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

Why Snap’s Spectacles Will Be Elusive

By Tom Dotan · Sep 29, 2016 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

If you were counting on Snap’s new camera-mounted Spectacles to be this year’s big Christmas gift for millennials, you may want to reconsider.The company has considered an unusual “closed” rollout of the product, meaning it wouldn’t be released to the public at large in the near term—according to two people... If you were counting on Snap’s new camera-mounted Spectacles to be this year’s big...

An enrollment camp for Aadhaar in Mumbai, India. Photo by AP.

What’s Going Right in India Tech

By Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2016 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

BANGALORE, INDIA—Despite the shakeout at the top of India’s private tech ecosystem, two projects promise to push forward India’s telecom and finance industries—and the web sector.One of the potential beneficiaries in the finance industry is Paytm, 40% owned by Alibaba Group of China. There’s also buzz about a slew... BANGALORE, INDIA—Despite the shakeout at the top of India’s private tech ecosystem,...

A Mobike user in Shanghai. Photo by AP.

Will Mobike be the next Uber?

By Kai Qu · Sep 28, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

BEIJING—The newest battleground for China’s increasingly cautious tech investors is something rather old: the bicycle. Bicycle-on-demand services similar to the municipal bike-shares in London and New York are drawing venture capitalists willing to bet these firms are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The field got hotter on... BEIJING—The newest battleground for China’s increasingly cautious tech investors is...

Palantir CEO Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg

Fund Sold Palantir Stock Well Below Last Valuation

By Alfred Lee · Sep 27, 2016 5:09pm PDT · 2 comments

Palantir CEO Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg

Fund Sold Palantir Stock Well Below Last Valuation

By Alfred Lee · Sep 27, 2016 5:09pm PDT · 2 comments

A mutual fund run by AIG subsidiary Valic sold stock in cybersecurity firm Palantir earlier this year at a price 60% below Palantir’s last fundraising valuation, securities filings show. At that price, Palantir’s implied valuation would be around $8 billion, compared with the $20 billion valuation at which it raised money last... A mutual fund run by AIG subsidiary Valic sold stock in cybersecurity firm Palantir earlier this...

Facebook at Work's director Julien Codorniou. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Rival to Slack, Yammer Coming Next Month

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 27, 2016 10:01am PDT · 7 comments

Facebook is nearing a commercial launch of Facebook at Work, its business-focused social network, and now plans to charge companies based on the number of employees who use the service monthly, a Facebook executive said. That’s a change from Facebook’s earlier plans to offer the software for free but to charge companies based on... Facebook is nearing a commercial launch of Facebook at Work, its business-focused social network,...

August Home co-founder Yves Behar. Photo by Flickr/Eirik Solheim.

How Amazon Might Get Through Front Door

By Steve Nellis and Reed Albergotti · Sep 27, 2016 7:01am PDT

The days of having your Amazon packages stolen from outside your front door soon could be a thing of the past.Two companies with ties to Amazon.com, smart lock maker August Home and web-connected garage door opener Garageio, are working on a way for delivery people to leave products inside the home when residents aren’t there. As Garageio... The days of having your Amazon packages stolen from outside your front door soon could be a thing...

Promotional stickers for Ola on an auto rickshaw in Bangalore. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Went Wrong in India’s Tech Sector

By Amir Efrati · Sep 26, 2016 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

BANGALORE, INDIA—There’s a hangover feeling here in India’s Silicon Valley. The euphoria sparked two years ago by foreign investors writing big checks on absurd valuations for local companies has given way to despair in some pockets of the city. The early leaders in transportation and commerce, such as Flipkart and Snapdeal in... BANGALORE, INDIA—There’s a hangover feeling here in India’s Silicon Valley. The...

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Yelp Shows Way in Supervoting Stock Sunset

By Alfred Lee · Sep 26, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Yelp Shows Way in Supervoting Stock Sunset

By Alfred Lee · Sep 26, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Last Wednesday, Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman and former chairman Max Levchin owned about 49% of the voting shares in the local business reviews site between them. On Friday, their combined voting stake was 11%.In between, Yelp killed off a special class of shares held mainly by Messrs. Stoppelman and Levchin that carried 10 times as many... Last Wednesday, Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman and former chairman Max Levchin owned about 49%...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Sep 24, 2016 8:01am PDT

Good Morning!Is Benioff on the rebound? Perhaps bidding for Twitter is a way to get over the Salesforce-LinkedIn deal that got away. Good Morning!Is Benioff on the rebound? Perhaps bidding for Twitter is a way to get over the...

The Information’s 411 — The Millennial Pied Piper

By Tom Dotan · Sep 23, 2016 4:23pm PDT

Stephen makes the case for Salesforce buying Twitter. Cory and Tom talk about tech involvement in local politics, Ken Lerer and the tug-of-war for news sites between fast-loading web pages and more ad money. Stephen makes the case for Salesforce buying Twitter. Cory and Tom talk about tech involvement in...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg.

At Twitter, Who Makes Decision to Sell?

By Martin Peers and Steve Nellis · Sep 23, 2016 2:22pm PDT

So who at Twitter decides whether to sell? Right now, that may be a crucial question for potential bidders reported to be looking, such as Salesforce.com.If it’s up to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, there may be no deal. Mr. Dorsey was, at least until recently, opposed to selling the company, says a person with knowledge of the situation. Mr.... So who at Twitter decides whether to sell? Right now, that may be a crucial question for...

The New PR Reality and What it Means

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 23, 2016 7:02am PDT · 11 comments

The New PR Reality and What it Means

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 23, 2016 7:02am PDT · 11 comments

Last Sunday, Lyft’s PR team emailed me a link to a 4,000-word article and highlighted the parts that I might find “newsworthy.” It was an interesting Medium essay from co-founder John Zimmer about the future of cities and transportation and Lyft’s role in it. Dozens of media outlets summarized the article for their... Last Sunday, Lyft’s PR team emailed me a link to a 4,000-word article and highlighted the...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.

Pressured by Google and Facebook, News Sites Slim Down

By Tom Dotan · Sep 22, 2016 1:22pm PDT · 5 comments

News sites are in a race to speed up their mobile webpages so they can compete better with Facebook and Google. Sites such as Slate, NYMag.com and the Washington Post are trying various ways to make ad-clogged pages load faster. While some tactics could cost ad revenue, doing nothing risks alienating readers.Slate, for example, has recently been... News sites are in a race to speed up their mobile webpages so they can compete better with...

Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Big Interview

Joe Tsai: Alibaba Finding Its Groove

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 22, 2016 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

Alibaba has been on a roller coaster since going public two years ago. U.S. investors haven’t quite known what to make of the crown jewel of China tech that is worth a whopping $258 billion. Will Chinese consumers continue to shop even as the economy slows? Why is the company being investigated by the SEC? Why on earth is the company... Alibaba has been on a roller coaster since going public two years ago. U.S. investors...

Google cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

AWS, Google Gearing Up For Data Center Battle

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 21, 2016 11:00am PDT · 6 comments

Amazon Web Services and Google are developing storage software for companies to use in their own data centers, a reversal of the cloud providers’ usual efforts to get companies to put all their data in the clouds run by AWS and Google, according to people who have been briefed on the products.The targets are companies like banks that... Amazon Web Services and Google are developing storage software for companies to use in their own...

Housing protesters at San Francisco City Hall in 2014. Photo by AP.

Tech Workers Wade Into Political Hot Zone

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 21, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

Housing protesters at San Francisco City Hall in 2014. Photo by AP.

Tech Workers Wade Into Political Hot Zone

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 21, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

For years, housing activists have blamed the fast-growing tech industry for causing housing shortages in the Bay Area. But now that tech employees are themselves struggling to pay high rents, they’re starting to get more politically active in dealing with housing issues. Take Adrian Fine, a city strategist with the social network... For years, housing activists have blamed the fast-growing tech industry for causing housing...

Honest Co. founder Jessica Alba. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Honest Company’s Value May Have Dropped

By Alfred Lee · Sep 20, 2016 10:02am PDT · 4 comments

The Honest Company has reportedly been in talks to sell itself at a price well below its last valuation of $1.7 billion. Some back-of-the-envelope math gives a hint why its valuation may have come down—and suggests investors will make out fine anyway.Investors who bought in at that higher valuation might have been banking on Honest Co.... The Honest Company has reportedly been in talks to sell itself at a price well below its last...

Source: Paysa

Tech Pay Study Shows Asians Have an Edge

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · Sep 20, 2016 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

At eight major consumer internet companies, including Google, Airbnb, Uber and Amazon, technical workers from India, China and Southeast Asia earn roughly 20% more on average than white people or Hispanics and 26% more than African-Americans, according to new data.The data show less of a difference in compensation between men and women holding... At eight major consumer internet companies, including Google, Airbnb, Uber and Amazon, technical...

Art by Sam Lessin and Sid Shanker.

Modest Proposals

Uber’s Self-Driving Car Puzzle

By Sam Lessin · Sep 19, 2016 10:02am PDT · 13 comments

The wave of fervor over self-driving cars is putting Uber in a precarious position. At first blush, it is easy to believe that fully autonomous vehicles will be the step that propels a valuable company to unfathomable heights. But a deeper look reveals that self-driving technology poses a strategic problem for the company.If unsupervised, fully... The wave of fervor over self-driving cars is putting Uber in a precarious position. At first...

Media investor Ken Lerer. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Inside King Lerer’s Media Kingdom

By Tom Dotan · Sep 19, 2016 7:00am PDT

Media investor Ken Lerer. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Inside King Lerer’s Media Kingdom

By Tom Dotan · Sep 19, 2016 7:00am PDT

When Mic co-founder Chris Altchek met Ken Lerer in 2011, he asked the prolific media investor to back his news site. Mr. Lerer demurred. Show us some traction, Mr. Lerer told him, and he’d consider it.A year and a half later, Mr. Altchek returned to Mr. Lerer with data showing a big uptick in traffic and asked him to invest in Mic as part... When Mic co-founder Chris Altchek met Ken Lerer in 2011, he asked the prolific media investor to...