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

Left to right: Brian Singerman, Andy Boyd and Alfred Lee of The Information. Photo by Chris Fargo.

NYC Subscriber Summit

Fidelity Talks Private Tech Investing

By Tom Dotan · Apr 6, 2016 7:02am PDT

Fidelity Investments has become one of the most watched investors in private tech in the past year, taking stakes in such big names as Uber, Airbnb, WeWork and Snapchat. But Fidelity executive Andy Boyd wants to make one thing clear: mutual funds are not venture capitalists.Fidelity’s head of global capital equity markets said the firm was... Fidelity Investments has become one of the most watched investors in private tech in the past...

Jim VandeHei. Photo by Chris Fargo.

NYC Subscriber Summit

Politico’s VandeHei Blasts ‘Crap Trap’ of News Media

By Tom Dotan · Apr 5, 2016 4:15pm PDT · 3 comments

The outgoing CEO and co-founder of Politico, Jim VandeHei, blasted the news industry for falling into “crap trap” journalism aimed at amassing big audiences at the expense of substantive coverage.Mr. VandeHei made his comments during an on-stage interview at The Information’s New York Subscriber Summit on Tuesday. He is leaving... The outgoing CEO and co-founder of Politico, Jim VandeHei, blasted the news industry for falling...

From left to right: Sam Goertler, Eddie Segel, Melissa Bell and Jessica Lessin. Photo by Chris Fargo.

NYC Subscriber Summit

How Startups Are Turning Growth into Revenue

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 5, 2016 3:18pm PDT

It’s no longer enough for startups to hype how many users they have. They need to prove they’re making money, too. That was evident at a panel The Information’s New York Subscriber Summit featuring executives from Vox Media, workplace software company Asana and health insurance startup Oscar.For Asana, which raised $50... It’s no longer enough for startups to hype how many users they have. They need to prove...

Dan Doctoroff and Jessica Lessin. Photo by Chris Fargo.

Is Alphabet Going to Build a City?

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 5, 2016 10:48am PDT · 1 comment

Dan Doctoroff and Jessica Lessin. Photo by Chris Fargo.

NYC Subscriber Summit

Is Alphabet Going to Build a City?

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 5, 2016 10:48am PDT · 1 comment

In its first year of existence, the Alphabet-owned “urban innovation company” Sidewalk Labs has been working on products to improve WiFi access and traffic flows in cities. But there’s signs it has skyscraper-sized ambitions that lean towards building a city from the ground up.Sidewalk CEO Dan Doctoroff hinted as much in an... In its first year of existence, the Alphabet-owned “urban innovation company”...

Source: 7Park Data

Snapchat Now a Data Hog

By Reed Albergotti and Peter Schulz · Apr 5, 2016 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Snapchat’s U.S. fan base doesn’t appear to be growing like it was in the past—but existing users have been spending steadily more time on the app, new data shows. They’re also consuming a heck of a lot more data while on the app than they were a couple of years ago.These findings, from research firm 7Park, have both... Snapchat’s U.S. fan base doesn’t appear to be growing like it was in the...

Google's Clay Bavor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Sees AR, Not VR, as the Real Goal

By Amir Efrati · Apr 4, 2016 12:40pm PDT · 7 comments

At its developer conference in May, Google is expected to talk a lot about its plans for tailoring Android smartphones to virtual reality. But make no mistake: for Google, VR isn’t the ultimate prize—augmented reality is. Google leaders including CEO Sundar Pichai and Clay Bavor, who heads a newly formed VR unit at Google, have... At its developer conference in May, Google is expected to talk a lot about its plans for...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Information’s Latest Free Agents

By The Information Staff · Apr 4, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

When companies stall, their executives look elsewhere—sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not. That’s clear from our latest installment of Free Agents, which includes two recent defectors from Twitter, a departure from Sprint and one from Millennial Media, the faltering mobile media firm recently acquired by Verizon’s AOL.All up,... When companies stall, their executives look elsewhere—sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not....

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Key Analytics Duo Leaves Salesforce

By Steve Nellis · Apr 2, 2016 9:59am PDT

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Key Analytics Duo Leaves Salesforce

By Steve Nellis · Apr 2, 2016 9:59am PDT

A pair of startup founders that helped Salesforce.com build out its analytics cloud have left the company, Salesforce confirmed.Vijay Chakravarthy and Ryan Lange co-founded EdgeSpring, a business intelligence service for slicing and dicing data into custom reports that Salesforce purchased in 2013. EdgeSpring formed a key part of... A pair of startup founders that helped Salesforce.com build out its analytics cloud have left the...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Apr 2, 2016 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!In tech, it can be hard to figure out what’s an April Fool’s prank and what’s real even when it’s not April 1. For instance, we’re still trying to figure out if Friday’s report of Samsung’s folding smartphone was real. But as unbelievable as it may seem, all our stories are the real... Good Morning!In tech, it can be hard to figure out what’s an April Fool’s prank and...

The Information’s 411 — Symmetrical Players

By Tom Dotan · Apr 1, 2016 10:40am PDT

Stephen guest hosts this week and talks to Amir about commerce in Facebook Messenger, the obstacles for Workday and how AT&T may snub Google.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Stephen guest hosts this week and talks to Amir about commerce in Facebook Messenger, the...

My Notes from China

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 1, 2016 7:00am PDT

The U.S. is continuing to lose power as a technology trendsetter. That was one of the many takeaways that ran through my visit to China.I’ve chronicled some other observations and interviews here, here, here and here. But after more than 50 meetings at dozens of companies, I simply have too many perceptions to share in articles alone. So,... The U.S. is continuing to lose power as a technology trendsetter. That was one of the many...

Workday CEO Aneel Bhursi. Photo by Bloomberg.

In Enterprise App Store Wars, Workday is Absent

By Steve Nellis · Mar 31, 2016 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Workday CEO Aneel Bhursi. Photo by Bloomberg.

In Enterprise App Store Wars, Workday is Absent

By Steve Nellis · Mar 31, 2016 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

For modern business software providers, app stores have become a standard feature. Salesforce pioneered the practice of giving developers a shot at pitching directly to its customers with apps. Servicenow, NetSuite and Atlassian all followed. Workday, the maker of human resources and financial software, notably is absent from the list.... For modern business software providers, app stores have become a standard feature. Salesforce...

AppNexus CEO Brian O"Kelley. Photo by AP.

The Big Interview

AppNexus Tries to Bite at Google’s Heels

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 31, 2016 7:02am PDT

In the nine years since he founded ad-tech firm AppNexus, CEO Brian O’Kelley has established a reputation for blustery public pronouncements against the power wielded by digital ad-selling giants like Google. But until recently AppNexus didn’t have the weaponry in the form of digital ad selling software systems to be competitive with... In the nine years since he founded ad-tech firm AppNexus, CEO Brian O’Kelley has...

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by AP.

In Snub to Google, AT&T Looks to Sell Alternative Android Phone

By Amir Efrati · Mar 30, 2016 7:02am PDT · 11 comments

AT&T has recently discussed selling a smartphone powered by an alternative version of Android, the operating system developed by Google, according to one person with direct knowledge and one person briefed about the talks. If the proposed phone sells, it could weaken Google’s control of Android in the U.S. and set back its efforts to... AT&T has recently discussed selling a smartphone powered by an alternative version of...

Information Score = More Optimistic - Less Optimistic

Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Sentiment Towards Tech Improves

By Peter Schulz and Martin Peers · Mar 29, 2016 10:01am PDT

Sentiment among our subscribers towards tech, particularly private firms like Snapchat and Dropbox, improved markedly in the past month, according to our latest subscriber survey.The turnaround suggested that pessimism sparked at least partly by the market sell-off around the start of the year may be lifting. The survey also showed that optimism... Sentiment among our subscribers towards tech, particularly private firms like Snapchat and...

Wang Xiang. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Xiaomi’s New IP Guy

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 29, 2016 7:01am PDT

Wang Xiang. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Big Interview

Xiaomi’s New IP Guy

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 29, 2016 7:01am PDT

BEIJING—There’s no shortage of questions hanging over Xiaomi, one of the most highly valued—and in my opinion, one of the most ambitious—private companies on the planet. After vaulting to a leading position in the Chinese smartphone market, can it maintain its momentum as the country’s growth slows? Can it make... BEIJING—There’s no shortage of questions hanging over Xiaomi, one of the most highly...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Why Tech Needs Epic Failures

By Sam Lessin · Mar 28, 2016 10:00am PDT · 4 comments

If you were to read the headlines about big technology company launches over the last few years, things might look pretty bleak. There have been a lot of epic failures.Apple’s Watch, the Amazon’s Kindle Fire phone, Google’s repeated forays into social, Facebook’s Home, Paper, and Indian Free Basics initiative—they... If you were to read the headlines about big technology company launches over the last few years,...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Messenger Prepares In-Store Purchase Service

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 28, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to become a marketplace, including an unreleased feature that lets people use the app to buy things in stores.Other new features hinted at in the software include “secret conversations,” presumably a reference to encrypted chats, something now... Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 26, 2016 8:00am PDT

Happy Easter!What a week! We really got the tech world talking this week with a couple of blockbuster exclusives. Happy Easter!What a week! We really got the tech world talking this week with a couple of...

The Information’s 411 — Many Hats

By Tom Dotan · Mar 25, 2016 7:10pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Many Hats

By Tom Dotan · Mar 25, 2016 7:10pm PDT

Reed Albergotti comes on to discuss Nest and its struggles and what that says about the broader hardware industry.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Reed Albergotti comes on to discuss Nest and its struggles and what that says about the broader...