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

Biggest Startup Markdowns: Magic Leap, WeWork, Airbnb

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 2, 2020 7:02am PDT

Investors in Magic Leap have marked down their stakes in the troubled augmented reality startup by 93%, on average, between the start of the year and the end of June, previously unreported figures show. The dizzying drop makes Magic Leap the private tech firm in which investor sentiment has soured the most in 2020, surpassing hard-hit firms... Investors in Magic Leap have marked down their stakes in the troubled augmented reality startup...

Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the iPhone 11 Pro after an event unveiling it last September. Photo by Bloomberg

What Apple’s 5G Push Means: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sep 1, 2020 5:01pm PDT

Apple’s plans to launch four new phones with 5G capability this fall, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, makes one thing clear: 5G will soon get taken seriously by consumers.The major phone carriers have had 5G networks up and running for at least several months now. But with only Android phones offering 5G capability, and... Apple’s plans to launch four new phones with 5G capability this fall, according to a...

Patreon CEO and co-founder Jack Conte performing in 2014 in Anaheim. Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Patreon Raising Round at $1.2 Billion Valuation

By Amir Efrati and Zoë Bernard · Sep 1, 2020 3:09pm PDT

Patreon—the online service that allows podcasters, musicians and others to receive financial support from fans—has raised a $90 million round of funding from fans of its own, The Information has learned. The company recently closed the round at a $1.2 billion pre-money valuation, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Patreon—the online service that allows podcasters, musicians and others to receive...

Bloomberg

ByteDance’s Big Problem: Finding the Next TikTok

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 1, 2020 12:58pm PDT

Bloomberg

ByteDance’s Big Problem: Finding the Next TikTok

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 1, 2020 12:58pm PDT

The likely sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S. company will leave a gaping hole at ByteDance, the app’s Chinese parent. In the last year alone, TikTok helped ByteDance expand its reach to hundreds of millions of users around the world. But so far, the company has struggled to develop new products that could aspire to... The likely sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S. company will leave a gaping hole at...

Despite Flurry of Activity, Software IPOs to Fall Short of 2019 Numbers

By Ross Matican · Sep 1, 2020 7:01am PDT

The last week has seen a flurry of subscription software companies filing to go public in the last few months of the year, hoping to cash in on the booming stock market and rich valuations accorded the software sector. But thanks to the drought in initial public offerings, brought on by the pandemic, this year’s total of software IPOs is... The last week has seen a flurry of subscription software companies filing to go public in the...

Bloomberg

Beijing Throws TikTok a Curveball, the Zoom Boom

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2020 5:33pm PDT

The Chinese government’s decision to require export controls for certain types of artificial intelligence technology, making official approval necessary for a sale of any part of TikTok to a U.S. company, is a reminder of how it can complicate life even for successful Chinese tech giants.The decision throws the timeline of a TikTok sale... The Chinese government’s decision to require export controls for certain types of...

Sheryl Sandberg, Laurene Powell Jobs, Jenna Lyons, Emily Weiss Headline the Information’s WTF Summit

By The Information Staff · Aug 31, 2020 3:27pm PDT · 1 comment

The Information, the essential technology and business news service popular among Silicon Valley’s top executives, will host its second annual WTF (Women in Tech, Media and Finance) Summit on Sept. 9 & 10, 2020. The WTF Summit brings together the most accomplished and influential female leaders in tech and business for a unique... The Information, the essential technology and business news service popular among Silicon...

California’s 2020 Budget Solution: A Startup Equity Tax

By Sam Lessin · Aug 31, 2020 10:01am PDT · 10 comments

Modest Proposals

California’s 2020 Budget Solution: A Startup Equity Tax

By Sam Lessin · Aug 31, 2020 10:01am PDT · 10 comments

In 2017 I wrote a column proposing that the Bay Area should levy a 5% equity tax on new companies and create a sovereign wealth fund for the region. The idea was to effectively create a municipal or state version of Y Combinator in order to align the incentives of the region with those of the startups it hosts.In 2020, witnessing... In 2017 I wrote a column proposing that the Bay Area should levy a 5% equity tax on new companies...

Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman. Photo by Snowflake

Five Things We Learned From the Surge of Cloud Software Filings

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 31, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, the initial public offering floodgates swung wide open, and it’s no accident that five of the companies that filed paperwork to sell shares to the public are software as a service businesses. The five companies—Snowflake, Asana, Palantir, JFrog and Sumo Logic—are in a sector that has proved to be one of the more... Last week, the initial public offering floodgates swung wide open, and it’s no accident...

Patrick Collison. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

The Saturday Interview

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Never Flashy, Is Fired Up

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 29, 2020 8:01am PDT · 3 comments

It’s a quirk of Silicon Valley that one of the most seemingly uninteresting businesses is run by one of the most interesting people. Ten years into running Stripe, its co-founder and CEO, Patrick Collison, still has a voracious appetite for just about everything related to the future of technology—including his payment... It’s a quirk of Silicon Valley that one of the most seemingly uninteresting businesses is...

Photo by Bloomberg

A TikTok Deal Gets Closer, Facebook Bashes Apple

By Martin Peers · Aug 28, 2020 4:05pm PDT

TikTok appears to be inching closer to a deal to be acquired by groups led by either Microsoft or Oracle, along with minority investors. Once that’s done, the hard part will start.If the deal only involves the TikTok service in North America, Australia and New Zealand, as Microsoft said earlier this month, figuring out how those assets and... TikTok appears to be inching closer to a deal to be acquired by groups led by either Microsoft or...

Announcing the 2020 WTF Summit Breakouts

Announcing the 2020 WTF Summit Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Aug 28, 2020 2:13pm PDT · 2 comments

Announcing the 2020 WTF Summit Breakouts

Announcing the 2020 WTF Summit Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Aug 28, 2020 2:13pm PDT · 2 comments

We’re excited to see everyone on September 9 and 10 at The Information's WTF Summit. Our breakout sessions are an important part of the Summit. At this year’s event, we’ll have two sets of 45-minute breakout sessions, one on each day. Here’s a preview of this year’s topics, which will feature small group... We’re excited to see everyone on September 9 and 10 at The Information's WTF Summit....

The Information’s 411 — Wherefore Art Thou Domio

By Tom Dotan · Aug 28, 2020 1:26pm PDT

The second part of our Airbnb series looks at Domio, a startup that tried to build a business on the Airbnb platform. Paris tells us how she stumbled across the Domio story and how the company gamed loopholes in city guidelines about short-term rentals. And Cory explains what the Domio saga means for Airbnb as it heads toward an IPO. The second part of our Airbnb series looks at Domio, a startup that tried to build a business on...

From left to right: Ryan Sarver, Nikhil Basu Trivedi, Phin Barnes, Alexis Ohanian, Li Jin, Andrew Parker, Ajay Vashee and Cat Lee. Photos: Redpoint Ventures, Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital, Initialized Capital, Dropbox, Maveron.

Venture Capital’s New Guard Goes Solo

By Kate Clark · Aug 28, 2020 7:01am PDT

Ryan Sarver left Redpoint Ventures, the firm behind Netflix and Twilio, in September with the aim of starting his own fund where he could work with a smaller team and have more flexibility to make investment decisions.“I felt like venture was changing enough that I could be a more independent player with a smaller vehicle but still go play... Ryan Sarver left Redpoint Ventures, the firm behind Netflix and Twilio, in September with the aim...

A Walmart store in Lakewood, California. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok and the Cloud Wars, Amazon’s Store Habit

By Martin Peers · Aug 27, 2020 5:36pm PDT

The jockeying for ownership of TikTok seems to be turning into a subplot in the cloud wars. The unlikely cast of suitors—and almost-suitors—include database giant Oracle, Google (which reportedly considered and decided against a bid) and, of course, Microsoft. These are the same companies that have been waging a bare-knuckled battle... The jockeying for ownership of TikTok seems to be turning into a subplot in the cloud wars. The...

Joe Biden speaking at a primary night rally in Los Angeles on March 3, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg

Would a Biden Administration Disappoint Foes of Big Tech?

By Christopher Stern · Aug 27, 2020 11:23am PDT

Joe Biden speaking at a primary night rally in Los Angeles on March 3, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg

Would a Biden Administration Disappoint Foes of Big Tech?

By Christopher Stern · Aug 27, 2020 11:23am PDT

With a little over two months to go until the presidential election and former Vice President Joe Biden leading in most polls, the tech industry has begun to speculate about whether a Democratic victory would significantly alter Silicon Valley’s beleaguered standing in Washington, D.C. Would a Democratic administration adopt a relatively... With a little over two months to go until the presidential election and former Vice President Joe...

Photo by Bloomberg

Walmart Joined Microsoft’s Bid for TikTok

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 27, 2020 8:34am PDT

Microsoft and Walmart jointly bid to acquire TikTok's U.S. business, according to a person involved in the situation.The software giant brought the e-commerce company into the deal to provide a platform to support digital sales on the platform, this person said.The bids were submitted yesterday, with bidders waiting to hear from... Microsoft and Walmart jointly bid to acquire TikTok's U.S. business, according to a person...

Photo-illustration by Mike Sullivan

From Kingmaker to ‘Autocrat’: How Game Makers Went to War With Apple

By Nick Wingfield and Alex Heath · Aug 27, 2020 7:01am PDT

For a decade, Apple executives showed Epic Games the kind of love they reserve for only a precious few software developers. In 2010, Steve Jobs, then Apple’s CEO, praised a new Epic sword-fighting game for iPhones as “pretty remarkable” at an Apple event, before inviting executives from the company to demonstrate it onstage. In... For a decade, Apple executives showed Epic Games the kind of love they reserve for only a...

Tim Cook, Masayoshi Son and Brian Chesky. Photos: Bloomberg

Facebook’s Apple Problem, SoftBank’s TikTok Interest, Airbnb’s Price Tag

By Martin Peers · Aug 26, 2020 6:46pm PDT

Late summer seems to ring in a fight between Apple and Facebook ahead of the iPhone maker’s fall update to its mobile operating system. Driving both to the mat this time: a change in iOS 14 that will ask users if they want their information shared with other apps for advertising purposes. Analysts expect most consumers to say no. The... Late summer seems to ring in a fight between Apple and Facebook ahead of the iPhone maker’s...

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son. Photo: Bloomberg

SoftBank Eyes Joining Deal for TikTok

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 26, 2020 10:20am PDT

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son. Photo: Bloomberg

SoftBank Eyes Joining Deal for TikTok

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 26, 2020 10:20am PDT

As President Donald Trump’s September deadline for TikTok to sell its U.S. business approaches, investors are scrambling to assess or participate in a deal. One party that has recently emerged as a possible buyer: SoftBank. It seemed unlikely that SoftBank, one of the most ambitious and deeply pocketed private tech investors through... As President Donald Trump’s September deadline for TikTok to sell its U.S. business...