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

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty.

What X and Netflix Have in Common

By Martin Peers · Oct 30, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a question: Is the entertainment value provided by X, formerly known as Twitter, equal to what Netflix offers? Elon Musk wants to charge people roughly the same for an ad-free version of X that they pay for Netflix’s cheapest ad-free tier, around $16 a month. It’s part of his effort to supplement X’s much-diminished ad revenue with... Here’s a question: Is the entertainment value provided by X, formerly known as Twitter, equal to...

The Pentagon. Photo via United States Department of Defense.

Tech Loves Big Government (as a Customer)

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 27, 2023 4:30pm PDT · 2 comments

Tech giants usually prefer to avoid Washington politicians and bureaucrats. Congressional hearings, Justice Department lawsuits and Securities and Exchange Commission probes are no fun. But a new generation of tech companies is finding governments are more likely to be customers than adversaries. That’s clear from the under-the-hood... Tech giants usually prefer to avoid Washington politicians and bureaucrats. Congressional...

The Amazon Spheres in Seattle. Photo via Getty.

Amazon Cranks Up Its AI Euphoria

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 26, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Amazon’s artificial intelligence growth is a sight to behold. No, the company didn’t report how much money it’s making from AI, and it probably won’t anytime soon. We’re talking about the expanded use of AI buzzwords in its earnings release. References to Bedrock and CodeWhisperer—two generative AI products from Amazon—rose 67% and 200% in the... Amazon’s artificial intelligence growth is a sight to behold. No, the company didn’t report how...

Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

Meta’s Happy Days Are Here Again, For Now

By Martin Peers · Oct 25, 2023 5:01pm PDT

Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

Meta’s Happy Days Are Here Again, For Now

By Martin Peers · Oct 25, 2023 5:01pm PDT

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has 34.1 billion reasons to be satisfied with the social network’s third-quarter result, released Wednesday afternoon. That’s how many dollars Meta reported as revenue, near the top end of the company’s guidance, and representing 23% growth over the year-earlier revenue line. That’s a return to the kind of... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has 34.1 billion reasons to be satisfied with the social...

Photo via Shutterstock

On AI, It’s Microsoft 1, Google 0

By Martin Peers · Oct 24, 2023 5:01pm PDT

In AI, Microsoft is outdoing its biggest rival, Google. That’s the big takeaway from the two tech giants’ September-quarter results, released Tuesday. Growth at Microsoft’s Azure cloud unit—and the company generally—accelerated in the quarter, which executives credited to higher-than-expected consumption of AI-related services. Yet in the same... In AI, Microsoft is outdoing its biggest rival, Google. That’s the big takeaway from the two tech...

Hello Bello's factory in Waco, Texas. Photo by Rick Kern/Getty.

What a Diaper Bankruptcy Says About the Digital Ad Market

By Ann Gehan · Oct 23, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

It’s getting ugly out there for consumer brands, as today’s bankruptcy filing by Hello Bello, the baby care brand founded by celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, demonstrates. On the surface, Hello Bello had all the ingredients for success: famous co-founders who could promote the brand to their combined 20 million Instagram followers,... It’s getting ugly out there for consumer brands, as today’s bankruptcy filing by Hello Bello, the...

Photo via Convoy.

U2 Won’t Save Your Trucking Startup

By Martin Peers · Oct 20, 2023 3:30pm PDT · 3 comments

You have to enjoy a certain level of self-confidence to start a business, particularly if you’re asking other people to help fund it. Too often, though, entrepreneurs have way too much confidence for their own good. Take the people behind Convoy, the trucking startup that fell off a cliff this week, after months spent trying to find a buyer or... You have to enjoy a certain level of self-confidence to start a business, particularly if you’re...

Photo via Shutterstock

Wall Street’s Lost Year: Few Jobs, Smaller Bonuses

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Oct 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Shutterstock

Wall Street’s Lost Year: Few Jobs, Smaller Bonuses

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Oct 19, 2023 5:00pm PDT

It’s not a happy time on Wall Street. As third quarter earnings from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs revealed this week, the investment banking business has deteriorated lately, as the deal market remains stagnant. Morgan Stanley reported a 27% drop in investment banking revenue in the third quarter, by far the biggest decline on Wall Street,... It’s not a happy time on Wall Street. As third quarter earnings from Morgan Stanley and Goldman...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Netflix Reports Healthy Q3 While Raising Premium Tier Price

By Martin Peers · Oct 18, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Let’s hope the boffins who track inflation are watching video streaming (and not for the entertainment value!). Netflix today raised the price on its premium tier by $3 a month to $22.99, a notably bigger increase than the last time it jacked up prices. Aggressive price increases are becoming standard in streaming, at least among the bigger... Let’s hope the boffins who track inflation are watching video streaming (and not for the...

Midjourney founder David Holz. Photo via Getty.

Why You Want to Watch These Startups

By Scott Thurm · Oct 17, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Earlier Tuesday, we published this year’s edition of The Information 50, our annual list of startups to watch. The list is intended as a guide to companies that haven’t yet broken through, but bear watching as candidates for future public listings or big-ticket acquisitions. Our task was complicated this year by the downturn in startup funding:... Earlier Tuesday, we published this year’s edition of The Information 50, our annual list of...

Photo via Shutterstock

What the Latest Tech Job Cuts Indicate

By Martin Peers · Oct 16, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Whatever job security existed in tech appears to have disappeared. On Monday, LinkedIn said it was cutting 668 people, the third round of layoffs at the Microsoft-owned unit this year. Meanwhile, developer forum Stack Overflow said Monday it would cut its staff by 28%—which, according to the Verge, amounts to 100 jobs. And that’s just today:... Whatever job security existed in tech appears to have disappeared. On Monday, LinkedIn said it...

Photo by Mario Tama via Getty.

Netflix Earnings Next Week Should Be OK But Not Great

By Martin Peers · Oct 13, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Photo by Mario Tama via Getty.

Netflix Earnings Next Week Should Be OK But Not Great

By Martin Peers · Oct 13, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Earnings season is back. Banks, always the early birds, began reporting Friday and next week Netflix kicks off tech earnings season with its third quarter report on Wednesday. Big tech—Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and the rest—don’t start reporting until the week after. But Netflix’s report will give us plenty to chew over. It will give... Earnings season is back. Banks, always the early birds, began reporting Friday and next week...

Photo via Shutterstock

Atlassian-Loom Discount Deal Suggests M&A Market is Reviving

By Martin Peers · Oct 12, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

The brief revival of the IPO market may be petering out, thanks to a spate of disappointing offerings lately. But the M&A market, at least for enterprise software firms, seems to be coming to life—even if the valuations are a little painful for sellers. On Thursday, for instance, Atlassian said it would swallow up video messaging firm Loom... The brief revival of the IPO market may be petering out, thanks to a spate of disappointing...

Photo by AFP via Getty.

Birkenstock Stubs Its Toe in IPO

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 11, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Did you know the human foot uses 26 bones, 33 muscles and more than 100 tendons and ligaments when a person is walking? Neither did I, until I read the quirky IPO prospectus for Birkenstock, the German maker of sublimely ugly, supremely comfortable sandals that went public on Wednesday. It was a lackluster debut: Birkenstock shares closed at... Did you know the human foot uses 26 bones, 33 muscles and more than 100 tendons and ligaments...

Caroline Ellison arrives at court in New York today. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

SBF Didn’t Understand Risk-Reward

By Martin Peers · Oct 10, 2023 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Just when it seemed there was nothing new we could learn from the SBF saga, the FTX founder's onetime deputy (and onetime romantic partner) Caroline Ellison testified in court on Tuesday. And her account of Sam Bankman-Fried’s attitudes toward risk, which helped set the stage for FTX’s bankruptcy, was truly mind-blowing. Whatever the outcome of... Just when it seemed there was nothing new we could learn from the SBF saga, the FTX founder's...

Nelson Peltz. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why Peltz Isn’t the Solution for Disney’s Problems

By Martin Peers · Oct 9, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Nelson Peltz. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why Peltz Isn’t the Solution for Disney’s Problems

By Martin Peers · Oct 9, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a shoutout to those tech folks—among many, many others—who are putting their lives on the line as members of Israel’s defense forces right now, responding to the Hamas attack over the weekend. It puts everything else into perspective. For more details on Israeli tech folks’ involvement, see our story here. Meanwhile, Nelson Peltz has... Here’s a shoutout to those tech folks—among many, many others—who are putting their lives on the...

Photo via Getty

ByteDance Stock Is Very Cheap—for Good Reason

By Martin Peers · Oct 6, 2023 4:00pm PDT

You might have missed it, with all the drama this week about Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial (for our deep dive, see here) and the latest updates from the world of AI, but we got a detailed update on ByteDance’s robust financial performance. And what that told us is that shareholders in the parent company of TikTok have reason to be very frustrated.... You might have missed it, with all the drama this week about Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial (for our...

Photo by Brandon Slater via Getty.

Startup Employees Can Exhale, But Not Relax Too Much

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 5, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Maybe, just maybe, startup employees who held onto their jobs amid spurts of mass layoffs over the last year and a half can exhale. They have survived. The number of monthly job cuts at tech companies—just over 4,600—hit an 18-month low in September, according to Layoffs.fyi, the venerable tracker of employee career pain. The recent sprinkling... Maybe, just maybe, startup employees who held onto their jobs amid spurts of mass layoffs over...

Elon Musk. Photo via Shutterstock.

Musk’s Counterproductive Moves

By Martin Peers · Oct 4, 2023 5:01pm PDT · 2 comments

What a time to be a tech business reporter! Even as Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial gets underway, our scoop yesterday about AI startup Anthropic’s rising valuation suggests that the disgraced FTX founder may have scored at least one home run with his Anthropic investment. Yes, that’s right: The fast-evolving story about AI startups has... What a time to be a tech business reporter! Even as Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial gets...

Photo via Shutterstock

Streaming Services Should Beware Becoming Like Cable Companies

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Shutterstock

Streaming Services Should Beware Becoming Like Cable Companies

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 3, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

About a month ago, I finally reached my breaking point with YouTube TV, the streaming service I had subscribed to years earlier as a replacement for cable TV. I didn’t think twice about paying $40 a month for it in 2018, but after years of price increases—YouTube TV now costs $73 a month—I realized my family wasn’t watching it nearly enough to... About a month ago, I finally reached my breaking point with YouTube TV, the streaming service I...