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

Image courtesy of Waymo

Investors Pressured Waymo to Focus on Business Sooner

By Sarah Krouse · Jun 30, 2021 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

When dozens of self-driving Jaguar prototypes developed by Alphabet’s Waymo started criss-crossing San Francisco in February, it was a sign that the pioneering company had decided it was ready to graduate from the suburbs of Phoenix, the first place where it charged customers for driverless rides, to a more difficult urban environment. But... When dozens of self-driving Jaguar prototypes developed by Alphabet’s Waymo started...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Joins Tech Shift to More Remote Work

By Martin Peers · Jun 29, 2021 5:16pm PDT

Uber told employees today it will let people work remotely half the time, the latest example of a company fine-tuning its remote work policies as a return to the office gets closer. Uber’s policy, allowing more remote work than planned just a few months ago, is to go into effect in September. Based on anecdotal evidence, that month appears to be... Uber told employees today it will let people work remotely half the time, the latest example of a...

Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Why Facebook’s Substack Competitor Will Do Just Fine

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 29, 2021 4:49pm PDT

It’s easy to dunk on Facebook when it rolls out another copycat product, in this case, its newsletter publishing platform that goes head-to-head with Substack. Facebook’s new Bulletin site, as the breakdown below shows, shares many basic features of its rivals. And the social network’s tactic of spending big to draw early buzz, as it did with... It’s easy to dunk on Facebook when it rolls out another copycat product, in this case, its...

Tom Brady celebrating a Super Bowl victory in February. Photo: AP

Biometric Blockchain; FTX Adds Tom Brady to Lineup

By Hannah Miller · Jun 29, 2021 3:26pm PDT

Tom Brady celebrating a Super Bowl victory in February. Photo: AP

Biometric Blockchain; FTX Adds Tom Brady to Lineup

By Hannah Miller · Jun 29, 2021 3:26pm PDT

Today we learned of a cryptocurrency startup that aims to put a new twist on distributing payments. Worldcoin uses biometric data from a person’s eyes to help people receive cryptocurrency payments through a blockchain-style network, according to a Bloomberg report. The company has developed a basketball-shaped device that can detect the... Today we learned of a cryptocurrency startup that aims to put a new twist on distributing...

Facebook's Project Aria device, research glasses to help guide the design of future AR glasses. Photo by Facebook

Looking Past Facebook’s Trillion Dollar Value to the AR Hurdles Ahead

By Mathew Olson · Jun 29, 2021 11:00am PDT

As Facebook made headlines yesterday for—at least temporarily—rebuffing federal and state antitrust cases and hitting a $1 trillion market value, I was listening to Facebook Reality Labs VP Andrew Bosworth muse on the company’s future in AR/VR. It struck me that as strong as Facebook’s business may look today, overcoming challenges posed by AR... As Facebook made headlines yesterday for—at least temporarily—rebuffing federal and state...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Apple’s Spending on Google Cloud Storage On Track to Soar 50% This Year

By Amir Efrati and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 29, 2021 6:00am PDT

Apple executives have taken swipes at Google in the past over its privacy practices. But the iPhone maker trusts Google enough so that over the past year it has dramatically increased the amount of Apple user data it stores in Google’s cloud, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The increase cements Apple’s... Apple executives have taken swipes at Google in the past over its privacy practices. But the...

The FTC's Washington D.C. office. Photo by AP

Judge’s Facebook Ruling Embarrasses FTC, States

By Martin Peers · Jun 28, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Lawyers at the Federal Trade Commission have egg on their faces after a federal judge ruled the agency, in its antitrust case against Facebook, hadn’t made the case the company had a monopoly. Even more embarrassing was the judge’s outright dismissal of a case filed by a group of 40 states. The FTC’s case wasn’t dismissed, in contrast, and the... Lawyers at the Federal Trade Commission have egg on their faces after a federal judge ruled the...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; photo by Bloomberg

FTC’s Court Loss Against Facebook Could Spur Congress on Antitrust Reform

By Josh Sisco · Jun 28, 2021 4:17pm PDT · 1 comment

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; photo by Bloomberg

FTC’s Court Loss Against Facebook Could Spur Congress on Antitrust Reform

By Josh Sisco · Jun 28, 2021 4:17pm PDT · 1 comment

A federal court ruling on Monday handed Facebook an unexpected and dramatic win—for now—in its defense against U.S. antitrust lawyers who were seeking to force the company to spin off Whatsapp and Instagram. The ruling by a federal judge to toss out a pair of antitrust lawsuits filed last fall by the Federal Trade Commission and a... A federal court ruling on Monday handed Facebook an unexpected and dramatic win—for...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

The Most Overlooked Creator Economy Startup of 2021

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 28, 2021 4:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Today we released our first-of-its-kind database of startups in the creator economy. To begin, we focused on U.S. startups that raised outside capital this year. This is just a start: we’ll keep updating it so it’s the most useful database of companies in this fast-growing sector. The most surprising revelation from our data? The... Today we released our first-of-its-kind database of startups in the creator economy. To begin, we...

Mike Sullivan

New Regulatory Roadblocks; Preserving a Pro-Democracy Daily

By Hannah Miller · Jun 28, 2021 2:15pm PDT

More regulatory stumbling blocks have cropped up for cryptocurrency. Robinhood’s initial public offering has been delayed because of questions the Securities and Exchange Commission had over its crypto business. On Saturday, regulators banned top crypto exchange Binance from operating in the U.K. Binance also pulled out of Ontario on Friday... More regulatory stumbling blocks have cropped up for cryptocurrency. Robinhood’s initial public...

Creator Economy Database

What We Learned From TI’s Creator Economy Database

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 28, 2021 12:35pm PDT · 5 comments

You may have heard about Patreon and Substack, but what about Splice or Kajabi? These are just a few of the startups focused on serving creators that make up our just-launched database of 50 private U.S. companies. View the full interactive list here. This list sheds some light on the opportunity founders see in serving the millions of... You may have heard about Patreon and Substack, but what about Splice or Kajabi? These are just a...

An image from the VR-based LGBTQ+ museum.

How a VR Museum Will Tell LGBTQ+ Stories

By Mathew Olson · Jun 28, 2021 11:19am PDT

An image from the VR-based LGBTQ+ museum.

How a VR Museum Will Tell LGBTQ+ Stories

By Mathew Olson · Jun 28, 2021 11:19am PDT

While I enjoyed a week of rest and relaxation away from VR and AR (and, most of the time, WiFi), there was still plenty of news during 2021’s first week of summer. In the newsletter’s last installment, I covered Facebook’s first foray into advertising inside VR games. Those plans quickly changed: Resolution Games, developers of the multiplayer... While I enjoyed a week of rest and relaxation away from VR and AR (and, most of the time, WiFi),...

Benchmark partners Sarah Tavel (l), Eric Vishria(center) and Peter Fenton (r). Photos by Getty Images, Bloomberg. Photo illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Benchmark’s VC Model Strained by Newcomers, Supersize Rivals

By Berber Jin · Jun 28, 2021 6:01am PDT

In April of last year, Michael Grinich got a call most startup founders only dream about. Eric Vishria, a partner at Benchmark, one of the most prestigious VC firms, said he was interested in investing in Grinich’s then-two-year-old software startup, WorkOS, which helps other software startups sell their products to large companies.... In April of last year, Michael Grinich got a call most startup founders only dream about. Eric...

The European Commission's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech’s New Growth Industry: Antitrust Inquiries

By Martin Peers · Jun 25, 2021 5:00pm PDT

The role of big tech companies in creating jobs is often underappreciated. And we’re not just talking about software engineering jobs or chefs in fancy campus cafeterias. Given the proliferating number of tech-focused antitrust inquiries, particularly in Europe, it’s a good bet a lot of jobs are being created at European regulatory agencies and... The role of big tech companies in creating jobs is often underappreciated. And we’re not just...

Amazon’s China Whistleblower — The 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 25, 2021 2:11pm PDT

Why did Amazon fail to protect an employee who disclosed labor violations at a Foxconn factory that makes Amazon devices? Cory talks to The Information’s Wayne Ma about the lack of corporate whistleblower protections in China and why U.S. tech companies aren’t living up to their own standards in the manufacturing hub. Wayne ... Why did Amazon fail to protect an employee who disclosed labor violations at a Foxconn factory...

How Torc Robotics and Daimler Truck are Approaching Autonomous Trucking

By The Information Staff · Jun 25, 2021 11:56am PDT

How Torc Robotics and Daimler Truck are Approaching Autonomous Trucking

By The Information Staff · Jun 25, 2021 11:56am PDT

Driverless long-haul trucks are a tantalizing prospect, but autonomous-vehicle developers have wildly different ideas about how to make them a reality. In a breakout session at The Information’s fifth annual Autonomous Vehicles Summit earlier this month, Torc Robotics CEO Michael Fleming and Daimler Truck AG Chief Executive Martin Daum... Driverless long-haul trucks are a tantalizing prospect, but autonomous-vehicle developers have...

Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Marc Benioff. Photos by Bloomberg.

FTC Heard Concerns From Salesforce, Zendesk Over Facebook’s $1 Billion CRM Buy

By Josh Sisco · Jun 25, 2021 8:01am PDT · 1 comment

Salesforce and Zendesk, which sell customer relationship management software, expressed concern about Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of a smaller CRM firm to Federal Trade Commission lawyers reviewing the deal, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. That’s one reason the proposed acquisition, which just a few... Salesforce and Zendesk, which sell customer relationship management software, expressed concern...

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Disney and Netflix Lag Behind European Quotas for Local TV Shows, Movies

By Mark Di Stefano · Jun 25, 2021 6:01am PDT

Europeans who watch streaming services from Netflix, Walt Disney, Amazon and others have shown an almost insatiable appetite for Hollywood television and movies. But those streaming providers are facing new regulations that will force them to significantly increase the amount of homegrown European content on their services in the region. The new... Europeans who watch streaming services from Netflix, Walt Disney, Amazon and others have shown an...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Pokes Salesforce With Teams Move

By Martin Peers · Jun 24, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Right about now, Salesforce chief Marc Benioff must be wondering what he got himself into with his $27.7 billion purchase of Slack. Microsoft’s decision to incorporate its Slack competitor Teams with its new Windows 11 operating system—unveiled today—guarantees that Teams will be an even bigger potential competitor to Slack. And that means the... Right about now, Salesforce chief Marc Benioff must be wondering what he got himself into with...

Dare Ajibare Photo: SJ Spreng/Whalar

Why Netflix and Hulu Are Releasing Influencer Shows; Q&A With 'Captain Dare'

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 24, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Dare Ajibare Photo: SJ Spreng/Whalar

Creator Economy

Why Netflix and Hulu Are Releasing Influencer Shows; Q&A With 'Captain Dare'

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 24, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Major entertainment companies have woken up to the allure of online influencers. Hulu has teased a preview of its upcoming show about the family of TikTok superstars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. ABC is developing a reality competition from Venture 10 Studio Group called “#FollowMe,” where aspiring online stars participate in various challenges.... Major entertainment companies have woken up to the allure of online influencers. Hulu has teased...