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

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo: Bloomberg

New Hurdle for SoftBank’s Uber Investment: Regulatory Review

By Juro Osawa, Shai Oster and Serena Saitto · Dec 14, 2017 10:52am PST · 1 comment

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s global buying spree is running into a potentially significant roadblock: the U.S. government.The fate of Mr. Son’s most ambitious moves, including the financing of his $100 billion Vision Fund and SoftBank’s proposed investment in Uber, hinges in part on the approval of the Committee on Foreign... SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s global buying spree is running into a potentially...

Rupert Murdoch with his son Lachlan at the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley in July. Photo by Bloomberg.

What the Disney-Fox Deal Means for Digital Media

By Martin Peers · Dec 14, 2017 9:35am PST · 13 comments

Walt Disney is spending $52.4 billion to buy most of 21st Century Fox in hopes of competing more effectively with Netflix, Amazon.com and Apple in digital entertainment. The deal will send ripples through Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Here is our analysis of the potential ramifications. Walt Disney is spending $52.4 billion to buy most of 21st Century Fox in hopes of competing more...

Art by Josh Brill.

The AI Chip Startups Looking to Take On Nvidia

By Aaron Tilley · Dec 14, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

A wave of startups developing artificial intelligence chips are poised to stir up the market long dominated by Nvidia Corp. The new companies, which are entering an industry hungry for more computing power and technical specialization, together have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.The Information looked at a dozen emerging... A wave of startups developing artificial intelligence chips are poised to stir up the market long...

A Lyft car. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Rejiggers Leadership Team as It Tackles Driver Costs

By Amir Efrati · Dec 13, 2017 9:33am PST · 1 comment

A Lyft car. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Rejiggers Leadership Team as It Tackles Driver Costs

By Amir Efrati · Dec 13, 2017 9:33am PST · 1 comment

The manager of Lyft’s growth group, Ran Makavy, has been promoted to also oversee engineering, product, and design at the ride-hailing firm, said two people briefed about the change. Mr. Makavy, a former Facebook manager who joined in early 2016, is now one of the most powerful executives at the company aside from its co-founders. (See... The manager of Lyft’s growth group, Ran Makavy, has been promoted to also oversee...

Netflix's headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix’s Next Hit: Cybersecurity

By Sarah Kuranda · Dec 13, 2017 7:01am PST

Forget “Stranger Things.” In the enterprise technology world, Netflix is becoming known for its cybersecurity software. The video-streaming service is one of a number of companies, including Aetna, Etsy and Yelp, that are developing their own security products in response to specific threats to their business.It’s a sign that... Forget “Stranger Things.” In the enterprise technology world, Netflix is becoming...

Knotel CEO Amol Sarva. Photo by Bloomberg.

Co-Working Startups Eye New Growth Driver: Accounting Change

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · Dec 12, 2017 10:02am PST · 2 comments

Co-working firms like WeWork have historically relied on sleek office designs and amenities like beers on tap to bring in new business. Now, they are turning to an arcane accounting change as a way to rent space to more big companies.A new accounting rule due to go into effect by 2019 will force public companies to disclose office leases on... Co-working firms like WeWork have historically relied on sleek office designs and amenities like...

Data as of Dec. 11; Source: Yahoo Finance

Move Over, Amazon. Smaller Tech Stocks Surge

By Alfred Lee and Mike Sullivan · Dec 12, 2017 7:02am PST · 2 comments

The run-up of so-called FAANG stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet—has grabbed headlines this year. But at least 10 high-profile consumer tech companies, including Paypal, Grubhub and Match Group, have outperformed the five tech superpowers. Some of the biggest consumer gainers are Square, which has rebounded from its... The run-up of so-called FAANG stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and...

Nextdoor CEO CEO Nirav Tolia. Photo by Bloomberg.

Nextdoor Raised $75 Million in New Round

By Serena Saitto and Alfred Lee · Dec 11, 2017 12:08pm PST

Nextdoor CEO CEO Nirav Tolia. Photo by Bloomberg.

Nextdoor Raised $75 Million in New Round

By Serena Saitto and Alfred Lee · Dec 11, 2017 12:08pm PST

Nextdoor, the social media platform for city neighborhoods, has raised $75 million at a valuation above the $1.1 billion level it reached in its last fundraising round in 2015, according to two people close to the situation.The precise valuation couldn’t be learned. But in August, the company authorized $75 million in new Series G shares... Nextdoor, the social media platform for city neighborhoods, has raised $75 million at a valuation...

Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Behind Hedge Fund Billionaire Steve Cohen’s Fintech Investments

By Serena Saitto · Dec 11, 2017 10:00am PST · 1 comment

Since Steve Cohen quietly launched Point72 Ventures last year, he has invested a small fraction of his $13 billion fortune in 13 early-stage fintech startups. But it’s not VC returns the hedge fund billionaire is most interested in, according to three people who have worked with his VC partners.Mr. Cohen made the investments to get a... Since Steve Cohen quietly launched Point72 Ventures last year, he has invested a small fraction...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

As Listing Growth Slows, Airbnb Faces New Test

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 11, 2017 7:00am PST · 1 comment

At a gathering of Airbnb hosts two weeks ago, CEO Brian Chesky fielded a question he gets frequently: Why is the company allowing professional real estate investors and commercial property managers to list on the site? In response, he said the company needed to be “more inclusive of who belongs on Airbnb,” but emphasized the company... At a gathering of Airbnb hosts two weeks ago, CEO Brian Chesky fielded a question he gets...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 9, 2017 8:00am PST

Good Morning!So it looks like Disney's buying most of Fox, and may be anointing James Murdoch as Bob Iger’s successor in the process. Murdoch wouldn’t be the first person to fall for the Iger-is-stepping-down-in-two-years ruse. Good Morning!So it looks like Disney's buying most of Fox, and may be anointing James...

The Information’s 411 — Amazon and its Many Jeffs

By Tom Dotan · Dec 8, 2017 2:20pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Amazon and its Many Jeffs

By Tom Dotan · Dec 8, 2017 2:20pm PST

Kevin and Aaron talk about Clarifai and how the promising startup and young founder have struggled to retain executives. And Priya explains how she tackled the sprawling Amazon org chart. Kevin and Aaron talk about Clarifai and how the promising startup and young founder have...

Credit: Keith MacDonald

The Information Launches New Internship for Students of Color

By The Information Staff · Dec 8, 2017 7:58am PST · 1 comment

The Information is thrilled to announce a new partnership with All Star Code, a non-profit that trains young men of color in computer science, to expand the diversity of our staff. As part of the agreement:The Information is creating an annual internship for alumni of All Star Code to work full-time on our engineering team, starting in... The Information is thrilled to announce a new partnership with All Star Code, a non-profit that...

The Simple Thing People Miss About Cryptocurrencies

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 8, 2017 7:00am PST · 14 comments

I was recently chatting with a San Francisco wealth manager about bitcoin. He was eager to invest more of his clients’ assets in the virtual currency, but his colleagues in New York were against it. He asked me when New York would “get” that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were here to stay. As a reporter who has covered the... I was recently chatting with a San Francisco wealth manager about bitcoin. He was eager to invest...

The Toutiao app on a smartphone. Photo: Mike Sullivan

China’s Toutiao Seeks $30 Billion Valuation in Latest Fundraising

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Dec 8, 2017 5:29am PST

The company behind Jinri Toutiao, a popular Chinese news and video feed app, is in talks to raise new funds from some of its existing investors at a valuation of $30 billion or higher, people familiar with the matter said. The fundraising hasn't been completed. Some of the people familiar with the talks said that $28 billion is the bottom... The company behind Jinri Toutiao, a popular Chinese news and video feed app, is in talks to raise...

Photo by Flickr/Michael Reuter

Subscribers Say Sequoia, Benchmark Are Valley’s Top VC Firms

By Serena Saitto and Mike Sullivan · Dec 7, 2017 10:01am PST · 5 comments

Photo by Flickr/Michael Reuter

Subscriber Survey

Subscribers Say Sequoia, Benchmark Are Valley’s Top VC Firms

By Serena Saitto and Mike Sullivan · Dec 7, 2017 10:01am PST · 5 comments

Sequoia Capital was overwhelmingly considered the top venture capital firm in Silicon Valley in The Information’s first subscriber survey on the industry. Not only did Sequoia receive the most votes among 10 VC firms for consistently having access to the best deals, but subscribers also ranked it highest for closing the best deals and... Sequoia Capital was overwhelmingly considered the top venture capital firm in Silicon Valley in...

An Uber driver in Washington D.C. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investors Rethink Uber’s Long-Term Value

By Amir Efrati · Dec 7, 2017 7:01am PST · 9 comments

SoftBank’s tender offer for Uber has divided shareholders in the ride-hailing firm. Some say the offer of $33 a share, 30% below what investors paid in Uber’s last financing round in 2015, is way too low. They’ll wait to sell until the IPO expected in a couple of years, unless SoftBank raises the price.More surprising, though,... SoftBank’s tender offer for Uber has divided shareholders in the ride-hailing firm. Some...

Ant Financial's proposed acquisition of MoneyGram has run into resistance from U.S. authorities. Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr

U.S. Scrutiny Drives Away Chinese Tech Investors

By Shai Oster · Dec 6, 2017 10:00am PST · 1 comment

Chinese companies are pulling back from investing in U.S. tech companies as authorities in Washington step up their scrutiny of foreign investment due to security concerns. The pressure is sending Chinese firms hunting for deals in Europe, Israel and Southeast Asia, where Beijing is encouraging stronger economic ties.The investment slowdown is... Chinese companies are pulling back from investing in U.S. tech companies as authorities in...

Clarifai founder Matt Zeiler. Photo by Flickr/ETC-USC.

Once Courted by Big Tech, AI Whiz Learns Hard Realities of Startup Life

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 6, 2017 7:02am PST · 1 comment

Matthew Zeiler was one of the most sought-after AI engineers in the tech industry after receiving his PhD from New York University in 2013. He was courted by everyone from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to executives at Google. But Mr. Zeiler passed on the offers and launched his own startup, Clarifai, with $10 million from Google Ventures,... Matthew Zeiler was one of the most sought-after AI engineers in the tech industry after receiving...

An Equifax slide on display during a congressional hearing into Equifax's data breach in October. Photo by Bloomberg.

Prevoty Funding Shows Impact of Major Security Breaches

By Sarah Kuranda · Dec 5, 2017 10:01am PST

An Equifax slide on display during a congressional hearing into Equifax's data breach in October. Photo by Bloomberg.

Prevoty Funding Shows Impact of Major Security Breaches

By Sarah Kuranda · Dec 5, 2017 10:01am PST

Security startup Prevoty, which sells application security designed to help companies spot cyber threats, has landed $13 million in Series B funding, the company says. It is a sign that the steady stream of major hacks at companies is focusing attention on technology aimed at securing business applications. The funding was led by Trident Capital... Security startup Prevoty, which sells application security designed to help companies spot cyber...