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

Couriers of Baidu Waimai on the road in Taicang city. Photo by AP.

2017 Predictions

Settling China’s Food Fight

By Shai Oster · Dec 28, 2016 10:00am PST · 2 comments

Prepare for a wave of mega-mergers in China’s food delivery apps, the last major holdout in that country’s subsidy-fueled on-demand services.The market is dominated by just three players: Ele.me, Meituan Waimai, and Baidu Waimai. Like Cold War proxy states, each one is backed by one of China’s Big Three technology titans:... Prepare for a wave of mega-mergers in China’s food delivery apps, the last major holdout in...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

2017 Predictions

Why Google Might Sell Its Fiber Business

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 28, 2016 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Google’s Access unit, home to Google Fiber, hit major turbulence this year, laying off staff, cutting back on the scope of the project and parting ways with its CEO. That paves the way for Alphabet next year to sell or spin. Potential acquirers could include another fiber internet provider like CenturyLink, said one telecommunications... Google’s Access unit, home to Google Fiber, hit major turbulence this year, laying off...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

In 2017, Tech Will Seek to Regain Moral High Ground

By Sam Lessin · Dec 27, 2016 10:01am PST · 9 comments

One of the things that in recent history set the technology complex apart from finance and other industries has been the ability to simultaneously be financially successful and maintain broad-based admiration—sometimes bordering on adoration—from the public.That nexus of love and success was threatened in 2016, for the first time in... One of the things that in recent history set the technology complex apart from finance and other...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Amazon Echo and the Hot Tub Murder

By Tom Dotan and Reed Albergotti · Dec 27, 2016 7:01am PST · 6 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Amazon Echo and the Hot Tub Murder

By Tom Dotan and Reed Albergotti · Dec 27, 2016 7:01am PST · 6 comments

Be careful what you say around your Amazon Echo. Your words may be recorded and used against you in court.In what may be the first case of its kind, police investigating a murder in Bentonville, Arkansas, issued a warrant to Amazon.com to turn over audio and other records from an Echo. The device in question belongs to James Andrew Bates, who... Be careful what you say around your Amazon Echo. Your words may be recorded and used against you...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 24, 2016 8:02am PST

Season's greetings!You’re probably looking forward to a break next week. But don’t forget to check out The Information as we’ve got some good stories coming in the next few days. Season's greetings!You’re probably looking forward to a break next week. But...

The Information’s 411 — 2016: Deal or No Deal

By Tom Dotan · Dec 23, 2016 3:00pm PST

Jessica, Tom and Reed wrap up 2016 with their take on why we named Evan Spiegel won our Person of 2017, Peter Thiel's grand plans, whether Twitter will finally sell next year, and more. Jessica, Tom and Reed wrap up 2016 with their take on why we named Evan Spiegel won our Person of...

Vice CEO Shane Smith. Photo by Bloomberg.

Seven Tech Rumors You Didn’t Read About this Year

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 23, 2016 7:02am PST

We at The Information broke a lot of news this year. We also chased a lot of news that wasn't true—or in some cases, may have been true but we just couldn't confirm. In the spirit of peeling back the curtain on how news and gossip spreads in tech reporting, I thought we'd publish some of the rumors we knocked down this year... We at The Information broke a lot of news this year. We also chased a lot of news that...

A truck carrying steel in China. Photo by AP.

China’s B2B Unicorns Look for Cracks in Market

By Shai Oster · Dec 22, 2016 10:01am PST · 1 comment

A truck carrying steel in China. Photo by AP.

China’s B2B Unicorns Look for Cracks in Market

By Shai Oster · Dec 22, 2016 10:01am PST · 1 comment

One of the biggest money-making opportunities in Chinese startups has little to do with sexy subjects like media or messaging. It’s the crop of business-to-business unicorns with names like Truck Alliance, Meicai and Doumi. Their mission? Rationalizing the layers of middlemen and subcontractors that dominate key sectors like trucking, food... One of the biggest money-making opportunities in Chinese startups has little to do with sexy...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

2017 Predictions

How Snap’s App Could Break in Two

By Tom Dotan · Dec 22, 2016 7:01am PST · 7 comments

When Snapchat rebranded itself as Snap earlier this year, it had a few audiences in mind. For one, it wanted to present itself to Wall Street as a grownup. While Snapchat is merely a fun app for teens, Snap is a serious technology firm creating a series of products redefining mobile, visual communication. (Not to mention the perfect ticker... When Snapchat rebranded itself as Snap earlier this year, it had a few audiences in mind. For...

Grail CEO Jeff Huber. Photo by O'Reilly Media Next:Economy Summit/ Doug Cody

The Big Interview

Grail is Silicon Valley’s New Biotech Test Case

By Fred Vogelstein · Dec 21, 2016 12:26pm PST · 3 comments

Until about a year ago, few outside of Silicon Valley had heard of Jeff Huber. Insiders knew him as the cerebral Midwesterner who as a top engineering executive helped build Google's advertising, apps and maps businesses. But all that changed in early February when he became CEO of a startup called Grail, a company developing a genetic... Until about a year ago, few outside of Silicon Valley had heard of Jeff Huber. Insiders knew him...

Source: Trulia

The Most (and Least) Affordable Tech Cities

By Cory Weinberg and Peter Schulz · Dec 21, 2016 7:02am PST · 4 comments

Seattle was one of the most affordable places for a tech worker to live in 2015, measured by housing costs as a portion of income, new census data show. The least affordable metro area is Los Angeles, where software engineers paid higher median rents than those in Seattle but earned 29% less.Despite the Bay Area’s costly housing,... Seattle was one of the most affordable places for a tech worker to live in 2015, measured by...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Employee Lawsuit Accuses Google of ‘Spying Program’

By Reed Albergotti · Dec 20, 2016 1:15pm PST · 5 comments

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Employee Lawsuit Accuses Google of ‘Spying Program’

By Reed Albergotti · Dec 20, 2016 1:15pm PST · 5 comments

A Google product manager is suing the company over its internal confidentiality policies, saying they breach California labor laws. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges Google runs an internal “spying program” which relies on employees voluntarily reporting other employees who might have leaked information.The lawsuit alleges that... A Google product manager is suing the company over its internal confidentiality policies, saying...

Source: PitchBook

Fidelity Slows Private Tech Deals

By Alfred Lee · Dec 20, 2016 7:00am PST

Fidelity Investments made fewer private tech investments this year in part because it couldn’t agree with companies over the level of their valuations, according to Andy Boyd, Fidelity’s head of global equity capital markets. Fidelity had sought to invest at lower valuations that companies would not accept, Mr. Boyd told The... Fidelity Investments made fewer private tech investments this year in part because it...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Loss Decelerates, Reflecting China Exit

By Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2016 12:55pm PST

Uber lost more than $800 million in the third quarter of this year, before interest, taxes and stock-based compensation, according to people familiar with its finances. But Uber’s departure from China in the middle of the quarter helped slow the growth rate of its losses to less than 25% year over year, down from 34% year over year in the... Uber lost more than $800 million in the third quarter of this year, before interest, taxes and...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Why Amazon Should Launch a Bank—But Won’t

By Sam Lessin · Dec 19, 2016 10:01am PST · 5 comments

Last month Cross River Bank, an FDIC-insured, deposit-taking bank of Bergen County, New Jersey, raised $28 million from Battery Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit. As was reported, VCs were interested in what looks like a boring bank because a division of Cross River is trying to build the next digital-only “future of consumer... Last month Cross River Bank, an FDIC-insured, deposit-taking bank of Bergen County, New Jersey,...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Information’s Person of 2017: Evan Spiegel

By The Information Staff · Dec 19, 2016 7:01am PST · 4 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Information’s Person of 2017: Evan Spiegel

By The Information Staff · Dec 19, 2016 7:01am PST · 4 comments

Last year we awarded our person of 2016 to Jeff Bezos, a pick we believe has held up well upon reflection. Alexa agrees.For 2017, we’re moving from one of the longest-serving titans in tech to one of its youngest: Evan Spiegel. You may think this is an obvious choice given Snap’s highly anticipated IPO. That move will bring the... Last year we awarded our person of 2016 to Jeff Bezos, a pick we believe has held up well upon...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.

Runner Up for Person of 2017: Satya Nadella

By Reed Albergotti · Dec 19, 2016 6:58am PST · 1 comment

For the first time in years, Microsoft is making headway in consumer technology, posing a competitive threat to Apple. For that reason, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is one of our runners up for The Information’s Person of 2017. (See here to read about The Information’s Person of 2017, Evan Spiegel, and here to read about the other... For the first time in years, Microsoft is making headway in consumer technology, posing a...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Runner Up for Person of 2017: Mark Zuckerberg

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 19, 2016 6:57am PST

It’s been a pretty tough year for Facebook. Fake news. Mismeasurement. A destroyed satellite and now a drone crash. But as the company approaches 2 billion monthly users, its influence over society has never been greater. And that’s why Mark Zuckerberg is one of our runners-up for The Information’s Person of 2017. (See here to... It’s been a pretty tough year for Facebook. Fake news. Mismeasurement. A destroyed...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 17, 2016 8:01am PST

Happy Saturday!It’s been a productive few months for hackers. They allegedly helped elect Donald Trump as president and they may have torpedoed Verizon’s purchase of Yahoo. Perhaps now they can find a business model for Twitter. Happy Saturday!It’s been a productive few months for hackers. They allegedly helped elect...

The Information’s 411 — Naughty or Nice

By Tom Dotan · Dec 16, 2016 2:32pm PST

The Information’s 411 — Naughty or Nice

By Tom Dotan · Dec 16, 2016 2:32pm PST

Jessica discusses the lack of diversity in tech. Amir explains why Google scaled back its self-driving cars ambitions. And Cory and Tom give their naughty and nice list for tech CEOs. Jessica discusses the lack of diversity in tech. Amir explains why Google scaled back its...