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

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Tech Debt Costs Rise

By Alfred Lee · Oct 6, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Data storage company Actifio, which raised money at a $1.1 billion valuation in 2014, borrowed $10 million this year from a venture debt fund. But the interest rate on the loan had a minimum interest rate of 8.75%, up from 8.25% for a loan it took out last year. Other fees went up as well, raising the total cost by another 0.25 percentage... Data storage company Actifio, which raised money at a $1.1 billion valuation in 2014, borrowed...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images.

Snap Opens Up Ad Channels Slowly and Carefully

By Tom Dotan · Oct 5, 2016 4:55pm PDT · 1 comment

Until last Saturday, advertisers wanting to buy an ad on Snapchat had to negotiate directly with the company’s ad sales team. But starting Oct. 1, Snap, the app’s owner, began allowing some advertisers to bid on ad space using automated systems run by outside ad tech firms. It was a long-awaited move that makes it easier for a wider... Until last Saturday, advertisers wanting to buy an ad on Snapchat had to negotiate directly with...

Photo by Erin Beach.

Announcing the Summit Lunch Breakouts

By The Information Staff · Oct 5, 2016 9:08am PDT

We're so excited to see everyone on October 21st at our sold-out Subscriber Summit. An important part of the Summit are our lunch breakouts: a chance for you to visit some nearby companies to hear straight from big names in tech about important topics. Our team will also be on-hand to answer your questions. If... We're so excited to see everyone on October 21st at our sold-out Subscriber Summit. An...

Two people using the Bigscreen virtual reality app to look at a computer animation program together. Photo by Bigscreen.

Startups Bet on Workplace Use of VR

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 5, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Two people using the Bigscreen virtual reality app to look at a computer animation program together. Photo by Bigscreen.

Startups Bet on Workplace Use of VR

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 5, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Automattic, which makes WordPress, expects virtual reality to be a big part of its business in the years to come. If bloggers want to publish stories, videos or pictures in virtual reality, Automattic wants to help people produce and distribute them on WordPress. But Toni Schneider, Automattic’s former CEO who now runs the company’s... Automattic, which makes WordPress, expects virtual reality to be a big part of its business in...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussing Google's new Pixel smartphone and its virtual assistant at Tuesday's launch event. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s Hardware Thrusts: A Timeline

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Oct 4, 2016 2:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Google’s motto for its latest line of phones—the Pixels unveiled on Tuesday—may be “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.”The Pixels are the first phones carrying only the Google brand, as opposed to Nexus phones that were co-branded with Google and a manufacturing partner like Huawei. But the... Google’s motto for its latest line of phones—the Pixels unveiled on Tuesday—may...

Uber India President Amit Jain. Photo by Uber.

Uber Claims Lead in India

By Amir Efrati · Oct 4, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

BANGALORE, INDIA—Three years after launching its on-demand ride service in India, Uber says this country is its No. 2 market in terms of rides after the U.S. The India business is small relative to Uber’s global business, generating about $60 million in gross revenue per month and, after factoring expenses, losing around $30 million... BANGALORE, INDIA—Three years after launching its on-demand ride service in India, Uber says...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiling the Kindle Fire tablet and a new Kindle e-reader in 2012. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Hires Amazon’s Former Kindle Hardware Chief

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 3, 2016 5:55pm PDT

David Foster, who helped develop the Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire tablet, joined Google on Monday as vice president of product engineering in its hardware group, Google said. A person familiar with the hiring said Mr. Foster would lead hardware development for Google’s new branded line of smartphones. The position hadn't previously... David Foster, who helped develop the Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire tablet, joined Google on...

Art by Sam Lessin.

How Data Analytics is Changing Startup Financing

By Sam Lessin · Oct 3, 2016 10:01am PDT · 9 comments

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

How Data Analytics is Changing Startup Financing

By Sam Lessin · Oct 3, 2016 10:01am PDT · 9 comments

In my first job after college I worked for Bain & Company and learned a lot about how to use data to understand how companies could maximize revenue and profit—either to drive their stock price or service the debt applied by a financial sponsor.Recently, looking at several companies preparing for their series A financing I have been... In my first job after college I worked for Bain & Company and learned a lot about how to use...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at last year's Dreamforce conference. Photo by Bloomberg.

At Salesforce’s Big Show, the Pitch is More Dream than Reality

By Steve Nellis · Oct 3, 2016 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

This week, 170,000 people will descend on San Francisco for Dreamforce, Salesforce.com’s annual user conference. Thousands will pack the Moscone Center to participate in a familiar ritual: master salesman and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s latest pitch for the product that he says will revolutionize their sales and earn his company... This week, 170,000 people will descend on San Francisco for Dreamforce, Salesforce.com’s...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Oct 1, 2016 8:00am PDT

Good Morning!The world discovered on Friday that, despite its name, Nutanix isn’t a breakfast cereal. But its stock certainly crackled and popped on its opening day. Good Morning!The world discovered on Friday that, despite its name, Nutanix isn’t a...

The Information’s 411 — Take a Chance on Hardware

By Tom Dotan · Sep 30, 2016 2:30pm PDT

Jessica argues that Twitter's live video strategy won't save it. Reed and Tom talk about smart locks and Snap's Spectacles. Jessica argues that Twitter's live video strategy won't save it. Reed and Tom talk...

A Nutanix facility in North Carolina. Photo by AP.

Nutanix Executives’ IPO Incentive

By Alfred Lee · Sep 30, 2016 12:11pm PDT · 2 comments

A Nutanix facility in North Carolina. Photo by AP.

Nutanix Executives’ IPO Incentive

By Alfred Lee · Sep 30, 2016 12:11pm PDT · 2 comments

Nutanix’s initial public offering was off to a fast start on Friday, as the enterprise software company’s stock more than doubled. That lifted its market capitalization to around $4.9 billion in late afternoon trading, more than twice its last private valuation of $2 billion. It perhaps nudged open the IPO window for other... Nutanix’s initial public offering was off to a fast start on Friday, as the enterprise...

New England Patriots playing Houston Texans on Sept. 22, a game streamed on Twitter. Photo by AP.

How Twitter’s Streaming Product Falls Short

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 30, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

In the summer of last year, I bumped into Jack Dorsey at Sun Valley and asked the then-interim Twitter CEO what made him confident he could run both Twitter and Square at the same time. He had two words: Bob Iger. In the summer of last year, I bumped into Jack Dorsey at Sun Valley and asked the then-interim...

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Survey

IPO Bets: Airbnb and Uber in 2018

By Martin Peers and Peter Schulz · Sep 29, 2016 10:01am PDT

Just over 70% of subscribers expect Lyft to be acquired, our latest subscriber survey shows, while 41% of subscribers expect Pinterest to get bought.Among the other striking results of our latest subscriber survey: More than 40% of subscribers predicted that Airbnb and Uber will wait until 2018 to go public, while a similar portion are betting... Just over 70% of subscribers expect Lyft to be acquired, our latest subscriber survey shows,...

Why Snap’s Spectacles Will Be Elusive

By Tom Dotan · Sep 29, 2016 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

If you were counting on Snap’s new camera-mounted Spectacles to be this year’s big Christmas gift for millennials, you may want to reconsider.The company has considered an unusual “closed” rollout of the product, meaning it wouldn’t be released to the public at large in the near term—according to two people... If you were counting on Snap’s new camera-mounted Spectacles to be this year’s big...

An enrollment camp for Aadhaar in Mumbai, India. Photo by AP.

What’s Going Right in India Tech

By Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2016 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

An enrollment camp for Aadhaar in Mumbai, India. Photo by AP.

What’s Going Right in India Tech

By Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2016 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

BANGALORE, INDIA—Despite the shakeout at the top of India’s private tech ecosystem, two projects promise to push forward India’s telecom and finance industries—and the web sector.One of the potential beneficiaries in the finance industry is Paytm, 40% owned by Alibaba Group of China. There’s also buzz about a slew... BANGALORE, INDIA—Despite the shakeout at the top of India’s private tech ecosystem,...

A Mobike user in Shanghai. Photo by AP.

Will Mobike be the next Uber?

By Kai Qu · Sep 28, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

BEIJING—The newest battleground for China’s increasingly cautious tech investors is something rather old: the bicycle. Bicycle-on-demand services similar to the municipal bike-shares in London and New York are drawing venture capitalists willing to bet these firms are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The field got hotter on... BEIJING—The newest battleground for China’s increasingly cautious tech investors is...

Palantir CEO Alexander Karp. Photo by Bloomberg

Fund Sold Palantir Stock Well Below Last Valuation

By Alfred Lee · Sep 27, 2016 5:09pm PDT · 2 comments

A mutual fund run by AIG subsidiary Valic sold stock in cybersecurity firm Palantir earlier this year at a price 60% below Palantir’s last fundraising valuation, securities filings show. At that price, Palantir’s implied valuation would be around $8 billion, compared with the $20 billion valuation at which it raised money last... A mutual fund run by AIG subsidiary Valic sold stock in cybersecurity firm Palantir earlier this...

Facebook at Work's director Julien Codorniou. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Rival to Slack, Yammer Coming Next Month

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 27, 2016 10:01am PDT · 7 comments

Facebook is nearing a commercial launch of Facebook at Work, its business-focused social network, and now plans to charge companies based on the number of employees who use the service monthly, a Facebook executive said. That’s a change from Facebook’s earlier plans to offer the software for free but to charge companies based on... Facebook is nearing a commercial launch of Facebook at Work, its business-focused social network,...

August Home co-founder Yves Behar. Photo by Flickr/Eirik Solheim.

How Amazon Might Get Through Front Door

By Steve Nellis and Reed Albergotti · Sep 27, 2016 7:01am PDT

August Home co-founder Yves Behar. Photo by Flickr/Eirik Solheim.

How Amazon Might Get Through Front Door

By Steve Nellis and Reed Albergotti · Sep 27, 2016 7:01am PDT

The days of having your Amazon packages stolen from outside your front door soon could be a thing of the past.Two companies with ties to Amazon.com, smart lock maker August Home and web-connected garage door opener Garageio, are working on a way for delivery people to leave products inside the home when residents aren’t there. As Garageio... The days of having your Amazon packages stolen from outside your front door soon could be a thing...