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

Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, the creators and stars of Smosh. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

Defy Media Contemplating a Sale

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2016 5:00am PST

Online video firm Defy Media, a maker of comedic web videos mostly aimed at young men, is in discussions that could lead to either a capital raising or a sale, said a person close to the company.Any deal could give Defy, or any acquirer, much-needed extra scale with content and audiences, which is crucial for drawing advertising dollars. Even... Online video firm Defy Media, a maker of comedic web videos mostly aimed at young men, is in...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Losses Grow, But So Do Its Profit Projections

By Amir Efrati · Jan 11, 2016 5:13pm PST · 1 comment

Uber’s losses grew to nearly a billion dollars in the first half of last year, nearly 50% more than its full-year losses in 2014, according to confidential documents issued by the company as part of financing efforts last year. Net revenue in the first half of 2015 was $663 million, the documents showed. (Scroll down to see the documents.)... Uber’s losses grew to nearly a billion dollars in the first half of last year, nearly 50%...

Be The Information’s China Bureau Chief

By The Information Staff · Jan 11, 2016 7:36am PST · 2 comments

About UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication known for original, in-depth reporting about the technology industry. We’re the go-to daily read for the most important people in technology and business and are building a one-of-a kind online and offline community of subscribers.Job DescriptionOur China bureau chief... About UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication known for original,...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Inside Uber’s Mission Impossible in China

By Amir Efrati · Jan 11, 2016 7:01am PST · 7 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Inside Uber’s Mission Impossible in China

By Amir Efrati · Jan 11, 2016 7:01am PST · 7 comments

When trying to explain why Uber probably won’t beat its main ride-sharing rival in China, it’s hard to know where to begin.UberChina’s Series B fundraising effort has been a long struggle, with many institutional investors in China frightened by UberChina’s losses as well as broader economic troubles in the country,... When trying to explain why Uber probably won’t beat its main ride-sharing rival in China,...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jan 9, 2016 8:01am PST

Good morning!Strap on your seat belts. We’re only one week into 2016 and it’s already clear things are going to be bumpy. This week saw the Chinese stock market selling off, followed by the rest of the world including the U.S. Some tech stocks were affected more than others: Twitter stock fell below $20 for the first time on Friday. Good morning!Strap on your seat belts. We’re only one week into 2016 and it’s already...

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 — War Games

By Tom Dotan · Jan 8, 2016 1:19pm PST

In the first podcast of the year, Jessica dropped in to talk about her weekly column, which took a hard look at the problem of gender diversity in Silicon Valley. And it started from an interesting observation about The Information’s subscriber base.Then Reed explained our latest data-driven project, The Information’s Insider List,... In the first podcast of the year, Jessica dropped in to talk about her weekly column, which took...

The Information subscribers at a London event in November. Photo by David Yiu.

A Hard Truth about Women in Tech

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 8, 2016 7:00am PST · 3 comments

A few weeks ago, our engineer Pete was walking our team through recent tests to acquire new subscribers via Twitter and Facebook ads. He noted that across our Facebook ads, our cost per acquisition for women was 40% higher than for men. A few weeks ago, our engineer Pete was walking our team through recent tests to acquire new...

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, left. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft, Stripe in Talks on Dropbox’s SF Office Space

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 7, 2016 12:59pm PST

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, left. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft, Stripe in Talks on Dropbox’s SF Office Space

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 7, 2016 12:59pm PST

Fast-growing startups Lyft and Stripe are in negotiations with real estate brokers and property managers to sublease Dropbox’s soon-to-be-obsolete headquarters in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, according to multiple people close to the deals.Dropbox is moving to bigger space—295,000 square feet across two new... Fast-growing startups Lyft and Stripe are in negotiations with real estate brokers and property...

Art by Jeff Greco. Photos by Bloomberg.

Introducing the Insider List

By Reed Albergotti · Jan 7, 2016 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Eric Schmidt, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are each associated with three of the most successful tech companies of the past few decades. But each are also prolific angel investors, extending their influence into a wide array of new companies across a variety of industries.With investments in at least 104 companies among them, the three top a list... Eric Schmidt, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are each associated with three of the most successful...

How Conflict Policies Compare

How Conflict Policies Compare

By Reed Albergotti · Jan 7, 2016 6:59am PST

Amazon, Google and its new parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook each have policies in place governing employee relationships with business partners, vendors and competitors. The policies vary widely. Some give employees very specific guidelines and others give employees broad principles to follow. Some of the companies make clear in... Amazon, Google and its new parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook each have policies in...

MEC's Shenan Reed. Photo by Flickr.

Time Based Ads Fail to Take Off

By Tom Dotan · Jan 6, 2016 2:09pm PST · 2 comments

A year ago, The Financial Times and The Economist made waves when they announced they would charge some advertisers based on how long readers spent on a Web page with an ad in view, rather than the number of people who saw the ad. It was a sign of hope for some in the online publishing industry, who saw this metric as a way to reward the sites... A year ago, The Financial Times and The Economist made waves when they announced they would...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Comcast Makes Key Hire for Mobile Phone Service

By Amir Efrati · Jan 6, 2016 11:42am PST

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Comcast Makes Key Hire for Mobile Phone Service

By Amir Efrati · Jan 6, 2016 11:42am PST

Comcast has hired an executive from Sprint to help with a key part of its planned new mobile phone service, dealing with smartphone manufacturers.Doug Kaufman, who joined Comcast in November, had been responsible for buying millions of devices each year that would then be sold to Sprint’s customers. He’s expected to help Comcast... Comcast has hired an executive from Sprint to help with a key part of its planned new mobile...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by AP.

Facebook Faces Hurdles in Messenger Push

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 6, 2016 7:01am PST · 9 comments

Customers of clothing maker Everlane might have seen a promotion for free two-day shipping just days before Christmas in an unusual place: Facebook’s Messenger app. For months, a handful of companies such as Everlane, children’s clothes maker Zulily and Hyatt Hotels Corp. have captured attention by fielding customer service questions... Customers of clothing maker Everlane might have seen a promotion for free two-day shipping just...

McKesson Ventures managing partner Tom Rodgers. Photo by McKesson.

The Big Interview

A Health Care Giant’s Plan to Outlast Venture Capital

By Steve Nellis · Jan 5, 2016 11:51am PST · 1 comment

To date, there hasn’t been a huge string of hits from Silicon Valley’s top venture firms in digital health. That’s partly because the typical venture capitalist has a five to 10 year investing time horizon. But getting new technology adopted in places like hospitals requires thousands upon thousands of employees to change their... To date, there hasn’t been a huge string of hits from Silicon Valley’s top venture...

Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

2016 Predictions

Oracle Will Buy a Database Startup

By Steve Nellis · Jan 5, 2016 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Recently, I was visiting an enterprise-focused VC firm when one of the partners told me something striking: Out of all the startups in the firm’s portfolio, only one had decided to build its software atop Oracle’s databases. And that startup was having trouble.That anecdote confirmed what analysts have predicted. Oracle Corp.,... Recently, I was visiting an enterprise-focused VC firm when one of the partners told me...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Personal Voice Analysis for the New Year

By Sam Lessin · Jan 4, 2016 10:02am PST · 1 comment

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Personal Voice Analysis for the New Year

By Sam Lessin · Jan 4, 2016 10:02am PST · 1 comment

In the past several years I have participated in the chorus of people railing against phone calls. People dislike them because they aren’t asynchronous, and they don’t allow for the depth of in-person exchanges.So I decided to run some analysis of my phone calling behavior over the last 14 months (the longest period of call records I... In the past several years I have participated in the chorus of people railing against phone...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Android Contingency Planning

By Amir Efrati · Jan 4, 2016 7:00am PST · 4 comments

Facebook has been secretly preparing contingency measures to allow its apps to operate on Android phones without going through Google’s app store, according to people who have been involved in different parts of the strategy.Facebook’s goal is to be ready in case it has an intractable conflict with Google, which operates the Android... Facebook has been secretly preparing contingency measures to allow its apps to operate on Android...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Considered Push into Open-Source Android Phones

By Amir Efrati · Jan 4, 2016 7:00am PST

As Facebook has prepared for the possibility of being removed from Google Play app store on Android phones, it also has contemplated an intriguing push to integrate itself with Android phones that aren’t controlled by Google, a small but significant percentage of the total Android ecosystem.Toward the end of 2015, Facebook was looking at... As Facebook has prepared for the possibility of being removed from Google Play app store on...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jan 2, 2016 8:02am PST

Good Morning!Get ready. The two week year-end hiatus is ending. It’s time to get back to work. At The Information, we’re looking forward to 2016. And we’re kicking it off with a bang next week. Stay tuned. Good Morning!Get ready. The two week year-end hiatus is ending. It’s time to get back to...

Photo by AP.

What to Read in 2016

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 1, 2016 8:01am PST · 3 comments

Photo by AP.

What to Read in 2016

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 1, 2016 8:01am PST · 3 comments

Happy 2016 to you and your families! For as long as I can remember, my New Year’s resolution has been to read more books. That makes our annual survey of The Information subscribers’ favorite books a real treat.This year, subscribers’ picks were heavy on history. What is it about this moment that has technology leaders turning... Happy 2016 to you and your families! For as long as I can remember, my New Year’s...