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

Sources: Tesla internal organizational chart; The Information reporting

The 200 People Behind Tesla Autopilot

By Amir Efrati · Nov 5, 2018 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Elon Musk meets every week with senior managers overseeing the engineers behind Tesla’s Autopilot, the company’s semi-automated highway driving feature. Often he calls into the meeting while driving his Model S Tesla, using Autopilot, said one participant. And it’s not just to save time. Mr. Musk is testing updates to the... Elon Musk meets every week with senior managers overseeing the engineers behind Tesla’s...

Don’t Give Up on Snap

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 3, 2018 3:37pm PDT · 1 comment

It’s been a tough two weeks for Snap, following a tough year. Even two solid executive hires couldn’t overshadow this week’s earnings report—which warned its daily audience will continue to shrink. The company’s stock reached an all-time low below $6 a share this week and has lost half its market value this year.... It’s been a tough two weeks for Snap, following a tough year. Even two solid executive...

The Information’s 411 — The Feds Aren’t Coming

By Tom Dotan · Nov 2, 2018 3:37pm PDT

Matt Drange talks about why the Northern District US Attorney's office hasn't been bringing many cases against Silicon Valley firms. Priya explains how Amazon tells workers to deal with questions about Trump. Matt Drange talks about why the Northern District US Attorney's office hasn't been...

MPAA president Charles Rivkin. Photo by Bloomberg

Facing Budget Shortfall, Movie Lobby Group Eyes Tech Firms

By Jessica Toonkel and Wayne Ma · Nov 2, 2018 10:01am PDT

MPAA president Charles Rivkin. Photo by Bloomberg

Facing Budget Shortfall, Movie Lobby Group Eyes Tech Firms

By Jessica Toonkel and Wayne Ma · Nov 2, 2018 10:01am PDT

Disney’s acquisition of the 20th Century Fox movie studio is causing upheaval throughout Hollywood by combining two of the six major film studios. A casualty is the film industry’s 96-year-old Washington lobbying group, the Motion Picture Association of America, which is losing one-sixth of its membership. And that is crystallizing a... Disney’s acquisition of the 20th Century Fox movie studio is causing upheaval throughout...

President Donald Trump, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at a White House event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Memo Lists Trump Dos and Don’ts

By Priya Anand · Nov 2, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

President Donald Trump has attacked Amazon or its CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter almost two dozen times over the past three years, often inaccurately accusing Amazon of using the Washington Post, which Mr. Bezos personally owns, as a lobbying arm. Invariably, Amazon’s official response to the attacks: crickets. It turns out Amazon has a... President Donald Trump has attacked Amazon or its CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter almost two dozen...

Primary school students in China doing homework
Photo: AP

Tencent-Backed Startup’s Valuation Tops $2.8 Billion in China’s Online Education War

By Yunan Zhang · Nov 2, 2018 3:01am PDT · 1 comment

Tencent is investing a further $250 million in online education startup Yuanfudao at a valuation of $2.8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.As online education services have become more widely accepted in China, local internet giants and other global tech investors are all doubling down on the sector’s leading players.... Tencent is investing a further $250 million in online education startup Yuanfudao at a valuation...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Scientists and Silicon Valley to Mingle at Breakthrough Prizes

By Sarah Kuranda, Aaron Tilley and Nick Wingfield · Nov 1, 2018 10:01am PDT

Discoveries that could help with the development of powerful new computers and cancer therapies will be among the achievements recognized Sunday night at a ceremony for the 2019 Breakthrough Prizes, an event that styles itself as the “Oscars for science.” The event Sunday night will be the seventh for the Breakthrough Prizes, which... Discoveries that could help with the development of powerful new computers and cancer therapies...

Reddit COO Jen Wong.

Reddit’s Plan for Growth

By Tom Dotan · Nov 1, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Reddit COO Jen Wong.

Q&A

Reddit’s Plan for Growth

By Tom Dotan · Nov 1, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Reddit Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong has only been at the company for six months, but she has big ambitions for its ad business. In an interview with The Information, the former Time Inc. COO says Reddit should be able to build an ad business that’s “comparable” to social media networks Twitter, Snap and Pinterest.... Reddit Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong has only been at the company for six months, but she has...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

States Exploring Blockchain Voting

By Jon Victor · Oct 31, 2018 12:25pm PDT

Happy 10th birthday to bitcoin, and Happy Halloween. This is a spooky one for Coinbase competitors, as the company announced Tuesday that it raised $300 million in new funding. Also, if you come across any creative crypto-themed costumes, please send photos my way. (But please, no bitcoin price charts. That’s low-hanging fruit.)In honor of... Happy 10th birthday to bitcoin, and Happy Halloween. This is a spooky one for Coinbase...

Kuaishou's app on a smartphone. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s Video App Kuaishou Targets a $25 Billion Valuation

By Yunan Zhang · Oct 31, 2018 8:37am PDT · 1 comment

Kuaishou, a Chinese live-streaming app backed by Tencent, Baidu and Sequoia, is in talks to raise money at a valuation of as much as $25 billion, according to people familiar with the discussions. That would be up from $18 billion in an earlier fundraising round.The fundraising is the latest shot in a multibillion-dollar arms race among Chinese... Kuaishou, a Chinese live-streaming app backed by Tencent, Baidu and Sequoia, is in talks to raise...

Parts of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo have been designated as opportunity zones. Photo: Bloomberg

To Snare Tax Break, Venture Firms Eye Relocating Startups

By Alfred Lee · Oct 31, 2018 7:03am PDT · 3 comments

The federal government is rolling out big tax breaks for investing in economically depressed areas. One strategy that numerous venture capitalists are exploring to take advantage of the new savings: helping portfolio companies move into one of the designated neighborhoods.One of those investors, Patrick McKenna, founder of Miami... The federal government is rolling out big tax breaks for investing in economically depressed...

Lime co-founders Toby Sun and Brad Bao at the company's San Mateo headquarters earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg.

Scooter Rental Startup Lime Plans Car-Rental Service in Seattle

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 30, 2018 5:35pm PDT

Lime co-founders Toby Sun and Brad Bao at the company's San Mateo headquarters earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg.

Scooter Rental Startup Lime Plans Car-Rental Service in Seattle

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 30, 2018 5:35pm PDT

Lime, the Uber- and Alphabet-backed startup that boasts its electric scooter rentals take cars off the road, has decided that some four-wheel vehicles aren’t so bad after all. Lime plans to test a car-rental service in Seattle in the coming months, people familiar with the matter said. The service would allow people to book through... Lime, the Uber- and Alphabet-backed startup that boasts its electric scooter rentals take cars...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a company event in September. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook User Growth Stalls in Mature Markets

By Sarah Kuranda · Oct 30, 2018 3:46pm PDT · 1 comment

Facebook’s user growth in its most mature markets—the U.S., Canada and Europe—has screeched to a halt, but the company squeezed more revenue from those regions, a sign that the formidable advertising machine it has built continues to chug along. While there were some worrying signs for the social network in its third quarter... Facebook’s user growth in its most mature markets—the U.S., Canada and...

Art by Mike Sullivan

‘Gun-Shy’: How Federal Prosecutors Forgot Silicon Valley

By Matt Drange · Oct 30, 2018 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

The tech industry has become known for risk-takers and rule breakers. But for nearly 20 years, it hasn’t had a prosecutor willing to take it on.The number of white-collar cases prosecuted by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California has plunged from a peak of 354 in 1995 to 72 in fiscal 2018. And the prosecutor’s... The tech industry has become known for risk-takers and rule breakers. But for nearly 20 years, it...

Elastic executives celebrate the company's initial public offering earlier this month. Photo by Bloomberg

After IBM-Red Hat, Which Open-Source Companies Are Next?

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 30, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

With IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat, open-source software—once one of the biggest threats facing traditional enterprise technology companies—has become a hot commodity. It is just a matter of time before more open-source companies are gobbled up. This year has already seen three other major open-source deals:... With IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat, open-source software—once one of the...

Apple's store in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Iconic Stores Struggle in China

By Wayne Ma · Oct 29, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Apple's store in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Iconic Stores Struggle in China

By Wayne Ma · Oct 29, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Eight years ago, Tim Cook, then Apple's chief operating officer, was so bullish on the performance of the company’s stores in China he told analysts its four retail locations in the country—one of which sat beneath a glittering 40-foot tall shaft of glass in Shanghai’s ritzy Pudong district—were generating more... Eight years ago, Tim Cook, then Apple's chief operating officer, was so bullish on the...

Go-Jek motorbike drivers and riders in Jakarta. Photo: Bloomberg

Google-Backed Ride-Hailing Startup Go-Jek Valued at Over $9 Billion

By Juro Osawa · Oct 29, 2018 2:54am PDT · 1 comment

Google and Chinese giants Tencent and JD.com are doubling down on Indonesia’s Go-Jek in an investment round that could nearly double the ride-hailing startup’s valuation to more than $9 billion, people familiar with the matter said.In Southeast Asia, home to 600 million people and one of the world’s fastest-growing internet... Google and Chinese giants Tencent and JD.com are doubling down on Indonesia’s Go-Jek in an...

In Silicon Valley, Silence on Saudi

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 27, 2018 8:10pm PDT · 2 comments

As business leaders made headlines by joining—or skipping—the Saudi’s annual Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, I spent much of this week trying to track down whether Silicon Valley was going to turn its back on Saudi Arabia, and its partner SoftBank, as the global crisis over Jamal Khashoggi’s murder... As business leaders made headlines by joining—or skipping—the Saudi’s annual...

The Information’s 411 — Scooternomics

By Tom Dotan · Oct 26, 2018 4:21pm PDT

Jessica explores why there hasn't been a bigger backlash in Silicon Valley over accepting Saudi money. Cory gives an update on the scooter business. Jessica explores why there hasn't been a bigger backlash in Silicon Valley over accepting...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Turns Tough With Streaming Services, in Replay of Cable Tactics

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Oct 26, 2018 1:51pm PDT · 3 comments

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Turns Tough With Streaming Services, in Replay of Cable Tactics

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Oct 26, 2018 1:51pm PDT · 3 comments

Amazon.com has established itself as a major distribution platform for small video-streaming services. Now the tech giant is trying to squeeze more money out of those services, sparking a battle reminiscent of the cable TV era.Amazon is looking to increase its cut of revenue from some subscription services available through Prime Video by 10 to... Amazon.com has established itself as a major distribution platform for small video-streaming...