The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang, speaking at a news conference in Hong Kong last year. Photo: Bloomberg

Alibaba Puts the Brakes on U.S. Cloud Expansion

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 31, 2018 7:01am PDT

China’s internet giant Alibaba is putting on hold its plans to expand its cloud business in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, after its initial efforts to take on Amazon Web Services and other big players didn’t live up to its expectations. The company also feared that an aggressive strategy would provoke a backlash in... China’s internet giant Alibaba is putting on hold its plans to expand its cloud business in...

AT&T's John Donovan. Illustration by Mike Sullivan, from photo by Bloomberg.

Q&A

AT&T’s Plans for Changing TV

By Martin Peers and Tom Dotan · Aug 30, 2018 9:45am PDT · 1 comment

AT&T has transformed itself into a telecom and entertainment conglomerate with the purchase of Time Warner and, before that, the DirecTV satellite service. Now the company wants to change a key part of the television business. AT&T wants audience size to determine how much cable TV-like streaming services such as DirecTV Now pay to carry... AT&T has transformed itself into a telecom and entertainment conglomerate with the purchase...

Photos by Bloomberg, AP. Source: The Information

The People With Power at Facebook

By Sarah Kuranda · Aug 30, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

The exit doors at Facebook keep swinging. This week, the company’s head of product communications Rachel Whetstone announced she was leaving to take a role at Netflix. The week prior, Dan Rose, the company’s longtime head of business partnerships, said he will be gone by early next year, joining four other senior Facebook executives... The exit doors at Facebook keep swinging. This week, the company’s head of product...

Mike Sullivan

Asia’s ICO Market; Blockchain Battles

By Jon Victor · Aug 29, 2018 12:15pm PDT

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Asia’s ICO Market; Blockchain Battles

By Jon Victor · Aug 29, 2018 12:15pm PDT

Last week, I attended an enterprise blockchain event here in New York, where a panel of experts from Consensys, EOS New York and other firms discussed how their technologies could revolutionize the way businesses operate. What struck me most about the presentation, though, was the limited vocabulary we have to even talk about this technology:... Last week, I attended an enterprise blockchain event here in New York, where a panel of experts...

Art by Clare Austen-Smith

Introducing “B is for Bitcoin”

By Sam Lessin · Aug 29, 2018 11:29am PDT · 1 comment

Anyone with small children knows that our early childhood education is stuck in the 20th century. From an early age, kids learn about agriculture, construction sites and transportation through books focused on barnyards, trucks, airplanes and trains. But they learn little to nothing about modern communication and financial technology in their... Anyone with small children knows that our early childhood education is stuck in the 20th century....

Bird scooters in Detroit. Photo: Bloomberg

Scooter Startups Try to Solve Their Parking Problem

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 29, 2018 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Sergio Romo is trying to build the Latin American version of Lime or Bird, recently raising about a $20 million seed round for Grin, his scooter startup, from prominent Silicon Valley investors including Y Combinator, DCM Ventures and Shasta Ventures, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Romo said he has learned a lesson from some of the... Sergio Romo is trying to build the Latin American version of Lime or Bird, recently raising about...

A scene from the game PUBG. Image: PUBG Corp.

Inside Tencent’s Games Missteps

By Wayne Ma · Aug 29, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

When Tencent recently reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade, executives from the Chinese internet giant blamed it on Beijing’s temporary suspension of approvals for new games. That has helped wipe more than $100 billion off the market capitalization of Tencent, the world’s biggest videogame company by... When Tencent recently reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade,...

Amazon's latest Fire Stick TV devices introduced last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Plans New Video App, Latest Step Into TV Ad Market

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 28, 2018 1:18pm PDT

Amazon's latest Fire Stick TV devices introduced last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Plans New Video App, Latest Step Into TV Ad Market

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 28, 2018 1:18pm PDT

Amazon.com is planning to launch a free, advertising-supported video service for the estimated 48 million people who use its Fire TV streaming video devices, say people familiar with the situation. The new service, which is being developed by Amazon’s IMDB subsidiary, will join a growing collection of efforts by Amazon to tap into the $70... Amazon.com is planning to launch a free, advertising-supported video service for the estimated 48...

A Waymo vehicle sits parked in Chandler, Ariz. Photo: Bloomberg

Waymo’s Big Ambitions Slowed by Tech Trouble

By Amir Efrati · Aug 28, 2018 7:00am PDT · 11 comments

CHANDLER, Ariz.—Alphabet’s Waymo unit is a worldwide leader in autonomous vehicle development for suburban environments. It has said it would launch a driverless robo-taxi service to suburban Phoenix residents this year. Yet its self-driving minivan prototypes have trouble crossing the T-intersection closest to the company’s... CHANDLER, Ariz.—Alphabet’s Waymo unit is a worldwide leader in autonomous vehicle...

Don’t Cap Uber or Airbnb, Readers Say

By Wendy Pollack and Mike Sullivan · Aug 27, 2018 10:38am PDT · 3 comments

Local governments should take a hands-off approach to regulating ride-hailing and home-rental services, said a majority of readers responding to The Information’s monthly survey. Two-thirds of readers are opposed to restrictions such as New York City’s newly approved cap on the number of vehicles companies like Uber and Lyft can... Local governments should take a hands-off approach to regulating ride-hailing and home-rental...

Software maker Twilio was among the companies in which mutual funds sold a substantial portion of their holdings post-IPO. Photo: Bloomberg

Post-IPO, Mutual Funds Quick to Shrink Startup Stakes

By Alfred Lee · Aug 27, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Mutual funds investing in private tech firms are often perceived to be in it for the long haul, rather just holding out for an IPO windfall. But public filings tell a more complicated story: Mutual funds sometimes cut their investments substantially after their portfolio companies go public. Mutual funds have sold significant portions of their... Mutual funds investing in private tech firms are often perceived to be in it for the long haul,...

The Information’s 411 — Gadzoox!

By Tom Dotan · Aug 24, 2018 4:00pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Gadzoox!

By Tom Dotan · Aug 24, 2018 4:00pm PDT

Cory discusses his reporting on the troubles at construction startup Katerra. He also explains why Airbnb's rental inventory has been shifting toward year-round rentals. Amir talks about the drama at Zoox, which this week ousted its CEO. Cory discusses his reporting on the troubles at construction startup Katerra. He also explains...

Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang. Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba’s Dilemma: Bargain Basement Shoppers

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Aug 24, 2018 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

When Alibaba executives talked with Wall Street analysts after announcing June quarter earnings on Thursday, the first question from an analyst was about the “fast growth” of cut-price ecommerce rivals. It was a clear reference to Pinduoduo, the discount shopping app that has taken China by storm in the past year—and has put... When Alibaba executives talked with Wall Street analysts after announcing June quarter earnings...

Indochino CEO Drew Green. Photo by Indochino

Q&A

Why This Online Retailer Is Expanding Its Chain of Stores

By Priya Anand · Aug 23, 2018 10:01am PDT

Even before Amazon.com bought Whole Foods last year, smaller ecommerce companies like eyeglasses seller Warby Parker and custom suit maker Indochino had seen the value of opening their own brick-and-mortar stores. For one thing, the stores make it much easier to lure new customers, according to Indochino CEO Drew Green.In an interview, Mr. Green... Even before Amazon.com bought Whole Foods last year, smaller ecommerce companies like eyeglasses...

Airbnb’s Big Growth Driver: Full-Time Rentals

Airbnb’s Big Growth Driver: Full-Time Rentals

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 23, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

A growing share of new homes on Airbnb are year-round rentals owned by hosts who never live in them. These rentals now surpass private rooms inside a house occupied by the host, one of Airbnb’s traditional offerings, according to company data for a week’s worth of listings from June obtained by The Information.This shift towards... A growing share of new homes on Airbnb are year-round rentals owned by hosts who never live in...

Zoox's former CEO Tim Kentley-Klay with his co-founder Jesse Levinson at The Information's self driving car summit in June. Photo by Erin Beach

CEO of Self-Driving Car Startup Zoox Is Out

By Amir Efrati · Aug 22, 2018 1:47pm PDT · 3 comments

Zoox's former CEO Tim Kentley-Klay with his co-founder Jesse Levinson at The Information's self driving car summit in June. Photo by Erin Beach

CEO of Self-Driving Car Startup Zoox Is Out

By Amir Efrati · Aug 22, 2018 1:47pm PDT · 3 comments

Tim Kentley-Klay, the co-founder and CEO of Zoox, one of the most high-profile and well-financed startups in the self-driving car world, has left the company, according to a person familiar with the matter. In a tweet, Mr. Kentley-Klay said he was fired.Carl Bass, the former CEO of Autodesk who has been a board director of Zoox, has stepped up... Tim Kentley-Klay, the co-founder and CEO of Zoox, one of the most high-profile and well-financed...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Stablecoin Havens; Bitcoin’s Grip

By Jon Victor · Aug 22, 2018 12:06pm PDT · 1 comment

This has been an interesting summer for bitcoin. While the price has stabilized after its sharp drop at the start of the year, bitcoin has grabbed a larger overall share of digital coins. Bitcoin now represents 53% of the cryptocurrency market, up from 38% since the start of 2018, according to CoinMarketCap.Investors tell me bitcoin’s... This has been an interesting summer for bitcoin. While the price has stabilized after its sharp...

Top row (l-r): Zach Johnson, Jennifer Tejada, Cole Crawford, Zach Johnson, Shaival Shah. Bottom row (l-r): David Gorodyansky, Yifani Li, Karsten Temme, Dawn Song, Matt Alexander

Startups to Watch

These Startups Want to Shake Up Home Buying, Shopping, Lidar and Agriculture

By The Information Staff · Aug 22, 2018 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest startups are reaching their 10th anniversary as private companies. Their ability to attract funding, and dominate news cycles, means smaller companies doing creative things in their industries are easily overlooked. But the startup scene is as busy and competitive as ever.In our latest installment of... Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest startups are reaching their 10th anniversary as private...

The New York Yankees, whose games are carried on the Fox sports channel the Yes Network. Photo by Wikimedia Commons/Jeremy M. Call

Fox May Bid to Buy Back Sports Channels

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Aug 21, 2018 12:50pm PDT

Everyone from Amazon.com to YouTube to Liberty Media has been reported as a potential bidder for the 22 Fox regional sports networks that Disney must sell as a condition of buying most of 21st Century Fox. One name that hasn’t surfaced may be the least—and most—surprising: Fox itself. Executives at Fox have discussed... Everyone from Amazon.com to YouTube to Liberty Media has been reported as a potential bidder...

Didi founder Cheng Wei. Photo by Bloomberg.

As Didi’s Growth Misses Goals, Focus Shifts to Car Services

By Yunan Zhang · Aug 21, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Didi founder Cheng Wei. Photo by Bloomberg.

As Didi’s Growth Misses Goals, Focus Shifts to Car Services

By Yunan Zhang · Aug 21, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Growth is falling short of internal targets at Didi Chuxing, the world’s biggest ride-hailing company. That has added urgency to its efforts to generate new revenue by diversifying into car insurance, maintenance, car sales and consumer loans. Didi, valued at $56 billion last December, has scaled back this year’s internal... Growth is falling short of internal targets at Didi Chuxing, the world’s biggest...