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

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Digital Ad Market Boom Drives Top-Line Growth of 20%-50% at Niche Websites

By Jessica Toonkel and Martin Peers · May 12, 2021 11:18am PDT

The boom in the digital ad market, which sent Facebook’s and Google’s revenue soaring in the first quarter, is reverberating through the rest of the sector. Quarterly results from companies as varied as IAC, owner of websites such as Investopedia and Verywell; J2 Global, owner of IGN and Mashable; The New York Times Co.; Vice Media... The boom in the digital ad market, which sent Facebook’s and Google’s revenue soaring...

Police VR Training Cuts the Cable

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

While few people in the U.S. may not recognize the name Axon Enterprise, its chief products are a familiar (if concerning) sight to some. Axon used to be known as Taser, and despite the change of name in 2017, the company still sells Taser electroshock weapons and body cameras to police and law enforcement agencies across the country.In recent... While few people in the U.S. may not recognize the name Axon Enterprise, its chief products are a...

Illustration by Laurent Bazart

As SPAC Market Unravels, Startups Seek Alternatives

By Berber Jin · May 12, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

After the coronavirus pandemic jump-started demand for prescription delivery services, six-year-old Capsule Pharmacy decided to raise money to expand into new cities, hoping to target more customers who don’t want to visit pharmacies in person. One option it considered was to combine with a special purpose acquisition company, which would... After the coronavirus pandemic jump-started demand for prescription delivery services,...

The New York Stock Exchange during a winter storm. Photo by Bloomberg

Digital Media’s SPAC Scramble Heats Up

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

The New York Stock Exchange during a winter storm. Photo by Bloomberg

Digital Media’s SPAC Scramble Heats Up

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Digital media’s great SPAC scramble of 2021 is under way. Today we published new details about BuzzFeed’s plans to go public via a SPAC merger, including its discussions about simultaneously merging with lifestyle publisher Complex Networks. Meanwhile, Vice Media is preparing to pitch investors on its SPAC deal this week, the Wall Street Journal... Digital media’s great SPAC scramble of 2021 is under way. Today we published new details about...

YouTube is launching a fund for creators who make YouTube Shorts. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

How YouTube’s New Creator Fund Stacks Up

By Kaya Yurieff · May 11, 2021 3:39pm PDT

YouTube is launching a fund to pay performers to make YouTube Shorts, joining TikTok and Snapchat in trying to lure creators to their platforms with multi-million-dollar funds. YouTube is tapping a decent war chest—$100 million through 2022—but it’s far from the most generous. Snapchat in late November pledged to pay out $1 million a day to... YouTube is launching a fund to pay performers to make YouTube Shorts, joining TikTok and Snapchat...

Players of Niantic's Harry Potter Wizards Unite at a Niantic-sponsored event in Indianapolis in 2019. Image: Niantic

Niantic’s Lightship Lifts Off, Vive Reveals New Headsets

By Mathew Olson · May 11, 2021 11:11am PDT · 1 comment

Pokémon Go maker Niantic is expanding developer access to the platform that powers its games, a move that could spur more AR development by letting outside developers work with the company’s technology. It’s a big step forward for the company as it seeks to build on the success of its games toward being a major provider of essential AR software.... Pokémon Go maker Niantic is expanding developer access to the platform that powers its games, a...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed in Talks to Acquire Complex Networks

By Jessica Toonkel · May 11, 2021 9:07am PDT

BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, according to three people familiar with the situation. The Complex acquisition would increase BuzzFeed’s revenue by about 30%, giving it more scale and... BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks as part of its plan...

Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer of Okta. Photo provided by Okta

Okta Exec: We Can Be Bigger Than Salesforce

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 11, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer of Okta. Photo provided by Okta

The Big Interview

Okta Exec: We Can Be Bigger Than Salesforce

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 11, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, the software maker Okta closed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0, one of its main competitors in the market for identity and access management software. The deal, the largest in Okta’s history, is a bid to expand faster at a moment when Microsoft is breathing down the company’s neck with its own product. Okta has big... Last week, the software maker Okta closed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0, one of its main...

Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple and the Repression of the Uyghur in China

By Martin Peers · May 10, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Of all the big stories in tech over the past decade, the one that is likely to reverberate long into the future may be the one that draws the least attention from consumers right now. And that’s the horrific repression of the Uyghur people in China—which the Biden administration has described as genocide. Part of the story is that the Uyghur are... Of all the big stories in tech over the past decade, the one that is likely to reverberate long...

Creator Economy

Clubhouse's Android App Should Jumpstart Growth; Scaramucci on Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · May 10, 2021 3:18pm PDT

It’s not a stretch to call Clubhouse’s launch of its Android app a “critical milestone.” That’s how Snap founder Evan Spiegel in April described a juncture reached by Snapchat when it numbered more Android users than those on Apple’s iOS and at the same time, hit its highest quarterly growth rate in more than three years. Facebook for years... It’s not a stretch to call Clubhouse’s launch of its Android app a “critical milestone.” ...

Children played virtual reality games during an exhibition in Guangzhou, China, in 2017. Photo: AP

Facebook Quandary Over VR for Kids

By Mathew Olson · May 10, 2021 12:22pm PDT · 1 comment

Facebook is eager to get VR headsets into the hands of more consumers, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg isn’t keen on rushing toward one demographic: kids.In a recent interview with CNET (in keeping with Facebook’s new PR strategy), Zuckerberg settled in for another chat about VR and AR (you can listen to the long AR/VR convo we had with the Facebook CEO... Facebook is eager to get VR headsets into the hands of more consumers, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg...

A ‘Welcome Back!’sign on a Google building in Mountain View, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Under Pressure From Employees, Tech Companies Relax In-Office Policies

By Sarah Krouse and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 10, 2021 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

A ‘Welcome Back!’sign on a Google building in Mountain View, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Under Pressure From Employees, Tech Companies Relax In-Office Policies

By Sarah Krouse and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 10, 2021 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

An internal Google employee message board lit up last Wednesday morning as news of what many staff perceived as a more relaxed policy for working remotely circulated. One meme shared on the board showed a person crying, labeled “Facebook recruiters.” Another showed a sad person labeled “San Francisco landlords.” The... An internal Google employee message board lit up last Wednesday morning as news of what many...

A photo (top left) of a suspected detention center next to Artux Kunshan Industrial Park in Xinjiang, where an Apple supplier operated. Apple CEO Tim Cook (right). Photos by AP; Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Seven Apple Suppliers Accused of Using Forced Labor From Xinjiang

By Wayne Ma · May 10, 2021 6:00am PDT

Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than a decade. For two of those years, it operated a factory inside an industrial park on the edge of the deserts of Xinjiang, a region of western China populated by a predominantly Muslim group known as Uyghurs. The industrial park is surrounded by walls... Advanced-Connectek has made unglamorous but critical computer components for Apple for more than...

The Next Big News Disruption

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 8, 2021 7:45am PDT · 21 comments

Anyone who works in media—and especially in news—can feel the change. Everything about this business, from the editorial content to the talent to the (restless) energy of virtual newsrooms, is growing more intense.The pandemic is obviously a big part of the story. But there’s something bigger going on: a new phase of disruption as powerful as... Anyone who works in media—and especially in news—can feel the change. Everything about this...

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

YouTube Checkmates Roku

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

In the power struggle between YouTube and Roku, the Google-owned video giant may have just outmaneuvered its smaller rival. YouTube today announced it was making YouTube TV, the cable TV-like subscription service at the center of the dispute, available within its main app on Roku devices and later on other devices. The move effectively... In the power struggle between YouTube and Roku, the Google-owned video giant may have just...

Extreme Makeover: Zuck Edition — The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · May 7, 2021 2:04pm PDT

Extreme Makeover: Zuck Edition — The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · May 7, 2021 2:04pm PDT

How is Mark Zuckerberg planning to revamp his public image? Cory talks to The Information’s Sylvia Varnham O’Regan and Alex Heath about why Facebook’s CEO is going on another charm offensive. Then, Cory interviews Justin Bedecarre, CEO of Raise Commercial Real Estate, a Founders Fund-backed startup, about how tech firms... How is Mark Zuckerberg planning to revamp his public image? Cory talks to The Information’s...

Photo: Bloomberg

Why the Smart Money Is Headed to Europe

By Mattias Ljungman · May 7, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

For years, Europe has run a distant second to the U.S. when it comes to creating and supporting tech startups. Not anymore. Over the last year, the startup scene in Europe has exploded. In 2021 alone, the European tech ecosystem has created unicorns at a rate of at least one a week, with more money invested in the first three months of this year... For years, Europe has run a distant second to the U.S. when it comes to creating and supporting...

CBS personality Stephen Colbert with ViacomCBS' Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish. Photo by Bloomberg

TV’s Bleak Advertising Picture, By the Numbers

By Martin Peers · May 6, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It must be galling to be a TV executive nowadays. Over the past few weeks, they’ve had to watch a parade of tech companies reporting ad revenue up 30%-75% for the quarter. Now it’s the media companies’ turn—and their numbers haven’t been quite as bountiful. Most so far have reported little or no real growth.Take ViacomCBS, which today reported... It must be galling to be a TV executive nowadays. Over the past few weeks, they’ve had to watch a...

Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

A New Map of the Creator Economy; Twitch Downloads Surge

By Kaya Yurieff · May 6, 2021 3:31pm PDT

Startups founders are chasing creator dollars. A new report from early-stage venture firm Antler mapped more than 220 global companies servicing creators. The biggest category by far? Audience monetization, or startups that provide software and other technology to help creators make money outside advertising sponsorships. That focus isn’t... Startups founders are chasing creator dollars. A new report from early-stage venture firm Antler...

Photos by Bloomberg; Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Zuckerberg’s Plan to Repair Facebook’s Image: More Zuckerberg

By Alex Heath and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 6, 2021 12:53pm PDT · 3 comments

Photos by Bloomberg; Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Zuckerberg’s Plan to Repair Facebook’s Image: More Zuckerberg

By Alex Heath and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · May 6, 2021 12:53pm PDT · 3 comments

During a companywide Q&A with Facebook employees last Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to a question about a recent uptick in posts on his Facebook page, including a joke he made referencing the actor Vin Diesel a few days prior. He acknowledged that his public persona has been “really serious,” bordering on “squarely... During a companywide Q&A with Facebook employees last Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned to...