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

Ben Silbermann. Photo by Bloomberg.

Pinterest’s Tardy CEO Shakeup

By Martin Peers · Jun 28, 2022 5:00pm PDT

What timing! No one could say they were surprised that Ben Silbermann is stepping down as CEO of Pinterest—that’s something we’ve expected for a while. After all, while he and his co-founder, Evan Sharp, built the business into a public company worth $13 billion—even after the stock plunge of recent months—Silbermann lately has been grappling... What timing! No one could say they were surprised that Ben Silbermann is stepping down as CEO of...

Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo by Bloomberg.

Who Else Will FTX Founder Rescue?

By Martin Peers · Jun 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Has there ever been a more aptly named entrepreneur than Sam Bankman-Fried? Not only is his FTX turning out to be a lender of last resort for crypto lenders such as BlockFi and Voyager Digital, both of which are caught up in a chain reaction of missed margin calls triggered by the crypto slide, but it could also emerge as a savior for Robinhood.... Has there ever been a more aptly named entrepreneur than Sam Bankman-Fried? Not only is his FTX...

Protesters at the Supreme Court today. Photo by AP

Roe Ruling’s Repercussions for Tech; Zendesk’s Fit of Pique

By Martin Peers · Jun 24, 2022 5:00pm PDT

What a week! Tech business news has been relatively scarce in recent days—but today’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade will have repercussions for all businesses. For the tech industry, which has been spreading outside the San Francisco Bay Area and New York for the past couple of years as remote work has become widely available,... What a week! Tech business news has been relatively scarce in recent days—but today’s Supreme...

Netflix's offices in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix’s Layoffs; What Twitter’s Stock Price Reveals

By Martin Peers · Jun 23, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Netflix's offices in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix’s Layoffs; What Twitter’s Stock Price Reveals

By Martin Peers · Jun 23, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

What a grim summer this is turning out to be. News today that Netflix was laying off 300 people, or 3% of its workforce, is a reminder that the slowdown in streaming we talk about so often has a human cost (on that, more below). More sobering: Netflix was the 28th tech firm to lay people off this week, according to Layoffs.fyi. In other... What a grim summer this is turning out to be. News today that Netflix was laying off 300 people,...

In Cannes This Week? Don’t Mention the R Word

By Mark Di Stefano · Jun 22, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Having trouble reaching someone in the advertising or marketing worlds this week? They’re most likely living it up in the South of France. Yes, after two years on hiatus due to Covid-19, the annual Cannes ad festival is back on. And attendees are out in force, looking to make up for lost party time. Just don’t mention the r-word (yes,... Having trouble reaching someone in the advertising or marketing worlds this week? They’re most...

Alicia Boler-Davis, in 2012. Photo by Bloomberg.

Reading Between the Lines of Amazon’s Big Shakeup

By Nick Wingfield · Jun 21, 2022 5:00pm PDT

We learned a few things from an Amazon executive reshuffling Tuesday, which was set in motion by the recent departure of Dave Clark, the company’s former CEO for worldwide consumer. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy promoted Doug Herrington to be the chief of what the company is now calling Worldwide Amazon Stores, and consolidated all of its operations... We learned a few things from an Amazon executive reshuffling Tuesday, which was set in motion by...

TikTok CEO Shouzi Chew. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok’s Oracle News Recalls Trump’s War on the App

By Martin Peers · Jun 17, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Talk about déjà vu! TikTok’s blog post today declaring that all of its U.S. user data is now on Oracle cloud servers in the U.S. took us back in time, to the summer of 2020, when the big story in tech business was Trump’s war on TikTok. Trump’s threats to ban TikTok—over concerns about the security of U.S. user data—didn’t pan out, of course.... Talk about déjà vu! TikTok’s blog post today declaring that all of its U.S. user data is now on...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

Musk’s Q&A Glossed Over the Key Question About Twitter Buyout

By Martin Peers · Jun 16, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

Musk’s Q&A Glossed Over the Key Question About Twitter Buyout

By Martin Peers · Jun 16, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk’s question-and-answer session with Twitter employees today should have been good news for shareholders. After all his bluster about spambots, the fact that Musk was willing to spend an hour or so answering questions from employees suggests that he intends to go through with the acquisition. And yet afterward, Twitter shares remained... Elon Musk’s question-and-answer session with Twitter employees today should have been good news...

Fed chairman Jerome Powell.

As Era of Cheap Money Ends, Fast Deliveries Dry Up

By Martin Peers · Jun 15, 2022 5:00pm PDT

As the era of cheap money comes to a close, tech’s couch potato era also appears to be ending. It seems fitting that on the day the Fed unveiled another hike in interest rates, fast-delivery startup Jokr said it was ending its operations in the U.S. If ever there was a business that relied on easy availability of money, it would be the crop... As the era of cheap money comes to a close, tech’s couch potato era also appears to be ending. It...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Questions Raised by Coinbase's Job Cuts

By Martin Peers · Jun 14, 2022 5:00pm PDT

How quickly we’ve switched from companies “slowing hiring” to mass layoffs. Coinbase wasn’t the only company from the broadly defined tech sector to institute job cuts today (see below). But the crypto exchange’s decision on Tuesday to slash its workforce by 18% was the most clearly symbolic of how fast the environment has changed, in crypto and... How quickly we’ve switched from companies “slowing hiring” to mass layoffs. Coinbase wasn’t the...

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Market’s Bad Day: Crypto and Equities Sell Off

By Martin Peers · Jun 13, 2022 5:00pm PDT

What a day. Today’s sell-off in crypto prices, triggered by crypto lender Celsius’ suspension of withdrawals, seems likely to have repercussions far and wide. And while the stock market didn’t fall as much as crypto prices did today—the Nasdaq dropped 4.7%, compared to bitcoin’s 15.9%—that will be cold comfort to equity investors. After all, the... What a day. Today’s sell-off in crypto prices, triggered by crypto lender Celsius’ suspension of...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Photo by Bloomberg.

Brits Target Apple’s and Google’s Mobile Power

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Photo by Bloomberg.

Brits Target Apple’s and Google’s Mobile Power

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2022 5:00pm PDT

For all the talk of coming regulations squeezing big tech—and Britain’s antitrust regulator has a new study out today targeting Apple and Google—Wall Street doesn’t seem too bothered. Shares of the iPhone maker and Google’s parent, Alphabet, for instance, have performed better than most tech stocks so far this year, each having fallen around... For all the talk of coming regulations squeezing big tech—and Britain’s antitrust regulator has a...

Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney Backs Chapek; Meta’s Slight Pullback

By Martin Peers · Jun 9, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Looks like Disney CEO Bob Chapek can relax, as much as any CEO ever can. A statement from Disney’s board today, coinciding with Chapek’s firing of a high-profile but combative TV executive, made clear the board stands behind Chapek. That TV executive, Peter Rice, had been seen in Hollywood as a potential successor to Chapek. The board’s... Looks like Disney CEO Bob Chapek can relax, as much as any CEO ever can. A statement from Disney’...

Meta's Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Clark’s Flexport Move Signals Executive Reshuffle Underway

By Martin Peers · Jun 8, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Are we in for a spate of executive departures? News today that Dave Clark, who quit last Friday as Amazon’s consumer chief, was jumping to logistics software firm Flexport is the latest sign that top executives are choosing this early-summer moment to change jobs. Given how painful business conditions are right now, it’s probably not a bad time... Are we in for a spate of executive departures? News today that Dave Clark, who quit last Friday...

The RealReal's Julie Wainwright.

The RealReal, Target Show Struggles in Retailing

By Martin Peers · Jun 7, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s no fun being a shopkeeper nowadays. Today, a few days after Amazon’s consumer chief Dave Clark left the building, The RealReal said its CEO and founder, Julie Wainwright, was walking away from the retailer of used luxury goods. Wainwright, who launched the company 11 years ago after stints running several other companies including dot-com–... It’s no fun being a shopkeeper nowadays. Today, a few days after Amazon’s consumer chief Dave...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Buy Now, Pay Later Move May Be a Little Late

By Martin Peers · Jun 6, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Buy Now, Pay Later Move May Be a Little Late

By Martin Peers · Jun 6, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Never underestimate the value of small steps in technological progress. Of all the software and hardware developments Apple unveiled today, the ability to edit iMessages after sending them will probably get the most plaudits from regular people. Yes, we can finally fix a message screw-up caused by Apple’s autocorrect! Hooray!Antitrust regulators... Never underestimate the value of small steps in technological progress. Of all the software and...

Elon Musk at a SpaceX launch last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Musk’s Super-Bad Feeling; an Amazon Exec Ships Out

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 3, 2022 5:32pm PDT

Elon Musk says Tesla will lay off 10% of its salaried employees. Where have we heard that before? Sure, these cuts—and Musk’s “super bad feeling” about the economy, as was reported by Reuters—might be another proof point for a market downturn. But at Tesla, layoffs have also become an annual tradition of sorts.Recall that in 2018 Musk cut 9% of... Elon Musk says Tesla will lay off 10% of its salaried employees. Where have we heard that before?...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in April in India. Photo by Bloomberg

Coinbase’s Deep Freeze; Microsoft Subtweets Big Tech

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 2, 2022 5:35pm PDT

What a difference a few months makes. In February, as storm clouds were beginning to form over the economy, Coinbase announced a plan to hire 6,000 new employees, which would have more than doubled its head count. That ambitious plan came to a screeching halt on Thursday, when the cryptocurrency exchange announced it would freeze hiring “for the... What a difference a few months makes. In February, as storm clouds were beginning to form over...

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Sheryl Sandberg’s Long Goodbye; Back to the Office, or Else

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 1, 2022 6:51pm PDT

Publicly traded companies typically disclose big personnel announcements outside of normal trading hours, with the hope that investors will think twice before they trade. But not Meta Platforms. It rolled out a series of coordinated announcements on its top executives’ Facebook pages, alongside an interview with Bloomberg, about 30 minutes... Publicly traded companies typically disclose big personnel announcements outside of normal...

A Cameo NFT event in Beverly Hills in February. Photo courtesy of Cameo

Startup Parties Are Warning Signs; Salesforce Stays Bullish

By Nick Wingfield · May 31, 2022 5:35pm PDT

A Cameo NFT event in Beverly Hills in February. Photo courtesy of Cameo

Startup Parties Are Warning Signs; Salesforce Stays Bullish

By Nick Wingfield · May 31, 2022 5:35pm PDT

We’re starting to sense a pattern. More evidence is piling up that throwing a lavish party or corporate offsite is one of the leading indicators that a tech startup is on the verge of a reckoning. The latest example: our story today about the recent struggles of Amazon aggregators, which opens with this detail about a retreat in Mexico that the... We’re starting to sense a pattern. More evidence is piling up that throwing a lavish party or...