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

The Information’s 411 — Real Estate Pwned

By Tom Dotan · May 24, 2019 3:38pm PDT

Cory talks to VC and real estate policy expert Kim-Mai Cutler about tech and its influence on the Bay Area's real estate problems. Juro discusses Huawei's options as it faces harsh restrictions by the US government. Cory talks to VC and real estate policy expert Kim-Mai Cutler about tech and its influence on...

Robinhood Financial CEO Baiju Bhatt at a conference last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Robinhood Nears Funding at Valuation Over $7 Billion

By Zoë Bernard · May 24, 2019 11:46am PDT

Robinhood Markets, a financial services firm that has won a following among millennials by offering free stock trades, is nearing the close of a funding round from existing investors at a valuation of between $7 billion and $8 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of its plans. That near term effort could be a prelude to a much... Robinhood Markets, a financial services firm that has won a following among millennials by...

Rising Fees, Falling Audiences Highlight Pay TV Dilemma

By Jessica Toonkel · May 24, 2019 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Cable channels have long been the cash machine for the entertainment industry thanks to a quirk in their business model. Cable and satellite TV firms pay channels fees for each subscriber who has the channels available in their service package, regardless of whether anyone watches the channels. AT&T, owner of DirecTV, is trying to change... Cable channels have long been the cash machine for the entertainment industry thanks to a quirk...

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Photo by Bloomberg

Endeavor’s IPO Filing Shows Heavy Debt and Losses

By Beejoli Shah, Martin Peers and Alfred Lee · May 23, 2019 1:03pm PDT · 1 comment

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Photo by Bloomberg

Endeavor’s IPO Filing Shows Heavy Debt and Losses

By Beejoli Shah, Martin Peers and Alfred Lee · May 23, 2019 1:03pm PDT · 1 comment

Endeavor, the talent agency turned entertainment conglomerate, filed to go public on Thursday, pulling back the curtain on a company that has taken on heavy debts in recent years to diversify into a variety of sports and content businesses.The IPO filing revealed that Endeavor’s revenue rose 20% to $3.6 billion last year, while its... Endeavor, the talent agency turned entertainment conglomerate, filed to go public on Thursday,...

Human Ventures CEO Heather Hartnett. Photo courtesy of Human Ventures.

Startup of the Week

Backed by Prominent New Yorkers, Human Ventures Tries Different VC Playbook

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 23, 2019 10:01am PDT

Early-stage venture capital can be a bloodbath. New funds are created by the month, all fighting for deals. But in this crowded landscape, Human Ventures in New York is an investor to watch. The nearly 4-year-old fund and startup studio, founded by investor Heather Hartnett and entrepreneur and media executive Joe Marchese, has attracted a... Early-stage venture capital can be a bloodbath. New funds are created by the month, all fighting...

A Walmart store in Shanghai. Photo by Bloomberg

Walmart Taps China’s Startups for Innovation

By Wayne Ma · May 23, 2019 7:01am PDT

Last year, a Chinese startup that makes ultra-thin blankets to keep shipments of food and drink cold got a big break: Walmart decided to use the blankets in its 30 e-commerce depots in China. The startup got the lucrative deal through a special Walmart program, known as Omega 8, which recruits Chinese tech firms to develop technology for the... Last year, a Chinese startup that makes ultra-thin blankets to keep shipments of food and drink...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Bonds on the Blockchain

By Jon Victor · May 22, 2019 12:02pm PDT

It seems that bitcoin’s run-up has some staying power, with its price holding steady this week at about $8,000. But that doesn’t mean all crypto companies are fully back on their feet. Circle confirmed Tuesday that it was laying off about 10% of its staff, citing new market conditions and an unfavorable regulatory environment for... It seems that bitcoin’s run-up has some staying power, with its price holding steady this...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Tech’s Low-Profile Unicorn Sells Juul Pods, Beer to College Students

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · May 22, 2019 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Tech’s Low-Profile Unicorn Sells Juul Pods, Beer to College Students

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · May 22, 2019 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Amid the cutthroat food-delivery wars, one hot startup has tried to stay under the radar to avoid alerting its rivals to its business model. But the word is getting out.GoPuff, a Philadelphia-based company that promises to deliver late-night beer, snacks and Juul pods to college students “when the party must go on,” appears to have... Amid the cutthroat food-delivery wars, one hot startup has tried to stay under the radar to avoid...

What Uber Tells Us About a Postmates IPO

By Priya Anand · May 22, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Should Uber’s rocky initial public offering spoil the appetite of investors for Postmates, the meal delivery business expected to go public in the coming months? Uber, of course, is primarily a ride-hailing business, but the company’s Uber Eats meal delivery unit is its fastest growing segment, accounting for 13% of total revenue... Should Uber’s rocky initial public offering spoil the appetite of investors for Postmates,...

Huawei's consumer electronics chief Richard Yu. Photo by Bloomberg

Huawei Consumer Electronics Chief Braces for ‘Tough Time’

By Juro Osawa · May 21, 2019 9:02am PDT

When President Donald Trump decided to block Huawei’s access to U.S. technology last week, the Chinese company already had been developing its own chips and stockpiling parts from American suppliers to prepare for the worst. That clearly wasn’t enough. Huawei was broadsided by Google’s decision over the weekend to restrict its... When President Donald Trump decided to block Huawei’s access to U.S. technology last week,...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Hulu, Spotify Competing for Bigger Share of Political Ad Spending

By Christopher Stern and Jessica Toonkel · May 21, 2019 7:01am PDT

As the 2020 election cycle shifts into high gear, streaming video and audio companies such as Hulu and Spotify are looking to capture a bigger part of the expanding digital political advertising market, which Facebook and Google dominate.Hoping to cash in on Americans’ growing appetite for news and entertainment delivered via streaming... As the 2020 election cycle shifts into high gear, streaming video and audio companies such as...

A collection of Google hardware devices. Photo by Bloomberg

Former Apple Chip Engineers Leave Google

By Aaron Tilley · May 20, 2019 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

A collection of Google hardware devices. Photo by Bloomberg

Former Apple Chip Engineers Leave Google

By Aaron Tilley · May 20, 2019 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

A few years ago, Google began hiring Apple engineers responsible for developing a mobile chip that helped give iPhones and other devices a technical edge. But recently, some of those same engineers have left Google’s chip team, in a potential setback to its ambitions to build key ingredients in its own devices. Three chip... A few years ago, Google began hiring Apple engineers responsible for developing a mobile chip...

HashiCorp CEO Dave McJannet. Photo by HashiCorp

Cisco Held Preliminary Acquisition Talks With Cloud Startup HashiCorp

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 20, 2019 7:02am PDT

Cisco Systems held preliminary discussions recently with HashiCorp about an acquisition of the startup whose software manages applications running across multiple cloud providers, according to three people with direct knowledge of the talks. The talks, which took place over a month ago, don’t appear to have advanced very far though, with... Cisco Systems held preliminary discussions recently with HashiCorp about an acquisition of the...

Silicon Valley’s Progressive Blind Spot

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 18, 2019 8:45am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, I criticized Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes’s argument over the need to break up Facebook. “We break up companies when they are bad for competition, not when their CEOs hold too much power,” I wrote.My belief was based, in large part, on the fact that recent antitrust cases have targeted companies whose... Last week, I criticized Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes’s argument over the need to break...

The Information’s 411 — Shadow Banning Theater

By Tom Dotan · May 17, 2019 3:23pm PDT

Ashley talks about Trump's social media bias survey and tech's tough week in DC. Aaron dives into Apple's relationship with Intel and Qualcomm over modems and the future of how it sources wireless components. Ashley talks about Trump's social media bias survey and tech's tough week in DC. Aaron...

Photo: Bloomberg

CBS Made Informal Offer to Acquire Starz

By Jessica Toonkel · May 17, 2019 10:48am PDT

Photo: Bloomberg

CBS Made Informal Offer to Acquire Starz

By Jessica Toonkel · May 17, 2019 10:48am PDT

CBS Corp. has expressed interest in acquiring cable channel Starz from Lions Gate Entertainment, according to four people familiar with the situation. CBS has been looking at the acquisition as a possible complement to Viacom, which CBS also is considering purchasing, said three of the people.Joseph Ianniello, the interim CEO of CBS, made an... CBS Corp. has expressed interest in acquiring cable channel Starz from Lions Gate Entertainment,...

Kayak CEO Steve Hafner. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Rival Booking Is Having an Identity Crisis

By Cory Weinberg · May 17, 2019 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Internet travel conglomerate Booking Holdings has been a dependable company for investors, generating consistent profits and returns in line with the S&P 500 over the last five years. But in an industry radically altered by hot brands ranging from Airbnb to Uber to Google, Booking has struggled to stand out.That has triggered something of an... Internet travel conglomerate Booking Holdings has been a dependable company for investors,...

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu. Photo by Bloomberg.

DoorDash Seeking Valuation of as Much as $12 Billion in Fundraising

By Amir Efrati · May 16, 2019 10:17pm PDT · 2 comments

DoorDash is finalizing a fundraising round likely to value the U.S. food delivery app between $10 billion and $12 billion after the investment, just three months after the company raised money at a $7 billion post-money valuation, said two people familiar with the matter. The talks suggest the disappointing IPOs of Uber and Lyft may not have... DoorDash is finalizing a fundraising round likely to value the U.S. food delivery app between $10...

Scopely chairman and co-CEO Walter Driver. Photo by Scopely

Q&A

Scopely Sees Growth With Mobile Games That Live On

By Beejoli Shah · May 16, 2019 10:01am PDT

Mobile games are a fickle business, in which one-time hits can quickly fade into oblivion. Scopely, the startup behind popular mobile games like “Star Trek Fleet Command” and “The Walking Dead: Road to Survival,” believes it has come up with a system to minimize that risk. Central to Scopely’s success, says chairman... Mobile games are a fickle business, in which one-time hits can quickly fade into oblivion....

Zapier founders Mike Knopp, Bryan Helmig and Wade Foster. Photo: Zapier

Zapier’s Unusual Path to Profitability

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 16, 2019 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Zapier founders Mike Knopp, Bryan Helmig and Wade Foster. Photo: Zapier

Startup of the Week

Zapier’s Unusual Path to Profitability

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 16, 2019 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Zapier, a 7-year-old startup whose software connects different types of applications to automate personal computing tasks, has taken a different path to profitability than most Silicon Valley companies. It doesn’t have a sales team or a main office, and its CEO, Wade Foster, made headlines two years ago by offering new hires $10,000 to... Zapier, a 7-year-old startup whose software connects different types of applications to automate...