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

Microsoft's Chetan Nyak. Photo by Microsoft. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Big Interview

Microsoft Quantum Computing Executive Sees Progress After Lagging Rivals

By Sarah Krouse · Jan 20, 2022 6:00am PST

For more than 15 years, researchers at Microsoft have been chasing the idea of building a better quantum computer, an ultrapowerful machine that promises to accelerate everything from drug discovery to the development of electric batteries. Along the way, the company has suffered setbacks as it takes a novel—and risky—approach to... For more than 15 years, researchers at Microsoft have been chasing the idea of building a better...

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month. Photo by Bloomberg.

Nasdaq’s Belated Correction

By Martin Peers · Jan 19, 2022 5:00pm PST

The big news this afternoon was that the Nasdaq’s sell-off put it in “correction territory,” Wall Street lingo for a drop of more than 10%, since the tech-heavy index hit a high in mid-November of 16,057. In reality, declaring a correction today is akin to a baby boomer discovering last week that TikTok is a big deal. Many tech stocks have... The big news this afternoon was that the Nasdaq’s sell-off put it in “correction territory,” Wall...

KRH founder Katie Haun and Autograph co-founder Tom Brady. Photos by Katie Haun, AP. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Katie Haun Backs Tom Brady in $170 Million Fundraise

By Hannah Miller · Jan 19, 2022 4:13pm PST

The latest investment from Katie Haun’s new crypto VC firm has major starpower behind it. The venture founded by Haun, a departing Andreessen Horowitz general partner, participated in a $170 million Series B round for Autograph, star quarterback Tom Brady’s non-fungible token (NFT) startup. TechCrunch first reported the deal, and Haun’s... The latest investment from Katie Haun’s new crypto VC firm has major starpower behind...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo: AP

What Instagram’s Move Into Subscriptions Means for TikTok—and Patreon

By Mahira Dayal · Jan 19, 2022 3:49pm PST

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo: AP

Creator Economy

What Instagram’s Move Into Subscriptions Means for TikTok—and Patreon

By Mahira Dayal · Jan 19, 2022 3:49pm PST

Back in May, Instagram head Adam Mosseri told The Information the photo-sharing app was exploring subscriptions for its influencers. On Wednesday, his boss Mark Zuckerberg took the wraps off the feature, announcing on his personal Facebook page that Instagram would test subscriptions with a limited number of U.S.-based creators. Creator and... Back in May, Instagram head Adam Mosseri told The Information the photo-sharing app was exploring...

Promotional artwork for the original PlayStation VR headset. Credit: Sony.

Parsing Meta Ad Patents; Sony’s Xbox-Inflicted Stock Hit

By Mathew Olson · Jan 19, 2022 1:30pm PST

Meta Platforms is evidently eager to figure out a Facebook-like advertising model for AR and VR. A recent report on Meta’s patent portfolio from the Financial Times points to technologies the company could use to heighten the targeted advertising techniques it honed in social media.But many of these ad concepts warrant a heavy emphasis on “... Meta Platforms is evidently eager to figure out a Facebook-like advertising model for AR and VR....

Art by Jesús Escudero

China’s Tech Crackdown Is a Geopolitical Play

By Kendra Schaefer · Jan 19, 2022 10:14am PST · 3 comments

It hardly bears repeating that 2021 was a rough year for China’s platform companies. The firehose of new regulations and rolling crackdowns on everything from data security to overseas listings cost Chinese shares—including those of Didi, Meituan, Pinduoduo, JD.com, Tencent, and ByteDance—42% of their cumulative value in the... It hardly bears repeating that 2021 was a rough year for China’s platform companies. The...

Sarah Tavel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch. Art by Mike Sullivan

Q&A

Full Interview With Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel

By Berber Jin · Jan 19, 2022 6:00am PST

In an interview, Benchmark general partner Sarah Tavel elaborated on her views about the evolving crypto market for venture capitalists—and where the premier early-stage investor fits in a landscape crowded by multibillion-dollar funds and specialist VC firms. She also talks about the prospects for decentralized autonomous organizations,... In an interview, Benchmark general partner Sarah Tavel elaborated on her views about the evolving...

Benchmark partner Sarah Tavel. Photo: Benchmark

Benchmark’s Approach to Crypto Takes a Page From Web 2.0

By Berber Jin · Jan 19, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Benchmark partner Sarah Tavel. Photo: Benchmark

Benchmark’s Approach to Crypto Takes a Page From Web 2.0

By Berber Jin · Jan 19, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In the past year, venture capital firms with dedicated crypto arms like Andreessen Horowitz and crypto specialists such as Paradigm have gobbled up some of the hottest startups in the industry. Benchmark’s approach has been more of a nibble: The blue-chip VC firm has invested in just two new crypto startups during the same period. That... In the past year, venture capital firms with dedicated crypto arms like Andreessen Horowitz and...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft’s Big Activision Bet

By Martin Peers · Jan 18, 2022 5:00pm PST

Bobby Kotick could be the star in a fun new videogame we’ll call The Great Escape: how a CEO extricates himself from a scandal over his handling of sexual harassment allegations by selling his company. Not only does the Activision Blizzard CEO get to keep his job until the deal closes—at least a year from now—but the value of his stock just rose... Bobby Kotick could be the star in a fun new videogame we’ll call The Great Escape: how a CEO...

Blossom Capital Managing Partner Ophelia Brown. Photo by Blossom Capital. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Blossom Capital’s $432 Million Fund Wants Crypto to Flower; Coinbase Partners With Mastercard on NFT Marketplace

By Hannah Miller · Jan 18, 2022 4:07pm PST

Blossom Capital is just the latest VC firm to dive deeper into crypto. Up to a third of its new $432 million fund will be dedicated to crypto startups, the London-based firm said Tuesday. The fund will be focused on European startups at the Series A stage. The firm launched its first fund in 2019 and decided to start investing in crypto at... Blossom Capital is just the latest VC firm to dive deeper into crypto. Up to a third of its new...

Stan CEO John Hu. Photo: Stan

Creator Economy

Stan, a Shopify for Creators, Backed by Forerunner; Microsoft’s Activision Deal Buys Ties to Streamers

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 18, 2022 2:16pm PST

This year I expect to see more creator economy startups expanding their offerings to become one-stop-shops for online performers. That approach will mark a change from the past few years, when startups largely focused on niches such as providing a fan membership app or banking tools, prompting creators to stitch together a patchwork of... This year I expect to see more creator economy startups expanding their offerings to become...

Images by Microsoft; Activision. Art by Mike Sullivan

Eight Takeaways From the Microsoft-Activision Deal

By Nick Wingfield · Jan 18, 2022 1:58pm PST · 7 comments

Images by Microsoft; Activision. Art by Mike Sullivan

Eight Takeaways From the Microsoft-Activision Deal

By Nick Wingfield · Jan 18, 2022 1:58pm PST · 7 comments

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard may have caught the market by surprise, but the deal makes sense on a number of levels. Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard may have caught the market by...

Nick Tran. Photo by Hulu. Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok’s Global Marketing Chief Abruptly Departs

By Jessica Toonkel and Sarah Krouse · Jan 18, 2022 1:50pm PST

TikTok’s leaders have pushed out Nick Tran, the company’s head of global marketing, two people familiar with the situation told The Information. Since joining in 2020, Tran has spearheaded TikTok’s efforts to build hype by helping top video creators launch non-fungible tokens, promoting new ways for users to interact with... TikTok’s leaders have pushed out Nick Tran, the company’s head of global marketing,...

Activision Blizzard's booth at a 2013 gaming trade show. Photo: AP.

Microsoft’s Activision Deal Is Almost More of an Anti-Metaverse Play

By Mathew Olson · Jan 18, 2022 11:20am PST · 1 comment

Microsoft claims its $68.7 billion dollar purchase of Activision Blizzard will provide the “building blocks of the metaverse.” In reality, the deal is more likely to refocus the metaverse conversation on gaming, to the detriment of the companies that need the metaverse to encompass so much more. If anything, this deal is more like an... Microsoft claims its $68.7 billion dollar purchase of Activision Blizzard will provide the “...

Apply for The Information’s Summer 2022 Reporting Internship

Jobs@TheInformation

Apply for The Information’s Summer 2022 Reporting Internship

By The Information Staff · Jan 18, 2022 11:07am PST

Come join our team as a summer reporting intern. This is an ideal opportunity for a college or graduate student with journalism ambitions and experience in reporting. The intern will spend the summer reporting and writing stories, supported by our team. Candidates must be able to generate ideas and want to source up. We are looking for someone... Come join our team as a summer reporting intern. This is an ideal opportunity for a college or...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside the Battle for Streaming’s Home Screens: Hollywood Egos Collide With Algorithms

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 18, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside the Battle for Streaming’s Home Screens: Hollywood Egos Collide With Algorithms

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 18, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Last summer, executives at Eurosport—a London-based live sports TV network owned by U.S. media company Discovery—couldn’t believe their eyes. Discovery+, a new streaming service from Eurosport’s parent company, wasn’t promoting live events from the Tokyo Olympics on the home screen of the service in European... Last summer, executives at Eurosport—a London-based live sports TV network owned by U.S....

Syrah gets its graphite from Balama, Mozambique. Photo: Courtesy Syrah

A rare, little-noticed bright spot of nimble producers of graphite—the most prominent ingredient in EV batteries—has bubbled up in the U.S. and Europe.

By Steve LeVine · Jan 16, 2022 2:00pm PST

Welcome back to The Electric! This Friday: Who is the Most Aggressive EV Company Not Named Tesla? It’s Volkswagen. For the next Live Chat, I’m excited to welcome Thomas Schmall, VW’s head of technology and member of the company’s board of management. Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET. Register here to get your link. For weeks we’ve been... Welcome back to The Electric! This Friday: Who is the Most Aggressive EV Company Not Named...

Art by Haejin Park.

The Information Weekend Does Wyoming, Featuring the Tech Transplant’s Guide to Cowboy Living, an Intro to Crypto’s Favorite Senator, and a Glimpse of the Great DAO Land Grab

By Jon Steinberg · Jan 15, 2022 8:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend: Special Wyoming Edition!Why devote a whole issue to Wyoming, you ask? Because the smallest state in the union has been been playing an outsized role in tech lately, writing laws that encourage the growth of cryptocurrencies, DAOs, and other instruments that are at the forefront of Silicon Valley innovation right now.... Hi, welcome to your Weekend: Special Wyoming Edition!Why devote a whole issue to Wyoming, you...

Netflix's Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Netflix Risks With Its Latest Price Hike

By Martin Peers · Jan 14, 2022 5:00pm PST

Netflix is raising prices—again—to as much as $20 a month. Yes, while the video-streaming pioneer may have improved a lot on the cable television experience—no ads!—it’s copying one of cable’s worst habits: regular price hikes. Today’s increase is the third time in just the past three years that Netflix has raised prices in the U.S. The service’... Netflix is raising prices—again—to as much as $20 a month. Yes, while the video-streaming pioneer...

Art by Haejin Park. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Beltway’s ‘Bitcoin Lady’: How Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis Became Crypto’s Most Powerful Champion

By Nancy Scola · Jan 14, 2022 11:04am PST · 2 comments

Art by Haejin Park. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Beltway’s ‘Bitcoin Lady’: How Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis Became Crypto’s Most Powerful Champion

By Nancy Scola · Jan 14, 2022 11:04am PST · 2 comments

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, has a nickname for her favorite cryptocurrency: “It’s freedom money,” she says of Bitcoin, which she holds to the tune of about a quarter million dollars. “It’s freedom money if you’re a libertarian; if you’re a progressive; a person on the far left; a run-of-the-mill Republican.” I’m sitting in... Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, has a nickname for her favorite cryptocurrency: “...