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

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Recent Editions

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

How to Curb Tech Executives’ Power

By Robert Lindsay · Jan 18, 2021 6:01am PST · 16 comments

This is the month that net neutrality died. But maybe, if we strengthen other checks on the power of tech and telecom company executives, we don’t need to mourn its loss. I believe the inevitable outcome of the horrifying political violence on January 6 is that content noninterference will soon become a fringe position. With each new... This is the month that net neutrality died. But maybe, if we strengthen other checks on the power...

Big Tech and Big Media Have Made Up: Now What? Inside the New Era in the Tech and Media Wars

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 16, 2021 7:46am PST · 3 comments

Despite all the knives pointed at big tech right now, some longtime antagonists to the tech industry seem to be taking a back seat in the fights. These are the big media companies whose leaders have for years poked, prodded and attacked tech leaders at every chance they got. This isn’t to say that reporters are easing up. News coverage of... Despite all the knives pointed at big tech right now, some longtime antagonists to the tech...

Apple's Eddy Cue at a developer conference in 2015. Photo by Bloomberg

Will Apple Kill the Free Podcast?: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jan 15, 2021 5:30pm PST

The podcasting industry as we know it is about to change. Plans by Apple to launch a subscription service for podcasts, as The Information reported today, portends a shift to a much more balkanized podcasting world. Instead of shows being broadly available for free on a variety of outlets, in the future podcasts will be attached exclusively for... The podcasting industry as we know it is about to change. Plans by Apple to launch a subscription...

David Barrett, CEO of Expensify. Photo courtesy of Expensify.

Expensify in Talks With SPACs About a Potential Merger

By Ross Matican · Jan 15, 2021 4:39pm PST

David Barrett, CEO of Expensify. Photo courtesy of Expensify.

Expensify in Talks With SPACs About a Potential Merger

By Ross Matican · Jan 15, 2021 4:39pm PST

Expensify, a startup that sells expense management software, has been in talks with special purpose acquisition companies about a possible merger to take it public, say two people familiar with the discussions. The 13-year-old software company is also considering a direct listing with an accompanying capital raising, said one of the people. Its... Expensify, a startup that sells expense management software, has been in talks with special...

The Information’s 411 — Urgent Telegram

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 15, 2021 2:10pm PST

Cory and Alex tell the story of messaging app Telegram and its mysterious founder, Pavel Durov, as the company finds itself in the global spotlight amid a sudden surge in users. Can the company figure out how to make money from its growing popularity? And will it crack down further on chat groups with the potential to spark real-world... Cory and Alex tell the story of messaging app Telegram and its mysterious founder, Pavel Durov,...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Plans Podcasting Subscription Service in Threat to Spotify

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Jan 15, 2021 9:26am PST · 8 comments

Apple—long considered the sleeping giant in the podcast space—is waking up. The company, which runs the most widely used podcasting app in the industry, is discussing launching a new subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts, according to people familiar with the matter. Such a service could pose a threat to... Apple—long considered the sleeping giant in the podcast space—is waking up. The...

VMware's Craig McLuckie. Photo provided by VMware

The Big Interview

Meet the Former Googler Trying to Make VMware Cool to App Developers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 15, 2021 9:00am PST

When Craig McLuckie was a product manager at Google several years ago, he helped create Kubernetes, software that later became a widely used open-source tool for managing some of the most demanding online applications. Now at VMware, McLuckie is playing a key role in the company’s efforts to reinvent itself for an era when more and more... When Craig McLuckie was a product manager at Google several years ago, he helped create...

Samsung QLED televisions on display at the company's Digital Plaza store in Seoul. Photo by Bloomberg.

Samsung’s Peacock Standoff with NBCUniversal Shows Power of TV Makers

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Samsung QLED televisions on display at the company's Digital Plaza store in Seoul. Photo by Bloomberg.

Samsung’s Peacock Standoff with NBCUniversal Shows Power of TV Makers

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 15, 2021 6:00am PST · 5 comments

As streaming TV becomes the default viewing option for Americans, the makers of streaming devices are taking the place of cable operators as gatekeepers, deciding what streaming services will be available to viewers. Increasingly the gatekeepers include not only Roku and Amazon but smart TV makers such as Samsung. NBCUniversal is learning that... As streaming TV becomes the default viewing option for Americans, the makers of streaming devices...

Snap's Ben Schwerin on stage at the virtual Snap Partner Summit 2020. Screengrab via YouTube

Snap Names New Content Leader in Push to Counter TikTok

By Alex Heath · Jan 14, 2021 6:24pm PST

Snap has promoted executive Ben Schwerin to be its new senior vice president of content and partnerships, a move that signals the company’s ambitions to compete more aggressively with TikTok and to cut more deals with media companies and app developers. As part of the change, Chief Strategy Officer Jared Grusd, who previously oversaw... Snap has promoted executive Ben Schwerin to be its new senior vice president of content and...

Poshmark's sign outside the Nasdaq in New York on Thursday. Photo by Bloomberg

Poshmark Goes Public, Fitbit Gets Bought: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jan 14, 2021 5:02pm PST

Used clothing website Poshmark began life as a public company today, with its stock more than doubling to around $100 a share. At the same time, Fitbit ended its life as an independent company, after Google completed its acquisition of wearables device maker for $7.35 a share, 63% lower than Fitbit’s IPO price in 2015. Call it a tale of... Used clothing website Poshmark began life as a public company today, with its stock more than...

Poshmark CEO Navin Chandra. Photo courtesy of Poshmark

Poshmark CEO Chandra After 142% IPO Pop: This Isn’t a Rerun of Dot-Com Boom

By Laura Mandaro · Jan 14, 2021 4:37pm PST · 1 comment

It’s a rare thing for a consumer tech company to show profits when it goes public. For Poshmark, the hurdle will be proving profitability isn’t just a Covid-19 era occurrence. On Thursday, initial investors seemed to be willing to give the apparel reselling app the benefit of the doubt. After the company priced its initial public... It’s a rare thing for a consumer tech company to show profits when it goes public. For...

Zapier founders from left to right: Mike Knopp, Bryan Helmig and Wade Foster. Photo courtesy of Zapier

Sequoia Buys Shares in Elusive Startup Zapier at Multibillion-Dollar Valuation

By Kate Clark · Jan 14, 2021 2:44pm PST · 11 comments

Zapier founders from left to right: Mike Knopp, Bryan Helmig and Wade Foster. Photo courtesy of Zapier

Sequoia Buys Shares in Elusive Startup Zapier at Multibillion-Dollar Valuation

By Kate Clark · Jan 14, 2021 2:44pm PST · 11 comments

Zapier isn’t a household name outside Silicon Valley, but the world’s top venture capitalists have long been trying to own a piece of the booming enterprise software firm. The problem for investors was that Zapier, whose software automates personal computing tasks, didn’t need their money. It raised just $1.3 million in... Zapier isn’t a household name outside Silicon Valley, but the world’s top venture...

The Information’s Return to the Office Tracker

By The Information Staff · Jan 14, 2021 6:00am PST · 11 comments

Of the companies most opposed to continuing remote work after the pandemic fades, Netflix stands out for the intensity of its stance. Last fall co-CEO Reed Hastings said working from home was a “pure negative.” Even so, in a previously unreported move, Netflix started advertising more than 40 job openings for engineers who could opt... Of the companies most opposed to continuing remote work after the pandemic fades, Netflix stands...

Intel's outgoing CEO Bob Swan. Photo by Bloomberg

What Intel’s CEO Flip Says About the Board: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jan 13, 2021 5:32pm PST

Intel’s decision to dump its CEO, Bob Swan, in favor of a former longtime executive and most recently VMware chief Pat Gelsinger may well prove the right move to deal with the immense challenges facing the iconic chipmaker. But Intel’s board needs to answer for its decision two years ago to put Swan into the job. Swan was named CEO... Intel’s decision to dump its CEO, Bob Swan, in favor of a former longtime executive and...

Photos by Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Employee Pressure Not a Factor in Deplatforming, Tech Companies Say

By Nick Wingfield, Mark Di Stefano and Kate Clark · Jan 13, 2021 1:38pm PST

When Amazon, Twitter and other tech companies booted President Donald Trump along with social networking app Parler and others blamed for last week’s mob violence from their platforms, workers at the tech companies were thrilled. In some cases, the moves came after employees had been asking for years for precisely such action. Those same... When Amazon, Twitter and other tech companies booted President Donald Trump along with social...

Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

Telegram Founder in Talks to Raise Debt Amid App’s Explosive Growth

By Alex Heath and Cory Weinberg · Jan 13, 2021 11:04am PST

Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

Telegram Founder in Talks to Raise Debt Amid App’s Explosive Growth

By Alex Heath and Cory Weinberg · Jan 13, 2021 11:04am PST

Telegram in the past week experienced a sharp influx of new users who flocked to the private messaging app after rival WhatsApp changed its privacy policies and Facebook and Twitter took a harder line on President Donald Trump and users promoting violence. That growth comes with mounting costs. The Dubai-based startup, which has yet to generate... Telegram in the past week experienced a sharp influx of new users who flocked to the private...

An advertisement for Tencent's WeChat Pay displayed outside a restaurant in Hong Kong last September. Photo: Bloomberg

Tencent Ramps Up Consumer Lending as Rival Ant Group Struggles

By Wayne Ma · Jan 13, 2021 6:00am PST

Chinese tech giant Tencent is planning a big new push into consumer lending in China just as its archrival, Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, is reeling from a regulatory crackdown. Tencent, already a force in payments through its hugely popular WeChat messaging app, is working with a consortium of investors to form a consumer finance company, a... Chinese tech giant Tencent is planning a big new push into consumer lending in China just as its...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan and others celebrate the day Zoom went public, in April 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Zoom Stock Offering Hints at Future Deals: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2021 5:00pm PST

Zoom Video Communications sent a signal it may be planning a sizable acquisition. The corporate star of the pandemic era is raising $1.5 billion in stock, cashing in on the incredible run-up in its stock over the past year. In case you’ve forgotten, the videoconferencing company’s stock started last year trading at $68 and reached a... Zoom Video Communications sent a signal it may be planning a sizable acquisition. The corporate...

Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

How Blocking Trump Puts the Future of the Internet at Risk

By Sam Lessin · Jan 12, 2021 6:01am PST · 43 comments

The move by social networks to deplatform President Trump last week was the right call. In reality, he left Facebook and Twitter no other choice. That said, the first week of 2021 is going to be remembered as a watershed moment for the history of free speech and the globally open internet. It has the potential to be a tinderbox that undoes the... The move by social networks to deplatform President Trump last week was the right call. In...

Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., campus. Photo by Bloomberg

Following Trump Ban, Facebook Tells Employees to Avoid Wearing Company-Branded Apparel

By Alex Heath · Jan 11, 2021 5:40pm PST · 5 comments

Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., campus. Photo by Bloomberg

Following Trump Ban, Facebook Tells Employees to Avoid Wearing Company-Branded Apparel

By Alex Heath · Jan 11, 2021 5:40pm PST · 5 comments

Facebook on Monday told employees to avoid wearing or carrying company-branded clothing and other items in public following the company’s suspension last week of President Donald Trump’s account and its more recent crackdown on content mentioning “Stop the Steal,” an online movement that falsely claimed the presidential... Facebook on Monday told employees to avoid wearing or carrying company-branded clothing and other...