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

Jonah Peretti. Photo by Erin Beach

The Evolution of BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti

By Jessica Toonkel · Sep 24, 2018 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

More than most other entrepreneurs, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has been the trendsetter of the past decade in digital media. Now, he is learning what it takes to build a sustainable media business. Interviews with more than two dozen people involved in BuzzFeed provide an inside look at how the company founder preferred to study how people... More than most other entrepreneurs, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has been the trendsetter of the...

Where Venture Capital Is Broken

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 23, 2018 7:57pm PDT · 2 comments

In his interview with Reed Albergotti, Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya didn’t mince his words when describing why he is transforming Social Capital into a tech holding company (aka he wants to “flush” out bad investors). He was also quite blunt in his analysis of what is wrong with venture capital.The summary of his... In his interview with Reed Albergotti, Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya didn’t...

The Information’s 411 — Anti-Social, Pro-Capital

By Priya Anand · Sep 21, 2018 4:35pm PDT

Reed talks about his interview with Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya. Amir describes the new power dynamics at Uber. Reed talks about his interview with Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya. Amir...

Photos by company website, Bloomberg.

Uber’s New Look

By Amir Efrati · Sep 21, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Photos by company website, Bloomberg.

Uber’s New Look

By Amir Efrati · Sep 21, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

As Uber readies for an expected IPO next year, the executive ranks under CEO Dara Khosrowshahi are finally stabilizing after 18 months of tumult. Over the past year and a half, 14 executives who had reported to Mr. Khosrowshahi or his predecessor Travis Kalanick have departed. That has created an almost entirely new team of senior executives,... As Uber readies for an expected IPO next year, the executive ranks under CEO Dara Khosrowshahi...

Attendees at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

HPE, Cisco, Dell Brace for Tariffs, but Customer Impact Uncertain

By Nick Wingfield and Aaron Tilley · Sep 20, 2018 1:42pm PDT · 1 comment

On Monday, Cisco Systems, the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, is expected to begin raising prices on major products like routers and switches, according to a person with knowledge of its plans, as a wave of new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on goods imported to the U.S. from China go into effect. The latest... On Monday, Cisco Systems, the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, is expected to...

Chamath Palihapitiya. Photo by Bloomberg

Social Capital Founder Gives His Account of Turmoil at Firm

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 20, 2018 7:31am PDT · 6 comments

For the past year, venture firm Social Capital has been decimated by high-level departures and investor complaints about the firm’s founder, Chamath Palihapitiya, and his unpredictable and unilateral decision making.Now, in an exclusive interview in which Mr. Palihapitiya questioned the very nature of startup funding, he made clear he... For the past year, venture firm Social Capital has been decimated by high-level departures and...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Alex Jones, the Blockchain and Free Speech

By Jon Victor · Sep 19, 2018 12:05pm PDT · 3 comments

Two of the biggest tech stories this year have been the use of social media platforms to spread political misinformation, and the rise of blockchain technology. Now, the two themes are colliding, as new forms of blockchain-based social media threaten to disrupt the foundation on which many existing platforms were built. What role will... Two of the biggest tech stories this year have been the use of social media platforms to spread...

A man prepared to ride a Bird scooter in Providence, R.I., in July. Photo: AP

After Fast Rollout, Scooters Hit Supply Bumps

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Sep 19, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

A man prepared to ride a Bird scooter in Providence, R.I., in July. Photo: AP

After Fast Rollout, Scooters Hit Supply Bumps

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Sep 19, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

The high-profile electric scooter wars have been waged on the ground in cities worldwide, as nearly a dozen companies including Bird, Lime, Lyft and Uber vie for two-wheel supremacy. Out of public view, the battles also are being fought by air and sea, as scooter operators scramble to purchase the vehicles from Asia to meet surging demand.Some... The high-profile electric scooter wars have been waged on the ground in cities worldwide, as...

Source: SuperSymmetry Technologies

Pinduoduo’s Rapid Growth Slows Sharply

By Juro Osawa and Wayne Ma · Sep 18, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

Chinese discount shopping app Pinduoduo has grown explosively to challenge the country’s biggest ecommerce giants, Alibaba and JD.com, paving the way for the company to go public in the U.S. in July. But new data suggests Pinduoduo’s growth in transactions has slowed in the past four months, throwing into question whether the... Chinese discount shopping app Pinduoduo has grown explosively to challenge the country’s...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, speaks at an Oculus event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Seeks Engineers for Custom AR Chips

By Aaron Tilley and Sarah Kuranda · Sep 18, 2018 7:01am PDT

Facebook is stepping up its investments in augmented reality, seeking to hire engineers to work on custom silicon chips for devices that enable the technology. In at least four job listings posted in recent days, a research group inside the company called Facebook Reality Labs advertised engineering positions requiring expertise in the design of... Facebook is stepping up its investments in augmented reality, seeking to hire engineers to work...

Diane Greene, CEO of Google Cloud, speaking at an event in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Cloud Tests Devices for Private Data Centers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 17, 2018 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

Executives at Google Cloud have said they are willing to meet large customers “where they are”—marketing-speak for their openness to extending Google cloud services into the private data centers of customers. As an example, Google in July announced a version of its Kubernetes software, which is used to manage large numbers of... Executives at Google Cloud have said they are willing to meet large customers “where they...

Sources: Company filings; Prime Unicorn Index; PitchBook

As Private Tech Heats Up, Share Prices Lag

By Alfred Lee · Sep 17, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Sources: Company filings; Prime Unicorn Index; PitchBook

As Private Tech Heats Up, Share Prices Lag

By Alfred Lee · Sep 17, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

When Instacart raised money at a $4.35 billion valuation in April, it marked a 28% step up from its previous valuation of $3.4 billion. That was surprising: Instacart raised the round as it was facing tougher competition from Amazon.com’s introduction of same-day Whole Foods grocery deliveries. It turns out, though, that investors... When Instacart raised money at a $4.35 billion valuation in April, it marked a 28% step up from...

Wall Street ‘08 vs. Silicon Valley ‘18

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 15, 2018 4:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Outside the tech bubble this week, the media was awash with stories pegged to the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and onset of the 2008 financial crisis. And there was one analogy some commentators seemed to want to draw very badly: comparing the financial crisis to a coming reckoning for Silicon Valley. (Example, here. Outside the tech bubble this week, the media was awash with stories pegged to the 10th...

The Information’s 411 — Walmart’s Soldiers

By Priya Anand · Sep 14, 2018 11:32am PDT

Cory talks about how Airbnb and other tech companies try to circumvent local regulation by lobbying statehouses. Priya outlines how Walmart is trying to compete with Amazon. Cory talks about how Airbnb and other tech companies try to circumvent local regulation by...

The FDA's headquarters in Maryland. Photo by AP

Scientists Accuse FDA of Bad Science on BPA

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 14, 2018 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

The Food and Drug Administration has long been at war with academic scientists about whether a compound used in water bottles and thousands of other products called bisphenol A is safe. For a decade, the agency has dismissed hundreds of academic studies showing potential harm caused by BPA, as it is known, instead citing studies sponsored by the... The Food and Drug Administration has long been at war with academic scientists about whether a...

A Facebook data center in Sweden. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Giants Join Forces to Score AI Chips

By Aaron Tilley · Sep 14, 2018 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

A Facebook data center in Sweden. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Giants Join Forces to Score AI Chips

By Aaron Tilley · Sep 14, 2018 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

A wave of new chips designed to run artificial intelligence software will soon be hitting the market. Device makers are waiting to use them in products like cameras that can identify images faster, and cloud computing providers want them to give their services a technical edge. First though, the companies have to figure out which chips perform... A wave of new chips designed to run artificial intelligence software will soon be hitting the...

Sources: Pitchbook; The Information

Market Rally Lifts 2018 Tech IPOs

By Alfred Lee · Sep 13, 2018 9:29am PDT · 1 comment

It has been a strong year for tech IPOs, with high-profile firms including Spotify and DocuSign soaring well above their initial prices on the public markets. Their performance stands in contrast to last year, when notable IPOs like Snap and Blue Apron flopped spectacularly. More deals are to come: Ticketing site Eventbrite and survey firm... It has been a strong year for tech IPOs, with high-profile firms including Spotify and DocuSign...

Tencent's Honor of Kings mobile game on an iPhone in Hong Kong last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s China App Store Loophole

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Sep 13, 2018 7:01am PDT

In Apple’s iOS App Store in China, videogames such as “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” “Modern Combat 5” and “The Walking Dead” are for sale. Those games aren’t supposed to be available in the country. They lack approvals from regulators, a prerequisite every game needs before it can be released in... In Apple’s iOS App Store in China, videogames such as “Grand Theft Auto: San...

Crypto Newsletter

ConsenSys Growth Plans; Ethereum Pulse Check

By Jon Victor · Sep 12, 2018 12:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Dear Subscriber, Can somebody please check on Ethereum? The smart-contract network’s market cap has plummeted from a high of more than $138 billion in January to below $18 billion as of today. Exacerbating the decline is the fact that Ethereum was the engine for 2017’s ICO mania, which seems to have dissipated: ICO fundraising in... Dear Subscriber, Can somebody please check on Ethereum? The smart-contract network’s market...

Source: Second Measure Data

U.S. Slowdown at Uber and Lyft

By Amir Efrati · Sep 12, 2018 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Source: Second Measure Data

U.S. Slowdown at Uber and Lyft

By Amir Efrati · Sep 12, 2018 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

The once-hot ride-hailing business is cooling down—just as the two biggest players are thinking about going public.Revenue growth rates for the U.S. ride-hailing businesses of Uber and Lyft slowed this summer to their lowest point in years, according to research firm Second Measure, which tracks credit and debit card transactions. Growth... The once-hot ride-hailing business is cooling down—just as the two biggest players are...