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

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Top Secret “Hell” Program Exploited Lyft’s Vulnerability

By Amir Efrati · Apr 12, 2017 6:54pm PDT · 9 comments

As the ride-sharing market was exploding in the U.S. between 2014 and the early part 2016, Uber had an advantage over Lyft that helped Uber maintain its lead, The Information has learned. Thanks to a secret software-based effort within Uber called “Hell,” Uber could track how many Lyft drivers were available for new rides and where... As the ride-sharing market was exploding in the U.S. between 2014 and the early part 2016, Uber...

Douglas Feagin, Ant's senior vice president. Photo by Bloomberg.

Ant Financial Defends MoneyGram Deal

By Juro Osawa · Apr 12, 2017 3:06pm PDT

Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Financial Services Group defended its proposed takeover of money-transfer firm MoneyGram, saying none of the firm’s customer information would leave the U.S.Ant Financial was responding to comments from the CEO of a rival bidder for MoneyGram, Kansas-based Euronet, suggesting the deal posed national... Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Financial Services Group defended its proposed takeover...

Source: Paysa

Competitors Like to Poach Microsoft’s AI Talent

By Reed Albergotti and Mike Sullivan · Apr 12, 2017 12:20pm PDT

Every company in the tech industry is searching for talented employees with artificial intelligence experience. They might want to look at Microsoft. According to new data, Microsoft is the biggest source of “AI” talent for competitors Google, Amazon and Facebook. Over the past six years, those three companies have poached Microsoft... Every company in the tech industry is searching for talented employees with artificial...

Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. Photo by Bloomberg.

Sexual Harassment Laws Leave Gap for VCs, Founders

By Reed Albergotti · Apr 12, 2017 7:01am PDT

Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. Photo by Bloomberg.

Sexual Harassment Laws Leave Gap for VCs, Founders

By Reed Albergotti · Apr 12, 2017 7:01am PDT

A blind spot in sexual harassment law could leave venture capital firms exposed. The same laws that protect employees from sexual harassment are murky when it comes to startup founders trying to raise money in the Valley, since founders are not employees. Most venture capital firms say their internal policies don’t specifically address the... A blind spot in sexual harassment law could leave venture capital firms exposed. The same laws...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Inside the War Between Facebook and Snap

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Apr 11, 2017 7:00am PDT · 11 comments

The rivalry between Facebook and Snap reached a very public boiling point in recent weeks as Facebook ramped up its blitz to mimic Snapchat’s app. It’s even gotten a little nasty. There have been public shots like saucy anti-Facebook rants from Evan Spiegel’s fiancée, model Miranda Kerr, and jabs at Instagram by... The rivalry between Facebook and Snap reached a very public boiling point in recent weeks as...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The Second Coming of IT

By Sam Lessin · Apr 10, 2017 10:01am PDT · 5 comments

For a generation before we thought of “technology companies” as Google and Facebook, there was a long era of IT, or “information technology.” During this era, technology was an unglamorous industry that made businesses more effective. Consumers didn’t touch it.I believe that machine learning and AI are bringing us... For a generation before we thought of “technology companies” as Google and Facebook,...

Frank Calderoni, CEO of Anaplan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Help Wanted: Private Tech CFO

By Alfred Lee · Apr 10, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Now that the markets are looking friendlier, private tech companies are flocking to hire CFOs who could help take them public. But they’re running into a problem—a shortage of qualified candidates.The list of companies considered potential IPO candidates that don’t have CFO hires is long, and includes Tanium, Qualtrics,... Now that the markets are looking friendlier, private tech companies are flocking to hire CFOs who...

Modest Conversations: New York Tech & Social Media Fame

By Sam Lessin · Apr 9, 2017 3:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: New York Tech & Social Media Fame

By Sam Lessin · Apr 9, 2017 3:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Greg Galant, the founder of Muck Rack and The Shorty Awards joins for a conversation about the New York tech community and the evolution of social media fame. Greg Galant, the founder of Muck Rack and The Shorty Awards joins for a conversation about the...

Uber's SVP of business, Emil Michael. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Weekly Digest

The Weekly Digest: The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Apr 8, 2017 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!This week the tech industry presented us with a question that speaks to one of the profound issues of our time: which name for a former Yahoo-owned property is worse—Oath or Altaba? Good Morning!This week the tech industry presented us with a question that speaks to one of the...

The Information’s 411 — Facebook’s Opening Kimono

By Tom Dotan · Apr 7, 2017 3:30pm PDT

Cory and Tom talk about Facebook's decision to give advertisers a little more data on campaigns. Then they discuss whether digital media companies are overvalued and what their exit strategies might be. Cory and Tom talk about Facebook's decision to give advertisers a little more data on...

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, left, and Marc Pritchard of Procter & Gamble Co. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook to Loosen Grip on Ads Data—by Just a Hair

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 7, 2017 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Facebook is planning to poke a few more holes in its advertising walled garden.The company, which shares little detailed data to help marketers track their campaigns, has told measurement and other ad-tech firms that it will start to release more. For example, it will let marketers track the order in which users see their ads and how many ads... Facebook is planning to poke a few more holes in its advertising walled garden.The company, which...

Bob Xu Xiaoping of ZhenFund. Photo by ZhenFund.

How a Pizza Deliveryman Became China’s Greatest Angel Investor

By Shai Oster · Apr 6, 2017 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Bob Xu Xiaoping of ZhenFund. Photo by ZhenFund.

How a Pizza Deliveryman Became China’s Greatest Angel Investor

By Shai Oster · Apr 6, 2017 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Beijing, China—Mr. Soup, a goateed 31-year-old entrepreneur from Shanghai, launches his PowerPoint pitch. At the head of the conference table in a Beijing office tower sits Bob Xu Xiaoping, an avuncular 60-year-old in a monogrammed white shirt and electric blue blazer. Teacher Xu, as he is widely known, is the biggest and most successful... Beijing, China—Mr. Soup, a goateed 31-year-old entrepreneur from Shanghai, launches his...

Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Amazon Sees in Its Advertising Business

By Eugene Kim · Apr 5, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

Amazon has long been considered a “sleeping giant” in the ad industry for the vast amount of online shopping data it owns. But now, as that business reaches an estimated $1.4 billion in annual revenue—nearly four times Snapchat’s $404 million in 2016—it’s time to take it more seriously.In February,... Amazon has long been considered a “sleeping giant” in the ad industry for the vast...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Plots New Hardware to Take on Echo

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 5, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

The battle between Alphabet and Amazon over the home assistant market is heating up. Google has been contemplating a big move to compete with Amazon’s Echo in hardware sales: releasing a version of its Google Home intelligent speaker with built-in mesh Wi-Fi networking, said a person with knowledge of the project. The battle between Alphabet and Amazon over the home assistant market is heating up. Google has...

Uber's SVP of business, Emil Michael. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Man Who Has Travis Kalanick’s Ear

By Amir Efrati · Apr 4, 2017 10:31am PDT

As Uber CEO Travis Kalanick tries to save his company’s reputation, he is again leaning heavily on his most indispensable executive: Emil Michael. Mr. Michael, who has run business development, fundraising and acquisitions at Uber since 2013, is Mr. Kalanick’s closest confidant and has been his go-between with everyone from frenemies... As Uber CEO Travis Kalanick tries to save his company’s reputation, he is again leaning...

*Approximation. Source: Media reports, company disclosures and The Information reporting.

Digital Media Valuations Could Be Tough Sell

By Tom Dotan · Apr 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 12 comments

*Approximation. Source: Media reports, company disclosures and The Information reporting.

Digital Media Valuations Could Be Tough Sell

By Tom Dotan · Apr 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 12 comments

BuzzFeed and Vox are sitting on some outsized expectations from investors, based on The Information’s analysis of year-end revenue and valuations for venture-backed digital media companies. But the multiples are high across the board, raising questions about all these companies’ exit options. BuzzFeed and Vox are sitting on some outsized expectations from investors, based on The...

Apple's campus. Photo by Flickr/Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño

Veteran Apple Designer Leaving

By Reed Albergotti · Apr 3, 2017 12:05pm PDT

Long time Apple industrial designer Christopher Stringer is leaving the company in another shakeup to Apple’s vaunted design team. Mr. Stringer, who was at Apple for 21 years, was involved in the first iPhones and iPads and has a rare semi-public profile. He was a key witness in Apple’s years-long legal case against Samsung,... Long time Apple industrial designer Christopher Stringer is leaving the company in another...

Zocdoc founder Cyrus Massoumi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Zocdoc Seeks Treatments for Ailing Numbers

By Alfred Lee · Apr 3, 2017 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

Back in the heady private tech era of a couple of years ago, Zocdoc scored a sky-high unicorn valuation with some ambitious growth targets. It looks like the company—which helps people find and book doctors—may be falling short.The Information has come across Zocdoc’s confidential financial projections for this year from late... Back in the heady private tech era of a couple of years ago, Zocdoc scored a sky-high unicorn...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Why Twitter Should Start Charging

By Sam Lessin · Apr 3, 2017 7:01am PDT · 19 comments

In the last few months, while the technorati have mostly focused their navel-gazing on the story wars between Facebook and Snapchat, the usual chatter about how Twitter can save itself has been relatively quiet. That said, in late March, Twitter confirmed a small story that they are considering a subscription service for publishers who want... In the last few months, while the technorati have mostly focused their navel-gazing on the story...

Modest Conversations: Virtual and Physical Communities

By Sam Lessin · Apr 2, 2017 3:59pm PDT

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Virtual and Physical Communities

By Sam Lessin · Apr 2, 2017 3:59pm PDT

Justin Shaffer of Public Studio joins to discuss some ideas around how the internet is changing patterns around virtual and physical communities. Justin Shaffer of Public Studio joins to discuss some ideas around how the internet is changing...