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

he New York Times Building. Photo via Shutterstock.

New York Times Co.’s OpenAI-Microsoft Suit Is a Negotiating Tactic

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 27, 2023 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

The biggest news on a slow news day in a slow news week is about the news. That’s the way the news people want it.The New York Times Co. grabbed the lonely spotlight Wednesday morning with a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, seeking compensation for the ChatGPT developer’s use of the newspaper’s articles to train ChatGPT. The lawsuit is an... The biggest news on a slow news day in a slow news week is about the news. That’s the way the...

The New York Stock Exchange on December 20. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images.

Beaten-Up Stocks Roar in Year-End Rally

By Martin Peers · Dec 26, 2023 5:00pm PST

The year is ending on an upbeat note for the market, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate ceasefire. Among the biggest beneficiaries are small tech companies that were among the hardest hit by the market’s plunge over the past couple of years. Shopify, Snap, Coinbase and Affirm have rocketed since late September, rising between 50% and... The year is ending on an upbeat note for the market, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s interest...

Photo via Shutterstock

Lionsgate’s SPAC Deal Makes It an Appealing Target for Tech Buyers

By Martin Peers · Dec 22, 2023 3:00pm PST · 1 comment

If you think about it, all the traditional entertainment companies—including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global—theoretically could be acquisition targets next year. But only one will be properly positioned to maximize its appeal to a tech firm like Apple, Amazon or Netflix. That one is Lionsgate, which owns a wide... If you think about it, all the traditional entertainment companies—including Disney, Warner Bros....

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Photo by Erin Beach.

Why Stripe’s Recent Investors Are Smiling Now

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2023 5:00pm PST

Stripe CEO, Patrick Collison. Photo by Erin Beach.

Why Stripe’s Recent Investors Are Smiling Now

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2023 5:00pm PST

Stripe is back! The payments firm, long a favorite of Silicon Valley investors, is enjoying a rebound in business that is surely making those investors who bought into its March fundraising feel pretty, pretty good. Remember, Stripe raised money at a valuation of just $50 billion, a few billion dollars below its original sought-after pricing... Stripe is back! The payments firm, long a favorite of Silicon Valley investors, is enjoying a...

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. Photo by Michael M. Santiago via Getty.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Scary Movie

By Martin Peers · Dec 20, 2023 5:00pm PST

David Zaslav must like scary movies. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO met with Paramount Global chief Bob Bakish this week, we and others reported, to discuss a merger, among other things. For the uninitiated, such a combination would put together the Warner Bros. and Paramount film and TV studios, as well as TV networks such as TNT, TBS,... David Zaslav must like scary movies. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO met with Paramount Global...

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Market’s Cycle of Silliness

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 19, 2023 5:00pm PST

The loose money that flowed during the SPAC boom gave fledgling companies like Los Angeles–based Fisker a chance to get their electric cars out into the world. Promising investors new, cost-efficient ways of building sustainable SUVs, Fisker topped out at an $8 billion market cap in early 2021, before it had even produced a car.While the SPAC... The loose money that flowed during the SPAC boom gave fledgling companies like Los Angeles–based...

Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

With Both X and Figma-Adobe, European Regulators Flex Muscles

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2023 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

What would European bureaucrats do without an active U.S. tech industry to bother? On Monday, for instance, Adobe and Figma called off their $20 billion deal in the face of European regulatory opposition. The deal would have led “to higher prices, reduced quality or less choice for customers,” claimed European regulatory czar Margrethe Vestager... What would European bureaucrats do without an active U.S. tech industry to bother? On Monday, for...

Nelson Peltz. Photo by Getty

Why Nelson Peltz Can’t Fix Disney

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2023 3:00pm PST

Nelson Peltz. Photo by Getty

Why Nelson Peltz Can’t Fix Disney

By Martin Peers · Dec 15, 2023 3:00pm PST

Judging by two news events this week, next year will be dominated by new episodes in that long-running series, “The Decline of the TV Industry.” First, widespread reports that Shari Redstone is in talks to sell her stake in CBS owner Paramount Global suggest the Redstone family is finally throwing in the towel. Or at least they’re trying to, if... Judging by two news events this week, next year will be dominated by new episodes in that...

Midjourney/Mike Sullivan

The Next AI Battle: Adding It to Existing Products

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 14, 2023 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

Ok, I’ll call it: We are closing this chapter of the AI wars.Since January or so, tech leaders, their customers and reporters have been haggling over advancements in large language models. We’ve been consumed by models, their names and which 0.5 version of a model is better than another. I don’t think any of that is going to matter... Ok, I’ll call it: We are closing this chapter of the AI wars.Since January or so, tech leaders,...

Etsy's Brooklyn, New York office today. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Etsy’s Layoffs Reflect No-Growth Reality

By Martin Peers · Dec 13, 2023 5:00pm PST

When an online shopping site cuts 11% of its staff two weeks before Christmas, you know something’s up. This should be the happiest time of the year for Etsy, an online marketplace that today was promising “Last-minute gifts at every price!” Instead, the firm joined a growing list of businesses laying people off in recent days—including Spotify... When an online shopping site cuts 11% of its staff two weeks before Christmas, you know something...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Wall Street Yawns at Google’s Monopoly Threat

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 12, 2023 5:00pm PST

Silicon Valley’s phones buzzed with alerts last night, offering surprising news about one of its bellwether companies: A federal jury decided Google had exercised unlawful monopoly power over app developers like Epic Games. Investors so far have responded mostly with a shrug. By the end of today, the stock of Google’s parent company, Alphabet,... Silicon Valley’s phones buzzed with alerts last night, offering surprising news about one of its...

Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet, is one of many executives to transition from Chief Financial Officer roles in 2023. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

This Year’s CFO Revolving Door

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2023 5:00pm PST

Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet, is one of many executives to transition from Chief Financial Officer roles in 2023. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

This Year’s CFO Revolving Door

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2023 5:00pm PST

Quick quiz: Which C-suite position has the least job security? This year, at least, the answer would have to be chief financial officer, arguably the No. 2 executive at most big public companies. In tech and media in 2023, we’ve seen CFO departures (or CFOs taking a different position internally) at Alphabet, Uber, Tesla, Disney, Stripe, Airbnb,... Quick quiz: Which C-suite position has the least job security? This year, at least, the answer...

A Microsoft Store in London. Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images.

Regulators Scrutinize Microsoft-OpenAI Partnership; Shein’s IPO Hurdles

By Martin Peers · Dec 8, 2023 3:30pm PST

You knew it was just a matter of time. Regulators in the U.K. and U.S. are looking into the antitrust implications of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, according to the U.K. regulator and Bloomberg. Yes, that’s right. A partnership that poses a serious competitive threat to Google—whose dominance of internet search and advertising is the... You knew it was just a matter of time. Regulators in the U.K. and U.S. are looking into the...

Elon Musk. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Musk Escalates Attack on Disney

By Martin Peers · Dec 7, 2023 5:00pm PST · 20 comments

If Bob Iger decides to update his 2019 memoir, “Ride of a Lifetime,” with a chapter on his return to Disney a year ago, he’ll have plenty of juicy material. The executive once widely admired for his success in running the entertainment giant is now being assailed on all sides. Today, we had Elon Musk, still irritated that Disney joined other... If Bob Iger decides to update his 2019 memoir, “Ride of a Lifetime,” with a chapter on his return...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

What Google’s Gemini Says About the State of Alphabet

By Martin Peers · Dec 6, 2023 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Today tells you a lot about the current state of Google and its parent company Alphabet. The tech giant, once the leader in artificial intelligence, unveiled its answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT with a product—Gemini Pro—that is comparable to what OpenAI released a year ago. It’s easy to miss this nuance amid the deluge of positive press, but Google’s... Today tells you a lot about the current state of Google and its parent company Alphabet. The tech...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images.

Airbnb Wants to Feel Young Again

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 5, 2023 5:00pm PST

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images.

Airbnb Wants to Feel Young Again

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 5, 2023 5:00pm PST

Booking Holdings and Airbnb have long resembled a father-son duo of the online travel industry. Airbnb has traditionally been the cool kid of the two, a fast-growing San Francisco media darling that customers flocked to. Its product became a verb. Booking—which came from an older internet generation, marked by a utilitarian, Dutch-influenced... Booking Holdings and Airbnb have long resembled a father-son duo of the online travel industry....

Spotify founder and CEO, Daniel Ek. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images.

Spotify’s Layoffs and Uber Joins S&P 500: Tech Grows Up

By Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2023 5:00pm PST

Where’s the cake? Today marks The Information’s 10th birthday, which is a milestone for any news startup, and even more so for one that has never raised outside funding. (That’s what you call bootstrapping.) Those of us who’ve been here through most or all of the past decade truly have empathy for tech startups. You labor in obscurity until one... Where’s the cake? Today marks The Information’s 10th birthday, which is a milestone for any news...

Bill Ackman. Photo by Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.

What X, TikTok and Meta Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Dec 1, 2023 3:30pm PST · 4 comments

Every social media service is unhappy in its own way. That’s something Bill Ackman should remember. The hedge fund manager came out swinging in support of Elon Musk in a lengthy tweet late Thursday night, claiming that recent advertiser defections from X were a result of Musk being “targeted” because other media organizations view X as a... Every social media service is unhappy in its own way. That’s something Bill Ackman should...

Elon Musk speaks during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2023 on Nov. 29 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images.

Musk and Altman Are Businesspeople, Not Politicians

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 30, 2023 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

It was once common to wonder whether businesses were too big to fail. I think it is time we start worrying about business leaders who think they are too big to fail—and what we should do about that. I had this thought as I was listening to Elon Musk tell The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin that businesses pulling their ads from X were... It was once common to wonder whether businesses were too big to fail. I think it is time we start...

Photo via Rover

Blackstone Finds a Diamond in the Ruff With Rover

By Martin Peers · Nov 29, 2023 5:00pm PST

Photo via Rover

Blackstone Finds a Diamond in the Ruff With Rover

By Martin Peers · Nov 29, 2023 5:00pm PST

Woof! There is deal-making going on out there that doesn’t have to do with artificial intelligence (unless of course you mean animal intelligence). Blackstone’s $2.3 billion purchase of pet-sitting marketplace Rover Group, unveiled Wednesday, demonstrates that Rover is that rarest of gems, a company that went public via a SPAC merger and turned... Woof! There is deal-making going on out there that doesn’t have to do with artificial...