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

A screenshot from Blaston. Image: Resolution Games

Facebook Tiptoes Into Advertising Inside VR Games

By Mathew Olson · Jun 17, 2021 11:00am PDT

Over the next few weeks, people with Oculus Quest headsets will start seeing some advertisements in virtual reality. Facebook calls the introduction of these in-app ads “a key part” of building a sustainable VR business. But many VR users are likely to view them as intrusive. And the ad rollout is sure to raise concerns about whether the... Over the next few weeks, people with Oculus Quest headsets will start seeing some advertisements...

Photo of Jonah Peretti by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Inside Jonah Peretti’s Rollup Playbook

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Jun 17, 2021 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

In 2018, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti issued a cri de coeur to the digital media industry, telling his fellow moguls that all of them, BuzzFeed included, needed to start merging so they could more effectively stand up to Google and Facebook, the internet’s advertising powerhouses. But then a funny thing happened: Peretti went dark on the... In 2018, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti issued a cri de coeur to the digital media industry, telling...

A Waymo minivan arrives to pick up passengers for an autonomous vehicle ride, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in Mesa, Ariz. Photo: AP

Way Mo’ Cash for High-Tech Cars

By Amir Efrati · Jun 16, 2021 5:08pm PDT · 1 comment

Alphabet’s self-driving car subsidiary Waymo on Wednesday said it raised $2.5 billion from investors, with an asterisk: Alphabet was the lead investor in the round, according to a person familiar with the deal. In Silicon Valley, the lead designation usually belongs to the party that contributed half of the total amount in the round. So... Alphabet’s self-driving car subsidiary Waymo on Wednesday said it raised $2.5 billion from...

Left to right: Linktree co-founders Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria, Nicky Humphreys. Photo: Linktree.

Why Everyone’s Excited About Link-in-Bio Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 16, 2021 4:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Left to right: Linktree co-founders Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria, Nicky Humphreys. Photo: Linktree.

Creator Economy

Why Everyone’s Excited About Link-in-Bio Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 16, 2021 4:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Since we started this newsletter, startups offering what’s known as “link-in-bio” services have made regular appearances, from raising venture funding to launching new ways for creators to make money. Today we explain what they are—and why investors and founders seem so hot about this technology. The concept for these services rose from a... Since we started this newsletter, startups offering what’s known as “link-in-bio” services have...

Murky Regulation Leaves Opening for Other Validators

By Hannah Miller · Jun 16, 2021 2:47pm PDT

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement Tuesday that it had brought new charges against three more people in an alleged $30 million initial coin offering fraud in 2017 was a harsh reminder of just how sketchy crypto can be. With crypto’s regulatory landscape unclear, actions like the SEC’s lawsuit are rare and often delayed.... The Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement Tuesday that it had brought new charges...

Mapbox technology used in AR-assisted navigation. Image: Mapbox

Tech’s Union Push Meets AR and Maps

By Mathew Olson · Jun 16, 2021 11:00am PDT

San Francisco-based Mapbox offers tools and navigation data that can power just about any use of digital maps you can imagine, including augmented reality. While the company largely operates in Google’s shadow, Mapbox counts Facebook and Snap among its customers and is reportedly in talks for a SoftBank-backed SPAC deal at a $2 billion... San Francisco-based Mapbox offers tools and navigation data that can power just about any use of...

Art: Mike Sullivan

Google’s Next AI Move: Teaching Foreign Languages

By Sarah Krouse · Jun 16, 2021 9:01am PDT

Google CEO Sundar Pichai last month previewed an artificial intelligence model that he said would enable people to have open-ended conversations with technology. But current and former employees who have worked with the language model say enabling coherent, free-flowing and accurate dialogue between humans and technology remains a tall order. As... Google CEO Sundar Pichai last month previewed an artificial intelligence model that he said would...

Clockwise from top left: Gladly CEO Joseph Ansanelli, The Archivist co-founders Ashley Granada and Joseph Einhorn, Fabric co-founder Ryan Bartley, Smartrr CEO Gabriella Yitzhaek, Shogun CEO Finbarr Taylor, Nacelle CEO Brian Anderson, Fabric CEO Faisal Masud and ReCharge co-founders Oisin O’Connor and Michael Flynn. Photos: the companies.

Seven E-Commerce Startups to Watch

By Malique Morris · Jun 16, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Clockwise from top left: Gladly CEO Joseph Ansanelli, The Archivist co-founders Ashley Granada and Joseph Einhorn, Fabric co-founder Ryan Bartley, Smartrr CEO Gabriella Yitzhaek, Shogun CEO Finbarr Taylor, Nacelle CEO Brian Anderson, Fabric CEO Faisal Masud and ReCharge co-founders Oisin O’Connor and Michael Flynn. Photos: the companies.

Startups to Watch

Seven E-Commerce Startups to Watch

By Malique Morris · Jun 16, 2021 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

As online shopping booms, venture investment in the e-commerce sector has taken off. That has put a spotlight on the small software companies that power online shopping, from enabling product subscriptions to making merchants’ websites run faster. These include firms such as Fabric, Nacelle, Shogun and ReCharge. In the first quarter of... As online shopping booms, venture investment in the e-commerce sector has taken off. That has put...

New FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo: Bloomberg

Big Tech’s Uneasy Future

By Josh Sisco · Jun 15, 2021 5:47pm PDT

The White House today took its most aggressive step yet against large technology companies, naming anti-monopoly advocate Lina Khan to head the Federal Trade Commission. Whether the news will rattle tech companies—or their investors—remains to be seen.Despite multiple antitrust lawsuits and investigations, and many hours of grandstanding by... The White House today took its most aggressive step yet against large technology companies,...

Images of Facebook's live audio rooms (l) and a Clubhouse chat room (r). Photos: Facebook, Clubhouse

Creator Economy

Facebook Previews Its Clubhouse Competitor; Q&A with Gumroad’s Sahil Lavingia

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 15, 2021 4:00pm PDT

Last week we wrote how Clubhouse was on a hiring spree that should help improve the quality of its audio and programming. The updates can’t come soon enough. On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a tour of its Clubhouse competitor, making Facebook the second large tech company after Twitter to come directly after the social audio startup... Last week we wrote how Clubhouse was on a hiring spree that should help improve the quality of...

Solana’s Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko. Photo: Solana

Solana’s Bid to Take On Ethereum

By Hannah Miller · Jun 15, 2021 2:44pm PDT

Though Bitcoin may be the focus of most cryptocurrency headlines and hype, Ethereum has long been viewed as the platform that enables decentralized finance, one of the most transformative aspects of digital blockchain technology. With its ability to host banking, trading, smart contracts and other financial transactions without involving... Though Bitcoin may be the focus of most cryptocurrency headlines and hype, Ethereum has long been...

John Carmack. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Brings Back ‘Brutally Honest’ VR App Reviews

By Mathew Olson · Jun 15, 2021 11:38am PDT

John Carmack. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Brings Back ‘Brutally Honest’ VR App Reviews

By Mathew Olson · Jun 15, 2021 11:38am PDT

Legendary graphics programmer and rocketry dabbler John Carmack doesn’t mince words. As one of the creatives behind 1993’s Doom and the former CTO of Oculus (and still an adviser for Facebook), Carmack’s in-person VR app critiques became a popular event at Facebook’s annual VR and AR conferences, as a rare opportunity for up-and-coming designers... Legendary graphics programmer and rocketry dabbler John Carmack doesn’t mince words. As one of...

Photos provided by Amazon

Amazon’s Airplanes Move Cargo for U.S. Postal Service

By Paris Martineau · Jun 15, 2021 8:00am PDT

Over the past several years, Amazon has dramatically expanded its fleet of aircraft to help it ship Amazon orders to customers faster. The growth has been so dramatic that it has fueled speculation Amazon would eventually begin flying cargo from other companies, not just Amazon packages, on its jets, whose tail fins are emblazoned with its... Over the past several years, Amazon has dramatically expanded its fleet of aircraft to help it...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Nvidia’s $40 Billion Takeover of Arm Faces New Foe: European Vacations

By Josh Sisco · Jun 15, 2021 6:00am PDT

Nine months after Nvidia, the second-most valuable microchip developer in the world, announced its $40 billion takeover of SoftBank-owned chip designer Arm Holdings, the companies are facing delays in submitting the deal for approval by the European Union’s antitrust regulator, according to three people involved in the process. The... Nine months after Nvidia, the second-most valuable microchip developer in the world, announced...

A screenshot from Starfield, a game by Microsoft’s Bethesda studio. Photo: Bethesda

An Amazon and Microsoft Duel in Game Streaming

By Nick Wingfield · Jun 14, 2021 5:04pm PDT

Two big tech companies that want to define the future of gaming—Microsoft and Amazon—are showing more of their cards. Both companies want to use their eye-watering investments in cloud computing to stream games over the internet so that people can play them on any kind of hardware, including devices that are normally too wimpy to support the... Two big tech companies that want to define the future of gaming—Microsoft and Amazon—are showing...

Photo: AP

Patreon Gets Sucked Into Complaints Over Apple App Store Taxes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 14, 2021 4:02pm PDT

Photo: AP

Creator Economy

Patreon Gets Sucked Into Complaints Over Apple App Store Taxes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 14, 2021 4:02pm PDT

Recently, complaints about the 30% commissions Apple and Google app stores charge for digital purchases through apps has spread to the creator economy. The hullabaloo has resurfaced this question: are some apps, notably Patreon, exempt from these fees? And if so, why?To reprise: over the last few weeks, against a backdrop of barbs (and one ... Recently, complaints about the 30% commissions Apple and Google app stores charge for digital...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo: Bloomberg

Bitcoin’s Elon Musk Problem

By Hannah Miller · Jun 14, 2021 2:58pm PDT · 1 comment

The price of bitcoin broke $40,000 Monday for the first time in weeks following another Elon Musk flex. The Tesla CEO tweeted yesterday that the automaker will resume accepting bitcoin payments for vehicles when “there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend.” Musk’s tentative peace... The price of bitcoin broke $40,000 Monday for the first time in weeks following another Elon Musk...

A screenshot from the ‘Population: One’ game. Image: BigBoxVR

Facebook and Shopify Pick Up New VR and AR Teams

By Mathew Olson · Jun 14, 2021 11:01am PDT

Last Friday brought back-to-back acquisitions in virtual and augmented reality: Facebook said it was buying Seattle’s BigBox VR, makers of Population: One, and would incorporate it into Oculus Studios. And Shopify is taking on the team behind AR home design app Primer. Both deals underscore the appetite of big tech companies for developers with... Last Friday brought back-to-back acquisitions in virtual and augmented reality: Facebook said it...

Gene Farrell, Smartsheet’s chief strategy and product officer. Photo by Bloomberg

The Big Interview

A Former AWS Executive Helps Smartsheet Grow Up

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 14, 2021 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Gene Farrell left Amazon Web Services four years ago to join a company called Smartsheet, his former employer sued Farrell for violating his noncompete agreement. Apparently, the hard feelings didn’t last: Amazon is in talks with Smartsheet to officially sanction the company’s workplace collaboration app for use by Amazon... When Gene Farrell left Amazon Web Services four years ago to join a company called Smartsheet,...

EzCater CEO Stefania Mallett (l), Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala (center) and SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger (right). Photos: ezCater, Kinside and SeatGeek

Three Startups Show How the Pandemic’s Hardest Hit Are Rebounding

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 14, 2021 6:01am PDT

EzCater CEO Stefania Mallett (l), Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala (center) and SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger (right). Photos: ezCater, Kinside and SeatGeek

Three Startups Show How the Pandemic’s Hardest Hit Are Rebounding

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 14, 2021 6:01am PDT

Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala remembers the moment in November when she knew her startup, which helps parents find day care openings, wasn’t just recovering after a tough half year—it was about to take off. Pfizer had announced that its Covid19 vaccine was mostly effective. Parents, tired of juggling Zoom calls and bored preschoolers,... Kinside CEO Shadiah Sigala remembers the moment in November when she knew her startup, which...