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

Apple Watch announcement in September 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

The ‘Old Dogs’ Who Build Apple Products

By Wayne Ma · Apr 30, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Apple can’t get enough of Mike Janicek. The firm needed him so much that he worked at the tech giant three times over four decades. First, in 1984, he worked as a contractor at an Apple keyboard and mouse factory. The second time, between 2002 and 2009, he supervised the manufacturing of connectors and cases. He rejoined a third time in... Apple can’t get enough of Mike Janicek. The firm needed him so much that he worked at the...

Outside the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg

The Wall Street-Main Street Disconnect: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2020 5:40pm PDT · 1 comment

Greetings!It’s tough to remember a time when the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street was so apparent. Quarantine orders are still in place in much of the U.S. Layoffs are continuing by the thousands—including 1,000 today at Lyft. People are still dying from the virus. And yet many stocks have recovered much of the ground... Greetings!It’s tough to remember a time when the disconnect between Wall Street and Main...

Facebook policy chief Joel Kaplan and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Facebook Clashes With Capitol Hill Staffers Over Market Size

By Christopher Stern · Apr 29, 2020 12:06pm PDT · 4 comments

Facebook’s lobbyists have been working Capitol Hill with a new message: Our competition, they say, isn’t just Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. It’s newspapers, television, videogames and even online message boards.That’s what Facebook lobbyists and lawyers have argued in multiple closed-door briefings with staffers in both... Facebook’s lobbyists have been working Capitol Hill with a new message: Our competition,...

Sean Lane, CEO of Olive. Photo by Olive

Temperature Checks and Plexiglas Partitions: Tech’s Plan to Reopen Offices

By Kate Clark, Cory Weinberg and Zoë Bernard · Apr 29, 2020 7:01am PDT

Sean Lane, CEO of Olive. Photo by Olive

Temperature Checks and Plexiglas Partitions: Tech’s Plan to Reopen Offices

By Kate Clark, Cory Weinberg and Zoë Bernard · Apr 29, 2020 7:01am PDT

Body temperature checks at the front door. Plastic partitions to create more separation in open offices. And company-branded personal protective equipment for employees. These are among the measures startups and other tech companies are considering as they begin actively planning for a return to their offices in the coming months. Most... Body temperature checks at the front door. Plastic partitions to create more separation in open...

Instacart's Apoorva Mehta and Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi. Photos by Bloomberg

Tale of Two Gig Economy Stars: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Apr 28, 2020 6:30pm PDT

Greetings!You could call it a tale of two stars of the gig economy, Instacart and Uber. Earlier this week, Amir revealed that Instacart’s sales in April were up 450% compared with December and that the grocery delivery firm would turn its first profit this month, thanks to the pandemic.Today, Amir scored another scoop: that Uber is... Greetings!You could call it a tale of two stars of the gig economy, Instacart and Uber. Earlier...

Uber CTO Thuan Pham. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Discusses Plan to Lay Off About 20% of Employees

By Amir Efrati · Apr 28, 2020 12:48pm PDT · 5 comments

Executives at Uber are discussing plans to cut around 20% of the company’s employees, as it copes with a sharp decline in its ride-hailing business due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Information has learned.Layoffs of that magnitude, which haven’t been finalized but could be announced in stages in the coming weeks, could result in... Executives at Uber are discussing plans to cut around 20% of the company’s employees, as it...

Turing engineers and staff. Images courtesy of Turing.

Startups to Watch

Six Startups Prospering During Coronavirus

By The Information Staff · Apr 28, 2020 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

The coronavirus lockdowns have been devastating for many businesses, but a small fraction of Silicon Valley startups that help businesses function remotely or consumers cope indoors are seeing a jump in demand. The sudden surge left some startups scrambling to keep up, just as it did with Amazon, Instacart and other big consumer companies. ... The coronavirus lockdowns have been devastating for many businesses, but a small fraction of...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Secret to Snap’s Recent Success: Discover and Direct-Response Ads

By Tom Dotan · Apr 27, 2020 4:43pm PDT

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Secret to Snap’s Recent Success: Discover and Direct-Response Ads

By Tom Dotan · Apr 27, 2020 4:43pm PDT

In late March, a week or so after Snap stock had plunged to as low as $8—half where it was trading a month earlier—CEO Evan Spiegel reassured employees. His message was that the company was well positioned to weather the downturn. At the time some ad executives were skeptical, asking why Snap would be better off than other companies.... In late March, a week or so after Snap stock had plunged to as low as $8—half where it was...

Nick Giovanni. Photo courtesy of Goldman Sachs

The Big Interview

Goldman’s Top Tech Banker: Here Come the Debt Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 27, 2020 11:21am PDT · 1 comment

Six weeks ago, Goldman Sachs’ tech bankers were preparing Airbnb for its stock-market debut. Investors in the travel firm would be able to sell their shares on an open market, providing a clear window into what Airbnb was worth. Instead, as coronavirus halted travel around the world, Airbnb’s revenue began evaporating. The company... Six weeks ago, Goldman Sachs’ tech bankers were preparing Airbnb for its stock-market...

Yelitza Esteva, a contractor for Instacart, bagging groceries for an order in Florida this month. Photo by AP

Instacart Swings to First Profit as Pandemic Fuels Surge in Grocery Delivery

By Amir Efrati · Apr 27, 2020 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Instacart’s financial picture has been completely redrawn by the pandemic.In recent weeks, the online grocery delivery service has turned profitable for the first time ever, thanks to skyrocketing sales. Instacart sold about $700 million worth of groceries per week in the first two weeks of April, up 450% on sales in December, according to... Instacart’s financial picture has been completely redrawn by the pandemic.In recent weeks,...

Why the Glass Might Be Half Full for Local News

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 25, 2020 7:47am PDT · 3 comments

Earlier this week, I got a push notification from the San Francisco Chronicle with a map of Covid-19 infections by ZIP code. It was exactly the kind of local news I felt I needed to read—immediately. I looked away from the Zoom meeting I was on, tapped and instantly shared the link with friends. Covid-19 has devastated local... Earlier this week, I got a push notification from the San Francisco Chronicle with a map of...

The Information’s 411 — Let’s Not Go Out To The Movies

By Tom Dotan · Apr 24, 2020 1:59pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Let’s Not Go Out To The Movies

By Tom Dotan · Apr 24, 2020 1:59pm PDT

Tom and Jessica Toonkel talk about the chaotic world of the movie industry as theaters remain shuttered. We discuss what it will take to get people to again feel comfortable going to theaters and whether the movie industry will finally change from its hard set ways of not making new releases available to rent at home. Tom and Jessica Toonkel talk about the chaotic world of the movie industry as theaters remain...

Airtable CEO Howie Liu. Photo by Erin Beach

Airtable May Triple Valuation as Top Startups Attract Top Dollar, Even in Downturn

By Kate Clark · Apr 24, 2020 1:10pm PDT

As some startups implore venture capitalists for lifelines, others are negotiating deals at eye-popping valuations without offering so much as a pitch deck. Airtable, which makes cloud-based software for collaboration, has spoken to investors about raising at least $50 million in a round that would value the business at between $2.5 billion... As some startups implore venture capitalists for lifelines, others are negotiating deals at...

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information as Our Amazon Reporter!

By The Information Staff · Apr 24, 2020 8:26am PDT

The evolution of Amazon into a conglomerate whose tentacles stretch into every corner of the global economy is one of the most important business stories of the current era. How the company fares in the next few years, through the pandemic and beyond, will be fascinating to chronicle. Not only will Amazon have to grapple with antitrust pressures... The evolution of Amazon into a conglomerate whose tentacles stretch into every corner of the...

Beezer Clarkson, managing director at Sapphire Ventures. Photo courtesy of Sapphire Ventures.

Q&A

Next Year’s VC Funds May Be Hit Harder by Covid Recession, Says LP

By Kate Clark · Apr 24, 2020 7:00am PDT

For the people who invest in venture capital funds, the impact of Covid-19 is like watching a “slow-motion plane crash,” Sapphire Ventures managing director Beezer Clarkson said in an interview with The Information. While VCs were still raising strongly in the first quarter, next year will be different. “In 2021, we will see... For the people who invest in venture capital funds, the impact of Covid-19 is like watching a...

Hello Sunshine's Sarah Harden at the world premiere of "The Morning Show". Photo by AP

Hello Sunshine CEO Sees ‘New Content Formats’ Emerging From Crisis

By Jessica Toonkel · Apr 23, 2020 12:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Hello Sunshine's Sarah Harden at the world premiere of "The Morning Show". Photo by AP

Q&A

Hello Sunshine CEO Sees ‘New Content Formats’ Emerging From Crisis

By Jessica Toonkel · Apr 23, 2020 12:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Reese Witherspoon’s philosophy with her AT&T-backed production company Hello Sunshine was to focus on just a handful of quality projects, such as “The Morning Show” for Apple TV Plus and “Little Fires Everywhere” which debuted recently on Hulu. That approach put the four year... Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Reese Witherspoon’s philosophy with her AT&T-backed...

WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Cathcart photo courtesy of Facebook; Zuckerberg photo: Bloomberg; Photo illustration: Mike Sullivan

Inside WhatsApp’s Retreat on Ads

By Alex Heath · Apr 23, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

After more than a year of preparation, WhatsApp was finally close to flipping the switch on advertising, kick-starting a plan to generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from one of Facebook’s crown jewels, which it had acquired for $22 billion six years earlier.Last fall, employees prepared to share details of the planned 2020... After more than a year of preparation, WhatsApp was finally close to flipping the switch on...

AT&T CEO John Stankey. Photo by Bloomberg

Pandemic Forces Studios to Think Outside the Box on Movie Releases

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Apr 22, 2020 12:38pm PDT · 2 comments

It took a pandemic for entertainment executives to consider what they once thought unimaginable: abandoning the decades-old convention of relying on movie theaters as the first place to show a movie. With theaters possibly closed until next year, executives are contemplating new ways to release movies, including embracing previously rejected... It took a pandemic for entertainment executives to consider what they once thought unimaginable:...

Illustration by MIke Sullivan

Mirror, Mirror on the Screen: The Tyranny of Zoom Calls

By Zoë Bernard · Apr 22, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Carolyn West had never considered getting lip injections before. But that all changed a few weeks ago when participating in video calls became a part of her daily work routine. Like the rest of her company’s employees, West, a tax accountant in Philadelphia, had started working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic. The influx... Carolyn West had never considered getting lip injections before. But that all changed a few weeks...

Boom in Home Electronics Sales Shows Signs of Peaking

By Nick Bastone · Apr 21, 2020 10:29am PDT

Boom in Home Electronics Sales Shows Signs of Peaking

By Nick Bastone · Apr 21, 2020 10:29am PDT

When cities across the U.S. shut down due to the coronavirus, consumers flocked online to beef up their home office and entertainment setups. The surge in spending for consumer electronics has extended into April, with only a slight cooling in growth, according to an analysis of email receipts from online transactions provided to The... When cities across the U.S. shut down due to the coronavirus, consumers flocked online to beef up...