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

HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investors Warming to Higher Valuations—for Some

By Tom Dotan · Mar 28, 2017 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, HotelTonight enjoyed something that had started to seem like a faint memory in Silicon Valley: an up round. The hotel booking site raised $37 million at a valuation of $400 million, up from about $300 million. The funding came not long after a few other bigger startups raised money at higher valuations, including Instacart, WeWork,... Last week, HotelTonight enjoyed something that had started to seem like a faint memory in Silicon...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The First Free Agents of 2017

By The Information Staff · Mar 27, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Our latest “Free Agents”—high-profile executives between roles—includes defectors from struggling tech firms Twitter and Yahoo, as well as a handful of people who passed through Google and Facebook to take bigger roles at smaller companies.Sriram Krishnan, for instance, left a respected job at Facebook for Snap, only to... Our latest “Free Agents”—high-profile executives between roles—includes...

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Unions, Regulatory Capture, and Tech

By Sam Lessin · Mar 26, 2017 3:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Joe Green, of Causes, Nation-Builder, and FWD.US joins to discuss some ideas around unions, organizing, and regulatory capture in an era of technology companies. Joe Green, of Causes, Nation-Builder, and FWD.US joins to discuss some ideas around unions,...

Art by Matt Vascellaro

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 25, 2017 8:01am PDT

Art by Matt Vascellaro

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 25, 2017 8:01am PDT

Good Morning!We tried to write a joke this week but we pulled it at the last minute because it didn't get enough votes. Good Morning!We tried to write a joke this week but we pulled it at the last minute because it...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Group’s Visit to Seoul Escort Bar Sparked HR Complaint

By Amir Efrati · Mar 24, 2017 9:05pm PDT · 29 comments

A woman who dated Uber CEO Travis Kalanick for three years, Gabi Holzwarth, says she was with Mr. Kalanick when he and a team of five Uber employees visited an escort-karaoke bar in Seoul in mid-2014. At the bar, women sat in a circle, identified by numbered tags. Four male Uber managers picked women out of the group, calling out their numbers,... A woman who dated Uber CEO Travis Kalanick for three years, Gabi Holzwarth, says she was with Mr....

The Information’s 411 — Airbnb’s Tiny Homes

By Tom Dotan · Mar 24, 2017 3:13pm PDT

Cory talks about Airbnb and Alphabet's ideas about investing in prefab homes. Kevin explores the most popular skills for the Amazon Echo. Cory talks about Airbnb and Alphabet's ideas about investing in prefab homes. Kevin explores...

Kasita CEO Jeff Wilson inside one of Kasita's prefabricated homes. Photo by Flickr/Nicolas Boullosa.

Airbnb, Alphabet Eye Homebuilding

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 24, 2017 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Last year, employees in Airbnb’s experimental design studio explored ways of manufacturing small homes for people’s backyards, to provide extra space for guests. But the effort, which hasn’t previously been reported, was mostly scuttled for now, said a person with knowledge of the situation. Airbnb senior executives worried... Last year, employees in Airbnb’s experimental design studio explored ways of manufacturing...

Source: Betaworks

Amazon Wants Alexa to Play More Games

By Kevin McLaughlin and Mike Sullivan · Mar 23, 2017 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Source: Betaworks

Amazon Wants Alexa to Play More Games

By Kevin McLaughlin and Mike Sullivan · Mar 23, 2017 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has decided that games are the killer app for Alexa.Mr. Bezos has told the team behind Amazon’s digital assistant to focus on getting more games for Alexa’s app store, according to a person who works with Amazon. Mr. Bezos believes games can make developers the most money, which is important for getting them... Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has decided that games are the killer app for Alexa.Mr. Bezos has told...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Lending Biz Growing—Within Limits

By Eugene Kim · Mar 22, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

For five years, Amazon.com has quietly been making small loans to a few of the merchants that sell on the e-commerce giant’s website. Now that little effort has become a decent-sized business.Amazon revealed recently that total outstanding loans to merchants had nearly doubled to $661 million on Dec. 31 from $337 million a year earlier.... For five years, Amazon.com has quietly been making small loans to a few of the merchants that...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

How Travis Kalanick’s Iron Grip Weakened Uber

By Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2017 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Several months ago, at an Uber company staff meeting, an employee asked CEO Travis Kalanick about a regulatory matter in Southeast Asia. When Mr. Kalanick said he didn’t know about the issue, Uber’s top operations executive for Asia, Andrew MacDonald, spoke up to tell Mr. Kalanick he’d fill him in about it later. Mr. Kalanick... Several months ago, at an Uber company staff meeting, an employee asked CEO Travis Kalanick about...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Drops Employee Waiver for Pornography Suits

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 21, 2017 12:30pm PDT · 1 comment

Google will no longer require employees to waive their right to sue over pornography at work. The company changed its previous policy after an employee lawsuit alleged it violated labor laws. The Information brought the lawsuit to light last week.Google had previously required new employees to sign a form waiving their right to sue if they saw... Google will no longer require employees to waive their right to sue over pornography at work. The...

The onetime department store in Oakland now owned by Uber and under renovation. Photo by Flickr/Eugene Chan.

Tech’s Oakland Opportunity

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 21, 2017 10:54am PDT · 5 comments

The onetime department store in Oakland now owned by Uber and under renovation. Photo by Flickr/Eugene Chan.

Tech’s Oakland Opportunity

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 21, 2017 10:54am PDT · 5 comments

Uber’s partial retrenchment from its future Oakland outpost appeared to be another example of the big tech companies spurning San Francisco’s eastern neighbor. Instead of relocating a few thousand employees to the building it acquired in 2015, Uber will instead have a few hundred there, at least initially. But it could work... Uber’s partial retrenchment from its future Oakland outpost appeared to be another...

Huawei's booth at the Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona. Photo by Bloomberg.

After Google Phone Fizzles, Huawei Turns to AT&T for U.S. Expansion

By Juro Osawa · Mar 21, 2017 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Huawei, which is closing in on Apple and Samsung in smartphones, is making a fresh effort to sell its phones through a U.S. carrier. The smartphone maker is in the process of getting its homegrown Chinese mobile chipset accredited by AT&T in the U.S., an early but significant move in a market it has so far failed to crack, people familiar... Huawei, which is closing in on Apple and Samsung in smartphones, is making a fresh effort to sell...

Snap co-founders Robert Murphy and Evan Spiegel at the New York Stock Exchange on Snap's IPO day, with NYSE President Tom Farley. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap’s Big Tax Break

By Alfred Lee · Mar 20, 2017 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

The flurry of early interest in Snap’s IPO has passed and longstanding questions about the company's prospects now appear to be dominating trading. These include slow user growth and lack of profits, explaining why Snap stock is down more than 15% since the offering.But there is one positive that hasn’t received much attention:... The flurry of early interest in Snap’s IPO has passed and longstanding questions about the...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Who Pays for Redesigning Streets for Self-Driving Cars?

By Sam Lessin · Mar 20, 2017 7:00am PDT · 10 comments

In the abstract, self-driving cars should make traffic in cities better. In practice, I think self-driving cars will make traffic congestion far worse, requiring a fairly substantial redesign of the road systems in American cities.The short-term congestion and long-term time, expense and disruption of the required redesign of city roads present... In the abstract, self-driving cars should make traffic in cities better. In practice, I think...

Modest Conversations: Who Drives Corporate Benefits and Responsibility?

By Sam Lessin · Mar 19, 2017 5:56pm PDT · 1 comment

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Who Drives Corporate Benefits and Responsibility?

By Sam Lessin · Mar 19, 2017 5:56pm PDT · 1 comment

Andrew Kortina, my co-founder at Fin and a co-founder of Venmo, joins to share some musings about corporate responsibility and employee benefits. What drives company benefit programs—and the fairness of those programs? In a world where community organizations and traditional churches are in decline, have we overloaded the... Andrew Kortina, my co-founder at Fin and a co-founder of Venmo, joins to share some musings about...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 18, 2017 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!We’ve got our hands on Facebook executives’ March Madness picks. They closely resemble what Evan Spiegel picked last year. Good Morning!We’ve got our hands on Facebook executives’ March Madness picks. They...

The Information’s 411 — Burnt-out Shadows

By Tom Dotan · Mar 17, 2017 12:59pm PDT · 1 comment

Eugene makes his debut on the show to talk about Jeff Bezos' new "shadow." And Reed explores why Google makes employees waive their right to sue over workplace pornography. Eugene makes his debut on the show to talk about Jeff Bezos' new "shadow." And...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Employees Have to Waive Right to Sue on Pornography

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 17, 2017 10:39am PDT · 6 comments

Courts have long held that people can sue for sexual harassment if they see pornography at work. But at Google, employees are required to waive their right to sue on those grounds, according to a lawsuit. Google requires new employees to sign an “Adult Content Liability Release,” according to a court filing this week in the lawsuit,... Courts have long held that people can sue for sexual harassment if they see pornography at work....

Writers for "The Mindy Project," now on Hulu, at an event last September. Photo by AP.

Hulu Looking for Executive to Oversee Programming

By Tom Dotan · Mar 16, 2017 5:23pm PDT · 2 comments

Writers for "The Mindy Project," now on Hulu, at an event last September. Photo by AP.

Hulu Looking for Executive to Oversee Programming

By Tom Dotan · Mar 16, 2017 5:23pm PDT · 2 comments

Hulu is searching for a senior executive to oversee its programming, said two people familiar with the search, as the company prepares to expand with a new service of traditional cable channels in addition to its on-demand offering.The company has reached out to a number of high-level television executives for a position called chief content... Hulu is searching for a senior executive to oversee its programming, said two people familiar...