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

Nick Thompson at Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo from Getty Images

Emerson Collective Backing New Project to Encourage Civil Online Conversation

By Jessica E. Lessin and Nick Wingfield · Sep 9, 2022 3:59pm PDT · 12 comments

Laurene Powell Jobs’s Emerson Collective is backing a new effort to encourage more civil conversation online, according to people familiar with the project. The project—which is in its early days—is being led by Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, and Raffi Krikorian, Emerson’s chief technology officer. The duo recently... Laurene Powell Jobs’s Emerson Collective is backing a new effort to encourage more civil...

A selfie of the author Zara Stone, overlaid with results from Perfect Corp.’s AI Personality Finder demo. Art by Clark Miller

The Secret Life of Selfies: How a Beauty Tech Startup Is Using AI to Match Faces With Products

By Zara Stone · Sep 9, 2022 12:00pm PDT

For years, Hannah Williams’ go-to selfie app has been YouCam Makeup. Before posting a self-portrait to Instagram, the 25-year-old cashier from Morgantown, W. Va., will run the shot through YouCam’s augmented reality filters to whiten her teeth, remove stray pimples and smooth her complexion. In recent months, she’s played around with the app’s... For years, Hannah Williams’ go-to selfie app has been YouCam Makeup. Before posting a...

Art by Clark Miller

Asked and Answered

ByteDance’s Baby Bump: Why Did the TikTok Parent Buy a Chain of Birthing Centers?

By Louise Matsakis · Sep 9, 2022 9:15am PDT · 2 comments

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, made way for a new addition to the family last month, when it reportedly paid $1.5 billion to take control of one of the largest private hospital companies in China. Founded in 2006, Amcare Healthcare operates a chain of lavish birthing centers and women’s and children’s hospitals in major cities... ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, made way for a new addition to the family last...

Instant-Delivery Startups Are Running Out of Options

By Erin Woo and Maria Heeter · Sep 9, 2022 7:11am PDT · 5 comments

Instant-Delivery Startups Are Running Out of Options

By Erin Woo and Maria Heeter · Sep 9, 2022 7:11am PDT · 5 comments

Instant-delivery startup Gorillas is on the hunt for a deal. It has been exploring everything from a merger with Berlin-based rival Flink to raising money from existing investors, according to four people familiar with the situation. Investors are still proposing various options and no term sheets have been signed, one of the people said. ... Instant-delivery startup Gorillas is on the hunt for a deal. It has been exploring everything...

Neil Shen, founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Capital’s China Arm Employed Daughter of Politburo Member

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Sep 9, 2022 5:00am PDT · 1 comment

No U.S. venture capital firm has produced more investment gains from China or navigated Beijing’s difficult political landscape better than Sequoia Capital. But as tensions rise between the two countries and the U.S. increasingly restricts cross-border investments, Sequoia Capital’s close ties to the Chinese government may become a... No U.S. venture capital firm has produced more investment gains from China or navigated...

Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft’s Future in the Spotlight

By Martin Peers · Sep 8, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Are Lyft’s days as an independent public company numbered? Shares of the No. 2 U.S. ride-hailing firm jumped 17% today on social media chatter that General Motors might be contemplating what would be its second run at the firm. GM declined to comment, understandably, but the idea isn’t crazy. In fact, my colleague Amir Efrati, who knows this... Are Lyft’s days as an independent public company numbered? Shares of the No. 2 U.S. ride-hailing...

Ben Mathews, Night Ventures. Photo: Ben Mathews. Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

A “Cognitive Dissonance” in Founder Pitches; Snap’s Growth Plans

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 8, 2022 2:50pm PDT

Many startup founders are pitching ways for creators to use non-fungible tokens, says Ben Mathews, general partner at Night Ventures. But the creators he talks to don’t see much utility in these buzzy digital assets, he said. One-year old Night Ventures is the investing arm of Night Media, the management company of Jimmy Donaldson, or ... Many startup founders are pitching ways for creators to use non-fungible tokens, says Ben Mathews...

Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas. Photo via Samsara

Samsara’s CEO Plans to Keep Investing Even as Economy Cools

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 8, 2022 12:07pm PDT

Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas. Photo via Samsara

The Big Interview

Samsara’s CEO Plans to Keep Investing Even as Economy Cools

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 8, 2022 12:07pm PDT

In 2014, Sanjit Biswas was puzzled by something. Consumers were benefiting from new technologies like Nest smart thermostats—part of a category of online-connected devices known as the internet of things. But Biswas didn’t see anyone building a complete suite of software and hardware products to help businesses connect their trucks,... In 2014, Sanjit Biswas was puzzled by something. Consumers were benefiting from new technologies...

The Information Hires Nathan Becker as First Finance Editor

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 8, 2022 11:47am PDT · 1 comment

Here's a note I just sent the team. I am thrilled to announce that Nate Becker will be joining us later this month as Finance Editor to expand The Information's coverage of financial services. He's joining us from WSJ where he helped lead the paper's renowned team covering deals and Wall Street. He also ran the breaking news desk... Here's a note I just sent the team. I am thrilled to announce that Nate Becker will be...

Art by Shane Burke

How U.S. Tech Companies Fueled China’s Surveillance State

By Liza Lin and Josh Chin · Sep 8, 2022 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

As the U.S. government intensifies its efforts to decouple American technology from China’s sprawling surveillance state, a new report by the U.N.’s human rights agency demonstrates the urgency of that task. The U.N. found that China’s treatment of Turkic Muslims in the remote region of Xinjiang “may constitute... As the U.S. government intensifies its efforts to decouple American technology from China’s...

Jeremy Levine of Bessemer Venture Partners. Photo by Getty

‘I Can’t Pay a Stupid Price Anymore’: Bessemer’s Levine on New $4 Billion Fund, ‘Stalemate’ With Founders, Crypto Bets

By Kate Clark · Sep 8, 2022 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Venture capitalists aren’t striking many deals with tech founders these days. Initial public offerings are nonexistent and public tech stocks are down by half or more from a year ago. Yet some major venture firms, including the 48-year-old Bessemer Venture Partners, are raising more money than ever in the hopes of backing the next $100... Venture capitalists aren’t striking many deals with tech founders these days. Initial...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Flaw in Apple’s Safety-Focused Marketing Push

By Martin Peers · Sep 7, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Flaw in Apple’s Safety-Focused Marketing Push

By Martin Peers · Sep 7, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

How do you make a must-have device like an iPhone feel even more essential? If you’re Apple, you shoot a cool video showing people stranded on a mountaintop, using their trusty iPhone to communicate via satellite with a rescue helicopter. The satellite connectivity feature was one of the big new additions to the iPhone franchise, unveiled today... How do you make a must-have device like an iPhone feel even more essential? If you’re Apple, you...

USDC and BUSD. Art by Shane Burke.

Behind Binance’s Stablecoin Shuffle; Nasdaq CEO Talks Crypto

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 7, 2022 3:42pm PDT

Binance said on Monday that it will start automatically converting customer holdings of USD Coin, a stablecoin issued by crypto payment firm Circle, into its own stablecoin, Binance USD. (Binance will also do the same for two less widely used stablecoins.)What does this abrupt change by the world’s biggest crypto exchange actually mean? Let’s... Binance said on Monday that it will start automatically converting customer holdings of USD Coin,...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

What Instagram’s Pullback on Shopping Means for Creators; Q&A With a Clubhouse Creator

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 7, 2022 2:00pm PDT

My colleague Sylvia was the first to report on Tuesday that Instagram is scaling back its shopping features, including the Shopping tab in the app. On its own, that may not be a huge loss for creators. When I scroll through my Shopping tab, Instagram recommends a few posts from creators I follow and a selection of Instagram shops followed by my... My colleague Sylvia was the first to report on Tuesday that Instagram is scaling back its...

Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Restricts Employee Travel to ‘Business Critical’ Trips

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · Sep 7, 2022 12:12pm PDT · 1 comment

Google is clamping down on employee travel, telling some senior managers late last week to limit travel to “business critical” trips, according to an email to managers that was viewed by The Information. The move is a sign of how tech’s once free-spending ways are being discarded as even the most profitable and cash-rich... Google is clamping down on employee travel, telling some senior managers late last week to limit...

Abe Brown and Arielle Pardes Accelerate Tech-Culture Coverage for The Information Weekend

By The Information Staff · Sep 7, 2022 9:53am PDT · 1 comment

Abe Brown and Arielle Pardes Accelerate Tech-Culture Coverage for The Information Weekend

By The Information Staff · Sep 7, 2022 9:53am PDT · 1 comment

We are thrilled to announce the addition of two veteran reporters to The Information’s rapidly growing Weekend section. Abe Brown will be covering the nexus of power, technology and wealth as a senior reporter, and Arielle Pardes will be leading coverage of Silicon Valley people and culture as a reporter. Abe arrives at The Information... We are thrilled to announce the addition of two veteran reporters to The Information’s...

Illustration by Josh Brill

Elon Musk Risks Being an Also-Ran in the Mobile Space Race

By Becky Peterson · Sep 7, 2022 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

If Elon Musk’s SpaceX and T-Mobile are to have any hope of beating a wide range of rivals—including Amazon and potentially Apple—to the market for satellite-delivered cellphone services, they need to overcome an array of both regulatory and technological roadblocks. Musk and SpaceX engineers are racing to clear key engineering... If Elon Musk’s SpaceX and T-Mobile are to have any hope of beating a wide range of...

Photo by Bloomberg

Instagram Takes an Ax to E-Commerce

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 6, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Imagine that you’re taking care of a tree—and all of a sudden it starts sprouting new limbs. And little by little those limbs start to suck more resources away from the heart of the tree. Then the main trunk gets hit with, I dunno, a big rock and all of a sudden is very weak. What do you do? You start chopping off those branches one by one... Imagine that you’re taking care of a tree—and all of a sudden it starts sprouting new limbs. And...

Graphic: Shane Burke

Creator Economy

YouTube Scrapped Planned Creator Payments Revamp After Shooting, According to New Book

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 6, 2022 2:00pm PDT

For years, YouTube was working toward a revamp of its payment system for creators. Then, in 2018, the company killed it, according to the new book “Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination” by Bloomberg Technology reporter Mark Bergen. The company faced a major advertiser boycott in 2017 over YouTube’s... For years, YouTube was working toward a revamp of its payment system for creators. Then, in 2018,...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram Scaling Back Shopping Features Amid Commerce Retreat

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 6, 2022 1:45pm PDT

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram Scaling Back Shopping Features Amid Commerce Retreat

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 6, 2022 1:45pm PDT

Instagram is planning to drastically scale back its shopping features, the company told Instagram staffers on Tuesday, as it shifts the focus of its e-commerce efforts to those that directly drive advertising. The retreat shows how Meta Platforms is moving away from some long-term projects as it focuses on building its short-form video business.... Instagram is planning to drastically scale back its shopping features, the company told Instagram...