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

Behind Apple’s China Slowdown: Changing Consumer Habits

By Juro Osawa · Jan 4, 2019 10:00am PST · 5 comments

In October, Wang Mengshang spent $10,000 on a weeklong trip with his girlfriend to Seychelles, an African island nation known for beautiful beaches and coral reefs. His holiday pictures got a lot of likes on social media. But the 25-year-old venture investor in Beijing hasn’t bought a new phone in two years. He doesn’t feel the need... In October, Wang Mengshang spent $10,000 on a weeklong trip with his girlfriend to Seychelles, an...

The Tech Firms With the Strongest Balance Sheets

By Martin Peers · Jan 4, 2019 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Quick question: Which tech company has more debt than nearly every other company in America? The answer is likely to surprise you. It’s Apple.As of the September quarter, Apple had $114.5 billion in debt. That puts it only behind AT&T, Ford and GE for how much money it owes, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, excluding... Quick question: Which tech company has more debt than nearly every other company in America? The...

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Other Winners of Tech’s Big IPOs

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 3, 2019 7:01am PST

If Uber, Lyft, Pinterest and Slack go public later this year, as is expected, it will be the culmination of months of work. Executives will have to do everything from preparing financial statements for release to editing revisions to their prospectuses. On roadshows around America and possibly overseas, they will try to convince big investors to... If Uber, Lyft, Pinterest and Slack go public later this year, as is expected, it will be the...

Bitcoin Philanthropists

By Shai Oster · Jan 2, 2019 12:16pm PST

Crypto Newsletter

Bitcoin Philanthropists

By Shai Oster · Jan 2, 2019 12:16pm PST

Greetings from Hong Kong. I’m guest-writing this week’s Crypto Newsletter while Jon takes a well-deserved break.Bitcoin’s meager end-of-year rally still left the premier cryptocurrency down 80% from its all-time high. Will the wild volatility in the U.S. stock market start to drive the prices of alternative assets such as... Greetings from Hong Kong. I’m guest-writing this week’s Crypto Newsletter while Jon...

The 140 ‘Waymonauts’ Who Run Alphabet’s Self-Driving Car Unit

By Amir Efrati · Jan 2, 2019 7:00am PST

Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car unit was the first to launch a commercial robo-taxi service, picking up and dropping off paying passengers. And its technology is considered by people in the industry to be more advanced. But it has a smaller workforce than either of its two best-funded rivals in the U.S., Uber’s autonomous unit and... Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car unit was the first to launch a commercial robo-taxi...

Bytedance co-founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

2019 Predictions

China’s ByteDance to Challenge Facebook

By Shai Oster · Dec 31, 2018 10:01am PST · 5 comments

ByteDance, the world’s most valuable venture capital–backed startup, is on a collision course with Facebook. I predict that the Chinese upstart will start competing head-to-head with Facebook for ad dollars in India and Southeast Asia, and will start nibbling even in the U.S., as it makes inroads with the app formerly known as ... ByteDance, the world’s most valuable venture capital–backed startup, is on a...

Good Eggs CEO Bentley Hall. Photo by Good Eggs

The Big Interview

Good Eggs Hatches Grocery Comeback

By Priya Anand · Dec 31, 2018 7:01am PST · 1 comment

It was a big year for the online grocery business. Amazon launched same-day deliveries from Whole Foods Markets. Instacart, meanwhile, raised two mega-rounds of funding totaling more than $1 billion, raising its valuation to nearly $8 billion.Those two developments seem like they would suck the oxygen out of the market for Bentley Hall, the CEO... It was a big year for the online grocery business. Amazon launched same-day deliveries from Whole...

The Information’s 411 — Should Aulde Acquaintance Be Forgot?

By Tom Dotan · Dec 28, 2018 3:32pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Should Aulde Acquaintance Be Forgot?

By Tom Dotan · Dec 28, 2018 3:32pm PST

Priya, Cory and Tom round out 2018 with the New Year's resolutions for tech's leaders and top companies. Priya, Cory and Tom round out 2018 with the New Year's resolutions for tech's leaders...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Subscriber Survey

Zuckerberg to Have Biggest Impact on Tech in 2019, Subscribers Say

By Wendy Pollack · Dec 28, 2018 11:06am PST · 7 comments

Facebook’s influence on elections and political discourse was the dominant tech story of 2018. The Information subscribers don’t expect much letup next year: Mark Zuckerberg received the most votes in our survey asking subscribers who will have the greatest impact on the tech industry in 2019.As the table below shows, subscribers... Facebook’s influence on elections and political discourse was the dominant tech story of...

Deborah Jackson (l.) and Andrea Turner Moffitt, co-founders of Plum Alley Investments. Photo: Samantha Casolari

Q&A

At Plum Alley Investments, Backing Women in ‘Hard’ Tech

By Jessica Toonkel · Dec 28, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment

As the founders of Plum Alley Investments, Andrea Turner Moffitt and Deborah Jackson don’t like it to be thought of as a women’s investing network. In fact, 20% of their members are men. They also don’t want to be lumped in with “impact investors.” Plum Alley looks to invest in women-run startups that are focused on... As the founders of Plum Alley Investments, Andrea Turner Moffitt and Deborah Jackson don’t...

WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey. Photo by Bloomberg

2019 Predictions

AT&T’s Time Warner Overhaul Will Spark Employee Exodus

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Dec 27, 2018 10:02am PST · 1 comment

Since AT&T acquired Time Warner in June, the telecom giant has wasted no time in trying to remake the entertainment company for the digital era. It has announced plans to launch a Netflix-like streaming service by the end of 2019. Meanwhile it is reorganizing the former Time Warner businesses into a single division called WarnerMedia. In... Since AT&T acquired Time Warner in June, the telecom giant has wasted no time in trying to...

Oracle CEO Mark Hurd at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Oracle’s Hurd Touts Apps, Plays Down AWS Threat

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 27, 2018 7:02am PST · 4 comments

Oracle CEO Mark Hurd at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Q&A

Oracle’s Hurd Touts Apps, Plays Down AWS Threat

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 27, 2018 7:02am PST · 4 comments

Oracle CEO Mark Hurd would prefer not to talk about Amazon. In an interview with The Information, Mr. Hurd was eager to discuss another topic, Oracle’s applications for running corporate finances and other back-office functions, which are showing strong growth. But he bristled when asked about Amazon, which is becoming an increasingly... Oracle CEO Mark Hurd would prefer not to talk about Amazon. In an interview with The Information,...

Blockchain CEO Peter Smith. Photo: Bloomberg

Q&A

Blockchain CEO Eyes IPO Amid Crypto Rout

By Jon Victor · Dec 26, 2018 10:01am PST

2018 was a tough year for the cryptocurrency industry, as the total market capitalization of all digital tokens plummeted from $800 billion in January to around $130 billion in late December. But Peter Smith, the CEO of Blockchain, says businesses like his, which earn revenue off people (and businesses) buying and selling tokens, can still do... 2018 was a tough year for the cryptocurrency industry, as the total market capitalization of all...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, shown in 2016, when he was Oracle's president of product development. Photo: Bloomberg

2019 Predictions

Why Alphabet Will Make a Big Acquisition to Help Google Cloud

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 26, 2018 7:01am PST · 7 comments

If Thomas Kurian wants to succeed in his new job as Google Cloud CEO, he needs to make some radical moves. For instance, he could make a major acquisition of an enterprise tech firm to plug some of the gaps in Google’s product mix that have prevented big companies from taking it seriously. I’m predicting that’s what Mr. Kurian... If Thomas Kurian wants to succeed in his new job as Google Cloud CEO, he needs to make some...

Customers picking up prescriptions at a pharmacy in Yichang, central China's Hubei province, in 2014. Photo by AP

How Hillhouse Hopes to Build China’s CVS

By Yunan Zhang · Dec 24, 2018 10:01am PST

Hillhouse Capital Group, one of China’s most prominent investment firms and an early backer of Chinese tech giants such as Tencent and Meituan, has lately tried to buy up pet care firms, hospitals and shoe stores. Now it is targeting pharmacies.In the past year, Hillhouse has invested $1 billion in more than 40 retail pharmacy chains,... Hillhouse Capital Group, one of China’s most prominent investment firms and an early backer...

What Technologists Can Learn From Religions

By Sam Lessin · Dec 24, 2018 7:01am PST · 9 comments

Modest Proposals

What Technologists Can Learn From Religions

By Sam Lessin · Dec 24, 2018 7:01am PST · 9 comments

In 1994, Umberto Eco famously wrote that the Macintosh was Catholic and that DOS was Protestant. While he was mostly speaking in jest, I am increasingly convinced that modern internet platforms have as much to learn from religious history as they do from corporate history.Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystems, for example, have a lot in common with... In 1994, Umberto Eco famously wrote that the Macintosh was Catholic and that DOS was Protestant....

Still Waiting for the IPO Tech Boom? You’re Late.

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 22, 2018 8:32am PST

Last week, my column handicapped what will certainly be a big IPO year in 2019. This week, I want to say more about the year we already had—and a trend that I suspect some of you missed.Despite the fact that many big names (Uber, Airbnb) were still waiting it out, 2018 was a record year for tech IPOs, as determined by their size. There... Last week, my column handicapped what will certainly be a big IPO year in 2019. This week, I want...

The Information’s 411 — The Ukraine Always Rings Twice

By Tom Dotan · Dec 21, 2018 4:05pm PST

Reed and Matt explain why Ring has been sending customer videos and data to its office in Ukraine and what it says about Ring's privacy policies. Reed and Matt explain why Ring has been sending customer videos and data to its office in Ukraine...

China's President Xi Jinping and German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Chinese Chip Deals Shift to Europe as U.S. Clamps Down

By Aaron Tilley and Juro Osawa · Dec 21, 2018 7:01am PST

Last year, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, a Chinese government-backed investment fund, made one of that country’s most ambitious attempts to buy a U.S. chip company with a $1.3 billion bid for Lattice Semiconductor. But after the Chinese origins of the prospective buyer attracted scrutiny by the Trump administration, Canyon Bridge... Last year, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, a Chinese government-backed investment fund, made one...

A Waymo autonomous vehicle in Chandler, Ariz., in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Troubled Waymo Worker Shows Human Problems Continue

By Amir Efrati · Dec 20, 2018 10:03am PST · 2 comments

A Waymo autonomous vehicle in Chandler, Ariz., in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Troubled Waymo Worker Shows Human Problems Continue

By Amir Efrati · Dec 20, 2018 10:03am PST · 2 comments

When Waymo tests its self-driving car prototypes on public roads, teams of workers sit inside control rooms remotely monitoring their every move. Some of these workers—Waymo calls them “guardian angels”—are ready to push buttons that bring vehicles to a halt when safety concerns arise.For five months in 2018 though, Waymo... When Waymo tests its self-driving car prototypes on public roads, teams of workers sit inside...