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

Neil Shen. Photo by AP

How Sequoia’s Neil Shen Built a China Powerhouse

By Juro Osawa · Dec 20, 2018 7:01am PST · 1 comment

In 2004, the two senior partners at Sequoia Capital, Michael Moritz and Doug Leone, were looking for new long-term opportunities outside the U.S., and they zeroed in on China as the first target.“Back then, a lot of people were flying in, doing deals and flying out. We knew that was the wrong model,” Mr. Leone said in an interview.... In 2004, the two senior partners at Sequoia Capital, Michael Moritz and Doug Leone, were looking...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

EOS Block Producers Under Pressure

By Jon Victor · Dec 19, 2018 1:28pm PST

Is the bottom in? Crypto prices are up this week, even as U.S. stocks sank deeper into correction territory. Some prominent crypto backers, like Brian Kelly, have said they are now short bitcoin. Another big crypto investor, Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz, remains bullish on the market. But many investors admit they have no idea which way... Is the bottom in? Crypto prices are up this week, even as U.S. stocks sank deeper into correction...

Mike Sullivan

At Ring’s R&D Team, Security Gaps and Rookie Engineers

By Matt Drange and Reed Albergotti · Dec 19, 2018 7:01am PST · 5 comments

Jamie Siminoff had flown to frigid Kiev, Ukraine, to give a pep talk to the roughly 30 people who worked there for his fast-growing video doorbell startup, Ring. It was December 2016, and the Santa Monica, Calif., company had recently opened a satellite office in Ukraine to develop products that would use artificial intelligence and motion... Jamie Siminoff had flown to frigid Kiev, Ukraine, to give a pep talk to the roughly 30 people who...

Lyric manages high-end rentals for short stays in Chicago, above, and a dozen other cities. Photo: Shutterstock

Airbnb in Talks to Lead Property Startup’s $75 Million Fundraising

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 18, 2018 2:15pm PST · 1 comment

Lyric manages high-end rentals for short stays in Chicago, above, and a dozen other cities. Photo: Shutterstock

Airbnb in Talks to Lead Property Startup’s $75 Million Fundraising

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 18, 2018 2:15pm PST · 1 comment

Airbnb is expected to lead a group of investors that would put about $75 million into Lyric, a startup that turns new apartment buildings into hotel-like properties for business travelers, people familiar with the matter said. The anticipated investment would be one of Airbnb’s most significant bets on professionally managed rentals.Lyric... Airbnb is expected to lead a group of investors that would put about $75 million into Lyric, a...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Our Top 10 Stories of 2018

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 18, 2018 10:12am PST

What a year. Our ten most popular stories of 2018 exposed how dreams met reality for major tech giants as high fliers stumbled and reckoned with major missteps and setbacks. But it wasn't all bad news. Pieces about Netflix's innovative management approach and Uber's efforts to remake itself also made the list. If you missed them,... What a year. Our ten most popular stories of 2018 exposed how dreams met reality for major tech...

Tech Giants Turn to Madison Avenue to Burnish Image

Tech Giants Turn to Madison Avenue to Burnish Image

By Sarah Kuranda · Dec 18, 2018 7:01am PST · 2 comments

Big tech is better known for eroding the traditional ad business than contributing to it. But that’s changing. Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook each ramped up U.S. advertising sharply in the first half of this year, looking to promote individual products and trust in their services.In many cases, the companies are spending a greater... Big tech is better known for eroding the traditional ad business than contributing to it. But...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Modest Proposals

My Predictions for Crypto in 2019

By Sam Lessin · Dec 17, 2018 10:02am PST · 6 comments

Almost exactly one year ago I made 14 predictions about how the cryptocurrency market would change in 2018. This year, I want to start by recapping how my predictions turned out, and then make a fresh set of 2019 calls. In reviewing my 2018 predictions, I give myself a score of 79%: 11 of my 14 predictions turned out to be... Almost exactly one year ago I made 14 predictions about how the cryptocurrency market would...

Art by Mike Sullivan

On the Market: Veterans of Facebook, Oath, ABC, Lyft

By The Information Staff · Dec 17, 2018 7:02am PST

Art by Mike Sullivan

On the Market: Veterans of Facebook, Oath, ABC, Lyft

By The Information Staff · Dec 17, 2018 7:02am PST

As the year winds down, some prominent executives are considering their next move after having held jobs that have given them a front seat to the biggest recent developments in tech and media. The Information’s latest batch of Free Agents—industry leaders who are in between jobs, or about to be—looks at the careers and future... As the year winds down, some prominent executives are considering their next move after having...

Chart by Mike Sullivan.

What Public Tech Investors Want

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 15, 2018 10:22am PST · 1 comment

It’s all but certain that Uber, Lyft and several other private companies will go public in 2019. What is far less clear is how public market investors, in a potentially jittery market, will receive them.These companies, and their venture capital investors, represent the Silicon Valley bulls who believe public investors will rally behind... It’s all but certain that Uber, Lyft and several other private companies will go public in...

The Information’s 411 — Uber, Take the Wheel

By Tom Dotan · Dec 14, 2018 2:51pm PST

Amir explains how a whistleblower at Uber warned about the problems with their self-driving cars before the deadly collision in Arizona. Priya talks about how AWS's promise to use only renewable energy in its data centers has hit some speed bumps. Amir explains how a whistleblower at Uber warned about the problems with their self-driving cars...

An Amazon wind farm in Fowler Ridge, Ind. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS Renewable Energy Efforts Hit Speed Bumps

By Priya Anand · Dec 14, 2018 7:01am PST · 2 comments

Last month at an event in Las Vegas, Nat Sahlstrom, a director for Amazon’s cloud computing unit, told an audience that electrical power is “the lifeblood of the modern data center,” reminding the crowd that the unit—known as Amazon Web Services—had pledged four years earlier to one day rely solely on renewable... Last month at an event in Las Vegas, Nat Sahlstrom, a director for Amazon’s cloud computing...

A panel from our 2018 Autonomous Vehicle Summit. Credit: Erin Beach.

Announcing The Information’s 2019 Autonomous Vehicle Event

By Amir Efrati · Dec 13, 2018 1:48pm PST

A panel from our 2018 Autonomous Vehicle Summit. Credit: Erin Beach.

Announcing The Information’s 2019 Autonomous Vehicle Event

By Amir Efrati · Dec 13, 2018 1:48pm PST

We are excited to announce that our third annual Autonomous Vehicle Summit will be held June 13, 2019 at Fort Mason in San Francisco.The purpose of this event is to bring together the technologists, investors, business leaders and strategists who are actively deploying self-driving technology and building next-generation businesses around it.... We are excited to announce that our third annual Autonomous Vehicle Summit will be held June 13,...

Juniper CEO Rami Rahim, center, at the New York Stock Exchange last month. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS’ Shift to Homegrown Networking Equipment Raises Questions for Juniper

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 13, 2018 12:33pm PST · 1 comment

Juniper Networks, which makes high-end devices that route traffic around the internet, looked to be making headway in a key growth market a few years ago when it started selling its routers to Amazon Web Services. AWS is the biggest of the public cloud providers that handle an increasing share of big companies’ computing work.But hopes... Juniper Networks, which makes high-end devices that route traffic around the internet, looked to...

Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook to Cut Funding for Some News Shows on Watch

By Jessica Toonkel, Tom Dotan and Beejoli Shah · Dec 13, 2018 7:02am PST

Six months after Facebook launched a slate of original news shows from outlets like CNN, ABC News and BuzzFeed, the company has told news executives it is likely to reduce its funding for individual shows, as it refines its programming strategy for the effort. Facebook’s overall spending on news content for its Watch service—$90... Six months after Facebook launched a slate of original news shows from outlets like CNN, ABC News...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Investors Regroup; ConsenSys’ Consulting Stumble

By Jon Victor · Dec 12, 2018 12:01pm PST · 1 comment

Crypto winter is here, but who can say when it actually began? It has now been about a month since the price of bitcoin started to drop off its $6,400 level, falling by almost half in that time. But many assets were already down more than 80% from their 2018 highs before the latest plunge. Even as prices remain low, however, market... Crypto winter is here, but who can say when it actually began? It has now been about a month...

A view of an Apple wireless chip inside the company's AirPods at a 2016 event. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Developing Modem as Chip Efforts Expand

By Aaron Tilley · Dec 12, 2018 7:01am PST · 6 comments

A view of an Apple wireless chip inside the company's AirPods at a 2016 event. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Developing Modem as Chip Efforts Expand

By Aaron Tilley · Dec 12, 2018 7:01am PST · 6 comments

For some time, Apple has been serious about building more wireless components for its own devices, putting its own Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips into the latest Apple Watches and AirPod earbuds.Now Apple has provided the clearest evidence yet that it is working on one of the most complicated and expensive hardware ingredients in its devices: a... For some time, Apple has been serious about building more wireless components for its own...

Huawei ads in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg

Huawei’s Deep Ties to U.S. Researchers Face Backlash

By Juro Osawa and Matt Drange · Dec 11, 2018 12:44pm PST

Professor Song-Chun Zhu of UCLA is one of the world’s leading authorities on computer vision. He has won numerous grants, including from the Pentagon—and more recently from Huawei Technologies. Now, Mr. Zhu, who has already received one-third of the $450,000 Huawei grant, says he doesn’t want to accept the rest because of the... Professor Song-Chun Zhu of UCLA is one of the world’s leading authorities on computer...

Photo of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by AP, others courtesy of the lawmakers

10 Lawmakers Tech Should Watch

By Sarah Kuranda and Nick Wingfield · Dec 11, 2018 7:16am PST · 1 comment

When Google CEO Sundar Pichai took a seat in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning, he became the latest Silicon Valley tech executive summoned for hostile questioning from politicians.Lawmakers are expected to ask him about Google’s plans to return to China with a censored version of its search engine, whether... When Google CEO Sundar Pichai took a seat in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday...

A still image taken from an ABC TV station, showing the self-driving car that hit a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., last March. Photo by AP

The Uber Whistleblower’s Email

By Amir Efrati · Dec 10, 2018 4:00pm PST

Below is Robbie Miller’s March 13 email to Eric Meyhofer, Jon Thomason and several others, including two in-house lawyers. Below is Robbie Miller’s March 13 email to Eric Meyhofer, Jon Thomason and several others,...

An Uber self-driving car being tested in Arizona in February. Photo by AP

How an Uber Whistleblower Tried to Stop Self-Driving Car Disaster

By Amir Efrati · Dec 10, 2018 4:00pm PST · 5 comments

An Uber self-driving car being tested in Arizona in February. Photo by AP

How an Uber Whistleblower Tried to Stop Self-Driving Car Disaster

By Amir Efrati · Dec 10, 2018 4:00pm PST · 5 comments

Five days before an Uber self-driving car prototype killed a pedestrian in Arizona last March, a manager in Uber’s autonomous vehicle unit warned the group’s top executives that the software powering the company’s prototype robotaxis was dangerous. He also warned that the human back-up drivers in the vehicles weren’t... Five days before an Uber self-driving car prototype killed a pedestrian in Arizona last March, a...