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

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Binance Coin Bucks the Trend

By Jon Victor · Mar 13, 2019 12:36pm PDT · 3 comments

Cryptocurrency prices haven’t gained much ground in recent months, but sentiment seems to be improving as people forget the crazy highs. Industry insiders say the focus now is on developing products—from games to digital collectibles to advanced blockchains—that they feel have long-term legs.Still, one cryptocurrency has bucked... Cryptocurrency prices haven’t gained much ground in recent months, but sentiment seems to...

John Giannandrea, now head of Apple's AI efforts, in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Acquires Machine Learning Startup in Boost for AI Group

By Aaron Tilley · Mar 13, 2019 11:57am PDT

Apple has acquired Laserlike, a small Silicon Valley-based machine learning startup, which could help strengthen the company’s artificial intelligence efforts, including its Siri virtual assistant, The Information has learned. An Apple spokesperson confirmed the acquisition of the four-year-old startup, which was founded by three former... Apple has acquired Laserlike, a small Silicon Valley-based machine learning startup, which could...

The People With Power at Google Advertising

By Sarah Kuranda · Mar 13, 2019 6:30am PDT

For years, Google has been the top dog in internet advertising, with Facebook not far behind. But now an interloper in the ad market, Amazon, is attracting growing attention from the leaders of Google’s ad group—more than 50 of whom are shown in the chart accompanying this story. Google’s salespeople have even started... For years, Google has been the top dog in internet advertising, with Facebook not far behind. But...

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vice Looks to Raise Money After Rough Year

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 12, 2019 12:46pm PDT

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vice Looks to Raise Money After Rough Year

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 12, 2019 12:46pm PDT

Vice Media is looking to raise a new round of financing of up to $200 million, which the company hopes will give it enough cash to reach its goal of becoming profitable in the next 12 months, according to people familiar with the situation. The news of the search for funding, which could be through a mix a debt and equity, comes weeks after the... Vice Media is looking to raise a new round of financing of up to $200 million, which the company...

Kevin Durant, left, and Sarah Flynn. Photos by Bloomberg and courtesy of Thirty Five Ventures.

Q&A

In Producing for Apple and Disney, Warriors’ Durant Wants Ownership

By Beejoli Shah · Mar 12, 2019 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

The proliferation of new streaming services, from Netflix to Apple, is creating a demand for content from all arenas—including the basketball court. Los Angeles Laker LeBron James has set up a film and television deal at WarnerMedia, and Boston Celtics player Kyrie Irving was a producer on Lionsgate’s recent film, “Uncle... The proliferation of new streaming services, from Netflix to Apple, is creating a demand for...

Amazon’s Ad Business Growth Outstrips Facebook and Google

By Priya Anand · Mar 12, 2019 6:48am PDT · 3 comments

Amazon’s ad business is growing fast—faster than Facebook and Google when they were at comparable sizes, according to third-party data and an analysis of company filings. If this continues, it could fuel criticism from political circles about Amazon’s expanding tentacles in different businesses.Amazon’s ad business... Amazon’s ad business is growing fast—faster than Facebook and Google when they were...

Waymo CEO John Krafcik speaks at a Google developer conference last May. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alphabet’s Waymo Seeks Outside Investors

By Amir Efrati · Mar 11, 2019 1:32pm PDT · 1 comment

Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car division has been seeking financing from outside investors, such as European automakers like Volkswagen, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The efforts suggest Alphabet wants to limit how much money it invests in the division, and show how valuable other parties believe it to be.... Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car division has been seeking financing from outside...

Lime CEO Toby Sun, left, and Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden. Photos by Bloomberg , Bird.

Lime Leapfrogs Bird in Scooter Race, at a Cost

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 11, 2019 6:31am PDT · 1 comment

Lime CEO Toby Sun, left, and Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden. Photos by Bloomberg , Bird.

Lime Leapfrogs Bird in Scooter Race, at a Cost

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 11, 2019 6:31am PDT · 1 comment

The two companies leading the electric scooter craze have, until now, followed a similar formula: expand to new cities, rack up big losses, raise more money, expand again.But lately, the strategies pursued by Bird and Lime have diverged sharply. Bird has pared back growth, preferring to focus on getting profitable before expanding further, its... The two companies leading the electric scooter craze have, until now, followed a similar formula:...

Tech leaders with President Trump. Photo by Bloomberg

Will Attack on Tech Resonate With Voters?

By Nick Wingfield · Mar 9, 2019 8:00am PST · 1 comment

Tech leaders must look back wistfully at the 2012 U.S. presidential election, when the most pertinent question facing the industry was which executives from Google would end up working in the White House. Fast forward to 2019, and one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates, Elizabeth Warren, has just made breaking up the tech... Tech leaders must look back wistfully at the 2012 U.S. presidential election, when the most...

The Information’s 411 — Heavy Lyfting

By Tom Dotan · Mar 8, 2019 2:47pm PST · 1 comment

Cory and Amir walk us through Lyft's filing to go public. And they talk about how CEO Logan Green reconciles his idealist visions with the realities of running a taxi business. Cory and Amir walk us through Lyft's filing to go public. And they talk about how CEO Logan...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Photo by Bloomberg

The Political Realities of Warren’s Tech Breakup Plan

By Ashley Gold · Mar 8, 2019 1:09pm PST · 10 comments

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has laid out an aggressive proposal to break up big tech companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook as part of her 2020 presidential campaign platform. Few of the ideas are ever likely to be implemented, but her proposal marks a shift in how presidential candidates are talking about big tech and could influence how the rest... Sen. Elizabeth Warren has laid out an aggressive proposal to break up big tech companies like...

Facebook's campus in Silicon Valley. Photo by Bloomberg

A Warning on the Dangers of Ephemeral Messaging

By Sam Lessin · Mar 8, 2019 6:30am PST · 11 comments

Facebook's campus in Silicon Valley. Photo by Bloomberg

Modest Proposals

A Warning on the Dangers of Ephemeral Messaging

By Sam Lessin · Mar 8, 2019 6:30am PST · 11 comments

Facebook’s decision to move toward end-to-end encryption and “secure data storage” is the right call. It is necessary. With this decision, company executives will be on the right side of history, as I will explain more below. The decision to more deeply embrace ephemerality as part of the future of their “privacy”... Facebook’s decision to move toward end-to-end encryption and “secure data...

HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank. Photo: Bloomberg

Three Reasons Behind Airbnb’s Deal for HotelTonight

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 7, 2019 2:54pm PST · 4 comments

Airbnb for the past year has talked about its intentions to expand its presence in hotel bookings. On Thursday, the company made it official, acquiring HotelTonight for what two people familiar with the matter said was $440 million. The deal takes Airbnb’s rivalry with Booking.com to a new level, and offers Airbnb a new outlet for growth... Airbnb for the past year has talked about its intentions to expand its presence in hotel...

Marie Kondo. Photo by AP

Tidy Guru Marie Kondo in VC Talks About Expansion

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 7, 2019 1:52pm PST · 1 comment

Marie Kondo, the Japanese tidying guru whose advice on cleaning up has made her a household name, is looking to take the next step. Her company, KonMari, has held early talks with venture firms about potentially raising up to $40 million for new business opportunities, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. A spokesperson for... Marie Kondo, the Japanese tidying guru whose advice on cleaning up has made her a household name,...

Illustration by J. Munn

Facing 5G Threat, Cable Scrambles to Fix Wi-Fi

By Christopher Stern · Mar 7, 2019 9:47am PST

The cable industry’s biggest lobbying group fired a shot across the hood of the auto industry last month. It urged the Federal Communications Commission to strip a large swath of airwaves from auto makers—who are supposed to use them to make car travel safer—and instead use the spectrum to relieve the growing congestion on... The cable industry’s biggest lobbying group fired a shot across the hood of the auto...

Photo illustration by Mike Sullivan. Logan Green photo by Bloomberg. Cityscape and cars image by Shutterstock.

Lyft CEO Juggles Growth Ambitions With Social Ideals

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 7, 2019 6:31am PST

Photo illustration by Mike Sullivan. Logan Green photo by Bloomberg. Cityscape and cars image by Shutterstock.

Lyft CEO Juggles Growth Ambitions With Social Ideals

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 7, 2019 6:31am PST

As an environmentally minded college student in California, Logan Green led a campaign to raise campus parking rates to discourage driving. Some 15 years later, as CEO of Lyft, Mr. Green has continued to promote the idea of reducing automobile ownership. “It’s time to redesign our cities around people, not cars,” he and Lyft... As an environmentally minded college student in California, Logan Green led a campaign to raise...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Reading Between the Lines of Zuckerberg’s Facebook Privacy Manifesto

By Nick Wingfield and Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 6, 2019 3:12pm PST · 10 comments

In a 3,200-word essay on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined a plan for the social network to become a “simpler platform that’s focused on privacy first.” It sounded like a momentous shift for the company, which has been pilloried for the past several years over its ravenous appetite for personal data. But is... In a 3,200-word essay on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined a plan for the social...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Facebook’s Decentralization Dilemma

By Jon Victor · Mar 6, 2019 12:01pm PST · 1 comment

A great irony is emerging in crypto. Two of the world’s largest corporations, Facebook and JPMorgan, are now in the vanguard of adopting a technology that was designed partially to subvert the power of institutions. Just weeks after JPMorgan announced it was launching its own cryptocurrency, the New York Times reported new details about... A great irony is emerging in crypto. Two of the world’s largest corporations, Facebook and...

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s ByteDance Plans Slack Rival Even as Losses Mount

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2019 10:09am PST

In 2017 ByteDance, owner of such popular apps as newsfeed service Toutiao, made a slim profit. Last year, after the costly launch of its video app TikTok outside of China, the company lost $1.2 billion, The Information has learned. Results of the expansion were mixed: TikTok has become widely used in India but not in the U.S., according to... In 2017 ByteDance, owner of such popular apps as newsfeed service Toutiao, made a slim profit....

Netflix’s Price Increase History Shows Service’s Resilience

By Beejoli Shah and Martin Peers · Mar 6, 2019 6:32am PST · 3 comments

Netflix’s Price Increase History Shows Service’s Resilience

By Beejoli Shah and Martin Peers · Mar 6, 2019 6:32am PST · 3 comments

Netflix has raised the price of its most popular streaming plan by 63% in the past eight years without suffering any meaningful pushback from subscribers. In fact, an analysis by The Information of its quarterly results shows growth has temporarily spiked after two of the price increases—the opposite of what would be expected.That suggests... Netflix has raised the price of its most popular streaming plan by 63% in the past eight years...