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

Announcing The Information Fellowship

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 5, 2020 2:12pm PDT

The Information Fellowship is a three to six-month program for journalists early in their career to develop their reporting skills by joining a team of award-winning journalists and editors passionate about covering the tech industry and how it is changing society. The Information is an online publication dedicated to in-depth coverage of... The Information Fellowship is a three to six-month program for journalists early in their career...

Roku, Amazon Devices Risk Losing Grip on Streaming TV

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 5, 2020 12:45pm PDT · 2 comments

In recent weeks, the absence of two high-profile new streaming services—WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock—from streaming devices made by Roku and Amazon has shown how important the two tech companies have become as media gatekeepers. That clout might not last, though.Streaming-video devices are losing... In recent weeks, the absence of two high-profile new streaming services—WarnerMedia’s...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

A Summer Slowdown in Venture Capital? Not This Year

By Kate Clark and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 5, 2020 7:05am PDT · 2 comments

Private tech investing usually slows down in July and August when startup investors take a hiatus from pitch meetings and escape to their sunny destination of choice. But with vacations canceled because of the coronavirus, venture capitalists are entering into new investments at a rapid clip.Startups seeking early-stage funding say they’ve... Private tech investing usually slows down in July and August when startup investors take a hiatus...

An employee at Walt Disney Co.'s Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong on June 18. Shutdowns resulting from the coronavirus contributed to a $4.7 billion quarterly loss.

Disney Streamers Hit 100 Million: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Aug 4, 2020 7:12pm PDT

An employee at Walt Disney Co.'s Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong on June 18. Shutdowns resulting from the coronavirus contributed to a $4.7 billion quarterly loss.

Disney Streamers Hit 100 Million: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Aug 4, 2020 7:12pm PDT

Disney pulled off a successful misdirection today by getting investors to think less about Covid-19 and more about the invasion of the Huns.The company said during an otherwise dismal earnings report that it will release Mulan—its twice-delayed big budget release about a young woman who fends off invaders in China—as a rental in... Disney pulled off a successful misdirection today by getting investors to think less about...

From left to right: Lunchclub founders Vladimir Novakovski and Scott Wu; Mmhmm founder Phil Libin; Run The World founders Xiaoyin Qu and Xuan Jiang; Hopin founder Johnny Boufarhat. Photos courtesy of the companies.

Startups to Watch

Four Startups Helping You Network in a Virtual World

By Kate Clark · Aug 4, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

A new spate of startups is building video communication and virtual event software for the coronavirus era. Backed by venture capital funding and undeterred by Zoom’s dominance, leaders of these nascent firms say they offer more-effective ways to meet new people, host events and communicate with colleagues—tools that will outlast... A new spate of startups is building video communication and virtual event software for the...

HeadSpin founders Manish Lachwani and Brien Colwell. Photo courtesy of Headspin.

Startup HeadSpin to Return Funding After Probe of Financial Statements

By Kate Clark · Aug 3, 2020 10:08pm PDT · 1 comment

HeadSpin, a mobile app testing company recently valued at $1.16 billion, plans to return up to $95 million in funding to investors after an internal review of financial irregularities forced it to restate its financials.The previously unreported review follows the board’s discovery that the company was on track to post only $15 million in... HeadSpin, a mobile app testing company recently valued at $1.16 billion, plans to return up to...

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., at a tech conference in Bengaluru, India, on February 25, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg

Microsoft’s Focus Gets Fuzzier: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Aug 3, 2020 7:57pm PDT

A few months after Microsoft’s board named Satya Nadella CEO of the company in 2014, Nadella sent a 3,100-word memo to the tech giant’s employees describing what he saw as Microsoft’s “soul” and “unique core.” “Microsoft is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first... A few months after Microsoft’s board named Satya Nadella CEO of the company in 2014,...

ByteDance may lose TikTok. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok’s U.S. Retreat Could Heighten ByteDance’s Rivalry with Alibaba, Tencent

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Aug 3, 2020 10:32am PDT

ByteDance may lose TikTok. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok’s U.S. Retreat Could Heighten ByteDance’s Rivalry with Alibaba, Tencent

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Aug 3, 2020 10:32am PDT

TikTok, ByteDance's blockbuster app, may get kicked out of the U.S. and is banned in India. With ByteDance's global expansion stopped cold in two of its most important markets, the powerhouse tech company may refocus its vast energies on its home market in China.In the long run, that could be bad news for Alibaba and Tencent, which... TikTok, ByteDance's blockbuster app, may get kicked out of the U.S. and is banned in India....

Art by Shutterstock

Tech in 2023: What Will and Won’t Have Changed

By The Information Staff · Aug 3, 2020 4:02am PDT · 4 comments

The coronavirus will have a lasting impact on business. But from where we sit today, it is difficult to tell which of the changes sparked by the pandemic will be temporary and which permanent. Will we return to office buildings? Very likely yes. Will we shop in stores as often? Probably not.To help you think through what will last and what... The coronavirus will have a lasting impact on business. But from where we sit today, it is...

Photo by Bloomberg

Trump Threat of Ban Puts TikTok-Microsoft Talks on Hold

By Jessica E. Lessin and Alex Heath · Aug 1, 2020 1:16pm PDT · 1 comment

President Trump’s announcement that he plans to ban Chinese-owned TikTok has halted a potential acquisition of the popular app by Microsoft, with both companies waiting for more information from the U.S. government, according to several people involved in the talks. Late Friday, the companies were in advanced stages of negotiating a... President Trump’s announcement that he plans to ban Chinese-owned TikTok has halted a...

The Information’s 411 — Cyberpunk Barons

By Tom Dotan · Jul 31, 2020 5:53pm PDT

It was a big week for tech and politics as the four leaders of the major U.S. tech companies testified in front of the House Antitrust subcommittee. We spoke to Alex Heath and Chris Stern about which CEOs weathered the questions from lawmakers best and where the antitrust investigations go from here. Then Cory speaks to Anissa Gardizy about... It was a big week for tech and politics as the four leaders of the major U.S. tech companies...

Microsoft Talks to TikTok: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 31, 2020 5:16pm PDT

Microsoft Talks to TikTok: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 31, 2020 5:16pm PDT

News that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok raises all sorts of fascinating questions. Microsoft in recent years has been much more focused on selling to business customers than individuals; TikTok would take them in the opposite direction. The closest fit within Microsoft’s business would be its Xbox gaming division, although it... News that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok raises all sorts of fascinating questions....

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s Talks to Buy TikTok Follow Headwinds for Investor Plan

By Jessica E. Lessin and Ross Matican · Jul 31, 2020 1:06pm PDT · 4 comments

Microsoft is in serious talks to acquire TikTok, the hugely popular Chinese-owned video app, The Information has confirmed, after separate talks for a U.S. investor group to buy the app ran into headwinds on both political and business grounds.Senior ByteDance executives see Microsoft as more able to afford Tiktok, which could be worth $30... Microsoft is in serious talks to acquire TikTok, the hugely popular Chinese-owned video app, The...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb’s New Strategy: Living Without Google

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 31, 2020 7:08am PDT · 1 comment

Employees who worked on Airbnb’s marketing team in recent years have sometimes pondered a tantalizing question: What would happen to the company’s growth if it stopped spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on ads that appear high up in Google search results? The pandemic may have given Airbnb the opportunity to test... Employees who worked on Airbnb’s marketing team in recent years have sometimes pondered a...

Amazon.com Inc. packages sit stacked on the sidewalk in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 11, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Big Quarter: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 30, 2020 6:53pm PDT

Any attempts by Jeff Bezos in yesterday’s antitrust hearing to cast Amazon as a minor player in the global retail market quickly got overshadowed by Amazon’s superlative-laden second-quarter results. Sales surged 40% to $89 billion, net income doubled to $5.2 billion and the number of its employees hit one million, it told... Any attempts by Jeff Bezos in yesterday’s antitrust hearing to cast Amazon as a minor...

A person walks into a building at the Google campus in Mountain View, California, on Monday, July 27, 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Plan to Resume Reviews Rankles Employees With Children

By Cory Weinberg and Nick Bastone · Jul 30, 2020 12:27pm PDT · 1 comment

A person walks into a building at the Google campus in Mountain View, California, on Monday, July 27, 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Plan to Resume Reviews Rankles Employees With Children

By Cory Weinberg and Nick Bastone · Jul 30, 2020 12:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Life won’t start looking normal for most Google employees before next July, the earliest the company expects its workforce to be able to return to its offices. Yet Google is resuming some suspended business functions, including a high-stakes review cycle that has made at least one group of employees—parents—particularly... Life won’t start looking normal for most Google employees before next July, the earliest...

An employee assists a customer with televisions at a Walmart. Photo by Bloomberg

Walmart’s Rivalry With Amazon Becomes Hot-Button Issue for TV Maker

By Jessica Toonkel · Jul 30, 2020 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Walmart is fighting Amazon on a growing number of fronts. The latest: TV remote controls.Walmart has asked the manufacturer of one of its biggest-selling smart TVs, Vizio, to remove the Amazon Prime Video button on remote controls for its sets. The buttons make it easy for Vizio owners to turn on Amazon’s Prime Video service, a major... Walmart is fighting Amazon on a growing number of fronts. The latest: TV remote controls.Walmart...

Scoring the Tech CEOs: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 29, 2020 6:51pm PDT · 2 comments

Members of Congress scored some direct hits against big tech CEOs at Wednesday’s antitrust hearing, in an intense series of exchanges lasting more than five hours. From the opening gavel, the lawmakers asked pointed questions and showed little patience for the CEOs’ attempts to provide long responses that didn’t directly answer... Members of Congress scored some direct hits against big tech CEOs at Wednesday’s antitrust...

Clockwise from top left: Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai; Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Apple CEO Tim Cook; and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appeared before the House antitrust subcommittee Wednesday. Image: House Committee on the Judiciary

Real-Time Analysis: Tech CEOs Face Congress

By The Information Staff · Jul 29, 2020 10:36am PDT · 1 comment

Congressional lawmakers challenged the business practices of America’s tech giants Wednesday, as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos faced accusations during a House antitrust subcommittee hearing that they stifle competition and abuse their market power. The... Congressional lawmakers challenged the business practices of America’s tech giants...

Photo by Bloomberg

Breaking Off TikTok Will Be Hard to Do

By Juro Osawa, Yunan Zhang and Amir Efrati · Jul 29, 2020 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Photo by Bloomberg

Breaking Off TikTok Will Be Hard to Do

By Juro Osawa, Yunan Zhang and Amir Efrati · Jul 29, 2020 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Under pressure from the Trump administration, ByteDance is considering selling control of its blockbuster social video app, TikTok. But carving TikTok out of ByteDance would mean cutting off the app’s access to a wide range of technology, powering everything from personalized recommendations to advertising to content moderation. And... Under pressure from the Trump administration, ByteDance is considering selling control of its...