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

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

A Guide to Coronavirus Apps for Contact Tracing, Symptom Reporting

By Nick Bastone · Apr 15, 2020 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Governments, academics and tech companies—including giants like Apple, Google and Facebook—are betting that software and smartphones can play a role in the next phase of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Their efforts may be creating another unwanted condition: confusion. In recent weeks, these groups have begun to... Governments, academics and tech companies—including giants like Apple, Google and...

A scene from the film "The Lovebirds". Photo by Paramount

Studios Look to Offload Movies to Netflix, Amazon

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 14, 2020 1:01pm PDT · 9 comments

Streaming services have suddenly become Hollywood studios’ new best friend.A wide array of film studios in recent weeks have tried to sell some of the movies they haven’t been able to show in theaters to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, according to multiple media executives. Hulu has received over 50... Streaming services have suddenly become Hollywood studios’ new best friend.A wide array of...

How Tencent’s WeChat Poses Creeping Threat to Apple

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Apr 14, 2020 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Three years ago, Tencent’s top executives flew to Cupertino, California, for a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Their mission: mollify Apple executives worried that a new feature in Tencent’s WeChat, China’s top social-networking app, could upend the multibillion-dollar app ecosystem. The feature, called mini programs,... Three years ago, Tencent’s top executives flew to Cupertino, California, for a meeting with...

Why Now Could Be Apple’s Moment in TV

By Martin Peers, Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 13, 2020 1:01pm PDT

Why Now Could Be Apple’s Moment in TV

By Martin Peers, Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 13, 2020 1:01pm PDT

This could be Apple TV Plus’s moment.If Apple wanted to get a jump on its rivals in video streaming, it would use some of its $200 billion in cash reserves and buy up as much available programming as it could—including any unreleased movies Hollywood studios might be inclined to sell. None of its rivals, with the exception of... This could be Apple TV Plus’s moment.If Apple wanted to get a jump on its rivals in video...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Can Brian Chesky Save Airbnb?

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 13, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is known for his relentless optimism and outsize goals. The company for years has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into pursuing his vision of designing the “perfect trip” for travelers. Determined to think big, Chesky has explored taking the company in unfamiliar directions, such as launching a flight... Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is known for his relentless optimism and outsize goals. The company for...

Public Companies, Private Companies and Why the Grass Is Always Greener

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 11, 2020 7:46am PDT · 1 comment

Covid-19 has resulted in a dramatic loss of life, plunged the U.S. into recession and created who knows what other disasters that we will be dealing with for years to come. It also interrupted a very prolonged private technology boom and IPO streak that, while wobbling before the pandemic, has now come to a crashing halt. Covid-19 has resulted in a dramatic loss of life, plunged the U.S. into recession and created who...

The Information’s 411 — Tangled Up in Azure

By Tom Dotan · Apr 10, 2020 5:05pm PDT · 2 comments

Kevin talks about the problems that Microsoft's Azure has had providing service to its customers. While the work-from-home era has complicated things, the real story is that the issues cropped up long before the pandemic. Kevin talks about the problems that Microsoft's Azure has had providing service to its...

Managing Google During the Coronavirus Crisis

By Nick Bastone and Amir Efrati · Apr 10, 2020 7:01am PDT

Managing Google During the Coronavirus Crisis

By Nick Bastone and Amir Efrati · Apr 10, 2020 7:01am PDT

Google, which began humbly in a garage in Palo Alto, California, has unexpectedly gone back to its domestic roots. Like other tech companies, Google last month sent nearly all of its employees—around 114,000 of them in total—to work from home with the aim of curbing the spread of the coronavirus. It is one of many ways the... Google, which began humbly in a garage in Palo Alto, California, has unexpectedly gone back to...

Silicon Valley Bank CEO Gregory Becker. Photo by Bloomberg

Silicon Valley Bank Struggles as Startups Rush for Government Loans

By Kate Clark · Apr 9, 2020 11:01am PDT · 2 comments

As the first set of entrepreneurs learned they would receive emergency loans administered through the federal Small Business Administration, many of those who had applied through Silicon Valley Bank were stuck trying to deal with glitches in the application process.The tech-focused bank had processed close to 5,000 applications to the... As the first set of entrepreneurs learned they would receive emergency loans administered through...

VCs Could Exhaust ‘Dry Powder’ in a Year Unless They Slow Investing

By Kate Clark · Apr 9, 2020 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Venture capital investors are flush with cash, but they may want to slow down their spending.U.S. venture firms have roughly $150 billion of funds available to invest in cash-starved startups, a little more than half of the $279 billion they have raised since 2014. That estimate of the VC industry’s “dry powder”—business... Venture capital investors are flush with cash, but they may want to slow down their spending.U.S....

A scene from the Pixar movie "Soul".

Animation Escapes the Pandemic

By Tom Dotan · Apr 8, 2020 2:30pm PDT

In normal times, when animators at Snowball Studios are figuring out how a scene should look, they’ll gather in a room and look through sketches frame by frame. The director will note the tweaks to make, even acting out how the characters should move. Nowadays, Snowball’s animators—who make cartoons like “Fancy... In normal times, when animators at Snowball Studios are figuring out how a scene should look,...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Projects Revenue Could Fall by Half This Year

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 8, 2020 11:59am PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Projects Revenue Could Fall by Half This Year

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 8, 2020 11:59am PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb, reeling from the coronavirus’ spread, has projected that its revenue will plunge some 54% this year, people familiar with the matter said.In a scenario the company has shown investors, Airbnb’s revenue would fall to about $2.2 billion this year, from $4.8 billion in 2019. The scenario is preliminary, as no one knows how long... Airbnb, reeling from the coronavirus’ spread, has projected that its revenue will plunge...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in February. Photo by Bloomberg

Outbreak Strains Microsoft’s Cloud, but Issues Began Earlier for Customers

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Apr 8, 2020 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

As the Covid-19 outbreak prompted a surge in people using the internet, Microsoft late last month warned its customers that it was seeing so much usage of its cloud computing service, Azure, that it would have to give priority to first responders and health care organizations if Azure became overloaded. Days later, it said some free cloud... As the Covid-19 outbreak prompted a surge in people using the internet, Microsoft late last month...

Illustration by Shutterstock

How the Ad Slump Affects Big (and Small) Tech

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 7, 2020 2:14pm PDT · 3 comments

The severity of the pandemic-caused ad market slump is becoming clearer. The immediate impact is particularly sharp for digital media, where some executives report declines of as much as 50% in ad bookings. But analysts also predict that big companies like Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter will be hurt—and that they could feel the damage for... The severity of the pandemic-caused ad market slump is becoming clearer. The immediate impact is...

Chart by Jesse Howe

Cash-Rich Tech Giants Could Provide Alternative to Federal Loans

By Nick Bastone · Apr 7, 2020 11:47am PDT · 2 comments

The Small Business Administration has a $349 billion emergency fund to provide some relief to small businesses across the country hurt by the coronavirus. But a possible alternative source of funding for cash-strapped tech startups could be the tech giants, which between them have much more cash than the SBA.Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and... The Small Business Administration has a $349 billion emergency fund to provide some relief to...

Scooter rental startup Bird has laid off significant numbers of staff in the U.S., but not in Amsterdam. Photo: AP

European Tech Employees Shielded From Layoff Pain

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 7, 2020 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Scooter rental startup Bird has laid off significant numbers of staff in the U.S., but not in Amsterdam. Photo: AP

European Tech Employees Shielded From Layoff Pain

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 7, 2020 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

TripActions, a well-funded corporate travel startup, laid off nearly 300 employees in London, Sydney and six U.S. offices two weeks ago, many of whom were informed in a Zoom videoconference call. But their 133 colleagues in Amsterdam got to keep their jobs.TripActions plans to apply for emergency funding from the Dutch government that would... TripActions, a well-funded corporate travel startup, laid off nearly 300 employees in London,...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Technology’s Role in Shaping the Impact of Covid-19

By Sam Lessin · Apr 6, 2020 10:35am PDT · 1 comment

Three weeks ago I wrote a column about how the Covid-19 crisis was likely to affect the future of tech companies and technology policy. Since then, I have spent more time considering the inverse question: How is the state of technology in 2020 playing a role in shaping our experience of, and response to, the Covid-19 pandemic?Put differently,... Three weeks ago I wrote a column about how the Covid-19 crisis was likely to affect the future of...

An employee worked at an Amazon warehouse in Bangalore, India, in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Amazon Struggles in India as Lockdown Sows Confusion

By Priya Anand · Apr 6, 2020 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

When U.S. cities began telling people to shelter in place, it propelled a huge surge in demand for deliveries from Amazon.com. But when India’s prime minister late last month ordered the country of more than 1.3 billion people to stay home for three weeks, Amazon’s India operations spiraled into chaos.In some areas, local police... When U.S. cities began telling people to shelter in place, it propelled a huge surge in demand...

Glowforge CEO Dan Shapiro. Photo: Glowforge

Should Tech Startups Apply for Emergency Loans? Confusion, Division Reign

By Kate Clark, Cory Weinberg, Zoë Bernard and Ashley Gold · Apr 5, 2020 7:19pm PDT · 6 comments

Tech startups spent the weekend scrambling to figure out whether they were eligible for a federal emergency loan program that some said could make the difference between whether they are forced to lay off employees or not. For startups that saw sales collapse nearly overnight as the coronavirus outbreak halted many forms of business... Tech startups spent the weekend scrambling to figure out whether they were eligible for a federal...

Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar. Photo by Flickr/Betsy Weber

A Covid-19 CEO Checklist and Other Lessons From Morgan Stanley’s Virtual Software CEO Summit

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 4, 2020 7:47am PDT · 4 comments

Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar. Photo by Flickr/Betsy Weber

A Covid-19 CEO Checklist and Other Lessons From Morgan Stanley’s Virtual Software CEO Summit

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 4, 2020 7:47am PDT · 4 comments

For the last several summers, the who’s who of software executives have gathered in Deer Valley for two days of talks about the financial markets and how software is eating the world.Morgan Stanley’s NextGen Software CEO Summit is the kind of exclusive confab where attendees discuss the pros and cons of direct listings by fire pits... For the last several summers, the who’s who of software executives have gathered in Deer...