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

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Zillow CEO Rich Barton. Photo by Bloomberg.

Zillow’s Costly Home Buying Misstep is Embarrassment for Barton

By Martin Peers · Nov 2, 2021 5:11pm PDT

Anyone who’s bought a house even once knows it can be a stressful experience. Spare a thought, then, for Zillow, which over the past couple of years has been buying up thousands of homes at a time, hoping to make a quick buck by flipping the homes. On Tuesday, after losing hundreds of millions of dollars on the business, Zillow called it quits.... Anyone who’s bought a house even once knows it can be a stressful experience. Spare a thought,...

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, member of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Parent Could Face Trouble With Novi; Squid Game Token Fails

By Hannah Miller · Nov 2, 2021 4:54pm PDT

A report from the Biden Administration on stablecoins, the cryptocurrencies tied to the U.S. dollar and other traditional currencies, could lead to greater oversight of Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms and erode its footing in the crypto industry.The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, along with the Federal Deposit Insurance... A report from the Biden Administration on stablecoins, the cryptocurrencies tied to the U.S....

Business Trends Transforming the Creator Experience

By The Information Staff · Nov 2, 2021 4:05pm PDT

On October 28th, The Information brought together Paco Suro, General Manager for payments software firm Tipalti, and Keith Kawahata, Head of Games for mobile game publisher and marketer AppLovin, for The Future of the Creator Experience masterclass. Moderated by The Information’s Kate Clark, the two discussed the explosive growth of the... On October 28th, The Information brought together Paco Suro, General Manager for payments...

The Startups That Followed Creators Going Remote

By Mahira Dayal · Nov 2, 2021 3:06pm PDT

Creator Economy

The Startups That Followed Creators Going Remote

By Mahira Dayal · Nov 2, 2021 3:06pm PDT

When it comes to their physical locations, the 118 startups in The Information’s Creator Economy Database chose the metro areas most closely tied to tech and entertainment: 28 are in the New York City area, 23 in Los Angeles and 25 are in the San Francisco Bay Area. But eight startups founded during the pandemic, including crypto companies... When it comes to their physical locations, the 118 startups in The Information’s Creator Economy...

Sequoia Capital China partner Neil Shen, who has backed Laiye and other automation software startups in China. Photo by Bloomberg

Sequoia-Backed Chinese Automation Startup Discusses Funding at $1 Billion Valuation

By Shai Oster · Nov 2, 2021 11:07am PDT

Laiye, a Chinese developer of automation software, is in talks with current and potential new investors to raise between $100 million to $150 million, according to two people familiar with the discussions, as China’s shrinking workforce pushes wages higher and creates opportunities for startups that automate manufacturing and back-office... Laiye, a Chinese developer of automation software, is in talks with current and potential new...

A screenshot from the upcoming non-VR remaster of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Credit: Rockstar Games/Take Two

The Team Bringing Grand Theft Auto to VR; Fortnite’s China Woes

By Mathew Olson · Nov 2, 2021 11:00am PDT

The biggest news Mark Zuckerberg had for VR gamers last week had nothing to do with new hardware or with games created by Meta. Instead, it was the announcement of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the Quest 2.As welcome as that news might be, the gloss on the announcement was somewhat tarnished by the news—first reported by UploadVR—that... The biggest news Mark Zuckerberg had for VR gamers last week had nothing to do with new hardware...

Apple CEO Tim Cook, left, and TSMC CEO C.C. Wei. Photos by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan

Apple and Its Favorite Chipmaker Get Closer

By Wayne Ma · Nov 2, 2021 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Every time Apple manages to squeeze a few more minutes of battery life out of a new generation of iPhones or make them run a little faster, there’s one company—other than Apple itself—that deserves the lion’s share of the credit: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which manufactures the chips that act as the brains... Every time Apple manages to squeeze a few more minutes of battery life out of a new generation of...

Jeff Bezos and his rocketship company Blue Origin. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Amazon’s Internet Satellite Plans Are Too Blue Sky

By Martin Peers · Nov 1, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Jeff Bezos and his rocketship company Blue Origin. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Amazon’s Internet Satellite Plans Are Too Blue Sky

By Martin Peers · Nov 1, 2021 5:00pm PDT

One of the benefits of running a conglomerate as diversified as Amazon is that you don’t need to change your name to change the conversation. No matter how bad the news, there’s always something else coming from some other territory in the corporate empire. On Monday, just a couple of days after delivering some bleak news about rising costs and... One of the benefits of running a conglomerate as diversified as Amazon is that you don’t need to...

Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist at NYU, addresses Google employees during a protest rally in New York in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Former Google Activist Whittaker Expected to Join FTC as AI Adviser

By Josh Sisco · Nov 1, 2021 4:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Meredith Whittaker, a former employee activist and artificial intelligence researcher at Google, is expected to be hired full time at the Federal Trade Commission as a policy adviser on AI, according to a person with knowledge of her pending hire. Her FTC appointment would indicate the agency’s plans to heighten scrutiny over how Google... Meredith Whittaker, a former employee activist and artificial intelligence researcher at Google,...

Photo: Pinterest, Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Pinterest Piles Into the Live Shopping Craze

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 1, 2021 2:08pm PDT

In recent years, tech companies including YouTube and Facebook have tried to woo creators and audiences with original, paid videos featuring internet stars. Now some of these companies are trying to attract more than just views: They are aiming to drive e-commerce sales as well. Pinterest is the latest to jump into the fray. On Monday, the... In recent years, tech companies including YouTube and Facebook have tried to woo creators and...

Roblox CEO David Baszucki. Photo: Roblox

Roblox’s Ill-Timed Outage; More on Meta

By Mathew Olson · Nov 1, 2021 11:00am PDT

While techies around the world spent the weekend mulling over Facebook’s new name, the company that arguably is the closest to having a functioning metaverse was in a major bind. Roblox, the beloved-by-kids game platform with over 43 million daily active users, suffered a complete outage lasting from Thursday afternoon to late Sunday.The... While techies around the world spent the weekend mulling over Facebook’s new name, the company...

Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach

DraftKings Was Among Bidders for The Athletic

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Nov 1, 2021 10:25am PDT

Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach

DraftKings Was Among Bidders for The Athletic

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Nov 1, 2021 10:25am PDT

Fantasy and sports betting provider DraftKings was among a number of companies that have submitted bids to buy sports news site The Athletic, according to people familiar with the situation. Another sports betting firm, FanDuel, talked with The Athletic but decided not to bid, one of the people said. FanDuel on Tuesday denied an earlier... Fantasy and sports betting provider DraftKings was among a number of companies that have...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company formerly called Facebook, unveiling its new name last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook, Snap Eye Commerce Expansion as Apple Roils Ads Businesses

By Sahil Patel and Sarah Krouse · Nov 1, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Buffeted by Apple’s clampdown on user tracking, Facebook—now known as Meta Platforms—is moving quickly to revamp its ad business. Like its smaller rival Snap, whose business Apple’s changes affected even more, Facebook’s efforts include both ad tech modifications and a more intense focus on bringing merchants into... Buffeted by Apple’s clampdown on user tracking, Facebook—now known as Meta...

Construction of Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin in Gruenheide, Germany. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

The Battery Metals Shortage Could Kill Up To 35 Million EV Sales

By Steve LeVine · Oct 31, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric!Electric vehicle developers and entrepreneurs are on track to produce far more battery plants, known as gigafactories, than the EV industry is projected to need this decade. Like the boom in railroads in the late nineteenth century and in low-orbit satellites in the 1990s, the gigafactory fever may be headed for a... Welcome back to The Electric!Electric vehicle developers and entrepreneurs are on track to...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Q4 Is Looking Ugly for Much of Big Tech

By Martin Peers · Oct 29, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 2 comments

What a week. It’s now crystal clear just how badly the global supply shortages—both in chips and a broader range of consumer goods—are rippling through consumer-focused tech companies, most notably Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Snap. That sets the scene for an ugly fourth quarter, as all four companies have warned that conditions will worsen. The... What a week. It’s now crystal clear just how badly the global supply shortages—both in chips and...

Clockwise from top-left: Aya Kanai, Aaron DeBevoise, Sean Atkins, Marina Mogilko, Paco Suro. Photos courtesy of companies.

10 Takeaways from The Information’s Creator Economy Summit

By The Information Staff · Oct 29, 2021 3:22pm PDT · 3 comments

Clockwise from top-left: Aya Kanai, Aaron DeBevoise, Sean Atkins, Marina Mogilko, Paco Suro. Photos courtesy of companies.

Creator Economy Summit

10 Takeaways from The Information’s Creator Economy Summit

By The Information Staff · Oct 29, 2021 3:22pm PDT · 3 comments

What Snap executives think about the metaverse. How China provides a road map to the U.S. creator economy. Whether membership platform Patreon will soon offer crypto products. These are some of the insights from The Information’s Creator Economy Summit on Thursday. Our speakers included the chief executives of Patreon and creator economy... What Snap executives think about the metaverse. How China provides a road map to the U.S. creator...

Art by Mike Sullivan/ Shutterstock

Amazon and Roku Gird for Battle Over Viewer Data in Latest Streaming Drama

By Jessica Toonkel and Josh Sisco · Oct 29, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

First it was Google that took a swipe at Roku, threatening to take YouTube, the most popular video-streaming service in the U.S., off Roku devices if the two companies couldn’t resolve a dispute. Now Roku is facing a battle with another tech giant, Amazon. The deal that lets Roku carry Amazon’s free ad-supported channel, IMDb TV, is... First it was Google that took a swipe at Roku, threatening to take YouTube, the most popular...

Mark Zuckerberg announcing Facebook's new name today. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Goes Meta; Amazon’s Slowdown; Apple Hit by Shortages

By Martin Peers · Oct 28, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It’s not often you see big public companies survive a scandal without taking major action, such as booting the CEO. Think Boeing and the 737 Max drama, which prompted the resignation of CEO Dennis Muilenburg in 2019, or the uproar over Uber’s corporate culture that precipitated the exit of founding CEO Travis Kalanick in 2017. A lesser option,... It’s not often you see big public companies survive a scandal without taking major action, such...

Trends Fueling the Creator Middle Class

By The Information Staff · Oct 28, 2021 4:47pm PDT

During The Information’s Creator Economy Summit on October 28th, we hosted a masterclass session on “Fueling the Creator Middle Class,” in partnership with Accenture. The Creator Economy, much like the global economy, has a concentrated minority at the top and very few creators have financial security. In this masterclass, we... During The Information’s Creator Economy Summit on October 28th, we hosted a masterclass...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Facebook’s NFT Play; Lightspeed’s Crypto Love

By Hannah Miller · Oct 28, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Facebook’s NFT Play; Lightspeed’s Crypto Love

By Hannah Miller · Oct 28, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Facebook’s corporate name change to Meta Platforms wasn’t the only news coming out of Connect, the company’s annual augmented and virtual reality conference. The tech giant revealed Thursday that it’s looking at integrating non-fungible tokens into its metaverse business, a big stamp of approval for these digital blockchain-based assets, which... Facebook’s corporate name change to Meta Platforms wasn’t the only news coming out of Connect,...