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

The Information’s 411 — Snap Analogies and Judgments

By Tom Dotan · May 12, 2017 12:37pm PDT

Amir talks about turnover in Uber's litigation team and he and Tom discuss Snap's earnings call. Plus Martin compares Evan's Yahoo-Facebook analogy to a tech moment of the past. Amir talks about turnover in Uber's litigation team and he and Tom discuss Snap's...

Shen Hao, former president of 21st Century Media, convicted of extortion two years ago. Photo by AP.

In China, Fake (Business) News Makes the Truth Hard to Find

By Shen Xinmei · May 12, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

There’s a media boom in China. Amateur journalists and ex-reporters are setting up accounts in social media platforms and news aggregators to self-publish stories—bringing with it a rash of fake news. But this kind of fake news is aimed at taking down companies, not politicians.“Hei gao,” or black drafts in Chinese, are... There’s a media boom in China. Amateur journalists and ex-reporters are setting up accounts...

A smartphone app for Chinese auto information website Yiche.com, formerly called Bitauto.com, whose parent company is a big shareholder in Yixin. Photo by AP.

Tencent-backed Chinese Car-Financing Firm Plans $5 Billion IPO

By Juro Osawa · May 11, 2017 9:23am PDT

A Chinese online auto-financing marketplace backed by local tech giants Tencent, Baidu and JD.com, is planning a Hong Kong IPO that could value the company at nearly $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.Yixin Capital, a closely-held arm of U.S.-listed Chinese online car information portal Bitauto, could go public as early as the end... A Chinese online auto-financing marketplace backed by local tech giants Tencent, Baidu and...

Facebook's Building 20 at its Menlo Park campus. Photo by Facebook.

When Tech Workers Sit as Far as the Eye Can See

By Cory Weinberg · May 11, 2017 7:01am PDT · 11 comments

Facebook's Building 20 at its Menlo Park campus. Photo by Facebook.

When Tech Workers Sit as Far as the Eye Can See

By Cory Weinberg · May 11, 2017 7:01am PDT · 11 comments

Some Facebook employees have a not-so-affectionate nickname for the Menlo Park building that houses its most important employee groups and executives: “the factory.” Spanning nearly 10 acres and housing 2,800 employees in one giant, dimly lit room, it’s typical of a new wave of Silicon Valley architecture. But what’s... Some Facebook employees have a not-so-affectionate nickname for the Menlo Park building that...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy at the New York Stock Exchange when Snap went public earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Long Can Snap Stick to the Story?

By Tom Dotan · May 10, 2017 4:15pm PDT · 3 comments

With a little bit of hand waving and a pretty good crack about Yahoo on Wednesday, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel tried to make the point to investors that its disappointing first quarter earnings was nothing to be too worried about.Sure, the weak user growth wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the alarming slowdown the company saw last summer.... With a little bit of hand waving and a pretty good crack about Yahoo on Wednesday, Snap CEO Evan...

Uber's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by AP.

Uber Fired Lawyers Amid Debate Over Data Retention Policy

By Amir Efrati · May 10, 2017 1:33pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber fired two in-house lawyers before New Year’s after an internal debate over a proposed change in Uber’s policy related to how long internal documents and other company data are retained, according to people briefed about the episode. The lawyers went outside the company to get advice from several law firms, a move Uber deemed a... Uber fired two in-house lawyers before New Year’s after an internal debate over a proposed...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cisco’s Startup Shopping List

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 10, 2017 7:02am PDT

Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins’ corporate shopping spree shows no signs of ending. He has lately kicked the tires of several startups in storage, security and networking software, looking to upgrade Cisco’s product portfolio with new technology tied into cloud computing. The tire-kicking has led to at least one previously... Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins’ corporate shopping spree shows no signs of ending. He has...

Art by Sam Lessin.

The Wrinkle In Forecasting Autonomous Cars

By Sam Lessin · May 9, 2017 7:02am PDT · 12 comments

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The Wrinkle In Forecasting Autonomous Cars

By Sam Lessin · May 9, 2017 7:02am PDT · 12 comments

Onstage at TED last week, Elon Musk made the very bold proclamation that in about two years, Tesla owners will be able to go to sleep at the start of a drive and wake up at their destination.While I applaud his showmanship and acute engineering recruiting tactics, I think he is dead wrong—and am willing to very publicly take the... Onstage at TED last week, Elon Musk made the very bold proclamation that in about two years,...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Negotiating Big SF Office Expansion

By Cory Weinberg · May 8, 2017 10:57am PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb is deep in negotiations for what would be the biggest office lease in San Francisco this year, according to two people familiar with the matter. It would also make Airbnb one of the biggest office tenants in San Francisco, giving it room to grow as it heads toward a possible IPO next year.The company is in talks to lease at about 250,000... Airbnb is deep in negotiations for what would be the biggest office lease in San Francisco this...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

How BuzzFeed Is Betting on Tasty for IPO

By Tom Dotan · May 8, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

BuzzFeed is aiming for a 35% jump in revenue this year to around $350 million, as it tries to show investors that it can maintain strong growth while keeping costs low, according to two people familiar with the matter. Among sources of growth are its video ads business and e-commerce efforts like book sales, say people familiar with the... BuzzFeed is aiming for a 35% jump in revenue this year to around $350 million, as it tries to...

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: 09 - Have We Reached The Limits of VC? - Bryce Roberts of OATV & Indie.vc

By Sam Lessin · May 7, 2017 12:10pm PDT

Bryce, a co-founder of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Indie.vc joins, to talk about the limits of traditional venture capital. What can / can’t traditional venture capital support in terms of company building in 2017? What are some financing alternatives? Bryce, a co-founder of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Indie.vc joins, to talk about...

ESPN chief John Skipper. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · May 6, 2017 8:02am PDT

ESPN chief John Skipper. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · May 6, 2017 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!Apple has begun moving employees into its spaceship-like new headquarters. The thing that people are most excited about, though, is the observatory showing its giant cash pile. Good Morning!Apple has begun moving employees into its spaceship-like new headquarters. The thing...

The Information’s 411 — Hopping from Bubble to Bubble

By Tom Dotan · May 5, 2017 4:25pm PDT

Jessica returns to the podcast to talk about the (non) relationship between Silicon Valley and DC. And Kevin talks about Google's moves in Southeast Asia and Tom's story about the future of sports media. Jessica returns to the podcast to talk about the (non) relationship between Silicon Valley and...

The U.S. Capitol. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Valley’s ‘Wait and See’ Approach to D.C.

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 5, 2017 9:41am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, I traveled to the belly of—if not the beast, certainly the news cycle—with a trip to Washington, D.C. And one theme jumped out at me loud and clear: Under the new administration, Silicon Valley is keeping its distance from Washington.Lobbyists once courted by startups in regulatory hotbeds like fintech say they’re... Last week, I traveled to the belly of—if not the beast, certainly the news cycle—with...

Slack VP of Product April Underwood, who oversees Slack’s investment fund. Photo by Karen Obrist.

The Hazards of Raising Money from a Startup

By Eugene Kim · May 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

When Slack launched an $80 million fund to invest in startups for its messaging service in late 2015, Awesome.ai was one of three firms that were the first to get funding. It was also the first to shut down.The startup, which made a chatbot that lets teams share work updates through Slack, ran out of cash after eight months and couldn’t... When Slack launched an $80 million fund to invest in startups for its messaging service in late...

Google's Mountain View headquarters. Photo by AP.

Labor Board to Hear Employee Complaint Against Google

By Reed Albergotti · May 3, 2017 12:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Google's Mountain View headquarters. Photo by AP.

Labor Board to Hear Employee Complaint Against Google

By Reed Albergotti · May 3, 2017 12:01pm PDT · 1 comment

A Google employee who complained to the National Labor Relations Board about the company’s confidentiality policies last year has won the first round of a case with broad implications for the tech industry.A regional director of the NLRB last Friday filed a complaint against Google, alleging the company’s rules against employees... A Google employee who complained to the National Labor Relations Board about the company’s...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alphabet Shutting Asian Service That Sped YouTube

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 3, 2017 9:08am PDT · 1 comment

Alphabet is shuttering Accelerator, a year old-service designed to speed streaming performance of popular YouTube videos in Asian countries with slow Internet access, according to a person who has worked on the project. Alphabet wants to focus on Google Station, a more recently developed effort meant to be introduced in more countries, said a... Alphabet is shuttering Accelerator, a year old-service designed to speed streaming performance of...

Dave Waiser, Gett CEO. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

The Big Interview

How Gett-Juno Deal Could Shake Up NY’s Ride-Hailing Market

By Amir Efrati · May 3, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Europe-focused ride-hailing firm Gett strengthened a foothold in the U.S. with last week’s $200 million all-stock acquisition of New York ride-sharing firm Juno. Now, the firm sees a U.S. expansion beyond New York on the horizon, according to Gett CEO Dave Waiser.“History shows there’s room for three or four national players in... Europe-focused ride-hailing firm Gett strengthened a foothold in the U.S. with last week’s...

Sinovation founder Kai-Fu Lee. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Big Interview

China’s Kai-fu Lee on Why the U.S. Could Fall Behind in AI

By Shai Oster · May 2, 2017 10:01am PDT · 5 comments

One of the best-known Chinese tech investors, Kai-fu Lee, predicts that AI-driven advances like self-driving cars will be widely deployed in China before the U.S., thanks to more welcoming government regulators and greater social acceptance. And because machines learn by getting exposure to more and more examples, if they’re used first in... One of the best-known Chinese tech investors, Kai-fu Lee, predicts that AI-driven advances like...

Dan Rose, Facebook's vice president of partnerships, in charge of maintaining healthy relationships with media companies. Photo by Bloomberg.

Media Execs Wary of Facebook’s Video Ad Plans

By Cory Weinberg · May 2, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Dan Rose, Facebook's vice president of partnerships, in charge of maintaining healthy relationships with media companies. Photo by Bloomberg.

Media Execs Wary of Facebook’s Video Ad Plans

By Cory Weinberg · May 2, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Facebook is slowly allowing more publishers to insert ads into the middle of video clips running on the social network. But among media and ad executives, doubts persist about whether the 15-second mid-roll “ad breaks” will make enough business sense to persuade media companies to produce longer videos.Among the concerns is the... Facebook is slowly allowing more publishers to insert ads into the middle of video clips running...