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

Lime scooters in South Bend, Ind. Photo: AP

Two Top Policy Executives Departing Lime

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 5, 2019 3:51pm PST

The two top executives leading policy and government relations at scooter startup Lime are leaving, less than a year after they joined. The departures add to the turnover at the fast-growing company as it faces mounting safety problems and a need to win approval to expand into new cities.The two executives were big hires for two-year-old Lime... The two top executives leading policy and government relations at scooter startup Lime are...

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information as Our Director of Growth

By The Information Staff · Mar 5, 2019 2:47pm PST

As The Information's Director of Growth, you will help shape the future of our business and play a key role in our entrepreneurial, fast-growing company. We are looking for a performance-oriented leader who will expand upon several well-functioning growth channels and find new ones to achieve next-level growth at this pivotal time for... As The Information's Director of Growth, you will help shape the future of our business...

Blackberry CEO John Chen. Photo by Bloomberg

The Big Interview

BlackBerry Not Becoming a ‘Patent Troll,’ Says CEO

By Sarah Kuranda · Mar 5, 2019 10:01am PST · 1 comment

BlackBerry, which became a household name in the early 2000s for its ubiquituous email devices, is one of the more infamous examples of a pioneer left behind by technological change. Its slide was so pronounced that, as CEO John Chen said in an interview, “Five years ago, you would have thought the company was dead and bankrupt.”... BlackBerry, which became a household name in the early 2000s for its ubiquituous email devices,...

Apple's Eddy Cue, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook at Sun Valley in Idaho. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney Weighs Distribution Deals for Streaming Service

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 5, 2019 6:31am PST · 1 comment

Apple's Eddy Cue, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook at Sun Valley in Idaho. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney Weighs Distribution Deals for Streaming Service

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 5, 2019 6:31am PST · 1 comment

As Disney nears an April public unveiling of its Disney+ streaming services for Wall Street analysts, some key questions—including whether to distribute through U.S. cable operators or companies like Apple—are still being hammered out.One worry is whether the service will work well from a technical perspective. With that in mind,... As Disney nears an April public unveiling of its Disney+ streaming services for Wall Street...

Parker Conrad. Photo by Bloomberg

Kleiner Perkins Expected to Lead Investment in Rippling

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 4, 2019 3:29pm PST

Venture capitalists pressured Parker Conrad to step down from his health insurance startup, Zenefits, after the company was found to have skirted insurance regulations. Now, three years later, Mr. Conrad is going back to them for funding for his new company, Rippling. The Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner Perkins is expected to be the... Venture capitalists pressured Parker Conrad to step down from his health insurance startup,...

The Big Interview

The Big Interview: Mozilla Plans New Products to Capitalize on Tech Stumbles

By Sarah Kuranda · Mar 4, 2019 10:01am PST · 3 comments

Under Chief Executive Chris Beard, Mozilla Corporation has fashioned itself as the anti-Facebook browser company, publicly defending individual privacy rights as technology companies struggle with data scandals. But while the strategy has lifted Mozilla’s profile, it hasn’t significantly boosted revenue or helped the firm reclaim... Under Chief Executive Chris Beard, Mozilla Corporation has fashioned itself as the anti-Facebook...

Photo by Bloomberg

10 Questions Lyft Investors Should Ask

By Amir Efrati · Mar 4, 2019 6:31am PST · 12 comments

As Lyft sets the stage to go public, a major question hanging over the company is how it will fare under constant pressure from its bigger rival Uber. Beyond that, there are many unknowns surrounding the costs of recruiting drivers, its efforts in autonomous vehicles and the future of its electric scooter and bike businesses.The company’s... As Lyft sets the stage to go public, a major question hanging over the company is how it will...

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Startup Circle Seeking $250 Million in New Funding

By Jon Victor · Mar 2, 2019 9:58am PST

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Startup Circle Seeking $250 Million in New Funding

By Jon Victor · Mar 2, 2019 9:58am PST

Circle, one of the biggest cryptocurrency startups in the U.S., is seeking to raise about $250 million in a combination of equity and debt, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans. If it succeeds, Circle would be the latest in a series of cryptocurrency firms to raise money as they grapple with the impact of the crash in the... Circle, one of the biggest cryptocurrency startups in the U.S., is seeking to raise about $250...

Google's Silicon Valley campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

What’s Future of Internet?

By Tom Dotan · Mar 2, 2019 9:51am PST

What is the future of the internet?Should it be open or closed? Free-ranging content or curated? These questions, which go to the very heart of the internet and tech business models, creep into the zeitgeist whenever there’s a scandal involving a major internet company. What is the future of the internet?Should it be open or closed? Free-ranging content or curated?...

Lyft CEO Logan Green. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft’s Numbers Point to Potential $26 Billion IPO Valuation

By Amir Efrati and Cory Weinberg · Mar 1, 2019 2:59pm PST · 1 comment

U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft appears set to surpass its sought-after IPO valuation range of $20 billion to $25 billion, based on our analysis of its IPO filing on Friday. It could be valued at between $26 billion and $28 billion, given the company’s robust revenue growth in the fourth quarter. (See related article here.)That’s... U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft appears set to surpass its sought-after IPO valuation range of $20...

The Information’s 411 — David Leaving and Richard Plexit

By Tom Dotan · Mar 1, 2019 1:21pm PST

Jessica Toonkel talks about the huge day at WarnerMedia where two top executives left, as new owner AT&T undertakes a restructuring. Kevin explains the reasons that companies have major cost overages with cloud providers. Jessica Toonkel talks about the huge day at WarnerMedia where two top executives left, as new...

FTC Pulls From Old Playbook, Signals Newly Aggressive Approach to Tech

By Ashley Gold · Mar 1, 2019 1:00pm PST

FTC Pulls From Old Playbook, Signals Newly Aggressive Approach to Tech

By Ashley Gold · Mar 1, 2019 1:00pm PST

The Federal Trade Commission turned heads this week when it announced a new task force to review competition in the tech industry, including taking a fresh look at mergers that have already happened. In doing so, the agency was pulling from a playbook it used successfully in the early 2000s when it created a task force that reviewed, and in some... The Federal Trade Commission turned heads this week when it announced a new task force to review...

A Lyft driver hub building in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft’s IPO Filing Shows Revenue Nearly Doubled in Q4 While Loss Rose Slightly

By Amir Efrati and Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2019 9:45am PST · 1 comment

Lyft nearly doubled revenue in the fourth quarter, compared with the year-earlier period, while its net loss rose just 9% to $270 million, the ride-hailing firm revealed in a securities filing. The results suggest Lyft is getting its losses under control as it continues to grow, particularly by cutting spending on advertising. That’s a... Lyft nearly doubled revenue in the fourth quarter, compared with the year-earlier period, while...

A Luckin coffee outlet in Beijing. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s Starbucks Rival Luckin Piles Up Losses Before IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 1, 2019 6:31am PST · 4 comments

Luckin Coffee, China’s fast-growing Starbucks rival, has one thing in common with consumer tech companies going public in the U.S.: It has racked up hefty losses ahead of its planned public listing. The coffee delivery startup estimates that it lost some $232 million in 2018, its first year of operation, on revenue of $117 million,... Luckin Coffee, China’s fast-growing Starbucks rival, has one thing in common with consumer...

Turner president David Levy. Photo by Bloomberg

Top WarnerMedia Executives, Levy and Plepler, Are Out

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2019 2:30pm PST

Two of WarnerMedia’s highest ranking executives, Turner president David Levy and HBO CEO Richard Plepler, are leaving the company, according to two people familiar with the situation, apparent casualties of AT&T’s restructuring of the media company.Word of their exits comes days after the federal government lost its appeal... Two of WarnerMedia’s highest ranking executives, Turner president David Levy and HBO CEO...

A Drive.ai shuttle in Frisco, Texas last year. Photo by Drive.ai

Self-Driving Car Startup Drive.ai Seeks Potential Buyers

By Amir Efrati · Feb 28, 2019 1:09pm PST · 3 comments

A Drive.ai shuttle in Frisco, Texas last year. Photo by Drive.ai

Self-Driving Car Startup Drive.ai Seeks Potential Buyers

By Amir Efrati · Feb 28, 2019 1:09pm PST · 3 comments

One of the better known autonomous vehicle startups, Drive.ai, has been looking for a buyer. The firm hired investment bank Jefferies as an adviser and in recent weeks told bigger rivals it is interested in selling, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter and another briefed on the situation.Drive.ai is testing automated... One of the better known autonomous vehicle startups, Drive.ai, has been looking for a buyer. The...

Liz Gateley. Photo by AP.

Spotify Taps Lifetime Veteran to Help Build Podcasting Series

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2019 9:41am PST

Spotify has hired Lifetime’s former programming chief Liz Gateley to help expand its podcast offerings in comedy, music, sports, news and documentaries, two people familiar with the situation said.The previously unreported hiring of Ms. Gateley follows Spotify’s acquisitions earlier this month of podcast publisher Anchor and Gimlet... Spotify has hired Lifetime’s former programming chief Liz Gateley to help expand its...

The People With Power at Apple

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · Feb 28, 2019 6:30am PST

After shaking up the mobile industry over a decade ago, Apple is looking for a new act. With the iPhone growth machine sputtering, it is beefing up teams devoted to healthcare and internet services, including a foray into video streaming expected this year. The chart accompanying this story, which shows more than 180 of the top leaders at Apple,... After shaking up the mobile industry over a decade ago, Apple is looking for a new act. With the...

Photo by Shutterstock

Top Mobile Game Developer Playrix Looking to Sell for $3 Billion

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Feb 27, 2019 5:38pm PST

Playrix Entertainment, the Russia-based developer of some of the world’s most popular mobile games, is on the market for more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. And a number of Chinese companies, including iDreamSky Technology and FunPlus, have inquired about buying it, the people said.Playrix makes Gardenscapes... Playrix Entertainment, the Russia-based developer of some of the world’s most popular...

Mike Sullivan

Coinbase Branches Out

By Jon Victor · Feb 27, 2019 12:03pm PST

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Coinbase Branches Out

By Jon Victor · Feb 27, 2019 12:03pm PST

JPM Coin has dominated discussions about business applications of blockchain over the last two weeks, but my prediction is that we will be hearing more about crypto activity at other, smaller banks around the world this year. I’m told that a handful of banks in developing countries are working on their own versions of a stablecoin backed... JPM Coin has dominated discussions about business applications of blockchain over the last two...