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

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Recent Editions

San Francisco mayoral candidate and Board of Supervisors President London Breed. Photo: AP

Tech Money Looms Over Race for San Francisco Mayor

By Cory Weinberg · May 16, 2018 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Emmett Shear moved to San Francisco more than a decade ago. His time in the city has been lucrative. His video livestream startup Justin.tv amassed a cult-like following, pivoted into a gaming platform called Twitch, and then was sold to Amazon for nearly $970 million in cash. But Mr. Shear, who is still Twitch’s CEO, says he doesn’t... Emmett Shear moved to San Francisco more than a decade ago. His time in the city has been...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How Sonos Played Patent Hardball to Strike Google Deal

By Aaron Tilley · May 16, 2018 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Sonos had a big announcement last October: Its new voice-activated speaker would be the first to work with both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. What hasn’t been reported is that Sonos achieved this by using its patent portfolio to play hardball with Google.The tech giant previously had resisted allowing Google Assistant to work... Sonos had a big announcement last October: Its new voice-activated speaker would be the first to...

An employee packages a product at the Amazon Fulfillment center in Robbinsville Township, N.J. Photo: AP

To Bypass UPS, Amazon Mimics Uber Tactics

By Priya Anand · May 15, 2018 10:01am PDT · 7 comments

Amazon has rapidly expanded same-day and overnight delivery service in recent years, an expensive proposition for the online retailer. To control rising costs, the company has enlisted hundreds of thousands of independent drivers who use their own cars to deliver packages to consumers. The driver initiative, dubbed Flex, is one of the ways in... Amazon has rapidly expanded same-day and overnight delivery service in recent years, an expensive...

Source: BoxOfficeMojo

How Fate of Fox Affects Future of Hollywood

By Matt Pressberg · May 15, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Source: BoxOfficeMojo

How Fate of Fox Affects Future of Hollywood

By Matt Pressberg · May 15, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Disney and Comcast are in a high-stakes showdown for control of Fox. Beyond Fox’s cable channels and its vast film and TV library of old movies and TV shows, the winner gets control of Fox’s valuable movie franchises, such as X-Men. And that could help determine whether Comcast’s Universal can catch up to Disney’s share... Disney and Comcast are in a high-stakes showdown for control of Fox. Beyond Fox’s cable...

Hillhouse founder Zhang Lei. Photo by Bloomberg.

Dogs (and Cats) Are Next Big Thing for China’s Hillhouse

By Yunan Zhang · May 14, 2018 10:01am PDT

Hillhouse Capital Group, one of China's most prominent venture capital and private equity firms, struck gold by investing early in today's tech giants including Tencent, Didi Chuxing and Meituan. Now it’s added a new focus: pets. The firm has acquired more than 500 veterinary clinics, including five pet hospital chains, over the... Hillhouse Capital Group, one of China's most prominent venture capital and private equity...

Art by Mike Sullivan

In One VC Sector, Women Are Gaining Ground

By Serena Saitto · May 14, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

While women still represent only about 15% of decision makers at Silicon Valley’s major venture capital firms, another subset of the industry, corporate venture capital, has a higher proportion of women calling the shots.At least four of the 20 biggest corporate venture capital funds, including those operated by Comcast, Time Warner, GE... While women still represent only about 15% of decision makers at Silicon Valley’s major...

The Information’s 411 — Uber’s Got 99 Problems

By Tom Dotan · May 11, 2018 1:42pm PDT

Juro explains how the ride-hailing market in Brazil turned into a proxy war between Didi and Uber. Alfred explores the bank in San Diego that's at the center of the cryptocurrency market. Juro explains how the ride-hailing market in Brazil turned into a proxy war between Didi and...

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff. Photo by Flickr/Christopher Michel

How Amazon’s Latest Security Device Let People Spy on You

By Reed Albergotti · May 11, 2018 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff. Photo by Flickr/Christopher Michel

How Amazon’s Latest Security Device Let People Spy on You

By Reed Albergotti · May 11, 2018 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

In January, Miami resident Jesus Echezarreta’s ex-boyfriend told him he needed to walk his dog more. Taken aback, Mr. Echezarreta asked how he would know that. It turned out it his ex was checking up on him through Mr. Echezarreta’s camera-equipped doorbell, made by Amazon-owned Ring. Ring’s software allowed people who... In January, Miami resident Jesus Echezarreta’s ex-boyfriend told him he needed to walk his...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Tech’s New Housing Frontier: Furniture on the Ceiling

By Cory Weinberg · May 10, 2018 10:02am PDT

One of the more out-there experiments in how the tech industry wants to shape the future of housing will kick off this summer in San Francisco’s South Park neighborhood, which is dotted with venture capital offices. In some small apartments in a renovated building, beds, closets and cabinets will hang from the ceiling like light fixtures,... One of the more out-there experiments in how the tech industry wants to shape the future of...

One of 99's taxis. Photo by Thetechnews.com

How Didi Launched a Brazilian Beachhead in Uber’s Backyard

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · May 10, 2018 7:00am PDT

Two years ago, Uber, already dominant in Brazil, considered buying a small local rival called 99. But then-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wasn’t interested. He believed Uber could crush 99 instead.That left an opening for Uber’s archrival, China’s Didi Chuxing, to establish a beachhead in Uber’s second largest market and to... Two years ago, Uber, already dominant in Brazil, considered buying a small local rival called 99....

A Walmart manager demonstrating how customers can pick up online orders. Photo by AP

Walmart and Target Take Page From Amazon’s Cloud Playbook

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 9, 2018 12:31pm PDT · 1 comment

Walmart and Target have decided that the best way to compete with Amazon in shopping is to follow its playbook in the cloud.Both companies are switching to cheap unbranded “white box” servers running open-source software for their data centers, instead of equipment made by firms like Dell or Hewlett Packard Enterprise, said a person... Walmart and Target have decided that the best way to compete with Amazon in shopping is to follow...

Photo by Silvergate Bank

Meet the San Diego Bank That Handles Most of the Cryptocurrency Industry

By Alfred Lee · May 9, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Silvergate Bank

Meet the San Diego Bank That Handles Most of the Cryptocurrency Industry

By Alfred Lee · May 9, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Silvergate Bank of San Diego describes itself as a community bank, with clients that include a nearby chain of milkshake stores and a local architectural firm. But in the past year, Silvergate has taken on a new role: the go-to bank for the cryptocurrency industry.Most U.S. banks steer clear of companies involved with digital currencies, which... Silvergate Bank of San Diego describes itself as a community bank, with clients that include a...

How Media Startups Stack Up on Revenue Per Employee

By Tom Dotan and Mike Sullivan · May 8, 2018 11:32am PDT · 2 comments

If there’s one constant among the most prominent digital media startups, it’s that they all generate about the same amount of revenue on a per-employee basis—regardless of how big they are.That’s what emerged from a study The Information did of eight firms, ranging from BuzzFeed to Vox Media, Axios and Refinery29. The... If there’s one constant among the most prominent digital media startups, it’s that...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Venmo Trust and The Blockchain

By Sam Lessin · May 8, 2018 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

One of the ideas I am most proud of contributing to was “Trust” on Venmo. Part of Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail’s original version of Venmo, the idea was to allow people who signed up for Venmo to “trust” (vs. friend or follow) other users. That gave the trusted person the ability to withdraw money from... One of the ideas I am most proud of contributing to was “Trust” on Venmo. Part of...

A shot from an ABC TV station in Tempe, Arizona, after an Uber self-driving car killed a pedestrian. Photo by AP.

Uber Finds Deadly Accident Likely Caused By Software Set to Ignore Objects On Road

By Amir Efrati · May 7, 2018 9:48am PDT · 6 comments

Uber has determined that the likely cause of a fatal collision involving one of its prototype self-driving cars in Arizona in March was a problem with the software that decides how the car should react to objects it detects, according to two people briefed about the matter.The car’s sensors detected the pedestrian, who was crossing... Uber has determined that the likely cause of a fatal collision involving one of its prototype...

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Microsoft’s Cortana Faces Uphill Battle Winning Over Developers

By Priya Anand · May 7, 2018 7:01am PDT

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Microsoft’s Cortana Faces Uphill Battle Winning Over Developers

By Priya Anand · May 7, 2018 7:01am PDT

Until very recently, developers who wanted to add a skill to Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana had to fill out a roughly 30-line form and paste it into an email to the Cortana team, with links to their privacy policies and terms and conditions. Then they had to wait for sometimes weeks to get feedback and final approval. Amazon’s... Until very recently, developers who wanted to add a skill to Microsoft’s digital assistant...

The Information’s 411 — Lyfted Expectations

By Tom Dotan · May 4, 2018 2:06pm PDT

On an all ride-hailing episode, Amir talks about Lyft's missed opportunities to win share from Uber. Reed discusses why neither Uber and Lyft monitor whether their drivers have dealt with recall notices. On an all ride-hailing episode, Amir talks about Lyft's missed opportunities to win share...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Facing Free Speech Challenges, Social Media Firms Say They Need More Time

By Matt Drange · May 4, 2018 12:06pm PDT · 1 comment

If the 2016 election taught social media platforms anything about their responsibility to prevent the spread of malicious disinformation, the companies still aren’t sure what, exactly, to do about it.At least that was the consensus at a panel discussion Thursday night at Stanford University, featuring high-profile policy and communications... If the 2016 election taught social media platforms anything about their responsibility to prevent...

The New York Stock Exchange on the day that Spotify went public. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Uber and Airbnb Should Copy Spotify with a Direct Listing

By Serena Saitto · May 4, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

A month after debuting on the New York Stock Exchange by going public without selling new shares—an unprecedented direct listing—it is clear that Spotify’s experiment was a success. The Swedish music streaming company is trading 21% higher than where its stock traded in the private market immediately before its public listing.... A month after debuting on the New York Stock Exchange by going public without selling new...

Naveen Rao. Art by Mike Sullivan

Intel’s AI Chief Says Chip Giant “Has to Shift”

By Aaron Tilley · May 3, 2018 10:02am PDT

Naveen Rao. Art by Mike Sullivan

The Big Interview

Intel’s AI Chief Says Chip Giant “Has to Shift”

By Aaron Tilley · May 3, 2018 10:02am PDT

Soon after Intel spent $400 million to buy Nervana, a startup building artificial intelligence hardware and software, Nervana CEO Naveen Rao had a run-in with his new colleagues. Executives of Intel’s data center group balked at the idea of selling Nervana’s specialized AI chip for servers, Mr. Rao said in an interview. Instead, the... Soon after Intel spent $400 million to buy Nervana, a startup building artificial intelligence...