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

Women in Tech, Media and Finance

Six Questions for Greylock’s Sarah Guo

By Maria DeFelice · Aug 15, 2019 12:43pm PDT

Sarah Guo joined Greylock Partners as an investor in 2013. Her investments have included companies in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and an app for working parents called Cleo. The Information interviewed Guo for our new newsletter for women in tech, media and finance. Her slightly edited answers below. Sarah Guo joined Greylock Partners as an investor in 2013. Her investments have included...

Axios co-founder Mike Allen. Photo by Bloomberg

Axios Joins Media Push Into Software With Newsletter Product

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 15, 2019 11:13am PDT · 2 comments

Digital media publisher Axios is planning to enter a new business that includes selling software for helping companies create newsletters for their employees. The move comes at a moment when more media businesses are seeking to diversify their revenue through software sales.Axios wants to sell the software, which it is beta testing, to... Digital media publisher Axios is planning to enter a new business that includes selling software...

Bungalow CEO Andrew Collins, left, and Keith Rabois, now general partner at Founders Fund, in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Housing Startup Eyes Valuation Over $100 Million With New Round

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 15, 2019 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

A host of startups have sought to build residential housing’s answer to office giant WeWork: a modern property manager that offers flexible leases and a friendly atmosphere for residents. One of the tech industry’s most prominent investment firms is backing a newer entrant to the field, even as the concept as a whole has struggled to... A host of startups have sought to build residential housing’s answer to office giant...

Toptal CEO, Taso Du Val. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Flickr

At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

By Ross Matican and Amir Efrati · Aug 15, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Toptal CEO, Taso Du Val. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Flickr

At Booming Toptal, No Stock for Employees or Investors

By Ross Matican and Amir Efrati · Aug 15, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Toptal, a service that connects companies with freelance software engineers, is a Silicon Valley success story. Founded in 2010, it soon attracted funding from well-known investors including Andreessen Horowitz and hired scores of employees who were promised stock if things went well and the company raised more money.And things did go well. So... Toptal, a service that connects companies with freelance software engineers, is a Silicon Valley...

Ben Kaufman, BuzzFeed CMO. Photo by Bloomberg.

BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer to Step Down

By Jessica Toonkel and Beejoli Shah · Aug 14, 2019 3:41pm PDT

BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer and commerce leader Ben Kaufman is stepping down from his position at the end of the year, a move that comes at a delicate time for the digital media company as it seeks to boost revenue and return to profit. Like many of its peers, BuzzFeed has been looking for new sources of revenue, after relying too... BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer and commerce leader Ben Kaufman is stepping down from his...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Exchange Rules Spark Conflict

By Jon Victor · Aug 14, 2019 12:29pm PDT

I was monitoring bitcoin’s price on Wednesday morning, as investors dumped stocks after government bond prices warned of a potential U.S. recession. The idea that bitcoin is untethered to any traditional assets, making it a good investment in times of market uncertainty, has gained traction in recent months. But the jury is still out on... I was monitoring bitcoin’s price on Wednesday morning, as investors dumped stocks after...

WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, in New York last year. Photo: AP

Six Questions Raised by the WeWork IPO Filing

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 14, 2019 11:39am PDT · 14 comments

WeWork is expanding, and losing money, at a breathtaking pace, paperwork filed in connection with the company’s upcoming public offering showed Wednesday. Financial information in the filing revealed that the real estate giant continues each year to double its customer base, which increasingly includes large companies signing up for longer... WeWork is expanding, and losing money, at a breathtaking pace, paperwork filed in connection with...

Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann. Photo by Bloomberg

Postmates Ad Spending Surges Ahead of IPO

By Priya Anand · Aug 14, 2019 7:00am PDT

Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann. Photo by Bloomberg

Postmates Ad Spending Surges Ahead of IPO

By Priya Anand · Aug 14, 2019 7:00am PDT

When Postmates raised $300 million last September—roughly five months before the company filed confidential paperwork with regulators to go public—the meal delivery startup’s CEO Bastian Lehmann pledged to use the money to grow faster. Sure enough, Postmates hit the gas pedal on advertising, one of its primary tools for... When Postmates raised $300 million last September—roughly five months before the company...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Photos by Bloomberg

Apple, Spotify Discuss Siri Truce, as Antitrust Battle Looms

By Aaron Tilley and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 13, 2019 10:09am PDT

An issue that has long vexed many iPhone users—the inability to play music from Spotify using Siri, Apple’s voice assistant—may soon be a thing of the past.Spotify, the world’s most popular streaming service, is currently discussing a plan with Apple to let iPhone users tell Siri to play songs, playlists and albums with... An issue that has long vexed many iPhone users—the inability to play music from Spotify...

Disney's Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP.

Disney Stumbles in Ad Sales Shift

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 13, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Two years ago, Walt Disney Co. decided to unify the ad sales operations of most of its TV networks and websites. The idea was to make it easier for advertisers to buy spots across all Disney properties.But the transition didn’t go smoothly, as Disney struggled to integrate new technology. The episode, which hasn’t previously been... Two years ago, Walt Disney Co. decided to unify the ad sales operations of most of its TV...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Startup of the Week

A Wish Shopping Rival Emerges in Europe

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Aug 12, 2019 10:56am PDT

A little-known Chinese discount shopping app is gaining ground in Europe and the Middle East, posing a potential challenge to U.S. e-commerce startup Wish’s efforts to expand globally.The app, called Vova, is going after the price-conscious consumers also being targeted by Wish. It is one of an emerging group of Chinese e-commerce... A little-known Chinese discount shopping app is gaining ground in Europe and the Middle East,...

Cast members of Netflix 's Stranger Things at a screening in France last month. Photo by AP.

Netflix’s Hit Addiction Makes Stock Pricey

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Cast members of Netflix 's Stranger Things at a screening in France last month. Photo by AP.

Netflix’s Hit Addiction Makes Stock Pricey

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Subscription software stocks like Zoom Video and Atlassian have been one of the hottest tech sectors on Wall Street in the past couple of years, thanks in part to their reliably recurring revenue. Investors love the predictability of subscription businesses.But that predictability disappears when subscriber growth is driven by hit products as... Subscription software stocks like Zoom Video and Atlassian have been one of the hottest tech...

The Fuzzy Science of IPO Measurement

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 10, 2019 7:45am PDT · 1 comment

As the tech IPO bandwagon continues, journalists and investors are keeping score. The only problem is no one seems to have the same definition of success. Was Zoom a successful IPO because its share price shot up 72% on its opening day and now trades 161% above its IPO price? What about the fact that the company sold relatively little... As the tech IPO bandwagon continues, journalists and investors are keeping score. The only...

The Information’s 411 — Eventbrite Horizon

By Tom Dotan · Aug 9, 2019 2:55pm PDT

Matt talks about the problems inside Eventbrite and why it's struggled to integrate an acquisition. Jessica Toonkel explains why WarnerMedia executives debated whether they should call the streaming service HBO Max. Matt talks about the problems inside Eventbrite and why it's struggled to integrate an...

Palmer Luckey. Photo by Bloomberg

How VCs Win Deals: Comic Books, Big Meals and Baked Goods

By Zoë Bernard · Aug 9, 2019 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

When Palmer Luckey was raising money for his defense-technology startup Anduril, he got an unusual gift from a venture capitalist interested in investing: a comic book depicting Anduril’s team as superheroes.The comic book portrayed a “magical chest filled with money with [the firm’s] logo and the money was glowing with a white... When Palmer Luckey was raising money for his defense-technology startup Anduril, he got an...

Uber and Lyft stickers are displayed on a vehicle in New York. Photo by Bloomberg.

Food Delivery, Foreign Markets Weigh on Uber Results

By Amir Efrati · Aug 8, 2019 4:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber and Lyft stickers are displayed on a vehicle in New York. Photo by Bloomberg.

Food Delivery, Foreign Markets Weigh on Uber Results

By Amir Efrati · Aug 8, 2019 4:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber’s food-delivery service and some of its foreign ride-hailing operations increasingly look like albatrosses weighing it down, rather than the sources of growth predicted by executives before the company’s IPO.That suggests pressure is likely to grow on CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to consider merging Uber Eats with rival food delivery... Uber’s food-delivery service and some of its foreign ride-hailing operations increasingly...

Tencent Cloud vice president Wang Long. Photo by Accenture

Subscriber Summit

Tencent Will Boost AI Investment, Says Executive

By Juro Osawa · Aug 8, 2019 9:21am PDT · 1 comment

Tencent plans to boost its spending on AI-related research, including by investing in AI startups, Tencent executive Wang Long said on Thursday. The investment is part of Tencent’s effort to help its corporate clients apply artificial intelligence technologies to their businesses. “AI is something we have to invest in heavily... Tencent plans to boost its spending on AI-related research, including by investing in AI...

As IPO Changes Loom, Goldman Sachs Tops The Information Banker Survey

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 8, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

In the battle for investment banking deals and mindshare in Silicon Valley, Goldman Sachs is pulling ahead. Goldman swept all categories in this year’s The Information’s Top Banker Survey, continuing its dominance from recent years. By a wide margin, readers said Goldman is the bank they would use to go public, that brings them... In the battle for investment banking deals and mindshare in Silicon Valley, Goldman Sachs is...

Rohit Chopra at his Senate confirmation hearing for the FTC role, in February 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

The Facebook Antagonist Inside the FTC

By Christopher Stern · Aug 7, 2019 11:30am PDT · 1 comment

Rohit Chopra got off on the wrong foot less than two weeks into his new job last year at the Federal Trade Commission. That was when he fired off a memo to the entire agency, including his four fellow FTC commissioners, titled “Repeat Offenders.”The memo suggested the agency was at risk of losing its credibility as a law enforcer.... Rohit Chopra got off on the wrong foot less than two weeks into his new job last year at the...

Bing Gordon. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Secret Weapon in Gaming: EA Veteran Bing Gordon

By Priya Anand · Aug 7, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Bing Gordon. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon’s Secret Weapon in Gaming: EA Veteran Bing Gordon

By Priya Anand · Aug 7, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon has assembled all the pieces necessary to become a force in the video game industry. And to help put those pieces together, Amazon has turned to video game veteran Bing Gordon.Gordon, a former Amazon board director who is best known for helping build video-game maker Electronic Arts into one of the industry’s dominant companies, has... Amazon has assembled all the pieces necessary to become a force in the video game industry. And...