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

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Mark Zuckerberg on Why He Won’t Step Down as CEO and Facebook’s New Name

By Mathew Olson · Oct 28, 2021 11:19am PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he hasn’t thought “very seriously yet” about spinning off the company’s augmented and virtual reality and metaverse unit Reality Labs from the rest of the business. In an interview with The Information, Zuckerberg also said he had not considered stepping down as CEO. His comments to The... Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he hasn’t thought “very seriously yet” about...

Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison. Art provided by subject. Illustration Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy Summit

Clubhouse CEO: We Want to Expand to Users Under 18

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 28, 2021 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Unlike most other social networks, Clubhouse requires its users to be at least 18 years old to use the social audio app. But the company could loosen that age restriction in the future, CEO and co-founder Paul Davison said at The Information’s Creator Economy Summit on Thursday. “We would like to open it up to people who are younger... Unlike most other social networks, Clubhouse requires its users to be at least 18 years old to...

YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl. Photo by Bloomberg

Creator Economy Summit

YouTube’s Chief Business Officer: E-Commerce Will Become Creator ‘Juggernaut’

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 28, 2021 9:49am PDT · 1 comment

The booming creator economy could become a “juggernaut” thanks to e-commerce, as individuals with online followings sell products, taking a greater share of consumer spending, said YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl. “This distributed retail is definitely a force that is starting to build. And the people who will... The booming creator economy could become a “juggernaut” thanks to e-commerce, as...

UnitedMasters CEO Steve Stoute. Photo by AP

Andreessen Horowitz Values Music Startup UnitedMasters at $550 Million

By Berber Jin · Oct 28, 2021 8:00am PDT

UnitedMasters CEO Steve Stoute. Photo by AP

Creator Economy Summit

Andreessen Horowitz Values Music Startup UnitedMasters at $550 Million

By Berber Jin · Oct 28, 2021 8:00am PDT

UnitedMasters, a music distribution app for independent musicians, has raised $50 million in a round led by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz at a $550 million valuation, including the new investment. The New York–based startup will use the cash to further its international expansion into regions like Latin America and also pay for... UnitedMasters, a music distribution app for independent musicians, has raised $50 million in a...

Nicole Quinn. Photo provided by subject. Illustration Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy Summit

Lightspeed Targets Over $5.5 Billion for New Funds

By Kate Clark and Kaya Yurieff · Oct 28, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Lightspeed Venture Partners, the venture capital firm that made early bets on Snap and Affirm, is raising more than $5.5 billion for early- and late-stage investments, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The fresh pool of capital represents the largest fundraising yet for the two-decade-old firm and follows a string of... Lightspeed Venture Partners, the venture capital firm that made early bets on Snap and Affirm, is...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Snap’s Wall Street Messages Need a More Realistic Lens

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

As today was a rest day for big tech company earnings—Apple and Amazon are tomorrow—it’s worth reflecting on what we’ve learned in the past few days about the current turmoil in the digital ad market. One takeaway may be that investors don’t understand the ad tech world very well. Otherwise they would have divined ahead of time how Apple’s... As today was a rest day for big tech company earnings—Apple and Amazon are tomorrow—it’s worth...

Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Rostin Behnam. Photo by CFTC. Art by Mike Sullivan.

The Tussle to be Crypto’s Top Cop—and Top Dog

By Hannah Miller · Oct 27, 2021 4:00pm PDT · 1 comment

There’s no doubt that regulatory scrutiny is growing for crypto in the U.S., but it’s still unclear which government agency will have ultimate authority over the industry. That future became even cloudier Wednesday when Rostin Behnam, acting head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said the agency is prepared to become the main... There’s no doubt that regulatory scrutiny is growing for crypto in the U.S., but it’s still...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Substack Launches Paid Fellowship Program; Traders Love Trump the Creator

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 27, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Creator Economy

Substack Launches Paid Fellowship Program; Traders Love Trump the Creator

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 27, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Substack is offering a new, two-month fellowship program for emerging writers who are trying to increase their paid subscriber base on the newsletter publishing platform, the company exclusively tells The Information.The fellowship provides a $7,000 financial grant and perks such as proofreading, access to Getty Images, health care stipends and... Substack is offering a new, two-month fellowship program for emerging writers who are trying to...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Modest Proposals

What Sequoia Gains by Blowing Up the VC Fund Structure

By Sam Lessin · Oct 27, 2021 12:00pm PDT · 19 comments

In August, I wrote that venture capital as we know it is ending. Self-proclaimed “VC funds” faced a choice: They could try to scale up to meet the coming onslaught of cash from the global financial community entering private software investing, or they could look for new forms of venture financing beyond software and traditional... In August, I wrote that venture capital as we know it is ending. Self-proclaimed “VC...

Pikmin creatures, the stars of the new game from the makers of Pokemon Go. Credit: Niantic/Nintendo

Niantic, Nintendo and a Metaverse Made Simpler

By Mathew Olson · Oct 27, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Niantic’s new AR game Pikmin Bloom was officially released Tuesday and is gradually rolling out across the globe on Android and iOS. The timing is notable, given that Facebook has brought the metaverse discussion to the fore, as Pikmin Bloom is more likely to be a testbed for Niantic’s metaverse vision than anything else.Why? As previously noted... Niantic’s new AR game Pikmin Bloom was officially released Tuesday and is gradually rolling out...

Jennifer Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Rent The Runway. Photo by Bloomberg.

No Profits, No Growth: Rent the Runway Valuation Hinges on Hope

By Malique Morris · Oct 27, 2021 8:00am PDT

The pandemic has not been kind to Rent the Runway, sending revenue falling 9% over the first half of the year as people had little need for attire for social occasions and the office. Now the question is: What will investors think? The company goes public on Wednesday, after pricing its initial public offering on Tuesday night at $21 a share,... The pandemic has not been kind to Rent the Runway, sending revenue falling 9% over the first half...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

Have Employers Peeked at Pay History for Job Applicants? Hard to Tell

By Sarah Krouse · Oct 27, 2021 6:00am PDT

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

Have Employers Peeked at Pay History for Job Applicants? Hard to Tell

By Sarah Krouse · Oct 27, 2021 6:00am PDT

For several years, local and state governments in places including California and New York have banned employers from asking job applicants how much they’ve earned in the past. The worry was that the practice could perpetuate pay inequities. But an information service employers use to vet job applicants—including at top tech... For several years, local and state governments in places including California and New York have...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alphabet and Microsoft Power Through Q3

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

September earnings reports today from Alphabet and Microsoft made it clear that the two tech giants are better insulated than some of their smaller peers from the vagaries of the world economy. It’s a reminder that despite all the regulatory and political doubts about big tech companies, their businesses continue to grow at an impressive pace.It... September earnings reports today from Alphabet and Microsoft made it clear that the two tech...

The Dogecoin website on a smartphone. Photo:Bloomberg

Robinhood Results Muddied by Dogecoin; Bitcoin’s Top 1,000

By Hannah Miller · Oct 26, 2021 4:44pm PDT

Robinhood on Tuesday revealed a significant drop in the money it earned from cryptocurrency trading. The company reported $51 million in crypto transaction-based revenue, a 78% decline from the $233 million it made during the second quarter. The shift indicates that Robinhood might be less of a crypto-fueled company than previously... Robinhood on Tuesday revealed a significant drop in the money it earned from cryptocurrency...

Jennifer Stout, vice president of global public policy at Snap, and Michael Beckerman, Americas vice president and head of public policy at TikTok, in a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Creator Economy

TikTok in the Dock; YouTube’s Big Quarter

By Mark Di Stefano · Oct 26, 2021 3:18pm PDT

Remember that surreal Finsta moment from Facebook’s congressional hearing a few weeks ago? If you somehow missed it: Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked Facebook’s global head of safety: “Would you commit to ending finsta?” Twitter commentators went nuts over Blumenthal’s seeming ignorance that finsta was slang for a second private... Remember that surreal Finsta moment from Facebook’s congressional hearing a few weeks ago? If you...

Image: Jan Holmquist/Creative Commons

The Electric Flash Analysis: AI Can Make Better EV Batteries, but Only If the Industry Fixes Its Data Problem

By Steve LeVine · Oct 26, 2021 1:19pm PDT

Image: Jan Holmquist/Creative Commons

The Electric Flash Analysis: AI Can Make Better EV Batteries, but Only If the Industry Fixes Its Data Problem

By Steve LeVine · Oct 26, 2021 1:19pm PDT

A reminder to tune in tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. PT to a special pop-up event: Will AI Transform Batteries? Machine learning has unleashed a new age for drug discovery and on-line advertising, but it has barely penetrated battery science. Can it do so this decade? My guests for this vibrant Live Chat are AI pioneer Andrew Ng, founder of... A reminder to tune in tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. PT to a special pop-up event: Will AI Transform...

Creator Economy Summit

Announcing the Creator Economy Summit Masterclasses

By The Information · Oct 26, 2021 11:34am PDT · 6 comments

We’re excited to see everyone on October 28 at The Information’s inaugural Creator Economy Summit. Our masterclass breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have three sets of 45-minute masterclasses. Here is a preview of this year’s topics. For group ticket information,... We’re excited to see everyone on October 28 at The Information’s inaugural Creator...

A promotional image for the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. Credit: Facebook

Facebook’s Earnings; Google’s Police VR Training; Pimax’s Moonshot

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

We can look forward to more details about Facebook’s AR/VR and metaverse efforts now that the company plans to report its Facebook Reality Labs unit as its own segment starting in the fourth quarter. After years of Facebook not disclosing headset sales figures and with only a handful of cherry-picked statistics to champion the strength of Oculus... We can look forward to more details about Facebook’s AR/VR and metaverse efforts now that the...

Photo by Bloomberg

ByteDance’s Stock Value Falls by 20% in Secondary Sale After China Crackdown

By Juro Osawa · Oct 26, 2021 8:33am PDT

Is TikTok cheap? Some investors think so and are buying private shares of TikTok owner ByteDance from existing investors at prices that value it at a steep discount compared to trades from earlier this year. Recently, the family office of a Middle Eastern billionaire struck a deal in the secondary market to buy shares that valued closely held... Is TikTok cheap? Some investors think so and are buying private shares of TikTok owner ByteDance...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at an Oculus Connect event in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Will Metaverse Be Worth in 2025? Our Guess Is $82 Billion

By Mathew Olson · Oct 26, 2021 6:01am PDT · 6 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at an Oculus Connect event in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Will Metaverse Be Worth in 2025? Our Guess Is $82 Billion

By Mathew Olson · Oct 26, 2021 6:01am PDT · 6 comments

Facebook is spending tens of billions of dollars in the next few years building the virtual immersive world dubbed the metaverse, CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated on Monday night. But he also acknowledged that the metaverse won’t evolve into a money-making business until “later in this decade.” We decided to try to calculate the... Facebook is spending tens of billions of dollars in the next few years building the virtual...