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

WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Cathcart photo courtesy of Facebook; Zuckerberg photo: Bloomberg; Photo illustration: Mike Sullivan

Inside WhatsApp’s Retreat on Ads

By Alex Heath · Apr 23, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

After more than a year of preparation, WhatsApp was finally close to flipping the switch on advertising, kick-starting a plan to generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from one of Facebook’s crown jewels, which it had acquired for $22 billion six years earlier.Last fall, employees prepared to share details of the planned 2020... After more than a year of preparation, WhatsApp was finally close to flipping the switch on...

AT&T CEO John Stankey. Photo by Bloomberg

Pandemic Forces Studios to Think Outside the Box on Movie Releases

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Apr 22, 2020 12:38pm PDT · 2 comments

It took a pandemic for entertainment executives to consider what they once thought unimaginable: abandoning the decades-old convention of relying on movie theaters as the first place to show a movie. With theaters possibly closed until next year, executives are contemplating new ways to release movies, including embracing previously rejected... It took a pandemic for entertainment executives to consider what they once thought unimaginable:...

Illustration by MIke Sullivan

Mirror, Mirror on the Screen: The Tyranny of Zoom Calls

By Zoë Bernard · Apr 22, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Carolyn West had never considered getting lip injections before. But that all changed a few weeks ago when participating in video calls became a part of her daily work routine. Like the rest of her company’s employees, West, a tax accountant in Philadelphia, had started working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic. The influx... Carolyn West had never considered getting lip injections before. But that all changed a few weeks...

Boom in Home Electronics Sales Shows Signs of Peaking

By Nick Bastone · Apr 21, 2020 10:29am PDT

Boom in Home Electronics Sales Shows Signs of Peaking

By Nick Bastone · Apr 21, 2020 10:29am PDT

When cities across the U.S. shut down due to the coronavirus, consumers flocked online to beef up their home office and entertainment setups. The surge in spending for consumer electronics has extended into April, with only a slight cooling in growth, according to an analysis of email receipts from online transactions provided to The... When cities across the U.S. shut down due to the coronavirus, consumers flocked online to beef up...

Symantec's former headquarters in Mountain View that Alphabet was expected to buy. Photo by AP

Alphabet Leads Tech Retreat on Real Estate Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 21, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Google’s parent company, among the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest property owners, is starting to pull back from its decadelong land grab.Alphabet in recent weeks has broken off talks to buy or lease more than 2 million square feet of office space in the Bay Area, including what would have been one of the largest ever real estate... Google’s parent company, among the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest property owners,...

The Information’s 411 — Pimp My Zoom

By Tom Dotan · Apr 20, 2020 12:15pm PDT · 1 comment

Nick Wingfield walks us through the ways Silicon Valley execs—and the rest of us—can upgrade their working-from-home video conference technology. Nick Wingfield walks us through the ways Silicon Valley execs—and the rest of us—can...

A bike from Didi's Qingju bike-sharing service.

SoftBank, Legend Invest $150 Million in Didi Chuxing’s Bike-Sharing Unit

By Yunan Zhang · Apr 20, 2020 11:02am PDT

China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has raised $150 million from SoftBank and Legend Capital for its bike-sharing unit, Qingju. This is the first time it has raised money from outside investors for the business, according to people with direct knowledge of the deal.Media reports in recent days have suggested that Didi raised $1 billion... China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has raised $150 million from SoftBank and Legend...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Kalanick’s CloudKitchens, Ideal Bet for Pandemic, Hits Snags

By Amir Efrati · Apr 20, 2020 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Kalanick’s CloudKitchens, Ideal Bet for Pandemic, Hits Snags

By Amir Efrati · Apr 20, 2020 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

This should be Travis Kalanick’s moment.The Uber co-founder not only sold out of Uber ahead of the pandemic that has cratered that company’s ride-hailing business, but switched his money and energy to a real estate startup that leases space to restaurants for meal preparation. The firm, CloudKitchens, is well positioned to benefit... This should be Travis Kalanick’s moment.The Uber co-founder not only sold out of Uber ahead...

TaskRabbit founder Leah Solivan.

Fundraising in a Crisis: Lessons From TaskRabbit

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 18, 2020 7:45am PDT

It was December 2008, and Leah Busque was broke. It had been six months since she had left her cushy job as an engineer for IBM to build a service helping people outsource their errands to folks looking for extra income. And despite months of conversations with investors—occurring against headwinds of the financial crisis—her credit... It was December 2008, and Leah Busque was broke. It had been six months since she had left her...

An AWS facility in Virginia. Photo by AP

AWS Holds the Line on Cloud Bills as Customers Ask for Relief

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Apr 17, 2020 10:54am PDT

Public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have had to cope with a surge in demand in recent weeks as huge numbers of people work from home. But the cloud providers are also facing requests from many customers for financial relief, while others are cutting their cloud spending.So far, AWS has been the least... Public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have had to...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

How to Zoom Like a CEO

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 17, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

This column kicks off a new The Information feature called Out of Office. Every other Friday, we’ll bring you advice from the pros on how to improve your work life, wherever your office might be.Matt Mullenweg has become the patron saint of working from home. He started letting employees of his company, Automattic, do their jobs remotely... This column kicks off a new The Information feature called Out of Office. Every other Friday,...

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone Raising Money for New Venture Fund

By Kate Clark · Apr 16, 2020 3:41pm PDT · 2 comments

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone Raising Money for New Venture Fund

By Kate Clark · Apr 16, 2020 3:41pm PDT · 2 comments

Biz Stone, who co-founded both Twitter and Medium, is raising capital for a new venture fund, setting a target of up to $200 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.Through the fund, Stone plans to make early-stage investments in startups focused on the future of health, work, wealth and play, and has already begun identifying... Biz Stone, who co-founded both Twitter and Medium, is raising capital for a new venture fund,...

Image courtesy of Square.

Fintech Firms Struggle for Role in Bailout

By Christopher Stern · Apr 16, 2020 12:22pm PDT · 1 comment

The U.S. government's $349 billion emergency loan fund ran out of money Wednesday night, eliminating a potential revenue lifeline for financial technology lenders at a time when the economy has slammed to a halt because of the coronavirus shutdown.A number of startups that specialize in lending money to small businesses, including Kabbage... The U.S. government's $349 billion emergency loan fund ran out of money Wednesday night,...

The Information’s 411 — How Viruses Affect Hosts

By Tom Dotan · Apr 16, 2020 11:01am PDT

Cory joins to talk about the layoffs at Opendoor. We also discuss how Brian Chesky is leading Airbnb through this bleak period in the company's business and if it stands a chance of going public this year. Cory joins to talk about the layoffs at Opendoor. We also discuss how Brian Chesky is leading...

Microsoft’s Ann Johnson. Photo: Microsoft

Q&A

How Microsoft Is Tackling Covid-19 Cybersecurity

By Ashley Gold · Apr 16, 2020 10:26am PDT

The spread of coronavirus has sparked an onslaught of online scams, as cybercriminals prey on people’s skyrocketing stress and unusual work environments. Ann Johnson, who heads Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Solutions Group, which sells cybersecurity products and services to businesses, said she and cybersecurity professionals at other... The spread of coronavirus has sparked an onslaught of online scams, as cybercriminals prey on...

The NYSE on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

The Information’s Tech Earnings Cheat Sheet

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

The NYSE on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

The Information’s Tech Earnings Cheat Sheet

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

The first detailed indication of how the pandemic has affected the tech and media industry so far will come next week, as companies start reporting quarterly results. The picture will be mixed: Apple’s revenue is expected to fall, while analysts expect revenue growth at Facebook and Alphabet to slow somewhat but still reach 18% and 14%,... The first detailed indication of how the pandemic has affected the tech and media industry so far...

Opendoor CEO Eric Wu. Photo: Bloomberg

Opendoor Lays Off About 600 Employees

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 15, 2020 10:48am PDT

Home-buying startup Opendoor laid off more than 600 employees Wednesday, one of the deepest cuts from a private tech firm since the coronavirus outbreak sent the economy into a tailspin. The layoffs amount to 35% of Opendoor’s staff, CEO Eric Wu said in a statement. The company halted home purchases last month, cutting off the... Home-buying startup Opendoor laid off more than 600 employees Wednesday, one of the deepest cuts...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

A Guide to Coronavirus Apps for Contact Tracing, Symptom Reporting

By Nick Bastone · Apr 15, 2020 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Governments, academics and tech companies—including giants like Apple, Google and Facebook—are betting that software and smartphones can play a role in the next phase of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Their efforts may be creating another unwanted condition: confusion. In recent weeks, these groups have begun to... Governments, academics and tech companies—including giants like Apple, Google and...

A scene from the film "The Lovebirds". Photo by Paramount

Studios Look to Offload Movies to Netflix, Amazon

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 14, 2020 1:01pm PDT · 9 comments

Streaming services have suddenly become Hollywood studios’ new best friend.A wide array of film studios in recent weeks have tried to sell some of the movies they haven’t been able to show in theaters to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, according to multiple media executives. Hulu has received over 50... Streaming services have suddenly become Hollywood studios’ new best friend.A wide array of...

How Tencent’s WeChat Poses Creeping Threat to Apple

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Apr 14, 2020 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

How Tencent’s WeChat Poses Creeping Threat to Apple

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Apr 14, 2020 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Three years ago, Tencent’s top executives flew to Cupertino, California, for a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Their mission: mollify Apple executives worried that a new feature in Tencent’s WeChat, China’s top social-networking app, could upend the multibillion-dollar app ecosystem. The feature, called mini programs,... Three years ago, Tencent’s top executives flew to Cupertino, California, for a meeting with...