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

Janae McDonough, vice president of MoPub. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Big Interview

Can Twitter’s Lonely Bright Spot Keep Shining?

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 16, 2017 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

It says something that one of the few bright spots at Twitter is a business that sells ads in non-Twitter apps. That business is mobile ad exchange MoPub, which Twitter bought for around $220 million in 2013. Last year, rumors swirled that the company was going to sell it off. Now, it’s adding headcount as its revenue growth outpaces... It says something that one of the few bright spots at Twitter is a business that sells ads in...

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter Broadens Live Video Push

By Tom Dotan · Mar 15, 2017 2:59pm PDT

Twitter plans to announce next week that it will allow media firms to post live streaming videos directly into the service, the latest step in its path to becoming a hub for live video, according to two people briefed on the plans.The company will open up its live-streaming API, allowing media firms to plug directly into Twitter’s... Twitter plans to announce next week that it will allow media firms to post live streaming videos...

Huang Xiaojie and Wu Gang. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

China’s Deal Factory Eyes U.S.

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 15, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

This article is part of a series about the new cross-border investors wielding influence in Silicon Valley and China.JD Capital, the Chinese equivalent of Blackstone, is looking for acquisitions in the U.S. in what will be a big test for one of China’s most unusual private equity behemoths.The firm is little known internationally but... This article is part of a series about the new cross-border investors wielding influence in...

Charoen chairman Dhanin Chearavanant with Alibaba chairman Jack Ma in November. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Finance Giant On the Move

By Juro Osawa · Mar 14, 2017 10:07am PDT · 1 comment

Charoen chairman Dhanin Chearavanant with Alibaba chairman Jack Ma in November. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Finance Giant On the Move

By Juro Osawa · Mar 14, 2017 10:07am PDT · 1 comment

Alibaba Group’s internet finance arm Ant Financial Services is accelerating its global expansion. In its latest effort, Ant is in talks to create a payment joint venture in Indonesia with a local media conglomerate, Emtek, people familiar with the discussions said. A partnership with Emtek, one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates... Alibaba Group’s internet finance arm Ant Financial Services is accelerating its global...

* Additional board seats authorized in nonpublic bylaws; Source: Articles of incorporation.

Uber’s Unfilled Board Seats

By Alfred Lee and Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 14, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

As Uber CEO Travis Kalanick looks for leadership help, one place he could turn is his board. Uber has one of the largest private tech company boards, with seven voting members. But the company also has four vacancies, according to its charter, the only top private U.S. tech company that hasn’t filled the seats outlined in its charter. (See... As Uber CEO Travis Kalanick looks for leadership help, one place he could turn is his board. Uber...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Has a New “Shadow”

By Eugene Kim · Mar 13, 2017 3:51pm PDT

Amazon has appointed a former Kindle vice president to be the new technical advisor to CEO Jeff Bezos, a highly coveted position within the company that’s often called Jeff Bezos’s “shadow.” That’s because the person in the role accompanies Mr. Bezos everywhere he goes, including to all meetings, with the aim of... Amazon has appointed a former Kindle vice president to be the new technical advisor to CEO Jeff...

Mobileye chairman Amnon Shahua, BMW management board member Klaus Froehlich and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at CES in January. Photo by Bloomberg

What Intel Sees in Mobileye

By Amir Efrati · Mar 13, 2017 12:36pm PDT · 5 comments

Intel’s $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye, the leading maker of microchips for outward-facing cameras in cars, is the largest acquisition related to self-driving car software yet. And it’s an indicator of how big a role Mobileye will have in the field, thanks to the data Mobileye will harvest from those cars and keep for itself.... Intel’s $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye, the leading maker of microchips for...

Velodyne Lidar devices attached to the top of a car at an exhibition. Photo by Flickr/ETC-USC

Key Sensor for Self-Driving Cars is in Short Supply

By Amir Efrati · Mar 13, 2017 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

Velodyne Lidar devices attached to the top of a car at an exhibition. Photo by Flickr/ETC-USC

Key Sensor for Self-Driving Cars is in Short Supply

By Amir Efrati · Mar 13, 2017 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

Lots of things are holding up the development of self-driving cars, including government regulation and the sheer complexity of getting the tech right. But one of the biggest issues right now is a crippling shortage of a special laser sensor, used by autonomous vehicles to figure out what’s going on around them.Wait times for this laser,... Lots of things are holding up the development of self-driving cars, including government...

Modest Conversations

The Information Presents: Modest Conversations

By Sam Lessin · Mar 12, 2017 7:38pm PDT

Sam Lessin, who writes the Modest Proposals column for The Information, is starting a new podcast series called Modest Conversations. In the first episode, Dave Morin joins Sam for a conversation on what they call digital drugs. The two explore how things like VR could be thought of as platforms for therapeutics and recreation, rather than... Sam Lessin, who writes the Modest Proposals column for The Information, is starting a new podcast...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 11, 2017 8:01am PST · 1 comment

Good Morning!We hear LinkedIn is seeing a huge increase in the number of people claiming to be a “Sheryl Sandberg type.” Wonder what that’s about. Good Morning!We hear LinkedIn is seeing a huge increase in the number of people claiming to be a...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Looks To Add To Executive Ranks

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 10, 2017 5:27pm PST

Airbnb’s on-again, off-again search for another senior executive to help CEO Brian Chesky manage the rapidly growing company is active again, said three people briefed on the matter. Among the people approached recently was Brent Bellm, former chief operating officer of vacation-rentals rival HomeAway and current CEO of ecommerce platform... Airbnb’s on-again, off-again search for another senior executive to help CEO Brian Chesky...

The Information’s 411 — The Softer Side of Facebook

By Tom Dotan · Mar 10, 2017 3:43pm PST

The Information’s 411 — The Softer Side of Facebook

By Tom Dotan · Mar 10, 2017 3:43pm PST

Alfred talks about why some early investors in Fitbit held on too long after the company went public and what that could foretell for Snap's investors. Cory explains how Facebook is trying to fix Instant Articles to get publishers back on board. And Sam plugs his new podcast series Modest Conversations. Alfred talks about why some early investors in Fitbit held on too long after the company went...

Mic CEO Chris Altchek. Photo by Flickr/Ole Bader.

Fewer but Bigger Ad Deals Challenge Smaller Publishers

By Tom Dotan · Mar 10, 2017 7:02am PST · 6 comments

There’s good news and bad news for digital media firms. The good news is that advertisers are finally plowing big money into new ad formats, particularly “branded content” like sponsored videos which mimics editorial content. The bad news: This favors big publishers over small.And that may be a catalyst toward combinations in... There’s good news and bad news for digital media firms. The good news is that advertisers...

Facebook vp of product Fidji Simo. Photo by Flickr/LeWeb.

Facebook’s Uphill Battle To Win Back Publishers

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 9, 2017 1:25pm PST · 3 comments

Facebook product managers gathered about a dozen news publishers at the company’s New York office two weeks ago to unveil potential changes to Instant Articles, the nearly-two-year-old program aimed at making news articles load faster on the social network. The roadmap, including giving publishers more ways to track reader habits and to... Facebook product managers gathered about a dozen news publishers at the company’s New York...

Source: SEC Filings. Graphic by Mike Sullivan

VCs in Fitbit Paid a Price for Not Selling Early

By Alfred Lee and Reed Albergotti · Mar 9, 2017 7:01am PST · 3 comments

For early investors in Snap, the next few months are likely to be tense. While the stock has traded as much as $11 above its $17 IPO price since it opened last Thursday, there’s no guarantee it’ll be trading that high when the investors are free to sell their shares in early August. For the early investors, the worst-case scenario... For early investors in Snap, the next few months are likely to be tense. While the stock has...

Former Quixey co-founder CEO Tomer Kagan, second from right. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Alibaba-Backed Quixey Shutting Down

By Amir Efrati · Mar 8, 2017 4:41pm PST · 2 comments

Former Quixey co-founder CEO Tomer Kagan, second from right. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Alibaba-Backed Quixey Shutting Down

By Amir Efrati · Mar 8, 2017 4:41pm PST · 2 comments

Quixey, a seven-year-old mobile search company that raised more than $130 million from Alibaba Group and others, is in the process of shutting down, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. Numerous employees were laid off two weeks ago, according to a former employee.Quixey came to prominence as a potential alternative to Google... Quixey, a seven-year-old mobile search company that raised more than $130 million from Alibaba...

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Cloud’s Diane Greene in the Hot Seat

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 8, 2017 7:01am PST · 10 comments

In her 16 months running Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene has reorganized its sales team, recruited new executive blood and cut staff. What she hasn’t done is announce many big new customers.That may change on Wednesday, as Google Cloud kicks off its annual conference for customers and developers in San Francisco. There are... In her 16 months running Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene has reorganized its sales...

Source: CloudHarmony

How AWS Stacks Up Against Rivals on Downtime

By Kevin McLaughlin and Mike Sullivan · Mar 7, 2017 7:02am PST · 6 comments

This might be hard to believe, given Amazon Web Services’ three-hour outage last Tuesday: AWS is far better at keeping its public cloud service running than either Microsoft or Google.Since the start of 2015, AWS has had a total of 448 minutes of downtime, 40% of which occurred in last week’s episode. That total compares with 1,652... This might be hard to believe, given Amazon Web Services’ three-hour outage last Tuesday:...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Slowing Down the Digital Escapist Movement

By Sam Lessin · Mar 6, 2017 10:55am PST · 13 comments

In “The Three-Body Problem” science fiction trilogy, there’s a constant tension between the “escapists” who want to leave the galaxy and its problems and those who want to stay. We don’t have the technology yet to escape the universe on near-lightspeed ships. But in the tech community there is increasingly a... In “The Three-Body Problem” science fiction trilogy, there’s a constant tension...

A group of women live streaming at a shopping mall in China last September. Photo by AP.

Inside a Bubble: Death of a Chinese Video Streaming Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

A group of women live streaming at a shopping mall in China last September. Photo by AP.

Inside a Bubble: Death of a Chinese Video Streaming Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

For a while, startup founder Zhang Yi’s live-streaming video app appeared to be riding the wave of China’s booming mobile broadcasting market. The bookish history professor-turned-entrepreneur thought he was on the cusp of internet millions. But Mr. Zhang’s fortunes quickly sank as his company struggled to keep up with... For a while, startup founder Zhang Yi’s live-streaming video app appeared to be riding the...