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

Photos provided by Amazon

Amazon’s Airplanes Move Cargo for U.S. Postal Service

By Paris Martineau · Jun 15, 2021 8:00am PDT

Over the past several years, Amazon has dramatically expanded its fleet of aircraft to help it ship Amazon orders to customers faster. The growth has been so dramatic that it has fueled speculation Amazon would eventually begin flying cargo from other companies, not just Amazon packages, on its jets, whose tail fins are emblazoned with its... Over the past several years, Amazon has dramatically expanded its fleet of aircraft to help it...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Nvidia’s $40 Billion Takeover of Arm Faces New Foe: European Vacations

By Josh Sisco · Jun 15, 2021 6:00am PDT

Nine months after Nvidia, the second-most valuable microchip developer in the world, announced its $40 billion takeover of SoftBank-owned chip designer Arm Holdings, the companies are facing delays in submitting the deal for approval by the European Union’s antitrust regulator, according to three people involved in the process. The... Nine months after Nvidia, the second-most valuable microchip developer in the world, announced...

A screenshot from Starfield, a game by Microsoft’s Bethesda studio. Photo: Bethesda

An Amazon and Microsoft Duel in Game Streaming

By Nick Wingfield · Jun 14, 2021 5:04pm PDT

Two big tech companies that want to define the future of gaming—Microsoft and Amazon—are showing more of their cards. Both companies want to use their eye-watering investments in cloud computing to stream games over the internet so that people can play them on any kind of hardware, including devices that are normally too wimpy to support the... Two big tech companies that want to define the future of gaming—Microsoft and Amazon—are showing...

Photo: AP

Patreon Gets Sucked Into Complaints Over Apple App Store Taxes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 14, 2021 4:02pm PDT

Photo: AP

Creator Economy

Patreon Gets Sucked Into Complaints Over Apple App Store Taxes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 14, 2021 4:02pm PDT

Recently, complaints about the 30% commissions Apple and Google app stores charge for digital purchases through apps has spread to the creator economy. The hullabaloo has resurfaced this question: are some apps, notably Patreon, exempt from these fees? And if so, why?To reprise: over the last few weeks, against a backdrop of barbs (and one ... Recently, complaints about the 30% commissions Apple and Google app stores charge for digital...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo: Bloomberg

Bitcoin’s Elon Musk Problem

By Hannah Miller · Jun 14, 2021 2:58pm PDT · 1 comment

The price of bitcoin broke $40,000 Monday for the first time in weeks following another Elon Musk flex. The Tesla CEO tweeted yesterday that the automaker will resume accepting bitcoin payments for vehicles when “there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend.” Musk’s tentative peace... The price of bitcoin broke $40,000 Monday for the first time in weeks following another Elon Musk...

A screenshot from the ‘Population: One’ game. Image: BigBoxVR

Facebook and Shopify Pick Up New VR and AR Teams

By Mathew Olson · Jun 14, 2021 11:01am PDT

Last Friday brought back-to-back acquisitions in virtual and augmented reality: Facebook said it was buying Seattle’s BigBox VR, makers of Population: One, and would incorporate it into Oculus Studios. And Shopify is taking on the team behind AR home design app Primer. Both deals underscore the appetite of big tech companies for developers with... Last Friday brought back-to-back acquisitions in virtual and augmented reality: Facebook said it...

Gene Farrell, Smartsheet’s chief strategy and product officer. Photo by Bloomberg

The Big Interview

A Former AWS Executive Helps Smartsheet Grow Up

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 14, 2021 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Gene Farrell left Amazon Web Services four years ago to join a company called Smartsheet, his former employer sued Farrell for violating his noncompete agreement. Apparently, the hard feelings didn’t last: Amazon is in talks with Smartsheet to officially sanction the company’s workplace collaboration app for use by Amazon... When Gene Farrell left Amazon Web Services four years ago to join a company called Smartsheet,...

EzCater CEO Stefania Mallett (l), Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala (center) and SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger (right). Photos: ezCater, Kinside and SeatGeek

Three Startups Show How the Pandemic’s Hardest Hit Are Rebounding

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 14, 2021 6:01am PDT

EzCater CEO Stefania Mallett (l), Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala (center) and SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger (right). Photos: ezCater, Kinside and SeatGeek

Three Startups Show How the Pandemic’s Hardest Hit Are Rebounding

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 14, 2021 6:01am PDT

Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala remembers the moment in November when she knew her startup, which helps parents find day care openings, wasn’t just recovering after a tough half year—it was about to take off. Pfizer had announced that its Covid19 vaccine was mostly effective. Parents, tired of juggling Zoom calls and bored preschoolers,... Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala remembers the moment in November when she knew her startup, which...

Founder Burnout and Why You Should Care

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 12, 2021 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

Before we dive into The Takeaway, I want to draw your attention to two quick things.First, thank you to everyone who has filled out our major tech comp survey. Many of you asked that we survey our community about the nitty-gritty of comp, benefits and performance reviews and how they are changing, and we obliged. The results have been pouring in... Before we dive into The Takeaway, I want to draw your attention to two quick things.First, thank...

The Capitol building. Photo by Bloomberg

Washington’s Flawed Big Tech Breakup Proposals

By Martin Peers · Jun 11, 2021 5:01pm PDT

Lawmakers took a step towards breaking up big tech today, introducing a package of bills that would, among other things, prevent online platforms from using their scale to go into other businesses. (For a more involved explanation, see stories here, here and here). Coming on a near-summer slow-news Friday, this was bound to generate lots of... Lawmakers took a step towards breaking up big tech today, introducing a package of bills that...

Are You Better Than the Average Human? — The 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 11, 2021 10:19am PDT

It’s been a difficult couple of years for self-driving car developers trying to bring robotaxis to the public. How do they get out of the so-called "trough of disillusionment?" Listen to highlights of The Information’s Autonomous Vehicles Summit. Amir Efrati interviews Argo AI CEO Bryan Salesky and former Zoox CEO Tim... It’s been a difficult couple of years for self-driving car developers trying to bring...

Sequoia Capital's offices in Menlo Park, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Is Sand Hill Road Over? No. But Zoom Deals Are Here to Stay

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

Sequoia Capital's offices in Menlo Park, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Is Sand Hill Road Over? No. But Zoom Deals Are Here to Stay

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

When Andreessen Horowitz finishes construction on its new office in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, its partners shouldn’t expect to find an assigned desk waiting for them. Instead, they’ll need to reserve space to work or meet with prospective portfolio companies under the firm’s new office hoteling model, which... When Andreessen Horowitz finishes construction on its new office in San Francisco’s SoMa...

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

TI Briefing: Didi IPO Poses a Puzzle for U.S. Investors

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, which filed to go public in the U.S. today, has a subsidiary called City Puzzle Holdings Ltd. listed in a chart of its byzantine corporate structure. Investors may find that an appropriate metaphor for assessing Didi as an IPO prospect, particularly compared to the two U.S.-based firms, Uber and Lyft,... Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, which filed to go public in the U.S. today, has a...

Photo: AP

Creator Economy

TI Creator Economy: What Clubhouse’s New Hires Say About Its Future; Goldman Sachs Exec Says It’s The ‘Year of the Creator’

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 10, 2021 4:05pm PDT

A hiring spree isn’t unusual for a startup that’s just raised a lot of money, as Clubhouse did when it brought in an estimated $300 million since January, but its recent recruits hold clues to where the social audio app is headed after a roller-coaster year. In recent weeks, the 40-person startup hired a former long-time Google engineer, a... A hiring spree isn’t unusual for a startup that’s just raised a lot of money, as Clubhouse did...

Inflation Numbers Support Bitcoin Recovery

By Hannah Miller · Jun 10, 2021 2:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Crypto bears may want to go back into hibernation. Today’s inflation news, showing consumer prices rose 5% when compared to 2020, should reinforce the bull case for bitcoin, as a hedge against inflation. The new numbers follow data out of China indicating that the producer price index, a global barometer of inflation, increased 9% in May, the... Crypto bears may want to go back into hibernation. Today’s inflation news, showing consumer...

A Nanome user building a molecule with benzene rings. Credit: Nanome

How Scientists are Using VR to Study the Coronavirus

By Mathew Olson · Jun 10, 2021 11:30am PDT

A Nanome user building a molecule with benzene rings. Credit: Nanome

How Scientists are Using VR to Study the Coronavirus

By Mathew Olson · Jun 10, 2021 11:30am PDT

Researcher Andrey Kovalevsky often dons an Oculus Rift S virtual reality headset as part of his work studying new ways to combat Covid-19. His research team is working on one of the many remaining mysteries surrounding the coronavirus: how to shut down one of the viral proteins that would stop it from reproducing. One of Kovalevsky’s tools... Researcher Andrey Kovalevsky often dons an Oculus Rift S virtual reality headset as part of his...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed To Raise $200 Million in Bonds As SPAC Deal Nears

By Jessica Toonkel, Martin Peers and Sahil Patel · Jun 10, 2021 11:09am PDT

BuzzFeed is in discussions to raise about $200 million in convertible bonds to supplement cash it will raise by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, say people familiar with the situation. The financing will help BuzzFeed fund the acquisition of digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks, which is being negotiated at an equity... BuzzFeed is in discussions to raise about $200 million in convertible bonds to supplement cash it...

An Argo AI prototype in Pittsburgh, 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Autonomous Vehicles Summit

As IPO Nears, Argo CEO Says Self-Driving-Car Prototypes Are ‘Regularly Beating’ Human Drivers

By Amir Efrati · Jun 10, 2021 10:47am PDT · 1 comment

Prototype self-driving cars developed by Argo AI “regularly” have lower collision rates than human drivers in metro areas such as Miami, said Bryan Salesky, Argo’s CEO, during The Information’s fifth annual Autonomous Vehicle Summit on Wednesday. Salesky’s comment stands in contrast to mounting criticism that the... Prototype self-driving cars developed by Argo AI “regularly” have lower collision...

Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden. Photo by Bloomberg.

SPAC Boom Helps Tech Founders Cement Control

By Cory Weinberg and Sarah Krouse · Jun 10, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

When scooter-rental startup Bird goes public later this year, CEO Travis VanderZanden won’t have to worry about the firm’s uncertain prospects emboldening activist shareholders. As part of the merger with a special purpose acquisition company that is taking Bird public, VanderZanden negotiated the right to maintain control through a... When scooter-rental startup Bird goes public later this year, CEO Travis VanderZanden won’t...

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg

The Debate About Netflix Shareholder Voting Rights

By Martin Peers · Jun 9, 2021 6:08pm PDT · 2 comments

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg

The Debate About Netflix Shareholder Voting Rights

By Martin Peers · Jun 9, 2021 6:08pm PDT · 2 comments

Would you believe that one of the angriest groups of shareholders in corporate America is, by one measure, at Netflix. What could shareholders have to complain about with the video streaming giant, given how its shares have appreciated over the past decade? Yet last week, shareholders owning 56% of Netflix’s shares voted against the re-election... Would you believe that one of the angriest groups of shareholders in corporate America is, by one...