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

Jim Bankoff. Art by Mike Sullivan

Q&A

Vox Media’s Bankoff Talks Digital Media, Ad Market and Facebook

By Jessica Toonkel · Sep 8, 2020 3:00am PDT · 1 comment

In the crowded and cutthroat landscape of digital media, Vox Media has been one of the survivors, keeping costs under control and growing through acquisition of such properties as New York magazine and its websites, as well as Recode, adding these to properties purchased earlier, The Verge and SBNation. CEO Jim Bankoff said that Vox has... In the crowded and cutthroat landscape of digital media, Vox Media has been one of the survivors,...

People shop at a fruit market in Brooklyn. Photo by AP

How Brooklyn Is Taking On Amazon

By Paris Martineau · Sep 5, 2020 7:45am PDT · 1 comment

We’re in the midst of the perfect storm (or perhaps the perfect double hurricane) to cause the mass extinction of small businesses and the consolidation of wide swaths of commerce. The last six months have been punishing for most small businesses, particularly those that catered to the surrounding community, relying primarily on foot... We’re in the midst of the perfect storm (or perhaps the perfect double hurricane) to cause...

Masayoshi Son

SoftBank’s Latest Gambit: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 4, 2020 5:31pm PDT

With its high-priced Vision Fund investments, SoftBank drove up the value on private tech startups over the past few years. More recently, it has been doing the same with the price of public tech giants through massive option purchases on tech stocks.That’s according to a couple of reports on Friday, in the Financial Times and the Wall... With its high-priced Vision Fund investments, SoftBank drove up the value on private tech...

The Information’s 411 — Stripe Tease

By Tom Dotan · Sep 4, 2020 3:33pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Stripe Tease

By Tom Dotan · Sep 4, 2020 3:33pm PDT

With the TikTok drama getting even messier and tech relations between the U.S. and China at an all-time low, we check in with Jessica Lessin about the latest. Then Cory talks to Kate Clark about how the payments firm Stripe has become a force in venture capital, often edging out established firms to get in on deals. With the TikTok drama getting even messier and tech relations between the U.S. and China at an...

AWS executive Teresa Carlson speaking at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS Names New Global Sales Leader, Takes Aim at ‘Whales’

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 4, 2020 6:34am PDT

Amazon recently promoted two senior sales executives at its clouding computing unit as part of a broader push to get more large companies to use its services, The Information has learned.With the promotions, Amazon Web Services is divvying up the role previously held by Mike Clayville, a longtime sales chief who left in August for payments... Amazon recently promoted two senior sales executives at its clouding computing unit as part of a...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook’s Misinformation Game Plan: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 3, 2020 5:01pm PDT

Facebook got big headlines today for its decision to ban political ads in the final week of the presidential race, its latest move aimed at battling misinformation ahead of the November election. The impact the ban will have is debatable. A less flashy update to Facebook’s Messenger app, also announced today, will likely have a more... Facebook got big headlines today for its decision to ban political ads in the final week of the...

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks via videoconference during a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C.. Photo: Bloomberg.

Apple to Delay iOS Change Roiling Mobile Ad Market

By Alex Heath · Sep 3, 2020 9:03am PDT · 3 comments

Apple plans to delay the enforcement of a controversial change to its next mobile operating system that would upend how ads are targeted on iPhones and iPads, according to people familiar with the matter. The change in iOS 14, the next version of Apple’s mobile software, will require developers to ask users to share their device’s... Apple plans to delay the enforcement of a controversial change to its next mobile operating...

The actor Matthew Rhys, who plays the lead role in HBO's Perry Mason. Photo by HBO

How HBO Is Complicating WarnerMedia’s Ad-Based HBO Max Plans

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 3, 2020 6:01am PDT

The actor Matthew Rhys, who plays the lead role in HBO's Perry Mason. Photo by HBO

How HBO Is Complicating WarnerMedia’s Ad-Based HBO Max Plans

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 3, 2020 6:01am PDT

As WarnerMedia plans the next phase of its streaming expansion—a low-cost version of HBO Max that runs ads—it is wrestling with an unusual challenge. It can’t run ads in new episodes of HBO shows, the best known part of its programming lineup, according to several people familiar with the situation.That’s largely a result... As WarnerMedia plans the next phase of its streaming expansion—a low-cost version of HBO...

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb’s SPAC Rejection: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 2, 2020 5:32pm PDT

Merging with a special purpose acquisition company—those fast-proliferating publicly traded firms that have cash and whose mission in life is to acquire a business—has emerged as an appealing route for private tech firms looking to go public. But Airbnb’s rejection of an approach from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s... Merging with a special purpose acquisition company—those fast-proliferating publicly traded...

Patrick Collison, CEO and co-founder of Stripe, left, and John Collison, president and co-founder of Stripe, in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg.

Venture Capitalists’ Newest Threat: Stripe

By Kate Clark · Sep 2, 2020 12:35pm PDT · 2 comments

Stripe has become one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent startups, valued at $36 billion thanks to its technology powering online purchases for clients like Target and Amazon. In the background, its founders have also been building another business: venture capital. Since 2017, the San Francisco–based company has invested in... Stripe has become one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent startups, valued at $36 billion...

Biggest Startup Markdowns: Magic Leap, WeWork, Airbnb

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 2, 2020 7:02am PDT

Investors in Magic Leap have marked down their stakes in the troubled augmented reality startup by 93%, on average, between the start of the year and the end of June, previously unreported figures show. The dizzying drop makes Magic Leap the private tech firm in which investor sentiment has soured the most in 2020, surpassing hard-hit firms... Investors in Magic Leap have marked down their stakes in the troubled augmented reality startup...

Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the iPhone 11 Pro after an event unveiling it last September. Photo by Bloomberg

What Apple’s 5G Push Means: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 1, 2020 5:01pm PDT

Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the iPhone 11 Pro after an event unveiling it last September. Photo by Bloomberg

What Apple’s 5G Push Means: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 1, 2020 5:01pm PDT

Apple’s plans to launch four new phones with 5G capability this fall, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, makes one thing clear: 5G will soon get taken seriously by consumers.The major phone carriers have had 5G networks up and running for at least several months now. But with only Android phones offering 5G capability, and... Apple’s plans to launch four new phones with 5G capability this fall, according to a...

Patreon CEO and co-founder Jack Conte performing in 2014 in Anaheim. Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Patreon Raising Round at $1.2 Billion Valuation

By Amir Efrati and Zoë Bernard · Sep 1, 2020 3:09pm PDT

Patreon—the online service that allows podcasters, musicians and others to receive financial support from fans—has raised a $90 million round of funding from fans of its own, The Information has learned. The company recently closed the round at a $1.2 billion pre-money valuation, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Patreon—the online service that allows podcasters, musicians and others to receive...

Bloomberg

ByteDance’s Big Problem: Finding the Next TikTok

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 1, 2020 12:58pm PDT

The likely sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S. company will leave a gaping hole at ByteDance, the app’s Chinese parent. In the last year alone, TikTok helped ByteDance expand its reach to hundreds of millions of users around the world. But so far, the company has struggled to develop new products that could aspire to... The likely sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S. company will leave a gaping hole at...

Despite Flurry of Activity, Software IPOs to Fall Short of 2019 Numbers

By Ross Matican · Sep 1, 2020 7:01am PDT

The last week has seen a flurry of subscription software companies filing to go public in the last few months of the year, hoping to cash in on the booming stock market and rich valuations accorded the software sector. But thanks to the drought in initial public offerings, brought on by the pandemic, this year’s total of software IPOs is... The last week has seen a flurry of subscription software companies filing to go public in the...

Bloomberg

Beijing Throws TikTok a Curveball, the Zoom Boom

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2020 5:33pm PDT

Bloomberg

Beijing Throws TikTok a Curveball, the Zoom Boom

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2020 5:33pm PDT

The Chinese government’s decision to require export controls for certain types of artificial intelligence technology, making official approval necessary for a sale of any part of TikTok to a U.S. company, is a reminder of how it can complicate life even for successful Chinese tech giants.The decision throws the timeline of a TikTok sale... The Chinese government’s decision to require export controls for certain types of...

Sheryl Sandberg, Laurene Powell Jobs, Jenna Lyons, Emily Weiss Headline the Information’s WTF Summit

By The Information Staff · Aug 31, 2020 3:27pm PDT · 1 comment

The Information, the essential technology and business news service popular among Silicon Valley’s top executives, will host its second annual WTF (Women in Tech, Media and Finance) Summit on Sept. 9 & 10, 2020. The WTF Summit brings together the most accomplished and influential female leaders in tech and business for a unique... The Information, the essential technology and business news service popular among Silicon...

Modest Proposals

California’s 2020 Budget Solution: A Startup Equity Tax

By Sam Lessin · Aug 31, 2020 10:01am PDT · 10 comments

In 2017 I wrote a column proposing that the Bay Area should levy a 5% equity tax on new companies and create a sovereign wealth fund for the region. The idea was to effectively create a municipal or state version of Y Combinator in order to align the incentives of the region with those of the startups it hosts.In 2020, witnessing... In 2017 I wrote a column proposing that the Bay Area should levy a 5% equity tax on new companies...

Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman. Photo by Snowflake

Five Things We Learned From the Surge of Cloud Software Filings

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 31, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, the initial public offering floodgates swung wide open, and it’s no accident that five of the companies that filed paperwork to sell shares to the public are software as a service businesses. The five companies—Snowflake, Asana, Palantir, JFrog and Sumo Logic—are in a sector that has proved to be one of the more... Last week, the initial public offering floodgates swung wide open, and it’s no accident...

Patrick Collison. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Never Flashy, Is Fired Up

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 29, 2020 8:01am PDT · 3 comments

Patrick Collison. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

The Saturday Interview

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Never Flashy, Is Fired Up

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 29, 2020 8:01am PDT · 3 comments

It’s a quirk of Silicon Valley that one of the most seemingly uninteresting businesses is run by one of the most interesting people. Ten years into running Stripe, its co-founder and CEO, Patrick Collison, still has a voracious appetite for just about everything related to the future of technology—including his payment... It’s a quirk of Silicon Valley that one of the most seemingly uninteresting businesses is...