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

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

New Momentum for Ethereum Rival EOS

By Jon Victor · Sep 5, 2018 12:46pm PDT

I hope you had a fun and restorative Labor Day weekend. The unofficial end of summer must mean the unofficial start of crypto conference season, because the number of blockchain conferences and events on my radar seems to be ramping up quickly now that September has arrived. Which events will you attend? Any recommendations for ones that I... I hope you had a fun and restorative Labor Day weekend. The unofficial end of summer must mean...

Microsoft's AI research chief Harry Shum. Photo by Bloomberg.

Huawei Guns for Nvidia With Potential Microsoft AI Chip Deal in China

By Juro Osawa · Sep 5, 2018 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Microsoft and Huawei Technologies are discussing the possibility of the U.S. company using Huawei’s newly developed artificial intelligence chips for data centers in China, people familiar with the matter said. While it is uncertain whether they will reach an agreement, a deal with Microsoft would be the Chinese company’s first step... Microsoft and Huawei Technologies are discussing the possibility of the U.S. company using...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan. Photos by Bloomberg, AP

Inside the World of Eddy Cue, Apple’s Services Chief

By Aaron Tilley · Sep 5, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

It is easy for Apple employees to tell when they have lost the attention of Eddy Cue, the leader of the company’s sprawling internet initiatives—from its music and video businesses to its maps service.During meetings, Mr. Cue is sometimes known to fall silent, shut his eyes and tilt his head back, leaving other participants to wonder... It is easy for Apple employees to tell when they have lost the attention of Eddy Cue, the leader...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at a news conference in Tokyo last month. Photo: Bloomberg

Under Scrutiny, SoftBank Tries New Deal Structures

By Alfred Lee · Sep 4, 2018 10:02am PDT

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at a news conference in Tokyo last month. Photo: Bloomberg

Under Scrutiny, SoftBank Tries New Deal Structures

By Alfred Lee · Sep 4, 2018 10:02am PDT

As the U.S. government puts foreign investments into U.S. companies under the microscope, one of the world’s biggest tech investors, SoftBank, is taking complicated steps to try to insulate its deals from regulatory roadblocks.SoftBank has split some recent venture capital deals into two parts: an initial component to acquire a voting... As the U.S. government puts foreign investments into U.S. companies under the microscope, one of...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

How the Internet Broke and What to Do About It

By Sam Lessin · Sep 4, 2018 7:02am PDT · 7 comments

Any thinking person should realize that we face major challenges when it comes to the future of free speech and the internet. Disinformation and coordinated manipulation are a real, serious and unrelenting reality. Rightly and wrongly the claims of bias abound, and the broad lack of trust in what we read and see is palpable and growing.For... Any thinking person should realize that we face major challenges when it comes to the future of...

Spotlight: Sheryl Sandberg

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 1, 2018 4:00pm PDT

Next’s week’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign influence on tech platforms will rehash themes we’re all probably a little tired of by now—while giving tech leaders a chance to show off how their efforts to dismantle information campaigns are improving.Two things about the hearing—in which Twitter CEO... Next’s week’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign influence on tech...

The Information’s 411 — Zuck’s Army

By Tom Dotan · Aug 31, 2018 1:21pm PDT

Sarah joins to talk about Facebook's organization and why so many executives have been exiting the campus (or plan to). Kevin reveals why Alibaba has temporarily backed off its ambitions to compete in the cloud market in the US. Sarah joins to talk about Facebook's organization and why so many executives have been...

Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang, speaking at a news conference in Hong Kong last year. Photo: Bloomberg

Alibaba Puts the Brakes on U.S. Cloud Expansion

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 31, 2018 7:01am PDT

Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang, speaking at a news conference in Hong Kong last year. Photo: Bloomberg

Alibaba Puts the Brakes on U.S. Cloud Expansion

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 31, 2018 7:01am PDT

China’s internet giant Alibaba is putting on hold its plans to expand its cloud business in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, after its initial efforts to take on Amazon Web Services and other big players didn’t live up to its expectations. The company also feared that an aggressive strategy would provoke a backlash in... China’s internet giant Alibaba is putting on hold its plans to expand its cloud business in...

AT&T's John Donovan. Illustration by Mike Sullivan, from photo by Bloomberg.

Q&A

AT&T’s Plans for Changing TV

By Martin Peers and Tom Dotan · Aug 30, 2018 9:45am PDT · 1 comment

AT&T has transformed itself into a telecom and entertainment conglomerate with the purchase of Time Warner and, before that, the DirecTV satellite service. Now the company wants to change a key part of the television business. AT&T wants audience size to determine how much cable TV-like streaming services such as DirecTV Now pay to carry... AT&T has transformed itself into a telecom and entertainment conglomerate with the purchase...

Photos by Bloomberg, AP. Source: The Information

The People With Power at Facebook

By Sarah Kuranda · Aug 30, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

The exit doors at Facebook keep swinging. This week, the company’s head of product communications Rachel Whetstone announced she was leaving to take a role at Netflix. The week prior, Dan Rose, the company’s longtime head of business partnerships, said he will be gone by early next year, joining four other senior Facebook executives... The exit doors at Facebook keep swinging. This week, the company’s head of product...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Asia’s ICO Market; Blockchain Battles

By Jon Victor · Aug 29, 2018 12:15pm PDT

Last week, I attended an enterprise blockchain event here in New York, where a panel of experts from Consensys, EOS New York and other firms discussed how their technologies could revolutionize the way businesses operate. What struck me most about the presentation, though, was the limited vocabulary we have to even talk about this technology:... Last week, I attended an enterprise blockchain event here in New York, where a panel of experts...

Art by Clare Austen-Smith

Introducing “B is for Bitcoin”

By Sam Lessin · Aug 29, 2018 11:29am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clare Austen-Smith

Introducing “B is for Bitcoin”

By Sam Lessin · Aug 29, 2018 11:29am PDT · 1 comment

Anyone with small children knows that our early childhood education is stuck in the 20th century. From an early age, kids learn about agriculture, construction sites and transportation through books focused on barnyards, trucks, airplanes and trains. But they learn little to nothing about modern communication and financial technology in their... Anyone with small children knows that our early childhood education is stuck in the 20th century....

Bird scooters in Detroit. Photo: Bloomberg

Scooter Startups Try to Solve Their Parking Problem

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 29, 2018 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Sergio Romo is trying to build the Latin American version of Lime or Bird, recently raising about a $20 million seed round for Grin, his scooter startup, from prominent Silicon Valley investors including Y Combinator, DCM Ventures and Shasta Ventures, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Romo said he has learned a lesson from some of the... Sergio Romo is trying to build the Latin American version of Lime or Bird, recently raising about...

A scene from the game PUBG. Image: PUBG Corp.

Inside Tencent’s Games Missteps

By Wayne Ma · Aug 29, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

When Tencent recently reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade, executives from the Chinese internet giant blamed it on Beijing’s temporary suspension of approvals for new games. That has helped wipe more than $100 billion off the market capitalization of Tencent, the world’s biggest videogame company by... When Tencent recently reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade,...

Amazon's latest Fire Stick TV devices introduced last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Plans New Video App, Latest Step Into TV Ad Market

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 28, 2018 1:18pm PDT

Amazon.com is planning to launch a free, advertising-supported video service for the estimated 48 million people who use its Fire TV streaming video devices, say people familiar with the situation. The new service, which is being developed by Amazon’s IMDB subsidiary, will join a growing collection of efforts by Amazon to tap into the $70... Amazon.com is planning to launch a free, advertising-supported video service for the estimated 48...

A Waymo vehicle sits parked in Chandler, Ariz. Photo: Bloomberg

Waymo’s Big Ambitions Slowed by Tech Trouble

By Amir Efrati · Aug 28, 2018 7:00am PDT · 11 comments

A Waymo vehicle sits parked in Chandler, Ariz. Photo: Bloomberg

Waymo’s Big Ambitions Slowed by Tech Trouble

By Amir Efrati · Aug 28, 2018 7:00am PDT · 11 comments

CHANDLER, Ariz.—Alphabet’s Waymo unit is a worldwide leader in autonomous vehicle development for suburban environments. It has said it would launch a driverless robo-taxi service to suburban Phoenix residents this year. Yet its self-driving minivan prototypes have trouble crossing the T-intersection closest to the company’s... CHANDLER, Ariz.—Alphabet’s Waymo unit is a worldwide leader in autonomous vehicle...

Don’t Cap Uber or Airbnb, Readers Say

By Wendy Pollack and Mike Sullivan · Aug 27, 2018 10:38am PDT · 3 comments

Local governments should take a hands-off approach to regulating ride-hailing and home-rental services, said a majority of readers responding to The Information’s monthly survey. Two-thirds of readers are opposed to restrictions such as New York City’s newly approved cap on the number of vehicles companies like Uber and Lyft can... Local governments should take a hands-off approach to regulating ride-hailing and home-rental...

Software maker Twilio was among the companies in which mutual funds sold a substantial portion of their holdings post-IPO. Photo: Bloomberg

Post-IPO, Mutual Funds Quick to Shrink Startup Stakes

By Alfred Lee · Aug 27, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Mutual funds investing in private tech firms are often perceived to be in it for the long haul, rather just holding out for an IPO windfall. But public filings tell a more complicated story: Mutual funds sometimes cut their investments substantially after their portfolio companies go public. Mutual funds have sold significant portions of their... Mutual funds investing in private tech firms are often perceived to be in it for the long haul,...

The Information’s 411 — Gadzoox!

By Tom Dotan · Aug 24, 2018 4:00pm PDT

Cory discusses his reporting on the troubles at construction startup Katerra. He also explains why Airbnb's rental inventory has been shifting toward year-round rentals. Amir talks about the drama at Zoox, which this week ousted its CEO. Cory discusses his reporting on the troubles at construction startup Katerra. He also explains...

Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba’s Dilemma: Bargain Basement Shoppers

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Aug 24, 2018 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba’s Dilemma: Bargain Basement Shoppers

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Aug 24, 2018 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

When Alibaba executives talked with Wall Street analysts after announcing June quarter earnings on Thursday, the first question from an analyst was about the “fast growth” of cut-price ecommerce rivals. It was a clear reference to Pinduoduo, the discount shopping app that has taken China by storm in the past year—and has put... When Alibaba executives talked with Wall Street analysts after announcing June quarter earnings...