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

Henry Kissinger. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Wake-Up Call for Private Boards

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 30, 2015 7:35am PDT · 1 comment

Theranos managed to make more headlines Thursday by saying it had quietly whittled down its board this past summer to remove people like 92-year-old Henry Kissinger. You’ll remember that one of the issues the press has raised about the company is the fact that its board roster read like a committee of the Council on Foreign... Theranos managed to make more headlines Thursday by saying it had quietly whittled down its board...

Xiaomi global operations vp Hugo Barra. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facing Pressure in China, Xiaomi Also Stalls in India

By Amir Efrati · Oct 29, 2015 9:36am PDT · 1 comment

The worries for Xiaomi, the world’s second-highest-valued private tech firm, keep growing. Not only is it facing increasing competition in its home market of China; it has stalled in India, its first major attempt to branch out of China.The brand launched in India in July of last year, grabbing about 4% of smartphone sales by the fourth... The worries for Xiaomi, the world’s second-highest-valued private tech firm, keep growing....

Elizabeth Holmes. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Private Tech Voting Structures

By Alfred Lee · Oct 29, 2015 7:01am PDT

Medical testing company Theranos faces mounting questions about its technology. But founder Elizabeth Holmes may be insulated from investor pressure, thanks to a supervoting share structure that gives insiders 100 votes per share, compared to a single vote for every share held by everyone else, according to an analysis done by research firm... Medical testing company Theranos faces mounting questions about its technology. But founder...

The Information staff. Photo by Erin Beach.

Be The Information’s Marketing Associate (Social Media)

By The Information Staff · Oct 28, 2015 11:07am PDT

The Information staff. Photo by Erin Beach.

Be The Information’s Marketing Associate (Social Media)

By The Information Staff · Oct 28, 2015 11:07am PDT

The Information is a fast-growing, financially healthy media startup in the heart of San Francisco. We’re the go-to daily read for the most important people in technology and business and are building a one-of-a kind community of subscribers. We have a thriving business, and big ambitions. We need your help to take our social media... The Information is a fast-growing, financially healthy media startup in the heart of San...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Interview Mark Zuckerberg! Cover Facebook for The Information

By The Information Staff · Oct 28, 2015 10:52am PDT · 1 comment

The Information is seeking a reporter to cover Facebook and the broader advertising industry.The technology industry is consolidating around big players and Facebook is one of the most important. The company’s ambitions are endless and span everything from online advertising to Internet connectivity to machine intelligence. We’re... The Information is seeking a reporter to cover Facebook and the broader advertising industry.The...

*Calculation: More Optimistic - Less Optimistic = The Information Score

Subscriber Survey

Nobody Needs a Nest

By Peter Schulz and Steve Nellis · Oct 28, 2015 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

There’s a distinct lack of interest in home automation devices among subscribers to The Information, this month’s subscriber survey shows, a sign that companies jockeying for position in the Internet of Things have yet to prove the need for their devices.The monthly survey also showed that sentiment about tech and the economy... There’s a distinct lack of interest in home automation devices among subscribers to The...

No Deal Between Microsoft, Mesosphere

No Deal Between Microsoft, Mesosphere

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · Oct 28, 2015 9:26am PDT

Mesosphere and Microsoft couldn’t come to terms over a potential buyout of the cloud infrastructure startup, said people briefed on the recent discussions.Microsoft this summer made an offer of around $150 million for Mesosphere, these people said, but the startup wanted more. It looked for alternative bidders willing to pay more than... Mesosphere and Microsoft couldn’t come to terms over a potential buyout of the cloud...

King Digital CEO Riccardo Zacconi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Barriers To Entry Rising in Mobile Game Market

By Tom Dotan · Oct 28, 2015 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

King Digital CEO Riccardo Zacconi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Barriers To Entry Rising in Mobile Game Market

By Tom Dotan · Oct 28, 2015 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

If someone showed you a chart with the day’s top five highest grossing mobile games, it’d be near impossible to tell whether you were looking at a chart from today, two years ago, or, in all likelihood, two months from now. Since late-2013, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans and Game of War have been three of the top five highest grossing... If someone showed you a chart with the day’s top five highest grossing mobile games,...

New Tuber at YouTube

New Tuber at YouTube

By Amir Efrati · Oct 27, 2015 1:32pm PDT

In what some “Tubers” describe as a controversial move, YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki has hired former eBay executive Matthew Mengerink to lead the Google unit’s engineers. The role was previously held by Venkat Panchapakesan, who died in May.The question now is whether John Harding, the longest-serving eng executive at YouTube,... In what some “Tubers” describe as a controversial move, YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki...

Source: Pitchbook

The Old-Media Firms Betting on Tech

By Tom Dotan and Peter Schulz · Oct 27, 2015 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

It’s no secret that established media firms like newspaper publishers, TV networks and music companies have spent years trying to figure out how to survive technology’s erosion of their businesses. New data show which media companies have been the most active venture investors, mostly in areas that could be natural extensions from... It’s no secret that established media firms like newspaper publishers, TV networks and...

These could be your colleagues!

Be The Information’s Head of Growth

By The Information Staff · Oct 26, 2015 1:53pm PDT

The Information has a big mission: to build the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal of the digital era, backed by quality reporting that puts readers, not advertisers, first.In the digital news universe, subscription businesses get a bad rap. But we believe they are the most powerful way to deliver quality journalism to engaged readers... The Information has a big mission: to build the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal of the...

Dropbox Shifts Strategy with Developers

By Steve Nellis · Oct 26, 2015 10:01am PDT

Dropbox Shifts Strategy with Developers

By Steve Nellis · Oct 26, 2015 10:01am PDT

This month Dropbox is turning off two APIs that it rolled out in 2013, when CEO Drew Houston took the stage at San Francisco’s Fort Mason at the company's first, and so far only, developer conference.The tools, called the Sync API and the Datastore API, let developers sync files to Dropbox from mobile devices more easily and also tap... This month Dropbox is turning off two APIs that it rolled out in 2013, when CEO Drew Houston took...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

How Growth Will Burst the Tech Bubble

By Sam Lessin · Oct 26, 2015 7:01am PDT · 8 comments

These days people trying to predict when the tech bubble will burst tend to argue it will happen when 1) tech companies run out of all the money they’ve raised or 2) the global economy worsens. On the first, I think it is important to consider some differences from the last tech boom. By and large, today, companies raising huge amounts of... These days people trying to predict when the tech bubble will burst tend to argue it will happen...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Oct 24, 2015 8:01am PDT

Good morning! This week’s drama about Theranos is a good reminder of how private tech holds a fascination far beyond Silicon Valley. It’s also a good reminder that journalists love a good brawl over the subject of accuracy in the media. Good morning! This week’s drama about Theranos is a good reminder of how private tech...

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 - Blood Feuds

By Tom Dotan · Oct 23, 2015 2:39pm PDT

The controversy over blood testing biotech firm Theranos has extended into its second week, as founder Elizabeth Holmes continues to push back forcefully against the allegations made in a tough Wall Street Journal story. Jessica joins the podcast this week to give her take on the mystique surrounding Ms. Holmes and whether her techy rhetoric... The controversy over blood testing biotech firm Theranos has extended into its second week, as...

Elizabeth Holmes’s Miscalculation

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 23, 2015 7:02am PDT · 12 comments

Elizabeth Holmes’s Miscalculation

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 23, 2015 7:02am PDT · 12 comments

The line between vision and hubris in Silicon Valley has always been blurry. So often, CEOs are hailed as visionaries (Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg). Other times, they’re hailed as overly arrogant and cocky. I increasingly think the difference boils down to a simple thing: how fast their companies are growing. A fast-growing... The line between vision and hubris in Silicon Valley has always been blurry. So often, CEOs are...

SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Tech’s New Liquidity Men

By Alfred Lee · Oct 22, 2015 3:29pm PDT

Nasdaq’s acquisition of SecondMarket unveiled on Thursday will consolidate a big part of the secondary market for private tech shares in one brokerage firm. At the same time, though, it signals that brokers in the private tech market are specializing in different areas, which shows that the market is maturing. Nasdaq’s acquisition of SecondMarket unveiled on Thursday will consolidate a big part of...

Peter Hollens. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

Music Rights Worry for Vessel

By Tom Dotan · Oct 22, 2015 10:02am PDT

About a year ago, Vessel approached a cappella cover artist Peter Hollens about joining the not-yet-launched video platform. The site, which offered an upfront payment, hoped to attract the singer and his one million YouTube subscribers.But Mr. Hollens chose not to sign. One reason was his concern about music publishing rights, which he needs to... About a year ago, Vessel approached a cappella cover artist Peter Hollens about joining the...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Patent Ruling Backfires on Tech

By Reed Albergotti · Oct 22, 2015 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

When the Supreme Court ruled against the validity of software patents held by a financial tech company called Alice Corp. last year, it looked like a victory for tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon that had joined the fight against Alice. The tech firms believed Alice’s financial software patents covered abstract ideas and not... When the Supreme Court ruled against the validity of software patents held by a financial tech...

Marissa Mayer. Photo by AP.

What’s Left at Yahoo

By Amir Efrati · Oct 21, 2015 10:59am PDT · 3 comments

Marissa Mayer. Photo by AP.

What’s Left at Yahoo

By Amir Efrati · Oct 21, 2015 10:59am PDT · 3 comments

What's the difference between the “troubled” Yahoo of yesteryear and the “troubled” Yahoo of today? Profits.The company in recent years pumped out as much as $800 million in annual income from its operations while net revenue generally stayed flat. That figure slumped sharply last year to $143 million and for the... What's the difference between the “troubled” Yahoo of yesteryear and the...