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

Illustration by Josh Brill

Companies Are Ditching Cybersecurity Insurance as Premiums Rise, Coverage Shrinks

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 22, 2022 11:00pm PDT · 8 comments

Can you imagine going without flood insurance if you lived alongside a river? That’s what is happening in corporate America nowadays, as skyrocketing cyberinsurance premiums prompt more companies to go without traditional cyber insurance even as ransomware and other digital hacks surge. Last year cyber insurance premiums in the U.S. spiked... Can you imagine going without flood insurance if you lived alongside a river? That’s what...

Photo by AP

Cybersecurity Startup Arctic Wolf in Talks to Raise $300 Million in Convertible Debt

By Maria Heeter · Aug 22, 2022 6:40pm PDT

Arctic Wolf, a 10-year-old cybersecurity startup valued last year at $4.3 billion, is in talks to raise $300 million in convertible debt from investors including direct lender Owl Rock Capital, according to people familiar with the matter. The debt would convert to shares at a premium to the price in an eventual initial public offering, the... Arctic Wolf, a 10-year-old cybersecurity startup valued last year at $4.3 billion, is in talks to...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in June. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s M&A Blitz Presents Challenges for FTC

By Martin Peers · Aug 22, 2022 5:00pm PDT

We’re learning how Amazon plans to deal with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan’s anti–tech acquisition policy—by striking so many deals that the FTC will have a hard time fighting them all. You could call it the whack-a-mole M&A strategy. That’s one interpretation of Sunday’s news that Amazon is a bidder for Signify Health, a health... We’re learning how Amazon plans to deal with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan’s anti–tech...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Twitter’s Bonus Cuts; Amazon’s Live Audio App Six Months In

By Mahira Dayal · Aug 22, 2022 3:40pm PDT

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Twitter’s Bonus Cuts; Amazon’s Live Audio App Six Months In

By Mahira Dayal · Aug 22, 2022 3:40pm PDT

Twitter staff learned Friday their annual bonuses might be cut 50%, according to a memo sent by Twitter’s chief financial officer Ned Segal that The New York Times first reported. The warning followed Twitter’s first quarterly revenue drop in two years. The potential bonus cuts represent more bad news for Twitter employees, who have grappled... Twitter staff learned Friday their annual bonuses might be cut 50%, according to a memo sent by...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

E-Commerce Software Startups Poised for M&A Spree

By Malique Morris · Aug 22, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

E-commerce software startups are going shopping—for each other. Attentive, a text message marketing startup, is one of the companies on the prowl. It has around $500 million in cash on hand, according to CEO Brian Long, who told The Information the company will look for more deals in the next six to 12 months. At that point, he expects... E-commerce software startups are going shopping—for each other. Attentive, a text message...

In a shot over the bow, Toyota—after decades of watching U.S. automakers—became the third best-selling auto line in the U.S. with the $1,780 Corona. Photo: AP

The Electric: To Get Its Battery Supply Chain, the U.S. Will Have to Mimic China

By Steve LeVine · Aug 21, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Save the date: A year ago, we launched The Electric to cover one of the most important—and least reported—new sectors in technology: batteries and electric vehicles. On September 8, we’ll celebrate our anniversary with a special event on perhaps the most important challenge facing the industry—building a battery supply chain independent of... Save the date: A year ago, we launched The Electric to cover one of the most important—and least...

Will Investors Ever Take to the Abortion Pill?

Will Investors Ever Take to the Abortion Pill?

By Jon Steinberg · Aug 20, 2022 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! This week began with the news that the once-disgraced CEO of WeWork, Adam Neumann, was receiving a $350 million lifeline from Andreessen Horowitz. It ended with the news that the once-valorized CEO of Gravity Payments, Dan Price, had resigned in the wake of abuse allegations. How long before a blue-chip... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! This week began with the news that the once-disgraced CEO of...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Investor Sarah Guo on Pairing Podcasts With Peloton and Why She Carries Her Phone ‘Naked’

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug 20, 2022 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Investor Sarah Guo on Pairing Podcasts With Peloton and Why She Carries Her Phone ‘Naked’

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug 20, 2022 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

After spending the past nine years as a partner at Greylock Ventures, Sarah Guo struck out on her own in June. Now she’s launching her own fund, Conviction, focused on early-stage tech investments (her notable angel investments include FTX andMagic Eden, the leading Solana non-fungible token marketplace). Though she can’t share much about her... After spending the past nine years as a partner at Greylock Ventures, Sarah Guo struck out on her...

Photo by AP.

KKR Has Considered Buying Venture Lender to Expand Startup Debt

By Maria Heeter · Aug 19, 2022 3:52pm PDT

Private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is looking to expand its lending to venture-backed startups and has considered buying a venture-focused lender or recruiting a team of professionals focused on such deals, people familiar with the talks told The Information. Some KKR rivals, including Blackstone, have been making a similar... Private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is looking to expand its lending to...

Art by Clark Miller.

‘I Don’t Think There’s Anything Foolish About Blitzscaling’: Reid Hoffman Regrets Nothing—Except Maybe Those SPACs

By Adam Lashinsky · Aug 19, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 7 comments

It's check-writing season for Reid Hoffman, and not just for his two venture capital firms, two special purpose acquisition corporations, two podcasts, six startup boards or any of the other extracurricular activities that keep him stupendously busy. (I counted one real job—at Greylock Partners—and 15 side hustles, which he confirmed.) Hoffman,... It's check-writing season for Reid Hoffman, and not just for his two venture capital firms, two...

Art by Clark Miller.

‘100% in Office Every Day, Including Weekends’: The Rise of the Hard-Line Return-to-Office Policy

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug 19, 2022 10:00am PDT · 18 comments

Among the 75,000 people at San Francisco’s Outside Lands music festival on Sunday, August 7, were 10 co-workers from Merge, an enterprise platform that integrates human resources, payroll, recruiting and accounting systems. The group, with a few chosen plus-ones, gathered at noon on one colleague’s Russian Hill rooftop. They lingered a bit, and... Among the 75,000 people at San Francisco’s Outside Lands music festival on Sunday, August 7, were...

Art by Clark Miller

The Abortion Pill Paradox

By Margaux MacColl · Aug 19, 2022 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

The Abortion Pill Paradox

By Margaux MacColl · Aug 19, 2022 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

In April, a young woman named Maya found herself in a Barnes & Noble bathroom in California, staring at a positive pregnancy test. Twenty-one years old and not ready to raise a baby, Maya knew “instantly” what she needed to do: Schedule an abortion. Her first call was to Planned Parenthood, but the local clinic’s next available appointment... In April, a young woman named Maya found herself in a Barnes & Noble bathroom in California,...

Amazon; HBO; Disney+. Art by Mike Sullivan

It’s Not TV, It’s the Customer Experience

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug 19, 2022 9:00am PDT

PARQOR is part of The Information’s newsletter network. To receive it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, sign up here. The next four weeks will deliver a one-two-three punch of big intellectual property in streaming: First, the Game of Thrones prequel “House of the Dragon” premieres on HBO Max (and, of... PARQOR is part of The Information’s newsletter network. To receive it in your inbox every...

Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins in May. Photo by Bloomberg

What Belt-Tightening? Cisco CEO Plans $1 Billion Budget Increase to Retain Employees

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 19, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins told managers earlier this month that the networking hardware pioneer would increase its operating expenses $1 billion over the next 12 months, in part to raise employee pay to stem a rise in departures, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. Robbins made the surprising comment after the... Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins told managers earlier this month that the networking hardware...

Sequoia Capital's office in Menlo Park, Calif.

Sequoia, Andreessen and Bessemer’s Beating and Snap’s Selfie Drone

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 18, 2022 5:25pm PDT

Is anybody else pumped for some appointment streaming this weekend? The first episode of HBO’s “House of Dragon,” the hotly anticipated prequel series to “Game of Thrones,” premieres Sunday night. Then, 12 days later, Amazon will debut its own fantasy series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” on Sept. 2. It’s fair to say HBO and... Is anybody else pumped for some appointment streaming this weekend? The first episode of HBO’s “...

Olivia Deng, Investor at Banana Capital. Art: Mike Sullivan

TikTok-Like Full Screen Video Takes Over; Interview With Banana Capital’s Deng

By Mahira Dayal · Aug 18, 2022 3:13pm PDT

Olivia Deng, Investor at Banana Capital. Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

TikTok-Like Full Screen Video Takes Over; Interview With Banana Capital’s Deng

By Mahira Dayal · Aug 18, 2022 3:13pm PDT

The urge among internet companies to copy TikTok is about to take over your home screen.Two years ago, YouTube and Facebook rushed to introduce short-form videos that capitalized on the exploding popularity of TikTok. Now these companies as well as new startups like Mixo are trying on different features, like full-screen video. The latest:... The urge among internet companies to copy TikTok is about to take over your home screen.Two years...

From left: Sequoia's Alfred Lin, Bessemer's Kent Bennett and A16z's Marc Andreessen. Photos by Getty; Bessemer; Bloomberg

Public Stock Held by Sequoia Capital, Andreessen and Bessemer Fell 44% in Second Quarter

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 18, 2022 12:52pm PDT

Public stocks held by Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners lost 44% of their value, or $18.3 billion, between March 31 and June 30 as the venture capital firms held on to sizable stakes in tech companies they had backed as startups, though they have recovered somewhat in recent weeks, according to recent securities... Public stocks held by Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners lost 44%...

Singapore's business district. Photo by Bloomberg

Chinese Venture Firms Expand in Singapore as Risks Rise at Home

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Aug 18, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

China’s venture capitalists made fortunes gambling on the country’s blockbuster tech successes such as Alibaba and Meituan. But as a slowing economy, new regulations and pandemic restrictions cast a pall over China’s tech sector, some of those investors have begun looking to make their next big bets from new outposts in another... China’s venture capitalists made fortunes gambling on the country’s blockbuster tech...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Pearpop, a Startup That Enables Creator ‘Collabs,’ Inked Financing Before Downturn

By Mahira Dayal · Aug 17, 2022 4:38pm PDT

Pearpop, a nearly two-year-old startup whose technology facilitates collaborations between influencers, raised an undisclosed amount of funding in March through a simple agreement for future equity, or SAFE, a person familiar with the company told The Information. Investors in the March round included music management company Red Light... Pearpop, a nearly two-year-old startup whose technology facilitates collaborations between...

Left: Mike Belshe. Right: Mike Novogratz. Art by Shane Burke.

Why Galaxy Digital May Be Backing Out of BitGo

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 17, 2022 3:14pm PDT

Left: Mike Belshe. Right: Mike Novogratz. Art by Shane Burke.

Why Galaxy Digital May Be Backing Out of BitGo

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 17, 2022 3:14pm PDT

The crypto world may get its own Elon Musk vs. Twitter-esque legal battle! Well, it might not be quite as grand, but here it is: BitGo, a crypto custodian and financial services platform for institutional investors, is threatening to sue a much larger crypto financial services firm, Galaxy Digital, after the latter pulled out of last year’s $1.2... The crypto world may get its own Elon Musk vs. Twitter-esque legal battle! Well, it might not be...