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

The Information’s 411 — Wrappers Delight

By Tom Dotan · Oct 12, 2018 4:28pm PDT

Wayne delves into the world of fraudsters in China that exploit Apple's warranty. Kevin explains Amazon’s plans to build picking robots for its warehouses. Wayne delves into the world of fraudsters in China that exploit Apple's warranty. Kevin...

Subscriber Summit

Our 2018 Subscriber Summit Roundtables

By The Information Staff · Oct 12, 2018 3:50pm PDT

We're excited to announce this year's lunch roundtables, assigned on a first-come, first-served basis at our Subscriber Summit October 18 in San Francisco. Register here and please arrive early to ensure there is space in the session you want to attend. Will the Healthcare Revolution Be Consumerized?The direct-to-consumer... We're excited to announce this year's lunch roundtables, assigned on a first-come,...

L-R: Jarrett Moreno, Wared Seger, Matthew Segal, Matt Hullum

Three Digital Media Companies to Watch

By Beejoli Shah · Oct 12, 2018 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

The search for a money-making business in digital media takes companies in many different directions. Some have tried and abandoned social media as a distribution platform in favor of their own streaming services. There are those who do the opposite. Both approaches are highlighted in our short profiles about three fast-growing digital media... The search for a money-making business in digital media takes companies in many different...

Airbnb, TripAdvisor and other companies are looking to build revenue from activities booking.

‘Experiences’ Market Remains Small for Airbnb, Rivals

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 12, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Airbnb, TripAdvisor and other companies are looking to build revenue from activities booking.

‘Experiences’ Market Remains Small for Airbnb, Rivals

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 12, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Airbnb’s years-long effort to crack the market for vacation tours and activities accelerated this year in what was known internally as the “summer of love.” After testing the service extensively, the company looked to grow its Experiences business rapidly, offering bar crawls, hat-making classes and other trip add-ons to more... Airbnb’s years-long effort to crack the market for vacation tours and activities...

Photos: Bloomberg, AP

How MTV Alumni Came to Rule Digital Media

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 11, 2018 10:00am PDT · 4 comments

MTV is trying to re-establish itself as the network for millennials. What would help is if it could hire back just a few of the many executives it has lost over the past decade to internet firms like Facebook, Spotify and YouTube.Perhaps more than any other TV network, MTV has been a hunting ground for digital media firms looking for talent in... MTV is trying to re-establish itself as the network for millennials. What would help is if it...

A picking robot from Kindred Systems. Photo by Kindred Systems

Amazon Developing ‘Picking’ Robots for Warehouses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 11, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Amazon announced plans last week to bump the minimum wage for 250,000 employees to $15 an hour, it avoided a related, but sensitive topic: When might machines replace those workers, many of whom work in its warehouses? Amazon already uses robots to handle some jobs in its warehouses, known as fulfillment centers, but it has... When Amazon announced plans last week to bump the minimum wage for 250,000 employees to $15 an...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Bitmain Expands Mining Operations

By Jon Victor · Oct 10, 2018 12:51pm PDT · 1 comment

Happy San Francisco Blockchain Week to those celebrating. As one might expect, there have been a ton of funding and product announcements coinciding with the event, with one highlight being the launch of a $100 million crypto fund, Dragonfly Capital Partners. Thousands of miles away, though, the Chinese mining giant Bitmain has plans cooking:... Happy San Francisco Blockchain Week to those celebrating. As one might expect, there have been a...

Harvard University. Photo: Bloomberg

Harvard, Stanford, MIT Endowments Invest in Crypto Funds

By Jon Victor · Oct 10, 2018 12:32pm PDT

Harvard University. Photo: Bloomberg

Harvard, Stanford, MIT Endowments Invest in Crypto Funds

By Jon Victor · Oct 10, 2018 12:32pm PDT

The endowments of Harvard University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina have made investments into at least one cryptocurrency fund, a person familiar with the investments said, in a sign of the asset class’ growing acceptance among institutional investors.... The endowments of Harvard University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts...

Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and CEO of Slack. Photo: Bloomberg

Tech Founders Cede Some Power to Shareholders

By Alfred Lee · Oct 10, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Founders wield outsize influence over many of Silicon Valley’s most successful public companies through their shareholdings. But lately a growing number of tech firms are setting limits on founder power, partly in response to investor backlash.Messaging service Slack, which is expected to go public next year, adopted rules in December that... Founders wield outsize influence over many of Silicon Valley’s most successful public...

Photo: Bloomberg

Costco Has Considered Video Streaming Service for Executive Members

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 9, 2018 2:56pm PDT

Costco Wholesale had preliminary discussions over the past few months about offering a video streaming service as a perk for its top-tier customers, according to three people with direct knowledge of the discussions.The retailer has talked to at least two providers of existing streaming services about the possibility of offering such a service... Costco Wholesale had preliminary discussions over the past few months about offering a video...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsynder

Inside Apple’s War on iPhone Fraud in China

By Wayne Ma · Oct 9, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Five years ago, Apple was forced to temporarily close what was then its only retail store in Shenzhen, China, after it was besieged by lines of hundreds of customers waiting to swap broken iPhones for new devices, according to two former Apple employees who were briefed about the matter. In May 2013, the Shenzhen store logged more than 2,000... Five years ago, Apple was forced to temporarily close what was then its only retail store in...

Todd Holmdahl, a corporate vice president with Microsoft's quantum computing project. Photo by Microsoft

Microsoft Quantum Project Grows With Ex-Qualcomm Engineers

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 8, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Todd Holmdahl, a corporate vice president with Microsoft's quantum computing project. Photo by Microsoft

Microsoft Quantum Project Grows With Ex-Qualcomm Engineers

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 8, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Microsoft’s efforts to build a futuristic computer based on quantum mechanics are getting a boost from former engineers of the chipmaker Qualcomm. Over the past few months, Microsoft has aggressively hired chip engineers from a struggling Qualcomm division devoted to building chips for the computers that power data centers, more so than... Microsoft’s efforts to build a futuristic computer based on quantum mechanics are getting a...

A local resident in Shanghai used a smartphone to have the QR code scanned through Tencent's WeChat Pay. Photo: AP

Tencent to Invest in Brazilian Fintech Startup at $4 Billion Valuation

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Oct 8, 2018 2:51am PDT · 1 comment

Chinese internet giant Tencent has agreed to invest about $200 million in Brazil’s Nubank, which offers virtual credit cards, in a deal that values the startup at around $4 billion, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent’s first investment in Brazil makes Nubank one of the most valuable startups in Latin America. It is the... Chinese internet giant Tencent has agreed to invest about $200 million in Brazil’s Nubank,...

Facebook Gets a Taste of Its Own Medicine

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 6, 2018 6:01pm PDT · 1 comment

“Should Mark move Facebook out of Silicon Valley?”It was a strange text message to receive Thursday afternoon, but I instantly knew what it was about: this well-reported New York Times article revealing the uproar that had occurred inside Facebook over vice president of global policy Joel Kaplan sitting behind his close friend and... “Should Mark move Facebook out of Silicon Valley?”It was a strange text message to...

A technician worked on a Skip scooter at the company's repair shop in San Francisco. Photo: Bloomberg

Conference Call

Scooters’ Big Challenges: Batteries, Lane Space, Bad Weather

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 5, 2018 12:53pm PDT · 1 comment

The electric scooter market has expanded rapidly, yet some scooter executives think the fast growth has obscured real challenges with issues such as hardware, battery charging and road space.On Thursday, executives at three scooter and bike companies, Ryan Rzepecki, CEO of Uber-owned Jump, Michael Keating, CEO of Scoot, and Darren Weingard,... The electric scooter market has expanded rapidly, yet some scooter executives think the fast...

The Information’s 411 — Terms and Conditions Probably Apply

By Priya Anand · Oct 5, 2018 11:02am PDT

The Information’s 411 — Terms and Conditions Probably Apply

By Priya Anand · Oct 5, 2018 11:02am PDT

Amir dissects the Bloomberg report about China using hidden chips to hack American hardware. Alfred describes the terms SoftBank sets when it makes big investments in startups. Amir dissects the Bloomberg report about China using hidden chips to hack American hardware....

Heather Lommatzsch’s Tesla Model S after crashing into the back of a fire truck in South Jordan, Utah, in May. Photo: South Jordan Police Department

Tesla Gives Mixed Messages on Hands-Free Driving

By Matt Drange · Oct 5, 2018 7:00am PDT · 7 comments

One of the most appealing features of Tesla’s cars is their ability to steer themselves. But the semi-autonomous “Autopilot” feature has been linked to a series of crashes, and increasingly is blamed for encouraging drivers to take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel.Tesla has responded by sending drivers... One of the most appealing features of Tesla’s cars is their ability to steer themselves....

From left: Marni Walden, Jan Koum, Anand Chandrasekher, George Strompolos, Kenny Tsai, Elliot Shmukler, Wendy Bahr, Peter Fernandez.

On the Market: Veterans of Verizon, Jump, Intel

By The Information Staff · Oct 4, 2018 7:02am PDT

Quite a few high-profile executives have left their jobs in tech and media in recent months, prompted both by mergers and acquisitions and separately by tensions at the top of big organizations such as Facebook. For our latest batch of Free Agents—well-known executives who might be available for hire—we profile the former chief... Quite a few high-profile executives have left their jobs in tech and media in recent months,...

Traveloka CFO Henry Hendrawan. Photo by Bloomberg

Asia Tech Gold Rush Boosts Travel Startup to $4 Billion Price Tag

By Juro Osawa · Oct 4, 2018 1:48am PDT · 2 comments

As U.S. and Asian tech giants pour billions of dollars into Southeast Asia, local startup valuations are soaring. Now, one of the region’s biggest online travel sites is in talks for a new funding round which would double its valuation to $4.1 billion, said a person familiar with the matter.Indonesia-based Traveloka, backed by Expedia of... As U.S. and Asian tech giants pour billions of dollars into Southeast Asia, local startup...

Mike Sullivan

The Index Token Debate

By Jon Victor · Oct 3, 2018 12:41pm PDT · 1 comment

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

The Index Token Debate

By Jon Victor · Oct 3, 2018 12:41pm PDT · 1 comment

One headline from the past week stands out among the rest: Coinbase could be raising more money. The company is said to be in talks to raise up to $500 million from Tiger Global at a valuation of $8 billion. Although Coinbase was thought to be turning away investors earlier this year, it seems the crypto company has come around to the idea of... One headline from the past week stands out among the rest: Coinbase could be raising more money....