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

“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...

Art by Clark Miller

Former Musical.ly President Alex Hofmann Spends 9 Hours a Day on His Phone, Still Won’t Return Your Texts

By Annie Goldsmith · May 21, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. Alex Hofmann has an app for everything. His phone is filled with—literally—hundreds of them. Apps to meditate (Insight Timer), check air quality (AirVisual), remember birthdays (Birthdays), pursue romance (30-plus dating options, from... Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal...

Jonathan Ive. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Headset, a Fashion Fiasco in the Making?

By Nick Wingfield · May 20, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s hard to judge a product that hasn’t even been publicly acknowledged by the company making it, much less released. But let’s go ahead and be a little judgy of Apple’s mixed-reality headset anyway. After all, we got a bonanza of details about the secretive project in Wayne Ma’s terrific two-part series this week (click here for parts one and... It’s hard to judge a product that hasn’t even been publicly acknowledged by the company making...

Art by Clark Miller.

A Firing, a Miscarriage and a Flight From America

By Flora Tsapovsky · May 20, 2022 1:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

The New Resistance

A Firing, a Miscarriage and a Flight From America

By Flora Tsapovsky · May 20, 2022 1:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Janneke Parrish is relieved. A week ago, the former Apple product manager, who was fired in October 2021, had arrived in the town of Sassenheim in the Netherlands, which will be her new home—for now. “With everything that was going on in Texas, it stopped feeling like a safe place to be,” she said in a phone conversation, just days after the... Janneke Parrish is relieved. A week ago, the former Apple product manager, who was fired in...

Art by Clark Miller

Panic at the Discord

By The Information Staff · May 20, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments

The crypto party was as raucous as ever—and then someone turned on the lights. After a year of record-high token prices and newfound support from legacy financial institutions like Fidelity and BlackRock, reality bit hard the second week of May when the algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD (known as UST) crashed, taking down some $400 billion... The crypto party was as raucous as ever—and then someone turned on the lights. After a year...

(L-R) Jonathan Ive, Johny Srouji, Dan Riccio and Tim Cook. Photos by Bloomberg; Apple. Art by Mike Sullivan

Behind the Apple Design Decisions That Bogged Down Its Mixed-Reality Headset

By Wayne Ma · May 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Apple’s executives had a critical design decision to make about the company’s riskiest product in years. It was 2019, and a growing team of Apple engineers had been working for more than three years on a headset that combined augmented and virtual reality capabilities. Now they had to figure out whether the mixed-reality headset... Apple’s executives had a critical design decision to make about the company’s...

Utah senator Mike Lee, who led the introduction of the bill into the Senate. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Breakup Bill Shows Real Threat Facing Tech

By Martin Peers · May 19, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s never easy to differentiate, amid the hubbub of the day, a news item with far-reaching ramifications from something that will disappear into the ether. That’s particularly the case when we’re talking about bills introduced into Congress, which much of the time never seem to go anywhere. But the introduction today of legislation that would... It’s never easy to differentiate, amid the hubbub of the day, a news item with far-reaching...

Screenshots from Cameo. Graphic: Mike Sullivan

Lessons From Cameo’s Sales Shortfall; Talk of a ‘Creator Economy Winter’; Streaming Loses Some Luster

By Kaya Yurieff · May 19, 2022 3:05pm PDT

Screenshots from Cameo. Graphic: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Lessons From Cameo’s Sales Shortfall; Talk of a ‘Creator Economy Winter’; Streaming Loses Some Luster

By Kaya Yurieff · May 19, 2022 3:05pm PDT

Our story earlier today detailing cooling demand and a slowdown in sales at celebrity-video shoutout app Cameo holds some warning signs for other creator economy startups and companies buoyed by the pandemic. Cameo’s operating expenses soared to nearly $79 million last year, from $30 million in 2020. That contributed to deeper losses:... Our story earlier today detailing cooling demand and a slowdown in sales at celebrity-video...

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

Coinbase Slashes Costs, Freezes Hiring Amid Crypto Crash

By Mark Matousek and Aidan Ryan · May 19, 2022 1:08pm PDT

Cryptocurrency trading firm Coinbase, whose revenue has shrunk amid a downturn in the sector, is pausing new business projects, freezing hiring for two weeks and aiming to slash its cloud spending on Amazon Web Services, among other cost-cutting measures, according to a pair of internal emails sent to employees this week and viewed by The... Cryptocurrency trading firm Coinbase, whose revenue has shrunk amid a downturn in the sector, is...

Jeffrey Zirlin of Sky Mavis. Photo: Bloomberg.

A16z’s Gaming Metaverse Play; Cognixion’s Assistive Reality Progress

By Mathew Olson · May 19, 2022 11:03am PDT

As investment pulls back and tech stock sell-offs continue, leave it to Andreesen Horowitz to dangle a bit of hope for startups aiming to power through to the next boom. The Menlo Park firm announced Wednesday the creation of its first fund focused on the gaming industry, totalling $600 million. And though there’s a current of optimism for... As investment pulls back and tech stock sell-offs continue, leave it to Andreesen Horowitz to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

VR Is Failing the Very People It Could Benefit Most

By Brittan Heller · May 19, 2022 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Consider this: In The Climb, a popular virtual reality game, any user can virtually scale skyscrapers and majestic cliffs simply by turning their head and gripping a trigger—any user, that is, except one with a muscular, skeletal or neurological disorder that makes even those movements impossible. Or consider this: In January 2020, MIT... Consider this: In The Climb, a popular virtual reality game, any user can virtually scale...

(L-R) Cameo CEO and founder Steven Galanis, and Cameo co-founders Devon Townsend and Martin Blencowe. Photo by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.

At Cameo, Boom Times Give Way to Sharp Sales Slowdown

By Kaya Yurieff · May 19, 2022 6:05am PDT

(L-R) Cameo CEO and founder Steven Galanis, and Cameo co-founders Devon Townsend and Martin Blencowe. Photo by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.

At Cameo, Boom Times Give Way to Sharp Sales Slowdown

By Kaya Yurieff · May 19, 2022 6:05am PDT

By the beginning of last year, six-year-old startup Cameo was on a tear. Pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020 had spurred demand for the personalized video messages celebrities sell on its website and app. Co-founder and CEO Steven Galanis was gearing up for a major expansion that would more than triple its workforce from pre-pandemic levels and ... By the beginning of last year, six-year-old startup Cameo was on a tear. Pandemic-induced...

The Rivian R1T, with its pullout kitchen. Photo: Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg

Think EVs Are Expensive? Try Buying a Used One

By Steve LeVine · May 19, 2022 4:00am PDT

The automobile industry has been hit harder than almost any sector by the pandemic-led upheaval in the global supply chain. For more than a year, automakers have been forced to scale back production because of shortages of chips, lithium-ion batteries and other parts, leading most recently to steep drops in revenue and their share prices. One... The automobile industry has been hit harder than almost any sector by the pandemic-led upheaval...

Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

As Amazon Stock Tanks, Bezos Makes Jokes

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

What is happening to our world? Not only is the stock market in free fall (again), but Jeff Bezos appears to have been infected by a Musk-like bug that causes business executives to lose their inhibitions on social media. Today, for instance, as Amazon stock was dropping 7%, the Amazon founder was tweeting about how he’s been working hard on his... What is happening to our world? Not only is the stock market in free fall (again), but Jeff Bezos...

Stéphane Ouellette, CEO and co-founder of FRNT Financial. Photo: FRNT. Art by Mike Sullivan.

What the Crypto Meltdown Means for Latecomers

By Akash Pasricha · May 18, 2022 4:00pm PDT

After stablecoin Terra USD (UST) and its sister token Luna both crashed last week, investors and founders are regrouping to wrap their heads around the longer term fallout. Sure, the stablecoin fiasco helped fuel a broader selloff that everyone saw front and center; the market cap of all cryptocurrencies is less than $1.3 trillion, down... After stablecoin Terra USD (UST) and its sister token Luna both crashed last week, investors and...

Art: Mike Sullivan

TikTok Curbs the Copycats; A Metaverse Startup Beloved by Female Gamers Is Also Profitable

By Mahira Dayal · May 18, 2022 3:18pm PDT

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

TikTok Curbs the Copycats; A Metaverse Startup Beloved by Female Gamers Is Also Profitable

By Mahira Dayal · May 18, 2022 3:18pm PDT

TikTok thrives on viral videos: users replicating dance steps, copying video formats and reusing ideas. But creators have long complained about TikTokers who copy their work but neglect to credit their ideas. TikTok is finally trying to change that. The app on Wednesday announced new ways to tag and credit creators in video descriptions, a... TikTok thrives on viral videos: users replicating dance steps, copying video formats and reusing...

A meeting in Horizon Workrooms. Credit: Meta Platforms.

Nick Clegg’s Stab at Hyping Up the Metaverse

By Mathew Olson · May 18, 2022 11:00am PDT

When Nick Clegg was promoted to be President of Global Affairs at Meta Platforms earlier this year, it was clear that one of his big responsibilities was handling heat from governments, freeing up Mark Zuckerberg to talk up the metaverse to anyone who will listen. But it seems you can’t be a higher-up at Meta without cheerleading the metaverse,... When Nick Clegg was promoted to be President of Global Affairs at Meta Platforms earlier this...

Netflix Cancellations Rise Among Long-Standing Subscribers

By Jessica Toonkel · May 18, 2022 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Netflix is losing its grip on long-standing subscribers. New data show that people who have been subscribers to Netflix for more than three years accounted for a significantly greater share of cancellations in the first quarter than they did two years earlier. The data help illuminate why Netflix’s subscriber growth stalled suddenly in the... Netflix is losing its grip on long-standing subscribers. New data show that people who have been...

Jonah Hill. Photo by AP

Musk-Twitter Drama Jumps the Shark

By Martin Peers · May 17, 2022 5:00pm PDT

We’re now at that part of the Elon Musk–Twitter drama where—as happens for some long-running TV shows—the plotline has gone off the rails. Of course, this isn’t a TV show, although there likely will be one, and I nominate Jonah Hill to play Elon Musk. And what seems off the wall is just life in Musk’s world. It’s a little like the alternate... We’re now at that part of the Elon Musk–Twitter drama where—as happens for some long-running TV...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Real Estate Agents Turn TikTokers; Picsart Layoffs; Twitter’s Exodus

By Mahira Dayal · May 17, 2022 2:59pm PDT

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Real Estate Agents Turn TikTokers; Picsart Layoffs; Twitter’s Exodus

By Mahira Dayal · May 17, 2022 2:59pm PDT

TikTok is changing the housing market. The #nycapartments hashtag on the ByteDance-owned app has more than 100 million views; #apartmenttour has 1.3 billion. With that kind of visibility, real estate firms and agents are increasingly setting up TikTok accounts, often as a way to reach Gen Z and millennial buyers, who together make up 39% of home... TikTok is changing the housing market. The #nycapartments hashtag on the ByteDance-owned app has...