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

Founders Are Maintaining Less Ownership This IPO Season

By Ross Matican · Sep 4, 2019 11:34am PDT · 5 comments

Being a tech founder in 2019 isn’t what it was. Just ask Lyft’s John Zimmer and Logan Green.The two are the most extreme examples of how founders of companies going public this year did so with much smaller equity stakes than was the case for some of the better known tech companies in the past. That’s partly because tech firms... Being a tech founder in 2019 isn’t what it was. Just ask Lyft’s John Zimmer and Logan...

A WeWork office in London in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Can WeWork Make Money? Marketing Costs Are One Obstacle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 4, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

As WeWork’s losses have climbed, potential investors have scoured for signs that the company has a pathway to profitability. A key piece of that puzzle: Can WeWork reduce how much it spends to open each new office location? The company has tried to highlight signs that it is making progress on that front. “Net capex per... As WeWork’s losses have climbed, potential investors have scoured for signs that the...

Max Beauchemin, a Preset founder. Photo by Preset

New Open Source Startups Emerge After Acquisition, IPO Flurry

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 3, 2019 10:01am PDT

After a flurry of mega-acquisitions and initial public offerings of open source companies, a new batch of entrepreneurs are trying their hands at startups based on free software projects.Former engineers from Uber and Airbnb who created tools that the companies later released as open source software—known as M3 and Apache Superset,... After a flurry of mega-acquisitions and initial public offerings of open source companies, a new...

Art by Josh Brill

Huawei Was Prepared for Anything—Except Losing Google

By Juro Osawa · Sep 3, 2019 7:01am PDT · 9 comments

Art by Josh Brill

Huawei Was Prepared for Anything—Except Losing Google

By Juro Osawa · Sep 3, 2019 7:01am PDT · 9 comments

Over the years, people inside Huawei at times worried the Chinese technology powerhouse, now the world’s second largest smartphone company, was too dependent on some U.S. technologies. To reduce its reliance on American-made chips inside its phones, for example, Huawei switched to alternatives that it made in-house. But when it came... Over the years, people inside Huawei at times worried the Chinese technology powerhouse, now the...

The News Disruption We Should All Fear

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 31, 2019 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

Every fall, as I prepare for our annual Media Bootcamp—where media leaders pick each other’s brains and trade strategies—I sit back and reflect on the big changes I see coming to the news business in the months ahead. For the past three years, the biggest problem and its solution have been painfully obvious. As internet... Every fall, as I prepare for our annual Media Bootcamp—where media leaders pick each...

WeWork Without HR

By Priya Anand · Aug 30, 2019 1:00pm PDT

Cory explains the turnover and turmoil in WeWork's human resources department. Matt Drange discusses the University of California, Berkeley's relationship with Huawei. Cory explains the turnover and turmoil in WeWork's human resources department. Matt Drange...

Actors from Starz's drama "Power" at a recent screening. Photo by AP

Comcast Plans to Drop Starz in Latest Sign of TV Upheaval

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 30, 2019 10:29am PDT

As streaming services grow, cable services are getting pickier about the TV channels they’re willing to carry.In the latest sign of that trend, cable giant Comcast has told Lionsgate that it plans to drop Lionsgate’s premium channels Starz and Starz Encore from its main bundle of channels at the end of the year, according to people... As streaming services grow, cable services are getting pickier about the TV channels...

Flexe CEO Karl Siebrecht and CTO David Glick. Photos by Flexe

In an Amazon Age, Startup Finds Following With On-Demand Warehouses

By Priya Anand · Aug 30, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Flexe CEO Karl Siebrecht and CTO David Glick. Photos by Flexe

The Big Interview

In an Amazon Age, Startup Finds Following With On-Demand Warehouses

By Priya Anand · Aug 30, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon has turned the business of handling basic e-commerce chores for independent merchants—including storing their merchandise in Amazon warehouses and packaging them into customer orders—into a goldmine. But not every merchant wants to rely on Amazon to provide these services—and a growing array of companies are emerging as... Amazon has turned the business of handling basic e-commerce chores for independent...

Sather Tower, on the UC Berkeley campus. Photo by AP.

Huawei Boosted Research Spending at Berkeley Before Sanctions, Documents Show

By Matt Drange · Aug 29, 2019 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

Huawei sharply increased its spending on research projects at the University of California, Berkeley last year and this year, immediately before the university cut ties with the Chinese telecom manufacturer amid U.S. government sanctions, according to documents obtained by The Information.The documents show that Berkeley accepted nearly $1.5... Huawei sharply increased its spending on research projects at the University of California,...

Crypto Newsletter

What I Learned Covering Crypto

By Jon Victor · Aug 28, 2019 12:05pm PDT · 2 comments

This will be my last edition of the crypto newsletter. I'm leaving The Information to take some time off and then go back to school. It has been a joy to dig into these topics each week—and even better to hear from you along the way. The newsletter will be back soon after a short hiatus. To cap off my time covering crypto,... This will be my last edition of the crypto newsletter. I'm leaving The Information to take...

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information as Our Fintech/Crypto Reporter

By The Information Staff · Aug 28, 2019 11:01am PDT

The Information is looking for an enterprising reporter to cover blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and fintech. The crypto and blockchain industry has evolved from a niche sector to one that permeates business and consumer life, potentially changing everything from the way financial transactions are conducted to how products are traced to... The Information is looking for an enterprising reporter to cover blockchain technology,...

Shukun employees examine a scan. Photo courtesy of Shukun Technology.

This Chinese Startup Is Bringing AI to Heart Disease Treatment

By Shai Oster · Aug 28, 2019 10:01am PDT · 7 comments

Shukun employees examine a scan. Photo courtesy of Shukun Technology.

Startup of the Week

This Chinese Startup Is Bringing AI to Heart Disease Treatment

By Shai Oster · Aug 28, 2019 10:01am PDT · 7 comments

Shukun Technology, a startup founded two years ago in Beijing that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose heart disease, is developing a technology that could help tackle one of China’s most urgent medical problems: a shortage of doctors to treat a rapidly growing population of older, sicker people.Shukun uses software, a database of... Shukun Technology, a startup founded two years ago in Beijing that uses artificial intelligence...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Companies Lead Convertible Debt Surge

By Ross Matican · Aug 28, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

When Snap raised $1.27 billion in a convertible note offering earlier this month, it answered a longstanding question that Wall Street had about the messaging company: When and how would it raise capital to cover its ongoing cash burn? Until recently, Snap’s stock was too low to allow for an equity-raising, while borrowing money might have... When Snap raised $1.27 billion in a convertible note offering earlier this month, it answered a...

John Foley, founder and CEO of Peloton. Photo by Bloomberg.

Peloton IPO Filing Shows Wider Losses as Marketing Surges

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 27, 2019 4:18pm PDT · 2 comments

Peloton, the provider of internet fitness classes and connected exercise equipment, has seen its losses balloon as it has poured money into sales and marketing, the company said in a filing for an initial public offering on Tuesday afternoon. Peloton is not your typical tech or internet IPO, as its filing makes clear. It sells both... Peloton, the provider of internet fitness classes and connected exercise equipment, has seen its...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg

For Digital Media Giants, Pairing Up Is Hard to Do

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 27, 2019 10:14am PDT · 3 comments

It’s been roughly a year since BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti publicly floated the idea that his company along with the other richly funded media outfits should merge so they could demand more money from tech companies like Facebook. So far, none of the big deals that Peretti suggested have come to pass—but not for lack of trying. ... It’s been roughly a year since BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti publicly floated the idea that...

A WeWork location in New York City. Photo: Bloomberg

At Fast-Growing WeWork, an HR Department in Turmoil

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 27, 2019 7:01am PDT

A WeWork location in New York City. Photo: Bloomberg

At Fast-Growing WeWork, an HR Department in Turmoil

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 27, 2019 7:01am PDT

WeWork sells prospective customers on the idea that its energetic workplace culture will rub off on tenants, keeping their employees happy and productive. But WeWork’s own employees have noticed an irony about the pitch: Executives in charge of keeping WeWork’s workforce humming haven’t stuck around.Nearly a dozen leaders and... WeWork sells prospective customers on the idea that its energetic workplace culture will rub off...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Puts ‘Walkie Talkie’ iPhone Project on Hold

By Aaron Tilley · Aug 26, 2019 10:00am PDT · 5 comments

Apple has shelved a novel wireless technology project that would have allowed people with iPhones to reach nearby companions in areas without cellular coverage, such as on ski slopes or on hikes in remote areas, said two people familiar with the project.Although the reasons for suspending the effort couldn’t be learned, the departure of... Apple has shelved a novel wireless technology project that would have allowed people with iPhones...

A Waymo self-driving vehicle. Still photo from a Waymo video

Waymo’s Backseat Drivers: Confidential Data Reveals Self-Driving Taxi Hurdles

By Amir Efrati · Aug 26, 2019 7:00am PDT

One passenger in a Waymo self-driving car complained that the awkward end to his ride felt like he was getting dropped off by his dad. Others said their Waymo rides made them late to work. Another praised his car for coping admirably with “idiot drivers” of the human variety during his ride.The rider feedback is part of a trove of... One passenger in a Waymo self-driving car complained that the awkward end to his ride felt like...

A Waymo self-driving vehicle. Still photo from Waymo video

Waymo Riders Describe Experiences on the Road

By Amir Efrati · Aug 26, 2019 7:00am PDT

The Information analyzed internal feedback about the performance of Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving taxis on public streets, covering more than 10,500 rides in July and part of August. The reports from riders using the service in suburban Phoenix and in the San Francisco Bay Area, portions of which we describe below, provide an unprecedented... The Information analyzed internal feedback about the performance of Alphabet’s Waymo...

The Problem for SoftBank’s New Vision Fund

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 23, 2019 4:58pm PDT

The Problem for SoftBank’s New Vision Fund

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 23, 2019 4:58pm PDT

Signs that the global economy is in trouble are mounting, yet here in Silicon Valley startups and venture capital funds are still raising record amounts. I feel the disconnect more than ever and especially when thinking about SoftBank and its Vision Fund. The mega fund, whose second vintage is slated to come in at more than $100 billion, is the... Signs that the global economy is in trouble are mounting, yet here in Silicon Valley startups and...