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

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Recent Editions

Mark Zuckerberg, Brad Smith and Bill Gates. Photos AP; Bloomberg

To Rebuild Trust, Facebook’s Zuckerberg Looked to Microsoft

By Nick Wingfield · Dec 10, 2018 7:02am PST · 1 comment

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants advice, he occasionally turns to a kindred figure: Bill Gates, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist. Recently, Mr. Gates suggested to Mr. Zuckerberg that Facebook consider hiring someone with a profile like that of Brad Smith, the president and chief legal officer at Microsoft, a lawyer... When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants advice, he occasionally turns to a kindred figure: Bill...

Lime scooters parked in South Bend, Ind. Photo: AP

Scooter Firm Chases Funding to Staunch Losses

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 9, 2018 9:05pm PST · 5 comments

Investors in Lime were surprised this spring that the startup already had spent much of the $70 million it had raised only a few months earlier. The company was trying to shift quickly from running a bike-share business to one focused on electric scooters, and needed to buy thousands of the vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter.... Investors in Lime were surprised this spring that the startup already had spent much of the $70...

The Tech Industry: 2018 Through 2023

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 8, 2018 12:58pm PST · 1 comment

Last week we looked backwards. This week, we are looking ahead at subjects that we think will shape the tech industry over the next five years. There are some common themes that run across several of these topics, including the continued growth of artificial intelligence. (Although our team fiercely debated whether its impact will be more... Last week we looked backwards. This week, we are looking ahead at subjects that we think will...

The Information’s 411 — The Last Five Years

By Tom Dotan · Dec 7, 2018 4:02pm PST

The Information’s 411 — The Last Five Years

By Tom Dotan · Dec 7, 2018 4:02pm PST

Jessica talks about how the business models for news have shifted since The Information launched in 2013. Juro gives us the context behind the recent arrest of Huawei's CFO and what the episode means for relations between the US and China. Jessica talks about how the business models for news have shifted since The Information launched...

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf at an event in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday. Photo by Bloomberg

Qualcomm Lays Off 269 Employees, Mostly in Data Center Business

By Aaron Tilley · Dec 7, 2018 11:31am PST · 1 comment

Qualcomm is laying off 269 employees at its offices in Raleigh, N.C. and San Diego, mostly in its faltering data center unit, according to documents reviewed by The Information. Only around 50 employees remain in the data center unit, down from nearly 1,000 employees earlier this year, said one person with knowledge of the situation.The layoffs... Qualcomm is laying off 269 employees at its offices in Raleigh, N.C. and San Diego, mostly in its...

Subscriber Survey

Facebook Revelations Damage Image in Tech Industry, Subscribers Say

By Wendy Pollack · Dec 7, 2018 10:02am PST · 7 comments

The continuing stream of revelations about Facebook’s business practices are taking a severe toll on the company’s reputation within the tech industry, The Information’s latest subscriber survey shows. Just over three-fourths of respondents said they are less inclined to work at Facebook following this year’s... The continuing stream of revelations about Facebook’s business practices are taking a...

Google Cloud's outgoing CEO Diane Greene and Tencent CEO Pony Ma. Photos by Bloomberg.

Google and Tencent Secretly Explore Cloud-Computing Cooperation

By Juro Osawa · Dec 7, 2018 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Google is secretly exploring ways to use Tencent as a proxy for Google Cloud in China, where the U.S. company doesn’t operate its own cloud-computing business, people familiar with the matter said. If the project moves forward, corporate customers using Google Cloud’s software tools and services outside China—for tasks ranging... Google is secretly exploring ways to use Tencent as a proxy for Google Cloud in China, where the...

Logos of some of the apps produced by ByteDance.
Photo by Imaginechina via AP Images

ByteDance in Talks to Raise $1.45 Billion for Startup Shopping Spree

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Dec 6, 2018 11:58pm PST

Logos of some of the apps produced by ByteDance.
Photo by Imaginechina via AP Images

ByteDance in Talks to Raise $1.45 Billion for Startup Shopping Spree

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Dec 6, 2018 11:58pm PST

China’s ByteDance, the world’s most valuable startup worth $75 billion, is in talks to raise the equivalent of more than $1 billion for its first venture fund to invest in artificial intelligence and media content, people familiar with the matter said. The Beijing-based company, whose popular video app TikTok is growing... China’s ByteDance, the world’s most valuable startup worth $75 billion, is in talks...

Launching Our Updated Org Charts

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 6, 2018 10:10am PST · 1 comment

I am incredibly excited to take the wraps off a new section of The Information devoted to our org charts and available to annual subscribers today. You can sign up or upgrade under our special 5-year anniversary deals, which are good for a few more days.When our reporters told me they had the data to map out the leadership teams of the most... I am incredibly excited to take the wraps off a new section of The Information devoted to our org...

What Airbnb’s New Guard Faces Ahead of IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 6, 2018 7:01am PST · 2 comments

As Airbnb prepares to go public, its strengths and weaknesses are coming into focus. A previously shorthanded executive team has been reinforced with veterans from Amazon, creating new power centers inside the company, as our new org chart shows. The company’s home-sharing business has become more popular with lucrative business travelers.... As Airbnb prepares to go public, its strengths and weaknesses are coming into focus. A previously...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaking at a conference in Paris in May. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Emails Reveal Debates Over Selling Data Access

By Nick Wingfield, Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Dec 5, 2018 3:31pm PST · 1 comment

Facebook has long stressed it has never sold the personal data of its users, but a new cache of internal emails between Facebook executives reveals they considered charging developers for access to it. The emails—released Wednesday by a British member of Parliament overseeing an international committee examining Facebook—provided a... Facebook has long stressed it has never sold the personal data of its users, but a new cache of...

Mike Sullivan

ConsenSys Recalibrates

By Jon Victor · Dec 5, 2018 12:34pm PST

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

ConsenSys Recalibrates

By Jon Victor · Dec 5, 2018 12:34pm PST

On Monday, we published our list of the five biggest tech stories of the last five years, in honor of The Information’s fifth anniversary. Here on the crypto desk, I am planning a similar roundup for the industry—but I’d appreciate input from readers as well. What do you think were the most important stories in crypto and... On Monday, we published our list of the five biggest tech stories of the last five years, in...

A Google Export Experience Center, known until recently as a Google AdWords Experience Center, in Shanghai in 2016. Photo by AP

How the Chinese Government Is Helping Google Sell Ads in China

By Wayne Ma · Dec 5, 2018 7:01am PST

On the 20th floor of a nondescript office building in China’s southern boomtown of Shenzhen, employees from small businesses such as electronic-component makers can often be seen in a colorful bright office checking out big TV screens displaying Google Search, Gmail and YouTube—which are otherwise blocked in China. They are in one of... On the 20th floor of a nondescript office building in China’s southern boomtown of...

A technician works with Rethink's Baxter at The Rodon Group manufacturing facility in 2013. Photo by AP.

How Robotics Maker Rethink Crashed and Burned

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 4, 2018 10:00am PST · 1 comment

A few years ago, Rethink Robotics was hailed as a revolutionary company that would change the course of industrial robots. Featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2015, the company raised $150 million in financing from backers such as Jeff Bezos and Goldman Sachs at a valuation that reached $291 million.Its relatively low-cost machines were... A few years ago, Rethink Robotics was hailed as a revolutionary company that would change the...

Five Years In, A Letter to Our Readers

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 4, 2018 8:34am PST

The Information turns five today, and I’d like to take this moment to thank you those who have been part of our community and to express some thoughts about the years ahead. I am very proud of the impact we have had in just five short years.We created a new way of covering startups, focusing on business results and the truth behind their... The Information turns five today, and I’d like to take this moment to thank you those who...

Art by Mike Sullivan. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s Year Under Fire

By Sarah Kuranda · Dec 4, 2018 7:02am PST

Art by Mike Sullivan. Photos by Bloomberg; AP

Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s Year Under Fire

By Sarah Kuranda · Dec 4, 2018 7:02am PST

When Sundar Pichai woke up November 1 to prepare for an appearance at a conference in New York, Google’s CEO, an engineer by training, had likely hoped to tout the leaps in artificial intelligence and cloud computing that Google had made in his three years as the company’s leader. But any hope of delivering that message... When Sundar Pichai woke up November 1 to prepare for an appearance at a conference in New York,...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

We Need Better Measures of Social and Environmental Impacts

By Sam Lessin · Dec 3, 2018 10:01am PST · 7 comments

When historians look back at the 21st century, they will describe us as a global society deeply weakened by incomplete measurement and false precision in how we view our economy.This challenge feels pervasive. The U.S. economy, on paper, looks pretty good over the last few years. Yet it feels like there are huge “off balance sheet”... When historians look back at the 21st century, they will describe us as a global society deeply...

Bryan Goldberg. Photo by Bustle. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

How Bryan Goldberg Became Media’s Buyer of Last Resort

By Tom Dotan · Dec 3, 2018 7:01am PST · 3 comments

On the day before Thanksgiving, Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg got an urgent call from his counterpart at millennial news site Mic, Chris Altchek. Mic was in dire financial straits. Months of effort to find a buyer had fallen apart. Mr. Goldberg, who was friendly with Mr. Altchek, had resisted getting involved previously because he didn’t want... On the day before Thanksgiving, Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg got an urgent call from his counterpart...

The Tech Industry: 2013 through 2018

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 1, 2018 6:36pm PST · 4 comments

In the news business, we love looking forward. But you learn a lot by looking backwards, too. So on the eve of our 5th anniversary next week, our two-dozen reporters and editors huddled in a conference room (and around the virtual Google Hangout) and hashed out the five defining themes of the last five years. After an hour or so of debating... In the news business, we love looking forward. But you learn a lot by looking backwards, too. So...

A collection of Bird electric scooters in Detroit. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Exploring Deal to Buy Bird or Lime

By Amir Efrati, Juro Osawa and Cory Weinberg · Nov 30, 2018 9:10pm PST

A collection of Bird electric scooters in Detroit. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Exploring Deal to Buy Bird or Lime

By Amir Efrati, Juro Osawa and Cory Weinberg · Nov 30, 2018 9:10pm PST

Uber has held talks recently with electric scooter rental startup Bird to acquire the company in what could be a multibillion-dollar deal, said several people briefed on the discussions. But Uber is considering another option: The company has also recently held acquisition talks with the scooter company, Lime, said one of the people. While Uber... Uber has held talks recently with electric scooter rental startup Bird to acquire the company in...