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

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

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg.

Zhang Yiming Still Oversees ByteDance, Despite Stepping Back

By Juro Osawa · Dec 21, 2021 6:00am PST

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, resigned as CEO and chair earlier this year. He no longer has any management title or board seat. But that doesn’t mean he’s no longer in control. The 38-year-old Zhang remains as active as ever inside the company. He continues to participate in high-level... Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, resigned as CEO and...

Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

Larry Ellison’s $28 Billion Jab at Amazon

By Martin Peers · Dec 20, 2021 5:00pm PST

Larry Ellison rarely misses an opportunity to take a swipe at Amazon Web Services, whether it’s about its security or its not-infrequent outages. But with his deal today to buy Cerner Corp. for $28 billion, Ellison has a chance to inflict a bit of pain on his Amazon nemesis. While hardly a household name, Cerner has been an important and... Larry Ellison rarely misses an opportunity to take a swipe at Amazon Web Services, whether it’s...

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. Photo by MicroStrategy. Art by Mike Sullivan.

MicroStrategy CEO on Company's Bitcoin Lending Plans

By Hannah Miller · Dec 20, 2021 4:59pm PST · 1 comment

Software company MicroStrategy is learning in real time the downside of investing a big portion of its cash reserves in cryptocurrencies. Even at its current nose-bleed price of just above $47,000, bitcoin has fallen 32% from its all-time high of $69,000 in November. MicroStrategy’s stock has seen a similar decline over the same period, with its... Software company MicroStrategy is learning in real time the downside of investing a big portion...

A Chart of Twitter’s Creator Economy Deals; Instagram’s Mosseri Explores NFTs

A Chart of Twitter’s Creator Economy Deals; Instagram’s Mosseri Explores NFTs

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 20, 2021 3:38pm PST

A Chart of Twitter’s Creator Economy Deals; Instagram’s Mosseri Explores NFTs

Creator Economy

A Chart of Twitter’s Creator Economy Deals; Instagram’s Mosseri Explores NFTs

By Mahira Dayal · Dec 20, 2021 3:38pm PST

Twitter has been busy making deals this year, disclosing the acquisitions of at least 10 companies or their personnel. The chart above shows that three of these—social podcasting app Breaker, newsletter publishing tool Revue, and Threader, an app that compiles tweets into threads—are aimed at creators. They signal Twitter is serious about... Twitter has been busy making deals this year, disclosing the acquisitions of at least 10...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Google Cloud’s Software Crackdown Disrupts Customer Deals Worth Hundreds of Millions

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 20, 2021 11:16am PST · 1 comment

Google Cloud is much younger than its bigger competitors. While youth can be an asset in the technology business, it’s also caused difficulties for Google on numerous occasions—the latest of which has thrown at least several hundred million dollars’ worth of software contracts into limbo, according to an estimate from a Google... Google Cloud is much younger than its bigger competitors. While youth can be an asset in the...

A group of four Rec Room avatars gathered together. Credit: Rec Room

Rec Room’s Value Balloons; A New Wave of Crowdfunded VR Headsets

By Mathew Olson · Dec 20, 2021 11:00am PST

Rec Room raised another $145 million in a round led by Coatue Management today, shooting its valuation up to $3.5 billion. It crystallizes Rec Room’s status as a real metaverse contender. Competitors like Roblox and Meta’s Horizon Worlds should be taking notes.Since its launch as a VR-only game in 2016, Rec Room has gradually become a... Rec Room raised another $145 million in a round led by Coatue Management today, shooting its...

Illustration by Danielle Davis

It’s Not Too Late for Tech Companies to Spill Their Secrets

By Nu Wexler · Dec 20, 2021 9:00am PST · 1 comment

Keeping track of tech policy debates in the U.S. was an almost impossible task in 2021. Well-intentioned government inquiries into privacy and competition got dragged into the culture wars, triggering a lot of high-drama political theater and very little sensible legislating. The chaos has its roots in 2016, when then–presidential... Keeping track of tech policy debates in the U.S. was an almost impossible task in 2021....

China’s Venture Investors See 65% Drop in Fundraising

By Shai Oster and Juro Osawa · Dec 20, 2021 6:00am PST · 5 comments

China’s Venture Investors See 65% Drop in Fundraising

By Shai Oster and Juro Osawa · Dec 20, 2021 6:00am PST · 5 comments

There will be a lot less money sloshing around China’s tech startups next year—at just the time when they’re going to need it most. VC firms that invest U.S. dollars in Chinese tech startups have raised far less money this year than in the past. Such firms have raised $4.2 billion this year so far, down 65% from all of last... There will be a lot less money sloshing around China’s tech startups next year—at...

Salt mounds in the mining operations of Chile's lithium-rich Atacama Desert. Photo: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg

“Go F—ing Solve It Yourself”: Four EV Battery Startups Worth Watching

By Steve LeVine · Dec 19, 2021 2:00pm PST

Welcome back to The Electric!This is the last issue of 2021. Thanks so much for joining the beta, and for the many suggestions for improving The Electric. I'd be grateful if you don't mind taking a moment to complete this very brief survey so we can get even better. Finally, do tell your friends and colleagues about The Electric! Have a... Welcome back to The Electric!This is the last issue of 2021. Thanks so much for joining the beta,...

The Information Weekend: The New Most-Powerful Books on Tech; Silicon Valley Turns on Tesla; and the Crypto-Curious Guide to Gifting NFTs

The Information Weekend: The New Most-Powerful Books on Tech; Silicon Valley Turns on Tesla; and the Crypto-Curious Guide to Gifting NFTs

By Jon Steinberg · Dec 18, 2021 8:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!E.B. Boyd has been covering tech for most of this century, but back during the first dot-com boom, Liza (as her friends call her) worked on product teams at Intuit and a now-defunct startup. She remembers feeling excited about the amazing innovation taking place, but also like a stranger in a strange land. In... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!E.B. Boyd has been covering tech for most of this century, but back...

The Athletic co founder Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach.

Why a Times-Athletic Wedding Might Finally Happen

By Martin Peers · Dec 17, 2021 5:00pm PST

Hot on the heels of Vox Media’s acquisition of Group Nine, we could be near another high-profile digital media merger. Puck reported today that The New York Times Co. had entered exclusive talks to buy The Athletic. This is the business equivalent of a couple getting engaged after breaking up: The Times and the digital sports news subscription... Hot on the heels of Vox Media’s acquisition of Group Nine, we could be near another high-profile...

Chock-a-blockchain - The 411 Podcast

By The Information Staff · Dec 17, 2021 11:54am PST

Chock-a-blockchain - The 411 Podcast

By The Information Staff · Dec 17, 2021 11:54am PST

Sand Hill Road has gone crypto-crazy (exhibit A and exhibit B), making it the best time ever to be a cryptocurrency or blockchain-based startup. Six such companies drew our attention enough to make it into this year’s The Information 50 list of promising startups. They range from an environmentally friendly... Sand Hill Road has gone crypto-crazy (exhibit A and exhibit B), making it the best time...

Tech’s Most Powerful Stories Are Being Written by Women

By E.B. Boyd · Dec 17, 2021 10:10am PST · 3 comments

So there she was. Julie Zhuo. Just two years out of Stanford. At 25, a newly promoted manager at Facebook, wandering around the business sections of Bay Area bookstores, desperately looking for something that would tell her how to lead the team she’d just been battlefield-promoted to run. And finding nothing. It was 2008, early days at Facebook.... So there she was. Julie Zhuo. Just two years out of Stanford. At 25, a newly promoted manager at...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Elon vs. Everyone

“Tesla Is Not as Cool as It Used to Be”

By Bradley Berman · Dec 17, 2021 9:00am PST · 39 comments

When Joseph Kwong decided to buy his first electric vehicle in 2014, the choice was a no-brainer. Kwong, chief executive of EVEN Recharge—a startup developing neighborhood EV charging solutions—lives in Fremont, Calif., a few miles away from Tesla’s main factory. He was thrilled to plunk down $83,000 to buy his first Tesla Model S. “I knew that... When Joseph Kwong decided to buy his first electric vehicle in 2014, the choice was a no-brainer....

Art by Haejin Park

Can I Let One Kid Play Violent Video Games and Not the Other?

By Emily Dreyfuss · Dec 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 1 comment

This is Parentverse, The Information Weekend’s advice column for tech-savvy parents raising kids in a tech-dependent world.Email us your parenting questions [email protected]. Or, if you don’t mind sharing them with your fellow subscribers, post them in the comments below. Dear Parentverse: I have two kids who are just different... This is Parentverse, The Information Weekend’s advice column for tech-savvy parents raising kids...

Illustration by Josh Brill

The Year Startup Investors and Founders Went Ape Over Crypto

By Kate Clark · Dec 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Illustration by Josh Brill

The Year Startup Investors and Founders Went Ape Over Crypto

By Kate Clark · Dec 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Erick Calderon is an entrepreneur down to his bones. In college, he opened a snow cone stand across from the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 18 years, the 40-year-old has run a business in Houston that imports high-end porcelain and ceramic tiles from Spain and Italy. But both ventures pale in comparison with Calderon’s success... Erick Calderon is an entrepreneur down to his bones. In college, he opened a snow cone stand...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero.

How to Gift Someone a Last-Second NFT in Six (Somewhat) Simple Steps

By Amrita Khalid · Dec 17, 2021 6:00am PST

It’s one week until Christmas, and time to face the music: The non-fungible token is undoubtedly the gift of the season. It’s endlessly customizable, doesn’t require shipping, and is completely unaffected by the supply chain. Ian Rogers would know; he’s the chief experience officer of Ledger, a crypto hardware wallet, who gifted NFTs (including... It’s one week until Christmas, and time to face the music: The non-fungible token is undoubtedly...

Photo: Courtesy QuantumScape

QuantumScape Claims Another Breakthrough For Lithium Metal Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Dec 17, 2021 4:25am PST

QuantumScape, a next-generation battery company backed by Volkswagen, is years away from a fully scaled-up product and achieving any revenue. But it has attracted persistent industry and investor attention with a drumbeat of claimed breakthroughs to fundamental battery problems that have long stumped everyone else. The latest was last week,... QuantumScape, a next-generation battery company backed by Volkswagen, is years away from a fully...

Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., home to the VC industry. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cringeworthy VCs in the Creator Economy

By Martin Peers · Dec 16, 2021 5:00pm PST

In theory, venture capitalists are unusually smart people, given their responsibilities to deploy tens of millions of dollars on behalf of pension funds, university endowments and other investors. But then you read a story, like this one in The Information today, and it’s hard to avoid the feeling that there are at least a few not-so-smart... In theory, venture capitalists are unusually smart people, given their responsibilities to deploy...

Photos: Supernatural VR

FTC Slows Meta Platforms’ Metaverse Strategy By Extending Antitrust Probe of VR Deal

By Josh Sisco · Dec 16, 2021 4:18pm PST · 1 comment

Photos: Supernatural VR

FTC Slows Meta Platforms’ Metaverse Strategy By Extending Antitrust Probe of VR Deal

By Josh Sisco · Dec 16, 2021 4:18pm PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms’ Oculus virtual reality headsets are a vital step toward creating what its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, calls the metaverse, an immersive internet in which people can interact in digital spaces. In addition to building Oculus, Meta has acquired at least six companies that made some of the most popular games and other apps for the... Meta Platforms’ Oculus virtual reality headsets are a vital step toward creating what its...