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

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica E. 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: Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

TikTok Video Limits, Once Similar to Vines, Are Now More Like YouTube

By Mahira Dayal · Mar 2, 2022 4:19pm PST

When ByteDance launched TikTok in the U.S. in 2018, videos on the app were just 15 seconds long, or about twice the length of popular looping videos on Vine, the short-form video app Twitter shut down in 2016. As our latest chart shows, TikTok videos have been steadily increasing ever since. This week TikTok said users could upload videos as... When ByteDance launched TikTok in the U.S. in 2018, videos on the app were just 15 seconds long,...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Sony in Talks to Buy ‘American Idol’ Production Company

By Jessica Toonkel · Mar 2, 2022 1:20pm PST · 1 comment

Industrial Media, the production company behind ABC’s “American Idol” and TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé,” is exploring a sale and Sony Pictures has expressed interest, according to two people familiar with the situation. A deal could value the production company at as much as $300 million, the people said.... Industrial Media, the production company behind ABC’s “American Idol” and...

A rendering of Snap's developer-only AR Spectacles. Credit: Snap.

Snap’s Ukrainian AR Roots; The Void Teases Return With “Bigger” VR Ambitions

By Mathew Olson · Mar 2, 2022 11:00am PST

As Russia continues to lay siege to Ukraine, we’re continuing to see an outpouring of statements and support from tech companies the world over. Snap, for instance, pledged over $15 million to relief organizations in Ukraine. In doing so, Snap has also recognized that its long-ago purchase of a young Ukrainian startup helped lay “the foundation”... As Russia continues to lay siege to Ukraine, we’re continuing to see an outpouring of statements...

Cisco Chief People Officer Francine Katsoudas

Cisco Tries to Keep Workers by Asking: Bigger Bonus or Higher Salary?

By Mark Matousek · Mar 2, 2022 6:09am PST · 2 comments

Cisco Chief People Officer Francine Katsoudas

Q&A

Cisco Tries to Keep Workers by Asking: Bigger Bonus or Higher Salary?

By Mark Matousek · Mar 2, 2022 6:09am PST · 2 comments

Last year, a rise in the rate of workers leaving Cisco Systems caught the attention of the top human resources executive at the networking gear giant. To address this concern, the company is asking workers how frequently they want to be paid and their preferences regarding bonuses. Those moves are designed to retain more of the... Last year, a rise in the rate of workers leaving Cisco Systems caught the attention of...

Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Salesforce's Q4 Says About Tech's Information War

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2022 5:00pm PST

Tech companies, like other U.S. businesses, are pulling out all the stops to respond to the horror of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. As we outlined in this report today, more than a dozen companies are doing everything from helping Ukrainians wage information warfare against Russia to cutting financial ties with the country. Microsoft and others... Tech companies, like other U.S. businesses, are pulling out all the stops to respond to the...

Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan and Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark. Photo: Wikipedia, Bloomberg and Mike Sullivan

These Startup Founders and Investors Are Crypto’s Rising Stars

By Aidan Ryan · Mar 1, 2022 4:40pm PST

On Tuesday morning, we announced The Information’s inaugural Crypto Power List. We spoke to dozens of our closest contacts in the sector and put together our view of the 10 founders, 10 investors and 10 up-and-comers with the most power in the industry.Some of the names you may recognize. The heads of the major crypto exchanges—Coinbase, Binance... On Tuesday morning, we announced The Information’s inaugural Crypto Power List. We spoke to...

Disco co-founder Candice Faktor. Photo: Disco

Creator Economy

Disco Raises Series A From GSV to Expand Online Courses; Interview With a Ukrainian-American Influencer

By Kaya Yurieff · Mar 1, 2022 2:29pm PST

The pandemic made influencer-led online courses a hit with a population stuck at home. Even as people have started to leave their houses, one young startup has been able to raise more money to expand. Disco, a software startup for creating and selling live courses, events and workshops, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by GSV... The pandemic made influencer-led online courses a hit with a population stuck at home. Even as...

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo by Bloomberg

What 15 Big Tech and Media Companies Are Doing in Response to Putin’s War

By The Information Staff · Mar 1, 2022 1:15pm PST · 10 comments

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo by Bloomberg

What 15 Big Tech and Media Companies Are Doing in Response to Putin’s War

By The Information Staff · Mar 1, 2022 1:15pm PST · 10 comments

Social media apps including Facebook, Twitter and TikTok have long been pilloried for allowing the spread of blatant misinformation aimed at subverting democracy. In recent days, however, these apps have been used to great effect in an information war benefiting Ukraine in its fight to protect its democracy. Ukrainian officials and citizens, as... Social media apps including Facebook, Twitter and TikTok have long been pilloried for allowing...

One of the main streets in Kyiv, photographed during the capital's curfew. Photo: AP

A Ukrainian AR/VR Founder’s Call For Support

By Mathew Olson · Mar 1, 2022 11:00am PST

On the second day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Daria Fedko left her house in a town near Ukraine’s capital Kyiv for a town about 200 km southeast. From there, the co-founder and CEO of WE/AR Studio, an AR and VR developer, is trying to keep in touch with her 27 employees to ensure they’re safe.“Some of them left the country, and some of... On the second day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Daria Fedko left her house in a town near...

Art by Haejin Park / Typography by Justin Bihan via VTF

Introducing the Crypto Power List, the Industry’s 30 Most Influential People

By Akash Pasricha · Mar 1, 2022 7:04am PST · 6 comments

Money alone doesn’t buy you power in crypto, nor does having the largest social media following. But the $32 billion that flowed into crypto startups last year—plus the $1.9 trillion in combined cryptocurrency value—can make it hard to cut through the noise. The Information’s inaugural Crypto Power List seeks to make... Money alone doesn’t buy you power in crypto, nor does having the largest social media...

A Bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange store in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

The Startup Founders Who Made Ukraine a Crypto Stronghold

By Aidan Ryan · Feb 28, 2022 5:45pm PST

As Ukraine crowdsources millions of dollars worth of digital currency to fund its defense against Russia, the nation’s early adoption of crypto appears to be paying dividends. Ukraine’s government has so far raised more than $13 million worth of bitcoin and other tokens, according to data from Elliptic. “Stand with the people of... As Ukraine crowdsources millions of dollars worth of digital currency to fund its defense against...

Taxis operated by the Yandex-Uber joint venture in Moscow last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber and Others Learn the Cost of Doing Business in Russia

By Martin Peers · Feb 28, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Taxis operated by the Yandex-Uber joint venture in Moscow last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber and Others Learn the Cost of Doing Business in Russia

By Martin Peers · Feb 28, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

First China, now Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in the past week, like China’s tech crackdown before it, has reminded U.S. tech companies just how little they understood these authoritarian regimes. And when things turn ugly, the cost of operating in those countries—both financially and reputationally—can be enormous. (For another angle... First China, now Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in the past week, like China’s tech...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Credit: New America/Flickr

FTC Preparing Challenge to Amazon’s $8.5 Billion MGM Purchase

By Josh Sisco and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2022 4:43pm PST · 1 comment

The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up for a potential antitrust lawsuit challenging Amazon’s $8.5 billion takeover of MGM Studios by exploring actions including hiring expert witnesses to appear in an eventual trial, according to people familiar with the situation. The agency expects to decide whether to bring the case in the... The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up for a potential antitrust lawsuit challenging...

Demonstrators protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday. Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy

What Should Influencers Say During a War?

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 28, 2022 2:39pm PST

Christina Galbato, an Instagram influencer with 272,000 Instagram followers who sells online courses for aspiring creators, was in the middle of launching a new coaching program when Russia invaded Ukraine. “It didn’t feel right to continue on with my planned promotional content, so I paused my normal content,” she said. Instead, Galbato... Christina Galbato, an Instagram influencer with 272,000 Instagram followers who sells online...

Shopify Org Chart: Data-Science Exits Add to Departures

By Mark Di Stefano, Malique Morris and Berber Jin · Feb 28, 2022 2:12pm PST

Senior-level exits are mounting at Shopify following a wave of departures among the Canadian e-commerce giant’s uppermost ranks last year. Shopify's head of data science, Solmaz Shahalizadeh, and two of her deputies are leaving the company, The Information has learned. The Information’s updated Shopify org chart reflects the... Senior-level exits are mounting at Shopify following a wave of departures among the Canadian...

A promo image for Supernatural, one of the VR apps Zuckerberg name-checked on Fridman's podcast. Credit: Within.

Zuckerberg Goes Meta on Metaverse; Qualcomm and ByteDance Team Up on More VR

By Mathew Olson · Feb 28, 2022 11:01am PST

A promo image for Supernatural, one of the VR apps Zuckerberg name-checked on Fridman's podcast. Credit: Within.

Zuckerberg Goes Meta on Metaverse; Qualcomm and ByteDance Team Up on More VR

By Mathew Olson · Feb 28, 2022 11:01am PST

In Mark Zuckerberg’s first big interview since Meta Platforms’ historic stock drop—and really, as Zuckerberg joked, one of his longest Q&As not before Congress—the increasingly product-focused CEO tried to have some fun. He entertained the idea of letting the interviewer, MIT computer scientist and podcast host Lex Fridman, try some... In Mark Zuckerberg’s first big interview since Meta Platforms’ historic stock drop—and really, as...

Former Fuze CEO Brian Day. Art by Mike Sullivan

How a Zoom Wannabe Left Employees Empty-Handed

By Mark Matousek and Kate Clark · Feb 28, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Things were beginning to look grim last year for Fuze, a struggling Zoom Video Communications wannabe. It was running low on cash and facing potentially suffocating loan payments, according to documents viewed by The Information. The company began actively shopping itself to potential acquirers. Inside Fuze, though, the CEO at the time, Brian... Things were beginning to look grim last year for Fuze, a struggling Zoom Video Communications...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and deputy Drew Baglino on Battery Day in September 2020. Photo: Screenshot

Three EV Battery ‘Reinvention’ Startups That Tesla’s Rivals Should Buy or Mimic

By Steve LeVine · Feb 27, 2022 2:00pm PST

Welcome back to The Electric!This week we look at attempts by a small number of U.S. and Canadian companies to leapfrog China’s hold on the battery manufacturing industry—by reinventing how batteries are made.Aaron Bent, CEO of 6K, a battery materials manufacturer, says his company has vastly compressed the laborious two to three days of work... Welcome back to The Electric!This week we look at attempts by a small number of U.S. and Canadian...

A sign above the entrance to a Sberbank of Russia PJSC bank branch in Moscow. Sberbank is a limited partner in at least one fund that invests in U.S. startups. Photo by Bloomberg

Startup Founders, VC Firms Reexamine Ties to Russian Investors After Attack on Ukraine

By Kate Clark and Berber Jin · Feb 26, 2022 2:59pm PST

Russia’s sudden attack on Ukraine has spurred startup founders to reexamine their ties to Russian investors out of concern their funds could be linked to the Russian government. Those entrepreneurs include Vadim Rogovskiy, co-founder and CEO of 3DLook. The San Mateo, Calif.–based developer of 3D body-scanning technology raised a... Russia’s sudden attack on Ukraine has spurred startup founders to reexamine their ties to...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 26, 2022 8:00am PST

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Becoming Travis Kalanick

By Jon Steinberg · Feb 26, 2022 8:00am PST

Hi, welcome to your Weekend!The world has watched armed conflicts unfold through social media before—the civil war in Syria, to name one, produced indelible images that rocketed around the internet. But there’s never been anything like what’s transpired this week in Ukraine. For every devastating account of Ukrainian civilians fleeing the... Hi, welcome to your Weekend!The world has watched armed conflicts unfold through social media...