apple Watches: Silicon Valley’s Other Status Timepieces Are Beautifully Analog

By Tim Stevens · Jan 6, 2023 1:00pm PST · 16 comments

Matt Kixmoeller is a watch guy. He’s owned dozens of timepieces, including Rolexes and Longines. But don’t ask him about smartwatches. “I bought each of the first three or four generations of Apple Watch, wore them for a few weeks and then returned them each time,” he said. “Another digital distraction to steal my... Matt Kixmoeller is a watch guy. He’s owned dozens of timepieces, including Rolexes and...

Art by Clark Miller.

Why the Long Face, Founder? The New Executive Coach Has Four Legs and a Mane

By Arielle Pardes · Jan 6, 2023 11:00am PST · 5 comments

Last year, Eurie Kim, a managing partner at Forerunner Ventures, took some of her portfolio founders on a field trip. They were going to spend the day at the Golden Gate Dairy Stables, a ranch in Marin County traversed by scenic trails with pristine views of the Northern California coastline. But Kim and the startup founders weren’t there... Last year, Eurie Kim, a managing partner at Forerunner Ventures, took some of her portfolio...

Art by Clark Miller. All photos courtesy Josh Wolfe/Lux Capital

Josh Wolfe’s War: The Lux Capital Founder Blazes a Controversial Path in Defense Tech

By Margaux MacColl · Jan 6, 2023 9:21am PST · 7 comments

Josh Wolfe arrived at a remote island in the Philippines by inflatable boat, surrounded by men with large guns. It was 2019 and the founding partner of the New York venture firm Lux Capital was on a very strange work trip. Over the course of two weeks, American soldiers escorted Wolfe through the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and... Josh Wolfe arrived at a remote island in the Philippines by inflatable boat, surrounded by men...

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Gemini Kept Pushing Risky Accounts as Crypto Market Tumbled

By Aidan Ryan · Jan 6, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss started last year off with plans to go big with a risky type of crypto lending account. And they pushed ahead even as warning signs kept cropping up. In the early months of 2022, the twins told the crypto startup’s growth team to come up with a more aggressive plan to market the crypto... Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss started last year off with plans to go big with a...

Photo via Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Cuts Were Inevitable After Years of Excessive Spending

By Martin Peers · Jan 5, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Photo via Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Cuts Were Inevitable After Years of Excessive Spending

By Martin Peers · Jan 5, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

It’s a bleak moment for the retail sector. Today brought word that home goods chain Bed Bath & Beyond has “substantial doubt” about its “ability to continue as a going concern,” given how much money it has been losing. Another retailer, Everlane, is cutting 17% of its corporate staff, we scooped today. Meanwhile, Amazon on Wednesday said it... It’s a bleak moment for the retail sector. Today brought word that home goods chain Bed Bath...

Chronosphere CEO Martin Mao. Screenshot via YouTube.

Alphabet’s GV Backs Startup That Helps Cut Cloud Bills, Boosting Valuation to $1.6 Billion

By Amir Efrati and Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 5, 2023 4:50pm PST · 3 comments

Chronosphere, a startup that helps companies monitor their cloud-based applications and competes with publicly traded Datadog, has raised $100 million in funding from Alphabet's startup-investment arm, GV, and other investors, according to a person familiar with the deal, which hasn’t been previously reported. (Update, Jan. 13:... Chronosphere, a startup that helps companies monitor their cloud-based applications and competes...

Aleen Dreksler, CEO and co-founder of Betches Media. Photo: Claire Esparros

Creator Economy

‘We Cannot Control’ the Social Platforms: Instagram-Famous Betches Looks Beyond the Apps

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 5, 2023 3:12pm PST

Betches Media started in 2011 as a blog focused on millennial women. As Instagram gained traction, its three co-founders—Aleen Dreksler, Jordana Abraham and Samantha Sage— shifted to building a presence on the app. That paid off in terms of followers, which now number more than 8 million on its main account. But the experience drove home a... Betches Media started in 2011 as a blog focused on millennial women. As Instagram gained...

DCG's CEO, Barry Silbert. Photo by Bloomberg.

Genesis Parent Company DCG Shutters Its Wealth Management Division

By Kate Clark · Jan 5, 2023 2:58pm PST · 1 comment

Digital Currency Group, the parent company of crypto broker Genesis and the publication CoinDesk, has shut down its wealth management subsidiary HQ Digital, according to a memo shared with one of its customers. HQ—yet another piece of collateral damage in the FTX implosion—ceased operations Jan. 2, according to the memo. Digital Currency Group, the parent company of crypto broker Genesis and the publication CoinDesk,...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Everlane Slashes 17% of Corporate Employees, Cuts Store Staff

By Ann Gehan · Jan 5, 2023 2:17pm PST · 1 comment

Photo by Bloomberg.

Everlane Slashes 17% of Corporate Employees, Cuts Store Staff

By Ann Gehan · Jan 5, 2023 2:17pm PST · 1 comment

Sustainable clothing brand Everlane is the latest direct-to-consumer company to slash jobs as the sector grapples with declining e-commerce sales volumes and rising digital marketing costs. The company announced the cuts internally on Wednesday via an email message and a companywide Zoom meeting, saying they would affect around 17% of... Sustainable clothing brand Everlane is the latest direct-to-consumer company to slash jobs as the...