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 — Who Is Ironman?

By Tom Dotan · Nov 17, 2017 2:08pm PST · 1 comment

Cory talks about Airbnb's cultural shift as it prepares the business for an eventual IPO. Kevin explains why Amazon Web Services is pushing into AI with "Ironman. Cory talks about Airbnb's cultural shift as it prepares the business for an eventual IPO....

Jessica Lessin interviews Twitter co-founder Ev Williams at The Information’s Silicon Valley Meets Hollywood event in Los Angeles. Photo: Angie Silvy

Silicon Valley Meets Hollywood

Ev Williams Predicts Tech Firms Will Compete on Trust

By Martin Peers · Nov 17, 2017 7:00am PST · 7 comments

Major tech companies are going to start competing on whose brand can be trusted the most, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams said, by seeking to limit misinformation from spreading in an unverified way on the internet.“Silicon Valley was kind of caught with their pants down” by the revelations of “manipulation and the degree of... Major tech companies are going to start competing on whose brand can be trusted the most, Twitter...

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, speaking at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Photo: Bloomberg

Nvidia Hires Uber Executive, Targets Mobileye

By Amir Efrati · Nov 16, 2017 12:58pm PST

Nvidia, the top seller of microchips essential to the development of self-driving cars, has hired Claire Delaunay, a co-founder of the self-driving trucking firm Otto that Uber acquired last year. The move is the latest in a hiring spree stretching back to last year, as Nvidia has recruited dozens of autonomous-vehicle software developers from... Nvidia, the top seller of microchips essential to the development of self-driving cars, has hired...

A Comcast cable truck. Photo by AP.

Forget Cord-Cutting. Big Threat to Cable Is Disappearing TV Profits

By Martin Peers · Nov 16, 2017 7:02am PST · 3 comments

A Comcast cable truck. Photo by AP.

Forget Cord-Cutting. Big Threat to Cable Is Disappearing TV Profits

By Martin Peers · Nov 16, 2017 7:02am PST · 3 comments

The threat that TV subscribers will cut the cord on their cable service has dominated discussion about TV’s future in recent years. But what isn’t widely appreciated is that rising programming costs could force cable operators out of the TV business within the next decade, well before cord-cutting does.Cable firms would be fine, as... The threat that TV subscribers will cut the cord on their cable service has dominated discussion...

Phil Chen

The Big Interview

Games Over: Virtual Reality’s Future Is in Healing

By Shai Oster · Nov 15, 2017 10:47am PST · 6 comments

Phil Chen, founder of what became the HTC Vive, one of the first attempts at a mass-market virtual reality headset, has a surprising assessment of the technology he once worked to popularize. “I’m not a big fan of what’s going on in the consumer entertainment space,” he said in an interview in his office overlooking Hong... Phil Chen, founder of what became the HTC Vive, one of the first attempts at a mass-market...

Lyft's strategy head Raj Kapoor. Photo by Flickr/Joi Ito.

How Lyft Is Developing Self-Driving Cars

By Amir Efrati · Nov 15, 2017 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Anyone jumping into the self-driving car field now, eight years after market leader Alphabet’s Waymo began work, has to try some scrappy tactics to have a hope of succeeding. That’s the tack taken by Lyft, the most prominent new entrant to the field, though little has been revealed about its work.Here are some previously unreported... Anyone jumping into the self-driving car field now, eight years after market leader...

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cloudflare Aims to Loosen AWS’ Hold on Customers

By Barbara Darrow · Nov 14, 2017 10:19am PST · 2 comments

Cloud computing companies like Amazon Web Services make it dirt cheap—actually free—to move customer data into their data centers. But moving that data out again, either back into a customer’s own data center or to a rival public cloud, isn’t as simple—or as cheap.Cloudflare, the content delivery network company... Cloud computing companies like Amazon Web Services make it dirt cheap—actually...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Employees See Cracks in Airbnb’s Starry Ideals

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 14, 2017 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Employees See Cracks in Airbnb’s Starry Ideals

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 14, 2017 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Airbnb earlier this month fired about 50 full-time employees and more than 100 contractors who prepared meals in its offices, offering them positions at an outside food services company instead. What would have been a routine cost-cutting move at many companies caused an outcry among Airbnb employees, who saw the food team as emblematic of the... Airbnb earlier this month fired about 50 full-time employees and more than 100 contractors who...

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information as our Customer Success Manager

By The Information Staff · Nov 13, 2017 4:02pm PST

About UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication known for original, in-depth reporting about the technology industry. We’re the go-to daily read for the most important people in technology and business and are building a one-of-a kind community of subscribers. We have a financially healthy business, plenty of capital... About UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication known for original,...

Photo by Yuri Samoilov/ Flickr.

New Breed of Venture Firms Specialize in Security

By Sarah Kuranda · Nov 13, 2017 10:02am PST · 5 comments

A category of venture capitalist firms has emerged focusing entirely on cybersecurity investments, a move driven both by the rapid growth in security threats and the increasing technical complexity of the marketplace, which can make it harder for generalist investors to spot promising early-stage startups. While larger, generalist VC firms still... A category of venture capitalist firms has emerged focusing entirely on cybersecurity...

At the AWS summit in San Francisco last April. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s ‘Ironman’ to Take On Google, Microsoft in AI

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 13, 2017 7:02am PST

Amazon Web Services is mounting a broad push to upgrade its artificial intelligence products, which includes building its own technology and working closely with several AI startups, according to multiple people with knowledge of AWS’ plans. AWS is hoping to shore up a rare weak spot against competitors like Google and Microsoft and win... Amazon Web Services is mounting a broad push to upgrade its artificial intelligence products,...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 11, 2017 8:02am PST

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 11, 2017 8:02am PST

Good Morning!Disney was in talks to buy most of 21st Century Fox, creating a new mega-media conglomerate that could be renamed “Titanic. Good Morning!Disney was in talks to buy most of 21st Century Fox, creating a new mega-media...

The Information’s 411 — Combating the Harassment

By Tom Dotan · Nov 10, 2017 12:23pm PST

Jessica talks about why a Mad Men writer left the industry after a single comment shattered her confidence. And Tom talks about Snap's third straight bad earnings and how the company moves forward. Jessica talks about why a Mad Men writer left the industry after a single comment shattered her...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Cuts More Jobs—This Time in the Cloud

By Barbara Darrow · Nov 10, 2017 10:58am PST

Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to the company via its acquisition of two cloud computing firms, Metacloud in 2014 and Piston Cloud the following year, according to two people close to the company. The layoffs reflect Cisco’s shift away, under CEO Chuck Robbins, from operating its... Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to...

JD.com founder Richard Liu. Photo: Bloomberg

The Big Interview

China’s JD.com Fights Alibaba With Robots, Drones

By Juro Osawa · Nov 10, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

BEIJING—Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce company JD.com, long labored in the shadows of his bigger and more famous rival Alibaba. In early 2011, when JD was much smaller than it is now, Alibaba tried to persuade Mr. Liu to open a JD store inside Alibaba’s online marketplace instead of competing head on against the giant. If Mr.... BEIJING—Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce company JD.com, long labored in the shadows...

Kater Gordon. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Former ‘Mad Men’ Writer Starts Nonprofit After Alleged Harassment

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 9, 2017 1:17pm PST · 10 comments

Kater Gordon. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Former ‘Mad Men’ Writer Starts Nonprofit After Alleged Harassment

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 9, 2017 1:17pm PST · 10 comments

Eight years ago, then 27-year-old Kater Gordon stood before the who’s who of Hollywood and accepted an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, together with “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner. The young writer—who had been hired a few years before as Mr. Weiner’s personal assistant—seemed to be on... Eight years ago, then 27-year-old Kater Gordon stood before the who’s who of Hollywood and...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi after a meeting with Brazil's Finance Minister last month. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s U.S. Business Hits Bumps as New CEO Stresses Humility

By Amir Efrati · Nov 9, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick once compared his mission and disruptive impact on society to that of Martin Luther King Jr.—saying so in front a top MLK scholar. Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is more self-effacing. He told employees at a weekly all-hands meeting Tuesday that “a great team can always beat... Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick once compared his mission and disruptive impact on...

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Rules for Tech Likely Won’t Close Regulatory Gap With Media

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Nov 8, 2017 1:27pm PST

Media giant Comcast’s annual report lists 10 pages of regulations that the company operates under, running to 6,200 words. Alphabet, in contrast, summarizes all the regulations that could apply to it in just 682 words. U.S. lawmakers are grappling with how to write new rules for internet-based giants like Facebook and Google, amid a... Media giant Comcast’s annual report lists 10 pages of regulations that the company operates...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Takes the Lion’s Share of Vision Fund Gains

By Alfred Lee · Nov 8, 2017 7:00am PST

SoftBank stands to win or lose the most from its $97.7 billion Vision Fund, while outside investors face much less risk, but also stand to get far less of the upside. It’s a reminder that all investors aren’t created equal. As a result of the fund’s unusual structure, SoftBank could take more than half of the gains if the fund... SoftBank stands to win or lose the most from its $97.7 billion Vision Fund, while outside...

Photo by Bloomberg

Snap’s Head of Engineering to Step Down

By Tom Dotan · Nov 7, 2017 5:57pm PST

Photo by Bloomberg

Snap’s Head of Engineering to Step Down

By Tom Dotan · Nov 7, 2017 5:57pm PST

Snap’s vice president of engineering Tim Sehn is stepping down from the company, say people familiar with the matter. His departure is expected to be announced Wednesday when the company files details of its quarterly results with securities regulators.Mr. Sehn has headed up the company’s engineering team since 2013, according to his... Snap’s vice president of engineering Tim Sehn is stepping down from the company, say people...