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

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Bot Check-In: A Year of Disappointment

By Sam Lessin · Jan 3, 2017 7:00am PST · 10 comments

In January, I wrote about how 2016 had been declared the year of bots by many. At year’s end, the bots narrative has been very loud but mostly disappointing. Most of the major technology companies announced big initiatives. But the platforms, enabling technologies and new products have largely failed to materialize.The demand from startups... In January, I wrote about how 2016 had been declared the year of bots by many. At year’s...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 31, 2016 8:00am PST

Happy New Year!If you notice Alexa starts speaking with a Russian accent, you’ll know tech’s in tune with the new administration. Happy New Year!If you notice Alexa starts speaking with a Russian accent, you’ll know...

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Survey

Subscribers Turn Less Sour on Economy, Tech

By Cory Weinberg and Peter Schulz · Dec 30, 2016 10:01am PST

Subscriber optimism about the economy and the tech industry rebounded from the post-election lows reached in November, our latest survey showed. But subscribers remained noticeably more downbeat than they were for much of this year.That held true for subscriber predictions for next year as well. Subscribers foresee tougher times for companies... Subscriber optimism about the economy and the tech industry rebounded from the post-election lows...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch and Bloomberg.

Why Spiegel Isn’t Zuckerberg (and Vice Versa)

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 30, 2016 7:01am PST · 5 comments

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch and Bloomberg.

Why Spiegel Isn’t Zuckerberg (and Vice Versa)

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 30, 2016 7:01am PST · 5 comments

I was going to write an end-of-year column today. But as I sat down to write in a quiet San Francisco cafe, I was distracted by an article about Snap's IPO strategy and I had to respond. If the story is true, Snap should fire its bankers. The piece was reporting about Snap’s desire to compare itself to Facebook and how its IPO bankers... I was going to write an end-of-year column today. But as I sat down to write in a quiet San...

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. Photo by Bloomberg.

Fiat’s Secret Self-Driving Car Shows How Industry May Evolve

By Amir Efrati · Dec 29, 2016 1:02pm PST · 3 comments

Fiat Chrysler has garnered outsized headlines for becoming the first traditional carmaker to make electric minivans with self-driving technology designed by Alphabet’s Waymo. Behind the scenes, however, Fiat Chrysler is developing its own autonomous vehicles so that it won’t be just a metal bender for tech companies like Waymo, The... Fiat Chrysler has garnered outsized headlines for becoming the first traditional carmaker to make...

Didi President Jean Liu. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Investors Expect of Didi and Dropbox in 2017

By Alfred Lee · Dec 29, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing had a big year, vanquishing Uber in China. In the wake of that deal, one of Didi’s mutual fund investors raised its expectation for Didi’s revenue growth rate to more than 150% next year, from 99%, securities filings suggest.Meanwhile, mutual funds have pushed back the date they expect some... Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing had a big year, vanquishing Uber in China. In the wake of...

Couriers of Baidu Waimai on the road in Taicang city. Photo by AP.

2017 Predictions

Settling China’s Food Fight

By Shai Oster · Dec 28, 2016 10:00am PST · 2 comments

Prepare for a wave of mega-mergers in China’s food delivery apps, the last major holdout in that country’s subsidy-fueled on-demand services.The market is dominated by just three players: Ele.me, Meituan Waimai, and Baidu Waimai. Like Cold War proxy states, each one is backed by one of China’s Big Three technology titans:... Prepare for a wave of mega-mergers in China’s food delivery apps, the last major holdout in...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Google Might Sell Its Fiber Business

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 28, 2016 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

2017 Predictions

Why Google Might Sell Its Fiber Business

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 28, 2016 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Google’s Access unit, home to Google Fiber, hit major turbulence this year, laying off staff, cutting back on the scope of the project and parting ways with its CEO. That paves the way for Alphabet next year to sell or spin. Potential acquirers could include another fiber internet provider like CenturyLink, said one telecommunications... Google’s Access unit, home to Google Fiber, hit major turbulence this year, laying off...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

In 2017, Tech Will Seek to Regain Moral High Ground

By Sam Lessin · Dec 27, 2016 10:01am PST · 9 comments

One of the things that in recent history set the technology complex apart from finance and other industries has been the ability to simultaneously be financially successful and maintain broad-based admiration—sometimes bordering on adoration—from the public.That nexus of love and success was threatened in 2016, for the first time in... One of the things that in recent history set the technology complex apart from finance and other...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Amazon Echo and the Hot Tub Murder

By Tom Dotan and Reed Albergotti · Dec 27, 2016 7:01am PST · 6 comments

Be careful what you say around your Amazon Echo. Your words may be recorded and used against you in court.In what may be the first case of its kind, police investigating a murder in Bentonville, Arkansas, issued a warrant to Amazon.com to turn over audio and other records from an Echo. The device in question belongs to James Andrew Bates, who... Be careful what you say around your Amazon Echo. Your words may be recorded and used against you...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 24, 2016 8:02am PST

Season's greetings!You’re probably looking forward to a break next week. But don’t forget to check out The Information as we’ve got some good stories coming in the next few days. Season's greetings!You’re probably looking forward to a break next week. But...

The Information’s 411 — 2016: Deal or No Deal

By Tom Dotan · Dec 23, 2016 3:00pm PST

The Information’s 411 — 2016: Deal or No Deal

By Tom Dotan · Dec 23, 2016 3:00pm PST

Jessica, Tom and Reed wrap up 2016 with their take on why we named Evan Spiegel won our Person of 2017, Peter Thiel's grand plans, whether Twitter will finally sell next year, and more. Jessica, Tom and Reed wrap up 2016 with their take on why we named Evan Spiegel won our Person of...

Vice CEO Shane Smith. Photo by Bloomberg.

Seven Tech Rumors You Didn’t Read About this Year

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 23, 2016 7:02am PST

We at The Information broke a lot of news this year. We also chased a lot of news that wasn't true—or in some cases, may have been true but we just couldn't confirm. In the spirit of peeling back the curtain on how news and gossip spreads in tech reporting, I thought we'd publish some of the rumors we knocked down this year... We at The Information broke a lot of news this year. We also chased a lot of news that...

A truck carrying steel in China. Photo by AP.

China’s B2B Unicorns Look for Cracks in Market

By Shai Oster · Dec 22, 2016 10:01am PST · 1 comment

One of the biggest money-making opportunities in Chinese startups has little to do with sexy subjects like media or messaging. It’s the crop of business-to-business unicorns with names like Truck Alliance, Meicai and Doumi. Their mission? Rationalizing the layers of middlemen and subcontractors that dominate key sectors like trucking, food... One of the biggest money-making opportunities in Chinese startups has little to do with sexy...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

2017 Predictions

How Snap’s App Could Break in Two

By Tom Dotan · Dec 22, 2016 7:01am PST · 7 comments

When Snapchat rebranded itself as Snap earlier this year, it had a few audiences in mind. For one, it wanted to present itself to Wall Street as a grownup. While Snapchat is merely a fun app for teens, Snap is a serious technology firm creating a series of products redefining mobile, visual communication. (Not to mention the perfect ticker... When Snapchat rebranded itself as Snap earlier this year, it had a few audiences in mind. For...

Grail CEO Jeff Huber. Photo by O'Reilly Media Next:Economy Summit/ Doug Cody

Grail is Silicon Valley’s New Biotech Test Case

By Fred Vogelstein · Dec 21, 2016 12:26pm PST · 3 comments

Grail CEO Jeff Huber. Photo by O'Reilly Media Next:Economy Summit/ Doug Cody

The Big Interview

Grail is Silicon Valley’s New Biotech Test Case

By Fred Vogelstein · Dec 21, 2016 12:26pm PST · 3 comments

Until about a year ago, few outside of Silicon Valley had heard of Jeff Huber. Insiders knew him as the cerebral Midwesterner who as a top engineering executive helped build Google's advertising, apps and maps businesses. But all that changed in early February when he became CEO of a startup called Grail, a company developing a genetic... Until about a year ago, few outside of Silicon Valley had heard of Jeff Huber. Insiders knew him...

Source: Trulia

The Most (and Least) Affordable Tech Cities

By Cory Weinberg and Peter Schulz · Dec 21, 2016 7:02am PST · 4 comments

Seattle was one of the most affordable places for a tech worker to live in 2015, measured by housing costs as a portion of income, new census data show. The least affordable metro area is Los Angeles, where software engineers paid higher median rents than those in Seattle but earned 29% less.Despite the Bay Area’s costly housing,... Seattle was one of the most affordable places for a tech worker to live in 2015, measured by...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Employee Lawsuit Accuses Google of ‘Spying Program’

By Reed Albergotti · Dec 20, 2016 1:15pm PST · 5 comments

A Google product manager is suing the company over its internal confidentiality policies, saying they breach California labor laws. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges Google runs an internal “spying program” which relies on employees voluntarily reporting other employees who might have leaked information.The lawsuit alleges that... A Google product manager is suing the company over its internal confidentiality policies, saying...

Source: PitchBook

Fidelity Slows Private Tech Deals

By Alfred Lee · Dec 20, 2016 7:00am PST

Fidelity Investments made fewer private tech investments this year in part because it couldn’t agree with companies over the level of their valuations, according to Andy Boyd, Fidelity’s head of global equity capital markets. Fidelity had sought to invest at lower valuations that companies would not accept, Mr. Boyd told The... Fidelity Investments made fewer private tech investments this year in part because it...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Loss Decelerates, Reflecting China Exit

By Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2016 12:55pm PST

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Loss Decelerates, Reflecting China Exit

By Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2016 12:55pm PST

Uber lost more than $800 million in the third quarter of this year, before interest, taxes and stock-based compensation, according to people familiar with its finances. But Uber’s departure from China in the middle of the quarter helped slow the growth rate of its losses to less than 25% year over year, down from 34% year over year in the... Uber lost more than $800 million in the third quarter of this year, before interest, taxes and...