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

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Recent Editions

Sequoia Capital's offices in Menlo Park, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Is Sand Hill Road Over? No. But Zoom Deals Are Here to Stay

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2021 6:01am PDT · 4 comments

When Andreessen Horowitz finishes construction on its new office in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, its partners shouldn’t expect to find an assigned desk waiting for them. Instead, they’ll need to reserve space to work or meet with prospective portfolio companies under the firm’s new office hoteling model, which... When Andreessen Horowitz finishes construction on its new office in San Francisco’s SoMa...

Didi's offices in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

TI Briefing: Didi IPO Poses a Puzzle for U.S. Investors

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, which filed to go public in the U.S. today, has a subsidiary called City Puzzle Holdings Ltd. listed in a chart of its byzantine corporate structure. Investors may find that an appropriate metaphor for assessing Didi as an IPO prospect, particularly compared to the two U.S.-based firms, Uber and Lyft,... Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, which filed to go public in the U.S. today, has a...

Photo: AP

Creator Economy

TI Creator Economy: What Clubhouse’s New Hires Say About Its Future; Goldman Sachs Exec Says It’s The ‘Year of the Creator’

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 10, 2021 4:05pm PDT

A hiring spree isn’t unusual for a startup that’s just raised a lot of money, as Clubhouse did when it brought in an estimated $300 million since January, but its recent recruits hold clues to where the social audio app is headed after a roller-coaster year. In recent weeks, the 40-person startup hired a former long-time Google engineer, a... A hiring spree isn’t unusual for a startup that’s just raised a lot of money, as Clubhouse did...

Inflation Numbers Support Bitcoin Recovery

By Hannah Miller · Jun 10, 2021 2:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Inflation Numbers Support Bitcoin Recovery

By Hannah Miller · Jun 10, 2021 2:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Crypto bears may want to go back into hibernation. Today’s inflation news, showing consumer prices rose 5% when compared to 2020, should reinforce the bull case for bitcoin, as a hedge against inflation. The new numbers follow data out of China indicating that the producer price index, a global barometer of inflation, increased 9% in May, the... Crypto bears may want to go back into hibernation. Today’s inflation news, showing consumer...

A Nanome user building a molecule with benzene rings. Credit: Nanome

How Scientists are Using VR to Study the Coronavirus

By Mathew Olson · Jun 10, 2021 11:30am PDT

Researcher Andrey Kovalevsky often dons an Oculus Rift S virtual reality headset as part of his work studying new ways to combat Covid-19. His research team is working on one of the many remaining mysteries surrounding the coronavirus: how to shut down one of the viral proteins that would stop it from reproducing. One of Kovalevsky’s tools... Researcher Andrey Kovalevsky often dons an Oculus Rift S virtual reality headset as part of his...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed To Raise $200 Million in Bonds As SPAC Deal Nears

By Jessica Toonkel, Martin Peers and Sahil Patel · Jun 10, 2021 11:09am PDT

BuzzFeed is in discussions to raise about $200 million in convertible bonds to supplement cash it will raise by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, say people familiar with the situation. The financing will help BuzzFeed fund the acquisition of digital lifestyle publisher Complex Networks, which is being negotiated at an equity... BuzzFeed is in discussions to raise about $200 million in convertible bonds to supplement cash it...

An Argo AI prototype in Pittsburgh, 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Autonomous Vehicles Summit

As IPO Nears, Argo CEO Says Self-Driving-Car Prototypes Are ‘Regularly Beating’ Human Drivers

By Amir Efrati · Jun 10, 2021 10:47am PDT · 1 comment

Prototype self-driving cars developed by Argo AI “regularly” have lower collision rates than human drivers in metro areas such as Miami, said Bryan Salesky, Argo’s CEO, during The Information’s fifth annual Autonomous Vehicle Summit on Wednesday. Salesky’s comment stands in contrast to mounting criticism that the... Prototype self-driving cars developed by Argo AI “regularly” have lower collision...

Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden. Photo by Bloomberg.

SPAC Boom Helps Tech Founders Cement Control

By Cory Weinberg and Sarah Krouse · Jun 10, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden. Photo by Bloomberg.

SPAC Boom Helps Tech Founders Cement Control

By Cory Weinberg and Sarah Krouse · Jun 10, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

When scooter-rental startup Bird goes public later this year, CEO Travis VanderZanden won’t have to worry about the firm’s uncertain prospects emboldening activist shareholders. As part of the merger with a special purpose acquisition company that is taking Bird public, VanderZanden negotiated the right to maintain control through a... When scooter-rental startup Bird goes public later this year, CEO Travis VanderZanden won’t...

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg

The Debate About Netflix Shareholder Voting Rights

By Martin Peers · Jun 9, 2021 6:08pm PDT · 2 comments

Would you believe that one of the angriest groups of shareholders in corporate America is, by one measure, at Netflix. What could shareholders have to complain about with the video streaming giant, given how its shares have appreciated over the past decade? Yet last week, shareholders owning 56% of Netflix’s shares voted against the re-election... Would you believe that one of the angriest groups of shareholders in corporate America is, by one...

Nicole Quinn, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. Photo: Lightspeed Venture Partners

Creator Economy

Lightspeed’s Nicole Quinn on Cameo and Venture FOMO; Twitter Spaces Gets a Presidential Visit

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 9, 2021 3:00pm PDT

When Nicole Quinn, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, led the firm’s Series A round for Cameo in 2018, she said she got many weird looks from other investors who couldn’t understand the apparent appeal of the celebrity shout-out app. Then she watched some of those same investors try to pour money into the startup amid a broader rush into... When Nicole Quinn, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, led the firm’s Series A round for ...

Crypto’s China Crackdown Intensifies

By Hannah Miller · Jun 9, 2021 2:46pm PDT

China’s crypto crackdown is going into overdrive. China arrested more than a thousand people for using crypto in money-laundering today. Meanwhile, China’s most popular internet services, such as Weibo and Baidu, reportedly censored crypto exchanges commonly used by Chinese traders. Typing in the names of exchanges like Huobi, Binance and... China’s crypto crackdown is going into overdrive. China arrested more than a thousand people for...

The Magic Leap 1 headset, wearable computer accessory and controller. Source: Magic Leap

Magic Leap’s C-Suite Churn, AR E-Commerce Grows Up

By Mathew Olson · Jun 9, 2021 11:02am PDT

The Magic Leap 1 headset, wearable computer accessory and controller. Source: Magic Leap

Magic Leap’s C-Suite Churn, AR E-Commerce Grows Up

By Mathew Olson · Jun 9, 2021 11:02am PDT

Three longtime Magic Leap executives are heading toward the exits. Is it a reminder that Magic Leap’s comeback hopes are thin? Or is this a necessary personnel makeover?These are the kind of questions that will continue to dog Magic Leap, the once-hyped augmented reality leader that raised about $2.6 billion from investors before struggling to... Three longtime Magic Leap executives are heading toward the exits. Is it a reminder that Magic...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Ramps Up Software Bets With $1.3 Billion Tungee Talks

By Yunan Zhang, Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Jun 9, 2021 10:03am PDT

SoftBank is ramping up its software bets—as aggressively as ever. The investment firm is in talks to invest in Chinese software as a service firm Tungee at a $1.3 billion valuation, even as a group of other venture capitalists are investing in the firm at a $1 billion valuation, two people with knowledge of the fundraising discussions... SoftBank is ramping up its software bets—as aggressively as ever. The investment firm is in...

Locomation trucks on the test track at the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio. Credit: Locomation

Two More Self-Driving-Truck Developers Consider Public Offerings

By Amir Efrati · Jun 9, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Embark Trucks and Locomation, both of which develop self-driving semitrailers to haul freight over long distances, have recently discussed going public, including by merging with a shell company known as a special purpose acquisition vehicle, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The talks follow the successful public offering... Embark Trucks and Locomation, both of which develop self-driving semitrailers to haul freight...

IRS headquarters in Washington

Bezos’ Taxes In the Spotlight

By Martin Peers · Jun 8, 2021 5:04pm PDT

Jeff Bezos pays taxes! We learned exactly how much from a ProPublica expose about the personal tax details of some of America’s richest people. The publication got what it said was a “vast trove” of confidential tax records covering a 15-year period for Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg, although it appears to be... Jeff Bezos pays taxes! We learned exactly how much from a ProPublica expose about the personal...

A Chart of Andreessen Horowitz’s Creator Deals; Glitchy Start to Instagram Conference; Dispo’s New Investors

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 8, 2021 3:00pm PDT

Creator Economy

A Chart of Andreessen Horowitz’s Creator Deals; Glitchy Start to Instagram Conference; Dispo’s New Investors

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 8, 2021 3:00pm PDT

Our latest chart shows just how busy Andreessen Horowitz has been in backing creator economy deals—and how often these startups involve cryptocurrencies and related assets. Three of the 11 creator economy-related startups the venture firm has led funding for this year focus on non-fungible tokens (NFT), digital collectibles that creators can... Our latest chart shows just how busy Andreessen Horowitz has been in backing creator economy...

Why Bitcoin’s Price is Plummeting, How Ransomware Attacks Could Drive Regulation

By Hannah Miller · Jun 8, 2021 2:15pm PDT

With Bitcoin prices falling 5% on Tuesday to a little below $33,000, you might think issues dogging crypto—environmental concerns, ransomware and China’s crackdown—have finally caught up with it. “Over the last two months, there really has been a disproportionate amount of bad news,” said David Nage, a managing director at Arca, a digital... With Bitcoin prices falling 5% on Tuesday to a little below $33,000, you might think issues...

Monitors display Coinbase and Bitcoin signage at the Nasdaq in NYC. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Lender BlockFi in Talks to Raise Funding at $5 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · Jun 8, 2021 11:14am PDT

BlockFi, a wealth management and trading firm for cryptocurrency holders, is raising new funding just three months after its last round. It's the latest sign that VC interest in cryptocurrency, supercharged by Coinbase’s direct listing two months ago, is overriding a recent steep retreat in crypto prices. The four-year-old startup is... BlockFi, a wealth management and trading firm for cryptocurrency holders, is raising new funding...

Apple's vp of worldwide developer relations, Susan Prescott, at Monday's WWDC.

Apple Nudges Its AR Forward at a No-Hardware WWDC

By Mathew Olson · Jun 8, 2021 11:00am PDT

Apple’s WWDC keynote came and went yesterday without any new hardware announcements. The event did demonstrate some of Apple’s eagerness to introduce more uses for AR in the here and now, including the introduction of several features similar to ones already offered by Google and Snap.Most of these were incremental—but incrementality can be... Apple’s WWDC keynote came and went yesterday without any new hardware announcements. The...

A supervisor holds checks an employee's badge during roll call at a Pegatron factory in Shanghai. Photo by Bloomberg

Some Apple Suppliers in China Tell Ethnic Minorities: Don’t Bother Applying For Jobs

By Wayne Ma · Jun 8, 2021 6:01am PDT

A supervisor holds checks an employee's badge during roll call at a Pegatron factory in Shanghai. Photo by Bloomberg

Some Apple Suppliers in China Tell Ethnic Minorities: Don’t Bother Applying For Jobs

By Wayne Ma · Jun 8, 2021 6:01am PDT

Some of the companies in China that supply Apple with parts for its devices are willing to use workers from the predominantly Muslim group known as Uyghurs, as part of government-sponsored labor programs widely criticized as coercive. But Uyghurs and other marginalized Chinese minorities need not apply for jobs on the open market to many of... Some of the companies in China that supply Apple with parts for its devices are willing to use...