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

TikTok star Josh Richards. Photo: Matt Azzopardi. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Creator Economy Summit

Twitch Is ‘Absolutely Dominating,’ Says TikTok Star Josh Richards

By Kaya Yurieff · May 25, 2022 1:00pm PDT

TikTok’s viral short videos put Canadian creator Josh Richards on the map in 2019, after his dance moves and generation-defining hairstyle made him a Gen Z icon. Now also an entrepreneur and investor, Richards says he sees another video format poised to triumph: livestreaming. “I see Twitch absolutely dominating,”... TikTok’s viral short videos put Canadian creator Josh Richards on the map in 2019, after...

A user wearing the R-1 headset. Photo: Lynx.

Lynx’s Series A Raise; New Research Toward Focusable VR Lenses

By Mathew Olson · May 25, 2022 11:02am PDT

Lynx, the French hardware startup aiming to launch its first mixed reality headset, the R-1, this summer, has completed a $4 million Series A raise at an undisclosed valuation. Led by Somnium Space, a blockchain-centric social VR platform and metaverse-focused investor, the new round is very likely Lynx’s last major announcement before... Lynx, the French hardware startup aiming to launch its first mixed reality headset, the R-1, this...

2022 NBCUniversal Upfront in New York City. Photo by Getty

The Upfronts Model Isn’t Dead Yet

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 25, 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. In “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” King Arthur (played with blustery charm by Graham Chapman) rides across Britain searching for knights to join his Round Table. Having collected a... PARQOR is part of The Information’s newsletter network. To receive it in your inbox every...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

While Battling Musk, Twitter CEO Agrawal Shows Decisive Side

By Sarah Krouse and Kevin McLaughlin · May 25, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan.

While Battling Musk, Twitter CEO Agrawal Shows Decisive Side

By Sarah Krouse and Kevin McLaughlin · May 25, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Years before Elon Musk set his sights on Twitter, Parag Agrawal, a senior engineering executive at the social media company, was asked in an all-hands meeting what his hobbies were. He nervously replied that he enjoyed growing plants in water, without soil. Now, as the brazen Tesla and SpaceX CEO moves forward in fits and starts with his... Years before Elon Musk set his sights on Twitter, Parag Agrawal, a senior engineering executive...

A stock exchange monitor with Snap's share price in March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Learns Not to Guesstimate Revenue Growth

By Martin Peers · May 24, 2022 5:30pm PDT

Evan Spiegel certainly can’t complain that the market doesn’t listen to what he says. The Snap CEO’s warning on Monday about a worse-than-expected deterioration in second-quarter conditions brought down tech stocks across the board today, led by a 43% drop in Snap’s price. Is it heretical to suggest the market might be overreacting just a bit?... Evan Spiegel certainly can’t complain that the market doesn’t listen to what he says. The Snap...

Roelof Botha, partner at Sequoia Capital. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Warns Founders of ‘Crucible Moment,’ Advises How to ‘Avoid the Death Spiral’

By Mark Di Stefano, Kate Clark and Nick Wingfield · May 24, 2022 5:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Sand Hill Road’s doomsayer-in-chief—Sequoia Capital—is back with a warning to its startup founders: Don’t expect a recovery from the current market downturn to happen quickly. Over the years, Sequoia, the venture firm behind Google, Apple and Airbnb, has developed a reputation as the tech industry’s Cassandra,... Sand Hill Road’s doomsayer-in-chief—Sequoia Capital—is back with a warning to...

Faraz Fatemi. Photo: Lightspeed. Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Lightspeed’s New Consumer Partner on Seed Deals, the Downturn and a Timeline for the Metaverse

By Mahira Dayal · May 24, 2022 3:49pm PDT

Last week, we caught up with Faraz Fatemi, who joined Lightspeed Venture Partners last month as a partner focused on consumer investments. Fatemi previously led monetization, growth and corporate development initiatives at Clubhouse, where he worked from June 2021 to earlier this year, and before that invested in startups at Bain Capital... Last week, we caught up with Faraz Fatemi, who joined Lightspeed Venture Partners last month as a...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Quietly Axed Millions of Square Feet of Warehouse Space

By Paris Martineau · May 24, 2022 11:42am PDT · 2 comments

Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Quietly Axed Millions of Square Feet of Warehouse Space

By Paris Martineau · May 24, 2022 11:42am PDT · 2 comments

Over the last three months, Amazon has canceled plans for nearly 10 million square feet of warehouse space, shelving plans for more than a dozen fulfillment centers and delivery facilities around the U.S. as the company wrestles with a costly space glut on the heels of the pandemic. The scope of the pullback, which is previously unreported,... Over the last three months, Amazon has canceled plans for nearly 10 million square feet of...

After a Decade of Declines, EV Battery Costs Are To Rise 14% This Year

After a Decade of Declines, EV Battery Costs Are To Rise 14% This Year

By Steve LeVine · May 24, 2022 11:08am PDT

The abrupt electrification of the auto industry has been fueled in large part by a steep drop in the cost of their batteries, bringing the price of electric cars closer to parity with traditional vehicles. But the International Energy Agency says those declines are about to end—and reverse.A surge in the price of critical metals is on track to... The abrupt electrification of the auto industry has been fueled in large part by a steep drop in...

A depiction of the Lightship VPS scanning process. Credit: Niantic.

Niantic’s New Social AR Tool; Meta’s Improved Room Mapping

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

Niantic today launched its new visual positioning system for the Lightship AR platform, a tool that promises to make it easier for developers to deliver localized and persistent AR content in their apps. Niantic also unveiled today something even more intriguing: Campfire, a social tool coming first to the AR game Ingress. The company plans to... Niantic today launched its new visual positioning system for the Lightship AR platform, a tool...

Dan Levitan, co-founder of Maveron. Photo by Maveron.

Consumer VC Firm Maveron Raises $225 Million Amid ‘Serious Paradigm Shift’

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Venture firm Maveron, whose well-timed investments in eBay and Drugstore.com helped it get through the 2000 dot-com bust with relative ease, had a tougher time during the financial crisis eight years later, when it was forced to downsize and narrow its focus to early-stage investing in consumer brands. That experience has prepared Maveron to... Venture firm Maveron, whose well-timed investments in eBay and Drugstore.com helped it get...

Announcing the Creator Economy Summit Masterclasses 2022

By The Information Staff · May 23, 2022 5:58pm PDT

Creator Economy Summit

Announcing the Creator Economy Summit Masterclasses 2022

By The Information Staff · May 23, 2022 5:58pm PDT

We’re excited to see everyone on May 25 at The Information’s second annual Creator Economy Summit. Our masterclass breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have three sets of 45-minute masterclasses. Here is a preview of this year’s topics. For group ticket... We’re excited to see everyone on May 25 at The Information’s second annual ...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Sends Shiver Through Ad Stocks

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

Uh oh. Snap’s warning this afternoon that its second-quarter revenue and profits will be below what it projected just a few weeks ago, thanks to a faster than expected deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, is an ominous signal for the ad market. Snap had outperformed many of its digital ad peers, most obviously Meta Platform, Twitter and... Uh oh. Snap’s warning this afternoon that its second-quarter revenue and profits will be below...

Creator Josh Richards, LTK exec Reesa Lake, Pinterest chief content officer Malik Ducard and Duolingo’s global social media manager Zaria Parvez (from left to right). Photo: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

An Insider’s Guide to Our Upcoming Creator Economy Summit

By Kaya Yurieff · May 23, 2022 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

The Information’s second Creator Economy Summit is happening this Wednesday. For the past two months, I’ve been preparing for our interviews with creators, startup leaders and executives at major tech companies including Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. (You can still register here.) This prep work has come at a pivotal time for the... The Information’s second Creator Economy Summit is happening this Wednesday. For the past two...

A VMware office. Credit: VMware

Broadcom Deal to Buy ‘Switzerland’ of Data Center Software Would Face Swift Antitrust Backlash

By Kevin McLaughlin and Josh Sisco · May 23, 2022 1:16pm PDT · 2 comments

Shares of VMware, a major developer of data center software, on Monday rose by 25% on reports that Broadcom, a major developer of microchips for data centers equipment and other devices, wanted to buy it for $50 billion or more. But investors shouldn’t bet on a deal quickly passing muster with antitrust officials, even though the two... Shares of VMware, a major developer of data center software, on Monday rose by 25% on reports...

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Tests App for Employees to Grade Each Other During Meetings

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 23, 2022 12:02pm PDT · 6 comments

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Tests App for Employees to Grade Each Other During Meetings

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 23, 2022 12:02pm PDT · 6 comments

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading firm that garnered attention for banning salary negotiations and political speech among employees in recent years, is testing another practice that has raised eyebrows internally: asking employees to frequently rate each other. Some employees at the company have been using a real-time evaluation app invented by... Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading firm that garnered attention for banning salary negotiations...

Qualcomm's San Diego headquarters. Photo: Bloomberg.

Qualcomm’s Newest AR Design; Apple’s Gaming Hangup

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

Since Qualcomm’s chips are so ubiquitous, each new AR or VR reference design from the chipmaker serves as a good yardstick for where glasses and headsets will move over the next few years. The company’s latest design is no different: Qualcomm’s new wireless AR glasses powered by its XR2 chip look positively slim compared to many existing... Since Qualcomm’s chips are so ubiquitous, each new AR or VR reference design from the chipmaker...

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix Could Boost U.S. Revenue 21% With Advertising Push

By Jessica Toonkel · May 23, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Netflix has spent its entire existence setting the trend for others in video streaming to follow. But as it prepares to launch an ad-supported tier, Netflix executives are pondering a different question: Which rival service should it follow as a model? At one extreme is Disney-controlled Hulu, which runs more ads than most services and therefore... Netflix has spent its entire existence setting the trend for others in video streaming to follow....

In 1770, Thomas Gainsborough unveiled what came to be called "The Blue Boy," in which he used Prussian blue. Photo: Courtesy The Huntington

Getting Ready for the Next-Next EV Battery

By Steve LeVine · May 22, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric! This is the second of our two-part series on the surprisingly fast arrival of next-generation battery technologies. Last week we looked at the imminent commercialization of electric vehicles powered by high-concentration silicon anodes. This week we turn to the even more unexpected debut of sodium-ion batteries... Welcome back to The Electric! This is the second of our two-part series on the surprisingly...

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

By Jon Steinberg · May 21, 2022 8:00am PDT

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

“I Felt Like I’ve Been Taking Crazy Pills”: After a Meltdown, Crypto Pros Assess the Damage

By Jon Steinberg · May 21, 2022 8:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! Feeling numb to the latest Elon Musk scandal, I went looking for another celebrity feud to obsess over for awhile. There was no way I was wading into the toxic cesspool that is Amber vs. Johnny. And I could care less about Ted Cruz’s opinion of Pete Davidson.But the Wagatha Christie trial? Oh, my friends, this... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! Feeling numb to the latest Elon Musk scandal, I went looking...