The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Disney's office at the international TV sales market MIPCOM in Cannes, France in 2017. Photo by AP

To Make Way for Streaming, Disney Is Revamping Overseas TV Business

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 21, 2019 6:31am PST · 1 comment

One of the big questions facing Walt Disney Co. as it prepares to launch its Disney+ streaming app is how aggressively will it retreat from selling TV shows and movies to other networks and streaming services, in favor of keeping everything on its own outlets. If recent signals from the company are any guide, Disney is going all in on its own... One of the big questions facing Walt Disney Co. as it prepares to launch its Disney+ streaming...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Open vs. Closed Networks

By Jon Victor · Feb 20, 2019 12:33pm PST · 1 comment

Bitcoin’s price nearly broke $4,000 yesterday, a level it hasn’t seen in six weeks. Some said it was a delayed reaction to news that JPMorgan was rolling out a cryptocurrency, but a late response would be unusual. Still, as we all know, there has never been anything typical about bitcoin markets.Below, we take a closer look at... Bitcoin’s price nearly broke $4,000 yesterday, a level it hasn’t seen in six weeks....

Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky. Photo by Tableau

The Big Interview

Tableau Rallies After Subscription Shift, Microsoft Threat

By Nick Wingfield · Feb 20, 2019 6:31am PST · 3 comments

Not long before former Amazon executive Adam Selipsky joined Tableau Software as its chief executive in 2016, the Seattle-based software company’s stock had lost half its value in a single day on worries that Microsoft was preparing to eat its lunch with a cheaper product. Investors got another scare after Mr. Selipsky took over when... Not long before former Amazon executive Adam Selipsky joined Tableau Software as its chief...

Ucommune founder Mao Daqing. Photo by Bloomberg.

Chinese WeWork Rival Ucommune Seeks $3 Billion Valuation in Nasdaq IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Feb 20, 2019 2:25am PST · 2 comments

Ucommune founder Mao Daqing. Photo by Bloomberg.

Chinese WeWork Rival Ucommune Seeks $3 Billion Valuation in Nasdaq IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Feb 20, 2019 2:25am PST · 2 comments

Ucommune, WeWork’s biggest rival in China, is seeking a $3 billion valuation for a New York listing this year, as China’s economic slowdown makes it harder for many startups to raise money. Ucommune has hired investment banks Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase to work on an initial public offering in Nasdaq as early as the third quarter of... Ucommune, WeWork’s biggest rival in China, is seeking a $3 billion valuation for a New York...

The 250 ‘Cruisers’ Who Power GM’s Self-Driving Car Unit

By Amir Efrati · Feb 19, 2019 6:31am PST

General Motors’ autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise has always lived in the shadow of Alphabet’s Waymo unit, which was first to launch a robotaxi service late last year. But under new CEO Dan Ammann, who was president of GM until a month ago, Cruise is hoping to prove it can be among the first to build a robotaxi business in a dense... General Motors’ autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise has always lived in the shadow of...

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer group, presented the MateBook X Pro laptop in Barcelona last year.

How Huawei Targets Apple Trade Secrets

By Wayne Ma · Feb 18, 2019 6:30am PST · 1 comment

As U.S. companies grow more concerned about efforts by Chinese firms to obtain their intellectual property, all eyes are on Huawei Technologies, which the U.S. government recently accused of stealing trade secrets. New reporting by The Information sheds light on Huawei’s tactics, which often have been aimed at one of the company’s... As U.S. companies grow more concerned about efforts by Chinese firms to obtain their intellectual...

Why This Next Era in Tech May Favor the Incumbents

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 16, 2019 6:27pm PST · 4 comments

As those of you stuck in traffic in San Francisco this week or still gawking at your Uber surcharges can attest, it was a big week for non-Bay Area companies descending on our shores. IBM hosted its annual developer THINK conference while Goldman Sachs hosted its annual Internet company conference a few blocks away. I attended parts of both... As those of you stuck in traffic in San Francisco this week or still gawking at your Uber...

The Information’s 411 — Sand Hill Crossroads

By Tom Dotan · Feb 15, 2019 2:37pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Sand Hill Crossroads

By Tom Dotan · Feb 15, 2019 2:37pm PST

Zoë and Reed talk about Mamoon Hamid, the venture capitalist tasked with turning around Kleiner Perkins. Martin breaks down the math Disney and other media companies have to do as they go into the streaming business. Zoë and Reed talk about Mamoon Hamid, the venture capitalist tasked with turning around...

Skinny Bundles Hit Their Weight Limit

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Feb 15, 2019 6:31am PST · 7 comments

In the battle to sign up consumers for low-priced streaming versions of cable TV, the streaming-only internet companies appear to be gaining on the traditional media firms.The two biggest firms in the market, Dish Network’s Sling TV and AT&T’s DirecTV Now, each posted anemic growth for the December quarter. That followed several... In the battle to sign up consumers for low-priced streaming versions of cable TV, the...

A 5G sign at a Verizon company booth during a 2018 telecoms industry conference in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google in Middle of Fight Over 5G Spectrum

By Christopher Stern · Feb 14, 2019 10:16am PST · 2 comments

A proposal by four satellite operators to sell wireless spectrum critical for new 5G technologies has run into opposition from Google and cable companies such as Charter Communications. The opponents complain the plan would let the satellite firms sell the spectrum privately, thereby allowing them to shape the competitive landscape for next... A proposal by four satellite operators to sell wireless spectrum critical for new 5G technologies...

Mamoon Hamid. Photo by Kleiner Perkins

The Investor Rebuilding Kleiner Perkins

By Zoë Bernard and Reed Albergotti · Feb 14, 2019 6:30am PST · 2 comments

A few years ago, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the storied venture capital firm known for blockbuster bets on Amazon and Google, was in a funk. The firm had lost some of its luster by missing out on early investments in social media, while its reputation was battered by a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former partner. To lead a... A few years ago, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the storied venture capital firm known for...

People arriving at the IBM Think conference in San Francisco this week. Photo by Bloomberg.

All Grown Up, Kubernetes Morphs Into a Computing Platform

By Kevin McLaughlin and Priya Anand · Feb 13, 2019 6:45pm PST · 2 comments

People arriving at the IBM Think conference in San Francisco this week. Photo by Bloomberg.

All Grown Up, Kubernetes Morphs Into a Computing Platform

By Kevin McLaughlin and Priya Anand · Feb 13, 2019 6:45pm PST · 2 comments

Kubernetes, a tool that Google engineers created in 2014 to manage applications running across large numbers of machines, is becoming a kind of standard in enterprise computing, powering everything from mobile banking to smart home applications. Now the question is how much further Kubernetes can go. “I do think [Kubernetes] is capable of... Kubernetes, a tool that Google engineers created in 2014 to manage applications running across...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Risky Business

By Jon Victor · Feb 13, 2019 12:47pm PST

Everybody paid attention in October when the SEC settled cases with two crypto companies found to have violated securities laws, putting the industry on notice that most tokens were going to be treated as securities. But months later, those companies have yet to register their tokens with the SEC, raising the question of when (or if) their... Everybody paid attention in October when the SEC settled cases with two crypto companies found to...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Bloomberg

Streaming Video’s New Math

By Martin Peers · Feb 13, 2019 6:32am PST · 6 comments

As several of the big entertainment companies move toward the launch of Netflix-like video streaming services, the big questions for investors are how big a business will they build—and how much money will they lose along the way.To get a sense of that, we dug into some numbers. Consider this: To cover what we estimate could be the... As several of the big entertainment companies move toward the launch of Netflix-like video...

Cast of Epix's "Berlin Station" drama at a premiere in 2016. Photo by AP

MGM Looks for Epix Partner, Two Years After Buying Channel for $1 Billion

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 12, 2019 10:26am PST

Movie studio MGM Holdings is looking for a strategic partner for its Epix cable channel, to help grow the business and gain access to more programming and distribution, according to two people familiar with the situation. The search comes less than two years after MGM paid nearly a billion dollars for control of Epix.MGM Chairman Kevin... Movie studio MGM Holdings is looking for a strategic partner for its Epix cable channel, to help...

Self-Driving Shuttles Advance in Cities, Raising Jobs Concerns

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 12, 2019 6:30am PST · 4 comments

Self-Driving Shuttles Advance in Cities, Raising Jobs Concerns

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 12, 2019 6:30am PST · 4 comments

Thomas Cute, a former bus driver, will be among the first to take a ride this spring in Providence, R.I.’s new, self-driving shuttle. He and other local bus drivers will survey how the small, driverless bus makes its way from the downtown train station, over the Woonasquatucket River, to a neighborhood where few public buses currently run.... Thomas Cute, a former bus driver, will be among the first to take a ride this spring in...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

The Pressure on the News Industry Is a Symptom of Disempowerment

By Sam Lessin · Feb 11, 2019 9:31am PST · 11 comments

If you study the history of news, one thing becomes very clear: we are not living through as extraordinary a period in the history of news as some people think.Time and time again, over hundreds of years, the same pattern has played out. There is a period where a small group of elites pay enormous amounts of money for the quality information... If you study the history of news, one thing becomes very clear: we are not living through as...

Startups to Watch

These Startups Want to Reshape 5G Devices, Disease Treatment, Startup Credit and the Power Grid

By The Information Staff · Feb 11, 2019 6:31am PST

As we approach the mid-point of 2019’s first quarter, the startup funding environment remains promising, many investors say. After all, multibillion-dollar funds such as Sequoia’s still have plenty to invest even after last year’s record pace. Nearly $131 billion in venture capital was deployed in private companies worldwide in... As we approach the mid-point of 2019’s first quarter, the startup funding environment...

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Income Share Agreements

By Sam Lessin · Feb 10, 2019 5:42pm PST

In late December Erik Torenberg and I sat down to talk about the future of human capital and the long history of Income Share Agreements. I am glad we delayed releasing this episode, because the last few months have only made the topic of ISAs more relevant. Lambda School’s much-discussed January series B financing, and several other... In late December Erik Torenberg and I sat down to talk about the future of human capital and the...

Is There Room for All These Venture Capitalists?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 9, 2019 9:48am PST · 1 comment

Is There Room for All These Venture Capitalists?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 9, 2019 9:48am PST · 1 comment

This week, I asked three venture capitalists to describe what kind of startups have been hitting them up for funding lately. They each said something similar: “startups? These days, we see more pitches from new funds who want us to invest in them.”For those of you who don’t follow venture capital closely, the boom of the last... This week, I asked three venture capitalists to describe what kind of startups have been hitting...