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

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo: Bloomberg

Tim Cook’s Crypto Nibbles; Coinbase Plans Instagram-Like NFT Marketplace

By Hannah Miller · Nov 9, 2021 4:30pm PST

Apple isn’t taking a bite out of the growing crypto market just yet—but it could let its customers get a taste. CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday said he owns crypto and is considering adding crypto capabilities to its Apple Pay service. Cook, in an interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Online Summit, said that he has been interested in crypto... Apple isn’t taking a bite out of the growing crypto market just yet—but it could let its...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook-parent Meta. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What I Learned About Facebook’s Creator Problem; Dropbox Gets Into Creator Tools

By Kaya Yurieff · Nov 9, 2021 2:33pm PST

Much has been written about Facebook’s struggle to attract young people to its services, but journalists have spent less time unraveling how closely those efforts dovetail with attracting social media personalities. Inside the company, however, the relationship has been obvious—and represented a clear call to action. That was one of the... Much has been written about Facebook’s struggle to attract young people to its services, but...

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month. Photo by Bloomberg

Does Facebook Make the World Better? Half of Polled Employees Say Yes

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Jessica Toonkel · Nov 9, 2021 1:20pm PST · 2 comments

After months of blistering headlines and late-night TV jokes about Facebook’s struggles to control hate speech and other abuses on its apps, employees don’t seem to feel much worse about the company’s impact on the world. A semi-annual “Pulse Survey” of Facebook employees, which the company is preparing to share... After months of blistering headlines and late-night TV jokes about Facebook’s struggles to...

Hugo Swart, VP of VR and AR at Qualcomm. Photo: Qualcomm. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

A Q&A With Qualcomm’s VP of VR and AR; Roblox’s Age-Up

By Mathew Olson · Nov 9, 2021 11:00am PST · 1 comment

Hugo Swart, VP of VR and AR at Qualcomm. Photo: Qualcomm. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

A Q&A With Qualcomm’s VP of VR and AR; Roblox’s Age-Up

By Mathew Olson · Nov 9, 2021 11:00am PST · 1 comment

This morning, Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Spaces, a new set of software tools for developers of AR experiences (and yes, if you’re having deja vu from Monday, Niantic debuted its own AR developer tools yesterday, and they can be used with Spaces). Best known for its mobile chips, the San Diego company has been investing heavily in AR and VR, a... This morning, Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Spaces, a new set of software tools for developers of...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri, left, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan.

Inside Facebook’s Struggles to Attract Creators and Their Young Fans

By Kaya Yurieff, Sarah Krouse and Sahil Patel · Nov 9, 2021 6:00am PST

In early May, days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors the company wanted to be the best platform for millions of digital content creators to make a living, researchers at the company spotlighted a major obstacle for its flagship app. Public figures and creators “lack a reason to be on FB,” according to a more than... In early May, days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors the company wanted to be the...

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Amazon-Rivian Self-Funding Electric Van

By Martin Peers · Nov 8, 2021 5:01pm PST

Rivian shareholders should strap on their seatbelts. The Amazon-backed electric truck maker raised its proposed IPO pricing range 23% today—from what it disclosed last week—to a level that implies a market capitalization of $67 billion. That’s 84% of the market cap of Ford, for those keeping score—not bad for a startup that has yet to produce... Rivian shareholders should strap on their seatbelts. The Amazon-backed electric truck maker...

Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Coinbase Earnings Preview; Infrastructure Bill’s Crypto Reporting Rules

By Hannah Miller · Nov 8, 2021 4:34pm PST

Coinbase will report its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, likely giving more insight into its new offerings, such as its recently announced non-fungible token marketplace. The company, which is the largest crypto exchange in the U.S. by trading volume, could also announce new ventures as it expands further into financial services. Here’s what... Coinbase will report its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, likely giving more insight into its...

Credit: Roblox

Roblox’s Good and Bad News; Clubhouse Is No Longer Just Live

By Mahira Dayal · Nov 8, 2021 3:31pm PST

Credit: Roblox

Creator Economy

Roblox’s Good and Bad News; Clubhouse Is No Longer Just Live

By Mahira Dayal · Nov 8, 2021 3:31pm PST

Roblox’s third-quarter financial results were a mixed bag for creators, including the millions of developers who earn money from the virtual worlds they make for the gaming platform. On the upside for everyone whose fortunes are yoked to the online economy, the kids have clearly not backed away from their video games. That’s even though... Roblox’s third-quarter financial results were a mixed bag for creators, including the millions of...

Niantic CEO John Hanke. Photo: Bloomberg. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Niantic CEO John Hanke on AR, the Metaverse and Why He’s “Fascinated” With the Crypto World

By Mathew Olson · Nov 8, 2021 10:00am PST

Niantic, makers of Pokemon Go, launched a new platform for AR developers called Lightship today. The company is taking the set of iOS and Android AR tools out of beta and offering worldwide access, with a model that’s initially free to use for all developers through to summer 2022.John Hanke, Niantic’s CEO and formerly the leader of the Google... Niantic, makers of Pokemon Go, launched a new platform for AR developers called Lightship today....

Mike Volpi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Q&A

Index’s Volpi Sees New Wave of Conflicts in Enterprise Software

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 8, 2021 6:00am PST · 7 comments

Brace yourselves for more conflict among the software arms merchants in the enterprise. That’s one of the predictions of Mike Volpi, a longtime venture capitalist and tech executive who has become an active investor in the category. In an interview with The Information, Volpi said he anticipated more collisions between companies in... Brace yourselves for more conflict among the software arms merchants in the enterprise. ...

Lithium production, Potosi, Bolivia. Photo: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg

Lithium-Metal Batteries Face Their Moment of Truth

By Steve LeVine · Nov 7, 2021 2:00pm PST

Good evening and welcome back to The Electric!In a matter of decades, lithium has transformed the world of convenience, giving us practical-size mobile electronics and introducing the possibility of affordable electric vehicles in just a few years. All of this has happened with just a sprinkling of the metal in batteries, because lithium's pure,... Good evening and welcome back to The Electric!In a matter of decades, lithium has transformed the...

Lions Gate's headquarters in California. Photo by Bloomberg

What Lions Gate’s Potential Starz Spinoff Move Means for Hollywood

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

Lions Gate's headquarters in California. Photo by Bloomberg

What Lions Gate’s Potential Starz Spinoff Move Means for Hollywood

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

Amid the cacophony of earnings results this week, you might have picked up the faint but unmistakable sound of a pendulum starting to swing in the entertainment industry. The long-popular idea that film and TV studios should be paired with the TV networks or streaming services that broadcast the studios’ output is suddenly getting rethought.... Amid the cacophony of earnings results this week, you might have picked up the faint but...

Brex Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras, left, and Ramp CEO Eric Glyman. Photos by Bloomberg, Flickr. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Brex and Ramp Want to Take On Amex. First, They’ll Fight Each Other

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2021 12:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Brex employees haven’t had to look hard for reminders of their startup’s ambition to reign supreme over the big corporate card companies: The Wi-Fi network password at one of its former offices used to be “BuyAmex.” But Brex is facing increasingly fierce competition, including from a two-year-old copycat named Ramp... Brex employees haven’t had to look hard for reminders of their startup’s ambition to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Modest Proposals

Investing Directly in People Is the Future of VC. Here’s How to Do It.

By Sam Lessin · Nov 5, 2021 9:01am PDT · 31 comments

Earlier this year I wrote about the idea of investing directly in people versus companies—something my venture capital firm, Slow Ventures, has started doing. For us, this is a form of real VC, as opposed to the plug-and-play, low-margin growth equity that is rapidly becoming as boring as it sounds. Even a year ago people thought we were... Earlier this year I wrote about the idea of investing directly in people versus...

Apple senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji. Screenshot via Apple

Apple’s Road Map for Mac Chips Shows Likely Advantage Over Intel

By Wayne Ma · Nov 5, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger declared that winning back Apple’s business was one of his top priorities, a move that would ease the shame of Apple having dropped Intel processors from its Mac line of computers in favor of its own designs. It looks like Gelsinger has his work cut out for him. That’s because Apple’s... Last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger declared that winning back Apple’s business was one...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg

How Uber and Airbnb Are Recovering From the Pandemic

By Martin Peers · Nov 4, 2021 5:02pm PDT

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg

How Uber and Airbnb Are Recovering From the Pandemic

By Martin Peers · Nov 4, 2021 5:02pm PDT

Airbnb looks like it has shaken off the worst effects of the pandemic more than Uber, judging by third-quarter numbers released this afternoon. Neither company showed they were yet back to their pre-Covid position in terms of business volume. But they’re both looking much healthier financially, thanks both to cost-cutting prompted by the... Airbnb looks like it has shaken off the worst effects of the pandemic more than Uber, judging by...

New York Mayor-elect Eric Adams. Photo by Bloomberg.

New York Takes On Miami; Square’s Bitcoin Revenue Stumbles

By Hannah Miller · Nov 4, 2021 4:01pm PDT

New York is challenging Miami to become the U.S.’s crypto capital. The city’s newly elected mayor, Eric Adams, tweeted Thursday that he’s going to take his first three paychecks in bitcoin, outdoing Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who tweeted Tuesday that he’s going to take his next salary payment in the cryptocurrency. Adams added that New... New York is challenging Miami to become the U.S.’s crypto capital. The city’s newly elected...

Bitly president Raleigh Harbour. Photo: Bitly. Illustration: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

How Bitly is Remaking Itself in the Age of Creators

By Mahira Dayal · Nov 4, 2021 2:45pm PDT

In a blast from the past, Bitly, a company that has quietly been shortening links for over a decade, is trying to make its way back to the limelight with the creator economy. Bitly is launching a beta version of Link Launchpad, a link-in-bio feature that acts as a landing page creators can use to share multiple links in their social media... In a blast from the past, Bitly, a company that has quietly been shortening links for over a...

A waveguide lens, photographed showing a hint of the holographic coating. Photo: DigiLens

AR Company DigiLens Jumps in Value; Apple’s Sideloading Ire

By Mathew Olson · Nov 4, 2021 11:00am PDT

Samsung Electronics is leading a funding round for DigiLens, valuing the AR display tech firm at more than $500 million, we learned today. Samsung’s involvement signals that the South Korean hardware giant may be readying to debut AR glasses in the near future.DigiLens has worked for years on the development of transparent waveguides, which have... Samsung Electronics is leading a funding round for DigiLens, valuing the AR display tech firm at...

From left: Michael Kades, Jonathan Kanter and Sally Hubbard. Photos by Flickr; AP

Incoming Antitrust Chief’s Hiring Talks Show Divergence From Khan’s FTC

By Josh Sisco · Nov 4, 2021 9:44am PDT

From left: Michael Kades, Jonathan Kanter and Sally Hubbard. Photos by Flickr; AP

Incoming Antitrust Chief’s Hiring Talks Show Divergence From Khan’s FTC

By Josh Sisco · Nov 4, 2021 9:44am PDT

Since outspoken tech critic Lina Khan took control of the Federal Trade Commission, she has hired law professors, activists and other corporate outsiders to shake up the agency. Jonathan Kanter, another tech critic who is about to become the top antitrust official at the Department of Justice, is taking a different approach to hiring his top... Since outspoken tech critic Lina Khan took control of the Federal Trade Commission, she has hired...