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

Matt Garratt of Salesforce Ventures. Photo courtesy of Salesforce

Salesforce Reaps Big Gains From Investments in Tech Companies

By Ross Matican · Dec 24, 2020 9:02am PST · 3 comments

Snowflake’s first few months on the stock market were a major win for the company and its investors. Among those who scored big was Salesforce, whose $400 million total investment in the business software maker is now worth four times as much. The Snowflake investment was the latest in a string of hugely profitable deals by the cloud... Snowflake’s first few months on the stock market were a major win for the company and its...

Images by Shutterstock, Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Apple Should Win Its Intensifying Battle With Facebook

By Dave Edwards · Dec 24, 2020 6:00am PST · 21 comments

Facebook says Apple will change the internet as we know it. Good! The brewing battle over the soul of Silicon Valley has finally hit a breaking point. Apple, which sees individuals as its customers, is advancing iOS users’ privacy with the choice to opt in to ad tracking. Facebook, which sees individuals as its raw material, is fighting... Facebook says Apple will change the internet as we know it. Good! The brewing battle over the...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Will the Zoom Boom Last?: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · Dec 23, 2020 5:32pm PST

We broke the news today that Zoom Video Communications is starting to map out a post-pandemic future, one where society is no longer constantly tethered to videoconferencing to connect with colleagues, friends and family. Under consideration, Kevin reports, are email and calendar services that could compete with giants Microsoft and Google. Yet... We broke the news today that Zoom Video Communications is starting to map out a post-pandemic...

Starburst CEO Justin Borgman. Photo courtesy of Starburst.

Investors Pay High Price for Starburst Data at $1.6 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · Dec 23, 2020 12:28pm PST

Starburst CEO Justin Borgman. Photo courtesy of Starburst.

Investors Pay High Price for Starburst Data at $1.6 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · Dec 23, 2020 12:28pm PST

Enterprise software startup Starburst Data is raising a Series C financing at a post-money valuation of up to $1.6 billion, tripling the value of its private stock from six months ago despite relatively small revenue, according to an updated company charter. Andreessen Horowitz had been in the running to lead the round, two people familiar with... Enterprise software startup Starburst Data is raising a Series C financing at a post-money...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, center, at a conference last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Buoyed by Video Success, Zoom Explores Email, Calendar Services

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 23, 2020 6:01am PST · 4 comments

Zoom Video Communications has had an astonishing rise in 2020, emerging as the go-to service for work meetings and family get-togethers during the pandemic. Now the company is considering whether it could replicate its success in video in an even more competitive market: corporate email. The company has begun developing a web email service and... Zoom Video Communications has had an astonishing rise in 2020, emerging as the go-to service for...

China Renaissance founder Fan Bao. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amid IPO Boom, China’s Top Tech Dealmaker Raising $2.5 Billion for Investment Funds

By Juro Osawa · Dec 23, 2020 2:29am PST

China Renaissance, the boutique bank launched by influential tech dealmaker Fan Bao, is in talks to raise about $2.5 billion for two new investment funds that largely will target private tech companies, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The size of the funds shows how successful initial public offerings by Chinese tech startups and... China Renaissance, the boutique bank launched by influential tech dealmaker Fan Bao, is in talks...

Benchmark's Bill Gurley. Photo by Bloomberg

The SEC’s Gift to Startups: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · Dec 22, 2020 5:01pm PST

Christmas came a few days early for Silicon Valley and one of its leading venture investors, Bill Gurley. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday greenlit new rules that will allow companies to raise capital through direct listings of their stock, a change that could provide a more appealing alternative to the traditional initial... Christmas came a few days early for Silicon Valley and one of its leading venture investors, Bill...

How Covid Accelerated Changes Already in the Making

By Sam Lessin · Dec 22, 2020 9:27am PST · 5 comments

Modest Proposals

How Covid Accelerated Changes Already in the Making

By Sam Lessin · Dec 22, 2020 9:27am PST · 5 comments

A year ago, at the close of the decade, I made a set of predictions about 2030. Three months later, on March 9, with the U.S.’s daily count of new Covid-19 cases at 200, I added an early projection about how Covid would change the future of tech. With a year of distance from my 2030 predictions, and nine months of living with Covid as a... A year ago, at the close of the decade, I made a set of predictions about 2030. Three months...

Cloudflare's Matthew Prince, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Zoom's Eric Yuan, Twilio's Jeff Lawson and CrowdStrike's George Kurtz. Photos provided by the companies, Bloomberg

Who’s Hiring Fastest in Tech? Amazon, Zoom, Twilio

By Nick Wingfield · Dec 22, 2020 6:02am PST · 2 comments

The tech sector as a whole is still bleeding jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cloudflare definitely isn’t, though. The company—which operates a content delivery network currently in high demand from customers—is one of a handful of tech companies that saw staffing levels increase by double-digit percentages in their most... The tech sector as a whole is still bleeding jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cloudflare...

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past signage for SoftBank Corp. in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Bloomberg.

Apple’s Auto Moonshot; SoftBank’s SPAC: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · Dec 21, 2020 5:32pm PST

Last week, we wrote that as Apple gets closer to nailing down a prototype electric self-driving car, leaks about the vehicle would be inevitable next year. Turns out we were a few days off. Reuters on Monday provided the most detailed update about Apple’s Project Titan in quite a while, though there’s still a lot unknown, including... Last week, we wrote that as Apple gets closer to nailing down a prototype electric self-driving...

Ironclad co-founders Jason Boehmig, CEO (L) and Cai GoGwilt, CTO (R). Photo provided by Ironclad

Mary Meeker’s VC Firm Bond Invests in Ironclad at Nearly $1 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark and Ross Matican · Dec 21, 2020 12:21pm PST

Ironclad, which develops software that helps companies such as Dropbox and Mastercard create and manage business contracts, has raised at least $100 million in a Series D funding at a post-investment valuation of more than $950 million, or more than double its valuation from a year ago, according to several people familiar with the deal. Bond,... Ironclad, which develops software that helps companies such as Dropbox and Mastercard create and...

Opendoor CEO Eric Wu. Photo: Bloomberg

Opendoor Rides SPAC Deal to Lofty $18 Billion Valuation at Market Debut

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 21, 2020 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Opendoor CEO Eric Wu. Photo: Bloomberg

Opendoor Rides SPAC Deal to Lofty $18 Billion Valuation at Market Debut

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 21, 2020 6:00am PST · 2 comments

Venture-backed real estate startup Opendoor will start trading as a public company today, after its merger with a special purpose acquisition company closed Friday. Even before trading begins, the deal has inspired the kind of investor frenzy that surrounds the hottest IPOs. By Friday afternoon, investors had bid up the stock price of the SPAC... Venture-backed real estate startup Opendoor will start trading as a public company today, after...

Five 2020 Tech Stories That Changed the Conversation

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 19, 2020 7:46am PST

It often starts with an email, a document, a piece of reporting that is solid and specific but small. Then the fun happens. The reporting. The phone calls—sometimes months and months of them. Many times this year, our team uncovered stories that changed the conversation—and in many cases decided the fate of a business. I’m... It often starts with an email, a document, a piece of reporting that is solid and specific but...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by Bloomberg

Feds Charge Former Zoom Executive With Conspiracy: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2020 5:31pm PST

News that the Justice Department had filed conspiracy charges against a former China-based Zoom Video executive seems sure to shine a laser focus on the high-flying videoconference company in the coming days. Zoom said it had fired the executive and was cooperating with the government. The allegations underlying the charges are sure to shock... News that the Justice Department had filed conspiracy charges against a former China-based Zoom...

The Information’s 411 — Is 2020 a One-Off for Business?

By Tom Dotan · Dec 18, 2020 2:39pm PST

As the year winds down we look ahead to what we think will transpire in 2021. Tom chats with Jessica Toonkel and Martin Peers about the tumult in media and whether Hollywood really is abandoning theaters. Then Cory talks with Zoë Bernard and Kate Clark about changes in the investing space and why financial services startups took off... As the year winds down we look ahead to what we think will transpire in 2021. Tom chats with...

Hopin founder and CEO Johnny Boufarhat

How Johnny Boufarhat Built the Fastest Software Startup ‘Unicorn’ in History

By Zoë Bernard · Dec 18, 2020 6:01am PST · 7 comments

Hopin founder and CEO Johnny Boufarhat

How Johnny Boufarhat Built the Fastest Software Startup ‘Unicorn’ in History

By Zoë Bernard · Dec 18, 2020 6:01am PST · 7 comments

In the annals of venture capital, Hopin, which enables businesses to host events online, is a unicorn among unicorns: It might be the fastest business software startup to reach a private “unicorn” valuation of $1 billion, let alone the $2.1 billion it reached last month—just under a year after it was founded. Hopin owes that... In the annals of venture capital, Hopin, which enables businesses to host events online, is a...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in January in Brussels. Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Antitrust Trifecta: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 17, 2020 5:02pm PST

Another day, another Google antitrust lawsuit. Today’s installment from 38 states and territories, attacking Google’s dominance in search, covers much of the ground laid out in the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google in late October. But the list of allegations spelled out today paints an unflattering picture of the... Another day, another Google antitrust lawsuit. Today’s installment from 38 states and...

The New York Stock Exchange. Photo by AP

2021 Tech IPO Preview

By The Information Staff · Dec 17, 2020 6:02am PST · 9 comments

After so many tech companies rushed to the public markets this year, you might wonder whether there are any companies left to go public. In fact, there are quite a few. We’ve compiled a list of 20 tech companies, such as Instacart and Poshmark, that are expected to take the plunge in 2021. The lineup will test just how intense investor... After so many tech companies rushed to the public markets this year, you might wonder whether...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

What the Google Ads Antitrust Lawsuit Doesn’t Say

By Amir Efrati, Alex Heath and Christopher Stern · Dec 16, 2020 7:28pm PST · 6 comments

Antitrust lawsuits are meant to make their targets look bad, and the Texas attorney general’s long-anticipated case filed on Wednesday against Google for allegedly using advertising technology to muscle out competitors is no exception. There are the “Star Wars”–related code names Google used to describe its secret plans... Antitrust lawsuits are meant to make their targets look bad, and the Texas attorney...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

What Facebook-Apple Battle Could Mean: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 16, 2020 5:01pm PST · 4 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

What Facebook-Apple Battle Could Mean: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 16, 2020 5:01pm PST · 4 comments

It’s hard not to feel that Apple CEO Tim Cook has only himself to blame for the battle he now finds himself in with Facebook. Over the past few years he spent an inordinate amount of time preaching about the evils of the advertising-based business model of Facebook and others. It’s not a surprise Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would... It’s hard not to feel that Apple CEO Tim Cook has only himself to blame for the battle he...