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

Palantir co-founder Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investor Question: How to Define Palantir

By Alfred Lee and Steve Nellis · Oct 13, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Question: Is data analytics firm Palantir a software or services company? The answer may determine whether you think it’s worth $20 billion or $8 billion.Palantir uses software it has designed to mine data on behalf of companies and government agencies, helping address everything from cybersecurity to supply chain efficiency. While... Question: Is data analytics firm Palantir a software or services company? The answer may...

Messenger chief David Marcus at F8 in April. Photo by AP.

Behind Facebook’s Messenger Missteps

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 13, 2016 7:02am PDT · 7 comments

Facebook employees buzzed about Messenger’s personal assistant, known as M, when it launched inside the company and to a test group of thousands of users in California last year. Users could buy movie tickets or even order pinatas for employee birthday parties, although the work was performed mostly by people rather than a computer. The... Facebook employees buzzed about Messenger’s personal assistant, known as M, when it...

Machinima CEO Chad Gutstein. Photo by Bloomberg.

Warner Bros in Talks to Buy Machinima

By Tom Dotan · Oct 12, 2016 2:59pm PDT

Warner Bros. is in advanced talks to buy full ownership of online video network Machinima in a deal that values the company at under $100 million, according to one person close to the talks and another briefed on it. Warner Bros. already has a stake in Machinima, having invested in two previous funding rounds in 2014 and 2015. The movie... Warner Bros. is in advanced talks to buy full ownership of online video network Machinima in a...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snap Builds Engineering Team in San Francisco

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Oct 12, 2016 9:59am PDT

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snap Builds Engineering Team in San Francisco

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Oct 12, 2016 9:59am PDT

Snap is for the first time hiring engineers in San Francisco, partly in an effort to strengthen its capabilities in search.Since the summer, the newly renamed parent company of Snapchat has hired fewer than a dozen engineers who are working out of a small office in North Beach. Among the most prominent is Wisam Dakka, a longtime search... Snap is for the first time hiring engineers in San Francisco, partly in an effort to strengthen...

At the San Francisco office of Smarking. CEO and founder Sang Wen is in the grey shirt on the right side. Photo by Smarking.

China’s Problem: Entrepreneurs Still Love Silicon Valley

By Yunan Zhang · Oct 12, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

China may have a booming tech scene. But it also has a talent shortage. Take Sang Wen, a brilliant MIT Ph.D. graduate who with his partner raised more than $3 million from top-tier Silicon Valley investors for their startup. Their firm, Smarking, uses big data to help parking providers keep their lots full while at the same time minimizing waits... China may have a booming tech scene. But it also has a talent shortage. Take Sang Wen, a...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Took Board Seat at Didi Chuxing

By Amir Efrati and Alfred Lee · Oct 11, 2016 4:16pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple got a seat on the board of Didi Chuxing a few weeks after investing $1 billion in the company, which is known as the ‘Uber of China,’ according to a person briefed on the move. At the time, news reports about the investment quoted Didi as saying Apple hadn't received such a seat.The board appointment occurred in late June,... Apple got a seat on the board of Didi Chuxing a few weeks after investing $1 billion in the...

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Diane Greene is Reinventing Google Cloud

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 11, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene spent six months negotiating with Evernote CTO Anirban Kundu and other company executives to win the productivity software firm’s data storage business. At one point, a technical issue nearly derailed the talks. But Ms. Greene made it clear that Google would address the issue quickly, Mr. Kundu said. ... Google Cloud chief Diane Greene spent six months negotiating with Evernote CTO Anirban Kundu and...

Source: Slice Intelligence

Why Airbnb is a Threat to Hotel Chains

By Cory Weinberg and Peter Schulz · Oct 10, 2016 5:30pm PDT · 6 comments

Source: Slice Intelligence

Why Airbnb is a Threat to Hotel Chains

By Cory Weinberg and Peter Schulz · Oct 10, 2016 5:30pm PDT · 6 comments

Airbnb gets more repeat business from Americans than do individual hotel chains, but it faces tougher competition from online travel agencies like Expedia-owned Hotels.com, new data shows.It explains why Airbnb—which is trying to grow its business to meet its $30 billion valuation—is trying to add more of the services that online... Airbnb gets more repeat business from Americans than do individual hotel chains, but it faces...

Airspace co-founders Earl Stirling, Noah Moore and Jaz Banga with the company’s “Interceptor” drone-catcher. Photo by Reed Albergotti. Video by Airspace.

Silicon Valley’s Drone Hunters

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 10, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Though the New York Mets’ season ended with last week’s playoff loss, the team’s owners are focusing on a possible new threat from the sky. SterlingVC, the venture arm of the private equity and real estate investor that controls the Mets and its home stadium, has invested in cutting-edge anti-drone technology after a string of... Though the New York Mets’ season ended with last week’s playoff loss, the...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the company's DreamForce conference last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

How LinkedIn Defused Protest Over Microsoft Deal

By Steve Nellis · Oct 10, 2016 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

In the weeks before Salesforce urged European regulators to block Microsoft’s LinkedIn purchase late last month, Salesforce’s legal team tried to get SugarCRM, a rival in the sales software business, to join its lobbying efforts. Salesforce, which also tried to buy LinkedIn, has argued that Microsoft will have an unfair advantage... In the weeks before Salesforce urged European regulators to block Microsoft’s LinkedIn...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Oct 8, 2016 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!Virtual reality dominated the week, with news about Oculus, Google’s Daydream and…the idea that Disney or Google would buy Twitter. Good Morning!Virtual reality dominated the week, with news about Oculus, Google’s Daydream...

The Information’s 411 — We Wants It

By Tom Dotan · Oct 7, 2016 2:03pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — We Wants It

By Tom Dotan · Oct 7, 2016 2:03pm PDT

Cory, Kevin and Tom talk about Facebook's Oculus event and Google's new Pixel phones. Then we make predictions about the 2016 baseball playoffs. Cory, Kevin and Tom talk about Facebook's Oculus event and Google's new Pixel phones....

Going Public and the Illiquidity Tax

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 7, 2016 7:01am PDT

And it continues. We reported last month that Snapchat was preparing an IPO for next year and yesterday The Wall Street Journal followed with a similar account.Every day in Silicon Valley, it’s clear how much the mood around being a public company has shifted. Companies that were hellbent on telling me all the reasons they wanted to... And it continues. We reported last month that Snapchat was preparing an IPO for next year...

Woody Allen and Rachel Brosnahan at the New York premiere of "Crisis in Six Scenes" for Amazon Video. Photo by AP.

Shakeup in Senior Ranks of Amazon’s Digital Video

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Oct 6, 2016 8:44am PDT

One of Jeff Bezos’ top lieutenants at Amazon.com, Jeff Blackburn, is now directly overseeing Amazon’s video division, following the abrupt departure last month of a senior executive there.Jim Freeman, a longtime Amazon executive who’d been vice president of video since early 2015 and was considered the chief engineering... One of Jeff Bezos’ top lieutenants at Amazon.com, Jeff Blackburn, is now directly...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Tech Debt Costs Rise

By Alfred Lee · Oct 6, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Data storage company Actifio, which raised money at a $1.1 billion valuation in 2014, borrowed $10 million this year from a venture debt fund. But the interest rate on the loan had a minimum interest rate of 8.75%, up from 8.25% for a loan it took out last year. Other fees went up as well, raising the total cost by another 0.25 percentage... Data storage company Actifio, which raised money at a $1.1 billion valuation in 2014, borrowed...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images.

Snap Opens Up Ad Channels Slowly and Carefully

By Tom Dotan · Oct 5, 2016 4:55pm PDT · 1 comment

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images.

Snap Opens Up Ad Channels Slowly and Carefully

By Tom Dotan · Oct 5, 2016 4:55pm PDT · 1 comment

Until last Saturday, advertisers wanting to buy an ad on Snapchat had to negotiate directly with the company’s ad sales team. But starting Oct. 1, Snap, the app’s owner, began allowing some advertisers to bid on ad space using automated systems run by outside ad tech firms. It was a long-awaited move that makes it easier for a wider... Until last Saturday, advertisers wanting to buy an ad on Snapchat had to negotiate directly with...

Photo by Erin Beach.

Announcing the Summit Lunch Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Oct 5, 2016 9:08am PDT

We're so excited to see everyone on October 21st at our sold-out Subscriber Summit. An important part of the Summit are our lunch breakouts: a chance for you to visit some nearby companies to hear straight from big names in tech about important topics. Our team will also be on-hand to answer your questions. If... We're so excited to see everyone on October 21st at our sold-out Subscriber Summit. An...

Two people using the Bigscreen virtual reality app to look at a computer animation program together. Photo by Bigscreen.

Startups Bet on Workplace Use of VR

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 5, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Automattic, which makes WordPress, expects virtual reality to be a big part of its business in the years to come. If bloggers want to publish stories, videos or pictures in virtual reality, Automattic wants to help people produce and distribute them on WordPress. But Toni Schneider, Automattic’s former CEO who now runs the company’s... Automattic, which makes WordPress, expects virtual reality to be a big part of its business in...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussing Google's new Pixel smartphone and its virtual assistant at Tuesday's launch event. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s Hardware Thrusts: A Timeline

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 4, 2016 2:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Google’s motto for its latest line of phones—the Pixels unveiled on Tuesday—may be “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.”The Pixels are the first phones carrying only the Google brand, as opposed to Nexus phones that were co-branded with Google and a manufacturing partner like Huawei. But the... Google’s motto for its latest line of phones—the Pixels unveiled on Tuesday—may...

Uber India President Amit Jain. Photo by Uber.

Uber Claims Lead in India

By Amir Efrati · Oct 4, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Uber India President Amit Jain. Photo by Uber.

Uber Claims Lead in India

By Amir Efrati · Oct 4, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

BANGALORE, INDIA—Three years after launching its on-demand ride service in India, Uber says this country is its No. 2 market in terms of rides after the U.S. The India business is small relative to Uber’s global business, generating about $60 million in gross revenue per month and, after factoring expenses, losing around $30 million... BANGALORE, INDIA—Three years after launching its on-demand ride service in India, Uber says...