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

Illustration by Hae Jin Park.

The New Startup Trend: Founders Say ‘No’ to the Highest VC Offers

By Kate Clark · Aug 19, 2021 12:34pm PDT · 8 comments

Earlier this month, Jijo Sunny found himself weighing two offers: An angel investor wanted to take a 1% stake in his 3-year-old creator economy startup for $500,000, at a valuation of $40 million, while a more established VC fund proposed buying a 5% stake at a far higher valuation of $60 million. He chose the lower-priced deal. Startup founders... Earlier this month, Jijo Sunny found himself weighing two offers: An angel investor wanted to...

Avatars holding a meeting in Horizon Workrooms. Credit: Facebook

Facebook Remote VR Meetings Are Tip of Iceberg; A Q&A With Rec Room’s CEO

By Mathew Olson · Aug 19, 2021 11:00am PDT · 5 comments

This morning, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched Horizon Workrooms, a way for Oculus users to hold meetings in VR. As the name suggests, it’s a sort of offshoot of Facebook’s Horizon platform, which has been in early development for about two years. Horizon’s goal is to be Facebook’s main social VR product. Think of Horizon as VR’s... This morning, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched Horizon Workrooms, a way for Oculus users to...

Chart by Joanna Lin Su.

Quantum Computing Startups Draw Record Investment

By Sarah Krouse · Aug 19, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Deal making among quantum computing companies is at an all-time high as startups race to develop hardware and software that can more quickly crunch data and solve problems that are orders of magnitude more complex than what today’s supercomputers can handle. Capital invested in global companies focused on quantum computing and... Deal making among quantum computing companies is at an all-time high as startups race to develop...

A Whole Foods Market in Houston. Photo provided by Whole Foods

Where Amazon’s Physical Growth Isn’t So Explosive

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 18, 2021 5:11pm PDT

A Whole Foods Market in Houston. Photo provided by Whole Foods

Where Amazon’s Physical Growth Isn’t So Explosive

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 18, 2021 5:11pm PDT

Amazon has a voracious appetite for physical space for its warehouse and other facilities. Paris showed that vividly in her story today about how dramatically the company has increased its physical footprint over the past couple years (by six Disneylands-worth of space, doubling its U.S. real estate holdings over that time, she writes).But there... Amazon has a voracious appetite for physical space for its warehouse and other facilities. Paris...

TikTok star Olivia Rodrigo at the White House. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Influencers Discover New Source of Funding: the Government

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 18, 2021 4:14pm PDT

The Biden administration has been teaming up with social media influencers to fight Covid-19 vaccine misinformation, inviting pop star Olivia Rodrigo to visit the White House and enlisting popular comedic creator Benito Skinner, a.k.a Benny Drama, to make a viral video urging vaccine shots. Local governments have also been tapping into... The Biden administration has been teaming up with social media influencers to fight Covid-19...

Facebook's David Marcus. Photo: Bloomberg

Robinhood’s New Crypto Status, Facebook’s Stablecoin Play

By Hannah Miller · Aug 18, 2021 3:28pm PDT

Robinhood’s first quarterly results following its bumpy initial public offering came out Wednesday, revealing more details about just how important cryptocurrencies are to the company. Once associated with consumer meme stocks, the trading platform is now, without a doubt, primarily a crypto business. The second-quarter results showed that... Robinhood’s first quarterly results following its bumpy initial public offering came out...

The Chevy Bolt, the subject of two GM recalls because of a possible danger of fire. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/AP

The Electric Flash Analysis: GM Bolt Owners Violate Fire Safety Rules Amid Battery Recall

By Steve LeVine · Aug 18, 2021 1:19pm PDT

GM is replacing the Bolt's battery modules because of a danger of fire. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/APIn the three weeks since General Motors issued a second recall of Chevy Bolts whose batteries may be in danger of catching fire, new data show that a significant minority of Bolt owners didn’t follow the company’s electric-charging guidelines for... GM is replacing the Bolt's battery modules because of a danger of fire. Photo: Gene J....

An Amazon worker at a company warehouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, in June. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Provides Free Covid Test Kits for Employees in California

By Mark Di Stefano · Aug 18, 2021 11:45am PDT

An Amazon worker at a company warehouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, in June. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Provides Free Covid Test Kits for Employees in California

By Mark Di Stefano · Aug 18, 2021 11:45am PDT

Last month, when Amazon announced it would scrap an ambitious on-site Covid-19 testing program for its warehouse workers, the decision raised eyebrows, given the surge in cases across the U.S. But now, Amazon has begun notifying its workers in California—where it employs more people in than in any other state—that it will offer free... Last month, when Amazon announced it would scrap an ambitious on-site Covid-19 testing program...

A selection of Intel's RealSense devices. Credit: Intel

Intel Abandons Its AR/VR Camera Tech

By Mathew Olson · Aug 18, 2021 11:00am PDT

In 2021, Intel has made a series of big moves to try to reverse the decline that’s seen the company cede ground to Nvidia and AMD on processors, its core business. Here’s the latest: Intel is killing off RealSense, its line of depth-sensing cameras.CRN’s Dylan Martin reported on RealSense’s end on Tuesday. “We are winding down our RealSense... In 2021, Intel has made a series of big moves to try to reverse the decline that’s seen the...

Amazon’s Space Race: Delivery Hubs Near Cities, Airports Propel Warehouse Growth

By Paris Martineau · Aug 18, 2021 6:00am PDT

Back in mid-2019, before the pandemic turned the world on its head, Amazon’s U.S. distribution network took up about the same amount of space as seven Disneylands, including hotels, the Downtown Disney District and the California Adventure Park. In just two years since then, Amazon has added another six Disneylands’ worth of real... Back in mid-2019, before the pandemic turned the world on its head, Amazon’s U.S....

People near Taliban signature white flags at a border crossing point in Pakistan on Aug. 17. Photo: AP

Facebook’s Taliban Maneuvers; Lina Khan Buzz on the Conference Circuit

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Aug 17, 2021 5:30pm PDT

As the Taliban moves to seize control of Afghanistan, Facebook’s actions in crisis are under scrutiny once more. A top executive at the social media company said Tuesday it was "proactively" taking down content related to the Taliban across Facebook's apps. (The group is banned under Facebook’s policy against terrorist organizations.) But... As the Taliban moves to seize control of Afghanistan, Facebook’s actions in crisis are under...

Pelé in 2005. Photo: Bloomberg

A Market for Buying Shares of Creators Finds Its Way

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 17, 2021 4:06pm PDT · 1 comment

Pelé in 2005. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

A Market for Buying Shares of Creators Finds Its Way

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 17, 2021 4:06pm PDT · 1 comment

Investing directly in creators—a chance to bet on the future success of an internet personality and buy into their future earnings—has been gaining steam. The idea is a natural outgrowth of viewing creators as an asset, not dissimilar to an early-stage startup, that could rise in value with more followers and sponsorships. But this market is... Investing directly in creators—a chance to bet on the future success of an internet personality...

Photo:Audius

Why TikTok's New Streaming Partner Uses Blockchain

By Hannah Miller · Aug 17, 2021 3:38pm PDT

The fact that TikTok chose Audius, which relies on blockchain technology, as its first music streaming partner may open up business opportunities for similar platforms like Livepeer, a blockchain-based video streaming service. After all, TikTok could have picked Spotify or Apple Music as a music streaming service to link with; instead, it chose... The fact that TikTok chose Audius, which relies on blockchain technology, as its first music...

Ampere Computing CEO Renée James. Collage by Joanna Lin Su. Photo by Bloomberg

Q&A

How Renée James Dodged the Global Chip Shortage

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 17, 2021 12:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Renée James learned a lot about semiconductor manufacturing during her 28-year career at Intel. As president of the semiconductor giant from 2013 to 2016, her responsibilities included managing the company’s chip manufacturing factories around the world. That partly explains why James, now founder and CEO of chip startup Ampere... Renée James learned a lot about semiconductor manufacturing during her 28-year career at...

A collection of various Roblox user avatars. Credit: Roblox

What Roblox's Earnings Stumble Says About its Metaverse Aims

By Mathew Olson · Aug 17, 2021 11:02am PDT

Roblox CEO David Baszucki probably deserves as much credit as Mark Zuckerberg (if not more) for making the metaverse a hot button term not just in gaming or AR/VR, but all of tech. So, should Roblox’s underwhelming quarterly earnings and the corresponding dip in stock price come as a sobering wakeup call after a few months of concentrated... Roblox CEO David Baszucki probably deserves as much credit as Mark Zuckerberg (if not more) for...

Lithium-metal batteries may contain LFP by the end of the decade. Photo: QuantumScape

The Electric Flash Analysis: A Surprising, Potent New Battery Would Marry the Old and the New

By Steve LeVine · Aug 17, 2021 7:56am PDT

Lithium-metal batteries may contain LFP by the end of the decade. Photo: QuantumScape

The Electric Flash Analysis: A Surprising, Potent New Battery Would Marry the Old and the New

By Steve LeVine · Aug 17, 2021 7:56am PDT

Leading battery researchers are talking up the idea of a Goldilocks battery that combines one of the most exotic electrodes under commercial development with one of the cheapest. The objective: a dirt-cheap battery that will take an electric vehicle more than 300 miles on a charge, and thus attract a broad swath of mass-market EV buyers.The idea... Leading battery researchers are talking up the idea of a Goldilocks battery that combines one of...

Photo of Lina Khan by AP; illustration by Mike Sullivan

Lina Khan Gets to Work at the FTC

By Josh Sisco · Aug 17, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Once Joe Biden was elected president, companies contemplating mergers knew the U.S. government would take a harder line on deal making. Still, they figured it would take regulators a little time to find their groove amid the many layers of bureaucracy in Washington. Lina Khan had a different idea. Since she took over the Federal Trade... Once Joe Biden was elected president, companies contemplating mergers knew the U.S. government...

Photo: Bloomberg

Why TikTok Will Become a Political Football Again

By Amir Efrati · Aug 16, 2021 5:29pm PDT

One of the hottest topics in business last summer was then-President Donald Trump’s effort to ban TikTok, the Chinese-owned viral video app that had accumulated more than 100 million American users. But while TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, ultimately prevailed against Trump in federal court, some of the key arguments TikTok made to defend itself... One of the hottest topics in business last summer was then-President Donald Trump’s effort to ban...

Robert Kyncl. Photo: YouTube

Creator Economy

YouTube’s Chief Business Officer on TikTok, Shopping and Future Deals

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 16, 2021 4:22pm PDT · 1 comment

As YouTube’s chief business officer, Robert Kyncl oversees global partnerships with media companies, artists and creators. Those internet personalities are starting to gravitate to a product YouTube rolled out nearly a year ago: a quick and easy way to produce short-form videos, like the ones popularized by TikTok. “That was a missing... As YouTube’s chief business officer, Robert Kyncl oversees global partnerships with media...

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, in October, 2019. Cuban's comments on dogecoin helped boost the currency Monday. Photo: Bloomberg

Mark Cuban Boosts Dogecoin; Walmart's Crypto Ambitions

By Hannah Miller · Aug 16, 2021 2:21pm PDT

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, in October, 2019. Cuban's comments on dogecoin helped boost the currency Monday. Photo: Bloomberg

Mark Cuban Boosts Dogecoin; Walmart's Crypto Ambitions

By Hannah Miller · Aug 16, 2021 2:21pm PDT

Digital currencies are back on top. While stocks spent most of Monday lower, bitcoin rallied. It’s been hovering above $45,000 for the past few days, helping boost the global market cap for all cryptocurrencies to above $2 trillion for the first time in almost three months, according to data from CoinMarketCap. While bitcoin’s recovery from... Digital currencies are back on top. While stocks spent most of Monday lower, bitcoin rallied. It’...