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

Ivy Ross, Google’s vice president of design and user experience for hardware products. Photo by Flickr/Sebastiaan ter Burg.

Who’s Who in Google’s New Hardware Team

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 19, 2016 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Apple has Jony Ive and Samsung has Lee Don-tae, both top industrial design executives charged with turning out devices that get consumers excited. At Google, their closest counterpart now may be Ivy Ross, a marketing and product design veteran promoted last month to lead the company’s industrial design teams.Ms. Ross’ promotion, to... Apple has Jony Ive and Samsung has Lee Don-tae, both top industrial design executives charged...

Amazon Video VP Michael Paull. Photo by Getty Images.

The Big Interview

Amazon Lures Hollywood with Channels

By Tom Dotan · Oct 18, 2016 12:56pm PDT

As Netflix was trumpeting its better than expected earnings on Monday afternoon, an analyst chimed into the company’s conference call to ask about the competitive threat posed by Amazon.com. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings brushed the issue aside, declaring that “Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook video” all likely account for more viewing... As Netflix was trumpeting its better than expected earnings on Monday afternoon, an analyst...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Eyes Internet Service Offering

By Amir Efrati and Martin Peers · Oct 18, 2016 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon.com is considering offering internet service directly to consumers in Europe, said a person briefed on the discussion. That would allow Amazon to bundle internet access with its Prime streaming video offering, the person said, making it more competitive with cable operators which already offer a similar broadband-video package.Amazon is... Amazon.com is considering offering internet service directly to consumers in Europe, said a...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Why Today’s Tech Narrative is Way Ahead of Reality

By Sam Lessin · Oct 17, 2016 10:00am PDT · 18 comments

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Why Today’s Tech Narrative is Way Ahead of Reality

By Sam Lessin · Oct 17, 2016 10:00am PDT · 18 comments

When I worked at Facebook, I used to give a talk to all the incoming product managers about science fiction. My message was that the role of product managers—and tech companies broadly—isn't to come up with new ideas. The ideas and inspiration needed are readily available in literature. Instead, as tech practitioners, our role... When I worked at Facebook, I used to give a talk to all the incoming product managers about...

Uber's growth chief Ed Baker and his viral growth formula. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Man Driving Growth at Uber

By Amir Efrati · Oct 17, 2016 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last winter and spring, two teams of Uber executives faced off over the company’s strategy in China—specifically, how to attract more drivers than Didi Chuxing, the local leader in on-demand rides. One side was led by Uber’s finance chief Gautam Gupta, which wanted to keep on matching or beating Didi’s financial bonuses... Last winter and spring, two teams of Uber executives faced off over the company’s strategy...

Keith Chen. Photo courtesy of Mr. Chen’s website.

Surge-Price Builder Leaves Uber

By Amir Efrati · Oct 17, 2016 6:58am PDT

Few people outside Uber have heard of UCLA economics professor Keith Chen or his research. But Uber riders, drivers and employees have benefited from his improvement to the much-reviled “surge price” algorithm, according to two people who worked with Mr. Chen at Uber. Mr. Chen joined Uber in 2014 from UCLA and began redesigning... Few people outside Uber have heard of UCLA economics professor Keith Chen or his research. But...

Splunk representatives at Web Summit in 2012. Photo by Flickr/Web Summit.

Splunk Hires New Product Chief

By Steve Nellis · Oct 15, 2016 6:41pm PDT

Splunk, whose software is used by firms like Coca-Cola and Nordstrom to search through and analyze their data, has tapped Richard Campione as its product chief, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. He succeeds Guido Schroeder, who left the post in April.Mr. Campione most recently was CEO of Findly, a recruiting software firm... Splunk, whose software is used by firms like Coca-Cola and Nordstrom to search through and...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Oct 15, 2016 8:00am PDT

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Oct 15, 2016 8:00am PDT

Good Morning!We’re looking forward to our Subscriber Summit in San Francisco on Friday, where there’ll be lots to talk about—from the new world of biotech to the state of the private tech markets. Good Morning!We’re looking forward to our Subscriber Summit in San Francisco on Friday,...

The Information’s 411 — Judgment Calls

By Tom Dotan · Oct 14, 2016 1:09pm PDT

Jessica explains how the media whipped up the Twitter acquisition frenzy. Kevin talks about Google enterprise chief Diane Greene and how she's trying to compete with Amazon and Microsoft. Jessica explains how the media whipped up the Twitter acquisition frenzy. Kevin talks about...

Conference Call: What’s Really Happening in China Tech?

By The Information Staff · Oct 14, 2016 10:08am PDT

Two underreported forces are driving broad shifts in China's burgeoning tech market. First, the era of explosive new internet growth is over. Chinese cities are saturated, making it harder to compete. Second, the rise of Chinese VCs has increased competition, and the easy days for foreign tech investors are in the past.To help you... Two underreported forces are driving broad shifts in China's burgeoning tech market. ...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by AP.

When the Media Plays Us

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 14, 2016 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Three weeks ago, any reader of tech news was probably under the impression that Disney, Salesforce, Google (and maybe Microsoft or Apple) were getting into a bidding war for Twitter. But while there was indeed a sale process, there wasn’t anything close to a bidding contest. It seems only Salesforce is still looking, although CEO Marc... Three weeks ago, any reader of tech news was probably under the impression that Disney,...

Palantir co-founder Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investor Question: How to Define Palantir

By Alfred Lee and Steve Nellis · Oct 13, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Palantir co-founder Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investor Question: How to Define Palantir

By Alfred Lee and Steve Nellis · Oct 13, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Question: Is data analytics firm Palantir a software or services company? The answer may determine whether you think it’s worth $20 billion or $8 billion.Palantir uses software it has designed to mine data on behalf of companies and government agencies, helping address everything from cybersecurity to supply chain efficiency. While... Question: Is data analytics firm Palantir a software or services company? The answer may...

Messenger chief David Marcus at F8 in April. Photo by AP.

Behind Facebook’s Messenger Missteps

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 13, 2016 7:02am PDT · 7 comments

Facebook employees buzzed about Messenger’s personal assistant, known as M, when it launched inside the company and to a test group of thousands of users in California last year. Users could buy movie tickets or even order pinatas for employee birthday parties, although the work was performed mostly by people rather than a computer. The... Facebook employees buzzed about Messenger’s personal assistant, known as M, when it...

Machinima CEO Chad Gutstein. Photo by Bloomberg.

Warner Bros in Talks to Buy Machinima

By Tom Dotan · Oct 12, 2016 2:59pm PDT

Warner Bros. is in advanced talks to buy full ownership of online video network Machinima in a deal that values the company at under $100 million, according to one person close to the talks and another briefed on it. Warner Bros. already has a stake in Machinima, having invested in two previous funding rounds in 2014 and 2015. The movie... Warner Bros. is in advanced talks to buy full ownership of online video network Machinima in a...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snap Builds Engineering Team in San Francisco

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Oct 12, 2016 9:59am PDT

Snap is for the first time hiring engineers in San Francisco, partly in an effort to strengthen its capabilities in search.Since the summer, the newly renamed parent company of Snapchat has hired fewer than a dozen engineers who are working out of a small office in North Beach. Among the most prominent is Wisam Dakka, a longtime search... Snap is for the first time hiring engineers in San Francisco, partly in an effort to strengthen...

At the San Francisco office of Smarking. CEO and founder Sang Wen is in the grey shirt on the right side. Photo by Smarking.

China’s Problem: Entrepreneurs Still Love Silicon Valley

By Yunan Zhang · Oct 12, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

At the San Francisco office of Smarking. CEO and founder Sang Wen is in the grey shirt on the right side. Photo by Smarking.

China’s Problem: Entrepreneurs Still Love Silicon Valley

By Yunan Zhang · Oct 12, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

China may have a booming tech scene. But it also has a talent shortage. Take Sang Wen, a brilliant MIT Ph.D. graduate who with his partner raised more than $3 million from top-tier Silicon Valley investors for their startup. Their firm, Smarking, uses big data to help parking providers keep their lots full while at the same time minimizing waits... China may have a booming tech scene. But it also has a talent shortage. Take Sang Wen, a...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Took Board Seat at Didi Chuxing

By Amir Efrati and Alfred Lee · Oct 11, 2016 4:16pm PDT · 1 comment

Apple got a seat on the board of Didi Chuxing a few weeks after investing $1 billion in the company, which is known as the ‘Uber of China,’ according to a person briefed on the move. At the time, news reports about the investment quoted Didi as saying Apple hadn't received such a seat.The board appointment occurred in late June,... Apple got a seat on the board of Didi Chuxing a few weeks after investing $1 billion in the...

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Diane Greene is Reinventing Google Cloud

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 11, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene spent six months negotiating with Evernote CTO Anirban Kundu and other company executives to win the productivity software firm’s data storage business. At one point, a technical issue nearly derailed the talks. But Ms. Greene made it clear that Google would address the issue quickly, Mr. Kundu said. ... Google Cloud chief Diane Greene spent six months negotiating with Evernote CTO Anirban Kundu and...

Source: Slice Intelligence

Why Airbnb is a Threat to Hotel Chains

By Cory Weinberg and Peter Schulz · Oct 10, 2016 5:30pm PDT · 6 comments

Airbnb gets more repeat business from Americans than do individual hotel chains, but it faces tougher competition from online travel agencies like Expedia-owned Hotels.com, new data shows.It explains why Airbnb—which is trying to grow its business to meet its $30 billion valuation—is trying to add more of the services that online... Airbnb gets more repeat business from Americans than do individual hotel chains, but it faces...

Airspace co-founders Earl Stirling, Noah Moore and Jaz Banga with the company’s “Interceptor” drone-catcher. Photo by Reed Albergotti. Video by Airspace.

Silicon Valley’s Drone Hunters

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 10, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Airspace co-founders Earl Stirling, Noah Moore and Jaz Banga with the company’s “Interceptor” drone-catcher. Photo by Reed Albergotti. Video by Airspace.

Silicon Valley’s Drone Hunters

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 10, 2016 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Though the New York Mets’ season ended with last week’s playoff loss, the team’s owners are focusing on a possible new threat from the sky. SterlingVC, the venture arm of the private equity and real estate investor that controls the Mets and its home stadium, has invested in cutting-edge anti-drone technology after a string of... Though the New York Mets’ season ended with last week’s playoff loss, the...