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

Apple CEO Tim Cook visiting a Luxshare plant in China in 2017. Photo by Luxshare

Apple to Make New Headphones in Vietnam in Shift From China

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · May 19, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Apple is about to face a big test of its ability to manufacture its devices outside China—by making a brand-new product in Vietnam. Apple has tapped factories in Vietnam to make its own forthcoming over-ear headphones, a new phase in its effort to diversify manufacturing away from China amid political and trade tensions between... Apple is about to face a big test of its ability to manufacture its devices outside...

Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

WeWork’s New Number: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · May 18, 2020 6:57pm PDT

A year ago, we noted an unusual discrepancy in WeWork’s apparent worth. Based on SoftBank’s earlier, large investments, the office co-working company carried a $47 billion valuation. Yet investors including mutual funds, secondary market buyers and even SoftBank in a smaller deal judged WeWork to be worth just $23 billion. Fast... A year ago, we noted an unusual discrepancy in WeWork’s apparent worth. Based on...

WarnerMedia CTO Jeremy Legg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Q&A

WarnerMedia Is Hiring, Considering Social Features for HBO Max

By Jessica Toonkel · May 18, 2020 10:43am PDT

Getting a new streaming service like HBO Max off the ground is a technical feat under normal circumstances, but the coronavirus pandemic has added wrinkles no one could have anticipated.Just a couple of weeks ago, when a small power outage in a Seattle neighborhood affected one of WarnerMedia’s data centers, the media company’s chief... Getting a new streaming service like HBO Max off the ground is a technical feat under normal...

Mike Sullivan

Dreams Upended: Layoffs Shatter Tech Boom

By Cory Weinberg · May 18, 2020 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Mike Sullivan

Dreams Upended: Layoffs Shatter Tech Boom

By Cory Weinberg · May 18, 2020 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Tim McLaughlin cheered alongside doctors and nurses at an Oakland, Calif., children’s hospital one evening in late April as his 3-year-old son rang a bell to celebrate major progress with his cancer treatment. The next day, McLaughlin opened his email to find scooter startup Lime had laid him off.McLaughlin, a 43-year-old Missouri native... Tim McLaughlin cheered alongside doctors and nurses at an Oakland, Calif., children’s...

Journalist Katie Couric speaks during the 2020 Makers Conference in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Katie Couric’s Latest Act Is Paying Off

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 16, 2020 8:02am PDT · 3 comments

The news about the news is increasingly grim. Newsrooms are cutting journalism jobs in droves. Many news businesses are collapsing. Clearly, it’s time for new approaches.With that on my mind, I checked in this week with a journalist I admire, someone who has always taken big risks in her career: Katie Couric.Couric, of course, was TV... The news about the news is increasingly grim. Newsrooms are cutting journalism jobs in droves....

Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Andrew Chen. He led the Clubhouse investment. Photo: Getty Images

Deals Heat Up: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · May 15, 2020 8:06pm PDT

Greetings!For a Friday, with summer approaching, deals are humming. You don’t have to look further than consumer technology, an area somewhat overshadowed last year by the high prices fetched by enterprise software companies.Recent deals show a tale of two markets, however. In one, later-stage consumer tech companies are finding buyers,... Greetings!For a Friday, with summer approaching, deals are humming. You don’t have to look...

The Information’s 411 — The Oracle and the JEDI

By Tom Dotan · May 15, 2020 4:19pm PDT

Chris Stern gives us an update on the ongoing battle to win the Pentagon's cloud computing contract. He explains why Amazon is still fighting to win the account back from Microsoft in the courts. And how Oracle fits into the puzzle. Chris Stern gives us an update on the ongoing battle to win the Pentagon's cloud computing...

CloudKitchens founder Travis Kalanick

Two Senior Engineers Quit Kalanick’s CloudKitchens

By Amir Efrati · May 15, 2020 3:23pm PDT

CloudKitchens founder Travis Kalanick

Two Senior Engineers Quit Kalanick’s CloudKitchens

By Amir Efrati · May 15, 2020 3:23pm PDT

Two senior engineers who last year joined CloudKitchens, the commercial kitchen startup founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, abruptly resigned this week, The Information has learned. Their departures raise questions about whether the company could lose other engineers at a time when it is seeking to significantly expand its... Two senior engineers who last year joined CloudKitchens, the commercial kitchen startup founded...

Devoted Health cofounder Todd Park when he was the U.S. chief technology officer in 2013. Photo: Bloomberg

Devoted Health Valued at $3 Billion With New Funds

By Kate Clark · May 15, 2020 1:42pm PDT · 1 comment

Devoted Health, a startup co-founded by serial health-tech entrepreneurs Ed and Todd Park, is raising at least $200 million in a deal that values the company at more than $3 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.The round is not yet closed as the company plans to keep raising additional capital, one person said. The company... Devoted Health, a startup co-founded by serial health-tech entrepreneurs Ed and Todd Park, is...

Mike Sullivan

Your Corporate Event Has Gone Virtual. Here’s How to Make It Work

By Jessica Toonkel · May 15, 2020 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

When Pamela Jacques started revamping her employer’s annual spring conference in Florida into an online event, she realized that speakers were going to need quality audiovisual equipment to make their presentations given from home seem polished. Jacques, who runs corporate marketing for Netscout, a Boston-area information technology... When Pamela Jacques started revamping her employer’s annual spring conference in Florida...

A cyclist wearing a protective mask rides through San Francisco on March 25, 2020.

The Tech Behind Our Office Return: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By The Information Staff · May 14, 2020 6:43pm PDT

When I think about heading back to the office, I mostly worry about how I’m going to get there. My typical routine had been to cram into one of San Francisco’s underground light rails. The thought of those muggy, overcrowded train cars seems less appealing than ever. It’s no wonder that e-bike sales are booming. I’m... When I think about heading back to the office, I mostly worry about how I’m going to get...

Disney will bring a movie version of "Hamilton" to Disney+ in July. Photo by AP

Disney Streaming Unit Slows Hiring Despite Subscriber Gains

By Tom Dotan · May 14, 2020 11:03am PDT

Disney will bring a movie version of "Hamilton" to Disney+ in July. Photo by AP

Disney Streaming Unit Slows Hiring Despite Subscriber Gains

By Tom Dotan · May 14, 2020 11:03am PDT

The Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service may be the best thing going right now at the struggling entertainment giant, which is facing a once-in-a-generation crisis that has ravaged its movie, theme park and cruise businesses. But the company hasn’t spared the division that includes the fast-growing service—Disney+—from... The Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service may be the best thing going right now at the...

Andrew Farah, co-founder and CEO of Density. Photo provided by Density

A Sales Surge for Tech That Helps Social Distancing in Offices

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 14, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

As more businesses start planning to reopen their workplaces, technology for managing office space is poised to shed its backwater status. Makers of workplace management technology—which businesses rely on to use their spaces more efficiently—are now seeing a boom in sales from companies who need expert input... As more businesses start planning to reopen their workplaces, technology for managing office...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai at last year's Google I/O conference. Photo by Bloomberg

Conference Nostalgia Sets In: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · May 13, 2020 7:31pm PDT

Today, I thought I would be waking up at 6 am to make the trek from San Francisco to Mountain View for the second day of Google’s annual developer conference, I/O. I probably would have forgotten to wear sunscreen and complained about trying to write stories from a venue made for rock concerts. But here we are. I’ve spent the day in... Today, I thought I would be waking up at 6 am to make the trek from San Francisco to Mountain...

Ann Miura-Ko. Photo courtesy of Floodgate

Q&A

Startups Face a ‘Fundamental Reset,’ Says VC

By Kate Clark · May 13, 2020 11:36am PDT · 1 comment

Ann Miura-Ko is no stranger to investing during a crisis. She got her start in venture capital as an analyst on September 10, 2001. She co-founded her seed-stage fund, Floodgate, in 2008 just as Bear Stearns was collapsing. The current shock set off by the global coronavirus pandemic seems worse. “This is actually a fundamental reset.... Ann Miura-Ko is no stranger to investing during a crisis. She got her start in venture capital as...

Rick Osterloh and Mario Queiroz. Photos by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Google’s Pixel Division Undergoes Shakeup After Disappointing Launch

By Nick Bastone · May 13, 2020 7:01am PDT · 11 comments

Rick Osterloh and Mario Queiroz. Photos by Bloomberg. Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Google’s Pixel Division Undergoes Shakeup After Disappointing Launch

By Nick Bastone · May 13, 2020 7:01am PDT · 11 comments

When Google announces its latest Pixel smartphone in the coming weeks, it will be without some key architects of its previous model, which drew rare internal criticism from the company’s head of hardware, Rick Osterloh, The Information has learned.The mastermind behind Google’s Pixel camera, Marc Levoy, who last year showed off his... When Google announces its latest Pixel smartphone in the coming weeks, it will be without some...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Sparks San Francisco Questions: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · May 12, 2020 6:57pm PDT

In 2003, not too long after the dot-com collapse wiped out internet startups all over San Francisco, I wrote a story for The Wall Street Journal about artists and other bohemian types reclaiming the city from tech interlopers. LOL. If there’s one thing San Francisco has shown again and again over the decades, it’s that fortune... In 2003, not too long after the dot-com collapse wiped out internet startups all over San...

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, in June 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Managers Asked for Pay Cut to Save Jobs. The CEO Said No

By Amir Efrati · May 12, 2020 3:07pm PDT · 7 comments

In late April, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called a meeting of the executives in charge of the ride-hailing firm’s nearly 4,000-person engineering department to tell them they needed to plan to cut headcount by 20%. Some of the engineering leaders responded that they and other managers would be willing to cut their own pay if it meant they... In late April, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called a meeting of the executives in charge of the...

Workers from Instacart at a grocery store in Frederick, Maryland, last year. Photo: AP

Instacart Weighs New Financing That Would Boost Valuation by at Least 50%

By Amir Efrati · May 12, 2020 12:21pm PDT · 1 comment

Instacart, the grocery delivery company whose business has surged amid Covid-19 lockdowns, is in talks to raise several hundred million dollars from existing and new investors, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.The deal would put the company’s pre-money valuation at between $12 billion and $14 billion, one of these... Instacart, the grocery delivery company whose business has surged amid Covid-19 lockdowns, is in...

Sensors Data CEO, Sang Wenfeng. Photo by Sensors Data.

Five Startups Bidding to Be China’s SaaS Stars

By Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · May 12, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Sensors Data CEO, Sang Wenfeng. Photo by Sensors Data.

Five Startups Bidding to Be China’s SaaS Stars

By Yunan Zhang and Shai Oster · May 12, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

So far, China hasn’t spawned any breakout enterprise software companies as successful as Salesforce.com and others of its kind. But venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in the country are more determined than ever to build one. The weekslong lockdown prompted by the coronavirus forced millions of people in China to work remotely in... So far, China hasn’t spawned any breakout enterprise software companies as successful as...