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

Goldman CEO David Solomon. Photo by Bloomberg

Goldman’s GreenSky Purchase Shows Blue Sky Belief in Online Lending

By Martin Peers · Sep 15, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It’s a good time to be in the business of lending people money to buy stuff online, at least if you’re one of those credit-card alternatives that have reclaimed the age-old term “buy now, pay later.” Until recently, some of these companies couldn’t get the time of day from investors. But that’s all changed. Take today’s deal, Goldman Sachs’ $2.2... It’s a good time to be in the business of lending people money to buy stuff online, at least if...

Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. Photo: Mythical Entertainment Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Jellysmack Hires MTV Ex-Exec; Q&A With Rhett & Link; Discord’s Pre-Public Moves

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 15, 2021 4:22pm PDT

The explosion of interest in the creator sector has shown up in job listings data. In the past three years, job opportunities with the word creator in the title or description have soared 4,645 times, to 92,900 positions, according to data firm Thinknum. Sean Atkins, the prior president of MTV, is the latest to jump to a creator-economy... The explosion of interest in the creator sector has shown up in job listings data. In the past...

OpenSea Admission Roils NFT Market; Google Gets a New Blockchain Client

By Hannah Miller · Sep 15, 2021 3:26pm PDT

Non-fungible tokens were put in the spotlight Wednesday after OpenSea, a marketplace for the blockchain-based assets known as NFTs, said that an employee bought some of these digital collectibles knowing they were going to be featured on OpenSea’s front page. The allegations follow a rollercoaster ride for NFT sales, as you can see from our... Non-fungible tokens were put in the spotlight Wednesday after OpenSea, a marketplace for the...

Announcing the 2021 WTF Summit Masterclasses

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 15, 2021 3:03pm PDT

WTF: Women in Tech, Media & Finance

Announcing the 2021 WTF Summit Masterclasses

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 15, 2021 3:03pm PDT

We’re excited to see everyone on October 6 & 7 at The Information's WTF Summit. Our masterclass breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have two sets of 45-minute breakout sessions, one on each day. Here’s a preview of this year’s topics. For sponsorship and group... We’re excited to see everyone on October 6 & 7 at The Information's WTF Summit. Our...

Joe Lonsdale in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Tiger Global to Invest in Joe Lonsdale’s Newest Fintech Venture

By Kate Clark · Sep 15, 2021 12:38pm PDT · 4 comments

Joe Lonsdale, the former PayPal intern who co-founded big-data analytics business Palantir and wealth management platform Addepar, is raising capital for a new company to help financial advisers make private market investments. Tiger Global Management has agreed to invest at least $50 million as part of a Series A funding round for the new... Joe Lonsdale, the former PayPal intern who co-founded big-data analytics business Palantir and...

Redbird's Gerry Cardinale next to a statute of the Incredible Hulk. Photo by Bloomberg

Sports Media Investor RedBird Capital Is In Talks to Invest in LeBron James’ SpringHill

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Sep 15, 2021 11:06am PDT · 1 comment

RedBird Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in sports media, is in advanced talks to buy a minority stake in NBA superstar LeBron James’ entertainment firm, SpringHill Company, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks are the latest sign of investor appetite for independent entertainment businesses, sparked by... RedBird Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in sports media, is in advanced talks...

A tester wearing the Project Aria research glasses. Photo: Facebook

Facebook Expands Its AR Research, Tiptoes Into Ray-Ban Marketing

By Mathew Olson · Sep 15, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Facebook’s new smart glasses have been out for less than a week, but it seems work on the company’s greater goal—AR glasses—isn’t slowing down.On Tuesday, Facebook took a step forward with Project Aria, its AR glasses research program, announcing that Singapore would be the first location outside of the U.S. for public Aria testing, following... Facebook’s new smart glasses have been out for less than a week, but it seems work on the company...

Reddit COO Jen Wong.

Reddit’s Ad Revenue Expected to Double to at Least $350 Million This Year

By Sahil Patel · Sep 15, 2021 6:01am PDT

Reddit COO Jen Wong.

Reddit’s Ad Revenue Expected to Double to at Least $350 Million This Year

By Sahil Patel · Sep 15, 2021 6:01am PDT

The “meme stock” rally that sent shares of companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment soaring earlier this year was driven in large part by discussion on Reddit, the 16-year-old online news aggregator and discussion forum. That reflects the size of Reddit’s audience, which runs to 430 million monthly users globally,... The “meme stock” rally that sent shares of companies like GameStop and AMC...

An image from Apple's streamed presentation today. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s iPhone Commercial Highlights Environmental Challenge

By Martin Peers · Sep 14, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

In its annual product advertisement-disguised-as-news-event today, Apple executives went out of their way to highlight the environmentally friendly techniques they now employ to make hardware. The iPhone 13’s antenna lines will use recycled material from water bottles, for instance, while Apple has eliminated the outer plastic wrap on iPhone... In its annual product advertisement-disguised-as-news-event today, Apple executives went out of...

From left to right, YouTube personalities Jackie Aina, Emma Chamberlain and TikTok star Addison Rae at the Met Gala on Monday night. Photo: AP Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Influencers Blanket Met Gala; LinkedIn Launches Creator Fund

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 14, 2021 4:00pm PDT

The Met Gala’s guest list was notably different than past years, with a parade of homegrown internet stars on the red carpet on Monday night. That’s a huge contrast to prior years where the exclusive guest list focused on A-list celebrities, including top actors and singers. This year, at least half a dozen social media creators attended,... The Met Gala’s guest list was notably different than past years, with a parade of homegrown...

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Photo by Bloomberg.

Gensler’s Coinbase Jab; Solana Stumbles; Alexis Ohanian’s Crypto Pin

By Hannah Miller · Sep 14, 2021 3:15pm PDT

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler doubled down on his criticism of cryptocurrencies Tuesday—and then took one more dig, at Coinbase. During a hearing on oversight of the SEC with the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, long-time crypto critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D.-Mass.) asked Gensler about whether an investor can... Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler doubled down on his criticism of...

The new camera array on the iPhone 13 Pro models. Photo: Apple

Apple Keeps Quiet on AR; Facebook’s Workrooms Expansion Strategy

By Mathew Olson · Sep 14, 2021 12:15pm PDT · 1 comment

The new camera array on the iPhone 13 Pro models. Photo: Apple

Apple Keeps Quiet on AR; Facebook’s Workrooms Expansion Strategy

By Mathew Olson · Sep 14, 2021 12:15pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple’s latest launch event, unveiling this year’s new iPhone 13 product line, marked this year as a transitional period between more sweeping iPhone redesigns. That was largely expected. Perhaps more surprising is that AR was barely mentioned during the event, with Apple instead focusing on improvements to other aspects of its mobile camera... Apple’s latest launch event, unveiling this year’s new iPhone 13 product line, marked this year...

Robinhood and Coinbase Top List of Tech’s Fastest-Growing Employers

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 14, 2021 9:00am PDT · 3 comments

Two fintech powerhouses that went public this year, Robinhood Markets and Coinbase Global, both hired new employees at among the fastest clips in the tech industry in their most recent quarters, according to an analysis by The Information of publicly traded tech companies. Each of the two companies saw their headcounts jump at triple-digit rates... Two fintech powerhouses that went public this year, Robinhood Markets and Coinbase Global, both...

A container ship sailing past the city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong province last month. Photo by AP.

Former Ant Executive’s Fintech Startup in Funding Talks at $1 Billion Valuation

By Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

XTransfer, a Chinese cross-border payment startup headed by a former Ant Group executive, is in advanced talks with Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners and other investors to raise capital at a pre-money valuation of $1 billion, more than triple its previous funding round in January, people familiar with the matter said. The funding would... XTransfer, a Chinese cross-border payment startup headed by a former Ant Group executive, is in...

Investor Tim Draper. Photo by Bloomberg

Mammoth Funding Deal Signals Frothiness of VC Funding Market

By Martin Peers · Sep 13, 2021 5:00pm PDT

If only Michael Crichton had lived to see this day. The author of “Jurassic Park,” the 1990 novel that became a monster hit movie, would be pleased to see his fiction become reality in the biotech firm Colossal, which revealed today that it has raised $15 million in venture funding to bring back to life the woolly mammoth. That creature has been... If only Michael Crichton had lived to see this day. The author of “Jurassic Park,” the 1990 novel...

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea. Photo: OpenSea. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

OpenSea CEO Says Era of ‘Pure Collectible NFTs’ Is Over

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 13, 2021 4:05pm PDT

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea. Photo: OpenSea. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

OpenSea CEO Says Era of ‘Pure Collectible NFTs’ Is Over

By Kaya Yurieff · Sep 13, 2021 4:05pm PDT

Earlier this year, artists such as Beeple made headlines for earning hefty sums through the sale of digital collectibles known as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume, was a beneficiary of these types of sales, handling $3.4 billion in transactions last month alone. Now Devin Finzer, CEO and... Earlier this year, artists such as Beeple made headlines for earning hefty sums through the sale...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Crypto’s Misinformation Problem; What the Epic Vs. Apple Ruling Could Do for Digital Wallets

By Hannah Miller · Sep 13, 2021 3:13pm PDT

It was a dramatic day for litecoin. The price of the cryptocurrency surged 34% to $233 over the course of an hour after a press release said Walmart planned to offer a crypto payments option through a partnership with the Litecoin Foundation.The news could have been an exciting development for the crypto world, but the press release was a fake.... It was a dramatic day for litecoin. The price of the cryptocurrency surged 34% to $233 over the...

"Skyland," a world built with Fortnite's metaverse-esque creative tools. Credit: Epic Games

What the Epic v. Apple Ruling Means for AR, VR and the Metaverse

By Mathew Olson · Sep 13, 2021 11:00am PDT · 2 comments

Despite winning a key count in its lawsuit against Apple, Epic’s appeal of the ruling on Sunday made clear that it didn’t view the decision as much of a victory. For Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, winning wasn’t just about extracting a concession from Apple on purchase fees or even about being allowed to launch a competing mobile app store. It was about... Despite winning a key count in its lawsuit against Apple, Epic’s appeal of the ruling on Sunday...

Affirm CEO Max Levchin. Photo courtesy of Affirm

Q&A

Affirm is More Buyer or Partner Than Seller, Levchin Says

By Malique Morris · Sep 13, 2021 10:52am PDT

Affirm, a leading player in the fast-growing “buy now, pay later” online lending market, sees itself more as a buyer than a seller, according to CEO Max Levchin. But despite a gold-rush mentality over the past few weeks, as PayPal and Square both struck big acquisitions, Levchin told The Information in an interview he’s not... Affirm, a leading player in the fast-growing “buy now, pay later” online lending...

Illustration by Josh Brill

Startup Founders Use Record-High Valuations to Cash Out Earlier

By Berber Jin · Sep 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 20 comments

Illustration by Josh Brill

Startup Founders Use Record-High Valuations to Cash Out Earlier

By Berber Jin · Sep 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 20 comments

Earlier this year, Pipe raised a new round of funding led by investment firm Greenspring Associates that valued the financial software startup at $2 billion. As part of the round, Pipe co-CEO Harry Hurst also sold an undisclosed number of his own shares in the company, which he had co-founded two years before. Such a share sale would have been... Earlier this year, Pipe raised a new round of funding led by investment firm Greenspring...