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

Inside Bird’s Scooter Economics

By Amir Efrati and Cory Weinberg · Oct 23, 2018 11:12am PDT · 2 comments

Electric scooter rental service Bird told prospective investors in June of this year that it was on pace to generate around $65 million in revenue annually. At the time, Bird was operating in roughly 10 markets and has since launched service in almost 100 more cities domestically and abroad. The company is now on pace to generate hundreds of... Electric scooter rental service Bird told prospective investors in June of this year that it was...

The Information reporting; Coinbase

The People With Power at Coinbase

By Jon Victor · Oct 23, 2018 7:01am PDT

Over the last 12 months, Coinbase, Silicon Valley’s most high-profile cryptocurrency company, has been recruiting aggressively from Wall Street, attracting top deal makers and prominent lawyers as it seeks to become the premier conduit for institutional cryptocurrency trading. Jeff Horowitz, Coinbase’s chief compliance officer, came... Over the last 12 months, Coinbase, Silicon Valley’s most high-profile cryptocurrency...

Oracle's former cloud chief Thomas Kurian. Photo by Bloomberg

Aborted VMware Deal Shows Oracle’s Cloud Struggles

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 22, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Oracle earlier this year held talks with VMware about a deal that would have allowed VMware’s computing, storage and networking software to run on Oracle’s cloud service, making Oracle more appealing for businesses already using VMware software in their data centers, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. But the talks... Oracle earlier this year held talks with VMware about a deal that would have allowed...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook on Hunt for Big Cybersecurity Acquisition

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Oct 21, 2018 10:10am PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook on Hunt for Big Cybersecurity Acquisition

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Oct 21, 2018 10:10am PDT

In an effort to repair its tattered reputation around data protection, Facebook is stepping up efforts to acquire a major cybersecurity firm, according to four people familiar with the matter. Facebook has approached several security firms about an acquisition, two of the people said, although neither would identify the companies as discussions... In an effort to repair its tattered reputation around data protection, Facebook is stepping up...

Tech IPO Mania? Not So Fast.

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 20, 2018 9:15am PDT

In recent weeks, Lyft has hired J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and Jefferies to lead its IPO and bankers are circling Uber, wooing them with predictions of a $120B market valuation—nearly twice its current private market price. Palantir, Postmates, and even eventually Pax, are contemplating IPOs too, several outlets, including WSJ, Reuters and... In recent weeks, Lyft has hired J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and Jefferies to lead its IPO and...

The Information’s 411 — IPO or Cannabust

By Tom Dotan · Oct 19, 2018 2:10pm PDT

Juro talks about how niche social apps could reshape the social media landscape in China. Nick talks about PAX Labs and its plans to make the public markets comfortable with its business of selling cannabis vaping devices. Juro talks about how niche social apps could reshape the social media landscape in China. Nick...

A Tegna sign at the company headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg

TV Stations Join Digital Gold Rush

By Beejoli Shah · Oct 19, 2018 7:01am PDT

The explosion of demand for video production is creating a new business for an unlikely source: local TV stations.Broadcasters such as Gannett spinoff company Tegna, Sinclair Broadcasting, Tribune and the station division of Disney’s ABC are now creating shows specifically for Facebook and YouTube. The shows include “More in... The explosion of demand for video production is creating a new business for an unlikely source:...

Twitch COO Sara Clemens. Photo by Erin Beach

Twitch COO Says The Future of Live TV Is Personalized Commentary

By Tom Dotan · Oct 18, 2018 4:19pm PDT

Twitch COO Sara Clemens. Photo by Erin Beach

Subscriber Summit

Twitch COO Says The Future of Live TV Is Personalized Commentary

By Tom Dotan · Oct 18, 2018 4:19pm PDT

This football season, Amazon-owned Twitch gave users the ability to stream Thursday Night NFL Games on their own personalized channels. And as executives soon discovered, the biggest audience on the platform hasn’t come from the official stream, but from an individual user who adds his own commentary to the game. Twitch COO Sara Clemens... This football season, Amazon-owned Twitch gave users the ability to stream Thursday Night NFL...

Startup founders (l-r) Howie Liu, Mathilde Collin and DJ Kleinbaum. Photo by Erin Beach

Subscriber Summit

The ‘Philosophical Recession’ Hanging Over Tech Startups

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 18, 2018 3:59pm PDT

When Howie Liu first came to Silicon Valley a decade ago, the assumption was that if a tech startup could make money, it was a social good in itself—a sort of altruistic, pure capitalism. But Mr. Liu believes that view isn’t widespread anymore. “Rightfully so, we’re seeing a state where that’s being scrutinized and... When Howie Liu first came to Silicon Valley a decade ago, the assumption was that if a tech...

Andreessen Horowitz general partner Katie Haun, in conversation with The Information founder Jessica Lessin, at The Information Subscriber Summit in San Francisco.

Subscriber Summit

Andreessen Digs Into Crypto

By Sarah Kuranda · Oct 18, 2018 3:34pm PDT · 2 comments

When venture capitalists first started looking at deals in the cryptocurrency and blockchain market, most took a traditional investing approach, hunting for equity stakes in startups. Eventually, they had to rethink their approach to deal-making in the business to include investments in tokens themselves, according to a prominent venture... When venture capitalists first started looking at deals in the cryptocurrency and blockchain...

GitHub Incoming CEO Nat Friedman. Photo by Erin Beach

Subscriber Summit

Microsoft Won’t Mess Up GitHub, Executive Says

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 18, 2018 1:48pm PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft was once so hostile to open-source software that former CEO Steve Ballmer called it a “cancer.” That history worries open-source developers who rely on GitHub, which Microsoft is buying. But the Microsoft executive who will take the reins of GitHub when the deal is completed says developers shouldn’t worry.Under CEO... Microsoft was once so hostile to open-source software that former CEO Steve Ballmer called it a...

PAX Labs CEO Bharat Vasan. Photo by PAX Labs

PAX Labs Boosts Legal, Policy Teams Ahead of Eventual IPO

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 18, 2018 7:02am PDT

PAX Labs CEO Bharat Vasan. Photo by PAX Labs

PAX Labs Boosts Legal, Policy Teams Ahead of Eventual IPO

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 18, 2018 7:02am PDT

The company behind a popular line of marijuana vaporizers is stepping up its lobbying, communications and policy efforts as it prepares for an eventual initial public offering.In recent weeks, PAX Labs—which makes a line of sleek devices for vaping cannabis in plant and oil forms—hired two technology industry veterans to help in... The company behind a popular line of marijuana vaporizers is stepping up its lobbying,...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

(Un)stablecoins; Blockchain Games

By Jon Victor · Oct 17, 2018 12:04pm PDT · 1 comment

The price of bitcoin rose this week, but bitcoin’s gain may just have been tether’s loss. The most high-profile stablecoin, whose value is supposedly always $1, dipped as low as 90 cents this week on some exchanges as traders converted their holdings amid rumors that Bitfinex, a crypto exchange and tether’s sister company, was... The price of bitcoin rose this week, but bitcoin’s gain may just have been tether’s...

Photo: Bloomberg

A Google Diaspora Shapes China’s Tech Scene

By Shai Oster · Oct 17, 2018 10:28am PDT · 6 comments

Google has been looking for ways to re-enter China. But as The Information’s snapshot of Google’s former employees in China shows, in some ways it never left.Every few months, several dozen people who used to work for Google in China gather at a trendy Shanghai restaurant. The attendees are a veritable Who’s Who of... Google has been looking for ways to re-enter China. But as The Information’s snapshot of...

Walmart Senior Vice President Andy Dunn. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Big Interview

Walmart Builds, Buys Digital Brands in Search for Shoppers

By Priya Anand · Oct 17, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Andy Dunn, the founder and then-CEO of menswear company Bonobos, declared two years ago that big companies were nearly incapable of creating cool online brands aimed at millennials. Then a funny thing happened: He sold Bonobos to Walmart last year and became responsible for doing just that for the world’s largest retailer. At Walmart, Mr.... Andy Dunn, the founder and then-CEO of menswear company Bonobos, declared two years ago that big...

WeChat founder Allen Zhang at a company event in China earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

Breaking WeChat’s Grip on China’s Social Networks

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Oct 16, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

WeChat founder Allen Zhang at a company event in China earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

Breaking WeChat’s Grip on China’s Social Networks

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Oct 16, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

Imagine if Facebook’s key lieutenants quit to launch a rival product. In China, something like that just happened. Two of the people who helped develop WeChat, the nearly universal chat app run by Tencent, recently created new social networks called Pop and Echo.It comes amid signs WeChat’s grip over social networking and media... Imagine if Facebook’s key lieutenants quit to launch a rival product. In China, something...

Hulu CEO Randy Freer.

The Big Interview

Hulu Looks to Make Its Skinny Bundle Skinnier

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 16, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Just 18 months after launching its live TV service, Hulu is looking to winnow down its live offerings, replacing them with more on-demand programming.Hulu CEO Randy Freer told The Information in an exclusive interview that he wants to drop some live entertainment channels to be able to create smaller bundles of live sports, news and on-demand... Just 18 months after launching its live TV service, Hulu is looking to winnow down its live...

Modest Proposals

The Coming of the Human Knowledge-Work Cloud

By Sam Lessin · Oct 15, 2018 10:01am PDT · 8 comments

There have been some major moves occurring at companies focused on the future of work in the last few months. Robotic Process Automation, a technology that makes it possible to automate repetitive tasks inside businesses, is on fire. UiPath, arguably one of the standard bearers for the RPA industry, just raised a huge round that values it at... There have been some major moves occurring at companies focused on the future of work in the last...

Sources: Tesla internal organizational chart; The Information reporting

Tesla Turnover Revamps Executive Team

By Amir Efrati · Oct 15, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Tesla’s flat management structure appears to have become even flatter recently, as departures of key executives have left a larger than normal number of people answerable directly to CEO Elon Musk. Tesla’s employee organization chart, located on an internal company website and viewed by The Information, recently showed 29 managers... Tesla’s flat management structure appears to have become even flatter recently, as...

Why Product Doesn’t Win

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 13, 2018 9:37am PDT · 12 comments

Why Product Doesn’t Win

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 13, 2018 9:37am PDT · 12 comments

In the past few weeks, as some of the Valley’s most mature internet companies have faced crisis after crisis, there’s been a theme circulating that these companies, and Facebook in particular, has lost their product way.This chatter peaked when journalists and others suggested that Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom should run... In the past few weeks, as some of the Valley’s most mature internet companies have...