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

Larry Ellison discussing Oracle Cloud on stage in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

With TikTok Deal, Oracle Could Gain Billion-Dollar Cloud Customer

By Amir Efrati · Sep 16, 2020 6:00am PDT

Oracle’s deal to act as TikTok’s new “trusted technology partner” could be worth more than $1 billion in potential revenue annually for Oracle’s cloud business in the coming years, according to previously undisclosed data viewed by The Information.Revenue from housing TikTok’s data on Oracle’s servers... Oracle’s deal to act as TikTok’s new “trusted technology partner” could...

A graphic for Apple's new Fitness+ service unveiled today. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Gets Physical With New Service: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 15, 2020 5:30pm PDT

Apple today unveiled its latest foray into the subscription business with a new fitness service that will begin offering studio-style workouts later this year. You might think it would worry Peloton, whose business has lately been thriving, particularly as the new service, Fitness+, will be included in a new discounted bundle of Apple services.... Apple today unveiled its latest foray into the subscription business with a new fitness service...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by AP

Zoom Invests in Big Messaging Upgrade in Challenge to Slack

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 15, 2020 12:04pm PDT · 3 comments

Zoom Video Communications became a household name with a video conferencing service that has become a ubiquitous tool for businesses and students during the pandemic. Now Zoom is looking to seriously up its game in another important area: messaging. Zoom has been quietly working on a major upgrade to the messaging functions inside its video... Zoom Video Communications became a household name with a video conferencing service that has...

From left: Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Palantir's Alexander Karp and Asana's Dustin Moskovitz. Photos by Snowflake, Bloomberg and Julie Mikos.

Five New Software Stocks: Why Investors Love Some and Hate Others

By Ross Matican · Sep 15, 2020 6:02am PDT · 2 comments

From left: Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Palantir's Alexander Karp and Asana's Dustin Moskovitz. Photos by Snowflake, Bloomberg and Julie Mikos.

Five New Software Stocks: Why Investors Love Some and Hate Others

By Ross Matican · Sep 15, 2020 6:02am PDT · 2 comments

Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s enormous popularity with investors. But while investors love some of the companies, such as Snowflake, giving it a valuation of nearly 100 times’ last year’s revenue, they hate others. Sumo Logic, for instance, may get a valuation of just... Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s...

Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Eyes Stake in Online Jobs Classifieds Company Zhaopin

By Juro Osawa · Sep 15, 2020 3:53am PDT

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Zhaopin, one of China’s biggest recruitment sites, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba, whose online marketplaces serve as a platform for millions of Chinese businesses, also operates China’s biggest cloud computing services... Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in...

Photo: Bloomberg

How China’s ByteDance Avoided Worst-Case Scenario for TikTok

By Juro Osawa, Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · Sep 14, 2020 8:35pm PDT

Two weeks ago, Microsoft told bankers it was confident it was the frontrunner in a bid to acquire TikTok’s operations in the U.S. against competing bidders such as Oracle. In one discussion with banks about potentially financing the deal for the ascendant viral video app, a Microsoft executive said the company was well-positioned to win... Two weeks ago, Microsoft told bankers it was confident it was the frontrunner in a bid to acquire...

Oracle's Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg

Oracle’s Winning TikTok Hand: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 14, 2020 5:30pm PDT · 1 comment

The drama over TikTok is far from resolved but right now it looks like Oracle may be one of the big winners from the saga. Its stock price rose 4% today on news that the ageing enterprise software giant would be a “trusted technology provider” to TikTok—in a deal the details of which remain murky. But simply being a tech... The drama over TikTok is far from resolved but right now it looks like Oracle may be one of the...

The People With Power at TikTok Owner Bytedance

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2020 1:15pm PDT

The People With Power at TikTok Owner Bytedance

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2020 1:15pm PDT

ByteDance, owner of the powerhouse social media app TikTok that is caught up in the U.S.-China trade and cybersecurity war, has been busy restructuring itself as it looks to duplicate TikTok’s success internationally with some of its newer apps, according to new data viewed by The Information.Assuming ByteDance, whose leadership is based... ByteDance, owner of the powerhouse social media app TikTok that is caught up in the U.S.-China...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appears via video call at a House antitrust hearing in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon No Longer a ‘Low Single-Digit’ Share of Retail After Pandemic Ecommerce Surge

By Paris Martineau · Sep 14, 2020 6:02am PDT

During a Congressional antitrust hearing in July, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos downplayed the company’s size and power by saying it accounts for only 4% of total U.S. retail sales, a statistic company executives have cited many times before. But Amazon’s share of total retail may be significantly higher than that if you factor in... During a Congressional antitrust hearing in July, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos downplayed the...

Virtual Events and Why I Am Never Going Back

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 12, 2020 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

A week ago, I spent a Friday evening quite nervous that our second The Information WTF conference—virtual, of course—would fall flat. Yes, we had a great lineup. But would our nearly 500 attendees want to stare at their computers for two days straight? How would the interviews go over? Would people pay $1,000 for a ticket with no... A week ago, I spent a Friday evening quite nervous that our second The Information WTF...

President Trump. Photo by Bloomberg

Where the TikTok Stalemate Will Lead: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 11, 2020 6:01pm PDT

The deadline for ByteDance to reach a deal to sell TikTok or face a U.S. shutdown is fast approaching. While it isn't clear whether time runs out on Sept. 15 or Sept. 20—the administration has used both dates at different times—President Trump has said there will be no extension.Meanwhile, China is taking the position, according... The deadline for ByteDance to reach a deal to sell TikTok or face a U.S. shutdown is fast...

The Information’s 411 — Sanitation Theater

By Tom Dotan · Sep 11, 2020 1:25pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Sanitation Theater

By Tom Dotan · Sep 11, 2020 1:25pm PDT

We speak to some brave souls around the world who ventured back into the movie theater. And Richard Rushfield of The Ankler joins to give his take on how well the movie industry has fared these last two weekends and what it all means for Hollywood. We speak to some brave souls around the world who ventured back into the movie theater. And...

Photo: AP

Co-Living Startup HubHaus Plans to Shut Down

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 11, 2020 11:24am PDT · 1 comment

Executives at HubHaus, a venture capital–backed startup that manages shared homes, are taking steps to shut down the company after struggling to attract tenants and raise venture capital, three people familiar with the matter said. HubHaus has unsuccessfully shopped itself to a potential buyer in recent weeks, and also sought... Executives at HubHaus, a venture capital–backed startup that manages shared homes, are...

Roam Research co-founder Joshua Brown (l), co-founder and CEO Conor White-Sullivan, and Victoria Ledford, head of operations. Photo credit: Roam Research

A $200 Million Seed Valuation for Roam Shows Investor Frenzy for Note-Taking Apps

By Kate Clark · Sep 11, 2020 6:02am PDT · 7 comments

The shift to remote work has buoyed the valuations of several startups making productivity tools. The latest is Roam Research, which has raised $9 million at a valuation of $200 million, or about 25 times higher than the median valuation for seed rounds. Roam is tapping more than a dozen individuals and firms for the round, including Stripe... The shift to remote work has buoyed the valuations of several startups making productivity tools....

Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin and Amazon CEO. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Space Ambitions, WTF Day Two: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 10, 2020 5:32pm PDT

Not content to have conquered Planet Earth, Amazon is now looking to space. The ecommerce and cloud computing conglomerate has hired a head of space policy, CNBC reported, Peter Marquez, who was space policy head for the National Security Council under the Bush and Obama administrations.This follows, as CNBC pointed out, Amazon Web... Not content to have conquered Planet Earth, Amazon is now looking to space. The ecommerce and...

Valerie Kay, LendingClub’s chief capital officer.

The Information WTF Breakouts: Barriers to Diversity, Remote Work Risks

By The Information Staff · Sep 10, 2020 5:15pm PDT

Valerie Kay, LendingClub’s chief capital officer.

The Information WTF Breakouts: Barriers to Diversity, Remote Work Risks

By The Information Staff · Sep 10, 2020 5:15pm PDT

At The Information’s Women in Media, Technology and Finance summit Thursday, speakers and participants discussed fostering a healthy and honest workplace culture, digging into causes of diversity struggles, and why remote work might lead some employees to lose leverage in their careers. Here are highlights of those conversations.And read... At The Information’s Women in Media, Technology and Finance summit Thursday, speakers and...

Glossier CEO Emily Weiss. Photo by Bloomberg

Excerpts From Day Two of The Information’s WTF 2020 Conference

By The Information Staff · Sep 10, 2020 3:24pm PDT

At The Information’s WTF conference today, speakers included Maria Renz, executive vice president of SoFi; Emily Weiss, Glossier CEO and founder; Maxine Williams, Facebook’s chief diversity officer; and Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s head of advertising and partnerships.We also heard from a panel of media executives: Mitra... At The Information’s WTF conference today, speakers included Maria Renz, executive vice...

Françoise Brougher

Response to Pinterest Discrimination Suit Is ‘Overwhelming,’ Former Executive Says

By Zoë Bernard · Sep 10, 2020 2:40pm PDT

Françoise Brougher spent years climbing to the highest ranks of the tech industry as a low-profile executive at Square and Google. Since August, though, she has become a Silicon Valley celebrity after suing her former employer, Pinterest, for gender discrimination, describing unequal treatment by other leaders at the company in an online... Françoise Brougher spent years climbing to the highest ranks of the tech industry as a...

Heather Podesta of Invariant. Photo by AP

Mergers Expected to Get More Scrutiny if Biden Takes White House

By Christopher Stern · Sep 10, 2020 12:31pm PDT

With less than 60 days to go before the presidential election, two of Washington’s top government relations professionals said they believed a Biden administration would subject media and tech mergers to more intense scrutiny.But even though merger reviews could get tougher, a Biden White House would be less likely to interfere with... With less than 60 days to go before the presidential election, two of Washington’s top...

Emerson Collective's Laurene Powell Jobs. Photo by Bloomberg

Laurene Powell Jobs Slams Trump for Voter Suppression, Endorses Biden

By Paris Martineau · Sep 10, 2020 8:36am PDT

Emerson Collective's Laurene Powell Jobs. Photo by Bloomberg

Laurene Powell Jobs Slams Trump for Voter Suppression, Endorses Biden

By Paris Martineau · Sep 10, 2020 8:36am PDT

Laurene Powell Jobs had the kind of eventful weekend most people would rather avoid. On Sunday, she awoke to a tweet from President Donald Trump urging his 85 million online followers to harass the billionaire philanthropist because of his displeasure over an article in The Atlantic, the magazine in which she owns a majority stake. For her... Laurene Powell Jobs had the kind of eventful weekend most people would rather avoid. On Sunday,...