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

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in November. Photo by Bloomberg.

2021’s Mammoth Venture Year

By Martin Peers · Jan 5, 2022 5:00pm PST

The final numbers for 2021 venture capital investments are in—and it was a whopper of a year. Crunchbase reported today that global venture funding nearly doubled last year to $643 billion compared to 2020. In tech, an industry that loves superlatives, that’s a truly astounding increase. Total venture funding had hovered around $300 billion for... The final numbers for 2021 venture capital investments are in—and it was a whopper of a year. ...

Adam Neumann. Photo by Bloomberg.

Adam Neumann's Return

By Martin Peers · Jan 4, 2022 5:00pm PST

Talk about Teflon coated. Adam Neumann, the WeWork co-founder who made hundreds of millions from his train wreck of a company, is building a new real estate empire, according to The Wall Street Journal. Just imagine how the shareholders and (mostly former) employees of WeWork are feeling about that news!According to The Journal’s report, Neumann... Talk about Teflon coated. Adam Neumann, the WeWork co-founder who made hundreds of millions from...

Elizabeth Holmes. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Elizabeth Holmes Shouldn’t Go to Prison

By Martin Peers · Jan 3, 2022 5:09pm PST · 36 comments

Finally! It shouldn’t be a surprise that a jury found Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty this afternoon on four charges of fraud and conspiracy. It was obviously hard for jurors to look past evidence that, for example, Holmes had doctored paperwork by adding the logos of pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer to suggest they were... Finally! It shouldn’t be a surprise that a jury found Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty...

Apple CEO Tim Cook at an AirPods production line with Luxshare CEO Grace Wang (standing behind Cook) in 2017. Photo by Luxshare

Designed by Apple: Female Billionaires; Tech Stocks’ Best and Worst

By Amir Efrati · Dec 30, 2021 5:12pm PST · 2 comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook at an AirPods production line with Luxshare CEO Grace Wang (standing behind Cook) in 2017. Photo by Luxshare

Designed by Apple: Female Billionaires; Tech Stocks’ Best and Worst

By Amir Efrati · Dec 30, 2021 5:12pm PST · 2 comments

Apple has created a lot of wealth for executives whose companies supply components and manufacturing services for its products, most notably Taiwan-based Foxconn and TSMC. One of the lesser known beneficiaries, Luxshare, and its CEO Grace Wang take center stage in Wayne’s excellent piece today about Apple getting cozy with Chinese suppliers as a... Apple has created a lot of wealth for executives whose companies supply components and...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook-parent Meta Platforms. Photo: Bloomberg

Meta’s Facebook Deepens Partisan Lines; What Waymo Didn’t Say

By Laura Mandaro · Dec 29, 2021 6:11pm PST

For several years, Facebook has been in bad graces with Democrat policymakers, who blamed the company, recently renamed Meta Platforms, for securing Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential win by allowing Russian operatives to run riot on the social network. Two stories in the past week on Meta’s Washington operations suggest this distrust won’t go... For several years, Facebook has been in bad graces with Democrat policymakers, who blamed the...

The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Calif. Photo: Bloomberg

Cybersecurity Startups Have a Lot to Prove

By Amir Efrati · Dec 28, 2021 6:08pm PST

Startups developing security software have largely tracked with the rest of the enterprise software startup field this year when it comes to funding and valuations—up and to the right—even as prices for publicly traded software companies fell a little closer to Earth. Venture capitalists poured a record $25 billion or so into cybersecurity... Startups developing security software have largely tracked with the rest of the enterprise...

Photo: Bloomberg

China Blesses IPO Loophole; VR’s Mainstream Moment

By Wayne Ma · Dec 27, 2021 5:16pm PST

The Chinese government loves to announce major policy moves during the holidays—when financial markets are often closed—and it didn’t disappoint this year. On Christmas Eve, Chinese regulators finally legitimized a legal loophole that has allowed Chinese tech firms such as Sina Corp., Alibaba and Tencent to list their shares overseas... The Chinese government loves to announce major policy moves during the holidays—when financial...

Alphabet's Ruth Porat. Photo by Bloomberg.

Tech’s Best and Worst of 2021

By Martin Peers · Dec 23, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Alphabet's Ruth Porat. Photo by Bloomberg.

Tech’s Best and Worst of 2021

By Martin Peers · Dec 23, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

As the year winds down into a holiday break—clouded by rampaging Covid-19 infections—this seems the appropriate time to call out the year’s most noteworthy events and people in tech and media. As the year winds down into a holiday break—clouded by rampaging Covid-19 infections—this seems...

TikTok's app on a smartphone. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why 2022 Will Be TikTok’s Year

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

Data out earlier this week from Cloudflare revealed that TikTok is now the most popular online destination globally, ahead of Google for the first time. That’s an enormous deal for tech. And it suggests that the focus of antitrust regulators on big tech, which has consumed so much attention this year, is misplaced. Big tech is already losing... Data out earlier this week from Cloudflare revealed that TikTok is now the most popular online...

Former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by Bloomberg.

AT&T’s Xandr Sale Closes Book on Media Adventures

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2021 5:00pm PST

AT&T quietly closed the book on its six-year foray into media and entertainment by selling its advertising technology business, Xandr, to Microsoft. The telecom giant would doubtless like us all to forget its adventures in entertainment, which involved the purchase of DirecTV, Time Warner and AppNexus—the ad tech business that formed the... AT&T quietly closed the book on its six-year foray into media and entertainment by selling...

Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

Larry Ellison’s $28 Billion Jab at Amazon

By Martin Peers · Dec 20, 2021 5:00pm PST

Larry Ellison rarely misses an opportunity to take a swipe at Amazon Web Services, whether it’s about its security or its not-infrequent outages. But with his deal today to buy Cerner Corp. for $28 billion, Ellison has a chance to inflict a bit of pain on his Amazon nemesis. While hardly a household name, Cerner has been an important and... Larry Ellison rarely misses an opportunity to take a swipe at Amazon Web Services, whether it’s...

The Athletic co founder Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach.

Why a Times-Athletic Wedding Might Finally Happen

By Martin Peers · Dec 17, 2021 5:00pm PST

The Athletic co founder Alex Mather. Photo by Erin Beach.

Why a Times-Athletic Wedding Might Finally Happen

By Martin Peers · Dec 17, 2021 5:00pm PST

Hot on the heels of Vox Media’s acquisition of Group Nine, we could be near another high-profile digital media merger. Puck reported today that The New York Times Co. had entered exclusive talks to buy The Athletic. This is the business equivalent of a couple getting engaged after breaking up: The Times and the digital sports news subscription... Hot on the heels of Vox Media’s acquisition of Group Nine, we could be near another high-profile...

Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., home to the VC industry. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cringeworthy VCs in the Creator Economy

By Martin Peers · Dec 16, 2021 5:00pm PST

In theory, venture capitalists are unusually smart people, given their responsibilities to deploy tens of millions of dollars on behalf of pension funds, university endowments and other investors. But then you read a story, like this one in The Information today, and it’s hard to avoid the feeling that there are at least a few not-so-smart... In theory, venture capitalists are unusually smart people, given their responsibilities to deploy...

A Covid testing line in New York this week. Photo by AP

Covid Clouds Gather

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2021 5:00pm PST

This is shaping up to be another Christmas overshadowed by Covid-19. Lines for testing in New York City have suddenly lengthened. Apple shuttered three retail stores in North America after a rise in Covid-19 exposures among employees. Broadway theaters are canceling productions. Colleges are shifting exams to online only. What’s the bet that... This is shaping up to be another Christmas overshadowed by Covid-19. Lines for testing in New...

Microsoft's Redmond campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

What We're Losing in Endless Remote Work

By Martin Peers · Dec 14, 2021 5:00pm PST

Former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong won’t win many friends with his comments, published in The Information today, that young people should go back to the office to protect their own career development. It’s an unfashionable view, particularly given the surging Omicron variant. It may also be impractical right now. California’s reintroduction of an... Former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong won’t win many friends with his comments, published in The...

Vox CEO Jim Bankoff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Vox and Group Nine Shouldn’t Celebrate Their Merger

By Martin Peers · Dec 13, 2021 5:00pm PST

Vox CEO Jim Bankoff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Vox and Group Nine Shouldn’t Celebrate Their Merger

By Martin Peers · Dec 13, 2021 5:00pm PST

Digital media firms should go into the lemonade business, given how good they are at turning the lemons their businesses represent into their liquid versions. Today, for instance, we got news that Vox Media and Group Nine Media are in “advanced” talks to merge. In a note to staff, Vox CEO Jim Bankoff pronounced the deal “one of the most exciting... Digital media firms should go into the lemonade business, given how good they are at turning the...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by AP

Instacart’s Executive Revolving Door Spins Faster

By Martin Peers · Dec 10, 2021 5:00pm PST

It’s a good thing Instacart’s leaders decided to put off plans to go public. Today’s news that company president Carolyn Everson is departing after just three months won’t help the grocery-delivery service turn the page on what has been a year of turmoil in its management ranks. Grappling with the frequent executive reshuffles while preparing to... It’s a good thing Instacart’s leaders decided to put off plans to go public. Today’s news that...

Gary Gensler. Photo by Bloomberg.

Gensler Eyes SPAC Loopholes

By Martin Peers · Dec 9, 2021 5:00pm PST

Is it bye-bye, SPACs? Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler’s speech today laying out the need to tighten securities rules for special purpose acquisition companies is likely to reverberate across the financial markets—and shake up tech firms that see SPACs as a great way to go public. Gensler correctly spotlighted one of the... Is it bye-bye, SPACs? Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler’s speech today laying...

An Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y. Photo by Bloomberg

The Other Amazon Antitrust Paradox

By Martin Peers · Dec 8, 2021 5:00pm PST

Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan and other Amazon critics face an inconvenient truth in a Wall Street Journal article today about the impact Amazon is having on the unskilled labor market. Undercutting the lefty dogma that Amazon is bad for labor, the Journal story suggests Amazon is helping drive improvements in wages and benefits for... Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan and other Amazon critics face an inconvenient truth in a...

Mobileye's stand at the Munich Motor Show in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

Intel’s Lesson for Alphabet

By Martin Peers · Dec 7, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Mobileye's stand at the Munich Motor Show in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

Intel’s Lesson for Alphabet

By Martin Peers · Dec 7, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Intel’s decision to take its Mobileye unit public is a smart way to let investors buy directly into the technology side of the self-driving–car business. Plenty of people surely have little interest in owning Intel directly, given the troubles it’s had in chips. And Intel’s move raises a question: Why isn’t Alphabet, owner of pioneering... Intel’s decision to take its Mobileye unit public is a smart way to let investors buy directly...