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

Illustration by Josh Brill

Reality of ICO Ban: China Wants to Manage Digital Currency Platforms

By Shai Oster · Sep 8, 2017 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

China’s ban of initial coin offerings on Monday initially seemed to threaten the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies. But the ban isn’t as tough as it looks. What China is really doing is taking steps to manage cryptocurrency platforms so it can better control them.It’s telling that China didn’t curtail cryptocurrencies... China’s ban of initial coin offerings on Monday initially seemed to threaten the explosive...

ARKit being demonstrated on an iPad at WWDC in June. Photo by Bloomberg

How Apple’s New AR Software Could Shake Up the App World

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 7, 2017 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

When Apple unveils its 10th anniversary iPhone on Tuesday, the most interesting development won’t be the updated hardware. It will be the apps that run on the phone and take advantage of Apple’s new augmented reality software. That software will allow a completely new kind of app to emerge, one that can make it seem as if... When Apple unveils its 10th anniversary iPhone on Tuesday, the most interesting development...

Mesosphere CEO Florian Leibert and Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photos: AP and Bloomberg

In Cloud Software Wars, Mesosphere Bows to Kubernetes

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 6, 2017 9:16am PDT · 3 comments

Google appears to have won a long-running technology war in the corporate market.Mesosphere, a startup that makes software for managing applications in data centers, is surrendering to its main rival, Kubernetes, a Google-created software, according to two people with knowledge of Mesosphere’s plans. Mesosphere is soon expected to allow... Google appears to have won a long-running technology war in the corporate market.Mesosphere, a...

Pressure on meal-kit companies has increased the odds of partnerships with big grocers such as Safeway. Photo by Flickr/Mike Mozart.

Blue Apron Competitors Explore Sales to Grocers, Food Manufacturers

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 6, 2017 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Pressure on meal-kit companies has increased the odds of partnerships with big grocers such as Safeway. Photo by Flickr/Mike Mozart.

Blue Apron Competitors Explore Sales to Grocers, Food Manufacturers

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 6, 2017 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Blue Apron’s disappointing IPO has hurt fundraising prospects for its myriad meal-kit competitors, while Amazon.com’s acquisition of Whole Foods has sent stocks tumbling for grocers. That has given grocery chains and meal-kit startups a larger appetite to combine forces, say industry experts and tech executives.Signs of consolidation... Blue Apron’s disappointing IPO has hurt fundraising prospects for its myriad meal-kit...

Mic CEO Chris Altchek. Photo by Flickr/Ole Bader.

News Site Mic Looks to Cable for Video Revenue

By Tom Dotan · Sep 5, 2017 1:51pm PDT · 2 comments

Millennial-focused news company Mic is hoping to be picked up by cable.The news site is in discussions with several companies that sell so-called “skinny” bundles of cable channels to offer a channel of Mic-produced videos, said people close to Mic. If successful, Mic would join Cheddar and Vice as new-media firms that have tapped... Millennial-focused news company Mic is hoping to be picked up by cable.The news site is in...

UISEE's driverless golf cart (inset). Photos by UISEE

Why China’s Real Estate Developers Are Investing in Tech

By Shai Oster · Sep 5, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Underneath an upscale shopping mall in Hangzhou, China, property developer CapitaLand has teamed up with self-driving car startup UISEE Technologies Beijing to test a driverless golf cart for shuttling customers around. If the companies can work out the kinks, CapitaLand hopes to deploy the golf carts at a other projects, such as one on the... Underneath an upscale shopping mall in Hangzhou, China, property developer CapitaLand has teamed...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Sep 2, 2017 8:00am PDT

Happy Labor Day,We were going to make a joke about Google. But it seems to have disappeared from our computers. Happy Labor Day,We were going to make a joke about Google. But it seems to have disappeared from...

Source: Giphy

Join The Information’s Expanding Engineering Team

By The Information Staff · Sep 1, 2017 4:25pm PDT · 1 comment

Source: Giphy

Jobs@TheInformation

Join The Information’s Expanding Engineering Team

By The Information Staff · Sep 1, 2017 4:25pm PDT · 1 comment

Senior Full-Stack EngineerAbout 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... Senior Full-Stack EngineerAbout UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication...

The Information’s 411 — Uber, schöner Götterfunken

By Tom Dotan · Sep 1, 2017 2:31pm PDT

Amir gives the backstory to the election of Uber's new CEO. He also explains why an internal controversy regarding employee compensation will be the new CEO's first order of business. Amir gives the backstory to the election of Uber's new CEO. He also explains why an internal...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Flickr/TCDNY 2013.

How Digital Execs Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Banner

By Tom Dotan · Sep 1, 2017 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

The lowly, oft-derided banner ad is back in fashion. Call it pivoting from video.BuzzFeed’s announcement earlier this week that it was going to start selling banner ads on its web site signals a shift that has taken place among some social networks and publishers. For years those companies have complained about banner ads, hated and... The lowly, oft-derided banner ad is back in fashion. Call it pivoting from video.BuzzFeed’s...

Daniel Graf, Jeff Holden and Liane Hornsey. Photos by Mr. Graf, Bloomberg and Uber.

Uber’s Secret HR War Looms for New CEO

By Amir Efrati · Aug 31, 2017 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Uber’s top executives spent Tuesday evening at a hastily arranged dinner in San Francisco, gabbing and drinking with their new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. Several board members, including former CEO Travis Kalanick, also attended. On Wednesday, they were all smiles again at Mr. Khosrowshahi’s first all-hands meeting with Uber employees.... Uber’s top executives spent Tuesday evening at a hastily arranged dinner in San Francisco,...

Source: Company Filings. Chart by Mike Sullivan.

Why Apple and Facebook Should Spend More on Video

By Martin Peers · Aug 30, 2017 10:34am PDT · 6 comments

Source: Company Filings. Chart by Mike Sullivan.

Why Apple and Facebook Should Spend More on Video

By Martin Peers · Aug 30, 2017 10:34am PDT · 6 comments

Apple and Facebook’s tentative steps into video programming has fuelled a debate about so-called “peak TV”—the idea that there’s a bubble underway in the amount of new TV shows being made. But a look at how much more established media firms are spending on TV suggests these newer entrants will have to be much more... Apple and Facebook’s tentative steps into video programming has fuelled a debate about...

Airbnb CFO Laurence Tosi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Joins Race for AI Talent

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 30, 2017 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In a recent bidding war for an artificial intelligence startup, Facebook had an unexpected competitor: Airbnb. Earlier this summer the travel company offered to buy Ozlo, which built systems to understand people’s preferences for restaurants based on conversations, according to two people briefed on the matter. Airbnb eventually lost to... In a recent bidding war for an artificial intelligence startup, Facebook had an unexpected...

President Trump with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at a White House meeting in June. Photo by Bloomberg.

Once a Lobbying Lightweight, Amazon Strengthens Voice in Washington

By Priya Anand · Aug 29, 2017 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

President Trump regularly lashes out against Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter, alleging that the company is hurting retailers and that Mr. Bezos uses The Washington Post, which he owns, to protect his interests. But to make its voice heard in Washington, Amazon has ramped up spending on lobbying and this year has hired a number of policy... President Trump regularly lashes out against Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter, alleging...

Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Khosrowshahi Oversaw a Comeback At Expedia

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 28, 2017 4:43pm PDT · 1 comment

If Dara Khosrowshahi takes the Uber CEO job, as he’s expected to, he’ll be inheriting a company badly in need of an overhaul after months of turmoil and executive departures. In that sense, the job has parallels to the turnaround he oversaw at Expedia in the past five years, when he rejuvenated the two-decade-old company’s... If Dara Khosrowshahi takes the Uber CEO job, as he’s expected to, he’ll be inheriting...

Chinese patients scanning a QR code to pay their medical bills using WeChat in June. Photo by AP.

Inside Tencent’s Fight To Win Mobile Payments

By Juro Osawa · Aug 28, 2017 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

Chinese patients scanning a QR code to pay their medical bills using WeChat in June. Photo by AP.

Inside Tencent’s Fight To Win Mobile Payments

By Juro Osawa · Aug 28, 2017 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

To win control of China’s multi-trillion dollar mobile payments market, Tencent is fighting a gruelling ground war aimed at getting retailers and restaurants to accept its WeChat Pay digital wallet. A recent meeting between Tencent representatives and small business owners in Central China’s sprawling megalopolis of Wuhan highlighted... To win control of China’s multi-trillion dollar mobile payments market, Tencent is fighting...

Uber's new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s CEO Pick Appears to be Victory for Kalanick

By Amir Efrati and Cory Weinberg · Aug 27, 2017 5:56pm PDT · 4 comments

Uber’s board of directors surprised nearly everyone in Silicon Valley—including the press—on Sunday by picking the CEO of Expedia, Dara Khosrowshahi, to fill the hole left by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, who resigned under pressure in June.The choice appeared to be a victory for Mr. Kalanick, who was skeptical of the... Uber’s board of directors surprised nearly everyone in Silicon Valley—including the...

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Meg Whitman Re-Emerged as Uber CEO Favorite

By Amir Efrati · Aug 27, 2017 1:48pm PDT · 2 comments

Update: Many hours of deliberation later, the Uber board picked Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (the unnamed male candidate referenced below) over Ms. Whitman, with some directors feeling he was a more neutral choice compared to Ms. Whitman. Uber’s fractured board of directors was leaning in favor of installing Hewlett Packard Enterprise... Update: Many hours of deliberation later, the Uber board picked Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Aug 26, 2017 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!Samsung’s vice chairman has been sentenced to prison. Maybe he can use the Galaxy Note 7 to blast his way out. Good Morning!Samsung’s vice chairman has been sentenced to prison. Maybe he can use the...

The Information’s 411 — Quantum Leaps of Logic

By Tom Dotan · Aug 25, 2017 1:40pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Quantum Leaps of Logic

By Tom Dotan · Aug 25, 2017 1:40pm PDT

Kevin talks about how quantum computing poses a threat to encryption. Cory dives into Opendoor and how it aims to shake up the process of selling a home. Kevin talks about how quantum computing poses a threat to encryption. Cory dives into Opendoor...