The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

TikTok Valued at Around $60 Billion, As Deal Structure Emerges

By Kate Clark, Kevin McLaughlin and Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 20, 2020 2:39pm PDT

Walmart and Oracle are valuing the soon-to-be formed TikTok Global at between $50 billion and $60 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal, as key aspects of one of the most convoluted global tech deals in history take shape. Another key point: Zhang Yiming, the CEO of ByteDance, parent company of the China-based viral video... Walmart and Oracle are valuing the soon-to-be formed TikTok Global at between $50 billion and $60...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Accepting Kickbacks, Publishers Are Playing Into Tech Companies’ Hands

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 19, 2020 8:00am PDT · 5 comments

For years, news publishers have been clamoring for Facebook, Google and Apple to pay for the news content that gets distributed through their services. Well, they have gotten what they wished for—sort of. And it’s troubling news. For years, news publishers have been clamoring for Facebook, Google and Apple to pay for the news...

President Trump at a news conference on Friday. Photo by Bloomberg

What TikTok Ban Means for Google, Facebook, Apple: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 18, 2020 6:02pm PDT

The Trump administration’s order to ban new downloads of TikTok and WeChat has raised an important question for the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix: Should they file a legal challenge to the order?Banning foreign-owned apps has near-term implications for Apple, which faces the prospect that iPhone owners who rely on... The Trump administration’s order to ban new downloads of TikTok and WeChat has raised an...

The Information’s 411 — Laurene Powell Jobs and Jenna Lyons (2020 WTF Summit)

By Tom Dotan · Sep 18, 2020 1:16pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Laurene Powell Jobs and Jenna Lyons (2020 WTF Summit)

By Tom Dotan · Sep 18, 2020 1:16pm PDT

This week we're presenting highlights from two interviews from the WTF Summit earlier this month. Emerson Collective's president Laurene Powell Jobs discusses her group's work on voting access as well as her ownership of The Atlantic magazine. Jenna Lyons, the former creative director for J Crew, talks about starting from the... This week we're presenting highlights from two interviews from the WTF Summit earlier this...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

In Ironic Twist, Google’s Pro-Privacy Move Boosted U.S. Antitrust Probe

By Nick Bastone · Sep 18, 2020 6:01am PDT

Google has taken a lot of heat for violating people’s privacy. Now it could get in trouble for trying to protect it.When Google in January said it planned to follow Apple’s lead in increasing privacy protections by blocking most online advertising trackers, publishers of news and entertainment websites whose business relies on the... Google has taken a lot of heat for violating people’s privacy. Now it could get in trouble...

President Trump. Photo by Bloomberg.

What TikTok’s Future Might Look Like Under Oracle and Walmart: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 17, 2020 6:01pm PDT

ByteDance’s hopes of getting President Trump’s approval for its proposed deal with Oracle appear to be dwindling by the day, judging by the blizzard of media reports about the debate going on inside the Trump administration. That raises the prospect that ByteDance will have to accept a less favorable deal by yielding control of the... ByteDance’s hopes of getting President Trump’s approval for its proposed deal with...

Tourists in Amsterdam. Photo: AP

Airbnb Opponents Take Fight to SEC Ahead of IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 17, 2020 6:02am PDT

Dozens of affordable housing groups and community organizations that have long accused Airbnb of exacerbating housing shortages are taking their grievances to U.S. financial regulators just as the short-term rental giant prepares to go public.In a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission viewed by The Information, the groups... Dozens of affordable housing groups and community organizations that have long accused Airbnb of...

Photo by Imaginechina via AP Images

ByteDance Rival Kuaishou Seeks $50 Billion Valuation in Hong Kong IPO

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 16, 2020 8:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Imaginechina via AP Images

ByteDance Rival Kuaishou Seeks $50 Billion Valuation in Hong Kong IPO

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 16, 2020 8:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Chinese online video startup Kuaishou, TikTok owner ByteDance’s biggest domestic rival, is seeking an initial public offering in Hong Kong as early as this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Kuaishou, which was valued at $28 billion in its most recent funding round last year, is aiming for a valuation of $50 billion... Chinese online video startup Kuaishou, TikTok owner ByteDance’s biggest domestic rival, is...

Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman. Photo by Snowflake

Snowflake Blitzes Wall Street: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 16, 2020 5:30pm PDT

We won’t make any more jokes about Snowflake melting under Wall Street’s spotlight. The data analytics firm had a spectacular opening day as a public company, its stock more than doubling from its $120 a share IPO price to close at $255 after trading as high as $299. It’s proof of the pent-up demand for tech IPOs, which should... We won’t make any more jokes about Snowflake melting under Wall Street’s spotlight....

Bryan Goldberg. Art by Mike Sullivan, photo courtesy of Bustle.

Q&A

Bustle’s Goldberg Says Media Firm Is ‘Logical Candidate’ for SPAC Merger

By Tom Dotan · Sep 16, 2020 9:00am PDT

If any digital media firm is likely to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, it may well be Bryan Goldberg’s Bustle Digital Group, which has become an acquisition machine for troubled digital media firms like Mic and The Outline. In an interview with The Information, Goldberg said, “We would be logical... If any digital media firm is likely to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition...

Larry Ellison discussing Oracle Cloud on stage in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

With TikTok Deal, Oracle Could Gain Billion-Dollar Cloud Customer

By Amir Efrati · Sep 16, 2020 6:00am PDT

Oracle’s deal to act as TikTok’s new “trusted technology partner” could be worth more than $1 billion in potential revenue annually for Oracle’s cloud business in the coming years, according to previously undisclosed data viewed by The Information.Revenue from housing TikTok’s data on Oracle’s servers... Oracle’s deal to act as TikTok’s new “trusted technology partner” could...

A graphic for Apple's new Fitness+ service unveiled today. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Gets Physical With New Service: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 15, 2020 5:30pm PDT

A graphic for Apple's new Fitness+ service unveiled today. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Gets Physical With New Service: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 15, 2020 5:30pm PDT

Apple today unveiled its latest foray into the subscription business with a new fitness service that will begin offering studio-style workouts later this year. You might think it would worry Peloton, whose business has lately been thriving, particularly as the new service, Fitness+, will be included in a new discounted bundle of Apple services.... Apple today unveiled its latest foray into the subscription business with a new fitness service...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by AP

Zoom Invests in Big Messaging Upgrade in Challenge to Slack

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 15, 2020 12:04pm PDT · 3 comments

Zoom Video Communications became a household name with a video conferencing service that has become a ubiquitous tool for businesses and students during the pandemic. Now Zoom is looking to seriously up its game in another important area: messaging. Zoom has been quietly working on a major upgrade to the messaging functions inside its video... Zoom Video Communications became a household name with a video conferencing service that has...

From left: Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Palantir's Alexander Karp and Asana's Dustin Moskovitz. Photos by Snowflake, Bloomberg and Julie Mikos.

Five New Software Stocks: Why Investors Love Some and Hate Others

By Ross Matican · Sep 15, 2020 6:02am PDT · 2 comments

Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s enormous popularity with investors. But while investors love some of the companies, such as Snowflake, giving it a valuation of nearly 100 times’ last year’s revenue, they hate others. Sumo Logic, for instance, may get a valuation of just... Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s...

Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Eyes Stake in Online Jobs Classifieds Company Zhaopin

By Juro Osawa · Sep 15, 2020 3:53am PDT

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Zhaopin, one of China’s biggest recruitment sites, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba, whose online marketplaces serve as a platform for millions of Chinese businesses, also operates China’s biggest cloud computing services... Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in...

Photo: Bloomberg

How China’s ByteDance Avoided Worst-Case Scenario for TikTok

By Juro Osawa, Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · Sep 14, 2020 8:35pm PDT

Photo: Bloomberg

How China’s ByteDance Avoided Worst-Case Scenario for TikTok

By Juro Osawa, Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · Sep 14, 2020 8:35pm PDT

Two weeks ago, Microsoft told bankers it was confident it was the frontrunner in a bid to acquire TikTok’s operations in the U.S. against competing bidders such as Oracle. In one discussion with banks about potentially financing the deal for the ascendant viral video app, a Microsoft executive said the company was well-positioned to win... Two weeks ago, Microsoft told bankers it was confident it was the frontrunner in a bid to acquire...

Oracle's Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg

Oracle’s Winning TikTok Hand: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 14, 2020 5:30pm PDT · 1 comment

The drama over TikTok is far from resolved but right now it looks like Oracle may be one of the big winners from the saga. Its stock price rose 4% today on news that the ageing enterprise software giant would be a “trusted technology provider” to TikTok—in a deal the details of which remain murky. But simply being a tech... The drama over TikTok is far from resolved but right now it looks like Oracle may be one of the...

The People With Power at TikTok Owner Bytedance

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2020 1:15pm PDT

ByteDance, owner of the powerhouse social media app TikTok that is caught up in the U.S.-China trade and cybersecurity war, has been busy restructuring itself as it looks to duplicate TikTok’s success internationally with some of its newer apps, according to new data viewed by The Information.Assuming ByteDance, whose leadership is based... ByteDance, owner of the powerhouse social media app TikTok that is caught up in the U.S.-China...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appears via video call at a House antitrust hearing in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon No Longer a ‘Low Single-Digit’ Share of Retail After Pandemic Ecommerce Surge

By Paris Martineau · Sep 14, 2020 6:02am PDT

During a Congressional antitrust hearing in July, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos downplayed the company’s size and power by saying it accounts for only 4% of total U.S. retail sales, a statistic company executives have cited many times before. But Amazon’s share of total retail may be significantly higher than that if you factor in... During a Congressional antitrust hearing in July, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos downplayed the...

Virtual Events and Why I Am Never Going Back

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 12, 2020 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

Virtual Events and Why I Am Never Going Back

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 12, 2020 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

A week ago, I spent a Friday evening quite nervous that our second The Information WTF conference—virtual, of course—would fall flat. Yes, we had a great lineup. But would our nearly 500 attendees want to stare at their computers for two days straight? How would the interviews go over? Would people pay $1,000 for a ticket with no... A week ago, I spent a Friday evening quite nervous that our second The Information WTF...