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

Source: Airdna. Graphic by Peter Schulz.

Where Airbnb Gets to Play Full House

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 7, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Airbnb has long attracted property owners seeking higher margins on short-term tourist rentals than long-term leases for city residents. But extreme cases are emerging in Airbnb’s latest hot spots for growth: Japanese cities.In June, around eight in 10 Airbnb listings in cities like Osaka and Tokyo were entire homes, up 6 percentage points... Airbnb has long attracted property owners seeking higher margins on short-term tourist rentals...

CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Startups Use Their Voice In Washington

By Steve Nellis · Sep 6, 2016 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

When big tech firms like Google, Facebook, Amazon or Apple want to influence Washington, they’ve got myriad opportunities. Such companies spend millions a year on lobbying, while their executives can hold fundraisers for political candidates.For startups, without the resources of their bigger counterparts, the options are narrower. But... When big tech firms like Google, Facebook, Amazon or Apple want to influence Washington,...

Venture capitalist Davidi Gilo. Photo by J Street.

Investor Alleges Startup Faked Its Own Death

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 6, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Venture capitalist Davidi Gilo had given up on the $6.5 million his firm invested in the enterprise software company BackFlip, which shut down in early 2011. But seven months later, he alleged in a lawsuit, he discovered that BackFlip’s software and customers had been subsumed by Cisco Systems, with the help of BackFlip’s co-founder,... Venture capitalist Davidi Gilo had given up on the $6.5 million his firm invested in the...

Art by Sam Lessin.

What Everyone Is Missing about Venture Returns

By Sam Lessin · Sep 5, 2016 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

What Everyone Is Missing about Venture Returns

By Sam Lessin · Sep 5, 2016 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

It was interesting to watch the back and forth last week between the Wall Street Journal and Andreessen Horowitz about venture fund performance. The entire exchange seemed to miss entirely the reality of how LPs and founders value venture funds and the actual process by which funds aggregate and deploy capital.The WSJ made the point that the... It was interesting to watch the back and forth last week between the Wall Street Journal and...

Photo of Gary Johnson by Bloomberg.

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Sep 3, 2016 8:00am PDT

Happy Labor Day Weekend!If you're reading this, you're probably not at Burning Man. Or you are, and you’re getting nasty looks for pulling out your iPhone. Happy Labor Day Weekend!If you're reading this, you're probably not at Burning Man. Or...

The Information’s 411 — Outrunning the Bear

By Tom Dotan · Sep 2, 2016 12:38pm PDT

Tom and Amir talk about Lyft's future, the Uber-Alphabet drama and Uber's org chart. And Tom explains why food videos took over BuzzFeed. Tom and Amir talk about Lyft's future, the Uber-Alphabet drama and Uber's org chart....

When Independent Directors Aren’t

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 2, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Alphabet executive David Drummond this week announced he had stepped off the Uber board. As Amir wrote, Drummond hadn’t been attending Uber board meetings for some time. How Uber and Alphabet maneuvered Drummond’s absences isn’t clear. The courts are unforgiving about ensuring directors have equal rights to information. I... Alphabet executive David Drummond this week announced he had stepped off the Uber board. As Amir...

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Presidential Choices: Clinton, Johnson, Trump

By Martin Peers and Peter Schulz · Sep 1, 2016 10:02am PDT · 4 comments

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Survey

Presidential Choices: Clinton, Johnson, Trump

By Martin Peers and Peter Schulz · Sep 1, 2016 10:02am PDT · 4 comments

It’s no surprise Hillary Clinton has the support of the overwhelming majority of subscribers to The Information, judging by our latest subscriber survey. What may be more interesting is that among our community, heavily weighted toward people in the technology industry, Donald Trump drew less than half the support of Libertarian candidate... It’s no surprise Hillary Clinton has the support of the overwhelming majority of...

AWS CEO Andy Jassy. Photo by AP.

AWS’ Latest Proposal to Woo Major Banks

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 1, 2016 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Amazon Web Services has come up with a new strategy to lure banks to use its cloud computing service. AWS has discussed with financial institutions the idea of hosting their data on isolated “safe zones” across AWS’ data centers that would be walled off from other customers and the public internet, according to two people close... Amazon Web Services has come up with a new strategy to lure banks to use its cloud computing...

Source: Boomerang Commerce

When Amazon is Pricier Than Walmart

By Steve Nellis and Peter Schulz · Aug 31, 2016 10:02am PDT · 2 comments

If there’s one category where Amazon.com hasn’t been able to undercut Walmart and Target, it’s groceries. When it comes to staples like breakfast items and beverages, Amazon is significantly more expensive than those rivals for the same goods—at least for now. On average, top-selling items from Walmart in those two... If there’s one category where Amazon.com hasn’t been able to undercut Walmart and...

Stephan Vermut, a Prosper director and a former executive chairman of the company. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Falling Price of Prosper

By Alfred Lee · Aug 31, 2016 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Few tech sectors have fallen from grace as dramatically in the last year as online lending, as an exodus of investors has weakened supply of funding for loans. Take Prosper Marketplace, which raised money at a $1.9 billion valuation in April last year. Based on lower public market valuations and Prosper’s recent sharp revenue declines, the... Few tech sectors have fallen from grace as dramatically in the last year as online lending, as an...

BuzzFeed's Entertainment Group president Ze Frank. Photo by Flickr/Jason Hargrove.

How Tasty Took Over BuzzFeed

By Tom Dotan · Aug 30, 2016 1:08pm PDT · 3 comments

BuzzFeed's Entertainment Group president Ze Frank. Photo by Flickr/Jason Hargrove.

How Tasty Took Over BuzzFeed

By Tom Dotan · Aug 30, 2016 1:08pm PDT · 3 comments

In a little over a year, BuzzFeed has turned its cooking channel Tasty into the juggernaut of its Facebook video strategy. The success of Tasty’s recipe videos has buoyed the category of online food networks, while spawning a slew of look-alikes such as Cooking Panda and Get In My Belly. The Tasty videos, which show just a person’s... In a little over a year, BuzzFeed has turned its cooking channel Tasty into the juggernaut of its...

Photos by Bloomberg, AP, Didi Chuxing, Uber, Flickr/TechCrunch. Visualization by Ian Civgin.

The People Who Matter at Uber

By Amir Efrati · Aug 30, 2016 7:02am PDT · 5 comments

Uber has seen an exodus of senior managers in recent months, including CEO Travis Kalanick, amid heightened scrutiny of its workplace culture prompted by sexual harassment allegations by a former engineer. Among the people who’ve left or announced departures, either under pressure or for other reasons, are seven executives who had reported... Uber has seen an exodus of senior managers in recent months, including CEO Travis Kalanick, amid...

Alphabet's head of corporate development David Drummond. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Shuts Out Alphabet Execs From Board Meetings

By Amir Efrati · Aug 29, 2016 1:45pm PDT · 2 comments

UPDATE: Uber says Alphabet executive David Drummond has stepped down from Uber’s board. The move follows a report by The Information about Mr. Drummond being sidelined from the board for a significant period of time.Uber has shut out an Uber board member and senior Alphabet executive, David Drummond, from attending board meetings,... UPDATE: Uber says Alphabet executive David Drummond has stepped down from Uber’s board. The...

GM CEO Mary Barra. Photo by Bloomberg.

GM Expressed Interest in Lyft at $6 Billion

By Amir Efrati · Aug 29, 2016 11:47am PDT

One of the unresolved questions surrounding General Motors’ interest in acquiring Lyft is what price the automaker was willing to pay. Now we have part of the answer: Lyft’s leaders informed the company’s board of directors this summer that GM expressed interest in a $6 billion deal, according to two people with knowledge of... One of the unresolved questions surrounding General Motors’ interest in acquiring Lyft is...

Art by Ben Rosen.

Cold Calling Heats Up for Private Tech Stocks

By Alfred Lee · Aug 29, 2016 7:02am PDT

Art by Ben Rosen.

Cold Calling Heats Up for Private Tech Stocks

By Alfred Lee · Aug 29, 2016 7:02am PDT

Earlier this month, an attorney at a large law firm got a call from a representative of Midtown Partners, a boutique investment bank in New York and Chicago that sells public equities to private investors. The caller began by asking if the attorney knew what a “unicorn” was. He then asked whether the attorney would be interested in... Earlier this month, an attorney at a large law firm got a call from a representative of Midtown...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Aug 27, 2016 8:01am PDT

Happy Saturday!What a week. If you thought alt-right was a command on the keyboard, you might have learned something new from the latest political drama. Happy Saturday!What a week. If you thought alt-right was a command on the keyboard, you might...

The Information’s 411 — The Anniversary

By Tom Dotan · Aug 26, 2016 1:00pm PDT

Kevin and Jessica talk about the difficulties facing Google Fiber and why it's making cutbacks. Also, Jessica argues why the Uber vs Lyft storyline doesn't make sense anymore. And Tom reflects on year one of the podcast. Kevin and Jessica talk about the difficulties facing Google Fiber and why it's making...

Lyft co-founder John Zimmer. Photo by Bloomberg.

RIP Uber Versus Lyft

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 26, 2016 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

I have some advice for Lyft and Uber: Get over each other. Tensions, always simmering between the two, flared this week. In an unusual press blitz, Lyft co-founder John Zimmer and a Lyft spokesman blamed Uber for fueling rumors it was desperately shopping itself. They were responding to a series of reports that companies like Amazon.com, Google... I have some advice for Lyft and Uber: Get over each other. Tensions, always simmering between the...

Source: Envision IP. Graphic by Peter Schulz.

The Race to Patent Augmented Reality

By Reed Albergotti · Aug 25, 2016 10:00am PDT

Source: Envision IP. Graphic by Peter Schulz.

The Race to Patent Augmented Reality

By Reed Albergotti · Aug 25, 2016 10:00am PDT

If patent applications are any guide, Microsoft is investing the most in developing its own augmented reality technology. It has applied for far more AR patents in the past six years than other tech companies known to be working on AR products, such as Samsung, Sony, Google and Magic Leap. The tech industry is seeing a huge uptick in AR patent... If patent applications are any guide, Microsoft is investing the most in developing its own...