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

Illustration: Mike Sullivan

How to Start a New Job During a Pandemic

By Laura Mandaro · Jul 10, 2020 10:16am PDT

As Twilio’s new head of human resources, Christy Lake normally would have spent her first few weeks on the job talking, lunching and generally hanging out with many of the San Francisco tech company’s 3,000 employees. Instead, her early April start date reduced her schedule of in-person meetings to exactly none. “Usually,... As Twilio’s new head of human resources, Christy Lake normally would have spent her first...

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaking at the company's online Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Reaches New Stage in Development of AR Devices

By Wayne Ma and Yunan Zhang · Jul 10, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted key parts of Apple’s business, but it hasn’t derailed the company’s plans to build what could be its next important technology platform—augmented reality devices. The Information has learned that Apple is working with Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology, Apple’s largest contract... The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted key parts of Apple’s business, but it hasn’t...

Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of Nvidia. Photo by Bloomberg

A New Chip King: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 9, 2020 5:32pm PDT

The tech industry saw a symbolic passing of the baton on Thursday, as the market capitalization of Nvidia—the top maker of chips for artificial intelligence projects—surpassed that of Intel, long Silicon Valley’s most dominant chip provider, for the first time, reported Reuters.The shift underscores the strategic importance... The tech industry saw a symbolic passing of the baton on Thursday, as the market capitalization...

China’s Pinduoduo Is Nipping at Alibaba’s Heels

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Jul 9, 2020 7:01am PDT

China’s Pinduoduo Is Nipping at Alibaba’s Heels

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Jul 9, 2020 7:01am PDT

For well over a decade, Alibaba has been China’s top destination for online shopping. But the rapid growth of its leading competitor, Pinduoduo, suggests its hold on the market isn’t guaranteed.Pinduoduo’s monthly active users climbed 40% in May from a year ago to 471 million, narrowing the gap with Alibaba’s Taobao app,... For well over a decade, Alibaba has been China’s top destination for online shopping. But...

Ant Financial's headquarters in Hangzhou, China, last October. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s Market Rally, Twitter’s Latest Subscription Idea: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 8, 2020 5:01pm PDT

If you’re wondering why U.S. stocks keep going up—the Nasdaq rose another 1% on Wednesday—one likely influence is China’s stock market. The Shanghai Composite Index has jumped 15% since the end of June, taking it to its highest level since early 2018. Numerous commentators are warning the rally makes no sense, given... If you’re wondering why U.S. stocks keep going up—the Nasdaq rose another 1% on...

The People With the Power at Facebook After Chris Cox’s Return

By Alex Heath · Jul 8, 2020 7:01am PDT

In Facebook’s upper ranks, what’s old is new again.That’s because Chris Cox, one of Facebook’s most senior executives, recently returned as chief product officer, reporting to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, after a yearlong hiatus. As before, his domain includes the social network’s four main apps, as we show in our updated... In Facebook’s upper ranks, what’s old is new again.That’s because Chris Cox,...

Photo by Bloomberg

Clouds Hover Over TikTok: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 7, 2020 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment

What price would shares in ByteDance, owner of the hugely popular TikTok app, fetch today? ByteDance last raised money at a $75 billion valuation, and its shares traded at even higher levels recently on secondary markets. Today, though, investor interest might be just a bit weaker.TikTok has been banned in India, its biggest market, and now the... What price would shares in ByteDance, owner of the hugely popular TikTok app, fetch today?...

Google CFO Ruth Porat (left) and Facebook CFO Dave Wehner. Photos by Bloomberg

Facebook, Google Ad Market Rebounds From April Bottom

By Nick Bastone · Jul 7, 2020 11:38am PDT · 1 comment

Google CFO Ruth Porat (left) and Facebook CFO Dave Wehner. Photos by Bloomberg

Facebook, Google Ad Market Rebounds From April Bottom

By Nick Bastone · Jul 7, 2020 11:38am PDT · 1 comment

Digital advertising, the main source of revenue for Facebook and Google, just finished one of its most difficult three-month stretches ever. The bright side for these firms: The ad market looks to have hit rock bottom in April, and since then, ad prices and ad spending have been creeping back up to pre-pandemic rates, say advertising... Digital advertising, the main source of revenue for Facebook and Google, just finished one of its...

An Under Armour store in Chicago. Photo by Bloomberg

Under Armour Seeks Buyer for MyFitnessPal App

By Jessica Toonkel and Nick Wingfield · Jul 7, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

A few years ago, Under Armour made a splashy entrance into the burgeoning market for digital fitness apps with a series of acquisitions. Now, as the coronavirus batters its business, the sports apparel maker has decided to part ways with the biggest of those deals.Under Armour is looking to sell MyFitnessPal, an app it bought in 2015 for around... A few years ago, Under Armour made a splashy entrance into the burgeoning market for digital...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Uber’s Postmates Deal Doesn’t Deserve Celebration: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 6, 2020 5:47pm PDT

Uber's 6% stock price rise on Monday suggests investors like the company's $2.65 billion acquisition of Postmates. And it is, in theory, a way to shore up Uber Eats' restaurant food delivery in some U.S. cities and consolidate the market.But investors should curb their enthusiasm. Postmates’ share of the U.S. market in... Uber's 6% stock price rise on Monday suggests investors like the company's $2.65...

Attendees at the 2018 E3 conference in Los Angeles walk past a booth for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Expresses Interest in Acquiring Warner Game Unit

By Jessica Toonkel · Jul 6, 2020 11:35am PDT

Microsoft has expressed interest in acquiring the games division of Warner Bros., the publisher behind popular game franchises based on Batman, Harry Potter and other characters, according to two people familiar with the situation.An acquisition of the business, which consists of game development studios scattered around the U.S., Canada and the... Microsoft has expressed interest in acquiring the games division of Warner Bros., the publisher...

Top, l.-r.: Yelitsa Jean-Charles (Healthy Roots Dolls); Ben Kaufman (Camp); Arianna Huffington (Thrive Global); Carrie SiuButt (Simple Health); David Hsieh (Kaptivo). Bottom: David Youssefnia; Ravs Kaur; Joe Levy; Dave Matthews (Uplevel)

How Five Startups Responded to Economic Upheaval

By The Information Staff · Jul 6, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Top, l.-r.: Yelitsa Jean-Charles (Healthy Roots Dolls); Ben Kaufman (Camp); Arianna Huffington (Thrive Global); Carrie SiuButt (Simple Health); David Hsieh (Kaptivo). Bottom: David Youssefnia; Ravs Kaur; Joe Levy; Dave Matthews (Uplevel)

Startups to Watch

How Five Startups Responded to Economic Upheaval

By The Information Staff · Jul 6, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the tech startup landscape, driving some companies out of business and pushing others to the brink. Yet some firms that make products suited to remote working and social distancing have seen their sales rise sharply. Other companies have managed to quickly reconfigure their operations to support new... The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the tech startup landscape, driving some companies out of...

The Tech and Media Culture War That Isn’t

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 4, 2020 7:46am PDT · 1 comment

Reporters, tech investors and executives like to think they are at the center of the world. And this week, based on conversations on Twitter, it briefly felt like they were. For months, a handful of outspoken venture capitalists have been attacking journalists for 1) downplaying coronavirus earlier this year and 2) just generally being... Reporters, tech investors and executives like to think they are at the center of the world. And...

The Information’s 411 — A Little More Moderation

By Tom Dotan · Jul 3, 2020 12:13pm PDT

We talk with John Redgrave, the CEO of content moderation startup Sentropy, about the challenges of curbing hate speech online. Then Cory checks in on the state of the travel industry with Jon Staff, the CEO of vacation startup Getaway. We talk with John Redgrave, the CEO of content moderation startup Sentropy, about the challenges...

Lemonade executives ringing in the company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by NYSE

Lemonade’s IPO Lesson: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 2, 2020 5:31pm PDT

Next time a venture capitalist like Bill Gurley complains about the IPO process, expect them to use Lemonade’s IPO as Exhibit A. The insurance tech firm priced its IPO at $29 a share this week, implying a market capitalization well below its most recent private valuation of $2.1 billion.Yet when Lemonade stock started trading Thursday... Next time a venture capitalist like Bill Gurley complains about the IPO process, expect them to...

Ron Conway (left) and Pharrell Williams. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Pharrell Williams, Ron Conway Teaming Up for New Venture Fund

By Kate Clark · Jul 2, 2020 4:10pm PDT

Ron Conway (left) and Pharrell Williams. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Pharrell Williams, Ron Conway Teaming Up for New Venture Fund

By Kate Clark · Jul 2, 2020 4:10pm PDT

Veteran tech investor and SV Angel founder Ron Conway is working with Grammy Award–winning musician Pharrell Williams to raise a venture capital fund, according to two people familiar with the matter. The new fund aims to make investments in startups led by underrepresented minorities.The pair are currently in discussions with limited... Veteran tech investor and SV Angel founder Ron Conway is working with Grammy Award–winning...

The Information’s News Summer School: The Schedule

By The Information Staff · Jul 2, 2020 11:46am PDT · 1 comment

We are looking forward to gathering with more than 3,200 students this month to explore some of the biggest opportunities in journalism at this moment. Below are the overarching topics for each section. Please check back here frequently, as well as the class Facebook group, for more details about class topics as well as occasional pre- and... We are looking forward to gathering with more than 3,200 students this month to explore some of...

Illustration by J.Claeys

Uber CEO Wants to Shift More Engineering Jobs to India, Sparking Internal Debate

By Amir Efrati · Jul 2, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Since Dara Khosrowshahi became CEO of Uber in 2017, he has been steadily pushing his engineering team to move jobs to India as a way of saving money. Despite some resistance from his top technology executive, Khosrowshahi made progress: about 15% of Uber’s engineering team, or about 600 people, is now in India. That’s up from 80... Since Dara Khosrowshahi became CEO of Uber in 2017, he has been steadily pushing his engineering...

Customers checking into an Apple store in San Francisco in June. Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Different for Tech in the Second Wave: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jul 1, 2020 5:31pm PDT

What’s interesting about the latest in pandemic-related news, from a business perspective, is what has changed since the beginning—and what hasn’t. As infections rise sharply, we’re seeing reports of a second wave of layoffs as businesses that had reopened close again. What’s different from late March, though, is... What’s interesting about the latest in pandemic-related news, from a business perspective,...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan.

Zuckerberg Tells Facebook Staff He Expects Advertisers to Return ‘Soon Enough’

By Alex Heath · Jul 1, 2020 2:49pm PDT · 9 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg; art by Mike Sullivan.

Zuckerberg Tells Facebook Staff He Expects Advertisers to Return ‘Soon Enough’

By Alex Heath · Jul 1, 2020 2:49pm PDT · 9 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he was reluctant to bow to the threats of a growing ad boycott, saying in private remarks that “my guess is that all these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough.”Zuckerberg gave his thoughts on the boycott, which now includes large brands like Starbucks and Coca-Cola, during... Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he was reluctant to bow to the threats of a growing...