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

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank’s $20 Billion Tech Stock Portfolio: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 11, 2020 5:30pm PST

SoftBank is expanding its investor presence in the tech world. In addition to playing a major role as a backer of startups through its Vision Fund, the Japanese investment firm is now playing the market—by buying major tech stocks. The firm’s profit report for the six months to Sept. 30 on Wednesday gave new details about its public... SoftBank is expanding its investor presence in the tech world. In addition to playing a major...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

The Societal Problem of Only Needing 1,000 True Fans to Be Successful Online

By Sam Lessin · Nov 11, 2020 9:00am PST · 14 comments

When the internet was young, one of its most exciting aspects was that it helped people connect with like-minded individuals, developing communities of niche interests that drab suburbia and mass culture could not support. Today, we find ourselves facing the opposite problem. On the positive side, the internet has allowed people to find their... When the internet was young, one of its most exciting aspects was that it helped people connect...

A pedestrian walks past an Apple retail store in Shenzhen. In recent months, Apple has resumed sending some U.S. employees to China to meet with its manufacturing partners. Photo: Associated Press

Apple’s U.S. Staff Return to China, Encouraged by Cash Bonuses

By Nick Bastone and Wayne Ma · Nov 11, 2020 6:00am PST

A longstanding corporate road warrior is returning to China: the Apple employee. In recent months, Apple has resumed flying U.S. employees to China to work with the manufacturers that make most of its iPhones, Macs and iPads, according to seven current and former Apple employees and people working for its partners. These voluntary visits, which... A longstanding corporate road warrior is returning to China: the Apple employee. In recent...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appearing before a congressional committee in late July. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Turn in Antitrust Dock: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 10, 2020 5:30pm PST

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appearing before a congressional committee in late July. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Turn in Antitrust Dock: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 10, 2020 5:30pm PST

Europe’s filing of antitrust charges against Amazon marks the second, long-anticipated move in the U.S.-European antitrust assault on big tech. In the U.S., a Federal Trade Commission case against Facebook looms, to add to the lawsuit the Justice Department filed against Google a few weeks ago. The FTC is also investigating Amazon in the... Europe’s filing of antitrust charges against Amazon marks the second, long-anticipated move...

Art by Mike Sullivan

What Proposition 22 Now Makes Possible

By Shawn Carolan · Nov 10, 2020 10:23am PST · 4 comments

Since gig work first emerged, we’ve needed a new classification for workers who don’t strictly fit the categories of either employees or independent contractors. Proposition 22, the referendum passed by California voters last week, opens up this option for people working for ride-hailing and delivery apps—and shows a way... Since gig work first emerged, we’ve needed a new classification for workers who don’t...

Image by Shutterstock. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Inside Amazon’s Trucking Ambitions

By Paris Martineau · Nov 10, 2020 6:01am PST · 2 comments

In recent years, Amazon has attracted wide attention with its effort to become a force in last-mile delivery, from its now ubiquitous delivery vans bearing the company’s smiley-face arrow logo to its experiments with drones. But the e-commerce giant is also quietly becoming a force in a less visible area: the trucking of goods between... In recent years, Amazon has attracted wide attention with its effort to become a force in...

The New York Stock Exchange. Photo by AP

Zoom Gets Hits by Wall Street’s Vaccine Rally: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 9, 2020 5:31pm PST

No, Covid has not been cured. But a vaccine that works may be the next best thing, which is certainly the stock market’s interpretation of Monday’s vaccine news from Pfizer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 973 points or 3.4% by the close. Notably, though, the reaction from tech stocks was very mixed. Stocks that had rallied... No, Covid has not been cured. But a vaccine that works may be the next best thing, which is...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

How SPAC-Offs Can Sweeten Merger Deals

By Ross Matican · Nov 9, 2020 6:01am PST

Illustration by Jesus Escudero

How SPAC-Offs Can Sweeten Merger Deals

By Ross Matican · Nov 9, 2020 6:01am PST

When Porch.com, a marketplace for freelance handypeople, late last year was considering whether to go public via a merger with a SPAC, it heard from two special purpose acquisition companies interested in doing a deal. But when Clover Health, a tech-enabled Medicare firm, contemplated the concept in the past few months, it heard from 12 SPACs... When Porch.com, a marketplace for freelance handypeople, late last year was considering whether...

Photo: AP

What Biden’s Victory Means for Tech

By Christopher Stern · Nov 7, 2020 8:57am PST

Even before Joe Biden secured victory in the presidential election, his staff was reaching out to tech industry advocates and executives, seeking their input on how his administration should reshape internet and telecommunications policies, said a person involved in the conversations and another who was briefed about them. The outreach from the... Even before Joe Biden secured victory in the presidential election, his staff was reaching out to...

What 2020 Still Has in Store for Tech

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 7, 2020 8:01am PST · 1 comment

While the U.S. presidential election is over (sort of), 2020 is not. And assuming that many of you spent the last few days, weeks and, perhaps, months engrossed in Biden vs. Trump, I wanted to remind you of what lies ahead. There is the race for the Covid-19 vaccine, of course. (You probably didn’t forget about that.) As for pure tech... While the U.S. presidential election is over (sort of), 2020 is not. And assuming that many of...

Alexandr Wang, Scale AI Co-Founder and CEO. Photo by Bloomberg

AI Startup Scale Offered Funding at $3 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Zoë Bernard · Nov 7, 2020 6:01am PST

Scale AI, a startup that helps companies such as Lyft, Toyota and DoorDash train artificial intelligence systems to recognize objects and analyze written documents, could soar past a $3 billion valuation with a new financing, according to two people familiar with the matter. The San Francisco–based company has received an offer of... Scale AI, a startup that helps companies such as Lyft, Toyota and DoorDash train artificial...

Election count demonstrators marching in Washington on Friday. Photo by Bloomberg.

Election Uncertainty Starts to Lift: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 6, 2020 5:31pm PST

Election count demonstrators marching in Washington on Friday. Photo by Bloomberg.

Election Uncertainty Starts to Lift: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 6, 2020 5:31pm PST

As the results of Tuesday’s election come into focus, some of the uncertainty hovering over the world has begun to lift. That is good for business, which can begin to prepare for life under what appears likely to be a Biden administration. We’ll have more to say on that in the next few days, when the outcome is more certain than it... As the results of Tuesday’s election come into focus, some of the uncertainty hovering over...

The Information’s 411 — Before the Dust Settles

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 6, 2020 1:57pm PST · 1 comment

How can we start to make sense of the implications of this election for tech? Cory talks to three tech-savvy politcal veterans for early takeaways. Guests: Jim Messina, CEO of the Messina Group and former campaign manager to Barack Obama in 2012 Bruce Mehlman, founder of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, a lobbying firm that works with... How can we start to make sense of the implications of this election for tech? Cory talks to three...

Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano, two of the stars of Disney Plus' "The Mandalorian," attend the show's premiere in Los Angeles last November. Photo by AP.

Disney Streaming Faces Moment of Truth as Verizon Promotion Expires

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov 6, 2020 6:00am PST · 1 comment

The Walt Disney Co. faces a moment of truth next week, the first anniversary of its launch of Disney+. It’s also when Verizon customers who signed up for the service through a one-year free promotion have to start paying or cancel. And that is prompting worries among Disney executives that a large number of subscribers will cancel,... The Walt Disney Co. faces a moment of truth next week, the first anniversary of its launch of...

Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Photo by Bloomberg

The Great Ad Shift From TV to Digital: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 5, 2020 5:32pm PST · 1 comment

As much as the pandemic has given a boost to video streaming services, it appears to have sped up the decline of traditional TV. That’s become clear from third-quarter earnings showing shifts in the ad market, including reports out today from Roku and Discovery Communications. Discovery, which owns cable channels such as Discovery Channel,... As much as the pandemic has given a boost to video streaming services, it appears to have sped up...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, (l) and COO Sheryl Sandberg, (r). Photos by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan (edited)

The Facebook Lawyer Trying to Prevent Election Chaos

By Alex Heath · Nov 5, 2020 12:09pm PST

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, (l) and COO Sheryl Sandberg, (r). Photos by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan (edited)

The Facebook Lawyer Trying to Prevent Election Chaos

By Alex Heath · Nov 5, 2020 12:09pm PST

After vowing for four years that it would move quickly to curb misinformation around a heated U.S. general election, Facebook faced a critical moment late in the evening Tuesday. Knowing that ballot counting would drag on into the week, and with President Donald Trump already spreading doubt about the results to his tens of millions of... After vowing for four years that it would move quickly to curb misinformation around a heated...

In typically tourist-filled Prague, Czech Republic, a man crosses a nearly empty Old Town Square. Photo: AP

Slump in City Travel Raises Risk Airbnb Hosts Will Look Elsewhere

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 5, 2020 6:01am PST

Airbnb’s business in big cities shrank in late summer compared with a year earlier, previously unreported figures show, as the coronavirus pandemic kept the brakes on urban travel. The steep decline has raised concern inside Airbnb that some hosts might abandon the platform permanently, which would reduce the number of listings and make it... Airbnb’s business in big cities shrank in late summer compared with a year earlier,...

Uber's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber and Lyft’s Prop 22 Stock Rally: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Nov 4, 2020 5:45pm PST

Shareholders in Uber and Lyft had one of their best days since the pandemic began, as the stocks of both ride-hailing companies soared 15% and 11%, respectively, in the wake of Tuesday’s approval of Proposition 22 in California. The vote overrides a state law requiring their drivers to be classified as employees rather than independent... Shareholders in Uber and Lyft had one of their best days since the pandemic began, as the stocks...

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday night in Delaware. Photo by Bloomberg

Split Government Could Doom Antitrust Reform, but Tech to Remain in Crosshairs

By Christopher Stern · Nov 4, 2020 5:29pm PST

For tech industry leaders, the increasingly likely prospect of a divided government could provide a collective sense of relief. Democratic control of the presidency and House, but not the Senate, dims the threat of sweeping changes to antitrust laws, which could have forced them to alter some of their business practices. But Google, Facebook and... For tech industry leaders, the increasingly likely prospect of a divided government could provide...

Signs for the Alipay service at a train station in China. Photo by Bloomberg

With IPO on Hold, Ant Faces Prospect of Restructuring and Valuation Cut

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Nov 4, 2020 11:13am PST

Signs for the Alipay service at a train station in China. Photo by Bloomberg

With IPO on Hold, Ant Faces Prospect of Restructuring and Valuation Cut

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Nov 4, 2020 11:13am PST

Jack Ma’s Ant Group may be forced to restructure its business, possibly by spinning off its giant consumer loan business, as a result of new draft rules on microlending introduced this week by Chinese finance industry regulators, say Ant employees and shareholders. Those rules helped trigger the shocking last-minute suspension of... Jack Ma’s Ant Group may be forced to restructure its business, possibly by spinning off its...