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

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at an Oculus event in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: Zuckerberg on Head Drilling, Neural Interfaces and Face Tracking

By Mathew Olson · Mar 9, 2021 11:01am PST · 1 comment

Welcome back! Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t often give long interviews about the scope and ambition of Facebook’s AR and VR projects, as he did for the podcast we published on Monday (listen here, transcript here). So I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a deeper dive into a couple points from the interview in today’s... Welcome back! Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t often give long interviews about the scope and...

Tencent's Chief Strategy Officer James Mitchell, a key figure in Tencent's investment portfolio. Photo by Bloomberg

Tencent’s Investments Got $120 Billion Boost From 2020 Rally

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Mar 9, 2021 6:01am PST · 3 comments

It’s the kind of track record that would make any Sand Hill Road venture capitalist jealous. Tencent, best known for its WeChat messaging app, is one of the world’s biggest and savviest tech investors, holding stakes in a range of companies including Snap and Meituan. Previously unreported internal data reviewed by The Information... It’s the kind of track record that would make any Sand Hill Road venture capitalist...

An attendee at an Oculus conference in 2019 trying out the Quest virtual reality headset and controllers. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Facebook’s AR/VR Strategy: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 8, 2021 5:02pm PST

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed how much he is focused on the future, rather than on current-day topics like disinformation and content moderation, in an extensive interview he gave The Information about augmented reality and virtual reality. His ambitions sound grand—“one day I want people to be able to teleport around.”... Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed how much he is focused on the future, rather than on...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg; illustration by Mike Sullivan

Mark Zuckerberg on Mind Reading, Apple and the Race to Mainstream VR

By Alex Heath and Mathew Olson · Mar 8, 2021 7:41am PST · 2 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg; illustration by Mike Sullivan

The Big Interview

Mark Zuckerberg on Mind Reading, Apple and the Race to Mainstream VR

By Alex Heath and Mathew Olson · Mar 8, 2021 7:41am PST · 2 comments

Today we published a 45-minute special edition of The Information's 411 podcast featuring a recent interview we conducted with Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, about his company’s growing investments in augmented and virtual reality. The following is a lightly edited transcript of that interview: Alex Heath: Can you just set... Today we published a 45-minute special edition of The Information's 411 podcast...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Mark Zuckerberg Talks the Future of AR and VR in The Information’s Reality Check

By Mathew Olson · Mar 8, 2021 7:02am PST · 4 comments

Welcome to the first installment of The Information’s Reality Check, our new newsletter devoted to augmented reality and virtual reality—the first of many newsletters we are launching in the coming months. Why a whole newsletter on AR and VR, you ask? Well, the coming war between Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and many, many... Welcome to the first installment of The Information’s Reality Check, our new newsletter...

“It’s Hard to Know Where It Stops”

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 6, 2021 7:47am PST

There are weeks when I read the news and think, “Really? Can all of this be happening?” Nowadays, I’m referring to the wild west of the startup and VC business, which is getting more insane by the term sheet. This week you saw unbelievable stories of rising prices, documented here by Kate. At the same time, there were important... There are weeks when I read the news and think, “Really? Can all of this be...

Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor appearing virtually at a recent crypto conference. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Data Company Going All In on Bitcoin: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 5, 2021 5:31pm PST · 4 comments

The number of public companies with core exposure to bitcoin is growing. Today bitcoin miner Cipher Mining Technologies said it would merge with a SPAC called Good Works. The big one, Coinbase, is planning to go public soon. And then there is Microstrategy, a publicly traded data analytics software firm that has basically mortgaged its future on... The number of public companies with core exposure to bitcoin is growing. Today bitcoin miner...

The Information’s 411 — Facebook Needs Kustomer Support

By Tom Dotan · Mar 5, 2021 4:48pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Facebook Needs Kustomer Support

By Tom Dotan · Mar 5, 2021 4:48pm PST

Cory chats with Josh Sisco about the reason regulators are probing Facebook’s deal to acquire Kustomer. Tom talks to Kevin McLaughlin about the next group of enterprise software companies to go public. Cory chats with Josh Sisco about the reason regulators are probing Facebook’s deal to...

‘Can’t Get More Crazy’: Series A Valuations Extend Record Rise

By Kate Clark · Mar 5, 2021 6:01am PST · 3 comments

Financial software developer Orum, which disclosed a seed round over the summer, wasn’t seeking more capital when Bain Capital Ventures offered to lead its Series A investment last year. But the one-year-old startup took the money anyway and got a post-investment valuation of $100 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the... Financial software developer Orum, which disclosed a seed round over the summer, wasn’t...

Jack Dorsey (left) and Jay Z. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Dorsey Gives Jay-Z a Square Deal: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 4, 2021 5:30pm PST

Square’s steady revenue growth and surging stock price has, until now, made it a bona fide business success for Jack Dorsey, much more so than the CEO’s other company, Twitter. But Square’s bizarre decision to buy a majority stake in music streaming service Tidal for nearly $300 million suggests Dorsey is losing focus. Perhaps... Square’s steady revenue growth and surging stock price has, until now, made it a bona fide...

Kuaishou Technology headquarters in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg.

Q&A

Why China Embraced the Creator Economy Before the West Did

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 4, 2021 9:00am PST · 2 comments

Executives at Facebook, Twitter and Snap recently realized that if they don’t help the people who produce videos and other content for their apps make money, these creators will take their talents, fans and potential revenue streams somewhere else. In China, mobile video apps figured that out six years ago. That’s when Kuaishou,... Executives at Facebook, Twitter and Snap recently realized that if they don’t help the...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How Katerra’s Facade Crumbled

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 4, 2021 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

How Katerra’s Facade Crumbled

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 4, 2021 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Not much was going right early last year at SoftBank-backed construction startup Katerra. Money was drying up, and board meetings sometimes erupted into shouting matches. Anxious about missing financial forecasts while the company was trying to raise more money from investors, at least one Katerra employee told others in its relatively small but... Not much was going right early last year at SoftBank-backed construction startup Katerra. Money...

A sign at Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s Privacy PR Move: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 3, 2021 5:31pm PST

Google made headlines with its announcement today that it is doubling down on its commitment to stop tracking people as they browse across the web, a step “towards a more privacy-first” web, as Google calls it. In many ways, though, this seems more of a PR move than anything substantive. It certainly won’t do much to guarantee... Google made headlines with its announcement today that it is doubling down on its commitment to...

Facebook vice president Dan Levy has said the company is acquiring Kustomer because more businesses are interacting with their customers on Facebook apps. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Facebook’s $1 Billion Kustomer Acquisition Faces Extensive Antitrust Review

By Josh Sisco · Mar 3, 2021 11:07am PST · 2 comments

Facebook’s planned purchase of a startup called Kustomer is the kind of deal that would barely have raised an eyebrow among antitrust regulators a few years ago. The company is small and sells customer service software, far outside Facebook’s core social media and virtual reality businesses. But now that U.S. regulators are... Facebook’s planned purchase of a startup called Kustomer is the kind of deal that would...

The People With Power at Amazon

By Mark Di Stefano · Mar 3, 2021 6:01am PST · 3 comments

Never in Amazon’s 27-year history has the internet giant seen such dramatic upheaval in its leadership. In recent days, two executives with the first name Jeff—Wilke, its longtime worldwide consumer chief, and Blackburn, a senior vice president—have left the company, while Amazon’s third and most famous Jeff—CEO and... Never in Amazon’s 27-year history has the internet giant seen such dramatic upheaval in its...

Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instacart’s Latest Funding Hints at High-Priced Public Debut: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 2, 2021 5:30pm PST

Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instacart’s Latest Funding Hints at High-Priced Public Debut: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 2, 2021 5:30pm PST

Price expectations for Instacart’s public debut just went up, by a lot. The grocery delivery firm raised a fresh round of funding—its third since last June—at a valuation of $39 billion. That’s $9 billion above the IPO valuation some reports last November said Instacart’s bankers were planning. And of course,... Price expectations for Instacart’s public debut just went up, by a lot. The grocery...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Collectibles, Crypto NFTs, and the Monetization of Influence

By Sam Lessin · Mar 2, 2021 10:42am PST · 7 comments

The biggest story of the last month in the world of crypto has been the rapid rise of non-fungible tokens. For the uninitiated, NFTs are basically one-of-a-kind “artwork” or “cards” that are put on the blockchain and auctioned off to collectors or speculators. While NFTs have been around for years, the last several weeks... The biggest story of the last month in the world of crypto has been the rapid rise of...

Samsara co-founders Sanjit Biswas (left) and John Bicket. Photo provided by Samsara

Five Enterprise Software Companies on Deck to Go Public

By Kevin McLaughlin and Nick Wingfield · Mar 2, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Investors have shown a hearty appetite for the stocks of tech companies like Snowflake and Zoom Video Communications that cater to business customers. Get ready for more of them to go public soon. The coming months are likely to see a flurry of new companies in the category—broadly referred to as enterprise software—making their... Investors have shown a hearty appetite for the stocks of tech companies like Snowflake and Zoom...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan in front of the Nasdaq the day Zoom went public in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

Zoom Now Printing Money: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2021 5:30pm PST

Zoom Video Communications provided another reminder of why it’s been such a hot stock during the pandemic. The company, whose brand name is now synonymous with video calls, revealed it has become a cash machine over the past 12 months. Zoom generated $1.4 billion from its videoconferencing service in fiscal 2021. The fascinating question... Zoom Video Communications provided another reminder of why it’s been such a hot stock...

Illustration by Jeremie Claeys

Content Alone Will Kill the Creator Economy

By Gina Bianchini · Mar 1, 2021 6:02am PST · 14 comments

Illustration by Jeremie Claeys

Content Alone Will Kill the Creator Economy

By Gina Bianchini · Mar 1, 2021 6:02am PST · 14 comments

The emerging creator economy is exciting. For the first time ever, more of us can turn our expertise, interests, curiosity or craft into an ongoing income stream funded by 1,000 or even 100 true fans. There’s only one problem. While it’s easy to start a newsletter, podcast or online course, it turns out that running a content... The emerging creator economy is exciting. For the first time ever, more of us can turn our...