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

The Advice Founders Really Need to Hear

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 3, 2021 7:44am PDT · 4 comments

It has been the season of graduation speeches, virtual graduation speeches, essays pondering graduation speeches one would have given if asked—and more.And reading all that advice prompted me to reflect on the good and bad counsel I’ve received over the years.One piece of bad advice immediately jumped out—and it is pretty ubiquitous. Indeed,... It has been the season of graduation speeches, virtual graduation speeches, essays pondering...

A customer enters their pin number as they make a chip and pin payment at a restaurant in London, U.K. Photo: Bloomberg

Coatue Values Banking Startup Mercury at $1.6 Billion

By Berber Jin and Kate Clark · Jul 3, 2021 7:01am PDT

Coatue Management has led a Series B investment in Mercury, a banking service for other startups, at a valuation of about $1.6 billion including the new capital, according to two people familiar with the deal. The valuation is more than 16 times higher than when Mercury raised money in 2019, reflecting the scorching market for fintech... Coatue Management has led a Series B investment in Mercury, a banking service for other startups,...

Amazon's incoming CEO Andy Jassy. Photo by Bloomberg

What Andy Jassy Could Learn From Cook, Nadella and Pichai

By Martin Peers · Jul 2, 2021 5:01pm PDT

What a relief! Amazon revealed late today that Andy Jassy, who takes the reins as CEO on Tuesday, won’t have to search the cushions for coins. Amazon is granting him restricted stock that at today’s price is worth $214 million, an award several times bigger than the grants he’s been getting every couple of years as AWS chief. Jassy already has... What a relief! Amazon revealed late today that Andy Jassy, who takes the reins as CEO on Tuesday,...

Employees at Japan's JAL answer phone calls. The need to support off-premise call center employees during the pandemic boosted demand for companies such as Talkdesk. Photo: Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images

New Talkdesk Financing Targets $10 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Jul 2, 2021 4:52pm PDT · 2 comments

Employees at Japan's JAL answer phone calls. The need to support off-premise call center employees during the pandemic boosted demand for companies such as Talkdesk. Photo: Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images

New Talkdesk Financing Targets $10 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Jul 2, 2021 4:52pm PDT · 2 comments

Talkdesk, a developer of cloud-based software to manage call centers and other customer service, has indicated it is raising a new round of capital that would grant the company access to the “decacorn” club, a fast-growing group of privately held startups whose valuation exceeds $10 billion. The financing could value San... Talkdesk, a developer of cloud-based software to manage call centers and other customer service,...

Benchmark’s Dilemma — The 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 2, 2021 11:01am PDT

Does one of the most storied venture capital firms need to adapt to a changing startup environment? Cory talks to The Information’s Berber Jin about his profile of Benchmark, known for a deliberative style that could handcuff it amid more fast-paced dealmaking. Then, Josh Sisco breaks down what the latest antitrust news means for... Does one of the most storied venture capital firms need to adapt to a changing startup...

Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney+ U.S. Growth Slows Sharply in First Half of 2021, Internal Data Shows

By Wayne Ma and Jessica Toonkel · Jul 2, 2021 10:24am PDT · 1 comment

U.S. subscriber growth at Disney’s Disney+ streaming service slowed sharply in the past few months, according to internal data reviewed by The Information, with most of the growth in the service this year coming from India and Latin America. The slowdown is sure to intensify a debate about whether Disney should broaden the programming on... U.S. subscriber growth at Disney’s Disney+ streaming service slowed sharply in the past few...

Six Surprise Winners and Losers of Today’s Tech Stock Market

By Aidan Ryan · Jul 2, 2021 6:01am PDT

What is driving Asana’s surging share price? Why is Lyft’s stock performing so well compared to Uber’s? Since the start of this year, tech stock performances have diverged sharply. While Amazon has gained less than 6%, Alphabet has rallied nearly 40%. Two other hot performers of 2020, Tesla and Snowflake, have fallen. Dropbox,... What is driving Asana’s surging share price? Why is Lyft’s stock performing so well...

Wall Street traders. Photo by Bloomberg.

Robinhood’s Rush to Go Public

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Wall Street traders. Photo by Bloomberg.

Robinhood’s Rush to Go Public

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It says something about the disconnect nowadays between rational thought and market activity on Wall Street that today, one day after Robinhood was fined $70 million by a financial industry regulator, it confirmed plans to go public. And its IPO filing highlights just how enmeshed the company is in regulatory investigations and litigation of one... It says something about the disconnect nowadays between rational thought and market activity on...

Kimberly Nicole Foster, who runs the “For Harriet” YouTube channel. Photo: Kimberly Nicole Foster

Creator Economy

The Rise of Influencer-Led Courses; How One YouTuber Makes $25,000 a Month

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 1, 2021 4:31pm PDT

During the pandemic, Instagram influencer Christina Galbato shifted from posting about travel to teaching her 254,000 followers how to become full-time social media creators themselves. It’s been a lucrative switch. Galbato says she’s making more money from such coaching, including two courses run through Canada’s Thinkific, such... During the pandemic, Instagram influencer Christina Galbato shifted from posting about travel to...

Robinhood's Dogecoin Problem; Crypto’s Recruiting Advantage

By Hannah Miller · Jul 1, 2021 2:48pm PDT

Robinhood’s initial public offering filing shows just how entwined the trading platform is with cryptocurrency. Around 17%, or $87.6 million, of the company’s transaction-based revenue in the first quarter of 2021 came from crypto transactions, according to the paperwork unveiled today. The connection between the two might not be mutually... Robinhood’s initial public offering filing shows just how entwined the trading platform is with...

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Photo: Bloomberg

Robinhood Valued at $55 Billion on Secondary Market Ahead of IPO

By Kate Clark · Jul 1, 2021 2:06pm PDT · 5 comments

Anticipation of Robinhood’s upcoming initial public offering, which took a step forward when the stock-trading app filed paperwork for the offering with the SEC on Thursday, has prompted secondary market investors to offer to buy its private shares at an implied valuation of $55 billion. That’s two-thirds higher than... Anticipation of Robinhood’s upcoming initial public offering, which took a step forward...

Facebook's Adam Mosseri. Photo by Bloomberg

How Instagram’s Moves Against TikTok Could Affect AR

By Mathew Olson · Jul 1, 2021 11:00am PDT

Facebook's Adam Mosseri. Photo by Bloomberg

How Instagram’s Moves Against TikTok Could Affect AR

By Mathew Olson · Jul 1, 2021 11:00am PDT

News coverage of Wednesday’s revelations about an upcoming change to Instagram’s main feed focused on how the Facebook photo-sharing app will look more like TikTok. But there’s another aspect to the overhaul: it could mean users who are on Instagram mainly for photos may see a lot more AR than they did before.Instagram chief Adam Mosseri... News coverage of Wednesday’s revelations about an upcoming change to Instagram’s main feed...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and executive Eddy Cue during the 2019 Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley. Photo by Bloomberg.

At Sun Valley, Tech Rifts, Media Talks in Spotlight

By Jessica Toonkel · Jul 1, 2021 6:01am PDT

Media and tech executives gather at Allen & Co.’s conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, next week, for the first time since 2019—and they’re at a crossroads for their industries. Most of the entertainment media is in the middle of a transition to streaming, with companies jostling for an edge. And tech titans are battling... Media and tech executives gather at Allen & Co.’s conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, next...

Didi's office in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

Didi’s Uninspiring Public Debut

By Martin Peers · Jun 30, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Executives at Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global can relax. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange today and, hey, it went up! Not by much—1%—but that’s better than Uber achieved two years ago. Yes, when it comes to ride hailing and Wall Street, the bar for success is low.You can’t blame investors for being dubious about the... Executives at Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global can relax. The company went public on the...

Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo: Cameo

Creator Economy

Cameo Targets $200 Million-Plus in Video Sales This Year

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 30, 2021 4:22pm PDT

The pandemic shut-downs proved to be great for Cameo’s business of selling personalized video messages from celebrities such as Snoop Dogg or “Tiger King” star Carole Baskin. After growing faster than it expected last year, the startup, which takes a 25% cut of these video sales, aims to book $200 million to $300 million in celebrity shoutouts... The pandemic shut-downs proved to be great for Cameo’s business of selling personalized video...

Safety Standards Trends for Autonomous Vehicles

By The Information Staff · Jun 30, 2021 4:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Safety Standards Trends for Autonomous Vehicles

By The Information Staff · Jun 30, 2021 4:02pm PDT · 1 comment

The Information hosted a breakout session on “Proving the Robots are Safe” at our annual Autonomous Vehicles Summit. The conversation, hosted in partnership with deep-learning AI software provider Deepen AI, also included executives from robotaxi developer Motional and delivery robot maker Nuro. The discussion focused on how industry... The Information hosted a breakout session on “Proving the Robots are Safe” at our...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, shown in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Coinbase’s App Store Ambitions; BitGo’s Coin Vaults

By Hannah Miller · Jun 30, 2021 2:49pm PDT

Apple’s legal battle over its control of the App Store hasn’t swayed Coinbase from wanting to become the cryptocurrency equivalent of the tech giant when it comes to selling apps. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a blog post Tuesday that he wants to open a marketplace for decentralized apps, which run on blockchains and other... Apple’s legal battle over its control of the App Store hasn’t swayed Coinbase from wanting to...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank’s $12 Billion Bet on Didi Returns 14%

By Amir Efrati, Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Jun 30, 2021 2:31pm PDT · 2 comments

SoftBank Group has been hailed as a big winner from Didi Chuxing’s initial public offering on Wednesday. But in actuality, its returns are piddly. SoftBank invested a total of around $12 billion in the company, according to a person familiar with the matter. Based on Didi’s closing price today of $14.14—up 1% from its IPO... SoftBank Group has been hailed as a big winner from Didi Chuxing’s initial public offering...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Snap’s Viber Deal Shows Spiegel’s Long Term Play

By Mathew Olson · Jun 30, 2021 11:00am PDT

When it comes to AR, Snap’s Evan Spiegel truly is playing the long game.That is particularly evident in a partnership announced today between Snap and the messaging app Rakuten Viber, in which Viber will incorporate Snap’s AR technology into its app. We don’t know whether Snap makes much money from this, as terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.... When it comes to AR, Snap’s Evan Spiegel truly is playing the long game.That is particularly...

Jack Antonoff of Bleachers performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2019. Photo by AP

Spotify Explores Expansion Into Events

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 30, 2021 9:00am PDT

Jack Antonoff of Bleachers performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2019. Photo by AP

Spotify Explores Expansion Into Events

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 30, 2021 9:00am PDT

Spotify is considering entering the events business, using data about consumer interests gleaned from its music-streaming service to host virtual and possibly live concerts, according to people familiar with the situation. The move could help Spotify improve its relations with music artists, which historically have been strained, with musicians... Spotify is considering entering the events business, using data about consumer interests gleaned...