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

Lyft President John Zimmer. Photo by Bloomberg.

When Will Lyft Deliver?

By Amir Efrati · Nov 17, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Lyft has been developing a package delivery service, similar to an offering from Uber called UberRush, said people with knowledge of the effort. The big question, though, is whether Lyft will launch it.Executives at Lyft have long debated whether to start a delivery service and it’s not clear whether they have made up their minds. Lyft... Lyft has been developing a package delivery service, similar to an offering from Uber called...

Amazon's senior vice president of devices, David Limp, launching the Echo in London in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

Bezos Ordered Alexa App Push

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 16, 2016 10:01am PST · 3 comments

Early this year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos became frustrated that there weren’t enough applications available for Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant. So, in a meeting with the Alexa team, he urged employees to speed up certifying these apps, known as Alexa Skills, said a former Amazon employee who was in the meeting.The number of Skills... Early this year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos became frustrated that there weren’t enough...

Apple executive Jimmy Iovine. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Sends Mixed Signals to Hollywood

By Tom Dotan · Nov 16, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Earlier this year, Apple executives met with representatives for comedian Chris Rock about a potential video deal, according to two people familiar with the discussions. It was just one example of the kind of meetings Apple executives have been having since they announced they would finance original programming for Apple TV a year ago.The... Earlier this year, Apple executives met with representatives for comedian Chris Rock about a...

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, SEC Filings

Where Facebook Leads Alphabet, Apple and Amazon

By Kevin McLaughlin and Peter Schulz · Nov 15, 2016 10:00am PST · 10 comments

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, SEC Filings

Where Facebook Leads Alphabet, Apple and Amazon

By Kevin McLaughlin and Peter Schulz · Nov 15, 2016 10:00am PST · 10 comments

If there was an award for companies that create stock market value with the fewest employees, Facebook would easily win it.The social network company has become one of the biggest companies trading on the public markets, with a market capitalization of more than $330 billion. Yet, as of Dec. 31, it employed just 12,000 people, far fewer than... If there was an award for companies that create stock market value with the fewest employees,...

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the Republican National Convention. Photo by Bloomberg.

Republicans in Congress Say Trump Won’t Cool Relationship with Tech

By Reed Albergotti · Nov 15, 2016 7:00am PST · 2 comments

As Silicon Valley comes to terms with Hillary Clinton’s loss, Republican lawmakers and tech entrepreneurs are rekindling relationships that will be key to pushing forward on hot-button issues like startup taxes and repatriation of overseas cash.One of the key relationship builders is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a congressman... As Silicon Valley comes to terms with Hillary Clinton’s loss, Republican lawmakers and tech...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Tries to Grow by the Beach

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 14, 2016 10:01am PST · 4 comments

Vacasa, a Portland, Oregon-based startup, manages about 4,300 vacation homes around the world in ski towns like Beaver Creek, Colorado, and beachside villages around the Mediterranean Sea. And for the first time next year, the company plans to start listing some of its homes on Airbnb.It’s the sort of business Airbnb needs to win to... Vacasa, a Portland, Oregon-based startup, manages about 4,300 vacation homes around the world in...

Source: Portfolio reports

VC Returns Slid This Year

By Alfred Lee · Nov 14, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

A slowdown in private tech valuations over the past year took a sizeable bite out of venture capital returns, a review of public records show. Many high-profile VC firms, including True Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Foundry Group, saw long-term returns of some funds shrink.Broadly speaking, the data confirms the findings of previously... A slowdown in private tech valuations over the past year took a sizeable bite out of venture...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 12, 2016 8:01am PST

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 12, 2016 8:01am PST

Good Morning!Of all the fake news circulating online in recent weeks, it seems the biggest whopper was that Hillary had the edge! Good Morning!Of all the fake news circulating online in recent weeks, it seems the biggest...

The Information’s 411 — A Cat and Mouse Game

By Reed Albergotti · Nov 11, 2016 11:22am PST

Reed and Amir discuss what a Trump presidency could mean for tech, from immigration to jobs to influence in Washington. Then Jessica argues why Facebook shouldn't step in to stop the spread of fake news articles. Reed and Amir discuss what a Trump presidency could mean for tech, from immigration to jobs to...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook and the Fake News Red Herring

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 11, 2016 7:00am PST · 16 comments

A solid percentage of the seemingly endless number of election post-mortems, at least from the half of America disappointed by the result, are reaching a similar conclusion. Blame Facebook. The social network, which has propagated a rash of outright fake or blatantly misleading news, is an easy target. And for reasons I will get to later, I... A solid percentage of the seemingly endless number of election post-mortems, at least from the...

AT&T Randall Stephenson and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Holds AT&T Back in Battle with Netflix and Amazon

By Martin Peers · Nov 10, 2016 10:01am PST · 3 comments

If Donald Trump follows through on his promise to block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, the telecom firm will escape a potentially disastrous combination with a company whose TV business faces long term declines. But in the near term, AT&T will miss out on the profit boost Time Warner would have given it.And that has implications... If Donald Trump follows through on his promise to block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner,...

Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Toughest Tech CEO Job in India

By Amir Efrati · Nov 10, 2016 7:01am PST

Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal. Photo by Bloomberg.

Q&A

The Toughest Tech CEO Job in India

By Amir Efrati · Nov 10, 2016 7:01am PST

Binny Bansal carries the weight of India’s web sector on his shoulders. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Flipkart, the country’s most prominent homegrown web company, an e-commerce firm whose mistakes allowed Amazon.com to catch up to it in terms of sales. Flipkart, once valued at as much as $15 billion, has a symbolic... Binny Bansal carries the weight of India’s web sector on his shoulders. He’s the...

Andrew McAfee. Photo by Flickr/Gordon Haff.

Q&A

Why Tech Must Get Ahead of Jobs Debate

By Tom Dotan · Nov 9, 2016 11:18am PST · 6 comments

The movement that catapulted Donald Trump into the presidency Tuesday was heavily rooted in concerns that immigration and trade was hurting the U.S. job market. But a future version of Mr. Trump will rail against robots rather than immigrants, according to Andrew McAfee, the co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. He has... The movement that catapulted Donald Trump into the presidency Tuesday was heavily rooted in...

President-elect Trump arriving on stage during an election night party in New York on Tuesday night. Photo by Bloomberg.

Trump Victory Could Mean Tougher Times for Tech

By Cory Weinberg and Reed Albergotti · Nov 9, 2016 7:02am PST · 9 comments

Donald Trump’s stunning victory in Tuesday’s presidential election foreshadows a massive shakeup for the American economy with far-reaching ramifications for the tech sector. These include tighter restrictions on immigration, pressure to hire more American workers, tougher attitudes to mergers and a weaker stock market that could... Donald Trump’s stunning victory in Tuesday’s presidential election foreshadows a...

People waiting for Uber rides at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Poaches Uber Lawyer

By Amir Efrati · Nov 8, 2016 11:13am PST

Snap last month hired a top lawyer from Uber, one of three executives who quietly left Uber in the past few months.Katherine Tassi, who was an associate general counsel at Uber in charge of privacy issues, moved from San Francisco to Snap’s headquarters in Venice, Calif., to take on a similar role, reporting to general counsel Chris... Snap last month hired a top lawyer from Uber, one of three executives who quietly left Uber in...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Googler in the Trenches of the Ad-Blocking War

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 8, 2016 7:02am PST · 8 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Googler in the Trenches of the Ad-Blocking War

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 8, 2016 7:02am PST · 8 comments

Scott Spencer isn’t a recognizable name in the consumer tech industry, but he’s one of the executives most likely to shape the future of advertising across the web.The veteran Googler is dead center in the battle between publishers and website visitors over ad blocking. Millions of people are using ad-blocking software, a response to... Scott Spencer isn’t a recognizable name in the consumer tech industry, but he’s one...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The First Modern Election

By Sam Lessin · Nov 7, 2016 10:00am PST · 11 comments

We just witnessed the first fully modern campaign cycle. If you are versed in science fiction, it played out exactly as predicted. It wasn’t pretty.The public discussion about technology’s impact on the election has mostly centered on the direct-to-consumer populism of Donald Trump on social media, but this goes way beyond Twitter... We just witnessed the first fully modern campaign cycle. If you are versed in science fiction, it...

An UberEats delivering takeaway food at a launch event in Japan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Second Act Makes Progress, Creates New Dilemmas

By Amir Efrati · Nov 7, 2016 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Now that Uber has largely conquered the ride-sharing market in the U.S., CEO Travis Kalanick is accelerating his long-term plan to challenge Amazon.com in delivering goods to people’s homes. But he has to overcome a key problem: how to expand in delivery of food and other goods without undermining Uber’s core business.Those secondary... Now that Uber has largely conquered the ride-sharing market in the U.S., CEO Travis Kalanick is...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Nov 5, 2016 8:00am PDT

Happy Saturday!Turns out Halloween isn’t the scariest day of the year. This year, it's Election Day. Happy Saturday!Turns out Halloween isn’t the scariest day of the year. This year, it's...

The Information’s 411 — VR is the Killer App

By Tom Dotan · Nov 4, 2016 2:39pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — VR is the Killer App

By Tom Dotan · Nov 4, 2016 2:39pm PDT

Reed and Tom talk about the community of indie VR developers and dive into Snap's internal org chart. Also we play a clip from our subscriber conference call about the most likely tech acquirers. Reed and Tom talk about the community of indie VR developers and dive into Snap's internal...