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

Photo by Bloomberg

Can Musk Shake Up Sun Valley?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 7, 2022 5:15pm PDT

You have to love a jam-packed summer news day. The maestro behind Masayoshi Son’s tech investing—Rajeev Misra—is leaving SoftBank’s Vision Fund. This is a big deal. Misra is notorious for his rough-and-tumble tactics, including allegedly trying to oust his own colleague. His departure basically completes the exodus there. What will Masa do? It’s... You have to love a jam-packed summer news day. The maestro behind Masayoshi Son’s tech investing—...

Portrait photographer David Suh has 4 million TikTok followers. Photo: David Suh

Creator Economy

Livestreaming’s Boom and the Avid Fans of Minecraft

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 7, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Livestreaming ballooned during the pandemic, but as the world reopened, the hours people spent watching streams started to decline. Now usage is rising again. Total hours watched on Twitch rose to 1.81 billion in May from 1.78 billion the month prior, according to new data from StreamElements, a marketing and livestreaming startup,... Livestreaming ballooned during the pandemic, but as the world reopened, the hours people spent...

China wants to increase production of lithium from Qinghai province, shown here. Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The Electric: How China Responded to EV Supply-Chain Problems

By Steve LeVine · Jul 7, 2022 11:37am PDT

Today's column is from Dalibor Petkovic, a researcher specializing in Chinese industrial policies. Since 2017, he has focused on the Chinese EV market, as well as smart cities, urban logistics and battery recycling management.Supply chain disruptions over the past two years have prompted big changes in China’s market for electric vehicles and... Today's column is from Dalibor Petkovic, a researcher specializing in Chinese industrial...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Startup Founders Embrace 409A Cuts to Gain Recruiting Edge

By Mark Matousek · Jul 7, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

Startup Founders Embrace 409A Cuts to Gain Recruiting Edge

By Mark Matousek · Jul 7, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Between 2016 and 2021, investors boosted the valuation of Sendbird, a communications software startup, to $1.1 billion, from $6.5 million. This June, a different kind of evaluator gave Sendbird what might have sounded like frightening news: It had determined the startup was worth around 50% less than it had been a year ago. But that conclusion... Between 2016 and 2021, investors boosted the valuation of Sendbird, a communications software...

Crypto Leads Fourth Straight Drop in Creator Funding

Creator Economy

Crypto Leads Fourth Straight Drop in Creator Funding

By Mahira Dayal · Jul 6, 2022 3:48pm PDT

On Wednesday, we published a quarterly update to our Creator Economy Database. We’ve now tracked four consecutive quarterly decreases in investments in creator startups—a downbeat sign for founders who had become used to seemingly unlimited check-writing over the last two years. Here are some other takeaways: Investors’ enthusiasm in crypto... On Wednesday, we published a quarterly update to our Creator Economy Database. We’ve now tracked...

Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk

When Your SPAC Dreams Fail, a Financing of Last Resort

By Maria Heeter · Jul 6, 2022 3:08pm PDT · 10 comments

Several electric vehicle and mobility startups went public and raised money in the past two years by merging with special purpose acquisition companies. Now, as companies find it far more difficult to raise cash, they are turning to unusual methods. Scooter rental service Bird, electric truck maker Nikola and electric vehicle startup Canoo are... Several electric vehicle and mobility startups went public and raised money in the past two years...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Bankrupt Crypto Lenders Aren't a Blockchain Problem

By Akash Pasricha · Jul 6, 2022 2:31pm PDT

Crypto has been really quiet this week (sarcasm!), so let’s get the headlines on paper first:Voyager Digital, a New York-based crypto lending company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company has $654 million in outstanding loans to Three Arrows Capital, the crypto hedge fund that a British Virgin Islands court ordered to... Crypto has been really quiet this week (sarcasm!), so let’s get the headlines on paper first:...

Art Shutterstock; Mike Sullivan

The Big Contradiction at the Heart of the Tech Downturn

By Aaron Harris · Jul 6, 2022 9:00am PDT · 15 comments

Art Shutterstock; Mike Sullivan

The Big Contradiction at the Heart of the Tech Downturn

By Aaron Harris · Jul 6, 2022 9:00am PDT · 15 comments

I’ve read a lot of advice venture capitalists have given founders on the current state of the markets. Most of that advice focuses on how founders need to adjust to survive the deteriorating conditions—cutting cash burn by firing underperforming employees, slowing hiring, shrinking marketing budgets and so on. But this advice is only... I’ve read a lot of advice venture capitalists have given founders on the current state of...

Creator Economy Database

Creator Economy Startup Funding Drops 60% From a Year Ago

By Mahira Dayal · Jul 6, 2022 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Creator economy startups in the U.S. raised less than $700 million in venture funding in the second quarter of this year. That’s 26% less than the previous quarter and marks a fourth consecutive quarter of decline in venture investments tracked by The Information’s Creator Economy Database. The quarterly drop reflects a decline in... Creator economy startups in the U.S. raised less than $700 million in venture funding in the...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Why New Mega Funds Don’t Necessarily Mean Mega Deals

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 5, 2022 5:11pm PDT

I’m baaack. You didn’t think I could stay away from writing for too long, did you? It’s been a period of rapid growth for The Information, and I have been quite busy. But the news in tech, finance and media lately is just too crazy for me to sit on the sidelines, so I’m taking over our evening Briefing newsletter, with help from the wonderful... I’m baaack. You didn’t think I could stay away from writing for too long, did you? It’s been a...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

What TikTok’s Halted E-Commerce Plans Say About Social Shopping’s Future

By Mahira Dayal · Jul 5, 2022 3:51pm PDT

More than a month ago, our colleagues in Hong Kong and London reported that TikTok’s forays into online shopping had fallen short of the company’s own expectations. Today we got some confirmation on just how disappointing that activity has been: TikTok is no longer expanding live ecommerce efforts in the U.S. and Europe after a lack of uptake,... More than a month ago, our colleagues in Hong Kong and London reported that TikTok’s forays into...

Marne Levine. Photo by Bloomberg

Meta’s Top Ad Sales Executive Faces Uphill Battle in Post-Sandberg Era

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 5, 2022 7:20am PDT

Marne Levine. Photo by Bloomberg

Meta’s Top Ad Sales Executive Faces Uphill Battle in Post-Sandberg Era

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 5, 2022 7:20am PDT

This week, three Meta Platforms executives will head to the Sun Valley conference in Idaho to woo advertisers: Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Business Officer Marne Levine, a key deputy of Sandberg who will be put to the test when the COO leaves the company this fall. Levine, who... This week, three Meta Platforms executives will head to the Sun Valley conference in Idaho to woo...

Sequoia Capital China chief Neil Shen. Credit: Fortune Live Media via Flickr

Sequoia Capital’s China Arm Raises $9 Billion, Exceeding Target

By Juro Osawa · Jul 4, 2022 10:26pm PDT

Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate is about to close $9 billion in fresh capital for four new funds, higher than its original target of more than $8 billion, according to two people familiar with the fundraising. The final amount could represent the biggest pool of capital ever raised by a single venture capital firm to bet on Chinese... Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate is about to close $9 billion in fresh capital for four...

The Electric Quarterly: Should the West Subsidize LFP Production?

The Electric Quarterly: Should the West Subsidize LFP Production?

By Steve LeVine · Jul 3, 2022 2:00pm PDT

Save the date: In the battery industry, attention is tightly fixed on nickel, manganese and iron as the basis for batteries, but now a very different material has pushed to the surface: Prussian blue, a material usually associated with famous paintings. To discuss this much-ignored electrode, I'm thrilled to host Colin Wessells, CEO of... Save the date: In the battery industry, attention is tightly fixed on nickel, manganese and iron...

The La La Land Life of Venture Capitalist Brianne Kimmel

The La La Land Life of Venture Capitalist Brianne Kimmel

By Jon Steinberg · Jul 2, 2022 8:00am PDT

Hi, welcome to your Weekend! It’s peak out-of-office message season in Silicon Valley, and not just because of the Fourth of July weekend. Tech layoffs are popping off everywhere. Venture dealflow has slowed to a crawl. The economic headwinds are fierce and giving certain people super bad feelings. Plus, after two-plus years of... Hi, welcome to your Weekend! It’s peak out-of-office message season in Silicon Valley, and...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Venture Founder Li Jin Has Downloaded More ‘Ghost Apps’ Than She Cares to Count

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 2, 2022 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Venture Founder Li Jin Has Downloaded More ‘Ghost Apps’ Than She Cares to Count

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 2, 2022 7:00am PDT

Once dubbed the “it girl” of venture capital, Li Jin seems to always be in the loop. With her first fund, Atelier Ventures, Jin was one of the earliest investors to bet big on online creators and influencers, advising the likes of YouTuber Hank Green and investing in Substack and Patreon. She’s now a co-founder of Variant Fund, an early-stage... Once dubbed the “it girl” of venture capital, Li Jin seems to always be in the loop. With her...

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Netflix Can Regain Momentum

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2022 3:00pm PDT

We’re now just a couple of weeks away from the second-quarter earnings reporting season. And if history is any guide, first out of the gate will be Netflix’s report on July 19, which is likely to be one of the most closely watched tech earnings updates of the quarter. Netflix’s first-quarter report, revealing a tiny drop in subscribers and... We’re now just a couple of weeks away from the second-quarter earnings reporting season. And if...

Photo Bloomberg. Art by Clark Miller.

‘Our Aspiration Is to Be the First $100 Billion Cybersecurity Company’: Nikesh Arora on Making Palo Alto Networks a Juggernaut

By Adam Lashinsky · Jul 1, 2022 2:00pm PDT · 4 comments

When Nikesh Arora and I met in mid-June near the windswept entrance of his Palo Alto Networks offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., he was feeling a lot less Covid cautious than I was. That’s because the 54-year-old chief executive had gotten infected the previous month at the World Economic Forum. “My big takeaway from Davos was Covid,” he quipped,... When Nikesh Arora and I met in mid-June near the windswept entrance of his Palo Alto Networks...

Bessemer partners Jeremy Levine, left, and David Cowan. Photos by Jerry Yoon.

Bessemer Renounces VC Status, Following Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia

By Kate Clark · Jul 1, 2022 1:43pm PDT · 3 comments

Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest venture capital firms, is now a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulatory designation historically reserved for hedge funds and other asset managers will allow the VC firm to hold investments other than direct stakes in private... Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest venture capital firms, is now a registered...

Photos Brianne Kimmel. Art by Clark Miller.

Once Upon a Time in Brianne Kimmel’s Hollywood

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 1, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Photos Brianne Kimmel. Art by Clark Miller.

Once Upon a Time in Brianne Kimmel’s Hollywood

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 1, 2022 12:00pm PDT · 2 comments

It was a sunny June day in Los Angeles, and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon Chu was setting up a shot. The aerialswimming pool arrangement was reminiscent of Chu’s work on “In the Heights,” directing the “96,000” sequence—a musical number so complex it called for 500 to 700 people on set, according to Vulture. This art direction, however, was... It was a sunny June day in Los Angeles, and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon Chu was setting up a...