The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica E. Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica E. 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

Stina Ehrensvärd. Photo provided by Yubico.

Q&A

Google’s Anti-Phishing Frenemy Opens Door to Acquisition

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 29, 2022 1:35pm PDT · 1 comment

A streaming TV show about cybersecurity may not sound like must-see TV, but Yubico, a low-profile maker of computer security keys used by big tech firms and big banks to protect against phishing attacks, is optimistic about the project’s potential. The company has been developing a series about the biggest cybersecurity breaches of the... A streaming TV show about cybersecurity may not sound like must-see TV, but Yubico, a low-profile...

Jim Gorman, Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk and Larry Ellison. Photos by Getty, Bloomberg.

How Morgan Stanley CEO Buttered Up Elon Musk While Larry Ellison Brushed Him Off

By Becky Peterson · Sep 29, 2022 10:32am PDT

Larry Ellison can keep Elon Musk waiting. But Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and a whole team of bankers need to do all they can to butter up the erratic billionaire. In late April, as Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition bid, Gorman sent Musk a text message to show just how much he appreciated his longtime client.... Larry Ellison can keep Elon Musk waiting. But Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and a whole team of...

Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Billionaire ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming Now Living Far From Home

By Juro Osawa · Sep 29, 2022 6:00am PDT

As the future of the world’s most valuable startup—TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance—remains uncertain, its founder Zhang Yiming, one of the richest people in the world, is staying out of the limelight. Zhang, 39, has been spending much of this year overseas, using Singapore as a primary base, according to people with... As the future of the world’s most valuable startup—TikTok’s Chinese owner,...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Cellular Carriers are Apple's Best Friend

By Martin Peers · Sep 28, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Cellular Carriers are Apple's Best Friend

By Martin Peers · Sep 28, 2022 5:00pm PDT

This was not a day for Apple fans. Shares of the iPhone maker dipped just over 1% even as the rest of the market rallied, after Bloomberg reported that demand for the new line of iPhones was turning out to be weaker than expected. As a result, Apple won’t make as many devices as anticipated. This is supposedly the result of belt-tightening among... This was not a day for Apple fans. Shares of the iPhone maker dipped just over 1% even as the...

Morning Brew co-founder Alex Lieberman is launching a course for creators. Photo: Morning Brew

Creator Economy

Inside Morning Brew’s Plans to ‘Ride the Creator Wave’

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 28, 2022 2:30pm PDT

Morning Brew, the newsletter publisher focused on young business professionals, is launching a course called “Strategy for Creators” next month aimed at aspiring creators, founders and industry experts who want to build a personal brand online. Co-founder Alex Lieberman, who has 226,000 Twitter followers, will teach the one-week course in... Morning Brew, the newsletter publisher focused on young business professionals, is launching a...

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky. Photo by Mike Sullivan. Art by Mike Sullivan.

What’s Next After the Great Crypto CEO Shuffle

By Aidan Ryan · Sep 28, 2022 2:02pm PDT

The crypto executive shuffle looks like it’s turning into a mass exodus. Just last week, Kraken co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell said he was stepping down from his post at the U.S.-based crypto exchange. Now, two more high-profile crypto leaders are heading for the exits—albeit each under different circumstances. The crypto executive shuffle looks like it’s turning into a mass exodus. Just last week, ...

Locket founder Matt Moss and his girlfriend Ava Thompson, who he says inspired the app. Photo from Locket.

Chasing TikTok: Investor Fever for Rival Photo Apps Ebbs

By Erin Woo · Sep 28, 2022 10:20am PDT · 2 comments

Last year, investors competed fiercely to fund the next TikTok. This year, though, they haven’t been willing to pay as much for shares in young apps that might turn into the next social media stars. Take Locket Labs, the seven-person startup behind an app that allows users to share photos directly to their friends’ home screens.... Last year, investors competed fiercely to fund the next TikTok. This year, though, they...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

How to Survive the Downturn Without Losing Your Shirt—or Your Sanity

By AJ Ayers · Sep 28, 2022 9:00am PDT

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

How to Survive the Downturn Without Losing Your Shirt—or Your Sanity

By AJ Ayers · Sep 28, 2022 9:00am PDT

For many tech workers, the ongoing market downturn has been a punch in the gut—one that’s particularly painful because it’s the first one they’ve taken. We’re seeing private company valuations slashed and freshly public companies tumble 50%, 60%, even more than 90% off their initial public offering price. It’s... For many tech workers, the ongoing market downturn has been a punch in the gut—one...

The Metaverse Money Pit: How Meta’s $70 Billion Bet Compares to Tech’s Biggest Gambles

By Martin Peers and Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2022 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Is Meta Platforms’ $70 billion bet on the metaverse shaping up as the biggest money pit ever in tech? Perhaps. There are few precedents—if any—for a company spending as heavily as Facebook’s owner is to develop a new tech platform, an immersive world Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisages as “the next chapter” of... Is Meta Platforms’ $70 billion bet on the metaverse shaping up as the biggest money pit...

Adena Hefets, co-founder and chief operating officer of Divvy Homes Inc. Photo: Bloomberg

Andreessen-Backed Divvy Homes Lays Off 12% of Staff as Rates Rise

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Sep 27, 2022 6:16pm PDT · 2 comments

Divvy Homes, a property tech startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global Management, laid off about 12% of its staff Tuesday. The cuts reflect how younger real estate firms are responding to rising mortgage rates that have battered the home-buying market. The layoffs affected roughly 40 employees at the five-year-old firm. Divvy Homes... Divvy Homes, a property tech startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global Management,...

Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Companies Brace for the Strongest Dollar in Decades

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Stock charts and bond graphs from the past 18 months have seen all sorts of wonkiness and volatility. But the story of the U.S. dollar is much simpler: Since the start of 2021, it has inched up, and up, and up. Today, it’s trading at its highest point in roughly 20 years. And while the venture capitalists who spent their summers in Europe... Stock charts and bond graphs from the past 18 months have seen all sorts of wonkiness and...

Lachi, an artist and social media influencer who is legally blind. Photo courtesy of subject.

How Social Media Can Be More Accessible for Blind Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 27, 2022 2:01pm PDT

Lachi, an artist and social media influencer who is legally blind. Photo courtesy of subject.

Creator Economy

How Social Media Can Be More Accessible for Blind Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 27, 2022 2:01pm PDT

Last week, Twitter rolled out reminders to encourage users to add alternative text, or a written description, to images or GIFs they post. This is important for social media users who are blind or visually impaired and may rely on screen readers or text-to-voice software to navigate social media. Other platforms such as Instagram also offer what... Last week, Twitter rolled out reminders to encourage users to add alternative text, or a written...

Twitter-Musk Legal Battle Spotlights Tangled Web of Power Brokers

By Becky Peterson · Sep 27, 2022 6:00am PDT

When the trial between Twitter and Elon Musk starts in mid-October, it will finally be time to see how much of the pasta their legal teams have been flinging for the past several months has stuck to the wall. Predictably, Twitter and Musk have carpet-bombed nearly anyone involved in Musk’s $44 billion bid for Twitter, which he is trying to... When the trial between Twitter and Elon Musk starts in mid-October, it will finally be time to...

Art by Shane Burke.

Lessons From the Last Three Years of IPOs

By Martin Peers · Sep 26, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Talk about hangovers in the wake of initial public offerings! It’s a telling sign when you have to go back to 2019 to find a decent number of tech IPOs that are still above water. As we recounted today—and demonstrated in a cool chart—the vast majority of last year’s IPOs are underwater. The group from the year before isn’t doing much better.... Talk about hangovers in the wake of initial public offerings! It’s a telling sign when you have...

Dom Esposito. Photo courtesy of the subject.

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Tech Reviewers Grow Up

By Mahira Dayal · Sep 26, 2022 3:01pm PDT

YouTube creator Dom Esposito has been around long enough to see the best and worst of YouTube tech reviews. He started posting to the Google-owned video unit in 2011, reviewing gadgets and making how-to videos. He now has 443,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he posts reviews of products ranging from phones, laptops and virtual reality headsets... YouTube creator Dom Esposito has been around long enough to see the best and worst of YouTube...

Tech IPOs in 2019 Are Up 38% While Those Since 2020 Have Fallen by About as Much

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 26, 2022 8:51am PDT · 2 comments

Tech IPOs in 2019 Are Up 38% While Those Since 2020 Have Fallen by About as Much

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 26, 2022 8:51am PDT · 2 comments

After the carnage in stock markets these past few months, you can’t really blame tech executives for rethinking the value of going public. Consider this: The median tech initial public offering since the start of 2020 has dropped 39% from the offering price. But another statistic may be more surprising. The median tech IPO from 2019 is up... After the carnage in stock markets these past few months, you can’t really blame tech...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Amazon’s Cross-Selling Team Scores Big With Top AWS Customers

By Kevin McLaughlin and Paris Martineau · Sep 26, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon Web Services has a pitch for major customers of its cloud server rentals: Want more Amazon with that? When Peloton last month announced it would start selling its exercise bike and other products on Amazon, the first time it had used an outside retailer, the news appeared significant as a sign of Peloton’s effort to reach a broader... Amazon Web Services has a pitch for major customers of its cloud server rentals: Want more Amazon...

Talon Metals workers examine nickel cores from the company's Tamarack mine in central Minnesota. Photo: Courtesy Talon Metals

The Electric: The Next Hurdle for a U.S. Battery Industry: Talent

By Steve LeVine · Sep 25, 2022 2:00pm PDT

For more than a year, automobile and battery manufacturers have fretted over a stark shortage of raw materials, and how that will prevent them from making all the electric vehicles they plan this decade. This week we look at another major bottleneck they are wrestling with: labor. The U.S. and Europe simply don't have enough people who know how... For more than a year, automobile and battery manufacturers have fretted over a stark shortage of...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instacart Cuts Staff, Curbs Hiring in Run-up to IPO

By Mark Matousek and Erin Woo · Sep 24, 2022 3:54pm PDT · 1 comment

Instacart has been letting go of staff, slowing hiring and curbing other expenses as it heads toward a public listing, when the grocery-delivery company will try to convince public investors that it can maintain its growth—and make a profit—as the economy slows. The San Francisco startup over the last two months has fired some of its... Instacart has been letting go of staff, slowing hiring and curbing other expenses as it heads...

Knocked Down, Dragged Out, and Laid Off

Knocked Down, Dragged Out, and Laid Off

By Jon Steinberg · Sep 24, 2022 7:00am PDT

Knocked Down, Dragged Out, and Laid Off

Knocked Down, Dragged Out, and Laid Off

By Jon Steinberg · Sep 24, 2022 7:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! It was a tough week (and month and quarter) for people in tech. And that goes double for folks who work in crypto, which has seen a calamitous drop from its pandemic-era heights.Many might feel a hint of schadenfreude about the humbling of crypto. Certainly, its leaders seem worthy of comeuppance, after pumping... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! It was a tough week (and month and quarter) for people in tech....