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

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Credit: New America/Flickr

FTC Preparing Challenge to Amazon’s $8.5 Billion MGM Purchase

By Josh Sisco and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2022 4:43pm PST · 1 comment

The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up for a potential antitrust lawsuit challenging Amazon’s $8.5 billion takeover of MGM Studios by exploring actions including hiring expert witnesses to appear in an eventual trial, according to people familiar with the situation. The agency expects to decide whether to bring the case in the... The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up for a potential antitrust lawsuit challenging...

Demonstrators protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday. Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What Should Influencers Say During a War?

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 28, 2022 2:39pm PST

Christina Galbato, an Instagram influencer with 272,000 Instagram followers who sells online courses for aspiring creators, was in the middle of launching a new coaching program when Russia invaded Ukraine. “It didn’t feel right to continue on with my planned promotional content, so I paused my normal content,” she said. Instead, Galbato... Christina Galbato, an Instagram influencer with 272,000 Instagram followers who sells online...

Shopify Org Chart: Data-Science Exits Add to Departures

By Mark Di Stefano, Malique Morris and Berber Jin · Feb 28, 2022 2:12pm PST

Senior-level exits are mounting at Shopify following a wave of departures among the Canadian e-commerce giant’s uppermost ranks last year. Shopify's head of data science, Solmaz Shahalizadeh, and two of her deputies are leaving the company, The Information has learned. The Information’s updated Shopify org chart reflects the... Senior-level exits are mounting at Shopify following a wave of departures among the Canadian...

A promo image for Supernatural, one of the VR apps Zuckerberg name-checked on Fridman's podcast. Credit: Within.

Zuckerberg Goes Meta on Metaverse; Qualcomm and ByteDance Team Up on More VR

By Mathew Olson · Feb 28, 2022 11:01am PST

A promo image for Supernatural, one of the VR apps Zuckerberg name-checked on Fridman's podcast. Credit: Within.

Zuckerberg Goes Meta on Metaverse; Qualcomm and ByteDance Team Up on More VR

By Mathew Olson · Feb 28, 2022 11:01am PST

In Mark Zuckerberg’s first big interview since Meta Platforms’ historic stock drop—and really, as Zuckerberg joked, one of his longest Q&As not before Congress—the increasingly product-focused CEO tried to have some fun. He entertained the idea of letting the interviewer, MIT computer scientist and podcast host Lex Fridman, try some... In Mark Zuckerberg’s first big interview since Meta Platforms’ historic stock drop—and really, as...

Former Fuze CEO Brian Day. Art by Mike Sullivan

How a Zoom Wannabe Left Employees Empty-Handed

By Mark Matousek and Kate Clark · Feb 28, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Things were beginning to look grim last year for Fuze, a struggling Zoom Video Communications wannabe. It was running low on cash and facing potentially suffocating loan payments, according to documents viewed by The Information. The company began actively shopping itself to potential acquirers. Inside Fuze, though, the CEO at the time, Brian... Things were beginning to look grim last year for Fuze, a struggling Zoom Video Communications...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and deputy Drew Baglino on Battery Day in September 2020. Photo: Screenshot

Three EV Battery ‘Reinvention’ Startups That Tesla’s Rivals Should Buy or Mimic

By Steve LeVine · Feb 27, 2022 2:00pm PST

Welcome back to The Electric!This week we look at attempts by a small number of U.S. and Canadian companies to leapfrog China’s hold on the battery manufacturing industry—by reinventing how batteries are made.Aaron Bent, CEO of 6K, a battery materials manufacturer, says his company has vastly compressed the laborious two to three days of work... Welcome back to The Electric!This week we look at attempts by a small number of U.S. and Canadian...

A sign above the entrance to a Sberbank of Russia PJSC bank branch in Moscow. Sberbank is a limited partner in at least one fund that invests in U.S. startups. Photo by Bloomberg

Startup Founders, VC Firms Reexamine Ties to Russian Investors After Attack on Ukraine

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Feb 26, 2022 2:59pm PST

Russia’s sudden attack on Ukraine has spurred startup founders to reexamine their ties to Russian investors out of concern their funds could be linked to the Russian government. Those entrepreneurs include Vadim Rogovskiy, co-founder and CEO of 3DLook. The San Mateo, Calif.–based developer of 3D body-scanning technology raised a... Russia’s sudden attack on Ukraine has spurred startup founders to reexamine their ties to...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 26, 2022 8:00am PST

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 26, 2022 8:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!The world has watched armed conflicts unfold through social media before—the civil war in Syria, to name one, produced indelible images that rocketed around the internet. But there’s never been anything like what’s transpired this week in Ukraine. For every devastating account of Ukrainian civilians fleeing the... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!The world has watched armed conflicts unfold through social media...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Dear Parentverse: I Forbid My Middle-Schooler From Using Social Media. How Do I Get Her School to Back Me Up?

By Emily Dreyfuss · Feb 26, 2022 7:00am PST · 6 comments

This isParentverse, The Information Weekend’s advice column for tech-savvy parents.Email us your questions [email protected], if you don’t mind sharing them with your fellow subscribers, post them in the comments below. Dear Parentverse: My 11-year-old daughter has a flip phone for emergencies, but I haven’t let her use a... This isParentverse, The Information Weekend’s advice column for tech-savvy parents.Email us your...

Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svane. Photo by Bloomberg.

What’s Next for Zendesk and Momentive After Deal Collapse

By Martin Peers · Feb 25, 2022 5:00pm PST

The board of Zendesk may want to rethink the company’s name, at least while they still have a job, as there’s certainly nothing zen about the enterprise software firm nowadays. As was inevitable, Zendesk’s proposed acquisition of Momentive Global, once known as SurveyMonkey, went down in flames today when Zendesk shareholders voted... The board of Zendesk may want to rethink the company’s name, at least while they still have a...

Photography by Robert Ascroft /Showtime

Becoming Travis Kalanick: To Play the Pugnacious Ex-Uber Boss, a Star Taps Into His Animal Nature

By Josh Duboff · Feb 25, 2022 12:00pm PST

“Dude, it’s so fun.” Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the phone from Los Angeles, describing what it was like to play against type as the notoriously volatile Uber founder Travis Kalanick in Showtime’s upcoming “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.” Though channeling that kind of character was fun for Gordon-Levitt, it wasn’t always comfortable. “... “Dude, it’s so fun.” Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the phone from Los Angeles, describing what...

Art by Haejin Park.

How a Founder’s Family of Surgeons Inspired ‘The Match.com of Hospitals and Nurses’

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 25, 2022 12:00pm PST

Art by Haejin Park.

How a Founder’s Family of Surgeons Inspired ‘The Match.com of Hospitals and Nurses’

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb 25, 2022 12:00pm PST

In our new column, My Life’s Work, we ask tech founders and executives how their unique life experiences influenced their careers. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. When Dr. Iman Abuzeid founded Incredible Health, a staffing engine for nurses, in 2017, she didn’t anticipate that a pandemic would soon make hiring healthcare... In our new column, My Life’s Work, we ask tech founders and executives how their unique life...

Simulation of Meta's Project Nazare augmented reality glasses. Credit: Meta

Meta Platforms Dissolves Team Developing New AR and VR Operating System

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 25, 2022 6:00am PST

Meta Platforms has broken up a group of more than 300 employees working on operating systems for its virtual and augmented reality devices, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. In the process, the company dispersed the team that had been working on a new OS from scratch, code-named XROS, to power the company’s... Meta Platforms has broken up a group of more than 300 employees working on operating systems for...

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, speaks during ETHDenver in Denver on Friday, Feb. 18. Photo: Bloomberg

Crypto Reacts to Russia Invading Ukraine; Coinbase and Block Report Q4 Results

By Aidan Ryan · Feb 24, 2022 5:38pm PST

The world is starting to digest the news that Russia has begun a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest military action in Europe since World War II. Global financial markets reacted almost immediately, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq opening 3.5% down, before eventually rebounding to finish the day up 3%.But traders weren’t the only ones... The world is starting to digest the news that Russia has begun a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,...

A traffic jam as people try to leave Kyiv, Ukraine today after Russia's attack. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Today’s Tech Rally Misses Dangers of Ukraine Conflict

By Martin Peers · Feb 24, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

It didn’t take long today for U.S. investors to shrug off worries about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. After an initial broad market sell-off, tech stocks rallied strongly this afternoon, lifting the Nasdaq index by 3.3%. That might seem a surprising reaction given the potentially catastrophic effects of a European war on the global economy. Then... It didn’t take long today for U.S. investors to shrug off worries about Russia’s attack on...

Photos by Bloomberg; AP. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Invasion of Ukraine Dramatizes the Folly of ‘The Sovereign Individual’

By E. Glen Weyl and Jaron Lanier · Feb 24, 2022 3:30pm PST · 11 comments

Photos by Bloomberg; AP. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Invasion of Ukraine Dramatizes the Folly of ‘The Sovereign Individual’

By E. Glen Weyl and Jaron Lanier · Feb 24, 2022 3:30pm PST · 11 comments

Europe at war, American democracy on the edge, cryptocurrencies and metaverses aspiring to replace much of reality as we know it—we live in heady times. Moments like these (not so different from the ’20s of the last century) conjure ambitious visions for remaking the world. Technology is often at the center of them, for better or... Europe at war, American democracy on the edge, cryptocurrencies and metaverses aspiring to...

An Uber taxi passes the headquarters of Ukraine's central bank in Kiev. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Companies Race to Move Workers Out of Ukraine Hubs

By Paris Martineau · Feb 24, 2022 3:14pm PST · 3 comments

Tech companies in the U.S. and around the globe that have for years relied on Ukraine as a source of cheap and reliable tech talent are now rushing to evacuate employees and keep services online as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues. Companies including Lyft, Grammarly and ride-hailing startup Bolt are offering financial assistance to... Tech companies in the U.S. and around the globe that have for years relied on Ukraine as a source...

Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Photo: AP

Creator Economy

Instagram Influencers and Twitch Streamers Broadcast Russia's Ukraine Invasion

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 24, 2022 2:17pm PST

It’s a jarring contrast: Just a day ago, Sofia Stuzhuk, an influencer in Ukraine with 5.5 million followers, was posting videos of playing with her young daughter and a new manicure on Instagram Stories. Then on Thursday, her short videos started focusing on a geopolitical crisis, as Stuzhuk reposted a video of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr... It’s a jarring contrast: Just a day ago, Sofia Stuzhuk, an influencer in Ukraine with 5.5 million...

A metaverse wine tasting, as depicted in the "Viverse" concept reel. Credit: HTC.

HTC’s New Metaverse Plans Are Not Going Over Well With Customers

By Mathew Olson · Feb 24, 2022 11:00am PST

We learned on Wednesday just how much HTC wants to be seen as a fully fledged, all-around metaverse player, not just a company known for capable VR products. The maker of Vive VR products released a new concept video of the “Viverse,” a day-in-the-life depiction of a theoretical metaverse. The video mixes real Vive VR products with a heavy dose... We learned on Wednesday just how much HTC wants to be seen as a fully fledged, all-around...

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin on stage at EthDenver.
Photo by Alexandra Masihy, EthDenver.

In Denver, an Ethereum Conference Overflows With Burning Man Vibes and Anti-VC Sentiment

By Kate Clark · Feb 24, 2022 10:00am PST · 4 comments

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin on stage at EthDenver.
Photo by Alexandra Masihy, EthDenver.

Scene and Heard

In Denver, an Ethereum Conference Overflows With Burning Man Vibes and Anti-VC Sentiment

By Kate Clark · Feb 24, 2022 10:00am PST · 4 comments

“You can’t help but walk around here and go, ‘What the fuck is this?’” John Paller is sitting in a small, white-walled meeting room somewhere inside the century-old Denver Sports Castle, a six-floor, 35,000-square-foot former Chrysler showroom that’s overdue for a renovation. The longtime Denver entrepreneur says that the venue is a “total pile... “You can’t help but walk around here and go, ‘What the fuck is this?’” John Paller is sitting in...