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

An example of the new multipeer AR effects for Messenger. Image courtesy of Facebook

Facebook and Snap Vie for New AR Developers

By Mathew Olson · Jun 2, 2021 11:00am PDT

Here’s a figure that Facebook and Snap more or less have in common: 2 million AR effects. Just last month, Snap announced that its community of AR creators had produced nearly that many AR Lenses—Snap’s term for an AR effect. And today Facebook announced that the total number of AR effects made for its apps (chiefly Instagram and Messenger) has... Here’s a figure that Facebook and Snap more or less have in common: 2 million AR effects. Just...

Chart by Mike Sullivan

Apple’s Supplier List Shifts Towards China Despite Trade War

By Wayne Ma · Jun 2, 2021 9:00am PDT

Apple has disclosed the list of its top 200 suppliers for the first time in two years, revealing an increased reliance on Chinese companies—even as some of them have expanded production to Vietnam and India to avoid U.S. tariffs and export controls. Meanwhile, the company relied less on suppliers based in either Japan or the U.S. The shift... Apple has disclosed the list of its top 200 suppliers for the first time in two years, revealing...

Art by Mike Sullivan

‘Shopify Mafia’ Aims to Become Bigger Force in Angel Investing

By Mark Di Stefano · Jun 2, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Every week, the phones of more than two dozen current and former Shopify employees ping with alerts for a new group chat on Signal, the encrypted messaging app. The chat—dubbed Shopify Angels by its participants—has become a gathering spot for a new generation of investors connected through their past or present work for... Every week, the phones of more than two dozen current and former Shopify employees ping with...

Credit: Erin Beach

Announcing the 2021 Autonomous Vehicle Summit Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Jun 1, 2021 11:28pm PDT

Credit: Erin Beach

Autonomous Vehicles Summit

Announcing the 2021 Autonomous Vehicle Summit Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Jun 1, 2021 11:28pm PDT

We’re excited to see everyone virtually on June 9 at our 5th annual Autonomous Vehicles Summit, focused on the latest developments in the field. An important part of the Summit is the breakout session: your opportunity to hear from key principals in the industry and to ask them all your burning questions. This year, you’ll be able to... We’re excited to see everyone virtually on June 9 at our 5th annual Autonomous Vehicles...

Someone taking a photo of Cloudera signage when the company went public at the New York Stock Exchange in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg

Requiem for Cloudera and What It Means for Confluent IPO

By Martin Peers · Jun 1, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Next time you feel the urge to buy stock of a fast-growing enterprise software company, remember Cloudera. Private equity firms KKR and Clayton Dubilier & Rice today unveiled a deal to buy the enterprise software company for $16 a share, $1 more than where Cloudera went public in 2017. Still, the offer price is a darn sight better than the... Next time you feel the urge to buy stock of a fast-growing enterprise software company, remember...

Racks housing GPUs mine the Ethereum and Zilliqa cryptocurrencies at the Evobits crypto farm in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Photo by Bloomberg

Union Square Ventures Values Crypto Publishing Tool Mirror at $100 Million

By Kate Clark · Jun 1, 2021 4:09pm PDT · 2 comments

Union Square Ventures, an early backer of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has invested in crypto publishing tool Mirror.xyz at a $100 million valuation, according to two people with direct knowledge of the funding. The one-year-old startup has raised at least $10 million across two recent seed financings from investors including USV and... Union Square Ventures, an early backer of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has invested in...

Karyn Spencer. Photo: Steph Girard

Creator Economy

How Vine Missed its Shot With Creators; Clubhouse on the Move

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 1, 2021 3:26pm PDT

Karyn Spencer has straddled tech and Hollywood for years: she started as Ashton Kutcher’s personal assistant and eventually worked her way up to vice president of production for his media company. Then she moved into tech, becoming Vine’s head of creators in 2015, when online celebrities still largely operated on the fringe. After stints with... Karyn Spencer has straddled tech and Hollywood for years: she started as Ashton Kutcher’s...

SoftBank-Backed Katerra to Shut Down

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2021 11:35am PDT · 2 comments

SoftBank-Backed Katerra to Shut Down

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2021 11:35am PDT · 2 comments

Construction startup Katerra has told employees it plans to shut down, people familiar with the matter said, marking the collapse of the SoftBank-backed company that had raised more than $2 billion to slash the cost of building apartments. Katerra is expected to let go of thousands of employees and is likely to walk away from dozens of... Construction startup Katerra has told employees it plans to shut down, people familiar with the...

An image showing how Instagram's new AR features might work. Image by Facebook

Instagram Spruces Up Its AR Ahead of F8 Refresh

By Mathew Olson · Jun 1, 2021 11:15am PDT

Facebook’s annual F8 developers conference last year was one of the first notable tech events to get canceled due to the pandemic. This year it’s returning, but as a digital-only event with an altered name and, as Facebook claims, a renewed focus on its developer community.F8 Refresh, as it will be called, gets underway tomorrow, June 2, with a... Facebook’s annual F8 developers conference last year was one of the first notable tech events to...

Marne Levine, left, and Sheryl Sandberg. Photos by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Marne Levine is Top Internal Candidate for Chief Business Officer Role

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 1, 2021 10:57am PDT

Facebook executive Marne Levine, who is vice president of global partnerships, has emerged as the leading internal candidate to fill the company’s newly formed chief business officer role, according to a person familiar with the matter. If appointed, Levine will have the job of maintaining Facebook’s rapid advertising growth while... Facebook executive Marne Levine, who is vice president of global partnerships, has emerged as the...

Incoming Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

How Amazon’s Jassy Is Already Warming Up for CEO Job

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 1, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last week, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos finally revealed when he’ll pass the CEO baton to his hand-picked successor, Andy Jassy: July 5. But Jassy has spent months getting ready for the moment. Since Amazon announced the change in February, Jassy has begun quietly pitching in on efforts that would normally fall to Bezos, even though Jassy is... Last week, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos finally revealed when he’ll pass the CEO baton to his...

What Comes Next

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 29, 2021 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

What Comes Next

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 29, 2021 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone. We made it. Congratulations! The past year has been hard—very hard. And while I expect the remainder of the year will be immensely challenging too as we figure out new working rhythms back in the office, now is a good time to take a pause, reflect on all the hard work of the last several months and look... Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone. We made it. Congratulations! The past year has been hard—...

An AMC-owned theater in London last week. Photo by Bloomberg

Latest Meme Stock Rally in AMC is a Big Screen Farce

By Martin Peers · May 28, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Hollywood studios and movie theater chains are undoubtedly hoping to put the Covid era behind them this weekend, the traditional start of the summer box office bonanza. The odds are in their favor. Whatever you think of the big movies opening—“A Quiet Place Part II” and “Cruella”—there’s sure to be crowds of people wanting to once again... Hollywood studios and movie theater chains are undoubtedly hoping to put the Covid era behind...

Tip Your Influencers – The Information’s 411 Podcast

By Cory Weinberg · May 28, 2021 11:51am PDT

Why are Instagram, Snap and TikTok rushing to build ways for influencers to make money? Cory talks to The Information’s Kaya Yurieff about what she is tracking with her new creator economy newsletter. Then, did the momentum shift in the Apple–Epic trial? Josh Sisco covered the trial for The Information, and explains how the... Why are Instagram, Snap and TikTok rushing to build ways for influencers to make money? Cory...

Clockwise from top-left: Moody CEO, Ci Ran; PMPM co-founder Wen Tzu; PMPM co-founder Shan Shuo; customers at a HEYTEA store in Chongqing, China (AP); Ubras founder and CEO, Tou Yaqian; a Pop Mart store in Shanghai (AP); Chicecream CEO, Lin Sheng.

Seven of China’s Hottest ‘Tech’ Startups Make Beverages and Skincare Products

By Yunan Zhang · May 28, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

China’s venture capitalists typically invest in software. But these days, more of them are also betting big on emerging local brands developing everything from high-end ice cream to coffee and tea to one-size-fits-all bras. Their growth strategies are similar—and risky: Buy online ads to grow fast, and pay internet celebrities to... China’s venture capitalists typically invest in software. But these days, more of them are...

Adam Neumann. Photo by Bloomberg

With WeWork’s Neumann, SoftBank Takes Path of Least Resistance

By Martin Peers · May 27, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Adam Neumann. Photo by Bloomberg

With WeWork’s Neumann, SoftBank Takes Path of Least Resistance

By Martin Peers · May 27, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Adam Neumann extracted an enormous price from SoftBank to go quietly, as the Wall Street Journal reported today. Yes, the man who almost drove the co-working space provider into the ground is getting paid to make a SPAC merger with WeWork possible. It raises the question: Why didn’t SoftBank simply call his bluff and refuse to negotiate with... Adam Neumann extracted an enormous price from SoftBank to go quietly, as the Wall Street Journal...

A livestreamer promotes personal hygiene products during Alibaba's annual shopping event on November, 11, 2020. More U.S. tech companies are testing live shopping.

Creator Economy

Live Shopping Has Its Moment; The OnlyFans Star Who Launched a Startup

By Kaya Yurieff · May 27, 2021 3:10pm PDT

Tech companies in the U.S. are testing whether a generation raised on YouTube will embrace a habit more associated with their cable-watching grandparents: live shopping. A crop of startups including Popshop Live and Supergreat are offering live-shopping shows hosted by social media creators or others with specific niches. On Popshop,... Tech companies in the U.S. are testing whether a generation raised on YouTube will embrace a...

An image of Facebook's prototype neural input wrist device. Image by Facebook

Facebook Steps Into the Ring on Neural Input Ethics

By Mathew Olson · May 27, 2021 11:00am PDT

Matters of privacy and data ethics are nothing new to Facebook. When it comes to the company’s ambitious plans for the future of augmented and virtual reality, the question is whether or not the company can tackle those issues head on before something goes wrong. The same cameras and sensors that enable AR/VR tech could be harnessed to provide... Matters of privacy and data ethics are nothing new to Facebook. When it comes to the company’s...

A Boeing 777X airplane at Boeing Field in Seattle. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon, Microsoft and Google Pursue $1 Billion Cloud Deal With Boeing

By Amir Efrati and Kevin McLaughlin · May 27, 2021 6:01am PDT · 3 comments

The biggest cloud computing companies—Amazon, Microsoft and Google—often pull out all the stops to land long-term contracts with marquee corporate customers. The latest prize all three are pursuing, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, is a multiyear deal to provide cloud services to aerospace giant Boeing. Amazon,... The biggest cloud computing companies—Amazon, Microsoft and Google—often pull out all...

MGM's headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Puts MGM in Shopping Cart, Doubling Down on Hollywood

By Martin Peers · May 26, 2021 5:00pm PDT

MGM's headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Puts MGM in Shopping Cart, Doubling Down on Hollywood

By Martin Peers · May 26, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Amazon’s $8.45 billion purchase of MGM signals, for Hollywood, just how much video streaming has reshaped the entertainment landscape. Tech-driven companies are taking more of Hollywood’s real estate while older players, like WarnerMedia and Discovery, join forces so as to better compete. But does the deal mean much for Amazon, the... Amazon’s $8.45 billion purchase of MGM signals, for Hollywood, just how much video streaming has...