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

Zoom, Amazon Hired at Fastest Clip During Pandemic

By Nick Wingfield · Mar 18, 2021 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Early last year, before the pandemic flipped the world upside down, you could have fit the entire global workforce of Zoom Video Communications on about 45 charter buses. By the end of January this year, though, it would have taken 79 buses to hold all of the videoconferencing provider’s employees, thanks to a whopping headcount increase... Early last year, before the pandemic flipped the world upside down, you could have fit the entire...

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

The Briefing: The Challenge Facing Amazon M.D.

By Martin Peers · Mar 17, 2021 5:02pm PDT

It’s getting harder to think of any aspect of American life that Amazon isn’t now trying to serve. The company ticked the health care box on Wednesday by unveiling Amazon Care, an on-demand health care business, designed as a service companies can offer their employees. Amazon’s description of the service makes it sound like a... It’s getting harder to think of any aspect of American life that Amazon isn’t now...

Vive Facial Tracker. Image: HTC

TI Reality Check: Why Duct Tape Is Still a Leading VR Accessory

By Mathew Olson · Mar 17, 2021 11:22am PDT

I’ve been seeing a lot of excitement from VR enthusiasts over HTC’s new Vive Facial Tracker. At $130, the price won’t scare away people who have already dropped thousands of dollars on VR gear. And the tracker offers users the kind of face-tracking features—namely, a way to have more expressive avatars in online social... I’ve been seeing a lot of excitement from VR enthusiasts over HTC’s new Vive Facial...

Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief technology officer. Photo provided by Twitter

Twitter CTO: ‘We Need to Do Better’

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 17, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief technology officer. Photo provided by Twitter

The Big Interview

Twitter CTO: ‘We Need to Do Better’

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 17, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

For a tech company, Twitter has often had a surprisingly difficult relationship with technology. Twitter outages were once so common that the Fail Whale—the marine mammal–themed error message its users received when Twitter went down—became fodder for countless tech industry jokes. More recently, the company’s convoluted... For a tech company, Twitter has often had a surprisingly difficult relationship with technology....

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: What BuzzFeed and Vice SPAC Talks Show

By Martin Peers · Mar 16, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment

It turns out SPAC deals aren’t a surefire way to riches for every company executive. That’s one takeaway from our report this morning that neither BuzzFeed nor Vice Media are likely to recapture their 2016-17 era peak valuations when they merge with a special purpose acquisition company to go public. Instead, shareholders in both... It turns out SPAC deals aren’t a surefire way to riches for every company executive....

Stripe-Like Valuation Jumps Are Becoming More Common

By Berber Jin · Mar 16, 2021 1:09pm PDT

Stripe’s funding round was breathtaking for its size and price of $95 billion, amounting to 2.6 times its valuation less than a year ago. But it wasn’t unique. The valuations of the six U.S. startups with the biggest increases over the last year averaged 3.6 times higher than their prior round, according to data compiled for The... Stripe’s funding round was breathtaking for its size and price of $95 billion, amounting to...

An Ikea mobile AR app for furniture shopping. Photo from Ikea

TI Reality Check: Mobile AR Isn’t Just a Stepping Stone

By Mathew Olson · Mar 16, 2021 11:15am PDT

Welcome back! I have a feeling the topic won’t come up too often in this newsletter, but let’s take a moment to talk about AR and non-fungible tokens or NFTs—the new fad sweeping cryptocurrency circles and the art collector world (for more on the broader NFT craze, read The Information’s Sam Lessin on the capital and... Welcome back! I have a feeling the topic won’t come up too often in this newsletter, but...

Signage for Bumble's IPO at the Nasdaq market in February. Photo by Bloomberg.

After Bumble’s Stock Pop, Chinese Dating App Soul Seeks Billion-Dollar IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 16, 2021 10:49am PDT · 1 comment

Signage for Bumble's IPO at the Nasdaq market in February. Photo by Bloomberg.

After Bumble’s Stock Pop, Chinese Dating App Soul Seeks Billion-Dollar IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 16, 2021 10:49am PDT · 1 comment

A Chinese dating and social chat app called Soul is preparing for an initial public offering likely to value the company at $1 billion or more, riding a wave of interest after the recent success of U.S. dating app Bumble and a rush of Chinese startups tapping red-hot capital markets. Soul, which masks users’ profile pictures and matches... A Chinese dating and social chat app called Soul is preparing for an initial public offering...

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg

Vice, BuzzFeed Facing Valuation Cuts in SPAC Deals

By Jessica Toonkel · Mar 16, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Media firms such as Vice and BuzzFeed are likely to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition companies in the next few months—but unlike SPAC deals in bubbly industries like electric vehicles, the deals are likely to be done at valuations below what the media firms have fetched in the past. Vice Media is in talks with at least... Media firms such as Vice and BuzzFeed are likely to go public by merging with special purpose...

Netflix Co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: Netflix Wins Oscar Nominations, Loses Wall Street

By Martin Peers · Mar 15, 2021 5:31pm PDT · 2 comments

This year’s Academy Awards ceremony on April 25 will air on Disney’s ABC network, as it has for many years. But it could well be Netflix’s show, judging by the 35 award nominations received by Netflix movies Monday morning, including 10 for “Mank.” Not only does Netflix dominate the streaming side of television,... This year’s Academy Awards ceremony on April 25 will air on Disney’s ABC network, as...

Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla. Art by Mike Sullivan

Khosla’s Lawsuit Against Lime Shows Ugly Side of Aborted Acqui-Hires

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 15, 2021 12:48pm PDT · 2 comments

It would have been an unremarkable transaction: Electric skateboard pioneer Boosted was running out of money in late 2019 and tried to sell key assets and transfer some employees to Lime, a scooter rental firm, for $30 million in Lime’s stock. The deal would have helped Boosted’s biggest financial backer, Khosla Ventures, recoup some... It would have been an unremarkable transaction: Electric skateboard pioneer Boosted was running...

A customer wearing a pair of AirPods Max headphones at an Apple store in South Korea. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: Time to Talk About AR Audio

By Mathew Olson · Mar 15, 2021 11:01am PDT

A customer wearing a pair of AirPods Max headphones at an Apple store in South Korea. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: Time to Talk About AR Audio

By Mathew Olson · Mar 15, 2021 11:01am PDT

Welcome back! The visual side of VR and AR captures the bulk of the attention, but audio merits a lot more discussion than it gets, something that a recent Apple patent reminded me of. First though, let’s talk about one kind of audio technology that’s on the market today: smart hearing aids. While hearing aids are today mainly used... Welcome back! The visual side of VR and AR captures the bulk of the attention, but audio merits a...

A worker at a picking station at an Amazon warehouse. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Expands Effort to ‘Gamify’ Warehouse Work

By Paris Martineau and Mark Di Stefano · Mar 15, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

At dozens of Amazon warehouses every day, employees go about their regular work routines, plucking the items from shelves that make up customer orders and dropping them into plastic bins. They get paid, of course, but some of them are also vying for digital rewards that allow them to buy virtual narwhals, dinosaurs and other electronic pets. ... At dozens of Amazon warehouses every day, employees go about their regular work routines,...

What I Learned as a Founder During Covid-19

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 13, 2021 7:46am PST · 4 comments

A few weeks ago, one longtime team member at The Information asked one of her colleagues on Zoom: “So, how tall are you?” She’d never met her in person. It’s one of many examples of the utter strangeness of the last year. A year ago this week, like all of you, we at The Information shut down our offices. In a note to... A few weeks ago, one longtime team member at The Information asked one of her colleagues on Zoom:...

Microsoft president Brad Smith. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Daily Briefing: Behind Microsoft’s Attacks on Google

By Martin Peers · Mar 12, 2021 5:32pm PST

A public brawl between two big companies is always fun to watch. It doesn’t happen very often, as most business executives go to great lengths to avoid saying anything in public remotely colorful (that’s one reason why Elon Musk is so much fun to watch). So the war of words between Microsoft and Google on Friday, triggered by... A public brawl between two big companies is always fun to watch. It doesn’t happen very...

The Information’s 411 — Condé Nast Turns a New Page

By Tom Dotan · Mar 12, 2021 3:28pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Condé Nast Turns a New Page

By Tom Dotan · Mar 12, 2021 3:28pm PST

Tom speaks to Roger Lynch, the CEO of magazine giant Condé Nast, about how he’s trying to turn the company around and build out newer businesses like e-commerce, longform video and digital subscriptions. He also talks about how the company handled its cultural reckoning last year. Then Alex and Mat join to recap their interview with... Tom speaks to Roger Lynch, the CEO of magazine giant Condé Nast, about how he’s...

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Photo by Bloomberg.

In Reversal, Netflix Discussed Selling Shows to TV Networks

By Jessica Toonkel · Mar 12, 2021 12:34pm PST · 1 comment

Netflix has made a name for itself as the exclusive home for its original series like “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Stranger Things” and “Firefly Lane.” But in what could be a major departure in strategy, the streaming giant in recent months has explored licensing some of its movies and series to other TV... Netflix has made a name for itself as the exclusive home for its original series like “The...

Conde CEO Roger Lynch. Photo by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Q&A

Condé Nast Expects Strong Revenue Growth in 2021 After “Very Difficult Year,” CEO Says

By Tom Dotan · Mar 12, 2021 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Magazine giant Condé Nast, publisher of titles including Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired, had a “very, very difficult year” in 2020, thanks to the pandemic’s impact on advertising, CEO Roger Lynch says. But this year, he predicts, revenue will grow by “double-digit percentages,” and long term he... Magazine giant Condé Nast, publisher of titles including Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New...

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Tech Breakups Could Be Good for Shareholders: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 11, 2021 5:02pm PST

Democrats in Congress are starting work on changes to antitrust laws that would make it tougher for big companies—most obviously big tech firms—to do acquisitions. Along with antitrust action already begun, the legislation being discussed could even end up forcing tech giants to divest existing businesses. Tech firms are sure to... Democrats in Congress are starting work on changes to antitrust laws that would make it tougher...

A Google Cardboard VR viewer in 2015. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: What Happened to Google in AR and VR?

By Mathew Olson · Mar 11, 2021 11:02am PST

A Google Cardboard VR viewer in 2015. Photo by Bloomberg

TI Reality Check: What Happened to Google in AR and VR?

By Mathew Olson · Mar 11, 2021 11:02am PST

Welcome back! We kicked off my first week running Reality Check with a Mark Zuckerberg interview about Facebook’s big plans for the future in AR and VR. Now I’d like to take a look at another company, Google, that seems to have much less going on in the category. Last week, UploadVR noticed that Google has stopped selling its... Welcome back! We kicked off my first week running Reality Check with a Mark Zuckerberg interview...