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

Our Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · May 27, 2016 9:44am PDT

Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Peter Thiel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Let Silicon Valley Speak

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 27, 2016 7:00am PDT · 10 comments

These past few weeks, Silicon Valley’s been awash with controversies around tech leaders’ secret agendas for manipulating the news. Conservative leaders questioned the impartiality of a Facebook feature that curates the news. Commentators question whether Peter Thiel’s backing of anti-Gawker lawsuits is appropriate. These past few weeks, Silicon Valley’s been awash with controversies around tech...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snapchat Raised Money at a Flat Share Price

By Alfred Lee and Tom Dotan · May 26, 2016 1:53pm PDT

Talk that Snapchat has boosted its valuation sharply is off base.Snapchat disclosed Thursday that it raised $1.81 billion dating back to last year, and some media outlets have reported it was at a valuation as high as $22 billion. Talk that Snapchat has boosted its valuation sharply is off base.Snapchat disclosed Thursday that...

Elisabeth Murdoch. Photo by Flickr/Nordiske Mediedager.

Media Exec Joins Liz Murdoch’s Video Firm

By Tom Dotan · May 26, 2016 10:26am PDT

Elisabeth Murdoch. Photo by Flickr/Nordiske Mediedager.

Media Exec Joins Liz Murdoch’s Video Firm

By Tom Dotan · May 26, 2016 10:26am PDT

Former Vimeo executive Greg Clayman has joined Elisabeth Murdoch’s new company, Vertical Networks, which is creating original content for Snapchat, according to multiple people briefed on the situation. He will be U.S. president of the firm.Mr. Clayman left Vimeo, the IAC-owned video streaming site, in January. He previously worked at both... Former Vimeo executive Greg Clayman has joined Elisabeth Murdoch’s new company, Vertical...

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Eyes More Retail Dollars With “Shoppable” Video Ads

By Cory Weinberg · May 26, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Facebook next month will start testing a type of video ad promoting products that users could tap and buy, a person briefed by the social network said. The ad format is the next step in Facebook’s strategy to prove to marketers its ads can drive consumer purchases, not just raise brand awareness.“Shoppable video ads,” as the ad... Facebook next month will start testing a type of video ad promoting products that users could tap...

Source: PitchBook. Graphic by Peter Schulz.

The Downside of IPO Veto Rights

By Alfred Lee · May 25, 2016 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Jet.com joined the ranks of billion-dollar startups in November by raising money at a $1.62 billion valuation, CEO Marc Lore told the media that the deal terms were “clean”—implying that investors did not receive onerous protections that might hurt certain classes of shareholders later.It’s true that the e-commerce... When Jet.com joined the ranks of billion-dollar startups in November by raising money at a $1.62...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Opening Siri, Developing Echo Rival

By Amir Efrati · May 24, 2016 1:23pm PDT · 3 comments

Apple is upping its game in the field of intelligent assistants. After years of internal debate and discussion about how to do so, the company is preparing to open up Siri to apps made by others. And it is working on an Amazon Echo-like device with a speaker and microphone that people can use to turn on music, get news headlines or set a timer.... Apple is upping its game in the field of intelligent assistants. After years of internal debate...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with Frank Gehry in 2012, looking at an earlier phase of Facebook's real estate expansion plan. Photo by Flickr/Forgemind.

Facebook’s Outreach Keeps Local Tensions at Bay

By Cory Weinberg · May 24, 2016 7:02am PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with Frank Gehry in 2012, looking at an earlier phase of Facebook's real estate expansion plan. Photo by Flickr/Forgemind.

Facebook’s Outreach Keeps Local Tensions at Bay

By Cory Weinberg · May 24, 2016 7:02am PDT

The Menlo Park neighborhood where Facebook is headquartered doesn’t have a grocery store. So Facebook operates a farmer’s market in its parking lot each Saturday and will likely build a store on the campus in the future.The company also foots the bill for affordable housing and a new police station in the neighborhood. CEO Mark... The Menlo Park neighborhood where Facebook is headquartered doesn’t have a grocery store....

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The Non-Monetizable Product Blind Spot

By Sam Lessin · May 23, 2016 10:01am PDT · 9 comments

Why, in 2016, is there still no good, widely available, digital address book? Why is mobile calendaring still so incredibly broken? Why is there no widely used news reader or personal journal? It isn’t for lack of trying. These are all well-known consumer problems littered with startup failures and big company misses. Why, in 2016, is there still no good, widely available, digital address book? Why is mobile...

A self-driving Mitsubishi car. Photo by Bloomberg.

Self-Driving Car Startups to Watch

By Reed Albergotti · May 23, 2016 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

The autonomous car movement is driving a vast array of startups, many with only a peripheral link to cars.Startups developing biometrics and facial recognition technologies, for instance, are working with automakers that want to know if drivers are paying attention. That capability could help semi-autonomous cars know when the computer should... The autonomous car movement is driving a vast array of startups, many with only a peripheral link...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · May 21, 2016 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!If it seems that tech news is all bots, all the time, that’s only partly right. Don’t forget the deals lurking in the background, from the sale of Yahoo to new fundraising rounds. Good Morning!If it seems that tech news is all bots, all the time, that’s only partly...

The Information’s 411 — Allo Like Guv’nor

By Tom Dotan · May 20, 2016 2:44pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Allo Like Guv’nor

By Tom Dotan · May 20, 2016 2:44pm PDT

Jessica and Tom talk about the difficulty in writing about machine learning, a profile of Chinese investor Jenny Zeng and why Snapchat isn't rushing into India.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Jessica and Tom talk about the difficulty in writing about machine learning, a profile of Chinese...

Our Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · May 20, 2016 11:39am PDT

Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Machine Learning, AI and Bullshit Detection

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 20, 2016 7:01am PDT · 8 comments

Sometimes I feel like Silicon Valley has become one big collective company. Name a major tech company that isn’t working on all of the following: VR, bots, personal assistants, home speakers, messaging apps.And on the face of it, very little sets apart the Google flavor of these products—unveiled at the I/O conference this... Sometimes I feel like Silicon Valley has become one big collective company. Name a major tech...

Magic Stone founder Jenny Zeng. Photo by Jessica E. Lessin.

The Big Interview

How an Investor in China Opened Doors in Silicon Valley

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 19, 2016 7:01am PDT

Last year, at a private club in the Rosewood hotel in Beijing, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was facing some tough questions. Across the table was Jenny Zeng, and she wanted to know Uber’s plans to beat local competitor Didi and why he hadn’t yet hired a CEO for Uber China. Ms. Zeng is the founder of Magic Stone Alternative Investments... Last year, at a private club in the Rosewood hotel in Beijing, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was...

Credit: Giphy

Be The Information’s Blade Runner (or AI Reporter)

By The Information Staff · May 18, 2016 4:01pm PDT

Credit: Giphy

Jobs@TheInformation

Be The Information’s Blade Runner (or AI Reporter)

By The Information Staff · May 18, 2016 4:01pm PDT

Rarely do we know when we're at ground zero of a revolution. More than ever before, artificial intelligence—and machine learning in particular—is changing the way technology companies like Google, Facebook and Apple build new products and improve existing ones. It's also rapidly changing robotics and enabling self-driving... Rarely do we know when we're at ground zero of a revolution. More than ever before,...

Jobs@TheInformation

puts “Hello Information Engineering”

By The Information Staff · May 18, 2016 4:00pm PDT

Full-Stack EngineerAbout UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication known for original, in-depth reporting about the technology industry. 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 sustainable business, plenty... Full-Stack EngineerAbout UsThe Information is a San Francisco-based business publication known...

Former Android chief Andy Rubin. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Smoking Gun in Android Antitrust Case

By Amir Efrati · May 18, 2016 10:12am PDT

When Europe’s antitrust regulator announced its preliminary findings in its case against Google last month, it said it found evidence that “Google’s conduct” stopped manufacturers selling smart phones using a variant of Android. One episode the EU might be talking about: Acer’s 2012 abandonment of that kind of... When Europe’s antitrust regulator announced its preliminary findings in its case against...

VSCO co-founder Joel Flory. Photo by Cory Weinberg.

The Big Interview

VSCO Tries to Get More Love Without Likes

By Cory Weinberg · May 18, 2016 7:00am PDT

If Snapchat is the goofball and Instagram is the cheerleader in the hallway of photo sharing apps, then VSCO is the insular arts kid spending free period in the film lab. But now VSCO wants to make more friends. VSCO, which stands for Visual Supply Company, has more than 30 million monthly users, nearly three-quarters of whom are under 24. Its... If Snapchat is the goofball and Instagram is the cheerleader in the hallway of photo sharing...

Photo by Bloomberg..

Following Facebook and Microsoft, Google Gets Messaging Bots

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · May 17, 2016 1:05pm PDT · 2 comments

Photo by Bloomberg..

Following Facebook and Microsoft, Google Gets Messaging Bots

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · May 17, 2016 1:05pm PDT · 2 comments

Google is about to join the “bot” craze gripping Silicon Valley.Reports that Google was working on a way for people to use its smartphone messenger to chat with businesses—or Google itself—have circulated for months. But we’ve recently learned more details about the company’s messaging effort and that it is... Google is about to join the “bot” craze gripping Silicon Valley.Reports that Google...