The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Photo by AP

Tech Investor Anxieties May Be Overblown

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 12, 2022 5:10pm PDT · 2 comments

It’s a big day here at The Information. We’ve launched a brand-new set of tools to help our subscribers connect and share content. You can read what others are saying about them here. Here’s the gist: The Information’s outstanding subscriber base includes some of the most important individuals in tech, but these days online networking is a... It’s a big day here at The Information. We’ve launched a brand-new set of tools to help our...

Photo by Bloomberg

Can Musk Shake Up Sun Valley?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 7, 2022 5:15pm PDT

You have to love a jam-packed summer news day. The maestro behind Masayoshi Son’s tech investing—Rajeev Misra—is leaving SoftBank’s Vision Fund. This is a big deal. Misra is notorious for his rough-and-tumble tactics, including allegedly trying to oust his own colleague. His departure basically completes the exodus there. What will Masa do? It’s... You have to love a jam-packed summer news day. The maestro behind Masayoshi Son’s tech investing—...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Why New Mega Funds Don’t Necessarily Mean Mega Deals

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 5, 2022 5:11pm PDT

I’m baaack. You didn’t think I could stay away from writing for too long, did you? It’s been a period of rapid growth for The Information, and I have been quite busy. But the news in tech, finance and media lately is just too crazy for me to sit on the sidelines, so I’m taking over our evening Briefing newsletter, with help from the wonderful... I’m baaack. You didn’t think I could stay away from writing for too long, did you? It’s been a...

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Netflix Can Regain Momentum

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2022 3:00pm PDT

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Netflix Can Regain Momentum

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2022 3:00pm PDT

We’re now just a couple of weeks away from the second-quarter earnings reporting season. And if history is any guide, first out of the gate will be Netflix’s report on July 19, which is likely to be one of the most closely watched tech earnings updates of the quarter. Netflix’s first-quarter report, revealing a tiny drop in subscribers and... We’re now just a couple of weeks away from the second-quarter earnings reporting season. And if...

Ron Johnson. Photo by Bloomberg.

Ugly Quarter for Crypto and Tech Stocks Ends; No Joy for Ron Johnson

By Martin Peers · Jun 30, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Tonight we’re closing the books on the second quarter of 2022, a period no one is likely to mourn. The stock market’s slide turned into a collapse. Bitcoin prices tumbled off a cliff. Layoffs took off. SPAC mergers fell apart. And even the lively business news event that started the quarter, Elon Musk’s investment in and subsequent bid for... Tonight we’re closing the books on the second quarter of 2022, a period no one is likely to...

Uber's San Francisco office. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Blast from the Past

By Martin Peers · Jun 29, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Get ready. We may soon be taking a trip down memory lane for Uber, revisiting the era of co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick. That will come via the trial of the company’s former chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, on three counts of wire fraud as well as a count of obstruction of justice, among other charges. The charges relate to his... Get ready. We may soon be taking a trip down memory lane for Uber, revisiting the era of...

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

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

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

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’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

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

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

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...