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

Apple executive Eddy Cue. Photo by Bloomberg

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Apr 1, 2017 8:02am PDT

Happy Saturday!What was your favorite April Fool’s joke this year? We can’t decide between Lyft declaring itself “woke” or Elon Musk’s new company, Neuralink. Happy Saturday!What was your favorite April Fool’s joke this year? We can’t decide...

Photo by Flickr/Laineema

Nvidia Poaches Tesla Self-Driving Software Exec

By Amir Efrati · Mar 31, 2017 2:44pm PDT

The merry-go-round of self-driving car talent continues. David Nistér, a top member of the team at Tesla developing semi-autonomous driving features, known as "autopilot," has decamped for Nvidia, a maker of microchips for self-driving cars. Mr. Nistér, who joined Tesla in 2015, is considered to be one of the best... The merry-go-round of self-driving car talent continues. David Nistér, a top member of the...

The Information’s 411 — Uber is a Declawed Bear

By Tom Dotan · Mar 31, 2017 1:55pm PDT · 1 comment

Amir breaks down all the problems at Uber, including the Waymo lawsuit and employees' lack of confidence in Travis. Juro discusses why Baidu is faltering. Amir breaks down all the problems at Uber, including the Waymo lawsuit and employees' lack...

Rizvi was the biggest investor in Twitter at the time of its IPO. Photo by Bloomberg.

Rizvi Scales Back

By Alfred Lee and Martin Peers · Mar 31, 2017 12:44pm PDT

Rizvi was the biggest investor in Twitter at the time of its IPO. Photo by Bloomberg.

Rizvi Scales Back

By Alfred Lee and Martin Peers · Mar 31, 2017 12:44pm PDT

One of the most prominent private equity investors in Silicon Valley, Rizvi Traverse, is pulling back.Rizvi has decided to stop investing money from outsiders and will convert into a “family office” used by Rizvi’s partners, according to Ben Kohn, a managing partner. One of the most prominent private equity investors in Silicon Valley, Rizvi Traverse, is pulling...

An ad for eHi in a railway station in China. Photo by AP.

After Slaying Uber, Didi Faces Domestic Rivals

By Shai Oster, Amir Efrati and Juro Osawa · Mar 31, 2017 7:00am PDT

Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride hailing app that defeated Uber in China, is facing fresh challenges from a host of local rivals that are raising money and expanding through alliances.The latest challenge may be a potential alliance between China’s second largest car rental firm, eHi Car Services, and Shouqi Group, a state-owned taxi and... Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride hailing app that defeated Uber in China, is facing fresh...

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Hires Former YouTube Exec to Boost Video Effort

By Amir Efrati · Mar 30, 2017 3:34pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple has hired Shiva Rajaraman, a veteran product manager from YouTube and Spotify, to help shape the company’s video strategy, according to three people briefed on the hiring. Mr. Rajaraman is the latest in a string of outsiders Apple has hired in recent months to strengthen its position in video, where it lags rivals like Amazon.com and... Apple has hired Shiva Rajaraman, a veteran product manager from YouTube and Spotify, to help...

Mic co-founder Jake Horowitz. Photo by Flickr/Knight Center for Journalism

Digital Media Firms Raise More Money—and More Questions

By Tom Dotan · Mar 30, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

We’re already a few months into 2017 and if the recent spate of digital media investments are any indication, investors still have an appetite for them. But the fundraisings may only be delaying a consolidation that remains inevitable in the crowded media field.The Information has learned millennial news site Mic is quietly putting... We’re already a few months into 2017 and if the recent spate of digital media investments...

Photo by Julie Mikos.

Announcing the Summit Lunch Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Mar 29, 2017 11:55am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Julie Mikos.

Announcing the Summit Lunch Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Mar 29, 2017 11:55am PDT · 1 comment

We're so excited to see everyone on April 25th at our sold-out New York Subscriber Summit. An important part of the Summit are our lunch breakouts: a chance for you to hear straight from big names in tech and journalism about the state of their businesses. If you're registered for the Summit, you'll receive an email from... We're so excited to see everyone on April 25th at our sold-out New York Subscriber Summit....

Baidu CEO Robin Li. Photo by Bloomberg.

Behind the Decline at China’s Tech Giant Baidu

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Mar 29, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

When Google pulled its search engine out of China seven years ago, it handed a near monopoly to Baidu, the domestic rival founded by Robin Li. The ambitious U.S.-educated computer scientist-turned tech billionaire was hailed as a role model for the wave of overseas Chinese returnee entrepreneurs. Yet, instead of filling the void to become... When Google pulled its search engine out of China seven years ago, it handed a near monopoly to...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cisco Moving to Break Apart Networking Software from Hardware

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 28, 2017 10:47am PDT · 8 comments

Under pressure from its big corporate customers, Cisco Systems is getting ready to disrupt one of its biggest businesses.Cisco is planning to sell operating system software for networking devices—which switch internet traffic between networks—without requiring customers also buy Cisco’s high-end hardware, said two people... Under pressure from its big corporate customers, Cisco Systems is getting ready to disrupt one of...

HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investors Warming to Higher Valuations—for Some

By Tom Dotan · Mar 28, 2017 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, HotelTonight enjoyed something that had started to seem like a faint memory in Silicon Valley: an up round. The hotel booking site raised $37 million at a valuation of $400 million, up from about $300 million. The funding came not long after a few other bigger startups raised money at higher valuations, including Instacart, WeWork,... Last week, HotelTonight enjoyed something that had started to seem like a faint memory in Silicon...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The First Free Agents of 2017

By The Information Staff · Mar 27, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The First Free Agents of 2017

By The Information Staff · Mar 27, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Our latest “Free Agents”—high-profile executives between roles—includes defectors from struggling tech firms Twitter and Yahoo, as well as a handful of people who passed through Google and Facebook to take bigger roles at smaller companies.Sriram Krishnan, for instance, left a respected job at Facebook for Snap, only to... Our latest “Free Agents”—high-profile executives between roles—includes...

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Unions, Regulatory Capture, and Tech

By Sam Lessin · Mar 26, 2017 3:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Joe Green, of Causes, Nation-Builder, and FWD.US joins to discuss some ideas around unions, organizing, and regulatory capture in an era of technology companies. Joe Green, of Causes, Nation-Builder, and FWD.US joins to discuss some ideas around unions,...

Art by Matt Vascellaro

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 25, 2017 8:01am PDT

Good Morning!We tried to write a joke this week but we pulled it at the last minute because it didn't get enough votes. Good Morning!We tried to write a joke this week but we pulled it at the last minute because it...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Group’s Visit to Seoul Escort Bar Sparked HR Complaint

By Amir Efrati · Mar 24, 2017 9:05pm PDT · 29 comments

A woman who dated Uber CEO Travis Kalanick for three years, Gabi Holzwarth, says she was with Mr. Kalanick when he and a team of five Uber employees visited an escort-karaoke bar in Seoul in mid-2014. At the bar, women sat in a circle, identified by numbered tags. Four male Uber managers picked women out of the group, calling out their numbers,... A woman who dated Uber CEO Travis Kalanick for three years, Gabi Holzwarth, says she was with Mr....

The Information’s 411 — Airbnb’s Tiny Homes

By Tom Dotan · Mar 24, 2017 3:13pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Airbnb’s Tiny Homes

By Tom Dotan · Mar 24, 2017 3:13pm PDT

Cory talks about Airbnb and Alphabet's ideas about investing in prefab homes. Kevin explores the most popular skills for the Amazon Echo. Cory talks about Airbnb and Alphabet's ideas about investing in prefab homes. Kevin explores...

Kasita CEO Jeff Wilson inside one of Kasita's prefabricated homes. Photo by Flickr/Nicolas Boullosa.

Airbnb, Alphabet Eye Homebuilding

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 24, 2017 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Last year, employees in Airbnb’s experimental design studio explored ways of manufacturing small homes for people’s backyards, to provide extra space for guests. But the effort, which hasn’t previously been reported, was mostly scuttled for now, said a person with knowledge of the situation. Airbnb senior executives worried... Last year, employees in Airbnb’s experimental design studio explored ways of manufacturing...

Source: Betaworks

Amazon Wants Alexa to Play More Games

By Kevin McLaughlin and Mike Sullivan · Mar 23, 2017 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has decided that games are the killer app for Alexa.Mr. Bezos has told the team behind Amazon’s digital assistant to focus on getting more games for Alexa’s app store, according to a person who works with Amazon. Mr. Bezos believes games can make developers the most money, which is important for getting them... Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has decided that games are the killer app for Alexa.Mr. Bezos has told...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Lending Biz Growing—Within Limits

By Eugene Kim · Mar 22, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

For five years, Amazon.com has quietly been making small loans to a few of the merchants that sell on the e-commerce giant’s website. Now that little effort has become a decent-sized business.Amazon revealed recently that total outstanding loans to merchants had nearly doubled to $661 million on Dec. 31 from $337 million a year earlier.... For five years, Amazon.com has quietly been making small loans to a few of the merchants that...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

How Travis Kalanick’s Iron Grip Weakened Uber

By Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2017 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

How Travis Kalanick’s Iron Grip Weakened Uber

By Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2017 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Several months ago, at an Uber company staff meeting, an employee asked CEO Travis Kalanick about a regulatory matter in Southeast Asia. When Mr. Kalanick said he didn’t know about the issue, Uber’s top operations executive for Asia, Andrew MacDonald, spoke up to tell Mr. Kalanick he’d fill him in about it later. Mr. Kalanick... Several months ago, at an Uber company staff meeting, an employee asked CEO Travis Kalanick about...