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

A Walmart employee restocking shelves. Photo by Bloomberg.

Walmart and Amazon Vie to Solve Retail Problem: What’s on the Shelf

By Priya Anand · Nov 24, 2017 7:01am PST · 4 comments

If, while visiting a store this holiday weekend, you pick up an item and then discard it in a different aisle, you’ve contributed to a big problem for the retailer. That is the challenge of tracking its inventory accurately. It’s a particular issue for delivery services like Instacart, which fulfill online orders from stock in retail... If, while visiting a store this holiday weekend, you pick up an item and then discard it in a...

Snapchat's app. Photo by AP.

How Snap’s Redesign Could Help, and Hurt, Publishers

By Tom Dotan · Nov 22, 2017 7:02am PST · 1 comment

When Snap CEO Evan Spiegel this month revealed plans to redesign the Snapchat app, he outlined a strategy to help celebrities and digital publishers get better distribution and make more money on the app. But while some new features could accomplish that goal, others could hurt traffic for media companies on the platform.The mixed impact of the... When Snap CEO Evan Spiegel this month revealed plans to redesign the Snapchat app, he outlined a...

Photo by Angie Silvy

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information as our Business Analyst

By The Information Staff · Nov 21, 2017 4:59pm PST

The Information is a San Francisco-based subscription 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 and... The Information is a San Francisco-based subscription publication known for original, in-depth...

Photo by AP.

KKR Faces Turmoil at Optiv, Its Big Security Bet

By Sarah Kuranda · Nov 21, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Photo by AP.

KKR Faces Turmoil at Optiv, Its Big Security Bet

By Sarah Kuranda · Nov 21, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

When private equity giant KKR spent an estimated $2 billion to buy consulting firm Optiv Security in February, it said it hoped to build Optiv into one of the “most valuable security companies to their customers.” But this year, Optiv has repeatedly missed quarterly sales targets as it has struggled with changes in its sales approach... When private equity giant KKR spent an estimated $2 billion to buy consulting firm Optiv Security...

Snap's stock at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by AP.

Another Female Executive Leaves Snap

By Tom Dotan · Nov 20, 2017 1:11pm PST · 3 comments

A senior Snap human resources executive, Kathy Mandato, abruptly left the company earlier this month, just five months after joining, said several people familiar with the situation. Ms. Mandato is the latest in a string of female executives who didn’t last long at Snap, including three others in HR roles as well as former COO Emily White.... A senior Snap human resources executive, Kathy Mandato, abruptly left the company earlier this...

Art: Scotty Reifsnyder

China Has a New Super App

By Yunan Zhang · Nov 20, 2017 10:02am PST · 1 comment

Meituan-Dianping, the world’s fourth-largest startup by valuation, is hardly known outside its native China. But Chinese consumers rely on it for everything from ordering lunch at the office to booking an overseas vacation. With 290 million monthly active users, it has reached a scale that sets it on a path to challenge larger rivals such... Meituan-Dianping, the world’s fourth-largest startup by valuation, is hardly known outside...

Benchmark partner Sarah Tavel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch

VC Firms Try New Recruiting Tactics to Hire Women

By Serena Saitto · Nov 20, 2017 7:02am PST · 6 comments

Venture capital firms typically recruit new partners by turning to people who have prior connections to existing partners. But amid an intensified push to find more women, some firms are trying a different tack.Some VC firms are using executive search firms to identify qualified female candidates who may not already be known by the existing... Venture capital firms typically recruit new partners by turning to people who have prior...

Modest Conversations: Runaway Objective Functions & Human Agency with Tim O’Reilly

By Sam Lessin · Nov 19, 2017 6:51pm PST

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Runaway Objective Functions & Human Agency with Tim O’Reilly

By Sam Lessin · Nov 19, 2017 6:51pm PST

Tim and I discuss some of the thinking around his new book WTF - What’s The Future and Why It’s Up To Us. We talk in particular about our world of runaway objective functions, and the role human agency must play to manage to a future we want vs. one we do not. Tim and I discuss some of the thinking around his new book WTF - What’s The Future and Why...

An Alibaba-owned Hema grocery store in Shanghai. Photo: Bloomberg

Alibaba to Invest $2.9 Billion in Chinese Retail Megastore Operator

By Juro Osawa · Nov 19, 2017 9:00am PST

Alibaba Group has agreed to invest about $2.9 billion in one of China’s largest operators of retail megastores, according to a person familiar with the matter. The investment in Sun Art Retail Group, one of Alibaba’s biggest deals to date, accelerates the e-commerce giant’s expansion into the offline retail world. The deal... Alibaba Group has agreed to invest about $2.9 billion in one of China’s largest operators...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 18, 2017 8:01am PST

Good Morning!Twitter announced it will be punishing bad behavior by removing an account's blue “verified” checkmark. Further offenses get you lowered back to 140 characters and, finally, transform you back into a Russian bot. Good Morning!Twitter announced it will be punishing bad behavior by removing an account's...

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

Ev Williams Predicts Tech Firms Will Compete on Trust

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

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

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

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 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

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...