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

Katie Feeney, who has 325,000 followers on Instagram and 5.6 million on TikTok, sets up a smartphone in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

The Instagram Metric Creators Really Like; Twitter Teases a Buy Button

By Kaya Yurieff · May 26, 2021 3:00pm PDT

Instagram has made it official: it’s sticking with likes and letting users decide whether to see or show this measure of popularity rather than getting rid of it altogether. Today I’m going to dive into why that decision may not really matter. The short version? Instagram’s most avid users have already moved on. Other metrics—views,... Instagram has made it official: it’s sticking with likes and letting users decide whether to see...

Two VR players using Virtuix Omni Pro treadmills and HTC Vive headsets. Photo by Virtuix

VR Sequels, Treadmills and Sportscasting

By Mathew Olson · May 26, 2021 11:00am PDT

If you’d like to know more about upcoming VR games for the Oculus Quest, maybe just ask Mark Zuckerberg.Yesterday, the Facebook CEO let a detail slip about an unannounced Oculus Studios title. In response to a question, from The Washington Post’s Gene Park, Zuckerberg mentioned that he’s playing a lot of military VR shooter Onward and that he’s... If you’d like to know more about upcoming VR games for the Oculus Quest, maybe just ask Mark...

Opera Chairman & CEO Yahui Zhou and Executive Vice President Jiwei Wu ring a gong as Opera begins trading at the Nasdaq in 2018. Photo by AP

China-Backed African Payment Startup OPay Raising $400 Million to Fuel Expansion

By Juro Osawa · May 26, 2021 7:28am PDT

OPay, an African digital payment upstart founded by the Chinese tech billionaire who once owned Grindr, is in talks with investors to raise as much as $400 million at a valuation of more than $1.5 billion, three times its most recent valuation, two people familiar with the matter said. A bigger war chest could help accelerate the app’s... OPay, an African digital payment upstart founded by the Chinese tech billionaire who once owned...

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu. Photo: Bloomberg

Recent IPOs Yield Huge Equity Grants for Founders

By Cory Weinberg · May 26, 2021 6:01am PDT · 5 comments

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu. Photo: Bloomberg

Recent IPOs Yield Huge Equity Grants for Founders

By Cory Weinberg · May 26, 2021 6:01am PDT · 5 comments

Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena already owns more than a third of the website maker, making him a billionaire on paper following the company’s public market debut last week. But like a growing number of tech founders, Casalena is poised to obtain far more equity thanks to a supersize stock grant designed to reward him if the... Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena already owns more than a third of the website maker, making him...

Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta. Photo by Bloomberg

Instacart’s Facebook Hiring Program

By Martin Peers · May 25, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Instacart may soon get the nickname “little Facebook,” judging by the number of Facebookers joining the grocery-delivery company. Today came news that Instacart hired Nikila Srinivasan, most recently a product executive at Facebook, to be its first VP of product for international markets. Srinivasan’s hiring follows two other senior hires from... Instacart may soon get the nickname “little Facebook,” judging by the number of Facebookers...

Creator Economy

How Influencers Make Money; Poparazzi Pops to the Top

By Kaya Yurieff · May 25, 2021 4:14pm PDT

Our new chart shows how reliant creators are on brand deals to earn a living—and the opportunity for other sources (think tips, courses) to catch up. Seventy-seven percent of creators depend on sponsorship deals with brands, which is three times as much as every other revenue source combined, found a May survey of 2,000 creators conducted... Our new chart shows how reliant creators are on brand deals to earn a living—and the opportunity...

A restaurant in San Francisco serves a take-out customer in February. Startups that help restaurants take online orders have flourished during the pandemic. Photo: Bloomberg

Tiger Global Leads Deal for Restaurant Startup Popmenu at $525 Million Valuation

By Berber Jin · May 25, 2021 3:22pm PDT · 1 comment

The pandemic shutdowns prompted more people than ever to order online from restaurants, lifting the fortunes of startups selling software to the sector. Now, even as in-person gatherings resume, venture investors are betting diners will still want to use these digital tools. Popmenu, an Atlanta-based startup that provides website design services... The pandemic shutdowns prompted more people than ever to order online from restaurants, lifting...

An attendee played a virtual reality baseball game at the MWC Barcelona event in 2019. Image: Bloomberg

How VR Alters Our Sense of Time

By Mathew Olson · May 25, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

An attendee played a virtual reality baseball game at the MWC Barcelona event in 2019. Image: Bloomberg

How VR Alters Our Sense of Time

By Mathew Olson · May 25, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Time seems to pass differently in virtual reality. It’s a maxim that has been repeated a lot since the arrival of consumer VR headsets, but now it seems that we are finally gaining a better understanding of exactly how VR plays with our perceptions of time. In fact, there is now experimental evidence suggesting that VR can make minutes fly by... Time seems to pass differently in virtual reality. It’s a maxim that has been repeated a lot...

Nisa Leung. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Qiming Venture Launches $500 Million Fund to Invest in Listed Companies

By Juro Osawa · May 25, 2021 7:31am PDT · 1 comment

Qiming Venture Partners, a prominent China-focussed VC firm whose portfolio includes TikTok owner ByteDance, has expanded into public stock market investments for the first time, with a recently launched $500 million fund that bets primarily on Chinese healthcare companies listed outside mainland China, people with knowledge of the matter... Qiming Venture Partners, a prominent China-focussed VC firm whose portfolio includes TikTok owner...

Apple CEO Tim Cook at an Oakland courthouse on May 21 during the final stage of an antitrust trial. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Facing Potential Loss in App Store Antitrust Case as Judge Turns Hostile

By Josh Sisco · May 25, 2021 6:01am PDT · 6 comments

The last two days of Apple’s high-profile antitrust trial against app developer Epic Games didn’t go the way Apple had hoped. The judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, voiced concerns about Apple’s App Store levying a 30% tax on digital purchases made in apps, an issue that is at the core of Epic’s complaint. She also said... The last two days of Apple’s high-profile antitrust trial against app developer Epic Games...

AT&T CEO John Stankey. Photo by Bloomberg.

AT&T CEO Predicts Music, Games Coming to Video Streaming Services

By Martin Peers · May 24, 2021 5:30pm PDT

Prepare for a deluge of headlines about tech and entertainment. News accounts today suggested that Amazon’s interest in buying MGM—which we first reported a week ago—could lead to a deal this week. As we have noted, one reason for the deal is that Hollywood outsiders like Amazon that operate streaming services are finding it harder to get their... Prepare for a deluge of headlines about tech and entertainment. News accounts today suggested...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo: Bloomberg

Instagram’s Mosseri Is ‘Exploring’ Subscriptions, Open to Creator Fund

By Kaya Yurieff · May 24, 2021 4:01pm PDT

Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

Instagram’s Mosseri Is ‘Exploring’ Subscriptions, Open to Creator Fund

By Kaya Yurieff · May 24, 2021 4:01pm PDT

Instagram has long been a home for influencers, but it wasn’t until a year ago that it started offering ways for them to earn money directly on the app. Now, Instagram is “exploring” subscriptions and a marketplace for NFTs, said Instagram head Adam Mosseri in an interview. (You can read the full Q&A here.)“There’s different ways to... Instagram has long been a home for influencers, but it wasn’t until a year ago that it started...

Q&A

Instagram Chief Mosseri Rebuffs State AGs Opposing Kids Version of App

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kaya Yurieff · May 24, 2021 2:48pm PDT · 4 comments

Instagram head Adam Mosseri hit back at state attorneys-general who criticized a planned children’s version of the app, saying “there are things governments could do to help that are probably more helpful than writing a letter.” Earlier this month, a group of 44 state attorneys-general penned an open letter urging Instagram to... Instagram head Adam Mosseri hit back at state attorneys-general who criticized a planned...

A WaveOptics lab. Image: WaveOptics

Snap’s Big Waveguide Bet and Apple’s Hands-Free Input

By Mathew Olson · May 24, 2021 11:16am PDT

Snap grabbed everyone’s attention last week with its new AR Spectacles, but it turns out that CEO Evan Spiegel actually had another reveal up his sleeve. On Friday, Snap confirmed the acquisition of waveguide maker WaveOptics.Why spend more than $500 million in stock and cash now to acquire a parts supplier when we’re still years—maybe even a... Snap grabbed everyone’s attention last week with its new AR Spectacles, but it turns out that CEO...

Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young during yesterday's game against the New York Knicks. Photo by AP

Discovery Deal Deepens Uncertainty Over WarnerMedia’s Bleacher Report

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 24, 2021 9:07am PDT

Shortly after Jason Kilar took over WarnerMedia a year ago, he met with executives at Bleacher Report to discuss the future of the scrappy digital sports business, according to people familiar with the discussions. In the meeting, Kilar and the team discussed how Bleacher Report could play a role in the company’s upcoming HBO Max streaming... Shortly after Jason Kilar took over WarnerMedia a year ago, he met with executives at Bleacher...

Photos by Bloomberg, Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Stripe Founders’ Right-Hand Man

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2021 6:01am PDT · 9 comments

Photos by Bloomberg, Stripe. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Stripe Founders’ Right-Hand Man

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2021 6:01am PDT · 9 comments

A few years ago, a saying started to ricochet around Stripe’s brick-faced headquarters in San Francisco: If Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, both licensed pilots, were to ever get in a plane crash on one of their jaunts, Will Gaybrick would be first in line to succeed them. The morbid banter, recounted by former staff,... A few years ago, a saying started to ricochet around Stripe’s brick-faced headquarters in...

The Spectacular End to the Myth That Content Needs Distribution

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 22, 2021 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

Dear Readers,In six weeks, the dons of media and tech will reconvene in Sun Valley, Idaho, at Allen & Co.’s annual conference. With last year on hiatus—and the headlines we’ve seen of late (Discovery! WarnerMedia! Gates!)—it is sure to be a lively affair.Let me suggest a panel discussion for the vaccinated tech and media moguls as they sit... Dear Readers,In six weeks, the dons of media and tech will reconvene in Sun Valley, Idaho, at...

Apple's Tim Cook in the courthouse today. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Apple Execs Lost Credibility During the Epic Trial

By Martin Peers · May 21, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Next time Apple reports quarterly profits, pull up your favorite music app and stream the song ‘I’ve got a feeling’. That appears to be what CEO Tim Cook does to assess how each of Apple’s divisions do. He testified today, in his time on the witness stand in the Apple-Epic trial, that while Apple doesn’t track the profitability of the App Store,... Next time Apple reports quarterly profits, pull up your favorite music app and stream the song ‘I...

Amazon’s Highway Tragedies — The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · May 21, 2021 12:44pm PDT

Fast deliveries by Amazon and other online retailers have brought tremendous convenience for consumers, but the e-commerce boom has come at a cost. A five-month investigation by The Information identified a pattern of serious and sometimes deadly crashes involving drivers moving freight for Amazon. We explore the toll of Amazon’s trucking... Fast deliveries by Amazon and other online retailers have brought tremendous convenience for...

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Axel Springer Is in Talks to Buy Axios

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Axel Springer Is in Talks to Buy Axios

By Sahil Patel and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2021 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people familiar with the matter, continuing a consolidation of the digital media sector. The valuation under discussion is around $400 million, said one of the people. Axel Springer already owns Insider and is an investor in Group Nine Media, owner of digital... German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people...