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

At the AWS summit in San Francisco last April. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s ‘Ironman’ to Take On Google, Microsoft in AI

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 13, 2017 7:02am PST

Amazon Web Services is mounting a broad push to upgrade its artificial intelligence products, which includes building its own technology and working closely with several AI startups, according to multiple people with knowledge of AWS’ plans. AWS is hoping to shore up a rare weak spot against competitors like Google and Microsoft and win... Amazon Web Services is mounting a broad push to upgrade its artificial intelligence products,...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 11, 2017 8:02am PST

Good Morning!Disney was in talks to buy most of 21st Century Fox, creating a new mega-media conglomerate that could be renamed “Titanic. Good Morning!Disney was in talks to buy most of 21st Century Fox, creating a new mega-media...

The Information’s 411 — Combating the Harassment

By Tom Dotan · Nov 10, 2017 12:23pm PST

Jessica talks about why a Mad Men writer left the industry after a single comment shattered her confidence. And Tom talks about Snap's third straight bad earnings and how the company moves forward. Jessica talks about why a Mad Men writer left the industry after a single comment shattered her...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Cuts More Jobs—This Time in the Cloud

By Barbara Darrow · Nov 10, 2017 10:58am PST

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Cuts More Jobs—This Time in the Cloud

By Barbara Darrow · Nov 10, 2017 10:58am PST

Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to the company via its acquisition of two cloud computing firms, Metacloud in 2014 and Piston Cloud the following year, according to two people close to the company. The layoffs reflect Cisco’s shift away, under CEO Chuck Robbins, from operating its... Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to...

JD.com founder Richard Liu. Photo: Bloomberg

The Big Interview

China’s JD.com Fights Alibaba With Robots, Drones

By Juro Osawa · Nov 10, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

BEIJING—Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce company JD.com, long labored in the shadows of his bigger and more famous rival Alibaba. In early 2011, when JD was much smaller than it is now, Alibaba tried to persuade Mr. Liu to open a JD store inside Alibaba’s online marketplace instead of competing head on against the giant. If Mr.... BEIJING—Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce company JD.com, long labored in the shadows...

Kater Gordon. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Former ‘Mad Men’ Writer Starts Nonprofit After Alleged Harassment

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 9, 2017 1:17pm PST · 10 comments

Eight years ago, then 27-year-old Kater Gordon stood before the who’s who of Hollywood and accepted an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, together with “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner. The young writer—who had been hired a few years before as Mr. Weiner’s personal assistant—seemed to be on... Eight years ago, then 27-year-old Kater Gordon stood before the who’s who of Hollywood and...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi after a meeting with Brazil's Finance Minister last month. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s U.S. Business Hits Bumps as New CEO Stresses Humility

By Amir Efrati · Nov 9, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick once compared his mission and disruptive impact on society to that of Martin Luther King Jr.—saying so in front a top MLK scholar. Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is more self-effacing. He told employees at a weekly all-hands meeting Tuesday that “a great team can always beat... Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick once compared his mission and disruptive impact on...

See full table below

Rules for Tech Likely Won’t Close Regulatory Gap With Media

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Nov 8, 2017 1:27pm PST

See full table below

Rules for Tech Likely Won’t Close Regulatory Gap With Media

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Nov 8, 2017 1:27pm PST

Media giant Comcast’s annual report lists 10 pages of regulations that the company operates under, running to 6,200 words. Alphabet, in contrast, summarizes all the regulations that could apply to it in just 682 words. U.S. lawmakers are grappling with how to write new rules for internet-based giants like Facebook and Google, amid a... Media giant Comcast’s annual report lists 10 pages of regulations that the company operates...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Takes the Lion’s Share of Vision Fund Gains

By Alfred Lee · Nov 8, 2017 7:00am PST

SoftBank stands to win or lose the most from its $97.7 billion Vision Fund, while outside investors face much less risk, but also stand to get far less of the upside. It’s a reminder that all investors aren’t created equal. As a result of the fund’s unusual structure, SoftBank could take more than half of the gains if the fund... SoftBank stands to win or lose the most from its $97.7 billion Vision Fund, while outside...

Photo by Bloomberg

Snap’s Head of Engineering to Step Down

By Tom Dotan · Nov 7, 2017 5:57pm PST

Snap’s vice president of engineering Tim Sehn is stepping down from the company, say people familiar with the matter. His departure is expected to be announced Wednesday when the company files details of its quarterly results with securities regulators.Mr. Sehn has headed up the company’s engineering team since 2013, according to his... Snap’s vice president of engineering Tim Sehn is stepping down from the company, say people...

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger. Photo by Bloomberg.

VMware Eyes Big Move in Security Market

By Sarah Kuranda · Nov 7, 2017 10:02am PST

VMware has been on the hunt for acquisitions in recent months as the data center software maker looks to expand its security business, people familiar with the matter said.VMware this summer held discussions with a security vendor, Carbon Black, about a possible acquisition, according to three people familiar with the matter. The talks ended... VMware has been on the hunt for acquisitions in recent months as the data center software maker...

Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Toutiao Tried to Buy Reddit

By Juro Osawa, Serena Saitto and Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 7, 2017 7:02am PST · 2 comments

Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Toutiao Tried to Buy Reddit

By Juro Osawa, Serena Saitto and Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 7, 2017 7:02am PST · 2 comments

Jinri Toutiao, the fast-growing $20 billion Chinese news and entertainment giant, tried to buy Reddit last year, according to people familiar with the offer. The previously unreported move reveals the Chinese company’s ambitions to become a global media juggernaut, according to people familiar with the matter.The Chinese startup... Jinri Toutiao, the fast-growing $20 billion Chinese news and entertainment giant, tried to buy...

Visualization by Mike Sullivan

The People Who Matter at Delphi

By Amir Efrati · Nov 6, 2017 10:01am PST · 1 comment

Delphi Automotive, which makes mechanical and electrical parts for cars, gets less attention than its customers like GM and Ford in the race to develop autonomous vehicles. But as those automakers try to take greater control of their vehicles, potentially leaving out Delphi, the parts maker is looking for other avenues to sell its products and... Delphi Automotive, which makes mechanical and electrical parts for cars, gets less attention than...

Modest Proposals

The Tower of Babel: Five Challenges of the Modern Internet

By Sam Lessin · Nov 6, 2017 7:01am PST · 7 comments

Late last year, I wrote a column about free speech and democracy in the age of micro-targeting. In it I observed that in order to preserve an open democratic discourse, it was critical to require that all micro-targeted political ads and their targeting information be public record, so that advocates and watchdog organizations could keep track... Late last year, I wrote a column about free speech and democracy in the age of micro-targeting....

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Attention and Addiction

By Sam Lessin · Nov 5, 2017 5:22pm PST

Tristan Harris fomerly of Google joins to discuss his views on attention and addiction. Tristan Harris fomerly of Google joins to discuss his views on attention and addiction. ...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 4, 2017 8:02am PDT · 1 comment

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 4, 2017 8:02am PDT · 1 comment

Good Morning!So a Twitter contract worker briefly deactivated Donald Trump's account this week. You could tell it wasn't a full-time Twitter employee because they actually made a product decision. Good Morning!So a Twitter contract worker briefly deactivated Donald Trump's account this...

The Information’s 411 — Tech in the Swamp

By Tom Dotan · Nov 3, 2017 2:29pm PDT

Cory talks about the Capitol Hill hearings featuring executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google, and why this is a big moment for tech. Priya and Tom talk about the new top programmer at Amazon Studios. Cory talks about the Capitol Hill hearings featuring executives from Facebook, Twitter and...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

Outmoded Space Policy Stunts Progress

By Scott Nolan · Nov 3, 2017 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Over the past few years, the U.S. space sector has undergone a commercial renaissance, helping the U.S. maintain its global dominance in space. But outmoded public policy threatens to slow the sector’s incredible progress, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to strategic threats from countries with fewer legacy structures holding them back.The... Over the past few years, the U.S. space sector has undergone a commercial renaissance, helping...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Replaces Cloud Collaboration Unit Chief Amid Weak Sales

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Nov 2, 2017 12:01pm PDT

Cisco has replaced the head of its cloud collaboration unit, which sells software that lets teams of workers communicate via text, voice and video, as it looks to boost the unit’s sluggish sales, said people familiar with the matter. Intense competition from rivals like Slack and Microsoft have hurt sales of the unit’s flagship... Cisco has replaced the head of its cloud collaboration unit, which sells software that lets teams...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Amazon Studios’ New Power Player

By Tom Dotan and Priya Anand · Nov 2, 2017 7:01am PDT

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Amazon Studios’ New Power Player

By Tom Dotan and Priya Anand · Nov 2, 2017 7:01am PDT

Earlier this year, as Hollywood agents and producers struggled to divine a programming strategy coming from Amazon Studios and its leader Roy Price, some employees at the studio quietly delivered a message to the creative community: Avoid the confusion and bring your projects to Sharon, one industry executive recalled.It was a reference to... Earlier this year, as Hollywood agents and producers struggled to divine a programming strategy...