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

Art by Mike Sullivan

Data Is the New Sand

By Tim O'Reilly · Feb 24, 2021 6:01am PST · 35 comments

The metaphors we use are like a map. They can guide us or lead us astray. When British mathematician Clive Humby said “Data is the new oil” back in 2006, he meant that data, like oil, must be refined and transformed to make it into useful products and services. Only then does it become valuable. Unfortunately, to too many people the... The metaphors we use are like a map. They can guide us or lead us astray. When British...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Spiegel’s Long View Pays Off For Snap: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 23, 2021 5:31pm PST

You have to hand it to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel: He took the long view and turned out to be right. A little over two years ago, Snap stock was trading as low as $4.99 and user growth was flatlining. In a memorable story in The Information, we described tensions on the board over the company’s failure to meet Wall Street’s expectations... You have to hand it to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel: He took the long view and turned out to be right. A...

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, unveils Apple's sign-in button in 2019. Photo by AP.

Apple’s App Sign-in Button Becomes Hot-Button Issue in U.S. Antitrust Probe

By Josh Sisco · Feb 23, 2021 1:25pm PST · 1 comment

More and more iPhone apps are offering people the option of signing up by using information stored with Apple, adding to the array of quick sign-in formats that let people skip typing in their email address and other details. But how Apple is implementing this option—requiring it on all apps that offer sign-in options from other firms like... More and more iPhone apps are offering people the option of signing up by using information...

An image from the upcoming Disney movie 'Soul'. Photo courtesy of Disney

Data Reveals 40% of Disney+ Subscribers Are in the U.S.

By Wayne Ma and Tom Dotan · Feb 23, 2021 6:01am PST · 1 comment

An image from the upcoming Disney movie 'Soul'. Photo courtesy of Disney

Data Reveals 40% of Disney+ Subscribers Are in the U.S.

By Wayne Ma and Tom Dotan · Feb 23, 2021 6:01am PST · 1 comment

Disney’s flagship video-streaming service, Disney+, has quickly emerged as the only true competitor to Netflix, signing up nearly 100 million subscribers globally after 15 months, about half as many as Netflix has accumulated after a decade. Now, previously unreported internal data obtained by The Information shows just how reliant Disney... Disney’s flagship video-streaming service, Disney+, has quickly emerged as the only true...

The Discovery+ home screen on a smartphone. Photo by Bloomberg

Streaming’s Fuzzy Picture: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 22, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

All those worries about the impact of cord-cutting seem to be in the rear-view mirror. The latest group of stocks to take flight are the traditional entertainment companies, proving that for media investors, it doesn’t matter how troubled your business is as long as you have a streaming story to tell. Take TV firm Discovery, whose stock... All those worries about the impact of cord-cutting seem to be in the rear-view mirror. The latest...

Katana's Kristjan Vilosius (from left to right), Priit Kaasik and Hannes Kert. Photo provided by Katana

As Shopify Surges, So Are the Software Startups Riding Its Coattails

By Mark Di Stefano · Feb 22, 2021 3:00pm PST

Shopify’s stock has more than quadrupled since shoppers began flocking at the start of the pandemic to the online stores of the smaller merchants Shopify serves. And now investors are getting interested in business tool startups that piggyback on Shopify. In the latest example, a small Estonian startup, Katana, has raised $11 million in... Shopify’s stock has more than quadrupled since shoppers began flocking at the start of the...

Clockwise from top-left: Ellen Kullman, Alyssa Ravasio, Anne Wojcicki, Melanie Perkins, Heidi Zak and Emily Weiss. Photo of Anne Wojcicki by Bloomberg; all others provided by subject.

The Next Women CEOs Who Could Take Their Companies Public

By Zoë Bernard · Feb 22, 2021 9:06am PST · 4 comments

Female founders have missed out on much of the recent market euphoria. Startups founded by women accounted for fewer than one-fifth of new U.S. stock listings last year. Startups led by women CEOs made up an even smaller portion of those public offerings. But there are modest signs of change. Bumble’s $2.1 billion initial public offering... Female founders have missed out on much of the recent market euphoria. Startups founded by women...

Aviatrix CEO Steve Mullaney. Photo provided by Aviatrix

Cloud Startup Aviatrix Raises Round at Valuation Over $700 Million

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 22, 2021 6:00am PST

Aviatrix CEO Steve Mullaney. Photo provided by Aviatrix

Cloud Startup Aviatrix Raises Round at Valuation Over $700 Million

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 22, 2021 6:00am PST

A startup that helps companies avoid networking foul-ups when they run applications in the cloud is grabbing attention from investors. The startup, Aviatrix, recently closed $75 million in Series D financing in a round led by a new investor, General Catalyst. The funding values Aviatrix at more than $700 million, roughly double its $346 million... A startup that helps companies avoid networking foul-ups when they run applications in the cloud...

The Big Lesson From Google’s and Facebook’s Australia News Crisis

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 20, 2021 7:45am PST · 13 comments

As someone who worked at News Corp’s Wall Street Journal writing about Google and Facebook for nearly a decade, I’ve found the faceoff between all three companies over the future of news in Australia both fascinating and deeply frustrating. On the fascinating side, it’s been the culmination of a yearslong fight over how... As someone who worked at News Corp’s Wall Street Journal writing about Google and Facebook...

Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s LinkedIn Puzzle: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2021 5:31pm PST

You might think our scoop today that Microsoft’s LinkedIn plans to enter the gig economy market of connecting businesses with white-collar freelancers would have unnerved investors in Fiverr and Upwork, the two public companies now in that market. Apparently not: Stocks of both rose about 5% on Friday. Perhaps investors see... You might think our scoop today that Microsoft’s LinkedIn plans to enter the gig economy...

Facebook on My Wrist, Apple on Your Eyes – The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 19, 2021 12:56pm PST

Reporters Alex Heath and Wayne Ma discuss their exclusive reporting on Facebook's efforts to build a smartwatch and Apple's work on a mixed-reality headset. This is another Facebook vs. Apple battle worth following. Reporters Alex Heath and Wayne Ma discuss their exclusive reporting on Facebook's efforts to...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s New Gig: A LinkedIn Freelancer Market Rivaling Upwork, Fiverr

By Amir Efrati · Feb 19, 2021 8:01am PST · 8 comments

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s New Gig: A LinkedIn Freelancer Market Rivaling Upwork, Fiverr

By Amir Efrati · Feb 19, 2021 8:01am PST · 8 comments

LinkedIn is developing a new service called Marketplaces to let its 740 million users find and book freelancers, pitting it against publicly traded firms such as Upwork and Fiverr, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The career-focused networking site owned by Microsoft wants to tap into a small but growing market for... LinkedIn is developing a new service called Marketplaces to let its 740 million users find and...

Poshmark material at the Nasdaq in New York the day of its IPO last month. Photo by Bloomberg

IPO Pops Double in Size This Year, A Sign of Market Frothiness

By Ross Matican · Feb 19, 2021 6:01am PST

As if there was any doubt, new data shows just how frothy this year’s market for tech initial public offerings is compared to past years. Shares of tech IPOs this year jumped an average of 63% on their first trading day, nearly double the first-day pop for last year’s tech IPOs, according to data from Dealogic. And last... As if there was any doubt, new data shows just how frothy this year’s market for tech...

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch. Photo by Bloomberg.

Australia Kerfuffle Wins Facebook Friends: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 18, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

The Australian government has managed the seemingly impossible, turning Facebook into a sympathetic creature for many tech pundits who have relentlessly pilloried the social network over the past few years. Commentary today and yesterday supported Facebook’s decision to block news content in Australia rather than give in to the proposed... The Australian government has managed the seemingly impossible, turning Facebook into a...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Clubhouse and the Future of Cult-Driven Social Platforms

By Sam Lessin · Feb 18, 2021 9:00am PST · 20 comments

People are right to be focusing attention on Clubhouse’s meteoric rise. But almost everyone seems to misunderstand what is making the app so successful. It isn’t, as people like Ben Thompson suggest, simply another iteration of the old story of lowering the barriers for production and consumption, shortening feedback loops and... People are right to be focusing attention on Clubhouse’s meteoric rise. But almost everyone...

Image: Mike Sullivan

StockX Revenue Hits $400 Million in Turf Battle With Goat

By Malique Morris and Cory Weinberg · Feb 18, 2021 6:02am PST · 1 comment

Image: Mike Sullivan

StockX Revenue Hits $400 Million in Turf Battle With Goat

By Malique Morris and Cory Weinberg · Feb 18, 2021 6:02am PST · 1 comment

Most people who buy from e-commerce site StockX purchase the type of items it has become known for: trendy pre-owned sneakers and other streetwear. But in a twist, the new Sony PlayStation and Xbox consoles were its highest-grossing products last year as shoppers dove in, willing to pay a premium for the scarce devices. StockX’s expansion... Most people who buy from e-commerce site StockX purchase the type of items it has become known...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Australian High Noon: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 17, 2021 5:32pm PST · 1 comment

We’re about to find out just how important news is to Facebook’s audience and, by extension, to the social network itself. Facebook is restricting the posting or sharing of news content in Australia in response to the Australian government’s proposed news media code governing how internet companies pay for news content. At the... We’re about to find out just how important news is to Facebook’s audience and, by...

David Dobrik at the 2019 E! People's Choice Awards. Photo by AP

Camera App Dispo Starts Funding Talks with Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark

By Kate Clark · Feb 17, 2021 11:58am PST · 10 comments

On Friday, Nitin Pachisia, co-founder of VC firm Unshackled Ventures, received a handful of digital invite codes to access photo-sharing app Dispo. There was one condition: Employees at Dispo “were explicit about not inviting a bunch of [venture capitalists],” said Pachisia, 41, an existing investor in the Los Angeles-based startup.... On Friday, Nitin Pachisia, co-founder of VC firm Unshackled Ventures, received a handful of...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo: Bloomberg

As Twitter’s Stock Soars, Employee Bonuses Drop

By Alex Heath · Feb 17, 2021 7:52am PST · 2 comments

Twitter has told its employees that they will receive a sliver of their corporate bonus target for 2020 after the company missed its internal revenue and profit goals amid the pandemic, according to two people with direct knowledge of the decision. The austerity measure underscores how Twitter’s financial performance lagged its larger tech... Twitter has told its employees that they will receive a sliver of their corporate bonus target...

Clockwise from top-left: Alicia Boler Davis, Dilip Kumar, Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec and Rohit Prasad. Photos by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Bench: Ten Executives From the Company’s Next Generation of Leaders

By Mark Di Stefano · Feb 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Clockwise from top-left: Alicia Boler Davis, Dilip Kumar, Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec and Rohit Prasad. Photos by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Bench: Ten Executives From the Company’s Next Generation of Leaders

By Mark Di Stefano · Feb 17, 2021 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Get ready to hear more from a new cast of Amazon executives. That includes people in the most senior leadership positions at the internet giant, including Andy Jassy, the longtime head of its cloud unit, who will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO later this year, and Dave Clark, its logistics head, who will become the new chief of its worldwide consumer... Get ready to hear more from a new cast of Amazon executives. That includes people in the most...