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 on My Wrist, Apple on Your Eyes – The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 19, 2021 12:56pm PST

Reporters Alex Heath and Wayne Ma discuss their exclusive reporting on Facebook's efforts to build a smartwatch and Apple's work on a mixed-reality headset. This is another Facebook vs. Apple battle worth following. Reporters Alex Heath and Wayne Ma discuss their exclusive reporting on Facebook's efforts to...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s New Gig: A LinkedIn Freelancer Market Rivaling Upwork, Fiverr

By Amir Efrati · Feb 19, 2021 8:01am PST · 8 comments

LinkedIn is developing a new service called Marketplaces to let its 740 million users find and book freelancers, pitting it against publicly traded firms such as Upwork and Fiverr, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The career-focused networking site owned by Microsoft wants to tap into a small but growing market for... LinkedIn is developing a new service called Marketplaces to let its 740 million users find and...

Poshmark material at the Nasdaq in New York the day of its IPO last month. Photo by Bloomberg

IPO Pops Double in Size This Year, A Sign of Market Frothiness

By Ross Matican · Feb 19, 2021 6:01am PST

As if there was any doubt, new data shows just how frothy this year’s market for tech initial public offerings is compared to past years. Shares of tech IPOs this year jumped an average of 63% on their first trading day, nearly double the first-day pop for last year’s tech IPOs, according to data from Dealogic. And last... As if there was any doubt, new data shows just how frothy this year’s market for tech...

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch. Photo by Bloomberg.

Australia Kerfuffle Wins Facebook Friends: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 18, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch. Photo by Bloomberg.

Australia Kerfuffle Wins Facebook Friends: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 18, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

The Australian government has managed the seemingly impossible, turning Facebook into a sympathetic creature for many tech pundits who have relentlessly pilloried the social network over the past few years. Commentary today and yesterday supported Facebook’s decision to block news content in Australia rather than give in to the proposed... The Australian government has managed the seemingly impossible, turning Facebook into a...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Clubhouse and the Future of Cult-Driven Social Platforms

By Sam Lessin · Feb 18, 2021 9:00am PST · 23 comments

People are right to be focusing attention on Clubhouse’s meteoric rise. But almost everyone seems to misunderstand what is making the app so successful. It isn’t, as people like Ben Thompson suggest, simply another iteration of the old story of lowering the barriers for production and consumption, shortening feedback loops and... People are right to be focusing attention on Clubhouse’s meteoric rise. But almost everyone...

Image: Mike Sullivan

StockX Revenue Hits $400 Million in Turf Battle With Goat

By Malique Morris and Cory Weinberg · Feb 18, 2021 6:02am PST · 1 comment

Most people who buy from e-commerce site StockX purchase the type of items it has become known for: trendy pre-owned sneakers and other streetwear. But in a twist, the new Sony PlayStation and Xbox consoles were its highest-grossing products last year as shoppers dove in, willing to pay a premium for the scarce devices. StockX’s expansion... Most people who buy from e-commerce site StockX purchase the type of items it has become known...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Australian High Noon: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 17, 2021 5:32pm PST · 1 comment

We’re about to find out just how important news is to Facebook’s audience and, by extension, to the social network itself. Facebook is restricting the posting or sharing of news content in Australia in response to the Australian government’s proposed news media code governing how internet companies pay for news content. At the... We’re about to find out just how important news is to Facebook’s audience and, by...

David Dobrik at the 2019 E! People's Choice Awards. Photo by AP

Camera App Dispo Starts Funding Talks with Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark

By Kate Clark · Feb 17, 2021 11:58am PST · 10 comments

David Dobrik at the 2019 E! People's Choice Awards. Photo by AP

Camera App Dispo Starts Funding Talks with Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark

By Kate Clark · Feb 17, 2021 11:58am PST · 10 comments

On Friday, Nitin Pachisia, co-founder of VC firm Unshackled Ventures, received a handful of digital invite codes to access photo-sharing app Dispo. There was one condition: Employees at Dispo “were explicit about not inviting a bunch of [venture capitalists],” said Pachisia, 41, an existing investor in the Los Angeles-based startup.... On Friday, Nitin Pachisia, co-founder of VC firm Unshackled Ventures, received a handful of...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo: Bloomberg

As Twitter’s Stock Soars, Employee Bonuses Drop

By Alex Heath · Feb 17, 2021 7:52am PST · 2 comments

Twitter has told its employees that they will receive a sliver of their corporate bonus target for 2020 after the company missed its internal revenue and profit goals amid the pandemic, according to two people with direct knowledge of the decision. The austerity measure underscores how Twitter’s financial performance lagged its larger tech... Twitter has told its employees that they will receive a sliver of their corporate bonus target...

Clockwise from top-left: Alicia Boler Davis, Dilip Kumar, Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec and Rohit Prasad. Photos by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Bench: Ten Executives From the Company’s Next Generation of Leaders

By Mark Di Stefano · Feb 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Get ready to hear more from a new cast of Amazon executives. That includes people in the most senior leadership positions at the internet giant, including Andy Jassy, the longtime head of its cloud unit, who will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO later this year, and Dave Clark, its logistics head, who will become the new chief of its worldwide consumer... Get ready to hear more from a new cast of Amazon executives. That includes people in the most...

ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

ByteDance Goes From Strength to Strength: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 16, 2021 5:31pm PST

For sheer corporate drama, few episodes in recent U.S. business history can match last summer’s Trump-TikTok saga, with elements of geopolitical intrigue spliced with Trump’s unique governing style. And as is clear now, it all culminated in…absolutely nothing. The Biden administration isn’t pursuing the ban. Meanwhile,... For sheer corporate drama, few episodes in recent U.S. business history can match last...

A Changing Tide for Female Founders

By The Information Staff · Feb 16, 2021 4:33pm PST

A Changing Tide for Female Founders

By The Information Staff · Feb 16, 2021 4:33pm PST

On February 4th, The Information hosted a breakout session on what’s next for female founders at our Future of Startups event. The conversation, hosted in partnership with BCG, included several dozen female founders and investors. Funding for female founders was a main topic of conversation. Investments in female-founded startups on... On February 4th, The Information hosted a breakout session on what’s next for female...

Photo illustration by Mike Sullivan

Inside WeChat’s Struggle to Slow Down TikTok Owner ByteDance

By Juro Osawa · Feb 16, 2021 6:00am PST

A cartoon pig raps about the misery of job hunting during the pandemic. Another clip says a shortage of office toilet paper is a sign of a failing company. Both bite-size videos were posted online by Xiao Yang as part of his job marketing a company that sells online career services in China. His videos do pretty well on Douyin, a Chinese viral... A cartoon pig raps about the misery of job hunting during the pandemic. Another clip says a...

DoorDash signs outside the New York Stock Exchange at the time of its IPO in December. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why DoorDash Stock Is Too Pricey and Uber Too Cheap

By Ross Matican · Feb 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 14 comments

Here’s a stock market puzzle. Since DoorDash went public in early December at a higher than expected value for the food-delivery service, Uber’s stock has risen 13%. Investors realize that the premium put on DoorDash implies that Uber’s food-delivery business, UberEats, is also now worth more. But if you value UberEats based on... Here’s a stock market puzzle. Since DoorDash went public in early December at a higher than...

The Winners and Losers of the Current Venture Boom

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 13, 2021 7:46am PST · 4 comments

For those watching the private and public tech markets closely, each day—make that each hour—brings another deal that seems to defy gravity. Dating site Bumble rose 63% on its first day of trading this week to a valuation of $13 billion. Andreessen Horowitz valued Stir, a young company that helps influencers manage their businesses,... For those watching the private and public tech markets closely, each day—make that each...

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Comcast Should Sell NBCU: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 12, 2021 5:46pm PST · 1 comment

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Comcast Should Sell NBCU: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 12, 2021 5:46pm PST · 1 comment

Walt Disney’s December quarter results on Thursday, showing how well the company is doing in streaming, provided a fascinating contrast with NBCUniversal’s more risk-averse approach to the new industry, which we wrote about this week. And it is a reminder that when your corporate parent is focused on another business—NBCU is... Walt Disney’s December quarter results on Thursday, showing how well the company is doing...

Around the World With Apple — The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 12, 2021 2:45pm PST

Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel discuss their reporting on how NBCUniversal is trying to pluck its way to streaming success, and why a merger with WarnerMedia might make sense. Then, Wayne Ma explains the logistical feats that helped Apple avoid the kind of shipping delays that plagued other companies. Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel discuss their reporting on how NBCUniversal is trying to pluck its...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Plans Smartwatch With Focus on Messaging, Health

By Alex Heath and Wayne Ma · Feb 12, 2021 1:13pm PST · 3 comments

Facebook is building a smartwatch it hopes to start selling next year, according to people with direct knowledge of the device. The watch will let wearers send messages using Facebook’s services and also offer health and fitness features, according to four of those people. Facebook’s planned foray into smartwatches would inch the... Facebook is building a smartwatch it hopes to start selling next year, according to people with...

Jannick Malling, co-founder of Public and its co-CEO (l) and Leif Abraham (r), Public's other CEO.

The Big Interview

No ‘Trader Bros’ Here: Public CEO Rides Anti-Robinhood Backlash

By Kate Clark · Feb 12, 2021 6:00am PST

These are strange times for stock-trading app Public. New customers, irate over rival Robinhood’s trading policies, have been rushing to sign up. Deep-pocketed investors are vying to back it. And the 60-person startup has just abandoned a practice of accepting payments for routing trades to big Wall Street firms, a major way it made money.... These are strange times for stock-trading app Public. New customers, irate over rival...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Nadella Up To? The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 11, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Nadella Up To? The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 11, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Is Satya Nadella getting bored? The Microsoft CEO has done an amazing job since taking the helm of the aging software giant almost exactly seven years ago. By focusing on building up Microsoft’s enterprise cloud business, he has accelerated the company’s growth rate and lifted its stock more than 500%. Now, though, he appears to be... Is Satya Nadella getting bored? The Microsoft CEO has done an amazing job since taking the helm...