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

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Recent Editions

A house being sold by Opendoor. Photo by Opendoor

Real Estate Startups Turn to More Debt

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 26, 2018 7:00am PDT

Opendoor, which buys and sells homes online, has seemed poised for rapid growth after raising more than $700 million from SoftBank and other venture capital investors this year. A more fickle group of investors to appease might be its growing cadre of lenders, who have now loaned the company about $2 billion so it can buy more homes, often sight... Opendoor, which buys and sells homes online, has seemed poised for rapid growth after raising...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

Online Advertising Still Surging, Results Show

By The Information Staff · Oct 25, 2018 4:06pm PDT · 2 comments

The online ad market is still surging, based on third quarter results from Google, Amazon, Twitter and Snap released Thursday. That raises the stakes for Facebook, which reports next week amid intense questions about whether advertisers or users have been scared off by negative publicity. The results also were the latest evidence of how much... The online ad market is still surging, based on third quarter results from Google, Amazon,...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Bloomberg

Disney’s Next Challenge: Managing Internal Conflicts Over Streaming

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Oct 25, 2018 7:00am PDT

As Walt Disney Company speeds along with its plans to launch new streaming services, it faces a fundamental challenge: how to more directly compete with Netflix without undermining its traditional TV networks.One area where the potential for internal conflict could become clear is in executive compensation. Disney is discussing using streaming... As Walt Disney Company speeds along with its plans to launch new streaming services, it faces a...

Google's campus in Mountain View, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s Firing of Conservative May Fuel Discrimination Claims

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 24, 2018 3:37pm PDT · 2 comments

Google's campus in Mountain View, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s Firing of Conservative May Fuel Discrimination Claims

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 24, 2018 3:37pm PDT · 2 comments

In recent months, President Donald Trump and right-leaning media have attacked Google for allegedly showing anti-conservative bias in its search results and workplace culture. While Google denied those criticisms, a lawsuit the search giant filed earlier this year against a former employee could fuel the perception that Google treats employees... In recent months, President Donald Trump and right-leaning media have attacked Google for...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Tether Slump; Institutional Ramp-Up

By Jon Victor · Oct 24, 2018 12:35pm PDT

Coinbase has officially entered the stablecoin game. The wallet and exchange company announced Tuesday that it will offer trading in USD Coin, a stablecoin operated by Circle, another major U.S. crypto company. Below, we take a closer look at the shifting stablecoin landscape, including how USD Coin stacks up against its competitors.Also in this... Coinbase has officially entered the stablecoin game. The wallet and exchange company announced...

Jobs@TheInformation

Apply for The Information’s Summer Reporting Internship

By The Information Staff · Oct 24, 2018 10:47am PDT

The Information is a fast-growing subscription publication dedicated to original, compelling reporting on business and technology. We’ve made a multimillion-dollar investment to significantly expand our coverage into several new areas, including media, entertainment, fintech and cryptocurrencies. We don’t publish commodity... The Information is a fast-growing subscription publication dedicated to original, compelling...

Xilinx CEO Victor Peng. Photo by Xilinx

The Big Interview

Chip Maker Xilinx Sees Breakout Moment in AI

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 24, 2018 7:01am PDT

For most of Xilinx’s 34 years in existence, the company was a little-known provider of specialized chips, lacking the star power of Silicon Valley chip giants like Intel and Nvidia. Thanks to a surge in applications for artificial intelligence, though, Xilinx products are now making their way into hot new tech categories, from autonomous... For most of Xilinx’s 34 years in existence, the company was a little-known provider of...

Oprah Winfrey. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple to Launch TV Subscription Service Globally

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 23, 2018 12:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Oprah Winfrey. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple to Launch TV Subscription Service Globally

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 23, 2018 12:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Apple is planning to launch its upcoming TV subscription service in more than 100 countries, three people familiar with the company’s plans told The Information. That would quickly make Apple a competitor with both Amazon and Netflix, both of whose video services are widely available internationally.Apple is working to launch its new TV... Apple is planning to launch its upcoming TV subscription service in more than 100 countries,...

Inside Bird’s Scooter Economics

By Amir Efrati and Cory Weinberg · Oct 23, 2018 11:12am PDT · 2 comments

Electric scooter rental service Bird told prospective investors in June of this year that it was on pace to generate around $65 million in revenue annually. At the time, Bird was operating in roughly 10 markets and has since launched service in almost 100 more cities domestically and abroad. The company is now on pace to generate hundreds of... Electric scooter rental service Bird told prospective investors in June of this year that it was...

The Information reporting; Coinbase

The People With Power at Coinbase

By Jon Victor · Oct 23, 2018 7:01am PDT

Over the last 12 months, Coinbase, Silicon Valley’s most high-profile cryptocurrency company, has been recruiting aggressively from Wall Street, attracting top deal makers and prominent lawyers as it seeks to become the premier conduit for institutional cryptocurrency trading. Jeff Horowitz, Coinbase’s chief compliance officer, came... Over the last 12 months, Coinbase, Silicon Valley’s most high-profile cryptocurrency...

Oracle's former cloud chief Thomas Kurian. Photo by Bloomberg

Aborted VMware Deal Shows Oracle’s Cloud Struggles

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 22, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Oracle earlier this year held talks with VMware about a deal that would have allowed VMware’s computing, storage and networking software to run on Oracle’s cloud service, making Oracle more appealing for businesses already using VMware software in their data centers, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. But the talks... Oracle earlier this year held talks with VMware about a deal that would have allowed...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook on Hunt for Big Cybersecurity Acquisition

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Oct 21, 2018 10:10am PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook on Hunt for Big Cybersecurity Acquisition

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Oct 21, 2018 10:10am PDT

In an effort to repair its tattered reputation around data protection, Facebook is stepping up efforts to acquire a major cybersecurity firm, according to four people familiar with the matter. Facebook has approached several security firms about an acquisition, two of the people said, although neither would identify the companies as discussions... In an effort to repair its tattered reputation around data protection, Facebook is stepping up...

Tech IPO Mania? Not So Fast.

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 20, 2018 9:15am PDT

In recent weeks, Lyft has hired J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and Jefferies to lead its IPO and bankers are circling Uber, wooing them with predictions of a $120B market valuation—nearly twice its current private market price. Palantir, Postmates, and even eventually Pax, are contemplating IPOs too, several outlets, including WSJ, Reuters and... In recent weeks, Lyft has hired J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and Jefferies to lead its IPO and...

The Information’s 411 — IPO or Cannabust

By Tom Dotan · Oct 19, 2018 2:10pm PDT

Juro talks about how niche social apps could reshape the social media landscape in China. Nick talks about PAX Labs and its plans to make the public markets comfortable with its business of selling cannabis vaping devices. Juro talks about how niche social apps could reshape the social media landscape in China. Nick...

A Tegna sign at the company headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg

TV Stations Join Digital Gold Rush

By Beejoli Shah · Oct 19, 2018 7:01am PDT

The explosion of demand for video production is creating a new business for an unlikely source: local TV stations.Broadcasters such as Gannett spinoff company Tegna, Sinclair Broadcasting, Tribune and the station division of Disney’s ABC are now creating shows specifically for Facebook and YouTube. The shows include “More in... The explosion of demand for video production is creating a new business for an unlikely source:...

Twitch COO Sara Clemens. Photo by Erin Beach

Twitch COO Says The Future of Live TV Is Personalized Commentary

By Tom Dotan · Oct 18, 2018 4:19pm PDT

Twitch COO Sara Clemens. Photo by Erin Beach

Subscriber Summit

Twitch COO Says The Future of Live TV Is Personalized Commentary

By Tom Dotan · Oct 18, 2018 4:19pm PDT

This football season, Amazon-owned Twitch gave users the ability to stream Thursday Night NFL Games on their own personalized channels. And as executives soon discovered, the biggest audience on the platform hasn’t come from the official stream, but from an individual user who adds his own commentary to the game. Twitch COO Sara Clemens... This football season, Amazon-owned Twitch gave users the ability to stream Thursday Night NFL...

Startup founders (l-r) Howie Liu, Mathilde Collin and DJ Kleinbaum. Photo by Erin Beach

Subscriber Summit

The ‘Philosophical Recession’ Hanging Over Tech Startups

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 18, 2018 3:59pm PDT

When Howie Liu first came to Silicon Valley a decade ago, the assumption was that if a tech startup could make money, it was a social good in itself—a sort of altruistic, pure capitalism. But Mr. Liu believes that view isn’t widespread anymore. “Rightfully so, we’re seeing a state where that’s being scrutinized and... When Howie Liu first came to Silicon Valley a decade ago, the assumption was that if a tech...

Andreessen Horowitz general partner Katie Haun, in conversation with The Information founder Jessica Lessin, at The Information Subscriber Summit in San Francisco.

Subscriber Summit

Andreessen Digs Into Crypto

By Sarah Kuranda · Oct 18, 2018 3:34pm PDT · 2 comments

When venture capitalists first started looking at deals in the cryptocurrency and blockchain market, most took a traditional investing approach, hunting for equity stakes in startups. Eventually, they had to rethink their approach to deal-making in the business to include investments in tokens themselves, according to a prominent venture... When venture capitalists first started looking at deals in the cryptocurrency and blockchain...

GitHub Incoming CEO Nat Friedman. Photo by Erin Beach

Subscriber Summit

Microsoft Won’t Mess Up GitHub, Executive Says

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 18, 2018 1:48pm PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft was once so hostile to open-source software that former CEO Steve Ballmer called it a “cancer.” That history worries open-source developers who rely on GitHub, which Microsoft is buying. But the Microsoft executive who will take the reins of GitHub when the deal is completed says developers shouldn’t worry.Under CEO... Microsoft was once so hostile to open-source software that former CEO Steve Ballmer called it a...

PAX Labs CEO Bharat Vasan. Photo by PAX Labs

PAX Labs Boosts Legal, Policy Teams Ahead of Eventual IPO

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 18, 2018 7:02am PDT

PAX Labs CEO Bharat Vasan. Photo by PAX Labs

PAX Labs Boosts Legal, Policy Teams Ahead of Eventual IPO

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 18, 2018 7:02am PDT

The company behind a popular line of marijuana vaporizers is stepping up its lobbying, communications and policy efforts as it prepares for an eventual initial public offering.In recent weeks, PAX Labs—which makes a line of sleek devices for vaping cannabis in plant and oil forms—hired two technology industry veterans to help in... The company behind a popular line of marijuana vaporizers is stepping up its lobbying,...