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

An Amazon Prime truck in the U.K. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Real Reason for Postponing Prime Day

By Paris Martineau · Oct 6, 2020 1:53pm PDT

For years, Amazon has pitched its annual Prime Day shopping extravaganza as “Black Friday in July,” a concoction designed to juice up sales during the summer shopping lull. But with online shopping hitting new sales records during the pandemic, there was no lull this year, prompting Amazon to bump Prime Day from July to two days next... For years, Amazon has pitched its annual Prime Day shopping extravaganza as “Black Friday...

From left: Kevin Mayer, Peter Rice and Bob Iger. Photos by Disney; AP

How Iger Intervened to Mediate a Power Struggle at Disney+

By Tom Dotan · Oct 6, 2020 6:02am PDT

Last fall, Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger sent a terse email to two of his top executives, Kevin Mayer and Peter Rice. Mayer, who then ran Disney’s video-streaming effort, had been feuding with Rice, who runs Disney’s television studios, over who had the power to pick the shows that would run on the company’s about-to-launch... Last fall, Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger sent a terse email to two of his top executives,...

An Asana sign at the New York Stock Exchange when the company went public last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Palantir and Asana Mean for Direct Listings: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Oct 5, 2020 5:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Stocks enjoyed a robust rally on Monday—except for the two newest stocks to go public via direct listing, Palantir and Asana. For the fourth consecutive day, both stocks lost ground. Palantir is now down 5% from its close last Wednesday, while Asana is down 13%. Both are down much more from their highs on their opening day. The weak... Stocks enjoyed a robust rally on Monday—except for the two newest stocks to go public via...

On the Market: Veterans of TikTok, Netflix and Pinterest

By The Information Staff · Oct 5, 2020 9:15am PDT · 1 comment

On the Market: Veterans of TikTok, Netflix and Pinterest

By The Information Staff · Oct 5, 2020 9:15am PDT · 1 comment

At a time when corporations are being especially vigilant about their bottom line, some high-profile media and tech executives have found themselves without a job recently. Other industry leaders decided to seek out new ventures, either after being passed over for a top job or following a corporate merger. In The Information’s latest... At a time when corporations are being especially vigilant about their bottom line, some...

An address sign for Facebook Way is shown in Menlo Park, Calif. Photo: Associated Press

Facebook to Let Managers, More Staff Work Remotely After Pandemic

By Alex Heath and Nick Bastone · Oct 5, 2020 6:02am PDT

Facebook is expanding its permanent work from home policy, moving it closer to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s prediction that half his workforce will be working remotely within a decade. The company, which has more than 52,000 full-time employees, in recent weeks has started allowing a significant portion of its managers and other employees to... Facebook is expanding its permanent work from home policy, moving it closer to CEO Mark...

Why Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Will Lose

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 3, 2020 8:02am PDT · 1 comment

It was the blog post heard from Napa to Lake Tahoe and all the other places Silicon Valley CEOs are hiding out from the smoke and Covid-19 these days. This week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a post telling Coinbase employees to leave their social activism at the door. He followed up with a bold offer: If you don’t like it,... It was the blog post heard from Napa to Lake Tahoe and all the other places Silicon Valley CEOs...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai testifying at a congressional committee hearing late July. Photo by Bloomberg

How Big Could Google and Facebook Get?: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Oct 2, 2020 5:01pm PDT

This was a week so packed with news that one reporter tweeted that we’re now in a period of “news hyperinflation,” likening the news environment to hyperinflation in Germany in the 1920s. But amid the barrage, some big picture events are unfolding, like the antitrust investigations now under way, could affect the tech industry... This was a week so packed with news that one reporter tweeted that we’re now in a period of...

The Information’s 411 — Slacktivism

By Tom Dotan · Oct 2, 2020 4:34pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Slacktivism

By Tom Dotan · Oct 2, 2020 4:34pm PDT

Zoë talks about this week's Coinbase controversy and how different CEOs feel about taking activist stands as a company. Then Alex talks about Facebook’s battle with Apple, this time over messaging and integrating into iMessage. Zoë talks about this week's Coinbase controversy and how different CEOs feel about...

Tribe Capital partner Arjun Sethi. Photo provided by Arjun Sethi

Tribe Capital Plans Challenge to AngelList

By Zoë Bernard · Oct 2, 2020 1:56pm PDT · 2 comments

For years, venture firms have given pension funds, family offices and others who put money into their funds ways to invest more directly in the firms’ startups. Now, one well-connected VC firm in Silicon Valley has a plan to let a wider group of investors do the same. Tribe Capital, a $360 million venture fund founded by a trio... For years, venture firms have given pension funds, family offices and others who put money into...

Lyft's driver hub in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft Talked to Bosch About Self-Driving Car Partnership, Investment

By Amir Efrati · Oct 2, 2020 12:36pm PDT

Lyft has had talks over the past year about joining forces on self-driving–car development with German automotive system manufacturer Bosch, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Lyft also has considered selling a stake in its self-driving–car unit to a player such as Bosch, said the two people.... Lyft has had talks over the past year about joining forces on self-driving–car development...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Lessons From the Rise of OnlyFans

By Sam Lessin · Oct 2, 2020 6:01am PDT · 5 comments

In the polite circles of Silicon Valley, when people want to discuss how creators build and monetize audiences, people like to talk about companies like Patreon and Substack. What they should be talking about is the adult-entertainment subscription service OnlyFans. OnlyFans’ scale and cultural relevance have exploded during the... In the polite circles of Silicon Valley, when people want to discuss how creators build and...

Amazon workers protesting the company over climate change last September. Photo by Bloomberg

51% of Subscribers Disagree With Coinbase’s Armstrong: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2020 5:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Amazon workers protesting the company over climate change last September. Photo by Bloomberg

51% of Subscribers Disagree With Coinbase’s Armstrong: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2020 5:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s blog post saying that Coinbase won’t “engage” with social issues unrelated to the company’s core mission as a crypto exchange has spotlighted a hugely contentious issue that divides people at tech companies big and small. Our subscribers, perhaps not surprisingly, are just as divided.... Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s blog post saying that Coinbase won’t...

Sen. Maria Cantwell, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee. Photo: Bloomberg

How Trump Inadvertently Helped Facebook, Twitter Preserve Legal Shield

By Christopher Stern · Oct 1, 2020 2:20pm PDT

Just when it looked like a small group of Democrats and Republicans had found common ground in their efforts to weaken the tech industry’s immunity to lawsuits over user-posted content, election year politics robbed that group of momentum. With just weeks to go until the Nov. 3 vote, congressional staffers and tech industry advocates say... Just when it looked like a small group of Democrats and Republicans had found common ground in...

What Opening Day for Asana and Palantir Says About Private Tech Stock Values

By Ross Matican and Martin Peers · Oct 1, 2020 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

The secondary market for private tech stocks is becoming a better indicator of how the public market will value those stocks, Wall Street executives say. Wednesday’s public debuts of Asana and Palantir seemed to bear that out. The stocks of both companies, which went public via direct listings, opened at about the same level as their... The secondary market for private tech stocks is becoming a better indicator of how the public...

Palantir's sign hangs from the front of the New York Stock Exchange today. Photo by Bloomberg

Palantir and Asana: Two Very Different Debuts: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 30, 2020 5:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Palantir and Asana went public Wednesday, immediately doubling the number of high-profile tech companies that have joined the public market through direct listings of their shares, rather than via a traditional IPO. But that might be the only thing that the two companies had in common on their first day on the public market. Asana shares opened... Palantir and Asana went public Wednesday, immediately doubling the number of high-profile tech...

Illustration by J. Claeys

A Housing Startup Angered Tenants. Now It’s Not Paying Landlords

By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Sep 30, 2020 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Illustration by J. Claeys

A Housing Startup Angered Tenants. Now It’s Not Paying Landlords

By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy · Sep 30, 2020 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

Bungalow Living, a richly valued startup that rents and manages shared living spaces, has warned some of its landlords in recent days that it doesn’t intend to pay rent next month. In emails, the company cited rental market declines in major cities as a reason to break its deals. “Our ability to pay going forward is in serious... Bungalow Living, a richly valued startup that rents and manages shared living spaces, has warned...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsynder

Austin Emerges as a Hot Spot for Silicon Valley Investors

By Kate Clark · Sep 30, 2020 6:01am PDT · 5 comments

Austin’s startup scene is getting a jolt of new capital, this time from a wave of investors transplanted from Silicon Valley. Since March, Sapphire Ventures, Draper Associates, 8VC and Breyer Capital have either opened an Austin office, hired a local partner or are considering an outpost there. Austin’s lack of a state income tax,... Austin’s startup scene is getting a jolt of new capital, this time from a wave of investors...

The entrance to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. resort last March when the coronavirus pandemic forced the park to close. Photo by AP

Disney’s Big Layoffs: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 29, 2020 5:32pm PDT

Disney’s announcement Tuesday that it will lay off 28,000 theme park workers was a good reminder that, while the stock market acts like there’s no pandemic, Covid-19 is still devastating the economy. The entertainment giant has had to severely limit attendance at its park in Florida, while state rules forced Disney to keep its... Disney’s announcement Tuesday that it will lay off 28,000 theme park workers was a good...

From left: Chamath Palihapitiya, Mark Pincus and Kevin Hartz. Photos by Bloomberg

SPAC Managers to Watch

By Ross Matican · Sep 29, 2020 6:02am PDT · 4 comments

SPAC mania may be nearing its peak. Everyone from Peter Thiel to Paul Ryan is backing special purpose acquisition companies, firms that are taken public as empty shells, destined to raise money for the purchase of a business at some point in the future. And why wouldn’t they? For the SPAC managers, it’s a great way to get rich. ... SPAC mania may be nearing its peak. Everyone from Peter Thiel to Paul Ryan is backing special...

Uber started a boat service in London. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber’s London Win Reinforces Optimism of Investors: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 28, 2020 5:31pm PDT

Uber started a boat service in London. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber’s London Win Reinforces Optimism of Investors: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 28, 2020 5:31pm PDT

Uber got some good news on Monday when a U.K. judge ruled that the company could get back its license to operate in London. That sent Uber’s shares up 3%. That makes sense, you might think, since London is Uber’s most important market, where it has made plenty of money. But Uber never stopped operating in London: It was allowed to... Uber got some good news on Monday when a U.K. judge ruled that the company could get back its...