The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Will Epic Fail? — The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 30, 2021 1:41pm PDT

Apple's app store in on trial. Will Epic Games be able to loosen Apple's grip on app developers? Cory talks to The Information's legal reporter Josh Sisco about how Apple got in this situation and why it's likely to pull out a victory next month. Then, Cory and The Information senior editor Wendy Pollack discuss whether... Apple's app store in on trial. Will Epic Games be able to loosen Apple's grip on app...

Away CEO and co-founder Jen Rubio. Photo by Bloomberg

Q&A

Away’s New CEO Rubio Says There’s No ‘Time to Waste’ as Business Recovers From 50% Drop Last Year

By Malique Morris · Apr 30, 2021 10:33am PDT · 1 comment

Online luggage retailer Away’s new CEO, co-founder Jen Rubio, says the company doesn’t have “time to waste” as it prepares for a surge in business in the wake of the pandemic that brought travel to an abrupt halt and sent Away’s revenue plunging 50% to about $135 million in 2020. This year, Away is hoping to bounce... Online luggage retailer Away’s new CEO, co-founder Jen Rubio, says the company...

TheRealReal CEO Julie Wainwright. Photo by Bloomberg.

Web Retailers Resume Brick and Mortar Expansion After Pandemic Pause

By Malique Morris · Apr 30, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

For years, e-commerce companies have experimented carefully with their own brick-and-mortar stores, which are costly to run but can help them snag new customers. The pandemic interrupted the dalliance for many of them, prompting brands such as Glossier and Thredup to close their stores for good. Now, as shoppers return to the outside world with... For years, e-commerce companies have experimented carefully with their own brick-and-mortar...

An Amazon truck. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon, Twitter Round Out Tech’s Bonanza Quarter

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2021 5:02pm PDT

An Amazon truck. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon, Twitter Round Out Tech’s Bonanza Quarter

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2021 5:02pm PDT

Another day, another blockbuster result for a tech company. This time it was Amazon’s turn, posting a 44% lift in first-quarter revenue to a stunning $108.5 billion. This was the third quarter in the past 12 months where Amazon’s topline increased more than 40%. In 2019, pre-pandemic Amazon’s sales grew just 20%. That tells you how much of a... Another day, another blockbuster result for a tech company. This time it was Amazon’s turn,...

An image from the Cameo app. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Instagram Holds a ‘Meme Summit,’ Cameo Opens its Wallet

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 29, 2021 3:15pm PDT · 2 comments

One of the most exciting aspects of starting this newsletter is reporting on the creator economy, a beat that’s just coming into its own. There’s the David and Goliath saga of big tech platforms like Facebook and Google rivaling smaller companies such as Patreon and OnlyFans. There’s the proliferation of startups that offer creators everything... One of the most exciting aspects of starting this newsletter is reporting on the creator economy,...

Apple's App Store is increasingly facing antitrust accusations. Illustration by Jesus Escudero.

The Guardians of Apple’s App Store Gird for Battle

By Josh Sisco · Apr 29, 2021 11:53am PDT

For the next three weeks, one of Apple’s most senior executives, Phil Schiller, will spend his days in a sterile courtroom in Oakland, Calif., 50 miles from Apple’s gleaming spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino. Schiller, who helped launch the App Store 13 years ago and still oversees it, is the designated “corporate... For the next three weeks, one of Apple’s most senior executives, Phil Schiller, will spend...

Stanford's Jeremy Bailenson. Photo provided by Bailenson

TI Reality Check: How a Stanford Professor is Using VR to Measure Minds

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

Since 2003, Jeremy Bailenson, a cognitive psychologist who leads Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has been at the forefront of studying the use and potential impacts of AR and VR. His work touches on how the technologies can change human perception and the ways that they can be leveraged to monitor and understand our... Since 2003, Jeremy Bailenson, a cognitive psychologist who leads Stanford University’s...

Illustration by Jonathan Holt

Spotify’s Next Dilemma: Grappling With Hate Speech

By Jessica Toonkel and Mark Di Stefano · Apr 29, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Illustration by Jonathan Holt

Spotify’s Next Dilemma: Grappling With Hate Speech

By Jessica Toonkel and Mark Di Stefano · Apr 29, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

At a Spotify employee workshop held in late 2018, participants were presented with a series of statements which they were told came from a podcast on the service, urging violence against the police. The participants were asked if the statements amounted to hate speech and should be removed from Spotify. Most everyone attending agreed they should... At a Spotify employee workshop held in late 2018, participants were presented with a series of...

Apple's San Francisco store this week. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple and Facebook United in Big Profits

By Martin Peers · Apr 28, 2021 5:30pm PDT

Apple and Facebook are feuding about privacy and ad targeting but they had one thing in common on Wednesday: bonanza earnings. Coming in the wake of healthy reports from Alphabet on Tuesday, it’s clear that consumer tech companies are benefiting enormously from the post-pandemic economic recovery. How often do large companies, particularly... Apple and Facebook are feuding about privacy and ad targeting but they had one thing in common on...

A screen displays a NFT, or non-fungible token, work of art in New York on April 10. Photo: AP

Creator Economy

Chasing the NFT ‘Gold Rush’; YouTube Shorts Picks Up Views

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 28, 2021 3:02pm PDT

The internet craze for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has piqued the interest of creators, who are experimenting with selling their own NFTs, the one-of-a-kind digital collectibles that range from Jack Dorsey’s first tweet to the photo behind the Disaster Girl meme. A service called Rally.io, which allows people to launch their own digital currency,... The internet craze for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has piqued the interest of creators, who are...

A mock-up of how MicroVision's Lidar sensor for autonomous vehicles works. Picture by MicroVision.

An AR Stock Gets Caught Up in the Meme Cycle

By Mathew Olson · Apr 28, 2021 11:02am PDT

Earlier this year when the GameStop stock surge seemingly became all that anyone was talking about, I wondered whether an AR or VR company’s stock would one day end up in the crosshairs of Reddit’s trigger-happy traders. As it turned out, it was already happening, with a small AR-related company called MicroVision. The company... Earlier this year when the GameStop stock surge seemingly became all that anyone was talking...

Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Frets Over Apple Privacy Policy

By Juro Osawa · Apr 28, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Frets Over Apple Privacy Policy

By Juro Osawa · Apr 28, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last week, Alibaba invited half a dozen marketing industry executives to discuss a growing worry: Apple’s new privacy policy on its mobile software threatens to cut off the Chinese e-commerce giant and its advertising partners from troves of user data that fuel the company’s all-important ad business. The private meeting at Alibaba... Last week, Alibaba invited half a dozen marketing industry executives to discuss a growing worry:...

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: Tech is Booming, Quarterly Numbers Show

By Martin Peers · Apr 27, 2021 5:31pm PDT

Tech companies are awash in cash. That’s the takeaway from earnings results for the March quarter so far, including today’s numbers from Alphabet, Microsoft and Pinterest. And it means more cash to be invested in their businesses and, for the bigger companies, to be returned to shareholders through buybacks or dividends. We... Tech companies are awash in cash. That’s the takeaway from earnings results for the March...

Justin Zhu, Former Iterable CEO. Photo provided by Iterable

Before CEO’s Ouster for LSD Use, Iterable Investor Sold Stake to Silver Lake

By Kate Clark · Apr 27, 2021 4:47pm PDT · 6 comments

Weeks before the board of Iterable pushed out its CEO Justin Zhu for violating a company drug policy, one of the company’s biggest investors sold about half its stake in an unusual move that could signal its dissatisfaction with his leadership. Earlier this month, venture capital firm Index Ventures sold about $92 million worth of shares... Weeks before the board of Iterable pushed out its CEO Justin Zhu for violating a company drug...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Jan. 31, 2020.

Creator Economy

Zuckerberg Teases Tools for Instagram Influencers; OnlyFans’ Pandemic Payday

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 27, 2021 3:41pm PDT

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the first edition of the Creator Economy newsletter. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a glimpse into just how aggressively the company is trying to woo creators. In an Instagram Live on Tuesday with head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, Zuckerberg teased three new projects the company is working on:• Making Shops... Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the first edition of the Creator Economy newsletter. ...

A pilot in a VRM Switzerland VR helicopter trainer. Image: VRM Switzerland

TI Reality Check: VR Pilot Training Takes Flight

By Mathew Olson · Apr 27, 2021 12:01pm PDT

A pilot in a VRM Switzerland VR helicopter trainer. Image: VRM Switzerland

TI Reality Check: VR Pilot Training Takes Flight

By Mathew Olson · Apr 27, 2021 12:01pm PDT

Virtual reality is emerging as a viable option for training commercial pilots. On Monday, flight simulator maker VRM Switzerland announced that European Union regulators granted approval to one of the company’s VR helicopter training systems. The platform is the first to allow pilots to credit time on a VR simulator as part of their... Virtual reality is emerging as a viable option for training commercial pilots. On Monday, flight...

A screenshot of 'Bard of Blood' from Netflix.

How Netflix Fumbled India

By Jessica Toonkel and Mark Di Stefano · Apr 27, 2021 6:01am PDT · 8 comments

In 2019, Amazon and Netflix each released spy thrillers on their streaming services aimed at the India market—with dramatically different results. Amazon’s “Family Man,” which told the story of a middle-class man who secretly spies for India, nabbed rave reviews, became the most watched original series on the Indian... In 2019, Amazon and Netflix each released spy thrillers on their streaming services aimed at the...

Alphabet and Google chief Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

The Briefing: Roku Goes Up Against Google

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2021 5:32pm PDT · 1 comment

If there ever was a time when small companies feared going public with their complaints about big tech, that time has passed. We saw that last week when Spotify and Tile complained to Congress about how Apple wields its power. And it was demonstrated again today when Roku sent a note to customers informing them that they might lose access to... If there ever was a time when small companies feared going public with their complaints about big...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Creator Economy: Clubhouse’s First Tippers; a ‘Mighty’ Rival to Facebook

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 26, 2021 4:36pm PDT · 9 comments

Welcome to the first edition of the Creator Economy newsletter from The Information.Social media influencers have extraordinary power over culture and they are among the savviest entrepreneurs of our time. They are also multiplying: By late last year, some 50 million people considered themselves creators, according to venture firm SignalFire... Welcome to the first edition of the Creator Economy newsletter from The Information.Social media...

The customization interface for Oculus’ new avatars, showcasing several body shape options. Image: Facebook

TI Reality Check: Snap’s AR Growth, Oculus’s Avatar Gamble

By Mathew Olson · Apr 26, 2021 11:06am PDT

The customization interface for Oculus’ new avatars, showcasing several body shape options. Image: Facebook

TI Reality Check: Snap’s AR Growth, Oculus’s Avatar Gamble

By Mathew Olson · Apr 26, 2021 11:06am PDT

With Snap expected to unveil its first augmented reality glasses next month, CEO Evan Spiegel made a point last week of emphasizing the growth he was seeing in user-generated AR content on Snapchat. That could augur well for the eventual consumer launch of AR Spectacles—provided that the company is able to make the new glasses accessible... With Snap expected to unveil its first augmented reality glasses next month, CEO Evan Spiegel...