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

SAP CEO Bill McDermott. Photo by Bloomberg

Q&A

SAP Passes Cloud Barrier, Targets Salesforce

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 14, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

As the old guard of enterprise software such as Microsoft and Oracle reinvented themselves for the cloud market in recent years, SAP took its time. Companies used its software for handling sensitive areas like supply chain management and finance, which made them reluctant to put it into the public cloud. But the German firm, the third largest... As the old guard of enterprise software such as Microsoft and Oracle reinvented themselves for...

A Tesla sedan, left, in autopilot mode that crashed into a parked police cruiser in Laguna Beach, Calif., in May. Photo: AP

Are Autonomous Cars Safer? New Guidelines Probably Won’t Tell Us

By Matt Drange · Aug 13, 2018 10:02am PDT · 7 comments

The introduction of autonomous features on cars has at its core a laudable goal: saving lives. But so far, there is a lack of independent data to judge whether the technology is working.The federal agency charged with reducing injuries and fatalities on the road has taken steps to try to change that, encouraging states to include information on... The introduction of autonomous features on cars has at its core a laudable goal: saving lives....

Mike Sullivan

Tensions Flare Behind the Scenes of ‘League of Legends’

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Aug 13, 2018 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Chinese tech giant Tencent became one of the world’s biggest videogame makers thanks to its 2011 acquisition of U.S. game studio Riot Games, maker of blockbuster “League of Legends.” But relations between the two companies have often resembled a war game, forcing Tencent to cut costly deals to keep Riot happy.New details... Chinese tech giant Tencent became one of the world’s biggest videogame makers thanks to its...

An AMC theater in Santa Monica, California. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Movie Theaters Should Applaud MoviePass

By Matt Pressberg · Aug 10, 2018 3:29pm PDT · 1 comment

An AMC theater in Santa Monica, California. Photo by Bloomberg

Why Movie Theaters Should Applaud MoviePass

By Matt Pressberg · Aug 10, 2018 3:29pm PDT · 1 comment

MoviePass’ effort to make a Netflix-like subscription service out of movie theater tickets has bled the company of cash in recent months. But while its future may be in doubt, the movie-ticket subscription concept it pioneered looks like it is here to stay.Several theater chains, including AMC and Cinemark, in recent months have introduced... MoviePass’ effort to make a Netflix-like subscription service out of movie theater tickets...

The Information’s 411 — Amazon and the Case of the Stolen GoPros

By Tom Dotan · Aug 10, 2018 2:50pm PDT

Reed talks about how stolen items sold on Amazon cause havoc in the retail world. Priya explains why almost nobody is using their Echoes to buy things online. Reed talks about how stolen items sold on Amazon cause havoc in the retail world. Priya explains...

Datta Dave. Photo by Tulsea. Art by Mike Sullivan

Q&A

Netflix’s Next Challenge: Rural India

By Beejoli Shah · Aug 10, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

In the U.S., Netflix and Amazon are locked in a heated battle for customers. In India, they have more than 40 other rivals to contend with. Companies ranging from Sony-owned Liv to local firms like Reliance Entertainment’s BigFlix are competing for online viewers. And that number is likely to grow, according to Datta Dave, the... In the U.S., Netflix and Amazon are locked in a heated battle for customers. In India, they have...

Subscriber Summit

Instagram’s Kevin Systrom, Github’s Nat Friedman, Andreessen Horowitz’s Katie Haun and Twitch’s Sara Clemens to Speak at Information Summit

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 9, 2018 1:06pm PDT

Greetings!I am thrilled to announce the first round of speakers for our fourth San Francisco Subscriber Summit. For those of you new to our community, this is our biggest event of the year in which I interview newsmakers we think our subscribers need to know better. We also host unique breakout sessions with entrepreneurs, investors and tech... Greetings!I am thrilled to announce the first round of speakers for our fourth San Francisco...

NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke. Photo by Bloomberg

NBCU’s Latest Online Video Idea: Paying Viewers

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 9, 2018 11:53am PDT · 3 comments

NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke. Photo by Bloomberg

NBCU’s Latest Online Video Idea: Paying Viewers

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Aug 9, 2018 11:53am PDT · 3 comments

The battle to win over viewers online may be reaching new levels of intensity. Comcast’s NBCUniversal is considering the launch of a streaming service that would pay people to watch it.The tentative name for the service is Watch Back and it would feature episodes of TV shows and web series from NBCUniversal’s own TV... The battle to win over viewers online may be reaching new levels of intensity. Comcast’s...

Uzabase co-CEO Yusuke Umeda. Photo by AP

How Quartz’s New Owner Aims to Become a Digital News Force

By Jessica Toonkel · Aug 9, 2018 7:01am PDT

The latest entrant in the overcrowded field of online news is a 37-year-old onetime investment banker from Japan, Yusuke Umeda, co-CEO of a financial data firm called Uzabase. What he lacks in name recognition, though, he makes up in ambition.Last month Uzabase completed the purchase of Quartz, the business-oriented news site founded by the... The latest entrant in the overcrowded field of online news is a 37-year-old onetime investment...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg

What Tesla Shareholders Could Learn From SpaceX

By Alfred Lee · Aug 8, 2018 6:24pm PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk stunned investors on Tuesday by tweeting that he might take Tesla private, using SpaceX, his private space flight company, as a model for how to treat shareholders. If he succeeds, he may set a precedent for other public company CEOs who want the benefits of public ownership without the hindrance of public scrutiny.It’s not well... Elon Musk stunned investors on Tuesday by tweeting that he might take Tesla private, using...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Financial Institutions Warm to Crypto

By Jon Victor · Aug 8, 2018 2:16pm PDT

Welcome to week two of The Information's new cryptocurrency newsletter. This week was big for institutional investment in crypto, with Goldman Sachs reportedly considering a custody product—and potentially clearing the way for more large funds to get into the sector. As a reminder, custody products make it possible for big funds... Welcome to week two of The Information's new cryptocurrency newsletter. This week was...

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Behind Some Low Amazon Prices: Stolen Goods

By Reed Albergotti · Aug 8, 2018 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Behind Some Low Amazon Prices: Stolen Goods

By Reed Albergotti · Aug 8, 2018 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

A few years ago, GoPro was grappling with an exasperating problem: Unknown sellers were offering stolen GoPro cameras on Amazon.com at a discount.While the stolen items accounted for only a small percentage of GoPro’s total sales, the discounting created a domino effect as competitors tried to match the low price. Amazon would first cut... A few years ago, GoPro was grappling with an exasperating problem: Unknown sellers were offering...

The Dorm Room Fund team. Photo by Dorm Room Fund

First Round Capital’s Eyes and Ears on College Campuses

By Britton O'Daly · Aug 7, 2018 2:06pm PDT · 1 comment

When Udit Jain, a 21-year-old Yale University student, walked into a campus coffee lounge late one night in 2016, all he wanted was a strawberry, Greek-yogurt smoothie. He walked out with what became his first venture capital investment.In the cafe, he ran into Kevin Tan, who was busy at a laptop writing code for an app he was building to alert... When Udit Jain, a 21-year-old Yale University student, walked into a campus coffee lounge late...

Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Looks to Settle Old Fights, Faces New Threats

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 7, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Airbnb’s regulatory roller-coaster ride has taken new twists as the company enters its second decade. When the home rental site sent employees updates on its talks with local governments in June, it heralded positive momentum with politicians in two of its “toughest markets,” Barcelona and Berlin. It decried a... Airbnb’s regulatory roller-coaster ride has taken new twists as the company enters its...

Amazon's Echo and Echo Plus devices. Photo by Bloomberg

The Reality Behind Voice Shopping Hype

By Priya Anand · Aug 6, 2018 10:01am PDT · 10 comments

Amazon and Google both tout voice shopping—the ability to make purchases and check on the status of orders with verbal commands—as significant features of their smart speakers. Some forecasts call for annual voice shopping sales to reach $40 billion in just a few years. But it appears that only a small fraction of smart speaker... Amazon and Google both tout voice shopping—the ability to make purchases and check on the...

Uber Eats delivery people in Moscow. Photo by Bloomberg

How Uber Eats Became a Hit Business

By Amir Efrati · Aug 6, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Uber Eats delivery people in Moscow. Photo by Bloomberg

How Uber Eats Became a Hit Business

By Amir Efrati · Aug 6, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

In 2015, then-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was under pressure. His beloved product, the food delivery service that was supposed to prove Uber could be more than a ride-hailing company, was struggling. To offer fast delivery, the company was buying a few kinds of prepared meals ahead of time and waiting for people to order them. Demand was... In 2015, then-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was under pressure. His beloved product, the food delivery...

Google’s Real Motive in China

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 4, 2018 10:45am PDT · 3 comments

I remember Google co-founder Sergey Brin calling me up in 2010 to tell me why Google was shutting down its censored Chinese search engine. China has "made great strides against poverty and whatnot," he told me. "But nevertheless, in some aspects of their policy, particularly with respect to censorship, with respect to surveillance... I remember Google co-founder Sergey Brin calling me up in 2010 to tell me why Google was shutting...

The Information’s 411 — The Rent Is Too Damn High

By Tom Dotan · Aug 3, 2018 4:41pm PDT · 1 comment

Priya talks to Cory about how the Bay Area's high cost of living is pushing tech companies out of the area. Tom checks in with Jon Victor about the Information's new crypto newsletter. Priya talks to Cory about how the Bay Area's high cost of living is pushing tech companies...

Carsten Breitfeld, co-founder and chief executive of Byton. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s Byton Seeks to Eclipse Rivals With Didi Deal

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Aug 3, 2018 10:34am PDT

The two German automobile executives who founded Byton, a Chinese electric car startup, are confident that they can build a reliable vehicle. But they worry that manufacturing alone won’t make their company a success.That’s why Byton also wants a piece of China’s $30 billion ride-hailing market. The company is in talks with... The two German automobile executives who founded Byton, a Chinese electric car startup, are...

Beau Brooks at the Los Angeles premiere of Awesomeness Film’s Janoskians:Untold and Untrue in 2015. Photo by AP

Can a Dose of Awesomeness Save Viacom?

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 3, 2018 7:01am PDT

Beau Brooks at the Los Angeles premiere of Awesomeness Film’s Janoskians:Untold and Untrue in 2015. Photo by AP

Can a Dose of Awesomeness Save Viacom?

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 3, 2018 7:01am PDT

Two years ago, as media mogul Shari Redstone was assuming control of her family’s cable TV firm Viacom, she asked Brian Robbins, then CEO of the popular online video company, AwesomenessTV, for his thoughts on how to fix the beleaguered company, according to people familiar with the situation. Viacom ended up installing Mr. Robbins in a... Two years ago, as media mogul Shari Redstone was assuming control of her family’s cable TV...