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

Qichao Hu, CEO of SES. Photo: Courtesy SES

This GM-Backed Startup Could Upend All You Know About Lithium

By Steve LeVine · Oct 17, 2021 2:09pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric.Don't forget to RSVP for Tuesday's Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars: The Establishment vs. The Upstarts. My guest for this super-important discussion of how legacy automakers might win the EV war is Ford Motor's Darren Palmer. Palmer is general manager of Ford's electric vehicle program and a founding member of the... Welcome back to The Electric.Don't forget to RSVP for Tuesday's Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars:...

Dave Chappelle. Photo by AP.

What the Chappelle Drama Says About the Difference Between Netflix and Facebook

By Martin Peers · Oct 15, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

If news media coverage is anything to go by, the biggest drama on Netflix right now isn’t “Squid Game” but the internal company battle over Dave Chappelle’s comedy special. And what’s striking is how differently Netflix management has handled this free speech issue from how other tech executives—such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg—have handled... If news media coverage is anything to go by, the biggest drama on Netflix right now isn’t “Squid...

How TikTok Is Changing YouTube

By Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Oct 15, 2021 7:56am PDT

YouTube isn’t just trying to mimic TikTok, the viral short-form video app that has taken the world by storm. It’s also copying TikTok’s growth playbook by paying professionals to produce original short videos. After YouTube in May said it would give $100 million to individual video creators to post original... YouTube isn’t just trying to mimic TikTok, the viral short-form video app that has taken...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in 2019; photo by Bloomberg

Why a Key Google Cloud Product Ended Up Generating Less Than 0.1% of Revenue

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 15, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in 2019; photo by Bloomberg

Why a Key Google Cloud Product Ended Up Generating Less Than 0.1% of Revenue

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 15, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

Three months after becoming CEO of Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian tried to shake up the cloud market and gain an edge on his bigger rivals, Amazon and Microsoft. He launched a service called Anthos to make it easier for businesses to host their websites and applications in private data centers and on Google Cloud as well as in clouds operated by... Three months after becoming CEO of Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian tried to shake up the cloud market...

A Fridge No More delivery facility in New York City. Photo by Mike Sullivan.

The Real Risks of the Ultrafast Delivery Wars

By Martin Peers · Oct 14, 2021 5:01pm PDT

We hear a lot nowadays about social media’s divisive impact on the country. But another venture-backed industry arguably poses a much graver danger to people’s long-term health: ultrafast delivery startups. Venture capitalists are currently pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into a sector whose entire goal in life is to enable couch... We hear a lot nowadays about social media’s divisive impact on the country. But another...

Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Andreessen’s Haun Will Keep Coinbase, OpenSea Board Seats as NFT Rivalry Grows

By Hannah Miller · Oct 14, 2021 4:24pm PDT

Coinbase is still riding high two days after announcing its non-fungible token marketplace. The crypto exchange’s stock closed at $260 on Thursday, up 5%, after CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted late Wednesday that more than 1 million people had joined the waitlist for the marketplace, which is called Coinbase NFT. By Thursday afternoon, the waitlist... Coinbase is still riding high two days after announcing its non-fungible token marketplace. The...

At Roblox's developer conference, the company said creators can now create and sell their own items for avatars, such as hats and clothing. Photo: Roblox

Creator Economy

Roblox to Offer NFT-Like Collectibles; FTC Fires Shots on Sponsored Content

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 14, 2021 2:49pm PDT

Roblox has faced criticism that it’s difficult for young game developers—also referred to as creators —to earn money from its online gaming service. The company’s developer conference on Thursday tried to paint a rosier picture. Roblox said it now has 1.3 million creators earning money on the platform. It’s on track to pay $500 million to these... Roblox has faced criticism that it’s difficult for young game developers—also referred to as...

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Heavy Losses, Big Funding: Instant-Delivery Startups Battle for Customers

By Berber Jin · Oct 14, 2021 10:16am PDT · 13 comments

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Heavy Losses, Big Funding: Instant-Delivery Startups Battle for Customers

By Berber Jin · Oct 14, 2021 10:16am PDT · 13 comments

The instant-delivery wars have hit New York City—and they will soon spread across the country. An array of startups, including Jokr, Fridge No More, Buyk and 1520, are pitching investors to raise fresh cash, sometimes totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, on the promise that they can get people groceries in 15 minutes or less. They... The instant-delivery wars have hit New York City—and they will soon spread across the...

The Vive Flow, a VR headset with a compact "immersive glasses" design. Credit: HTC

The Vive Flow Is VR for Downtime; Facebook Wants AR For Your Every Waking Moment

By Mathew Olson · Oct 14, 2021 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

With its Vive VR headsets, HTC beat Facebook’s Oculus to market for a full room-scale virtual reality product. The Vive Flow, unveiled Thursday, will beat Facebook, potentially by a matter of years, to the release of a radically thinner VR headset. At the same time, being first might hold the Flow back.The $499 Vive Flow is primarily intended as... With its Vive VR headsets, HTC beat Facebook’s Oculus to market for a full room-scale virtual...

Photos of Didi's Cheng Wei and Chinese president Xi Jinping by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

How China Broke Up With Its Internet Companies

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Oct 14, 2021 6:01am PDT

Back in 2015, when China’s love affair with its internet sector was in full bloom, there were few startups the country’s rulers were more passionate about than Didi Global. At an internet conference that year in the scenic canal city of Wuzhen, President Xi Jinping sought out Didi’s cherubic-faced founder, Cheng Wei, whose... Back in 2015, when China’s love affair with its internet sector was in full bloom, there...

ViacomCBS executives, and SpongeBob, celebrate the merger of Viacom and CBS in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

Are SpongeBob NFTs a Dopey Idea? Maybe Not

By Martin Peers · Oct 13, 2021 5:01pm PDT

If you’re allergic to the catchy buzzwords executives and investors love to throw around, you might not want to read the next sentence, given the risk of anaphylactic shock. ViacomCBS has become “one of the first major media and entertainment companies to enter the metaverse in a significant way,” thanks to a partnership that will bring its TV... If you’re allergic to the catchy buzzwords executives and investors love to throw around, you...

U.S. Takes Bitcoin Mining Crown; Stronghold’s IPO Pricing

By Hannah Miller · Oct 13, 2021 4:33pm PDT · 2 comments

U.S. Takes Bitcoin Mining Crown; Stronghold’s IPO Pricing

By Hannah Miller · Oct 13, 2021 4:33pm PDT · 2 comments

The U.S. has officially dethroned China as the world’s biggest bitcoin miner, according to data released Wednesday by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. The data tracks countries’ share of global hashrate, a measure of bitcoin mining power, and shows that as of August, the U.S. is now responsible for 35.4% of the global hashrate, more... The U.S. has officially dethroned China as the world’s biggest bitcoin miner, according to data...

Photo: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Harassment Problem; Lessons for Creators From Udemy

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 13, 2021 2:43pm PDT

TikTok’s latest report on how much hateful content and harassment it removes shows its challenge in protecting popular creators from bullying. During the second quarter, TikTok said it removed more than 81 million videos globally for violating its rules. Of these, videos containing harassment and bullying made up 6.8%. The biggest category... TikTok’s latest report on how much hateful content and harassment it removes shows its challenge...

The Focus 3, one of the Vive VR headsets released earlier this year. Credit: HTC

HTC’s New Headset Leaks; A Streaming Service Aims for VR Relevancy

By Mathew Olson · Oct 13, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Like all parts of the tech industry, VR hardware is prone to leaks. In late September we may have caught our first glimpse of new hardware from Oculus, and this time it’s HTC’s turn. Late Tuesday, ahead of an event planned for Thursday, prolific leaker Evan “evleaks” Blass released several images that appear to show off HTC’s latest: the Vive... Like all parts of the tech industry, VR hardware is prone to leaks. In late September we may have...

Will Shu. Photo courtesy of Deliveroo

The Big Interview

Deliveroo CEO Sees Echoes of Scooter Fad in Ultrafast Delivery

By Mark Di Stefano · Oct 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Every few weeks, Will Shu takes a night off as CEO of Amazon-backed Deliveroo to bike through London, delivering restaurant meals or groceries in the place of one of the newly public company’s 110,000 gig workers. Things changed this year, as Shu noticed Deliveroo couriers were jostling with many more rivals: venture-backed startups... Every few weeks, Will Shu takes a night off as CEO of Amazon-backed Deliveroo to bike through...

A DoorDash delivery worker. Photo by Bloomberg.

Delivery Firms Rush Into Advertising, Where Others Fear to Tread

By Martin Peers · Oct 12, 2021 5:00pm PDT

A DoorDash delivery worker. Photo by Bloomberg.

Delivery Firms Rush Into Advertising, Where Others Fear to Tread

By Martin Peers · Oct 12, 2021 5:00pm PDT

What is it about the advertising business that makes otherwise sensible businesspeople think it’s the panacea for all their ills? This week, as The Wall Street Journal recounted today, DoorDash launched its ad sales effort, following on the heels of similar moves by Instacart and Uber. All three apparently see advertising as the way to turn... What is it about the advertising business that makes otherwise sensible businesspeople think it’s...

Brittany Laughlin, executive director of the Stacks Foundation, which manages the protocol underlying a bitcoin NFT marketplace. More firms, including Coinbase, are getting into the market for these digital assets. Photo: Stacks Foundation

Coinbase Threatens OpenSea’s Hold on NFTs; Stripe Searches For Crypto Talent

By Hannah Miller · Oct 12, 2021 4:43pm PDT

The market for digital, blockchain-based assets known as NFTs just got a little more crowded. Crypto exchange Coinbase said Tuesday that it is planning to roll out a marketplace for non-fungible tokens this year. The company is following in the footsteps of rival exchange FTX.US, which opened its own NFT marketplace on Monday. These... The market for digital, blockchain-based assets known as NFTs just got a little more crowded....

An image of TeamPaper from Retrieve. Photo: Retrieve

Creator Economy

Student Athlete Influencers Are Big Business; Twitter Details Audio Accelerator

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 12, 2021 3:08pm PDT

Over the summer, startup executive Patrick Griffin began reading more about how student-athletes were becoming influencers, thanks to loosened restrictions by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. But as a former college athlete himself, he knew these time-stretched students would have a hard time building social followings as... Over the summer, startup executive Patrick Griffin began reading more about how student-athletes...

Photo: AP

Google Pounces on Epic; Making Sense of Magic Leap’s Second Act

By Mathew Olson · Oct 12, 2021 11:05am PDT

Google countersued Epic Games late Monday, opening another front in the legal battle between the Fortnite maker and the tech giants that control the mobile market. We know Epic’s attack on Apple mostly backfired, resulting in Epic frozen out of the iOS ecosystem for what could be years. Will Epic have any more luck in the Android market?That... Google countersued Epic Games late Monday, opening another front in the legal battle between the...

Udemy CEO Greg Coccari. Art by Mike Sullivan

As Udemy Plans IPO, Instructors Complain Policy Change Cut Their Pay

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 12, 2021 10:29am PDT · 2 comments

Udemy CEO Greg Coccari. Art by Mike Sullivan

As Udemy Plans IPO, Instructors Complain Policy Change Cut Their Pay

By Aidan Ryan · Oct 12, 2021 10:29am PDT · 2 comments

As online education service Udemy prepares to market its initial public offering later this month, Udemy’s instructors are grumbling on the sidelines. They complain that their pay has been slashed in recent months as a result of changes the company made last spring to its pay scales. Those changes helped lift Udemy’s gross profits in... As online education service Udemy prepares to market its initial public offering later this...