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

Financial Firms, Startups Compete for Crypto Talent

By Hannah Miller · Jul 12, 2021 3:10pm PDT

Despite sluggish prices for bitcoin and other digital assets, it is clear that institutional investors are still intrigued by cryptocurrency. Visa recently announced that it was growing its crypto team, with five new hires and placements in the last two weeks, while Goldman Sachs plans to expand the operations of its newly rebooted crypto... Despite sluggish prices for bitcoin and other digital assets, it is clear that institutional...

Monday.com, ThredUp Among Year’s Best-Performing Tech IPOs

By Berber Jin and Malique Morris · Jul 12, 2021 1:39pm PDT

Tech IPOs slightly outpaced the broader stock market this year, propelled by strong showings from enterprise software companies including Monday.com and SentinelOne. Among the worst performers for new public listings were Coinbase and a handful of Chinese stocks. The share price of companies that went public via an initial public offering... Tech IPOs slightly outpaced the broader stock market this year, propelled by strong showings from...

The redesigned Lynx R-1 mixed reality headset. Image by Lynx

A French Startup Aims to Take on Facebook's Oculus

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

Competing with Facebook in today’s consumer AR/VR market is seemingly too daunting for the likes of HTC, Magic Leap and Microsoft. But not so for French startup Lynx, which has decided to take on Facebook with a headset aimed at consumers and businesses.The firm, which has raised a grand total of $2.3 million so far from French angel investors,... Competing with Facebook in today’s consumer AR/VR market is seemingly too daunting for the likes...

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS’ New CEO Faces a Fresh Challenge: Bureaucracy

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 12, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS’ New CEO Faces a Fresh Challenge: Bureaucracy

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 12, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Adam Selipsky left Amazon Web Services in 2016 to become CEO of Tableau Software, he brought with him a handful of Amazon management traditions. For example, he discouraged Tableau colleagues from doing PowerPoint presentations, instead asking them to write multipage narrative documents about new projects, a hallmark of Amazon management. ... When Adam Selipsky left Amazon Web Services in 2016 to become CEO of Tableau Software, he brought...

The Electric, Vol. 1: Why Billions of Dollars of EV Battery Investments Are Suddenly at Risk

By Steve LeVine · Jul 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Henry Ford with the first and ten millionth Ford car, 1924. Credit: Library of CongressThe Electric is a new premium service, from Steve LeVine and The Information, focused on one of the most important and least-covered groupings of industries on the planet—next-generation batteries, electric vehicles and autonomous driving—and how they will... Henry Ford with the first and ten millionth Ford car, 1924. Credit: Library of CongressThe...

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at an event to mark the centenary of the Chinese Community Party last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why China’s Corporate Crackdown Isn’t What It Seems

By Shai Oster · Jul 10, 2021 7:45am PDT

China’s moves to rein in its ride-hailing giant Didi Global this past week, just days after the company went public in the U.S., seemed to signal a far-reaching shift in the government’s policy toward its tech giants. Not only is China hassling Didi over its data policy—it also appears to be rethinking its attitude toward the corporate... China’s moves to rein in its ride-hailing giant Didi Global this past week, just days after the...

The FTC Chair, Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why FTC’s Amazon-MGM Probe Is Based on Flawed Logic

By Martin Peers · Jul 9, 2021 5:00pm PDT

The Federal Trade Commission’s decision today to formally open an in-depth probe into Amazon’s $8.5 billion purchase of MGM signals just how much the Biden administration is changing the course of antitrust inquiries into tech. It’s not just about the obvious targets—Google’s self-evident dominance of the search market, for instance. Instead,... The Federal Trade Commission’s decision today to formally open an in-depth probe into Amazon’s...

MGM's headquarters in Beverly Hills. Photo by Bloomberg.

FTC Opens Probe of Amazon’s MGM Purchase, Signaling a Lengthy Inquiry

By Josh Sisco · Jul 9, 2021 2:31pm PDT

MGM's headquarters in Beverly Hills. Photo by Bloomberg.

FTC Opens Probe of Amazon’s MGM Purchase, Signaling a Lengthy Inquiry

By Josh Sisco · Jul 9, 2021 2:31pm PDT

Any hopes that Amazon had of completing its $8.5 billion purchase of movie and TV studio MGM anytime soon may have just gone out the window. The Federal Trade Commission on Friday opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for a lengthy probe that could last six months or more.... Any hopes that Amazon had of completing its $8.5 billion purchase of movie and TV studio MGM...

A Town Fights Amazon Trucks — The 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 9, 2021 1:59pm PDT

What happens when a small town becomes a choke point for tens of thousands of Amazon deliveries every day? Cory talks to The Information’s Paris Martineau about what residents' struggles in a small Massachusetts town tell us about the challenges of Amazon’s rapid physical expansion. Then, Hong Kong bureau chief Shai... What happens when a small town becomes a choke point for tens of thousands of Amazon...

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple in Early Talks With NFL on Sunday Ticket Games

By Sahil Patel · Jul 9, 2021 8:58am PDT · 1 comment

Apple has expressed interest in the streaming rights for a package of National Football League games the NFL is now auctioning, said people familiar with the situation, a possible sign the tech giant is looking to beef up the audience for its Apple TV+ streaming service. The iPhone maker is one of a number of companies, including TV networks and... Apple has expressed interest in the streaming rights for a package of National Football League...

An Instacart personal shopper placed a customer's order into her car. Photo: Getty Images

Instacart’s New CEO Faces Sales Slowdown, Retailer Pushback

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 9, 2021 6:02am PDT

Instacart’s surprise decision to replace its CEO with a prominent Facebook executive followed a big drop-off in sales from last year’s pandemic-boosted results. At the same time there are signs that some supermarket partners are chafing at the restrictive terms of their agreements with the grocery-delivery service. San... Instacart’s surprise decision to replace its CEO with a prominent Facebook executive...

Instacart's new CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by AP

Instacart’s Simo Hiring Caps Management Overhaul

By Martin Peers · Jul 8, 2021 5:07pm PDT

Instacart's new CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by AP

Instacart’s Simo Hiring Caps Management Overhaul

By Martin Peers · Jul 8, 2021 5:07pm PDT

Instacart’s hiring of Facebook’s Fidji Simo as CEO is a masterful stroke by the grocery delivery app, capping six months of executive hiring that has built out its management team ahead of an expected public debut later this year. It speaks well of Apoorva Mehta that he made way for Simo, a sign that he knows that building Instacart into a much... Instacart’s hiring of Facebook’s Fidji Simo as CEO is a masterful stroke by the grocery delivery...

Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta, left, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photos by Bloomberg

Instacart CEO Hire Is Part of Monthslong Raid of Facebook Staff

By Amir Efrati and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jul 8, 2021 4:06pm PDT · 1 comment

Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta’s decision to hire his replacement as the grocery delivery firm prepares a public stock debut surprised most of its employees and investors. The fact that Mehta’s replacement came from Facebook didn’t. Fidji Simo, who is taking over Instacart after more than a decade at Facebook, will oversee a... Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta’s decision to hire his replacement as the grocery delivery firm...

Creator Economy

Creator-Related Job Postings at Amazon, Google Spike

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 8, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Companies have taken note of the millions of people who consider themselves social media creators. That’s showed up in job listings: Hiring for roles related to creators, such as engineers building features for them or managers overseeing influencer marketing, has exploded. In the past three years, job listings with the word creator in the... Companies have taken note of the millions of people who consider themselves social media...

China’s Stablecoin Skepticism Rattles Bitcoin Market

By Hannah Miller · Jul 8, 2021 2:36pm PDT · 1 comment

It was not only Chinese tech stocks that got hit by Chinese government regulatory steps this week. China also showed it remains a thorn in the side of the crypto market.Bitcoin prices fell 4.1% in the past 24 hours to under $33,000 after a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China told reporters the central bank is “quite worried” about the... It was not only Chinese tech stocks that got hit by Chinese government regulatory steps this...

An image of the Potter Portal effect in action. Image by Facebook.

Facebook Sprinkles a Little AR Magic on Portal

By Mathew Olson · Jul 8, 2021 11:00am PDT

An image of the Potter Portal effect in action. Image by Facebook.

Facebook Sprinkles a Little AR Magic on Portal

By Mathew Olson · Jul 8, 2021 11:00am PDT

Facebook’s Portal device, which offers video chatting and an Amazon Alexa-powered digital assistant, might feel like the odd item out in the company’s AR/VR product division, where it is housed. But news from the company on Wednesday suggests Facebook is doubling down on Portal as another way to get more people using AR.The strategy? Use a big... Facebook’s Portal device, which offers video chatting and an Amazon Alexa-powered digital...

Josh Brill

What Congress’s Antitrust Proposals Miss

By Steve C. Holtzman · Jul 8, 2021 9:00am PDT

Last year, I began work on a project that alerted me and my co-counsel to a new antitrust challenge that many young, innovative companies were facing. In addition to the roadblocks already erected by Google, companies’ mobile phone manufacturer partners were reporting that Google was seeking to renegotiate agreements under which it shared... Last year, I began work on a project that alerted me and my co-counsel to a new antitrust...

Amazon vans departing a new staging lot outside an Amazon delivery station in Milford, Mass. Photo by Paris Martineau

When Amazon Comes to Town

By Paris Martineau · Jul 8, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

MILFORD, MASS.—When the Amazon warehouse came to town in 2016, most residents of Milford, located 45 minutes from Boston, didn’t think much of it. The internet retailer submitted plans to city officials for a delivery station—essentially a post office exclusively for Amazon packages—that it wanted to open in a vacant... MILFORD, MASS.—When the Amazon warehouse came to town in 2016, most residents of Milford,...

The Signal app icon. Photo: AP

MobileCoin, Which Powers Crypto Payments on Signal, Valued at $1 Billion

By Hannah Miller and Kate Clark · Jul 7, 2021 6:38pm PDT · 1 comment

MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency business with close ties to Signal and its founder, Moxie Marlinspike, has raised more than $75 million in venture capital funding at a $1 billion valuation, more than 10 times higher than at its last financing in March, according to two people familiar with the matter. Founded in 2017, MobileCoin has developed a... MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency business with close ties to Signal and its founder, Moxie...

Amazon's just-retired CEO Jeff Bezos.

Amazon’s Much Feared Day Two May Already Have Started

By Martin Peers · Jul 7, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Amazon's just-retired CEO Jeff Bezos.

Amazon’s Much Feared Day Two May Already Have Started

By Martin Peers · Jul 7, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

One of Jeff Bezos’ big fears about Amazon is the notion that it could one day enter “Day Two,” which he has defined as “stasis,” followed in close order by irrelevance and then death. By at least one measure, the size of Amazon’s senior management team, it looks like the sun has started to rise on Day Two. And that occurred even before Bezos... One of Jeff Bezos’ big fears about Amazon is the notion that it could one day enter “Day Two,”...