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

The People With Power at Snap

By Tom Dotan and Alex Heath · Jun 17, 2019 7:01am PDT

Snap is on the mend. After a year of turmoil, when most of the top management team departed and the stock plunged to as low as $5, things have stabilized. The revolving door of executive departures has halted, at least for the moment. A new senior team, with more women than in the past, is in place, drawn from companies as varied as Amazon,... Snap is on the mend. After a year of turmoil, when most of the top management team departed and...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti at 2017's Subscriber Summit.

Announcing Our Fifth Subscriber Summit

By The Information Staff · Jun 15, 2019 8:01am PDT

Is it me or are a handful of narratives sucking up a lot of air in tech news at the moment? Online privacy. Deep Fakes. The streaming media wars. All are incredibly important and worthy of substantial coverage. But I worry that the news media’s obsession with a handful of topics like these is drowning out other developments in technology... Is it me or are a handful of narratives sucking up a lot of air in tech news at the moment?...

Autonomous Vehicles Summit

Software, Insurance Dominated Discussions at 2019 AV Summit

By The Information Staff · Jun 14, 2019 3:52pm PDT · 1 comment

Panel discussions at The Information’s 2019 autonomous vehicle summit covered a lot of ground. The quality of automated driving software, the challenges of building and maintaining vehicles and other hardware, the role of insurance, and company valuations that are 30% lower than they were 18 months ago were hot topics. What follows is a... Panel discussions at The Information’s 2019 autonomous vehicle summit covered a lot of...

We’re Hiring a Head of Event and Ad Sales

By The Information Staff · Jun 14, 2019 1:10pm PDT

Jobs@TheInformation

We’re Hiring a Head of Event and Ad Sales

By The Information Staff · Jun 14, 2019 1:10pm PDT

The Information is hiring a senior executive to grow our event sponsorship and advertising businesses, reporting directly to our CEO.Over the last five years, The Information has become essential reading to business professionals across industries who closely follow the technology sector. We have been honored as one of the world's most... The Information is hiring a senior executive to grow our event sponsorship and advertising...

Meet the Experts at Subscriber Growth

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Jun 14, 2019 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

As companies like WarnerMedia and Apple prepare to market new video services to consumers, they are racing to develop hit shows. But as vital as good programming is, figuring out how to sign up and keep subscribers is just as important. To do so, media companies are tapping new types of executives with experience in areas like e-commerce and... As companies like WarnerMedia and Apple prepare to market new video services to consumers, they...

Softbank's Michael Ronen at The Information's Autonomous Vehicle Summit on Thursday. Photo by Erin Beach

Autonomous Vehicles Summit

SoftBank’s Ronen Says Self-Driving Market “Big Boys’ Game”

By Cory Weinberg, Aaron Tilley and Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 13, 2019 12:03pm PDT

The top automotive investor at tech’s largest investment fund predicted that the winners in the self-driving car sector will be those that can raise the most money. “It is abundantly clear to me that it’s not just an intellectual capital game but a financial capital game. The risks are so big and opportunities so massive that... The top automotive investor at tech’s largest investment fund predicted that the winners in...

Candid founders Lilla Cosgrove, Bobby Ghoshal; Sam Levine, Nick Greenfield and Spencer Salovaara. Photo: Candid

Startup of the Week

Candid Fixes Smiles by Mail

By Tom Dotan · Jun 13, 2019 10:06am PDT

Once a month, from second grade until I was in high school, one of my parents would pick me up from school and drive me to Dr. Wells’ office. He was my orthodontist. There I would sit in the waiting room, thumbing through reading material like the Complete Family Circus until the receptionist, Dr. Wells’ wife, told me the... Once a month, from second grade until I was in high school, one of my parents would pick me up...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Amazon’s Share of Retail? Depends Who You Ask

By Priya Anand · Jun 13, 2019 7:02am PDT

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Amazon’s Share of Retail? Depends Who You Ask

By Priya Anand · Jun 13, 2019 7:02am PDT

Critics who believe Amazon has gotten too big and powerful often quote estimates that the company accounts for nearly 50% of online sales in the U.S. But one widely cited source for that figure—the research firm eMarketer—recently revised Amazon’s market share estimate sharply downward after the ecommerce giant disclosed new... Critics who believe Amazon has gotten too big and powerful often quote estimates that the company...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Venture Investors Remain Skittish

By Jon Victor · Jun 12, 2019 12:06pm PDT

Bitcoin’s price has been on a quiet tear this year, but it looks like investors remain gun-shy after getting burned by crypto’s big drop in early 2018. We take a closer look at that below. Also this week, the spotlight continues to be on Facebook’s crypto plans, as the industry awaits the expected June 18 release of its token... Bitcoin’s price has been on a quiet tear this year, but it looks like investors remain...

Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg

Larry Ellison Returns to War (and Diaper Changing)

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Thomas Kurian, a high-profile former Oracle executive, left the software company last September, his peers at the database software company expected Oracle to replace him. But Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and chief technology officer, had other plans. Mr. Kurian had been leading Oracle’s response to a growing threat from... When Thomas Kurian, a high-profile former Oracle executive, left the software company last...

Apple CEO Tim Cook in March. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Discusses Acquisition of Intel’s German Modem Unit

By Aaron Tilley · Jun 11, 2019 3:37pm PDT

Apple is in talks to buy a key part of Intel’s smartphone modem business—its German operations—in a deal that could boost the iPhone maker’s plans to internally develop a modem for its devices, according to four people briefed on the discussions.The talks come as Intel considers selling its struggling modem business in... Apple is in talks to buy a key part of Intel’s smartphone modem business—its German...

Shania Twain, who will star in Lionsgate's upcoming movie "I Still Believe." Photo by AP

Lionsgate’s Hulu-FX Movie Deal Shows Change in TV Landscape

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 11, 2019 2:11pm PDT

Shania Twain, who will star in Lionsgate's upcoming movie "I Still Believe." Photo by AP

Lionsgate’s Hulu-FX Movie Deal Shows Change in TV Landscape

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 11, 2019 2:11pm PDT

In the latest sign of how streaming services are shaking up traditional TV, Disney’s majority-owned Hulu and fully owned cable channel FX have jointly bought the rights to show Lionsgate’s recently released movies starting next year, according to people familiar with the situation.FX and Hulu are buying rights now held by MGM’s... In the latest sign of how streaming services are shaking up traditional TV, Disney’s...

AI Hiring Frenzy Settles Down

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 11, 2019 10:00am PDT

The hiring boom in artificial intelligence research is finally slowing down. The frenzied competition for talent that drove the cost of hiring data scientists and AI researchers into the stratosphere appears to have sharply cooled. At both Alphabet and Microsoft, two of the biggest recruiters of AI talent, the growth rate of hiring for... The hiring boom in artificial intelligence research is finally slowing down. The frenzied...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo: Bloomberg

Uber CEO Shielded From Stock Drop by Options Repricing

By Alfred Lee and Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2019 7:00am PDT

Uber’s sluggish public market debut has meant losses for some investors. But CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is sitting on healthy paper gains, thanks to changes that were made to his stock options before the company went public. The exercise price of Mr. Khosrowshahi’s options was lowered to $33.65 per share by the company early last year,... Uber’s sluggish public market debut has meant losses for some investors. But CEO Dara...

Chasing Amazon, Walmart’s Free Shipping Falls Short

By Priya Anand · Jun 10, 2019 10:00am PDT

Walmart is trying to catch up with Amazon in speedy shipping. New data show the Bentonville, Arkansas–based retailer has a long way to go.In January 2017, Walmart pledged to offer free two-day shipping on more than 2 million products—including everything from coffee to diapers. And last October it said it was expanding the range of... Walmart is trying to catch up with Amazon in speedy shipping. New data show the Bentonville,...

The Jitian village dance group, in matching outfits purchased on Pinduoduo, at the Lunar New Year gala.

Let 100 Apps Blossom: WeChat, Pinduoduo Transform China’s Rural Life

By Yunan Zhang · Jun 10, 2019 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

The Jitian village dance group, in matching outfits purchased on Pinduoduo, at the Lunar New Year gala.

Let 100 Apps Blossom: WeChat, Pinduoduo Transform China’s Rural Life

By Yunan Zhang · Jun 10, 2019 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Last year, after nearly a decade working long hours at a variety of factory and office jobs in Shenzhen, one of China’s tech-saturated mega cities, 28-year-old Yu Lixia came home to Jitian, the remote village where she grew up. She started a modest online shop selling local specialties such as tea and wild mushrooms to customers near and... Last year, after nearly a decade working long hours at a variety of factory and office jobs in...

Another Antitrust Lesson From Microsoft

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jun 8, 2019 8:01am PDT

It was an interesting start to the week: headlines announcing that the Justice Department is preparing an antitrust investigation into Google. What’s more, the U.S.’s two antitrust enforcers had divvied up the major tech platforms, deciding that the Justice Department would be responsible for future Google and Apple investigations.... It was an interesting start to the week: headlines announcing that the Justice Department is...

The Information’s 411 — Facebook Scales Libra

By Tom Dotan · Jun 7, 2019 3:30pm PDT

Alex dives into Facebook's cryptocurrency plans and why they've ceded control to an outside foundation. Beejoli talks about Endeavor's IPO filing and why the company's internal structure is so complex. Alex dives into Facebook's cryptocurrency plans and why they've ceded control to an...

An Uber autonomous vehicle testing in early 2018. Photo by AP

How Uber Wants Self-Driving Cars to Help Ride-Hailing Business

By Amir Efrati · Jun 7, 2019 7:01am PDT

Uber is among the robotaxi developers that have been trying to improve the way they measure software quality, to help prepare for the launch of commercial services. The company recently discussed tracking precisely where cars with its software appear to drive better than human drivers and where they won’t. Uber would then assign... Uber is among the robotaxi developers that have been trying to improve the way they measure...

Cruise president/CTO Kyle Vogt. Photo by Bloomberg

Cruise’s Secret ‘Apollo’ Robotaxi Milestones

By Amir Efrati · Jun 7, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Cruise president/CTO Kyle Vogt. Photo by Bloomberg

Cruise’s Secret ‘Apollo’ Robotaxi Milestones

By Amir Efrati · Jun 7, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

As Cruise set out in 2017 to verify the safety of its self-driving vehicles, it came up with a set of milestones to measure progress in its software development. These milestones, which measure the frequency and severity of safety incidents, offer a rare view of how autonomous vehicle developers judge the quality of their software, and the... As Cruise set out in 2017 to verify the safety of its self-driving vehicles, it came up with a...