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

Square's Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg

What Dorsey’s Square Deal for Afterpay Means For Affirm

By Martin Peers · Aug 2, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Affirm CEO Max Levchin owes Jack Dorsey big time. Just two weeks ago, news that Apple was working on an Affirm-like buy-now-pay-later consumer service sent Affirm shares plunging 14%. Today, after Dorsey’s Square unveiled plans to buy Affirm’s bigger rival, Australia-based Afterpay, Affirm’s stock jumped back 15%. Competition from Square cancels... Affirm CEO Max Levchin owes Jack Dorsey big time. Just two weeks ago, news that Apple was working...

Maroon 5 performs on Feb. 27, 2020. Photo: AP

Creator Economy

The Rise of Fan Membership Services; Pearpop’s Maroon 5 Challenge

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 2, 2021 4:09pm PDT

For some creators, brand sponsorships are losing their luster, even though they remain the top way to make money. Subscriptions, a path to earn recurring income directly from fans, have emerged as an attractive second option. That’s fueled the success of OnlyFans and Patreon. Now other startups and big social networks are following suit.... For some creators, brand sponsorships are losing their luster, even though they remain the top...

Industry Braces for New Tax Rules; Square’s Bitcoin Paradox

By Hannah Miller · Aug 2, 2021 2:51pm PDT

The bipartisan infrastructure bill, a full draft of which was released publicly on Sunday, continues to put the cryptocurrency industry on edge, as trade groups argue that the bill’s language is too broad and includes too many businesses as “brokers” that would have to report crypto transactions to tax regulators.While trade groups want the... The bipartisan infrastructure bill, a full draft of which was released publicly on Sunday,...

TaxBit co-founders Justin Woodward (left) and Austin Woodward (right). Photo: TaxBit, Shutterstock.

Crypto Software Startup TaxBit Triples Valuation in Insight-Led Round

By Kate Clark · Aug 2, 2021 12:39pm PDT · 1 comment

TaxBit co-founders Justin Woodward (left) and Austin Woodward (right). Photo: TaxBit, Shutterstock.

Crypto Software Startup TaxBit Triples Valuation in Insight-Led Round

By Kate Clark · Aug 2, 2021 12:39pm PDT · 1 comment

TaxBit, a startup that develops tax software for traders of cryptocurrency, is raising over $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in a new funding round, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Insight Partners, a New York-based VC firm, is one of the lead investors, one of the people said. The new round would more than... TaxBit, a startup that develops tax software for traders of cryptocurrency, is raising over $100...

A Japanese politician at the opening ceremony for a three-day Pokemon Go event in Japan in 2017. Photo by AP

What Pokemon Go’s Pandemic Decisions Might Mean for AR’s Future

By Mathew Olson · Aug 2, 2021 11:00am PDT

Pokemon Go’s sustained success will surely influence the design of AR games for the foreseeable future. It’s worth paying attention, then, to what Pokemon fans have to say—and how the Go developer, Niantic, reacts to fan fury triggered by the company’s weekend decision to roll back some key pandemic-related changes to the game.Niantic designed... Pokemon Go’s sustained success will surely influence the design of AR games for the foreseeable...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Amazon Installed Cameras to Track Drivers. New Documents Reveal How They Work.

By Mark Di Stefano · Aug 2, 2021 6:01am PDT

Amazon raised privacy hackles earlier this year with a plan to put high-tech video cameras in delivery vans to keep tabs on its drivers’ attention to safety. Now confidential documents viewed by The Information show how Amazon is using the devices to collect safety data about drivers that can affect the profits of the independent companies... Amazon raised privacy hackles earlier this year with a plan to put high-tech video cameras in...

The Bad News That Elon Musk Shared and Everybody Missed

By Steve LeVine · Aug 1, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, and battery chief Drew Baglino at Battery Day. Credit: Steve Jurvetson / FlickrLast week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk crowed about the company’s first $1 billion quarterly profit—its eighth consecutive profitable quarter—and seemed to leave behind the relentless specter of imminent corporate bankruptcy that had previously... Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, and battery chief Drew Baglino at Battery Day. Credit: Steve...

What the Heck Is Going On in China?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 31, 2021 7:45am PDT · 3 comments

What the Heck Is Going On in China?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 31, 2021 7:45am PDT · 3 comments

It’s been a few months of startling headlines out of the China tech sector as the government has initiated an unprecedented crackdown across all corners of China’s tech economy. More on why it is happening later—first let’s consider some of the carnage. It’s been a few months of startling headlines out of the China tech sector as the government has...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft’s Dubious Cloud Growth Tactic

By Martin Peers · Jul 30, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

One of the more eyebrow-raising stories of this week, in a week full of big tech news, was that Microsoft is considering investing in India-based hotel chain Oyo. If true—and Microsoft declined to comment on the report, which appeared first in TechCrunch—it would be a truly bizarre use of the software giant’s cash resources. Forget, for a... One of the more eyebrow-raising stories of this week, in a week full of big tech news, was that...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg

China Antitrust Officials Delay Review of Nvidia’s $40 Billion Arm Acquisition

By Josh Sisco · Jul 30, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

It’s not just Chinese tech companies that are facing difficulties with China’s ruling party. Take Nvidia’s $40 billion takeover of chip designer Arm. While China’s competition regulators have been talking to the two companies since early this year, the agency’s formal review hasn’t even started yet, according... It’s not just Chinese tech companies that are facing difficulties with China’s ruling...

Robinhood co founders Baiju Bhatt, left, and Vladimir Tenev, walk on Wall Street following their company's IPO. Photo by AP

Robinhood’s Dismal Opening Is a Telling Sign

By Martin Peers · Jul 29, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

The stock market may be at record highs, but there were plenty of red lights flashing today. The most glaring of these would have to be the dismal opening day performance of Robinhood, the company most obviously associated with the post-Covid bull market. After pricing at the bottom end of its preliminary range, the stock fell sharply shortly... The stock market may be at record highs, but there were plenty of red lights flashing today. The...

Photo by Bloomberg

Can TikTok Be Knocked Off? Comments By Facebook, Snap and YouTube Point to ‘No’

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 29, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Can TikTok Be Knocked Off? Comments By Facebook, Snap and YouTube Point to ‘No’

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 29, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Can anyone catch TikTok? YouTube, Instagram and Snap have each tried to adapt to the paradigm shift caused by the ByteDance-owned short-form video app, which took the world by storm in the past few years. They’ve given little indication that people actually like their TikTok clones.On a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Facebook CEO ... Can anyone catch TikTok? YouTube, Instagram and Snap have each tried to adapt to the paradigm...

Ramp co-founders Karim Atiyeh (left) and Eric Glyman. Photo courtesy of Ramp.

Founders Fund, Iconiq Value Ramp at $3.8 Billion in New Funding Round

By Kate Clark · Jul 29, 2021 3:25pm PDT

Corporate credit card startup Ramp is raising its fourth round of venture funding in under eight months, underscoring how back-to-back fundraising rounds—with relatively little business progress in between—is becoming the norm for startups in hot fields such as financial services. Founders Fund is leading a new funding round that... Corporate credit card startup Ramp is raising its fourth round of venture funding in under eight...

Tax Crackdown; Robinhood’s Rough Start; The Graph Grows

By Hannah Miller · Jul 29, 2021 3:05pm PDT

A bipartisan proposal that would deliver hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements in part through stronger tax enforcement on cryptocurrencies has, unsurprisingly, put some in the crypto world on edge.The bill would aim to raise $28 billion from crypto holders by tightening reporting thresholds, including requiring... A bipartisan proposal that would deliver hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure...

Chart: Mike Sullivan

BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard Among Most Exposed to China Tech-Stock Volatility

By Juro Osawa, Shai Oster and Aidan Ryan · Jul 29, 2021 1:10pm PDT · 1 comment

Money manager BlackRock and mutual fund managers the Vanguard Group and Fidelity are among six Western institutional investors who—if their holdings have remained the same since the first quarter—will have lost some $15 billion collectively in some of the biggest U.S.-listed China tech stocks that have tumbled in the wake of... Money manager BlackRock and mutual fund managers the Vanguard Group and Fidelity are among six...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Wall Street’s Question for Facebook: How Much Is the Metaverse Worth?

By Mathew Olson · Jul 29, 2021 11:00am PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Wall Street’s Question for Facebook: How Much Is the Metaverse Worth?

By Mathew Olson · Jul 29, 2021 11:00am PDT

Earlier this week, I gave Mark Zuckerberg some credit for talking about the metaverse without relying on speculative, buzzword-y language. In fact, compared to some of Facebook’s vague talk around its AR/VR hardware, Zuckerberg’s thoughts on what the metaverse is and what people will use it for have been clear, even if it’s a bit basic.Even so,... Earlier this week, I gave Mark Zuckerberg some credit for talking about the metaverse without...

Photos by Bloomberg; Shutterstock. Art by Mike Sullivan

Amazon’s Roads to Nowhere

By Paris Martineau · Jul 29, 2021 6:01am PDT

For months, residents of Margo Drive, a narrow residential street on the outskirts of Charlotte, N.C., have puzzled over this question: Why do gigantic semitrucks hauling cargo for Amazon keep rumbling down their one-lane, dead-end road? While Amazon has a warehouse nearby that opened late last year, its entrance is located through an impassable... For months, residents of Margo Drive, a narrow residential street on the outskirts of Charlotte,...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg

FTC’s Khan Accuses Big Tech of Promoting Fraud, Targets S. 230

By Martin Peers · Jul 28, 2021 5:02pm PDT

Lina Khan ratcheted up the rhetoric against big tech on Wednesday, accusing digital platforms owned by “some of the world’s largest companies” of promoting fraud. Gee, who could the FTC chair be talking about? What she said next should make it clear, if there was any doubt: “Business models singularly focused on scale and engagement coupled with... Lina Khan ratcheted up the rhetoric against big tech on Wednesday, accusing digital platforms...

Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Bringing Order to the Chaos of Influencers’ Hotel Discount-Seeking

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 28, 2021 4:17pm PDT

For several years, hotels have found themselves in awkward situations with social media influencers who contact them for free rooms in exchange for posts that promote their properties. Some interactions between ornery hotel owners and thirsty Instagram personalities have even gone viral.Instead of rolling his eyes, Michael Keriakos saw an... For several years, hotels have found themselves in awkward situations with social media...

Bitcoin After Inflation; Games Build Bridge to DeFi

By Hannah Miller · Jul 28, 2021 2:46pm PDT · 1 comment

Bitcoin After Inflation; Games Build Bridge to DeFi

By Hannah Miller · Jul 28, 2021 2:46pm PDT · 1 comment

Bitcoin prices got a lift after the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it was keeping interest rates near zero on Wednesday, despite rising inflation. The cryptocurrency is currently just under $40,000, an increase of 4.1% over the past 24 hours, a sign that at least some investors still see value in bitcoin as an inflation hedge.But Fed... Bitcoin prices got a lift after the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it was keeping...