Using emails to analyze big tech CEOs
I recently came across this twitter account that uncovers validated tech emails exchanged between some of the tech industry’s most recognizable CEOs and prolific figures.
Ngl, I spent a good hour or so going through as many emails I can, and want to highlight the ones I found interesting. I’ll also provide some of my own commentary on these emails and provide the historical context applicable to the email thread.
Google acquiring YouTube




Keep track of the timestamp on these emails. YouTube was purchased by Google on Oct 9, 2006. So, that means at the time of these emails Google must have already had a foundational roadmap or blueprint laid out to smoothly facilitate it into Google’s ecosystem. The email exchange namedrops one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture firms: Sequoia Capital. You can find the pitch deck that YouTube used to gain entrance into Sequoia here. The $50M was nowhere near close to the final negotiated price, which was $1.65B! This was arguably one of the most priciest acquisitions of the 21st century and Google’s second largest acquisition at the time.
Mark Zuckerberg on Snapchat
This email that Mark sent to Meta (Facebook at the time) execs about Snapchat is timestamped on June 9, 2016. I think it’s fair to say that between 2016-2020 is when Snapchat skyrocketed in terms of growth. Imagine being a Facebook exec at that time, knowing that it is in Facebook’s best interests to take a stronghold of the social media market.
Case in point examples include Instagram and Whatsapp. If Facebook couldn’t acquire it, then they would try to outcompete it. Also important to note that this was one year before Snapchat’s IPO. IPO’s are typically announced 1 year prior, putting some more heat on Facebook if shareholders decide to switch over to Snapchat.


Currently, there is a $562.51 difference between $ META and $ SNAP.
Xbox VS PlayStation




Probably the biggest debate in the gaming community is between Xbox and PlayStation. I favored the Xbox 360 more than the PS3, but found the PS4 better than the Xbox One. The email thread above is a conversation between Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer and CEO Satya Nadella. PS5’s competitor was the Xbox Series X. As of June 2024, the PS5 has $61.7M in sales compared to the Xbox Series X with $28.3M according to Forbes.
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