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

Groceries being distributed from a local shop working with Didi Chuxing. Photo provided by Didi Chuxing.

Shaved Heads, 84-Hour Work Week as China Tech Gets Into Groceries

By Yunan Zhang · Dec 8, 2020 6:01am PST · 5 comments

When Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing app, launched its online grocery business six months ago, some operations employees shaved their heads to show their commitment. In Chengdu, a city of 16 million in the southwestern province of Sichuan, these employees worked until midnight, slept in cots in their office and toiled... When Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing app, launched its online grocery business...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber’s Costly Exit From Self-Driving Car Business: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 7, 2020 5:01pm PST

Uber finally unloaded its self-driving car unit, after five years and the expenditure of $2.5 billion. As The Information noted in an in-depth article in late September, that effort had produced a car that couldn’t drive more than half a mile without encountering a problem. The final bill is even higher. Uber is investing $400 million in... Uber finally unloaded its self-driving car unit, after five years and the expenditure of $2.5...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Record Number of U.S. Firms Invested in Europe Tech This Year

By Mark Di Stefano · Dec 7, 2020 10:20am PST · 3 comments

Alex Lim, a partner at Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture firm IVP, flew to Europe six times in the 12 months before the coronavirus outbreak to visit founders and startups in the region. The pandemic abruptly halted those visits. But Lim’s interest in Europe didn’t flag. In the course of six months, he led his firm’s two... Alex Lim, a partner at Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture firm IVP, flew to Europe six times...

Mike Sullivan

Airbnb’s Biggest IPO Winners

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 7, 2020 6:00am PST · 15 comments

Mike Sullivan

Airbnb’s Biggest IPO Winners

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 7, 2020 6:00am PST · 15 comments

Sequoia Capital’s early bet on Airbnb will likely propel it to one of the greatest hauls in the history of venture capital, turning a $260 million investment made over the past 11 years into a stake that is now worth about $4.8 billion. But what hasn’t been previously reported is that the firm’s relationship with its portfolio... Sequoia Capital’s early bet on Airbnb will likely propel it to one of the greatest hauls in...

The Truth About Evaluating Founders—Even This One

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 5, 2020 8:01am PST · 4 comments

What makes a great founder? It’s been a question on my mind this week, driven partly by the news. Slack’s sale to Salesforce for $27.7 billion was a huge moment of success for founder Stewart Butterfield, the company and its shareholders. Was it also a sign that the company couldn’t succeed independently over the long term, as... What makes a great founder? It’s been a question on my mind this week, driven partly by the...

A DoorDash delivery person. Photo by Bloomberg

DoorDash’s Sky-High Valuation: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 4, 2020 5:31pm PST

Next week is shaping up to be a big one for tech IPOs, with both DoorDash and Airbnb expected to hit the market. Both raise interesting questions for investors, given how each has fared through the pandemic. DoorDash’s offering arguably poses the biggest risks. The restaurant-meal delivery service on Friday raised its pricing range to... Next week is shaping up to be a big one for tech IPOs, with both DoorDash and Airbnb expected to...

The Information’s 411 — Slacking Benioff’s Thirst

By Tom Dotan · Dec 4, 2020 4:18pm PST · 2 comments

Cory speaks with Kevin McLaughlin, our enterprise reporter and soothsayer, about the reasons Salesforce spent big to acquire Slack. Tom talks to Paris about why Generation Z is both Amazon's biggest critic and a loyal customer base. Cory speaks with Kevin McLaughlin, our enterprise reporter and soothsayer, about the reasons...

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. Photo by Bloomberg.

WarnerMedia Considering CNN Streaming Service

By Jessica Toonkel · Dec 4, 2020 11:15am PST · 2 comments

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. Photo by Bloomberg.

WarnerMedia Considering CNN Streaming Service

By Jessica Toonkel · Dec 4, 2020 11:15am PST · 2 comments

AT&T’s WarnerMedia, long a giant in cable TV, was a late arrival to streaming video. Under its new CEO, Jason Kilar, Warner is trying to make up for lost time. Warner executives are discussing launching two new streaming services. One would be a subscription offering based on content from CNN and could launch next year. Another would... AT&T’s WarnerMedia, long a giant in cable TV, was a late arrival to streaming video....

Cue Health Monitoring System for testing for COVID-19 virus. Image by Cue Health

Covid Test Startup Cue Health in Talks for $2 Billion-Plus Valuation

By Kate Clark · Dec 4, 2020 10:00am PST

Cue Health, a startup that makes handheld coronavirus tests, is in discussion with investors about a new round of capital that could boost the company’s valuation to more than $2 billion, or at least four times the valuation in a fundraising just six months ago, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The San Diego... Cue Health, a startup that makes handheld coronavirus tests, is in discussion with investors...

Data Governance Top of Mind for Tech Policy Chiefs

Data Governance Top of Mind for Tech Policy Chiefs

By The Information Staff · Dec 4, 2020 9:27am PST

On Thursday, The Information hosted a roundtable on what's next in tech regulation with PwC. Here's what was top of mind for our attendees, who included the heads of policy at a dozen tech companies. Europe's Digital Services Act: Expected soon, this legislation could limit how big tech companies use data across their products... On Thursday, The Information hosted a roundtable on what's next in tech regulation with PwC....

The People With Power at Opendoor

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 4, 2020 6:00am PST

Six-year-old Opendoor ushered in a new era in residential real estate when it launched a website that allowed people to sell their homes online. While Opendoor still accounts for only a tiny portion of U.S. home sales, its business has grown rapidly and spawned numerous imitators, all betting that consumers will be willing to pay a premium to... Six-year-old Opendoor ushered in a new era in residential real estate when it launched a website...

WarnerMedia's film chief Ann Sarnoff. Photo by Bloomberg.

WarnerMedia Shakes Up Movie Business: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2020 5:00pm PST

WarnerMedia's film chief Ann Sarnoff. Photo by Bloomberg.

WarnerMedia Shakes Up Movie Business: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 3, 2020 5:00pm PST

Last Christmas Eve, The Information’s Jessica Toonkel predicted that “2020 will be the year that a major studio, most likely Disney or AT&T’s WarnerMedia, breaks the mold and debuts some movies on its streaming service before they show up in theaters.” At the time it seemed a daring forecast, but then Covid happened,... Last Christmas Eve, The Information’s Jessica Toonkel predicted that “2020 will be...

Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield. Photo by Bloomberg

The Big Interview

Slack CEO Downplays Microsoft as Factor in Salesforce Deal

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 3, 2020 2:39pm PST

Before word of Salesforce’s planned acquisition of Slack leaked last week, investor sentiment about the workplace chat provider had decidedly soured, causing its stock to lose about a quarter of its value since Slack went public in June of last year. A big reason was competition from Microsoft, that old bogeyman for any upstart in the... Before word of Salesforce’s planned acquisition of Slack leaked last week, investor...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Splits Up Unit At Center of Contested Election Decisions

By Alex Heath · Dec 3, 2020 1:28pm PST

Facebook is breaking up its unit focused on the social network’s role in elections globally, dispersing the team of roughly 300 through a sweeping reorganization beginning this week, according to internal memos seen by The Information. Employees from Civic Integrity, who have been at the center of Facebook’s contested decisions on... Facebook is breaking up its unit focused on the social network’s role in elections...

Jill Hazelbaker. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Uber’s Image Maker Emerges as Key Power Player

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · Dec 3, 2020 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Minutes after Dara Khosrowshahi learned from a news report that he would be the next CEO of Uber, his phone rang. It was Uber’s head of communications, Jill Hazelbaker, who said “Welcome on board. Let’s get to work,” he recalls. Her next piece of advice was also very direct: “Get yourself a board of directors that... Minutes after Dara Khosrowshahi learned from a news report that he would be the next CEO of Uber,...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

Big Tech’s Small Budget M&A Effort: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 2, 2020 5:02pm PST · 1 comment

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

Big Tech’s Small Budget M&A Effort: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 2, 2020 5:02pm PST · 1 comment

Big tech is in acquisition mode, despite antitrust scrutiny. It’s just that the deals aren’t for brand name companies or of any size. This week alone we’ve seen Google acquire data management firm Actifio, Facebook buy customer support service Kustomer and Amazon reportedly in talks to snap up podcasting firm Wondery. Each of... Big tech is in acquisition mode, despite antitrust scrutiny. It’s just that the deals...

Bret Taylor, president and chief product officer of Salesforce, at the company's Dreamforce conference last November. Photo by Bloomberg

Q&A

Salesforce’s Bret Taylor: Company Didn’t Overpay for Slack

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 2, 2020 3:35pm PST · 4 comments

Salesforce didn’t overpay for Slack, the business messaging company it agreed to acquire on Tuesday for nearly $28 billion, Bret Taylor, Salesforce’s president and chief product officer said. In an interview on Wednesday with The Information, Taylor said the price tag was well worth it considering the importance of the kinds of... Salesforce didn’t overpay for Slack, the business messaging company it agreed to acquire on...

The Information 50

What We Learned From The Information’s List of the 50 Most Promising Startups

By Amir Efrati · Dec 2, 2020 7:01am PST · 5 comments

If you’ve wondered what startups could become the Google, Microsoft or Salesforce of the 2020s or ’30s, see our inaugural list of the 50 most promising tech startups that probably aren’t yet on your radar screen. We included previously unreported financial data about the vast majority of them, which range from consumer apps and... If you’ve wondered what startups could become the Google, Microsoft or Salesforce of the...

Salesforce's Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg

Salesforce Pays Up for Slack: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec 1, 2020 5:32pm PST

Salesforce chief Marc Benioff could never be accused of underpaying for a company, as his proposed $27.7 billion cash-and-stock purchase of Slack demonstrates. Salesforce’s price for the enterprise messaging firm is more than a 50% premium over where Slack’s stock was trading before news of the deal broke. The idea that someone... Salesforce chief Marc Benioff could never be accused of underpaying for a company, as...

Illustration by Jesús Escudero

The Underside of Silicon Valley’s Co-Founder Mantra

By Tracy Chou · Dec 1, 2020 9:02am PST · 11 comments

Illustration by Jesús Escudero

The Underside of Silicon Valley’s Co-Founder Mantra

By Tracy Chou · Dec 1, 2020 9:02am PST · 11 comments

It was both maddening and somehow unsurprising to see that only 2.1% of VC dollars so far this year have gone to all-female teams. The number had crawled up to 2.7% in 2019, but in the throes of pandemic uncertainty, investment capital for female founders slipped back to a three-year low. The laments are loud—but the attempt to solve a... It was both maddening and somehow unsurprising to see that only 2.1% of VC dollars so far this...