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 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 “...

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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: “...

Illustration by Jesús Escudero

So You’re Moving to Wyoming—Here’s Your Tech-Scene Starter Kit

By Annie Goldsmith · Jan 14, 2022 11:00am PST · 4 comments

Once the Wild, Wild West (or, really, just a fancy ski destination), the state of Wyoming is now a popular relocation destination for tech and venture capital entrepreneurs lured there by wide open spaces and world-class skiing. Also, the lack of state income tax and a booming cryptocurrency scene doesn’t hurt. In fact, Teton County (which... Once the Wild, Wild West (or, really, just a fancy ski destination), the state of Wyoming is now...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Their First Rodeo: Why Are DAOs Suddenly Leaping Into Wyoming Real Estate?

By Margaux MacColl · Jan 14, 2022 11:00am PST · 1 comment

Should we buy this town?” The tweet, accompanied by a link to a Zillow listing for a $4.7 million abandoned ghost town in Colorado, was almost certainly a joke—but then again, maybe not. The message was posted by @CityDAO, the account representing a 10,000-member distributed autonomous organization that already owns a 40-acre plot near Cody,... Should we buy this town?” The tweet, accompanied by a link to a Zillow listing for a $4.7 million...

Illustration by Danielle Davis.

A Venture Capitalist Found “Cowboy Self-Reliance” in Wilson, Wyoming

By Annie Goldsmith · Jan 14, 2022 11:00am PST · 5 comments

In this week’s Decamped, we chat with Wesley Chan, a former general partner (and current board partner)at Felicis Ventures and the founder of Google Analytics and Google Voice. In August 2020, he moved from San Francisco to Wilson, Wyo., part of the Jackson Hole valley. The last straw: I never want to bag on San Francisco; it’s been very... In this week’s Decamped, we chat with Wesley Chan, a former general partner (and current board...

Illustration by Josh Brill.

What’s Next for SPACs: Fewer ‘Flying Cars,’ More Focus on Revenue

By Aidan Ryan · Jan 14, 2022 10:46am PST · 1 comment

Illustration by Josh Brill.

What’s Next for SPACs: Fewer ‘Flying Cars,’ More Focus on Revenue

By Aidan Ryan · Jan 14, 2022 10:46am PST · 1 comment

“Flying cars” is a term that’s been tossed around a lot when it comes to SPACs. For detractors, it’s become shorthand for deals that give these blank-check transactions a bad name. But while flying-taxi companies are indeed among the pre-revenue or minimal revenue firms that have made their way to public markets via a... “Flying cars” is a term that’s been tossed around a lot when it comes to SPACs....

Joshua Kushner. Photo by Thrive Capital

Q&A

After Blockbuster Year, Thrive’s Kushner Says He Still Has ‘a Lot to Prove’

By Kate Clark · Jan 14, 2022 4:30am PST · 4 comments

Thrive Capital, once a scrappy young fund, has evolved into a formidable competitor to established venture capital firms, thanks to lucrative stakes in Instagram, Stripe and Slack. Yet the New York firm founded by Joshua Kushner 12 years ago still carries remnants of its newcomer status. That may explain why Thrive’s band of 30-somethings... Thrive Capital, once a scrappy young fund, has evolved into a formidable competitor to...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

A New Way to Value FTX, Kraken; Another Ex-Regulator Joins a Crypto VC Firm

By Hannah Miller · Jan 13, 2022 5:15pm PST

Are crypto exchanges overvalued? Our colleague Martin Peers drew this conclusion about Coinbase, whose shares have fallen more than 30% over the past two months. While the stock may look cheap on the basis of its price-to-sales multiple, Martin wrote, the company may still be overvalued if you look at a different multiple: its market cap... Are crypto exchanges overvalued? Our colleague Martin Peers drew this conclusion about Coinbase,...

Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed’s Stock Plunge Has Gone (a Little) Too Far

By Martin Peers · Jan 13, 2022 5:00pm PST

This has to be a tough time to be Jonah Peretti. The BuzzFeed CEO’s reputation as a media visionary is looking more than a little battered since the public listing of his digital media firm. No one would enjoy watching their stock drop 54% in five weeks—but it must be worse for Peretti, a high-profile executive whose company’s public debut was... This has to be a tough time to be Jonah Peretti. The BuzzFeed CEO’s reputation as a media...

Narek Gharibyan, casino slots influencer. Credit: Narek Gharibyan. Art: Mike Sullivan

BlueJeans Attempts a Creator Comeback; a Casino Influencer’s Big Bucks

By Mahira Dayal · Jan 13, 2022 4:16pm PST

Narek Gharibyan, casino slots influencer. Credit: Narek Gharibyan. Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

BlueJeans Attempts a Creator Comeback; a Casino Influencer’s Big Bucks

By Mahira Dayal · Jan 13, 2022 4:16pm PST

Remember BlueJeans? The videoconferencing service aimed at corporate customers was one of the startups benefiting from a pandemic-driven boost in demand for remote-work tools in the first half of 2020. That May, Verizon bought the Zoom Video rival for around $500 million. Since then, we haven’t heard much—until today, when Verizon announced... Remember BlueJeans? The videoconferencing service aimed at corporate customers was one of the...