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

Taxis pass in front of the New York Times Co. headquarters in New York. Photo: Bloomberg

Media’s On-Again, Off-Again Merger Dance

By Sahil Patel · Jun 18, 2021 5:13pm PDT

Media companies are often hunting for merger partners and spinning off units, but this year the pace has seemed particularly frenetic. That’s partly due to the pressure these companies face as big tech companies muscle into their businesses—taking ad dollars, streaming subscribers, time spent—and reducing the confidence of investors that they... Media companies are often hunting for merger partners and spinning off units, but this year the...

Playbook of Jonah — The 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 18, 2021 12:43pm PDT

BuzzFeed might become the first of its generation of digital media upstarts to go public. How is CEO Jonah Peretti trying to grow the company? Cory talks to The Information's Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel about Peretti's consolidation strategy. Plus, reporter Paris Martineau discusses the implications of Amazon's growing air cargo... BuzzFeed might become the first of its generation of digital media upstarts to go public. How is...

Amazon's hair salon in London. Photo by Mark Di Stefano

What It’s Like Getting a Haircut at an Amazon Salon

By Mark Di Stefano · Jun 18, 2021 9:00am PDT

For a long time, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been saying the company has a simple criterion for opening new categories of physical retail stores: Can it significantly improve on the traditional store experience? With its Amazon Go chain, for example, it used sensors, cameras and software to get rid of cashier checkout lines. I had this in my head... For a long time, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been saying the company has a simple criterion for...

Photo of Guy Rosen by Alex Dunne/Flickr. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

The Guy at the Center of Facebook’s Misinformation Mess

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 18, 2021 6:00am PDT

Photo of Guy Rosen by Alex Dunne/Flickr. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

The Guy at the Center of Facebook’s Misinformation Mess

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 18, 2021 6:00am PDT

Earlier this month, Facebook made headlines by banning Donald Trump from its platforms for two more years and ending a policy that allowed politicians to publish incendiary posts even if they violated Facebook’s rules. Behind the scenes, little-known executives such as Guy Rosen, who has been Facebook’s vice president of integrity... Earlier this month, Facebook made headlines by banning Donald Trump from its platforms for two...

Signage is displayed at the TikTok Creator's Lab 2019 event hosted by Bytedance Ltd. in Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

ByteDance’s Big Victory Dance

By Amir Efrati · Jun 17, 2021 6:12pm PDT

This morning, the business world learned two things about TikTok owner ByteDance as it moves toward a public stock offering, the most anticipated consumer tech listing since Alibaba in 2014. First, the company revealed its 2020 revenue and operating loss to employees—and by extension, to the press. Using some back-of-the-envelope math,... This morning, the business world learned two things about TikTok owner ByteDance as it moves...

YouTube video producers Colin Rosenblum (l) and Samir Chaudry (r). Photo: Jesse Leon

Creator Economy

The Week Social Audio Went Mainstream (Table); An Interview With YouTubers Colin & Samir

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 17, 2021 4:00pm PDT

This week marked the evolution of live social audio from a company to a feature. Since Clubhouse popularized the concept during the pandemic, Twitter, Facebook and now Spotify have rushed in with their own versions. I’ve spent some time listening to conversations across all four products this week, and the experience feels pretty similar... This week marked the evolution of live social audio from a company to a feature. Since Clubhouse...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The New York Times and The Athletic End Acquisition Talks

By Sahil Patel · Jun 17, 2021 3:07pm PDT · 1 comment

The New York Times and subscription sports news site The Athletic have ended their acquisition talks, according to people familiar with the matter. The demise of the deal—which would have united one of media’s best known legacy brands with a respected up-and-comer—came down to money. The people familiar with the matter said the... The New York Times and subscription sports news site The Athletic have ended their acquisition...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Sports NFTs Are No Slam Dunk

By Hannah Miller · Jun 17, 2021 2:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Art: Mike Sullivan

Sports NFTs Are No Slam Dunk

By Hannah Miller · Jun 17, 2021 2:50pm PDT · 1 comment

The list of pro athletes getting paid in crypto is growing—Landon Cassill will become the first Nascar driver to be compensated entirely in digital currency as part of a sponsorship deal. He is getting a portfolio of assets that include litecoin and bitcoin. But even as more sports figures and franchises are jumping on the crypto bandwagon,... The list of pro athletes getting paid in crypto is growing—Landon Cassill will become the first...

A screenshot from Blaston. Image: Resolution Games

Facebook Tiptoes Into Advertising Inside VR Games

By Mathew Olson · Jun 17, 2021 11:00am PDT

Over the next few weeks, people with Oculus Quest headsets will start seeing some advertisements in virtual reality. Facebook calls the introduction of these in-app ads “a key part” of building a sustainable VR business. But many VR users are likely to view them as intrusive. And the ad rollout is sure to raise concerns about whether the... Over the next few weeks, people with Oculus Quest headsets will start seeing some advertisements...

Photo of Jonah Peretti by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Inside Jonah Peretti’s Rollup Playbook

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Jun 17, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

In 2018, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti issued a cri de coeur to the digital media industry, telling his fellow moguls that all of them, BuzzFeed included, needed to start merging so they could more effectively stand up to Google and Facebook, the internet’s advertising powerhouses. But then a funny thing happened: Peretti went dark on the... In 2018, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti issued a cri de coeur to the digital media industry, telling...

A Waymo minivan arrives to pick up passengers for an autonomous vehicle ride, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in Mesa, Ariz. Photo: AP

Way Mo’ Cash for High-Tech Cars

By Amir Efrati · Jun 16, 2021 5:08pm PDT · 1 comment

Alphabet’s self-driving car subsidiary Waymo on Wednesday said it raised $2.5 billion from investors, with an asterisk: Alphabet was the lead investor in the round, according to a person familiar with the deal. In Silicon Valley, the lead designation usually belongs to the party that contributed half of the total amount in the round. So... Alphabet’s self-driving car subsidiary Waymo on Wednesday said it raised $2.5 billion from...

Left to right: Linktree co-founders Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria, Nicky Humphreys. Photo: Linktree.

Why Everyone’s Excited About Link-in-Bio Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 16, 2021 4:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Left to right: Linktree co-founders Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria, Nicky Humphreys. Photo: Linktree.

Creator Economy

Why Everyone’s Excited About Link-in-Bio Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 16, 2021 4:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Since we started this newsletter, startups offering what’s known as “link-in-bio” services have made regular appearances, from raising venture funding to launching new ways for creators to make money. Today we explain what they are—and why investors and founders seem so hot about this technology. The concept for these services rose from a... Since we started this newsletter, startups offering what’s known as “link-in-bio” services have...

Murky Regulation Leaves Opening for Other Validators

By Hannah Miller · Jun 16, 2021 2:47pm PDT

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement Tuesday that it had brought new charges against three more people in an alleged $30 million initial coin offering fraud in 2017 was a harsh reminder of just how sketchy crypto can be. With crypto’s regulatory landscape unclear, actions like the SEC’s lawsuit are rare and often delayed.... The Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement Tuesday that it had brought new charges...

Mapbox technology used in AR-assisted navigation. Image: Mapbox

Tech’s Union Push Meets AR and Maps

By Mathew Olson · Jun 16, 2021 11:00am PDT

San Francisco-based Mapbox offers tools and navigation data that can power just about any use of digital maps you can imagine, including augmented reality. While the company largely operates in Google’s shadow, Mapbox counts Facebook and Snap among its customers and is reportedly in talks for a SoftBank-backed SPAC deal at a $2 billion... San Francisco-based Mapbox offers tools and navigation data that can power just about any use of...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Google’s Next AI Move: Teaching Foreign Languages

By Sarah Krouse · Jun 16, 2021 9:01am PDT

Google CEO Sundar Pichai last month previewed an artificial intelligence model that he said would enable people to have open-ended conversations with technology. But current and former employees who have worked with the language model say enabling coherent, free-flowing and accurate dialogue between humans and technology remains a tall order. As... Google CEO Sundar Pichai last month previewed an artificial intelligence model that he said would...

Clockwise from top left: Gladly CEO Joseph Ansanelli, The Archivist co-founders Ashley Granada and Joseph Einhorn, Fabric co-founder Ryan Bartley, Smartrr CEO Gabriella Yitzhaek, Shogun CEO Finbarr Taylor, Nacelle CEO Brian Anderson, Fabric CEO Faisal Masud and ReCharge co-founders Oisin O’Connor and Michael Flynn. Photos: the companies.

Seven E-Commerce Startups to Watch

By Malique Morris · Jun 16, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Clockwise from top left: Gladly CEO Joseph Ansanelli, The Archivist co-founders Ashley Granada and Joseph Einhorn, Fabric co-founder Ryan Bartley, Smartrr CEO Gabriella Yitzhaek, Shogun CEO Finbarr Taylor, Nacelle CEO Brian Anderson, Fabric CEO Faisal Masud and ReCharge co-founders Oisin O’Connor and Michael Flynn. Photos: the companies.

Startups to Watch

Seven E-Commerce Startups to Watch

By Malique Morris · Jun 16, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

As online shopping booms, venture investment in the e-commerce sector has taken off. That has put a spotlight on the small software companies that power online shopping, from enabling product subscriptions to making merchants’ websites run faster. These include firms such as Fabric, Nacelle, Shogun and ReCharge. In the first quarter of... As online shopping booms, venture investment in the e-commerce sector has taken off. That has put...

New FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo: Bloomberg

Big Tech’s Uneasy Future

By Josh Sisco · Jun 15, 2021 5:47pm PDT

The White House today took its most aggressive step yet against large technology companies, naming anti-monopoly advocate Lina Khan to head the Federal Trade Commission. Whether the news will rattle tech companies—or their investors—remains to be seen.Despite multiple antitrust lawsuits and investigations, and many hours of grandstanding by... The White House today took its most aggressive step yet against large technology companies,...

Images of Facebook's live audio rooms (l) and a Clubhouse chat room (r). Photos: Facebook, Clubhouse

Creator Economy

Facebook Previews Its Clubhouse Competitor; Q&A with Gumroad’s Sahil Lavingia

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 15, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Last week we wrote how Clubhouse was on a hiring spree that should help improve the quality of its audio and programming. The updates can’t come soon enough. On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a tour of its Clubhouse competitor, making Facebook the second large tech company after Twitter to come directly after the social audio startup... Last week we wrote how Clubhouse was on a hiring spree that should help improve the quality of...

Solana’s Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko. Photo: Solana

Solana’s Bid to Take On Ethereum

By Hannah Miller · Jun 15, 2021 2:44pm PDT

Though Bitcoin may be the focus of most cryptocurrency headlines and hype, Ethereum has long been viewed as the platform that enables decentralized finance, one of the most transformative aspects of digital blockchain technology. With its ability to host banking, trading, smart contracts and other financial transactions without involving... Though Bitcoin may be the focus of most cryptocurrency headlines and hype, Ethereum has long been...

John Carmack. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Brings Back ‘Brutally Honest’ VR App Reviews

By Mathew Olson · Jun 15, 2021 11:38am PDT

John Carmack. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Brings Back ‘Brutally Honest’ VR App Reviews

By Mathew Olson · Jun 15, 2021 11:38am PDT

Legendary graphics programmer and rocketry dabbler John Carmack doesn’t mince words. As one of the creatives behind 1993’s Doom and the former CTO of Oculus (and still an adviser for Facebook), Carmack’s in-person VR app critiques became a popular event at Facebook’s annual VR and AR conferences, as a rare opportunity for up-and-coming designers... Legendary graphics programmer and rocketry dabbler John Carmack doesn’t mince words. As one of...