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

Journalist Katie Couric speaks during the 2020 Makers Conference in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Katie Couric’s Latest Act Is Paying Off

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 16, 2020 8:02am PDT · 3 comments

The news about the news is increasingly grim. Newsrooms are cutting journalism jobs in droves. Many news businesses are collapsing. Clearly, it’s time for new approaches.With that on my mind, I checked in this week with a journalist I admire, someone who has always taken big risks in her career: Katie Couric.Couric, of course, was TV... The news about the news is increasingly grim. Newsrooms are cutting journalism jobs in droves....

Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Andrew Chen. He led the Clubhouse investment. Photo: Getty Images

Deals Heat Up: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · May 15, 2020 8:06pm PDT

Greetings!For a Friday, with summer approaching, deals are humming. You don’t have to look further than consumer technology, an area somewhat overshadowed last year by the high prices fetched by enterprise software companies.Recent deals show a tale of two markets, however. In one, later-stage consumer tech companies are finding buyers,... Greetings!For a Friday, with summer approaching, deals are humming. You don’t have to look...

The Information’s 411 — The Oracle and the JEDI

By Tom Dotan · May 15, 2020 4:19pm PDT

Chris Stern gives us an update on the ongoing battle to win the Pentagon's cloud computing contract. He explains why Amazon is still fighting to win the account back from Microsoft in the courts. And how Oracle fits into the puzzle. Chris Stern gives us an update on the ongoing battle to win the Pentagon's cloud computing...

CloudKitchens founder Travis Kalanick

Two Senior Engineers Quit Kalanick’s CloudKitchens

By Amir Efrati · May 15, 2020 3:23pm PDT

CloudKitchens founder Travis Kalanick

Two Senior Engineers Quit Kalanick’s CloudKitchens

By Amir Efrati · May 15, 2020 3:23pm PDT

Two senior engineers who last year joined CloudKitchens, the commercial kitchen startup founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, abruptly resigned this week, The Information has learned. Their departures raise questions about whether the company could lose other engineers at a time when it is seeking to significantly expand its... Two senior engineers who last year joined CloudKitchens, the commercial kitchen startup founded...

Devoted Health cofounder Todd Park when he was the U.S. chief technology officer in 2013. Photo: Bloomberg

Devoted Health Valued at $3 Billion With New Funds

By Kate Clark · May 15, 2020 1:42pm PDT · 1 comment

Devoted Health, a startup co-founded by serial health-tech entrepreneurs Ed and Todd Park, is raising at least $200 million in a deal that values the company at more than $3 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.The round is not yet closed as the company plans to keep raising additional capital, one person said. The company... Devoted Health, a startup co-founded by serial health-tech entrepreneurs Ed and Todd Park, is...

Mike Sullivan

Your Corporate Event Has Gone Virtual. Here’s How to Make It Work

By Jessica Toonkel · May 15, 2020 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

When Pamela Jacques started revamping her employer’s annual spring conference in Florida into an online event, she realized that speakers were going to need quality audiovisual equipment to make their presentations given from home seem polished. Jacques, who runs corporate marketing for Netscout, a Boston-area information technology... When Pamela Jacques started revamping her employer’s annual spring conference in Florida...

A cyclist wearing a protective mask rides through San Francisco on March 25, 2020.

The Tech Behind Our Office Return: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · May 14, 2020 6:43pm PDT

When I think about heading back to the office, I mostly worry about how I’m going to get there. My typical routine had been to cram into one of San Francisco’s underground light rails. The thought of those muggy, overcrowded train cars seems less appealing than ever. It’s no wonder that e-bike sales are booming. I’m... When I think about heading back to the office, I mostly worry about how I’m going to get...

Disney will bring a movie version of "Hamilton" to Disney+ in July. Photo by AP

Disney Streaming Unit Slows Hiring Despite Subscriber Gains

By Tom Dotan · May 14, 2020 11:03am PDT

Disney will bring a movie version of "Hamilton" to Disney+ in July. Photo by AP

Disney Streaming Unit Slows Hiring Despite Subscriber Gains

By Tom Dotan · May 14, 2020 11:03am PDT

The Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service may be the best thing going right now at the struggling entertainment giant, which is facing a once-in-a-generation crisis that has ravaged its movie, theme park and cruise businesses. But the company hasn’t spared the division that includes the fast-growing service—Disney+—from... The Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service may be the best thing going right now at the...

Andrew Farah, co-founder and CEO of Density. Photo provided by Density

A Sales Surge for Tech That Helps Social Distancing in Offices

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 14, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

As more businesses start planning to reopen their workplaces, technology for managing office space is poised to shed its backwater status. Makers of workplace management technology—which businesses rely on to use their spaces more efficiently—are now seeing a boom in sales from companies who need expert input... As more businesses start planning to reopen their workplaces, technology for managing office...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai at last year's Google I/O conference. Photo by Bloomberg

Conference Nostalgia Sets In: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · May 13, 2020 7:31pm PDT

Today, I thought I would be waking up at 6 am to make the trek from San Francisco to Mountain View for the second day of Google’s annual developer conference, I/O. I probably would have forgotten to wear sunscreen and complained about trying to write stories from a venue made for rock concerts. But here we are. I’ve spent the day in... Today, I thought I would be waking up at 6 am to make the trek from San Francisco to Mountain...

Ann Miura-Ko. Photo courtesy of Floodgate

Q&A

Startups Face a ‘Fundamental Reset,’ Says VC

By Kate Clark · May 13, 2020 11:36am PDT · 1 comment

Ann Miura-Ko is no stranger to investing during a crisis. She got her start in venture capital as an analyst on September 10, 2001. She co-founded her seed-stage fund, Floodgate, in 2008 just as Bear Stearns was collapsing. The current shock set off by the global coronavirus pandemic seems worse. “This is actually a fundamental reset.... Ann Miura-Ko is no stranger to investing during a crisis. She got her start in venture capital as...

Rick Osterloh and Mario Queiroz. Photos by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Google’s Pixel Division Undergoes Shakeup After Disappointing Launch

By Nick Bastone · May 13, 2020 7:01am PDT · 11 comments

Rick Osterloh and Mario Queiroz. Photos by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Google’s Pixel Division Undergoes Shakeup After Disappointing Launch

By Nick Bastone · May 13, 2020 7:01am PDT · 11 comments

When Google announces its latest Pixel smartphone in the coming weeks, it will be without some key architects of its previous model, which drew rare internal criticism from the company’s head of hardware, Rick Osterloh, The Information has learned.The mastermind behind Google’s Pixel camera, Marc Levoy, who last year showed off his... When Google announces its latest Pixel smartphone in the coming weeks, it will be without some...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Sparks San Francisco Questions: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · May 12, 2020 6:57pm PDT

In 2003, not too long after the dot-com collapse wiped out internet startups all over San Francisco, I wrote a story for The Wall Street Journal about artists and other bohemian types reclaiming the city from tech interlopers. LOL. If there’s one thing San Francisco has shown again and again over the decades, it’s that fortune... In 2003, not too long after the dot-com collapse wiped out internet startups all over San...

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, in June 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Managers Asked for Pay Cut to Save Jobs. The CEO Said No

By Amir Efrati · May 12, 2020 3:07pm PDT · 7 comments

In late April, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called a meeting of the executives in charge of the ride-hailing firm’s nearly 4,000-person engineering department to tell them they needed to plan to cut headcount by 20%. Some of the engineering leaders responded that they and other managers would be willing to cut their own pay if it meant they... In late April, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called a meeting of the executives in charge of the...

Workers from Instacart at a grocery store in Frederick, Maryland, last year. Photo: AP

Instacart Weighs New Financing That Would Boost Valuation by at Least 50%

By Amir Efrati · May 12, 2020 12:21pm PDT · 1 comment

Instacart, the grocery delivery company whose business has surged amid Covid-19 lockdowns, is in talks to raise several hundred million dollars from existing and new investors, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.The deal would put the company’s pre-money valuation at between $12 billion and $14 billion, one of these... Instacart, the grocery delivery company whose business has surged amid Covid-19 lockdowns, is in...

Sensors Data CEO, Sang Wenfeng. Photo by Sensors Data.

Five Startups Bidding to Be China’s SaaS Stars

By Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · May 12, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Sensors Data CEO, Sang Wenfeng. Photo by Sensors Data.

Five Startups Bidding to Be China’s SaaS Stars

By Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · May 12, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

So far, China hasn’t spawned any breakout enterprise software companies as successful as Salesforce.com and others of its kind. But venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in the country are more determined than ever to build one. The weekslong lockdown prompted by the coronavirus forced millions of people in China to work remotely in... So far, China hasn’t spawned any breakout enterprise software companies as successful as...

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange last June. Photo by Bloomberg

IPO Rumblings: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2020 7:31pm PDT

It’s no surprise that the market for initial public offerings has been one of the casualties of the economic upheaval of the past couple of months. But in technology, optimism is an endlessly renewable resource, and it seems to be fueling hopes for a re-opening of the IPO window in the coming months. One example is Vroom, an online... It’s no surprise that the market for initial public offerings has been one of the...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft’s Secret Ally Against Amazon in Cloud Deal: Oracle

By Christopher Stern · May 11, 2020 10:58am PDT

Shortly after Microsoft’s come-from-behind win over Amazon in a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract last October, its CEO, Satya Nadella, credited the victory to the software giant’s decision to rise above politics and focus on the needs of the client.What Nadella didn’t mention is that Microsoft for over a year... Shortly after Microsoft’s come-from-behind win over Amazon in a $10 billion Pentagon cloud...

Henrique Dubugras, co-founder and chief executive office of Brex. Photo by Bloomberg

As Recession Looms, Brex Stockpiles Cash, Cuts Credit

By Kate Clark · May 11, 2020 7:00am PDT

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Brex had become the poster child of Silicon Valley largesse. By offering fellow startups high-limit charge cards, its 24-year-old founders had attracted illustrious investors like Kleiner Perkins, rocketing Brex to a $2.6 billion valuation. Flush with cash, it blanketed downtown San Francisco with advertisements,... Before the coronavirus outbreak, Brex had become the poster child of Silicon Valley largesse. By...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg

The Truth About Airbnb and Uber Layoffs

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 9, 2020 7:47am PDT · 3 comments

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg

The Truth About Airbnb and Uber Layoffs

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 9, 2020 7:47am PDT · 3 comments

When Cory broke the news that Airbnb was planning to lay off 25% of its staff this week, I wasn’t surprised by the cuts. The pandemic has wiped out demand for travel. It has been clear that no travel business would be spared from cost-cutting. But the scope of the cuts—a quarter of the company or some 1,900 people—did... When Cory broke the news that Airbnb was planning to lay off 25% of its staff this week, I...