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

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg

Zoom’s Five9 Deal Begs Question of What Comes Next

By Martin Peers · Jul 19, 2021 5:01pm PDT

Zoom Video kicked off its long-expected expansion, unveiling plans to acquire contact center software provider Five9 Inc. for $14.7 billion in stock. That gives Zoom a second business to complement its original videoconferencing service, which proved vital for companies and consumers during the pandemic. Contact center software, which helps... Zoom Video kicked off its long-expected expansion, unveiling plans to acquire contact center...

Rex Woodbury. Photo: Index Ventures

Creator Economy

Rebuild America’s Economy for ‘Solopreneurs,’ Says Index’s Woodbury

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 19, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Rex Woodbury, a 27-year-old principal at venture capital firm Index Ventures in San Francisco, started out as an influencer in college, amassing 236,000 Instagram followers. Posts about his daily life led to deals for sponsored posts with BMW, Under Armour and Marriott. That experience laid the foundation for his work as an investor, where... Rex Woodbury, a 27-year-old principal at venture capital firm Index Ventures in San Francisco,...

Stablecoins Under Scrutiny; an Interview With Tezos’ Co-Founder

By Hannah Miller · Jul 19, 2021 3:05pm PDT

Cryptocurrency once again demonstrated that it isn’t immune to global market jitters, as prices of bitcoin, ether and other digital assets fell alongside U.S. stocks Monday. The price of bitcoin sank some 3% to around $30,700.Bitcoin has long been portrayed as a hedge against uncertainty due to its scarcity, since its circulation is capped at 21... Cryptocurrency once again demonstrated that it isn’t immune to global market jitters, as prices...

A screenshot via YouTube from an Amazon video about employee Covid-19 testing.

Amazon to Stop Covid Testing in U.S. Warehouses

By Mark Di Stefano · Jul 19, 2021 2:20pm PDT · 1 comment

A screenshot via YouTube from an Amazon video about employee Covid-19 testing.

Amazon to Stop Covid Testing in U.S. Warehouses

By Mark Di Stefano · Jul 19, 2021 2:20pm PDT · 1 comment

Amazon on Monday told employees that it will soon stop on-site Covid testing for its legions of warehouse workers, despite a surge of cases in parts of the United States. The company told employees in a note circulated to them through an internal company app that it will discontinue Covid-19 testing for them after July 30, according to an image... Amazon on Monday told employees that it will soon stop on-site Covid testing for its legions of...

A person wearing Campfire's AR/VR headset. Image by Campfire

Why AR and VR Still Struggle to Go Wireless

By Mathew Olson · Jul 19, 2021 11:02am PDT · 1 comment

A slew of recent AR and VR devices are hitting the market without cables, most notably Facebook’s Oculus Quest headsets. To fulfill the promise of all-day use, headsets and glasses need to be wireless eventually. But after seeing some of the new hardware coming later this year, it’s clear to me that the freedom of wireless may not be worth the... A slew of recent AR and VR devices are hitting the market without cables, most notably Facebook’s...

The Information’s Tech Pay Survey Shows Power Shift to Employees

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Sarah Krouse · Jul 19, 2021 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

The technology-business boom is giving white-collar workers more of what they want. At tech companies, the traditional practice of allowing employees’ shares to vest only after a worker reaches a full year of employment, known as a one-year “cliff,” appears to be eroding. More than 20% of managers and employees surveyed by The... The technology-business boom is giving white-collar workers more of what they want. At tech...

Why Elon Musk Has Bet on Asian Battery Makers Over American Battery Startups

By Steve LeVine · Jul 18, 2021 2:31pm PDT

American battery pioneer John Goodenough in 2019. Photo by APGood evening and welcome to the second issue of The Electric! (The first issue can be found here.)In 1980, John Goodenough, an American professor running the inorganic chemistry lab at Oxford University, discovered the lithium-cobalt-oxide cathode, a battery electrode whose unusual... American battery pioneer John Goodenough in 2019. Photo by APGood evening and welcome to the...

What Makes a Good CEO?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 17, 2021 7:46am PDT · 1 comment

What Makes a Good CEO?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 17, 2021 7:46am PDT · 1 comment

Tech CEOs are grabbing their fair share of headlines, per usual. Mark Zuckerberg is in the news again in the wake of a negative new book about Facebook and a controversy over his Fourth of July watersports moment (patriotic or not?). Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are duking it out over their journey to space, or somewhere close to it,... Tech CEOs are grabbing their fair share of headlines, per usual. Mark Zuckerberg is in the...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Earnings Kick Off Next Week—and Growth Numbers Will Be Big

By Martin Peers · Jul 16, 2021 5:05pm PDT

Fasten your seat belt. Next week kicks off the tech earnings season. And we’re in for some extraordinary numbers as companies report second-quarter results that compare with the pandemic-depressed period from a year ago. That will make for somewhat artificially inflated growth rates this time around that are sure to grab headlines. To get a real... Fasten your seat belt. Next week kicks off the tech earnings season. And we’re in for some...

Gorillas in the Wild — The 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 16, 2021 2:53pm PDT

Why are so many instant delivery startups popping up? Cory talks to The Information's Mark Di Stefano about the buzzy sector and one controversial company in particular, Gorillas. Then, Steve LeVine, author of the new The Information newsletter The Electric, explains the geopolitical dynamics in the battery industry. Why are so many instant delivery startups popping up? Cory talks to The Information's Mark Di...

Carta CEO Henry Ward. Photo: Carta.

Silver Lake to Lead New Carta Funding at $7.4 Billion Valuation

By Cory Weinberg and Berber Jin · Jul 16, 2021 10:38am PDT

Carta is finalizing a round of funding led by new investor Silver Lake Partners that would value the financial software startup at $7.4 billion including the new capital, roughly where secondary market investors valued it in February, two people familiar with the matter said. The funding, expected to be $500 million to $600 million, would nearly... Carta is finalizing a round of funding led by new investor Silver Lake Partners that would value...

Illustration: Mike Sullivan

AirPods Are a Huge Hit With Consumers—and Counterfeiters

By Wayne Ma · Jul 16, 2021 6:14am PDT

Illustration: Mike Sullivan

AirPods Are a Huge Hit With Consumers—and Counterfeiters

By Wayne Ma · Jul 16, 2021 6:14am PDT

U.S. Customs officials are seizing record numbers of counterfeit wireless headphones amid a surge in the popularity of Apple’s easy-to-copy AirPods. Roughly 360,000 counterfeit wireless headphones with a retail value of $62.2 million were confiscated in the first nine months of the U.S. government’s fiscal year, which starts in... U.S. Customs officials are seizing record numbers of counterfeit wireless headphones amid a surge...

Netflix's Los Angeles office building. Photo by Bloomberg

Netflix for Games Will Require Lots of Hard Work

By Martin Peers · Jul 15, 2021 5:10pm PDT · 3 comments

Netflix’s hiring of a former Facebook executive to oversee an expansion into gaming will be welcome news for investors who are fretting about the company’s ability to maintain its robust growth of the past few years. But no one should be under any illusions about the rocky road ahead for Netflix as it seeks to become a force in gaming. This... Netflix’s hiring of a former Facebook executive to oversee an expansion into gaming will be...

Makeup artist and influencer Jeremiah Jacques. Photo: Jeremiah Jacques

Creator Economy

Why Advertiser Spending on Influencers Will Reach $4 Billion

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 15, 2021 4:00pm PDT

We got an early look at new data from eMarketer/Insider Intelligence that shows just how much money advertisers are spending on sponsored posts from influencers. Influencer marketing on social networks in the U.S., including Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, is projected to rise to $3.7 billion this year, up 34% from last year. By 2023,... We got an early look at new data from eMarketer/Insider Intelligence that shows just how much...

Chart: Mike Sullivan

The Bitcoin Mining Backlash; Dogecoin’s Unhappy Inventor

By Hannah Miller · Jul 15, 2021 2:45pm PDT

Bitcoin miners in China were feeling the heat even before the country’s cryptocurrency crackdown. Data released Thursday from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index or CBECI show that these miners were fleeing China prior to new restrictions that Beijing put in place in May and June. The new stats help confirm what many have... Bitcoin miners in China were feeling the heat even before the country’s cryptocurrency crackdown....

Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai. Photos by Bloomberg

Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook Face at Least 70 Antitrust Probes, Cases

By Josh Sisco · Jul 15, 2021 9:03am PDT · 1 comment

Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai. Photos by Bloomberg

Big Tech Antitrust Database

Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook Face at Least 70 Antitrust Probes, Cases

By Josh Sisco · Jul 15, 2021 9:03am PDT · 1 comment

It seems that almost every day a headline blares the news of a new antitrust inquiry against one of the big tech firms. This barrage of cases means that a staggering 70 competition-related lawsuits or investigations are now collectively underway against Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook globally—up from 17 ongoing probes and cases two... It seems that almost every day a headline blares the news of a new antitrust inquiry against one...

Facebook’s Switch on AR Brain Interfaces Reflects Market Realities

By Mathew Olson · Jul 15, 2021 8:49am PDT

Facebook is ditching its research into the futuristic idea of communicating with just your mind. Instead, it will focus on wrist-based neural interfaces—a way of controlling software based on reading nerve impulses via the wrist. Facebook believes that tech shows promise as a way to control AR glasses. And to be honest, it’s sure to be far more... Facebook is ditching its research into the futuristic idea of communicating with just your mind....

Gorillas CEO Kağan Sümer. Photo provided by Gorillas

Gorilla Warfare in Europe’s Startup Scene

By Mark Di Stefano and Cory Weinberg · Jul 15, 2021 6:01am PDT

Last year, Kağan Sümer blasted out of nowhere with a startup called Gorillas that had an audacious vision: to kill the grocery store. The Berlin-based grocery-delivery company surpassed a $1 billion valuation a year after it was founded, a nearly unheard-of rate of ascent for a startup in Europe, where a string of other scrappy delivery... Last year, Kağan Sümer blasted out of nowhere with a startup called Gorillas that had an...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Weapon in the Cloud

By Martin Peers · Jul 14, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Microsoft struck a major blow in the cybersecurity wars today, with its decision to offer a cloud-based version of its Windows operating system. Windows 365, as it is dubbed, will make it easier for people to switch from outdated versions of Windows, those that are most likely to have software vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. That is... Microsoft struck a major blow in the cybersecurity wars today, with its decision to offer a...

How Facebook’s $1 Billion Creator Warchest Compares

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 14, 2021 4:24pm PDT

Creator Economy

How Facebook’s $1 Billion Creator Warchest Compares

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 14, 2021 4:24pm PDT

As our latest chart shows, Facebook is late to join the parade of tech companies offering to pay creators for showing up on their platforms. It’s making up for that latecomer status in size—and variety. Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram will pay social media creators $1 billion through 2022, one of the largest direct financial... As our latest chart shows, Facebook is late to join the parade of tech companies offering to pay...