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

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

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SpaceX, Klaviyo, LLMs: Highlight Stories From This Week

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 22, 2023 4:01pm PDT

This week we were treated to not one but two big tech IPOs! Plus, two tech juggernauts—Amazon and Microsoft—held big, flashy product launch events. Through it all, The Information’s newsroom pumped out a string of scoops, analyses and meaty newsletters. This week we were treated to not one but two big tech IPOs! Plus, two tech juggernauts—Amazon and...

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Google’s Standoff with AI Chip 'Shark' Broadcom

By Amir Efrati · Sep 21, 2023 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Jim Cramer, CNBC’s “Mad Money” host, took a swipe at our report today that Google has set an internal goal to break from Broadcom, its supplier of artificial intelligence chips. Cramer called the story “patently false” on X. Cramer, who has been particularly bullish on Broadcom lately, is often criticized for dispensing bad advice—for example,... Jim Cramer, CNBC’s “Mad Money” host, took a swipe at our report today that Google has set an...

Andrew Bialecki, CEO and co-founder of Klaviyo. Photo by the Boston Globe via Getty.

A Boring—but Important—IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 20, 2023 5:00pm PDT

We tend to lionize founders who start companies with the splashiest, most far-reaching consumer products. So Andrew Bialecki of $10 billion marketing tech startup Klaviyo—a name few people even know how to pronounce (it’s “clay-vee-oh”)—isn’t exactly a favorite to headline the next Code Conference.But Bialecki—a Boston-based, 37-year-old... We tend to lionize founders who start companies with the splashiest, most far-reaching consumer...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

The Instacart IPO’s Fine Print

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

The Instacart IPO’s Fine Print

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

It’s been nearly two years since the last major IPO of a venture-backed company, so in case you forgot what one looked like, Instacart’s big day had many familiar beats. The ringing of the bell. The debate about stock pops. Early investors taking victory laps on TV.The celebration of the long-awaited listing obscured one fact. At the end of the... It’s been nearly two years since the last major IPO of a venture-backed company, so in case you...

Panos Panov. Photo by Getty.

A Microsoft Devices Guru Defects to Amazon

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 18, 2023 5:03pm PDT

This is the time of year when the leaves begin to turn color, Earth, Wind and Fire blares from car stereos, and two tech companies that aspire to be players in consumer hardware—Amazon and Microsoft—show off the gadgets they want you to buy this holiday season. This year, Amazon goes first with an event on Wednesday, followed by Microsoft on... This is the time of year when the leaves begin to turn color, Earth, Wind and Fire blares from...

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Our Favorite Stories From This Week

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 15, 2023 3:32pm PDT

Whether you’re a freight shipping fan, an IPO market aficionado, a close watcher of the crypto venture capital landscape, or if you’ve ever wondered what happened to Yahoo, there’s something for everyone in The Information’s coverage from this past week. Whether you’re a freight shipping fan, an IPO market aficionado, a close watcher of the crypto...

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The Instacart IPO Puzzle I Can’t Grok

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 14, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 5 comments

These days I often read things that stop me in my tracks. In challenging economic times, the ugly truth often comes out. But upon reading Cory’s excellent account of how Instacart’s former CEO clashed with Sequoia Capital this morning, one line almost made me spill my morning coffee. "Some investors close to Instacart, like Sequoia,... These days I often read things that stop me in my tracks. In challenging economic times, the ugly...

Arm headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Arm Flexes Its Pricing Muscle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 13, 2023 5:06pm PDT

Arm headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Arm Flexes Its Pricing Muscle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 13, 2023 5:06pm PDT

Bankers working on Arm Holdings’ much-watched initial public offering huddled on Wednesday to spar over how to determine the most important part of the deal: At what price are they going to sell shares when the SoftBank-owned chip designer goes public tomorrow? Like a Vatican smoke signal, push alerts and headlines across the business press... Bankers working on Arm Holdings’ much-watched initial public offering huddled on Wednesday to...

Google Chief Economist, Hal Varian (right), served as a witness at today's trial. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why Google’s Antitrust Trial Is Not Like Microsoft’s

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 12, 2023 5:09pm PDT · 2 comments

Snoop into any conversation in Silicon Valley and you’ll hear talk of large-language models, wrangling developer credits from OpenAI, the IPO market and whether anyone actually was going to the Apple event (really—I was just at a school cocktail party of this nature).What you won’t hear is buzz about the government’s biggest antitrust trial in... Snoop into any conversation in Silicon Valley and you’ll hear talk of large-language models,...

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Apple and Qualcomm Delay the Inevitable

By Nick Wingfield · Sep 11, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple and Qualcomm are like a couple you’re certain will eventually get divorced but, for one reason or another, they keep patching things up, postponing the inevitable. Monday brought news of the latest peace treaty between the two companies with an announcement that Apple will continue to use Qualcomm’s 5G cellular modems in iPhones through... Apple and Qualcomm are like a couple you’re certain will eventually get divorced but, for one...

Ryan Petersen. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Flexport Drama Spotlights Petersen’s Role

By Martin Peers · Sep 8, 2023 3:01pm PDT

It’s day 3 of the Flexport CEO shakeup saga, which seems the perfect set up for a corporate TV drama, if only Hollywood writers weren’t on strike. Today’s developments included Flexport founder and once-again CEO Ryan Petersen not-so-subtly criticizing the management of Dave Clark, the former Amazonian ousted as Flexport CEO on Wednesday after a... It’s day 3 of the Flexport CEO shakeup saga, which seems the perfect set up for a corporate TV...

An Apple Store in Shanghai on August 23. Photo by Getty.

Why the Dave Clarks Should Watch Out

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 5:00pm PDT

An Apple Store in Shanghai on August 23. Photo by Getty.

Why the Dave Clarks Should Watch Out

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 7, 2023 5:00pm PDT

So much for business as usual. The abrupt ouster of Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport is not just a story about the startup world rejecting a big tech (in this case Amazon) executive. It’s not just a story about a founder who regretted stepping aside, who probably didn’t love the life of a venture capitalist and decided to jump back in. It... So much for business as usual. The abrupt ouster of Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport is not...

Dave Clark in 2018. Photo by AP.

Flexport Founder Has a CEO Change of Heart

By Martin Peers · Sep 6, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Memo to would-be CEOs: Next time a company founder approaches you about taking the reins from them, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. As we were reminded on Wednesday, when former Amazonian Dave Clark said he was yielding the top job at freight forwarder Flexport to founder Ryan Petersen, successfully filling a founder’s shoes... Memo to would-be CEOs: Next time a company founder approaches you about taking the reins from...

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Arm Value Numbers Inhabit SoftBank’s Parallel Universe

By Martin Peers · Sep 5, 2023 5:00pm PDT

It’s time for an updated edition of “Games People Play,” one dedicated to IPO marketing. The prime example could be SoftBank and the army of bankers it has on tap that are marketing the IPO for chip design firm Arm. They’re doing a masterful job in manipulating what the media thinks SoftBank wants. A few weeks ago, we saw reports that SoftBank... It’s time for an updated edition of “Games People Play,” one dedicated to IPO marketing. The...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Los Angeles Times via Getty.

John Malone’s Charter Squeezes Disney at Vulnerable Moment

By Martin Peers · Sep 1, 2023 4:23pm PDT

Bob Iger’s path to rescuing Disney just ran into a roadblock. Disney’s cable channels, including ESPN, went dark on Thursday on the No. 2 cable operator, Charter Communications, amid a fight about how much Charter should pay to carry the channels. Make no mistake: This is not one of those boring cable TV industry battles that have been going on... Bob Iger’s path to rescuing Disney just ran into a roadblock. Disney’s cable channels, including...

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For Software Firms, Price Increases Are Becoming a Bigger Growth Factor

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Shutterstock.

For Software Firms, Price Increases Are Becoming a Bigger Growth Factor

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

After a flood of earnings today, from the likes of MongoDB, Broadcom and Nutanix, we’re pretty much done with tech’s latest quarterly earnings season. (Next earnings season is only six weeks away—whoopee!) As we look back at what we learned, here’s something that’s worth thinking about: Price increases for enterprise software firms are likely to... After a flood of earnings today, from the likes of MongoDB, Broadcom and Nutanix, we’re pretty...

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Salesforce Delivers on Profits, but Growth Is Not What It Was

By Martin Peers · Aug 30, 2023 5:01pm PDT

It was a relaxed Marc Benioff who addressed Wall Street analysts on Wednesday afternoon, after Salesforce reported its July-quarter earnings. Not only did he tease a couple of his top executives on the call, but he waxed lyrical about his experience using Google’s Bard chatbot and talked up the potential of AI startups to revive San Francisco’s... It was a relaxed Marc Benioff who addressed Wall Street analysts on Wednesday afternoon, after...

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Apple and Biden Aren’t Aligned on China

By Martin Peers · Aug 29, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

If Apple was a country, its annual sales—nearly $400 billion last year—would make it roughly the 40th biggest economy in the world, ahead of Iran and on par with Denmark. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Apple appears to have its own foreign policy, one that isn’t always totally aligned with U.S. policy, at least when it comes to dealing... If Apple was a country, its annual sales—nearly $400 billion last year—would make it roughly the...

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Beijing on August 28, 2023. Photo by Getty.

Will Beijing Buy Raimondo’s Dividing Line?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 28, 2023 5:01pm PDT

BEIJING—After five minutes of staring at the wrinkle cream and waxing products, it all started to make sense. The U.S. can trade more with China, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo argued. But it will stick to products that have nothing to do with its national security, like moisturizer—or other items that contribute the vast majority of... BEIJING—After five minutes of staring at the wrinkle cream and waxing products, it all started to...

Photo via Instacart

What Instacart, Arm and Klaviyo Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Aug 25, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Photo via Instacart

What Instacart, Arm and Klaviyo Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Aug 25, 2023 3:00pm PDT

That special category of finance geeks who know what the term S-1 means (it’s a fancy industry term for an IPO filing) had their hands full this week, the first time in a long while we’ve seen a bunch of tech companies filing to go public. (Pause here for clapping.) After Monday’s filing by Arm, today brought filings from Instacart (known... That special category of finance geeks who know what the term S-1 means (it’s a fancy industry...