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

Chamath Palihapitiya. Photo by Bloomberg

Social Capital Founder Gives His Account of Turmoil at Firm

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 20, 2018 7:31am PDT · 6 comments

For the past year, venture firm Social Capital has been decimated by high-level departures and investor complaints about the firm’s founder, Chamath Palihapitiya, and his unpredictable and unilateral decision making.Now, in an exclusive interview in which Mr. Palihapitiya questioned the very nature of startup funding, he made clear he... For the past year, venture firm Social Capital has been decimated by high-level departures and...

Mike Sullivan

Crypto Newsletter

Alex Jones, the Blockchain and Free Speech

By Jon Victor · Sep 19, 2018 12:05pm PDT · 3 comments

Two of the biggest tech stories this year have been the use of social media platforms to spread political misinformation, and the rise of blockchain technology. Now, the two themes are colliding, as new forms of blockchain-based social media threaten to disrupt the foundation on which many existing platforms were built. What role will... Two of the biggest tech stories this year have been the use of social media platforms to spread...

A man prepared to ride a Bird scooter in Providence, R.I., in July. Photo: AP

After Fast Rollout, Scooters Hit Supply Bumps

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Sep 19, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

The high-profile electric scooter wars have been waged on the ground in cities worldwide, as nearly a dozen companies including Bird, Lime, Lyft and Uber vie for two-wheel supremacy. Out of public view, the battles also are being fought by air and sea, as scooter operators scramble to purchase the vehicles from Asia to meet surging demand.Some... The high-profile electric scooter wars have been waged on the ground in cities worldwide, as...

Source: SuperSymmetry Technologies

Pinduoduo’s Rapid Growth Slows Sharply

By Juro Osawa and Wayne Ma · Sep 18, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

Source: SuperSymmetry Technologies

Pinduoduo’s Rapid Growth Slows Sharply

By Juro Osawa and Wayne Ma · Sep 18, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

Chinese discount shopping app Pinduoduo has grown explosively to challenge the country’s biggest ecommerce giants, Alibaba and JD.com, paving the way for the company to go public in the U.S. in July. But new data suggests Pinduoduo’s growth in transactions has slowed in the past four months, throwing into question whether the... Chinese discount shopping app Pinduoduo has grown explosively to challenge the country’s...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, speaks at an Oculus event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Seeks Engineers for Custom AR Chips

By Aaron Tilley and Sarah Kuranda · Sep 18, 2018 7:01am PDT

Facebook is stepping up its investments in augmented reality, seeking to hire engineers to work on custom silicon chips for devices that enable the technology. In at least four job listings posted in recent days, a research group inside the company called Facebook Reality Labs advertised engineering positions requiring expertise in the design of... Facebook is stepping up its investments in augmented reality, seeking to hire engineers to work...

Diane Greene, CEO of Google Cloud, speaking at an event in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Cloud Tests Devices for Private Data Centers

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 17, 2018 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

Executives at Google Cloud have said they are willing to meet large customers “where they are”—marketing-speak for their openness to extending Google cloud services into the private data centers of customers. As an example, Google in July announced a version of its Kubernetes software, which is used to manage large numbers of... Executives at Google Cloud have said they are willing to meet large customers “where they...

Sources: Company filings; Prime Unicorn Index; PitchBook

As Private Tech Heats Up, Share Prices Lag

By Alfred Lee · Sep 17, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

When Instacart raised money at a $4.35 billion valuation in April, it marked a 28% step up from its previous valuation of $3.4 billion. That was surprising: Instacart raised the round as it was facing tougher competition from Amazon.com’s introduction of same-day Whole Foods grocery deliveries. It turns out, though, that investors... When Instacart raised money at a $4.35 billion valuation in April, it marked a 28% step up from...

Wall Street ‘08 vs. Silicon Valley ‘18

By Jessica Lessin · Sep 15, 2018 4:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Wall Street ‘08 vs. Silicon Valley ‘18

By Jessica Lessin · Sep 15, 2018 4:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Outside the tech bubble this week, the media was awash with stories pegged to the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and onset of the 2008 financial crisis. And there was one analogy some commentators seemed to want to draw very badly: comparing the financial crisis to a coming reckoning for Silicon Valley. (Example, here. Outside the tech bubble this week, the media was awash with stories pegged to the 10th...

The Information’s 411 — Walmart’s Soldiers

By Priya Anand · Sep 14, 2018 11:32am PDT

Cory talks about how Airbnb and other tech companies try to circumvent local regulation by lobbying statehouses. Priya outlines how Walmart is trying to compete with Amazon. Cory talks about how Airbnb and other tech companies try to circumvent local regulation by...

The FDA's headquarters in Maryland. Photo by AP

Scientists Accuse FDA of Bad Science on BPA

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 14, 2018 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

The Food and Drug Administration has long been at war with academic scientists about whether a compound used in water bottles and thousands of other products called bisphenol A is safe. For a decade, the agency has dismissed hundreds of academic studies showing potential harm caused by BPA, as it is known, instead citing studies sponsored by the... The Food and Drug Administration has long been at war with academic scientists about whether a...

A Facebook data center in Sweden. Photo by Bloomberg

Tech Giants Join Forces to Score AI Chips

By Aaron Tilley · Sep 14, 2018 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

A wave of new chips designed to run artificial intelligence software will soon be hitting the market. Device makers are waiting to use them in products like cameras that can identify images faster, and cloud computing providers want them to give their services a technical edge. First though, the companies have to figure out which chips perform... A wave of new chips designed to run artificial intelligence software will soon be hitting the...

Sources: Pitchbook; The Information

Market Rally Lifts 2018 Tech IPOs

By Alfred Lee · Sep 13, 2018 9:29am PDT · 1 comment

Sources: Pitchbook; The Information

Market Rally Lifts 2018 Tech IPOs

By Alfred Lee · Sep 13, 2018 9:29am PDT · 1 comment

It has been a strong year for tech IPOs, with high-profile firms including Spotify and DocuSign soaring well above their initial prices on the public markets. Their performance stands in contrast to last year, when notable IPOs like Snap and Blue Apron flopped spectacularly. More deals are to come: Ticketing site Eventbrite and survey firm... It has been a strong year for tech IPOs, with high-profile firms including Spotify and DocuSign...

Tencent's Honor of Kings mobile game on an iPhone in Hong Kong last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s China App Store Loophole

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Sep 13, 2018 7:01am PDT

In Apple’s iOS App Store in China, videogames such as “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” “Modern Combat 5” and “The Walking Dead” are for sale. Those games aren’t supposed to be available in the country. They lack approvals from regulators, a prerequisite every game needs before it can be released in... In Apple’s iOS App Store in China, videogames such as “Grand Theft Auto: San...

Crypto Newsletter

ConsenSys Growth Plans; Ethereum Pulse Check

By Jon Victor · Sep 12, 2018 12:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Dear Subscriber, Can somebody please check on Ethereum? The smart-contract network’s market cap has plummeted from a high of more than $138 billion in January to below $18 billion as of today. Exacerbating the decline is the fact that Ethereum was the engine for 2017’s ICO mania, which seems to have dissipated: ICO fundraising in... Dear Subscriber, Can somebody please check on Ethereum? The smart-contract network’s market...

Source: Second Measure Data

U.S. Slowdown at Uber and Lyft

By Amir Efrati · Sep 12, 2018 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

The once-hot ride-hailing business is cooling down—just as the two biggest players are thinking about going public.Revenue growth rates for the U.S. ride-hailing businesses of Uber and Lyft slowed this summer to their lowest point in years, according to research firm Second Measure, which tracks credit and debit card transactions. Growth... The once-hot ride-hailing business is cooling down—just as the two biggest players are...

Photos by Bloomberg, Company website. Source: The Information

The People With (Digital) Power at Walmart

By Priya Anand · Sep 12, 2018 7:01am PDT

Photos by Bloomberg, Company website. Source: The Information

The People With (Digital) Power at Walmart

By Priya Anand · Sep 12, 2018 7:01am PDT

Shortly after Marc Lore joined Walmart, an employee asked the company’s new U.S. ecommerce chief at an all-hands meeting if there were any books he read for inspiration. Mr. Lore replied that he wasn’t much of a reader, preferring instead to spend his time thinking, said one current Walmart employee who saw the presentation and... Shortly after Marc Lore joined Walmart, an employee asked the company’s new U.S. ecommerce...

Sentient CEO Babak Hodjat at a conference in New Orleans in May. Photo by Flickr/Collision Conf

AI Startup’s Stumbles Show Challenges in Crowded Market

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 11, 2018 10:30am PDT · 3 comments

Artificial intelligence startup Sentient Technologies seemed to have hit paydirt three years ago when it landed customers such as shoe retailer Zappos and shoe maker Skechers for its software, which uses AI algorithms to recommend products to shoppers. But in the past year Sentient has stumbled in efforts to diversify into advertising and... Artificial intelligence startup Sentient Technologies seemed to have hit paydirt three years ago...

David Gorodyansky, founder and CEO of privacy startup AnchorFree. Photo by Bloomberg

Venture Capitalists Look to Privacy Investments as Interest Rises

By Sarah Kuranda · Sep 11, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

When Dimitri Sirota approached investors two years ago to raise a seed round for his new company, BigID, many were dismissive of the idea behind the startup, which creates technology that helps companies find what personal data they have collected from customers and get recommendations on how to secure it. In the meetings, some of the venture... When Dimitri Sirota approached investors two years ago to raise a seed round for his new company,...

Justin Simien, the creator of "Dear White People." Photo by AP

At Netflix, Speed is Key

By Beejoli Shah · Sep 10, 2018 10:00am PDT · 9 comments

TV shows have been produced the same way for decades. But in its quest to revolutionize how people watch TV, Netflix is revolutionizing how TV shows are made.Take the popular show “Dear White People,” which debuted last year. After creator Justin Simien made his pitch about the show—based on the movie of the same... TV shows have been produced the same way for decades. But in its quest to revolutionize how...

A driver for Uber and Lyft alongside a New York City taxi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber, Airbnb Fight Cities by Lobbying States

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 10, 2018 7:02am PDT

A driver for Uber and Lyft alongside a New York City taxi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber, Airbnb Fight Cities by Lobbying States

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 10, 2018 7:02am PDT

The proliferation of Uber, Airbnb and now electric scooters has prompted city councils and mayors’ offices around the country to impose rules on how the companies can operate. But as the restrictions mount, city officials are running up against a conundrum: Tech’s urban disruptors are diminishing cities’ authority in some... The proliferation of Uber, Airbnb and now electric scooters has prompted city councils and...