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—Little Boxes Made of Ticky-Tack

By Tom Dotan · Feb 21, 2020 3:15pm PST · 1 comment

This week something a little different: Cory interviews New York Times reporter Conor Dougherty about his new book on the California housing crisis. Conor explains the role that tech has played in worsening the housing crisis. They discuss how effective big tech companies like Apple and Google have been in providing some relief. And Conor... This week something a little different: Cory interviews New York Times reporter Conor Dougherty...

Art by Josh Brill

Meet ByteDance’s Biggest Homegrown Rival

By Yunan Zhang · Feb 21, 2020 10:01am PST · 1 comment

While China’s ByteDance and its TikTok video app are getting a lot of buzz in the U.S., a smaller rival called Kuaishou has quietly become one of the most highly valued tech startups in the world. Kuaishou (KWHY-shoh) has built a social network of more than 300 million daily active users in China—an audience three-quarters the... While China’s ByteDance and its TikTok video app are getting a lot of buzz in the U.S., a...

Marc Andreessen, left, and Chris Dixon. Photos by Bloomberg.

Marc Andreessen’s Secret Weapon for Finding Startup Investments

By Kate Clark · Feb 21, 2020 7:01am PST · 3 comments

When Lucy Guo pitched Andreessen Horowitz in 2016 on an early funding round for her company, an artificial intelligence startup called Scale, the high-powered venture capital firm passed on the deal. In 2019, Guo sent a cold email to Chris Dixon, a general partner at the firm, asking again for capital, this time for a tiny VC fund she was... When Lucy Guo pitched Andreessen Horowitz in 2016 on an early funding round for her company, an...

Attendees at a The Information subscriber event last year. Photo by Erin Beach

The Information Is Looking for Senior Editors

By The Information Staff · Feb 20, 2020 1:22pm PST

Attendees at a The Information subscriber event last year. Photo by Erin Beach

Jobs@TheInformation

The Information Is Looking for Senior Editors

By The Information Staff · Feb 20, 2020 1:22pm PST

In the space of just six years, The Information has emerged as the leading business publication focused on the tech industry. With a 22-person editorial team in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Washington, we have distinguished ourselves with hard-hitting and in-depth coverage of major tech and media companies. Our... In the space of just six years, The Information has emerged as the leading business publication...

Peter Chernin

The Big Interview

Peter Chernin’s Unexpectedly Successful Third Act

By Tom Dotan · Feb 20, 2020 7:00am PST · 1 comment

In Hollywood, guessing Peter Chernin’s next job in the entertainment industry has long been something of a parlor game. Surely he would end up taking a job at AT&T, overseeing WarnerMedia—he says AT&T never made the offer. What about Amazon, where he could bring some much needed stability to the chaotic studio group?... In Hollywood, guessing Peter Chernin’s next job in the entertainment industry has long been...

Art by Mike Sullivan

What I Learned From My Mother-in-Law’s Cable Bill—and Trying YouTube TV

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2020 10:00am PST · 10 comments

It may be hard to believe, but Comcast still charges its cable TV subscribers a $9.95 monthly fee for high-definition TV—the 20-year-old technology that is standard in video-streaming services (and in TV sets). It’s one of a number of fees—also including a $12.60 fee for the right to watch free broadcast networks like CBS and... It may be hard to believe, but Comcast still charges its cable TV subscribers a $9.95 monthly fee...

The People With Power on Google’s Policy Team

By Ashley Gold · Feb 19, 2020 7:02am PST · 2 comments

Shortly after Google’s public policy chief, Karan Bhatia, joined the company in 2018, he launched a major overhaul of his sprawling department, with the goal of grouping staffers around policy issues and along business lines, rather than by geographic location. The restructured team likely now has its hands full: Since last year, the... Shortly after Google’s public policy chief, Karan Bhatia, joined the company in 2018, he...

A Bundle with Bloomberg Media

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 19, 2020 6:22am PST · 2 comments

A Bundle with Bloomberg Media

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 19, 2020 6:22am PST · 2 comments

It’s an exciting day at The Information. We, along with our friends at Bloomberg Media, are launching a trial of a new bundle. You’ll be able to subscribe to get access to The Information and Bloomberg.com for just $499—that’s $315 off. As you know if you’ve been following my media musings for years, I have... It’s an exciting day at The Information. We, along with our friends at Bloomberg Media, are...

An employee wearing a protective mask takes the temperature of a customer at an entrance to an Apple store in Shanghai, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Coronavirus Is Affecting Big Tech Firms

By Wayne Ma, Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Feb 18, 2020 3:00pm PST

The spread of the coronavirus epidemic may be starting to slow, but its reverberations continue to be felt in various industries. Tech companies taking a hit range from Apple to Airbnb to Alibaba, all of which rely on either China’s production engine or its consumption machine—or both.But the size of the impact varies by company.... The spread of the coronavirus epidemic may be starting to slow, but its reverberations continue...

Art by J.Claeys

The Information’s Turnover List

By The Information Staff · Feb 18, 2020 7:01am PST · 1 comment

When times are good, tech companies can be talent magnets, attracting the best and the brightest. But lately, some once high-flying companies have lost that allure, prompting an exodus of senior (and junior) people. Other companies, faced with stagnation, have actively turned over their ranks to try and spur new growth.We’ve assembled a... When times are good, tech companies can be talent magnets, attracting the best and the brightest....

‘Best of Times’ or ‘Worst of Times’ in Silicon Valley

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 15, 2020 7:46am PST · 4 comments

Some of the most interesting times to be a journalist are when there are two opposing views about the same circumstances, and it’s hard to tell who is right. That, to a tee, describes the mood around the business opportunities in Silicon Valley right now. Some of the most interesting times to be a journalist are when there are two opposing views about...

The Information’s 411 — Old Time Roku Roll

By Tom Dotan · Feb 14, 2020 3:42pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Old Time Roku Roll

By Tom Dotan · Feb 14, 2020 3:42pm PST

In this episode Jessica and Tom take a long look at Roku and how it's interacting with media companies. In recent years, Roku has been pushing to make more money from the media companies that have apps on Roku devices. That spilled out into public view with the Fox dustup before the Super Bowl. Jessica and Tom discuss what's been going... In this episode Jessica and Tom take a long look at Roku and how it's interacting with media...

Clay Bavor, the head of virtual and augmented reality at Google. Photo by Bloomberg

As Apple and Facebook Embrace AR Fully, Google Takes It Slow

By Nick Bastone · Feb 14, 2020 7:00am PST

The leaders of Apple and Facebook have each described augmented reality as the next big thing in tech. Google, though, still seems to be figuring out its AR plans. In 2017, after Apple’s release of a software kit for building primitive AR experiences for mobile phones caught Google off guard, the company made an all-out sprint to match... The leaders of Apple and Facebook have each described augmented reality as the next big thing in...

Subscriber Video Call

How CEO Thomas Kurian Is Changing the Game at Google Cloud

By The Information Staff · Feb 13, 2020 3:35pm PST · 1 comment

On Thursday, our team of reporters and special guest Dan Ives delved into a hot topic of our recent coverage—Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s strategy for attracting more Fortune 500 customers and catching up with the leaders in the cloud market. The Information’s Kevin McLaughlin, Nick Wingfield and Nick Bastone discussed... On Thursday, our team of reporters and special guest Dan Ives delved into a hot topic of our...

New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber, Lyft Brace for New York’s Version of Gig Worker Law

By Kevin Dugan · Feb 13, 2020 10:01am PST · 3 comments

California sparked a national debate about the rights of gig workers with last year’s passage of a landmark law that required companies like Uber and DoorDash to treat their drivers as employees, entitled to certain benefits and protections, rather than contractors. Now that debate is shifting to New York state, where the outcome could... California sparked a national debate about the rights of gig workers with last year’s...

SoftBank headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

SoftBank’s Troubles Leave Startups Vulnerable

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Feb 13, 2020 7:01am PST · 1 comment

SoftBank headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

SoftBank’s Troubles Leave Startups Vulnerable

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Feb 13, 2020 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Priorities shifted quickly late last year at Oyo, a startup Indian hotel chain backed by SoftBank. Executives had prioritized revenue growth, but now they were asking a different question in meetings: How can we be ready for an IPO?The realization underlines a harsh new reality for many companies backed by SoftBank: Support from the... Priorities shifted quickly late last year at Oyo, a startup Indian hotel chain backed by...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Roku Tries Brinkmanship in the Streaming Wars

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 12, 2020 12:02pm PST · 3 comments

The streaming war between Disney and Netflix has captured the attention of investors, the media and viewers. But a lower-profile yet equally high-stakes battle is underway in the streaming video market—between entertainment companies and a new generation of gatekeepers. The players range from big tech giants like Amazon to smaller firms... The streaming war between Disney and Netflix has captured the attention of investors, the media...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank’s Global Vision Tested by China’s Uber for Trucks

By Juro Osawa · Feb 12, 2020 7:00am PST

In 2018, when SoftBank led a $1.9 billion investment in Chinese truck-hailing app Manbang, CEO Masayoshi Son urged the startup to go global, pointing to the worldwide success of his other bets, like Uber and Indian hotel chain Oyo, according to a person familiar with the matter. Two years later, Uber is struggling to cut losses and Oyo has... In 2018, when SoftBank led a $1.9 billion investment in Chinese truck-hailing app Manbang, CEO...

FTC Chairman Joseph Simons. Photo by Bloomberg

Five Takeaways From the FTC’s New Antitrust Probe

By Nick Wingfield, Christopher Stern and Ashley Gold · Feb 11, 2020 12:32pm PST · 1 comment

Much of the antitrust scrutiny on big tech companies has focused on whether their biggest acquisitions violated competition laws. Now the Federal Trade Commission, in a sweeping review of five iconic players in the industry, is looking at whether their smaller deals might have hurt competition, too. On Tuesday, the FTC said it has ordered... Much of the antitrust scrutiny on big tech companies has focused on whether their biggest...

The People With Power at ViacomCBS

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 11, 2020 7:01am PST

The People With Power at ViacomCBS

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 11, 2020 7:01am PST

When Shari Redstone merged her two TV companies, Viacom and CBS, two months ago, a top priority was overcoming years of sibling rivalry between the two companies, once part of a single firm that split apart in 2005. Over the past few weeks, she and her CEO, Bob Bakish, have taken a major step in that direction by assembling a management team... When Shari Redstone merged her two TV companies, Viacom and CBS, two months ago, a top priority...