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

Up or Out in 2019: Big Executive Moves in Tech

By The Information Staff · Dec 23, 2019 7:01am PST

Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook all saw major executive departures this year, including the departures of Jony Ive, Larry Page, and Chris Cox, remaking the companies’ upper ranks. That created a lot of new opportunities for rising stars. Bret Taylor, Fidji Simo, and Thomas Kurian each moved up the ladder.Below, we profile six senior... Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook all saw major executive departures this year, including the...

Thomas Middleditch, who plays the Richard Hendricks character in 'Silicon Valley.' Photo by Bloomberg

Dystopian Silicon Valley and the Wisdom of Richard Hendricks

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 21, 2019 7:47am PST

With less than two weeks left in the decade, publications have started firing off think pieces about the last ten years in technology. And, my, they have been depressing.The New York Times declared the 2010s the decade tech “lost its way.” The Atlantic lamented about all the “promises unfulfilled.” BuzzFeed... With less than two weeks left in the decade, publications have started firing off think pieces...

The Information’s 411 — Boz and Effect

By Tom Dotan · Dec 20, 2019 2:49pm PST · 1 comment

Alex dives into Facebook's massive hardware plans in AR and VR and the executive, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, who's heading the endeavor. Nick and Kevin talk about Google Cloud and the long-shot effort to beat Amazon and Microsoft. Alex dives into Facebook's massive hardware plans in AR and VR and the executive, Andrew...

Didi president Jean Liu. Photo by Bloomberg

Didi Chuxing Aims to Jumpstart Growth After a Rough 2019

By Yunan Zhang · Dec 20, 2019 7:01am PST

Didi president Jean Liu. Photo by Bloomberg

Didi Chuxing Aims to Jumpstart Growth After a Rough 2019

By Yunan Zhang · Dec 20, 2019 7:01am PST

The bloody wars in the global ride-hailing and food-delivery businesses, which have unnerved investors in the U.S. so much this year, will open on a new front in 2020. Didi Chuxing is expanding its ride-hailing and food-delivery businesses in Latin America, ramping up the competitive threat for Uber in the region. Didi’s international... The bloody wars in the global ride-hailing and food-delivery businesses, which have unnerved...

Illustration by Laurent Bazart (@laurentbazart)

To Control Its Destiny, Facebook Bets Big on Hardware

By Alex Heath · Dec 19, 2019 7:01am PST · 3 comments

In Burlingame, California, a small city about 15 miles north of Facebook’s Silicon Valley headquarters, a monument to the social media giant’s future ambitions is taking shape. Construction is underway on a 770,000-square-foot new campus, with the capacity for about 4,000 employees, that will be devoted entirely to a burgeoning... In Burlingame, California, a small city about 15 miles north of Facebook’s Silicon Valley...

The Information Team’s Favorite Tech Stories

By The Information Staff · Dec 18, 2019 12:06pm PST

It’s been a remarkably busy year in tech, and as our team reflects on the year, we rounded up some of our favorite stories, which you may have missed. We hope you enjoy them and find some valuable lessons as you prepare for the year ahead. It’s been a remarkably busy year in tech, and as our team reflects on the year, we rounded...

Tech IPOs in 2020: Five Things to Watch

By Carleton English · Dec 18, 2019 7:00am PST · 1 comment

This was not quite the banner year for tech initial public offerings that private investors had hoped for. All told, 49 tech companies went public in 2019, raising $25.7 billion. That compared with 54 IPOs raising a total of $20.8 billion last year, according to Dealogic. But while the overall amount raised was higher, several high-profile... This was not quite the banner year for tech initial public offerings that private investors...

Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Salesforce’s Benioff Will Step Down as Co-CEO in 2020

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 17, 2019 10:01am PST · 2 comments

Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg

2020 Predictions

Why Salesforce’s Benioff Will Step Down as Co-CEO in 2020

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 17, 2019 10:01am PST · 2 comments

Marc Benioff, founder and co-CEO of Salesforce, loves tackling big challenges. In starting the company, he set out to prove that selling software as a subscription service rather than as a one-off purchase could become the predominant way that large companies buy it. He succeeded: Salesforce now has a market capitalization of $143 billion. ... Marc Benioff, founder and co-CEO of Salesforce, loves tackling big challenges. In starting the...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian at a company event in April. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Brass Set 2023 as Deadline to Beat Amazon, Microsoft in Cloud

By Nick Bastone, Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Dec 17, 2019 7:01am PST · 2 comments

The clock is ticking for Google Cloud.The Google unit, which sells computing services to big companies, is under pressure from top management to pass Amazon or Microsoft—currently first and second, respectively, in cloud market share—or risk losing funding. While the company has invested heavily in the business since last year,... The clock is ticking for Google Cloud.The Google unit, which sells computing services to big...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

In Defense of Deep Fakes

By Sam Lessin · Dec 16, 2019 10:00am PST · 5 comments

Nearly everyone in the technology community is worried about the near-term prospect of deep fakes destroying our trust in the media and our collective sense of reality.That is understandable. When it becomes as easy to generate convincing fake media as it is to record reality, our ability to trust by default what we see and hear in the real... Nearly everyone in the technology community is worried about the near-term prospect of deep fakes...

Illustration by Grant Kratzer

Amazon Learns a New Skill: Making Money From Alexa

By Priya Anand and Amir Efrati · Dec 16, 2019 7:00am PST

For most of Alexa’s five years in existence, Amazon has focused on making its voice assistant as ubiquitous as possible, putting it in everything from microwaves to wearable rings to its growing family of Echo devices. Now Amazon has a new focus for Alexa: making money from it. The company is exploring how it can profit from premium... For most of Alexa’s five years in existence, Amazon has focused on making its voice...

Join The Information as Our Growth Analyst

By The Information Staff · Dec 14, 2019 12:43pm PST

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information as Our Growth Analyst

By The Information Staff · Dec 14, 2019 12:43pm PST

The Information is a San Francisco-based subscription publication known for original, in-depth reporting about the technology industry. We’re the go-to daily read for the most important people in technology and business and are building a one-of-a-kind community of subscribers. More than 20% of our subscriber community is a founder or CEO,... The Information is a San Francisco-based subscription publication known for original, in-depth...

Away co-founders Steph Korey and Jen Rubio. Photo by Getty

Is the Media Out to Get Tech Founders?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 14, 2019 7:45am PST · 2 comments

Two weeks ago, at a company all-hands meeting at struggling AR company Magic Leap, head of marketing Daniel Diez had a message for his staff. Don’t pay attention to the critical article due to appear soon in The Information. He called us “clickbait” and said our reporting was “bullshit.” He added that reporter... Two weeks ago, at a company all-hands meeting at struggling AR company Magic Leap, head of...

The Information’s 411 — Mathletes and Tech-athlons

By Tom Dotan · Dec 13, 2019 3:51pm PST

Wayne explains how Vietnam became a significant business for Facebook and Google, despite censorship pressures. Zoë dives into the trend of tech companies hiring elite athletes. Wayne explains how Vietnam became a significant business for Facebook and Google, despite...

Ashton Eaton, gold medal winner at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the decathlon. Photo by AP

Want a Job in Tech? A Gold Medal Might Help

By Zoë Bernard · Dec 13, 2019 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Technology companies have long looked for academic degrees, work experience, and other traditional qualifications when they hire people. In the case of Rose Brutkiewicz, though, it was a 3.73-meter indoor pole vault and other college athletic achievements that helped her nab a tech job less than two months after her May graduation from Tulane... Technology companies have long looked for academic degrees, work experience, and other...

Photos by AP and Bloomberg. Art by Jesse Howe

The Information’s 2020 Tech Predictions

By The Information Staff · Dec 12, 2019 11:29am PST · 3 comments

Photos by AP and Bloomberg. Art by Jesse Howe

2020 Predictions

The Information’s 2020 Tech Predictions

By The Information Staff · Dec 12, 2019 11:29am PST · 3 comments

Last year, our reporters at The Information looked into our crystal ball and made some predictions. We told you that Alphabet would make a big acquisition to help Google Cloud, that ByteDance would challenge Facebook, and that Time Warner would experience an exodus of employees in the wake of the AT&T acquisition. We were three for... Last year, our reporters at The Information looked into our crystal ball and made some...

[Bonus] Why Monoculture Moments Are Rare

By Tom Dotan · Dec 12, 2019 11:22am PST

A trio of executives, Universal Pictures' Katie Goldsmith, Attention Capital’s Nick Bell and Instagram’s Charles Porch, explain the next phase of growth for direct-to-consumer brands. A trio of executives, Universal Pictures' Katie Goldsmith, Attention Capital’s Nick...

A WeWork office. Photo by Bloomberg

WeWork Trying to Unravel Office Lease Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 12, 2019 10:01am PST · 1 comment

WeWork has tried to convey a semblance of strength in the midst of management upheaval and mass layoffs. It announced last week that it opened a record number of buildings in December, as coworking spaces long under construction were completed. But quietly, WeWork has been trying to shrink the number of buildings it leases even faster than is... WeWork has tried to convey a semblance of strength in the midst of management upheaval and mass...

Bill Gurley. Photo by Bloomberg

SEC Stalls Direct Listing Push to Protect Small Investors

By Kevin Dugan · Dec 12, 2019 7:01am PST · 1 comment

In his campaign to rewrite the rules on how companies go public, Benchmark partner Bill Gurley has railed about how investment bankers handling traditional IPOs sell shares at too low a price. But the Securities and Exchange Commission, the ultimate arbiter of how the stock market works, is worried about how proposed rule changes could hurt... In his campaign to rewrite the rules on how companies go public, Benchmark partner Bill Gurley...

TerraTrue COO Chris Handman (left) and CEO Jad Boutros. Photo by TerraTrue

Former Snap Executives Raise Funds for a ‘TurboTax for Privacy’

By Alex Heath · Dec 11, 2019 10:01am PST

TerraTrue COO Chris Handman (left) and CEO Jad Boutros. Photo by TerraTrue

Former Snap Executives Raise Funds for a ‘TurboTax for Privacy’

By Alex Heath · Dec 11, 2019 10:01am PST

Two former Snap executives have raised a first round of funding for a new startup building what they describe as a TurboTax for privacy. TerraTrue, created by former Snap chief security officer Jad Boutros and former general counsel Chris Handman, recently closed a $4.5 million round of seed funding led by Anthos Capital—a venture... Two former Snap executives have raised a first round of funding for a new startup building what...