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 stage presentation for the first Quest headset in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg.

Meta’s New VR Content Stats; HoloLens Turmoil; Behind a VR MMO Launch

By Mathew Olson · Feb 3, 2022 11:04am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms, remaining tight-lipped about Quest unit sales during its fourth quarter earnings report, instead dangled a juicy datapoint about VR software sales. More than $1 billion has been spent in the Quest Store since its launch in 2019. While this is promising news for developers who’ve made it on the Quest Store, the more you try to... Meta Platforms, remaining tight-lipped about Quest unit sales during its fourth quarter earnings...

Affirm Is Finally Shaking Its Reliance On Peloton — And It Has Amazon to Thank

By Malique Morris · Feb 3, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Investors who are worried about Affirm’s ties to Peloton may not be giving the fintech firm enough credit for branching out. Peloton has long been Affirm’s biggest revenue driver, accounting for between 20% and 30% of revenue in recent years. Peloton’s sales surge early in the pandemic was a boost for Affirm, which provides... Investors who are worried about Affirm’s ties to Peloton may not be giving the fintech firm...

PayPall app. Photo: Bloomberg.

PayPal Can’t Depend on Crypto to Rejuvenate Earnings

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 2, 2022 6:10pm PST

Big tech companies may be investing in blockchain. But sometimes they ought to focus on their core business. PayPal is one example. On Wednesday, shares of the payment giant sank nearly 25% after the company issued a lackluster earnings forecast for 2022 and axed earlier customer growth targets. The company launched a feature to buy, sell... Big tech companies may be investing in blockchain. But sometimes they ought to focus on their...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Bloomberg

Meta Goes All-In on Reels; a Meme Account Gets VC Funding; Biden Moves on TikTok’s Security Threat

By Mahira Dayal · Feb 2, 2022 5:18pm PST

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Meta Goes All-In on Reels; a Meme Account Gets VC Funding; Biden Moves on TikTok’s Security Threat

By Mahira Dayal · Feb 2, 2022 5:18pm PST

Meta Platforms is all in on Reels, the short-form video feature on its Instagram and Facebook apps. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives mentioned it repeatedly, both in answer to analyst questions and as a top priority for the company. The metaverse, in contrast, got barely a mention. Meta’s earnings showed some disappointing stats,... Meta Platforms is all in on Reels, the short-form video feature on its Instagram and Facebook...

Ramp co-founders Karim Atiyeh (left) and Eric Glyman. Photo courtesy of Ramp. Illustration by Haejin Park

Founders Fund Invests in Corporate Card Startup Ramp at $8 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Feb 2, 2022 5:04pm PST

Venture capital firm Founders Fund has led a new investment in Ramp, a corporate credit card and spending management software startup that is less than three years old, at an $8 billion valuation, including the investment, said two people familiar with the matter. The deal, initially struck in December, reflects venture capitalists’... Venture capital firm Founders Fund has led a new investment in Ramp, a corporate credit card and...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok’s Meta Effect

By Martin Peers · Feb 2, 2022 5:00pm PST

Wow. TikTok just managed a feat that advertiser boycotts and years of complaints about toxic content on Facebook couldn’t pull off—it loosened Meta Platforms’ grip on advertisers. Meta issued a first-quarter revenue growth outlook today that was so slow (3% to 11%) it could have come from an old-media company. One of the key reasons: Meta is... Wow. TikTok just managed a feat that advertiser boycotts and years of complaints about toxic...

Illustration by Josh Brill.

Zoom, DocuSign Sweeten Employee Pay as Shares Tumble

By Mark Matousek · Feb 2, 2022 2:47pm PST

Thousands of tech employees are reeling as the value of their stock compensation, which soared in the past two years, has come crashing back to earth in recent months. Some companies whose stocks have fallen by half or more in the past year, including Zoom and DocuSign, are taking action to make up the difference for employees, including... Thousands of tech employees are reeling as the value of their stock compensation, which soared in...

The PlayStation 5 console, which will be required for the PlayStation VR2 headset. Credit: Sony.

The PlayStation Chip Squeeze; Meta’s Earnings Anticipation

By Mathew Olson · Feb 2, 2022 11:00am PST

The PlayStation 5 console, which will be required for the PlayStation VR2 headset. Credit: Sony.

The PlayStation Chip Squeeze; Meta’s Earnings Anticipation

By Mathew Olson · Feb 2, 2022 11:00am PST

The chip shortage is taking a bite out of Sony’s PlayStation 5 business. Sony Corp today lowered its forecast for the console’s sales in the fiscal year that ends next month by 22%, to 11.5 million, guaranteeing the current generation console will badly trail its predecessor in total sales until supply constraints ease up. And that could become... The chip shortage is taking a bite out of Sony’s PlayStation 5 business. Sony Corp today lowered...

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings.

Why Netflix Needs to Buy Another Streaming Service

By Martin Peers · Feb 2, 2022 6:00am PST · 4 comments

If Netflix’s warning of sharply slower subscriber growth tells us anything, it’s that Reed Hastings needs a new formula. The Netflix co-founder built the company into the leading video-streaming firm with a low-priced offering in a new market. But Netflix is now the priciest offering in an extremely crowded market. Without a change... If Netflix’s warning of sharply slower subscriber growth tells us anything, it’s that...

Solana Labs. Photo Credit: AP.

Solana Gains Ground With Listing on Coinbase; India to Launch Digital Currency and Tax Digital Assets

By Akash Pasricha · Feb 1, 2022 5:50pm PST · 3 comments

The field of blockchain networks vying to compete with Ethereum is getting increasingly crowded. But Solana, which aims to beat Ethereum on transaction speed and cost, has gained more ground than most over the past week. On Monday, Coinbase listed Solana-based tokens on its cryptocurrency exchange for the first time. That move follows ... The field of blockchain networks vying to compete with Ethereum is getting increasingly crowded....

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alphabet's Boom Time

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

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for Alphabet in 2021. Amid a multifront regulatory assault levied against the company, Alphabet today reported a solid fourth quarter that brought revenue for the full year to $257 billion. That number was 41% higher than what it reported for 2020. The company has not grown that fast since... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for Alphabet in 2021. Amid a multifront...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: Bloomberg

YouTube’s Ad Revenue Growth Slows; A16z Leads Funding for Launch House

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 1, 2022 4:44pm PST

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Ad Revenue Growth Slows; A16z Leads Funding for Launch House

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 1, 2022 4:44pm PST

YouTube ad revenue growth has slowed over the past three quarters. That may sound alarming for the YouTube creators who make significant income from ads running on their videos. But the rate is coming down from pandemic-jostled year-ago periods and was bound to fall. Here’s a look at what happened, and what else Alphabet execs said about the... YouTube ad revenue growth has slowed over the past three quarters. That may sound alarming for...

Gopuff, Like Instacart, Is Dreaming of an Amazon-Like Ad Business

By Berber Jin, Mark Di Stefano and Sahil Patel · Feb 1, 2022 11:22am PST

Amazon built a $24 billion U.S. ad business by selling ad spots on its marketplace to merchants. Gopuff hopes to follow in its footsteps. The money-losing rapid-delivery startup is ramping up its ad sales efforts in hopes of strengthening its finances ahead of a possible public listing, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. Gopuff... Amazon built a $24 billion U.S. ad business by selling ad spots on its marketplace to merchants....

The exterior of an Apple retail store. Photo: Bloomberg.

Apple May Warm to WebXR; What’s Next In Games and Metaverse M&A?

By Mathew Olson · Feb 1, 2022 11:00am PST

AR/VR developers, take note: new evidence suggests Apple will support the WebXR standard both in its Safari browser and on its upcoming headset. Such a move would help shift development for AR/VR further away from a discrete app model and toward something a bit more open like the old web (or even, yes, like the m-word everyone is throwing around... AR/VR developers, take note: new evidence suggests Apple will support the WebXR standard both in...

Art by Haejin Park

How Tiger Global Found Its Winning Strategy

By Sebastian Mallaby · Feb 1, 2022 9:00am PST

The invention of the growth-equity business began with a phone call. A young analyst named Scott Shleifer had recently joined Tiger Global, a small New York hedge fund. In the summer of 2002, a friend got in touch. “My work is going very poorly,” Shleifer told him. His mission was to scope out hedge-fund investments in semiconductors... The invention of the growth-equity business began with a phone call. A young analyst named Scott...

Microsoft’s ‘Netflix for Games’ Could One Day Tame Yo-Yoing Gaming Revenue

By Nick Wingfield · Feb 1, 2022 6:00am PST

Microsoft’s ‘Netflix for Games’ Could One Day Tame Yo-Yoing Gaming Revenue

By Nick Wingfield · Feb 1, 2022 6:00am PST

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for $68 billion—the biggest deal in the software giant’s history—in large part to help it supercharge a Microsoft subscription game service that could shake up how people pay for console games. That service has a long way to go before it transforms Microsoft’s games business,... Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for $68 billion—the biggest deal in the software...

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo: Bloomberg

What FTX’s Latest Raise Says About the Private Market

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 31, 2022 5:11pm PST

Another week, another fundraising from a company with FTX in its name. The Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange FTX closed a $400 million round on Monday, valuing the company at $32 billion. The announcement came just days after the company’s American affiliate, FTX US, closed a $400 million round at an $8 billion valuation.They represent two more... Another week, another fundraising from a company with FTX in its name. The Bahamian...

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Photo by Bloomberg.

Spotify’s Real Challenge

By Martin Peers · Jan 31, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

If the past few days have proved anything, it’s that reporters pay more attention to Neil Young and Joni Mitchell than do investors. After rising 13% today amid a broader market upswing, Spotify shares are now back to where they were trading before Neil Young pulled his music off the service last week in protest over its hosting of Joe Rogan and... If the past few days have proved anything, it’s that reporters pay more attention to Neil Young...

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What to Expect From Social Media Earnings This Week

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 31, 2022 3:20pm PST

This week brings a parade of fourth-quarter earnings from major tech companies. Here’s what we’re paying close attention to in the creator-sphere. Alphabet (Tuesday)Google parent company Alphabet began breaking out YouTube’s advertising revenue for the first time in February 2020. We’ll be watching to see if YouTube's revenue growth sped up... This week brings a parade of fourth-quarter earnings from major tech companies. Here’s what we’re...

Jokr advertisements in Manhattan. Photo: AP

Instant Delivery Startup Jokr in Talks to Sell New York Operations

By Berber Jin · Jan 31, 2022 11:33am PST · 1 comment

Jokr advertisements in Manhattan. Photo: AP

Instant Delivery Startup Jokr in Talks to Sell New York Operations

By Berber Jin · Jan 31, 2022 11:33am PST · 1 comment

Instant-delivery startup Jokr has initiated talks to sell its New York operations, which make up the bulk of its U.S. business, after encountering heavy losses in the city, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Jokr has reached out to several rivals, including Philadelphia-based Gopuff, Istanbul-based Getir and California-based... Instant-delivery startup Jokr has initiated talks to sell its New York operations, which make up...