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

A monitor with Snap Inc. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Snap Results to Reveal Apple, TikTok Impact; 200 Million Creators, Many Just Scraping By

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 20, 2022 2:14pm PDT

Snap on Thursday kicks off quarterly results for big social media companies. These results will give an early window into how digital advertising-driven companies are navigating the continued fallout from Apple privacy changes. Snap’s results should also reveal how its TikTok competitor Spotlight is faring. First, look for a read on the... Snap on Thursday kicks off quarterly results for big social media companies. These results will...

A VR catching exercise in NFL Pro Era. Credit: StatusPRO.

Quest’s Sequel Deluge; How the NFL’s First VR Game Will Work

By Mathew Olson · Apr 20, 2022 11:01am PDT

Meta Platforms’ second annual Gaming Showcase for the Quest today may have eased off on the company’s metaverse talk, but it also left VR gamers with little to get excited about. Just as with last year’s showcase, the event’s lineup was still quite small compared to the similar, jam-packed shows that Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony put on every few... Meta Platforms’ second annual Gaming Showcase for the Quest today may have eased off on the...

Photos by Bloomberg.

Amid Ad-mageddon, Shopify and Facebook Butt Heads Over Data

By Mark Di Stefano, Malique Morris and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Apr 20, 2022 6:47am PDT

For years, a rumor swirled inside Shopify that Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, was looking to buy the Canadian e-commerce giant. Nothing ever materialized—and regulatory scrutiny on the social media giant’s deals makes it seem likely nothing ever will—but the mere fact that the chatter persisted highlights how... For years, a rumor swirled inside Shopify that Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, was...

If you want 300 miles of range in your new electric Ford-150 Lightning Lariat, prices start at $77,000. The first deliveries are next week. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

There May Be a Limit to Demand for EVs After All

By Steve LeVine · Apr 20, 2022 4:30am PDT

If you want 300 miles of range in your new electric Ford-150 Lightning Lariat, prices start at $77,000. The first deliveries are next week. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

There May Be a Limit to Demand for EVs After All

By Steve LeVine · Apr 20, 2022 4:30am PDT

The Electric's coverage is expanding. Starting this week, we will feature one or two additional pieces during the week, including coverage of the Chinese battery and electric vehicle industry. This is on top of The Electric Quarterly, which launched last month. As always, I love to hear any suggestions, comments, or tips. Just email... The Electric's coverage is expanding. Starting this week, we will feature one or two additional...

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in 2021. Photo by Bloomberg

Jack Dorsey’s Discord With His Hand-Picked Twitter Board Could Boost Musk

By Amir Efrati · Apr 19, 2022 6:08pm PDT · 4 comments

In the battle over Twitter, one wild card is Elon Musk, who bought a 9% stake and is now trying to buy the company. The other is Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s enigmatic co-founder and former CEO. Last week Twitter’s 11-member board of directors, which includes Dorsey, appeared to present a unified front in opposing Musk’s $43 billion... In the battle over Twitter, one wild card is Elon Musk, who bought a 9% stake and is now trying...

Photo by Shutterstock

Robinhood May Be Too Late Entering Europe; Blockchain.com Considers IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 19, 2022 6:01pm PDT

If at first you do not expand, try, try again. Robinhood, which scrapped plans to expand in the U.K. in 2020, is betting its acquisition of U.K. crypto-investing platform Ziglu will help kickstart its international expansion. But Robinhood now will be fighting for share in a far more crowded European market for stock and crypto trading than it... If at first you do not expand, try, try again. Robinhood, which scrapped plans to expand in the...

Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix’s Reed Hastings Bows to Advertising Reality

By Martin Peers · Apr 19, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Hell has frozen over. Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings’ revelation tonight that he is willing to introduce a lower-priced tier of service supported by commercials is a ground-shaking strategic shift for the video-streaming pioneer. In the past he had resolutely opposed adding advertising, even as most Netflix rivals had done so. But Hastings is... Hell has frozen over. Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings’ revelation tonight that he is willing to...

Credit: Bloomberg

What the Demise of Spotify’s Live Audio Fund Means

By Mahira Dayal · Apr 19, 2022 3:43pm PDT

Credit: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What the Demise of Spotify’s Live Audio Fund Means

By Mahira Dayal · Apr 19, 2022 3:43pm PDT

It’s been a downhill slope for social audio. After Clubhouse had early success during the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Twitter, Facebook and Spotify launched their own copycat versions. But excitement has fizzled as more in-person activities resumed. Spotify’s decision to shelve plans for a fund to back creators producing live... It’s been a downhill slope for social audio. After Clubhouse had early success during the outset...

Construct Capital founders Rachel Holt, left, and Dayna Grayson. Photos by Construct Capital.

Uber, NEA Alums Launch $300 Million Fund to Back Supply Chain Startups

By Kate Clark · Apr 19, 2022 11:10am PDT · 1 comment

When former Uber executive Rachel Holt and ex-NEA partner Dayna Grayson formed Construct Capital in early 2020, they set out to back companies that many venture capitalists overlook: manufacturing, supply chain and industrial startups. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which threw global manufacturing into disarray and made supply chain... When former Uber executive Rachel Holt and ex-NEA partner Dayna Grayson formed Construct Capital...

Hand Physics Lab, a popular hand tracking-based Quest game slated to receive an upgrade. Credit: Holonautic.

Meta’s Improved Hand Tracking Tech; A $35 Million VR Training Raise

By Mathew Olson · Apr 19, 2022 11:00am PDT

I may as well go straight for the pun here: I have to hand it to Meta Platforms. The hand tracking update it announced today for the Quest headsets looks to be a serious upgrade. For developers, it promises to make controller-free experiences on Quest a lot more usable with little to no extra work required on their end. The better hand tracking... I may as well go straight for the pun here: I have to hand it to Meta Platforms. The hand...

Why Google and Facebook Keep Shutting Down Abortion Pill, Sex Product Ads

By Sarah Krouse · Apr 19, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Women’s healthcare startup Hey Jane spent more than a year running ads on Google promoting its services providing abortion pills by mail. Then, in late March, Google shut off the three-year-old startup’s ad campaigns with no warning. In the subsequent ten days, Hey Jane lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, while... Women’s healthcare startup Hey Jane spent more than a year running ads on Google promoting...

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Crypto Startup Funding Keeps Climbing (Chart); Moonbirds NFTs Surge in Debut

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 18, 2022 5:18pm PDT

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Crypto Startup Funding Keeps Climbing (Chart); Moonbirds NFTs Surge in Debut

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 18, 2022 5:18pm PDT

Our two new charts confirm what investors and founders have been telling us for a few weeks: crypto startup funding is still red hot even though total funding into startups has fallen from late last year. Venture capitalists sunk $10 billion globally into crypto startups in the first three months of this year, up 13% from the final... Our two new charts confirm what investors and founders have been telling us for a few weeks:...

Didi offices in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Didi Global’s Delisting Shouldn’t Be Forgotten

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

A lot of tech companies went public in 2021, and many if not most of them are trading below their IPO prices. That’s OK—markets rise and fall, and with any luck, the shares will recover eventually. But if you’re a shareholder in one such company, Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Global, you may be out of luck. Didi revealed today that it plans to... A lot of tech companies went public in 2021, and many if not most of them are trading below their...

Lindsey Lee Lugrin, the CEO of FYPM, a Glassdoor for influencers. Photo: Sissy Martin

Creator Economy

The Startups Seeking to Improve Pay Transparency for Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 18, 2022 3:04pm PDT

Next month, New York City is set to begin requiring employers to list salary ranges on job postings, a new law aimed at increasing pay transparency. For social media creators, the equivalent—figuring out how much they should get paid by advertisers for sponsored posts—has long been a source of confusion.“It’s an uncomfortable thing to even ask,”... Next month, New York City is set to begin requiring employers to list salary ranges on job...

Palmer Luckey at an Oculus event in 2015. Photo: Bloomberg.

Luckey Reflects on a Decade of Oculus; Microsoft’s Kotick Problem

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

Friday marked the 10-year anniversary of Oculus, the VR headset maker now owned by Meta Platforms. And Oculus founder Palmer Luckey used the occasion to announce plans to write about his time at the helm of the Oculus brand, beginning with the company’s early days of Kickstarter crowdfunding. Given the drama surrounding his departure from the... Friday marked the 10-year anniversary of Oculus, the VR headset maker now owned by Meta...

Illustration by Josh Brill.

More Startup Layoffs Are Coming as Investors Push Founders to Conserve Cash

By Kate Clark · Apr 18, 2022 10:10am PDT · 7 comments

Illustration by Josh Brill.

More Startup Layoffs Are Coming as Investors Push Founders to Conserve Cash

By Kate Clark · Apr 18, 2022 10:10am PDT · 7 comments

Silicon Valley startups are facing hard choices: Cut jobs now or risk incurring worse pain later. Following a hiring and funding boom in 2021, technology startups have started to lay off workers to conserve cash. In the past month alone, more than 2,000 employees have lost their jobs at half a dozen startups, including delivery company Gopuff... Silicon Valley startups are facing hard choices: Cut jobs now or risk incurring worse pain later....

Photo of Amazon's Brian Huseman by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon Policy Chief Wields Sharp Elbows in D.C.—and the Office

By Paris Martineau and Josh Sisco · Apr 18, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

In 2019, Rep. David Cicilline, chair of the House antitrust subcommittee, sent Amazon a letter questioning whether one of the company’s lawyers was truthful in his testimony before the committee a week earlier. The letter rattled some members of Amazon’s public policy team, who worried that the incident had inflamed regulators... In 2019, Rep. David Cicilline, chair of the House antitrust subcommittee, sent Amazon a letter...

Scrap iron, abundant in the U.S., could be a key raw material for LFP. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

The Iron Age for EVs Finally Arrives With a Rush of Companies in the U.S. and Europe

By Steve LeVine · Apr 17, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric!Save the date: Electric vehicle sales are ticking up around the world, but in one country they rose threefold last year—India, where a mania has erupted over electric two-wheelers. The leading company in the nascent industry is Hero Electric, India’s largest manufacturer of electric two-wheelers. So I’m excited to... Welcome back to The Electric!Save the date: Electric vehicle sales are ticking up around the...

Art by Clark Miller

The Crypto Prince and the Ethereum Killer: A Tale of Two Blockchain Billionaires

By Jon Steinberg · Apr 16, 2022 8:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! In a week that saw the world’s richest man sucking up all the oxygen in the newsroom, it is important now for us all to step away. To take a deep breath, to celebrate Easter or Passover or Ramadan with our families, to watch some NBA playoffs (go Warriors!), to play outside with our kids or animals. Sing it with... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! In a week that saw the world’s richest man sucking up all the...

Twitter chair Bret Taylor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter’s Poison Pill Is a Joke

By Martin Peers · Apr 15, 2022 3:30pm PDT

Twitter chair Bret Taylor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter’s Poison Pill Is a Joke

By Martin Peers · Apr 15, 2022 3:30pm PDT

Who knew Twitter’s board was made up of a bunch of standup comedians? That’s the only conclusion that can be drawn from the company’s statement today announcing the poison pill it adopted to fend off Elon Musk. Hilariously, Twitter suggests that the oxymoronically named “shareholder rights plan” is “intended to enable all shareholders to realize... Who knew Twitter’s board was made up of a bunch of standup comedians? That’s the only conclusion...