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

Photo: Bloomberg

Risks for Startups Taking Money From Amazon’s Alexa Fund

By Aaron Tilley and Priya Anand · Feb 20, 2018 7:02am PST

In mid-2016, Amazon.com made a $100 million offer to buy August Home, which makes locks that can be opened with an app, according to people familiar with the previously unreported offer. August had earlier released an app that worked with Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. More importantly, its technology allowed delivery people to easily... In mid-2016, Amazon.com made a $100 million offer to buy August Home, which makes locks that can...

Wang Bowen (l.), Ruan Yubo

Crackdown Fails to Stop China’s Crypto Gold Rush

By Yunan Zhang · Feb 19, 2018 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Over a meal of steamed buns at a Shanghainese restaurant in downtown Hong Kong, five friends plotted how to build a cryptocurrency empire. All were born in China and spent time studying abroad. The oldest is 29. Two left college early and raised $30 million for their blockchain fund. Three others quit high-power banking jobs to launch a $10... Over a meal of steamed buns at a Shanghainese restaurant in downtown Hong Kong, five friends...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Feb 17, 2018 8:00am PST

Happy President’s Day!So Apple employees in the company’s new campus have been walking into glass walls. Looks like they were using Apple Maps to get around. Happy President’s Day!So Apple employees in the company’s new campus have been...

The Information’s 411 — Snap Decisions

By Tom Dotan · Feb 16, 2018 2:45pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Snap Decisions

By Tom Dotan · Feb 16, 2018 2:45pm PST

Aaron explains about why Amazon is developing its own AI chips. Author Billy Gallagher talks about his new book on Snap's messy origins and whether Evan has grown as a CEO. Aaron explains about why Amazon is developing its own AI chips. Author Billy Gallagher talks...

A MoviePass card. Photo by AP

How MoviePass Hopes to Survive

By Matt Pressberg · Feb 16, 2018 10:00am PST

This long weekend, millions of Americans will go to the movies. Most will pay $9 or more for a ticket. A select few will use a movie theater ticket subscription that costs less than that a month, allowing them to see as many movies as they want. If that seems too good to be true, many in Hollywood agree.These services, led by MoviePass, are... This long weekend, millions of Americans will go to the movies. Most will pay $9 or more for a...

Photo by AP.

What to Read in 2018: Our Recommendations

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 16, 2018 7:00am PST

Dear Subscribers, Our annual list of books recommended by our team and subscribers is a month late this year, but that’s a good thing. It gave us the chance to highlight some gems, like Emily Chang’s Brotopia, released this month, and many others. As always, we’ve assembled our list from talking to subscribers and our team and... Dear Subscribers, Our annual list of books recommended by our team and subscribers is a month...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Latest Amenity for Startups: No Office

By Reed Albergotti · Feb 15, 2018 10:30am PST · 10 comments

Software startup InVision held an all hands meeting in Los Angeles with roughly 500 employees two weeks ago. They had a hackathon. Coworkers mingled. A band made up of company employees performed a concert at the music venue El Rey.The meeting was standard fare in the tech world, except for one major difference: InVision has no physical office... Software startup InVision held an all hands meeting in Los Angeles with roughly 500 employees two...

Gillian Tans. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

How Priceline’s Booking.com Plans to Move Onto Airbnb’s Turf

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 15, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Gillian Tans. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Big Interview

How Priceline’s Booking.com Plans to Move Onto Airbnb’s Turf

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 15, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment

A long-simmering battle between Airbnb and Priceline’s Booking.com, the two most popular travel accommodation apps in the world, is about to explode.In an interview with The Information, Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans said the firm, which specializes in hotel listings, is determined this year to become more of a force in short-term home and... A long-simmering battle between Airbnb and Priceline’s Booking.com, the two most popular...

Microsoft's Julie White. Photo by Karen Obrist.

Subscriber Summit

Microsoft Touts Azure Stack Software as Advantage on Cloud Rivals

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 14, 2018 6:26pm PST

Microsoft is hoping a new cloud-services software product aimed at customers running their own data centers will help it gain ground on leading cloud provider Amazon Web Services, a senior Microsoft cloud executive said on Wednesday. Julia White, corporate vice president of Microsoft Azure, said at The Information’s hybrid cloud and AI... Microsoft is hoping a new cloud-services software product aimed at customers running their own...

The Information's Kevin McLaughlin in conversation Wednesday with Oracle's Amit Zavery. Photo by Karen Obrist.

Subscriber Summit

Oracle Says It Needs to Change Customer Perceptions to Win Cloud Business

By Amir Efrati and Priya Anand · Feb 14, 2018 1:57pm PST · 3 comments

A top Oracle executive on Wednesday said the company had to improve its image with customers as part of its effort to compete better with rivals like Amazon Web Services.Oracle needs to highlight its strengths in the cloud, such as artificial intelligence applications, said Amit Zavery, executive vice president of Oracle’s cloud platform,... A top Oracle executive on Wednesday said the company had to improve its image with customers as...

Apple executives Eddy Cue and Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Apple’s Courtship of News Publishers

By Tom Dotan · Feb 14, 2018 7:00am PST · 4 comments

When news publishers have a big story these days, their editors jump on Slack and pitch it to an unlikely partner: Apple. The tech company has built a small but powerful news team that is making Apple a key distribution outlet for news publishers.From the pitch received via a dedicated Slack channel, Apple’s editorial team of about a dozen... When news publishers have a big story these days, their editors jump on Slack and pitch it to an...

Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Narrowed Loss in Q4: Full Financial Breakdown

By Amir Efrati · Feb 13, 2018 2:30pm PST

Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Narrowed Loss in Q4: Full Financial Breakdown

By Amir Efrati · Feb 13, 2018 2:30pm PST

Uber is moving toward profitability.The ride-hailing firm reduced its fourth-quarter loss by 26% to $1.1 billion, compared with the third quarter, the company disclosed exclusively to The Information and its investors on Tuesday. The improvement, on 14% higher revenue of $11.1 billion, was a result of Uber better controlling costs such as... Uber is moving toward profitability.The ride-hailing firm reduced its fourth-quarter loss by 26%...

The Information’s Media Business Bootcamp

By The Information Staff · Feb 13, 2018 9:34am PST

The Information Accelerator is offering a one-day media business bootcamp for entrepreneurs and professionals who want to diversify their business models and get profitable.Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2018Location: Grand Central Tech, 335 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10017Speakers: Jessica Lessin, Founder and... The Information Accelerator is offering a one-day media business bootcamp for entrepreneurs and...

Bridget van Kralingen. Photo: IBM

Q&A

IBM’s Blockchain Infusion

By Sarah Kuranda · Feb 13, 2018 7:01am PST · 5 comments

A year and a half ago, the IBM blockchain business was just a piece of paper. Now, Bridget van Kralingen has assembled a team of 1,500 people, all tasked with figuring out how blockchain technology can be applied to many types of businesses. That’s a big question to answer. Blockchain technology has gained a lot of attention in recent... A year and a half ago, the IBM blockchain business was just a piece of paper. Now, Bridget van...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

The Intellectual Tension Between Social Networking and Blockchains

By Sam Lessin · Feb 12, 2018 10:01am PST · 12 comments

There is an interesting irony that social networks and blockchains, two of the most important information technologies of the day, sit in fundamental intellectual tension.The core idea of a blockchain is that there is a common shared “memory” on which all nodes choose to agree. In a blockchain-based world, consensus is both the goal... There is an interesting irony that social networks and blockchains, two of the most important...

Amazon's Echo devices, powered by Alexa. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Is Becoming an AI Chip Maker, Speeding Alexa Responses

By Aaron Tilley · Feb 12, 2018 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Amazon's Echo devices, powered by Alexa. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Is Becoming an AI Chip Maker, Speeding Alexa Responses

By Aaron Tilley · Feb 12, 2018 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Amazon.com is developing a chip designed for artificial intelligence to work on the Echo and other hardware powered by Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant, says a person familiar with Amazon’s plans. The chip should allow Alexa-powered devices to respond more quickly to commands, by allowing more data processing to be handled on the... Amazon.com is developing a chip designed for artificial intelligence to work on the Echo and...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Feb 10, 2018 8:01am PST

Good Morning!We hear Uber and Waymo decided to settle after both sides realized neither had any idea what Lidar is. Good Morning!We hear Uber and Waymo decided to settle after both sides realized neither had any...

The Information’s 411 — WeChat Because WeCare

By Tom Dotan · Feb 9, 2018 2:54pm PST

Hans Tung and Zara Zhang of GGV Capital join to talk about how China's tech industry is influencing Silicon Valley. Juro talks about how WeChat is embracing (and resisting) change to their business, including more advertising. Hans Tung and Zara Zhang of GGV Capital join to talk about how China's tech industry is...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Bitcoin, Unicorns and Why All Bubbles Aren’t Created Equal

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 9, 2018 7:02am PST · 2 comments

The “B” word returned this week. The stock market swooned. Bitcoin tanked. And the world was abuzz with conversations about whether bubbles were bursting—or not. Against this sudsy backdrop, I reached out to Bill Janeway, who has been studying bubbles as an economist and growth equity investor. Joining Warburg Pincus in the... The “B” word returned this week. The stock market swooned. Bitcoin tanked. And the...

Airbnb, Bloomberg, Getty Images, Flickr/TechCrunch

Airbnb’s High-Profile Executive Vacancies

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 8, 2018 10:01am PST

Airbnb, Bloomberg, Getty Images, Flickr/TechCrunch

Airbnb’s High-Profile Executive Vacancies

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 8, 2018 10:01am PST

At a dinner for Airbnb’s board two months ago, the company’s co-founders and investors agreed that executive hiring would be a top priority for the coming year. With several top positions vacant, such as a marketing chief and head of the homes division, top executives have been stretched thin. CEO Brian Chesky even has taken a... At a dinner for Airbnb’s board two months ago, the company’s co-founders and...