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

A marketing image of people playing Resolution’s Demeo game. Image: Resolution Games

A Gaming Veteran on the VR Market and ‘Crunch Culture’

By Mathew Olson · May 13, 2021 11:00am PDT

Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Sweden’s Resolution Games, got his start coding games in the 1980s. Before starting Resolution, he built two other studios, one of which was acquired by mobile game developer King in 2012. There, Palm helped create Candy Crush Saga, a hit puzzle game that soon attracted millions of players and brought in... Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Sweden’s Resolution Games, got his start coding games in the...

VMware's new CEO Raghu Raghuram. Photo by VMware.

The Big Interview

VMware’s CEO Pick Surprised Insiders: Why the Choice Makes Sense

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 13, 2021 8:58am PDT

While VMware began looking for a new leader to succeed Pat Gelsinger as CEO early this year, some employees and industry watchers expected the company to shake things up by appointing a different type of CEO than the three technologists who had previously led it. At the time, many insiders feared VMware’s best days were behind it, as the... While VMware began looking for a new leader to succeed Pat Gelsinger as CEO early this year, some...

Tourists followed a tour guide through a backstreet in Florence, Italy, in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Confronts Tighter Rules on Rentals as Pandemic Ebbs

By Cory Weinberg · May 13, 2021 8:16am PDT

As Airbnb works to reinvigorate its business after the pandemic all but extinguished travel to urban destinations, it is confronting a fresh threat from regulators intent on limiting the number of homes they allow to be rented out to tourists. In cities around the world, but especially in Europe, authorities are taking steps to tighten the rules... As Airbnb works to reinvigorate its business after the pandemic all but extinguished travel to...

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, on the left, leaving the courthouse last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Midway Through Apple-Epic Trial, Apple Maintains Its Advantage

By Josh Sisco · May 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, on the left, leaving the courthouse last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Midway Through Apple-Epic Trial, Apple Maintains Its Advantage

By Josh Sisco · May 13, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

App developers are rooting for Epic Games to win its court battle against Apple. Yet some prominent developers told The Information they have grown concerned that the ongoing antitrust trial between Apple and Epic could hurt their own efforts to take on Apple and redefine who controls the economics of consumer apps. That’s because the... App developers are rooting for Epic Games to win its court battle against Apple. Yet some...

SoftBank CEO Masa Son. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank's Year of Dramas and Crises

By Martin Peers · May 12, 2021 5:00pm PDT

What a year SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has had. The Japanese investment giant was arguably one of the worst affected by the Covid downturn last year, given its high debt and significant exposure to companies like Uber and WeWork that were walloped by the lockdowns. Even before the worst of the economic impact had hit, SoftBank reported a $9... What a year SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has had. The Japanese investment giant was arguably one of...

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Pandemic Popularity Got Advertisers’ Attention, New Data Shows

By Kaya Yurieff · May 12, 2021 3:04pm PDT

A new survey of U.S. advertisers shows just how much the pandemic put TikTok on their radar. Some 68% of those polled in March say they expect to use influencers on TikTok to sell their products, up from 16% in February 2020. Marketing firm Linqia polled 163 companies and agencies for the survey, a relatively small pool but one that... A new survey of U.S. advertisers shows just how much the pandemic put TikTok on their radar. Some...

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Digital Ad Market Boom Drives Top-Line Growth of 20%-50% at Niche Websites

By Jessica Toonkel and Martin Peers · May 12, 2021 11:18am PDT

The boom in the digital ad market, which sent Facebook’s and Google’s revenue soaring in the first quarter, is reverberating through the rest of the sector. Quarterly results from companies as varied as IAC, owner of websites such as Investopedia and Verywell; J2 Global, owner of IGN and Mashable; The New York Times Co.; Vice Media... The boom in the digital ad market, which sent Facebook’s and Google’s revenue soaring...

Police VR Training Cuts the Cable

By Mathew Olson · May 12, 2021 11:00am PDT

Police VR Training Cuts the Cable

By Mathew Olson · May 12, 2021 11:00am PDT

While few people in the U.S. may not recognize the name Axon Enterprise, its chief products are a familiar (if concerning) sight to some. Axon used to be known as Taser, and despite the change of name in 2017, the company still sells Taser electroshock weapons and body cameras to police and law enforcement agencies across the country.In recent... While few people in the U.S. may not recognize the name Axon Enterprise, its chief products are a...

Illustration by Laurent Bazart

As SPAC Market Unravels, Startups Seek Alternatives

By Berber Jin · May 12, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

After the coronavirus pandemic jump-started demand for prescription delivery services, six-year-old Capsule Pharmacy decided to raise money to expand into new cities, hoping to target more customers who don’t want to visit pharmacies in person. One option it considered was to combine with a special purpose acquisition company, which would... After the coronavirus pandemic jump-started demand for prescription delivery services,...

The New York Stock Exchange during a winter storm. Photo by Bloomberg

Digital Media’s SPAC Scramble Heats Up

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Digital media’s great SPAC scramble of 2021 is under way. Today we published new details about BuzzFeed’s plans to go public via a SPAC merger, including its discussions about simultaneously merging with lifestyle publisher Complex Networks. Meanwhile, Vice Media is preparing to pitch investors on its SPAC deal this week, the Wall Street Journal... Digital media’s great SPAC scramble of 2021 is under way. Today we published new details about...

YouTube is launching a fund for creators who make YouTube Shorts. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

How YouTube’s New Creator Fund Stacks Up

By Kaya Yurieff · May 11, 2021 3:39pm PDT

YouTube is launching a fund to pay performers to make YouTube Shorts, joining TikTok and Snapchat in trying to lure creators to their platforms with multi-million-dollar funds. YouTube is tapping a decent war chest—$100 million through 2022—but it’s far from the most generous. Snapchat in late November pledged to pay out $1 million a day to... YouTube is launching a fund to pay performers to make YouTube Shorts, joining TikTok and Snapchat...

Players of Niantic's Harry Potter Wizards Unite at a Niantic-sponsored event in Indianapolis in 2019. Image: Niantic

Niantic’s Lightship Lifts Off, Vive Reveals New Headsets

By Mathew Olson · May 11, 2021 11:11am PDT · 1 comment

Players of Niantic's Harry Potter Wizards Unite at a Niantic-sponsored event in Indianapolis in 2019. Image: Niantic

Niantic’s Lightship Lifts Off, Vive Reveals New Headsets

By Mathew Olson · May 11, 2021 11:11am PDT · 1 comment

Pokémon Go maker Niantic is expanding developer access to the platform that powers its games, a move that could spur more AR development by letting outside developers work with the company’s technology. It’s a big step forward for the company as it seeks to build on the success of its games toward being a major provider of essential AR software.... Pokémon Go maker Niantic is expanding developer access to the platform that powers its games, a...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed in Talks to Acquire Complex Networks

By Jessica Toonkel · May 11, 2021 9:07am PDT

BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, according to three people familiar with the situation. The Complex acquisition would increase BuzzFeed’s revenue by about 30%, giving it more scale and... BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan...

Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer of Okta. Photo provided by Okta

The Big Interview

Okta Exec: We Can Be Bigger Than Salesforce

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 11, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, the software maker Okta closed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0, one of its main competitors in the market for identity and access management software. The deal, the largest in Okta’s history, is a bid to expand faster at a moment when Microsoft is breathing down the company’s neck with its own product. Okta has big... Last week, the software maker Okta closed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0, one of its main...

Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple and the Repression of the Uyghur in China

By Martin Peers · May 10, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Of all the big stories in tech over the past decade, the one that is likely to reverberate long into the future may be the one that draws the least attention from consumers right now. And that’s the horrific repression of the Uyghur people in China—which the Biden administration has described as genocide. Part of the story is that the Uyghur are... Of all the big stories in tech over the past decade, the one that is likely to reverberate long...

Clubhouse's Android App Should Jumpstart Growth; Scaramucci on Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · May 10, 2021 3:18pm PDT

Creator Economy

Clubhouse's Android App Should Jumpstart Growth; Scaramucci on Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · May 10, 2021 3:18pm PDT

It’s not a stretch to call Clubhouse’s launch of its Android app a “critical milestone.” That’s how Snap founder Evan Spiegel in April described a juncture reached by Snapchat when it numbered more Android users than those on Apple’s iOS and at the same time, hit its highest quarterly growth rate in more than three years. Facebook for years... It’s not a stretch to call Clubhouse’s launch of its Android app a “critical milestone.” ...

Children played virtual reality games during an exhibition in Guangzhou, China, in 2017. Photo: AP

Facebook Quandary Over VR for Kids

By Mathew Olson · May 10, 2021 12:22pm PDT · 1 comment

Facebook is eager to get VR headsets into the hands of more consumers, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg isn’t keen on rushing toward one demographic: kids.In a recent interview with CNET (in keeping with Facebook’s new PR strategy), Zuckerberg settled in for another chat about VR and AR (you can listen to the long AR/VR convo we had with the Facebook CEO... Facebook is eager to get VR headsets into the hands of more consumers, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg...

A ‘Welcome Back!’sign on a Google building in Mountain View, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Under Pressure From Employees, Tech Companies Relax In-Office Policies

By Sarah Krouse and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 10, 2021 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

An internal Google employee message board lit up last Wednesday morning as news of what many staff perceived as a more relaxed policy for working remotely circulated. One meme shared on the board showed a person crying, labeled “Facebook recruiters.” Another showed a sad person labeled “San Francisco landlords.” The... An internal Google employee message board lit up last Wednesday morning as news of what many...

A photo (top left) of a suspected detention center next to Artux Kunshan Industrial Park in Xinjiang, where an Apple supplier operated. Apple CEO Tim Cook (right). Photos by AP; Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Seven Apple Suppliers Accused of Using Forced Labor From Xinjiang

By Wayne Ma · May 10, 2021 6:00am PDT

Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than a decade. For two of those years, it operated a factory inside an industrial park on the edge of the deserts of Xinjiang, a region of western China populated by a predominantly Muslim group known as Uyghurs. The industrial park is surrounded by walls... Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than...

The Next Big News Disruption

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 8, 2021 7:45am PDT · 21 comments

The Next Big News Disruption

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 8, 2021 7:45am PDT · 21 comments

Anyone who works in media—and especially in news—can feel the change. Everything about this business, from the editorial content to the talent to the (restless) energy of virtual newsrooms, is growing more intense.The pandemic is obviously a big part of the story. But there’s something bigger going on: a new phase of disruption as powerful as... Anyone who works in media—and especially in news—can feel the change. Everything about this...