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

Storing raw manganese. Ian Waldie/Bloomberg

Soaring Metals Prices Are Deepening Western Exposure to China

By Steve LeVine · Oct 24, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric! Tune in to a special pop-up event on Wednesday: Will AI Transform Batteries? Machine learning has unleashed a new age for drug discovery and genomics, but it has barely penetrated battery science. Can it do so this decade? To discuss, I am excited to host a Live Chat with AI pioneer Andrew Ng, founder of... Welcome back to The Electric! Tune in to a special pop-up event on Wednesday: Will AI...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a virtual developer conference in June. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Rebranding Is About Tim Cook, Not Whistleblowers

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 22, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Next week is going to be a big one for Facebook. There will be a corporate rebrand from the company of some sort, a very high-stakes earnings report, and Facebook’s biggest event of the year, its Connect developer conference, featuring a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Oh, and a storm of a document dump that will be fairly unprecedented in... Next week is going to be a big one for Facebook. There will be a corporate rebrand from the...

Art by Mike Sullivan

New Facebook Storm Nears as CNN, Fox Business and Other Outlets Team Up on Whistleblower Docs

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Mark Di Stefano · Oct 22, 2021 2:55pm PDT · 6 comments

It’s not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of leaked company documents and agree not to publish stories about them until a certain date. But in the world of news related to Facebook, these are extraordinary times. Something similar happened in 2016 when the International Consortium of... It’s not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of...

Illustration by Josh Brill

No Longer Just Crypto Curious, Sand Hill Road Investors Get Blockchain Fever

By Kate Clark · Oct 22, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

Illustration by Josh Brill

No Longer Just Crypto Curious, Sand Hill Road Investors Get Blockchain Fever

By Kate Clark · Oct 22, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

For years, the most avid investors in crypto startups have been firms that specialize in the category—with the notable exception of Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that got crypto religion early. Now, though, the most storied firms on Silicon Valley's Sand Hill Road are going from crypto curious to true... For years, the most avid investors in crypto startups have been firms that specialize in the...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap’s Weak Q4 Projection Signals Sharp Slowdown in Ad Market

By Martin Peers · Oct 21, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Advertisers are hitting the brakes—hard. That’s the message today from Snap, the first of the digital ad companies to report third-quarter earnings. A combination of Apple’s ad-targeting clampdown and knock-on effects from supply shortages are expected to sharply slow fourth-quarter ad growth, Snap executives warned. It was a sobering portent... Advertisers are hitting the brakes—hard. That’s the message today from Snap, the first of the...

Charting FTX’s Rapid Rise in Valuation; Worldcoin Is Already a Unicorn

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 21, 2021 4:56pm PDT

Today’s chart shows how quickly FTX’s valuation has risen this year. The crypto exchange said Thursday it was raising $420 million from 69 investors—numbers that have become talismans on the Internet—at a valuation of $25 billion. Meme jokes aside, that price reflects a nearly 40% rise from its last funding round just three months ago. ... Today’s chart shows how quickly FTX’s valuation has risen this year. The crypto exchange said...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Stripe Shows Its Creator Chops; Snap Warning Sends Chill

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 21, 2021 3:36pm PDT

Stripe may be best known as a payments tool for tech startups, but it wants the world to know it’s big with creators, too. The San Francisco company on Thursday published a ream of data showing how its payment processing services enable creators to earn money from features like Twitter’s Super Follows, where creators can charge for bonus tweets,... Stripe may be best known as a payments tool for tech startups, but it wants the world to know it’...

iPhones on display. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Will Face Pressure to Store More Customer Data in China Under New Laws

By Wayne Ma · Oct 21, 2021 12:10pm PDT

iPhones on display. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Will Face Pressure to Store More Customer Data in China Under New Laws

By Wayne Ma · Oct 21, 2021 12:10pm PDT

Apple could be the next target of new Chinese government rules forcing U.S. companies to store more user data in the country, analysts and legal experts say. Those rules have so far forced Tesla to store local driver data in China and contributed to LinkedIn pulling back from its operations there. Legal experts say Chinese authorities... Apple could be the next target of new Chinese government rules forcing U.S. companies to...

The Aero VR headset. Photo: Varjo

Varjo’s New VR Headset; Unity’s Path From Multiplayer to Metaverse

By Mathew Olson · Oct 21, 2021 11:00am PDT

VR hardware maker Varjo is jumping into the consumer market, unveiling the new Aero headset earlier today. With a price tag of $1,990, the Aero reflects Varjo’s position at the high end of the market. To Varjo’s credit, though, it knows exactly what kind of buyer it’s pitching to: fans of simulator games.One simulator in particular is having a... VR hardware maker Varjo is jumping into the consumer market, unveiling the new Aero headset...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Battle of the Streaming Gatekeepers Heats Up

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Oct 21, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

In 2019, David Limp, head of Amazon’s devices business, saw an opening. For years, Roku—Amazon’s chief rival in the market for devices that let you stream video onto television sets—had supplied software to TCL, one of the world’s leading TV makers, to power the Chinese company’s internet-connected TV sets.... In 2019, David Limp, head of Amazon’s devices business, saw an opening. For years,...

Pinterest's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

PayPal Investors Ask for Refund on Pinterest Talks

By Martin Peers · Oct 20, 2021 5:01pm PDT

We got a very clear sense of what investors think of the prospect that PayPal might buy Pinterest from how the two stocks reacted to news of deal talks between the companies, first reported by Bloomberg. PayPal stock dropped nearly 5%, slicing about $15 billion off the digital payment company’s market capitalization. Pinterest shares,... We got a very clear sense of what investors think of the prospect that PayPal might buy Pinterest...

ProShares executives at the New York Stock Exchange before the launch of the country's first exchange-traded fund linked to bitcoin. Photo: AP

Coinbase Rebound Lags Behind Bitcoin’s Rise; Securitize Hires an Ex-Regulator

By Hannah Miller · Oct 20, 2021 4:53pm PDT

ProShares executives at the New York Stock Exchange before the launch of the country's first exchange-traded fund linked to bitcoin. Photo: AP

Coinbase Rebound Lags Behind Bitcoin’s Rise; Securitize Hires an Ex-Regulator

By Hannah Miller · Oct 20, 2021 4:53pm PDT

The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high of just under $67,000 on Wednesday, breaking its previous record of almost $65,000, which it reached in April. The euphoria is palpable: along with forecasts that bitcoin will hit $100,000, long-time believers are nodding to its rise in their own, particular way. On Tuesday, Twitter and Square CEO... The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high of just under $67,000 on Wednesday, breaking its...

Creator Tori Dunlap. Photo: Sarah Wolfe.

Creator Economy

PayPal’s Backdoor Into the Creator Economy

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 20, 2021 3:35pm PDT

PayPal is rarely paired with the term creator economy these days, but that could soon change. A Bloomberg report that the online payments company is in late-stage talks to buy Pinterest, in a deal that could value it at $45 billion, suggests PayPal wants to get more closely bound with social commerce. In doing so, it would join companies... PayPal is rarely paired with the term creator economy these days, but that could soon change. A ...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Facebook Kills ‘Hey Facebook’ Voice Command for Portal Amid Customer ‘Confusion’

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Oct 20, 2021 3:08pm PDT

Facebook has quietly abandoned the phrase “Hey Facebook” as a way for customers of its Portal video-chat device to start a conversation with a voice-activated virtual “AI assistant,” according to an internal memo viewed by The Information. The shift came after customers indicated they were confused by the phrase... Facebook has quietly abandoned the phrase “Hey Facebook” as a way for customers of...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Atomico Values Customer Engagement Startup Commsor at $450 Million

By Berber Jin and Mark Di Stefano · Oct 20, 2021 11:55am PDT

Commsor, a two-year-old startup that sells software to help companies track user engagement, is raising $50 million at a $450 million valuation, a price that includes the investment, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. London-based Atomico is leading the round, the people added. The valuation is nearly three times higher than... Commsor, a two-year-old startup that sells software to help companies track user engagement, is...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook’s Too-Late Rebrand; Netflix’s Metaverse Missed Opportunity

By Mathew Olson · Oct 20, 2021 11:00am PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook’s Too-Late Rebrand; Netflix’s Metaverse Missed Opportunity

By Mathew Olson · Oct 20, 2021 11:00am PDT

With countless jokes on Twitter behind us, let’s briefly assess The Verge’s report about Facebook planning a company name change: this should have happened sooner.I don’t mean that a new name should have debuted along with all the metaverse talk earlier this year, or that a rebranding would have lifted much of the whistleblower pressure Facebook... With countless jokes on Twitter behind us, let’s briefly assess The Verge’s report about Facebook...

Andreessen Horowitz Investment Staff Grew 170% in Four Years

By Mahira Dayal and Amir Efrati · Oct 20, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

One of the running jokes among Silicon Valley venture capitalists is that, eventually, all of them will become partners at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. That hyperbole underscores how, amid a singular boom in private tech investment, Andreessen Horowitz has left its nearest VC rivals in the dust—at least when it comes to head count. As of... One of the running jokes among Silicon Valley venture capitalists is that, eventually, all of...

Google's devices and services senior vice president Rick Osterloh on Tuesday. Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Pixel Subscription Offering Shows Flaws of Tech Service Bundles

By Martin Peers · Oct 19, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Danger ahead. At a moment when consumers are finally breaking free of the cable TV “bundle”—industry code for charging people a pile of money for a bunch of TV channels they mostly don’t watch—tech companies are trying to ensnare them with similar traps. Witness Google’s Pixel Pass subscription plan, unveiled on Tuesday. It offers the new Pixel... Danger ahead. At a moment when consumers are finally breaking free of the cable TV “bundle”—...

Founders Fund partner Peter Thiel. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Gets Grief Over Novi; Thiel Hails Bitcoin as ‘Canary’ in Coal Mine

By Hannah Miller · Oct 19, 2021 4:48pm PDT

Although Facebook’s Novi crypto wallet has been available for less than a day to some users in the U.S. and Guatemala, it’s already run into complaints. A group of Democratic senators, including vocal crypto critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), published a letter Tuesday urging Facebook to discontinue the Novi pilot and its efforts to help... Although Facebook’s Novi crypto wallet has been available for less than a day to some users in...

Podcasters Rule on Patreon (Chart); Li Jin Joins a Crypto Firm

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 19, 2021 3:18pm PDT

Creator Economy

Podcasters Rule on Patreon (Chart); Li Jin Joins a Crypto Firm

By Mahira Dayal · Oct 19, 2021 3:18pm PDT

Our latest chart shows that on Patreon, podcasters rule the roost. Publicly disclosed earnings for some of the fan-membership website’s most widely followed creators found that audio is both the most popular and lucrative medium. A top podcaster can make an estimated $30,000 per month, on average. That’s double the second-most remunerative... Our latest chart shows that on Patreon, podcasters rule the roost. Publicly disclosed...