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

At Nasdaq on the day Etsy went public. Photo by AP.

Employee Stock May Offer Clues to IPO Prices

By Alfred Lee · Sep 14, 2016 1:04pm PDT · 1 comment

If you want to gauge where a tech company will price an upcoming public offering, don’t bother looking at the value of its last fundraising. Instead, check out the employee stock option price.For instance, enterprise software firm Apptio said on Monday it expects to go public at a price range of between $13 and $15 a share. That’s... If you want to gauge where a tech company will price an upcoming public offering, don’t...

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Video Leaves a Small Window for Advertisers

By Tom Dotan · Sep 14, 2016 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

Most video ads on Facebook are seen for only a second or two, according to a new study, well below the average for video ads on YouTube and other websites. It suggests few people on Facebook are clicking on video ads as they scroll past them in their News Feed.The data provides further evidence to advertisers who want to use Facebook that they... Most video ads on Facebook are seen for only a second or two, according to a new study, well...

Source: Paysa

How Tech Firms Stack Up on Pay

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · Sep 13, 2016 12:45pm PDT · 1 comment

Twitter is offering junior technical talent higher compensation than most other top consumer tech companies, as it tries to keep engineers from fleeing, new data shows. Meanwhile, private companies on the ascent, like Snapchat, Uber and Airbnb, are doling out plenty of equity compensation to give their employees the chance of significant gains.... Twitter is offering junior technical talent higher compensation than most other top consumer tech...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at this year's F8 developer conference. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Power Struggle Over App Links

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 13, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at this year's F8 developer conference. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Power Struggle Over App Links

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 13, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Employees at Yelp have seen a troubling trend recently: Facebook sometimes appears to be blocking their app. Even if customers have downloaded Yelp, links posted to its Facebook page direct them back into the social network’s own browser. Instead of sending viewers into Yelp’s restaurant review app, they stay stuck in Facebook. Yelp... Employees at Yelp have seen a troubling trend recently: Facebook sometimes appears to be blocking...

Last year's San Francisco subscriber summit. Photo by Erin Beach.

Our Next Subscriber Summit: Silicon Valley 2020

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 12, 2016 10:42am PDT · 1 comment

It’s no secret that cities and industries around the world are intent on copying Silicon Valley. But Silicon Valley isn’t standing still. For our third Subscriber Summit we’re focusing on where the Valley is headed next—the stuff everyone will be talking about in a year or so, but what people in the know are talking about... It’s no secret that cities and industries around the world are intent on copying Silicon...

Nervana's three co-founders, Arjun Bansal, Amir Khosrowshahi and Naveen Rao, at a meeting at DFJ, one of Nervana's investors, during the sale talks. Photo by Flickr/Steve Jurvetson.

How Nvidia Let Intel Get an Edge in AI Chip Market

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 12, 2016 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

It’s the story of a missed opportunity: how Nvidia let a deep learning tech startup get away and be snapped up by its rival Intel. With its $408 million acquisition of Nervana Systems, Intel can now enter a segment of the computer chip market that could fuel a boom in artificial intelligence applications.Nvidia’s rejection of Nervana... It’s the story of a missed opportunity: how Nvidia let a deep learning tech startup get...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Information’s Latest Free Agents

By The Information Staff · Sep 12, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

The latest installment of The Information’s Free Agents, which highlights prominent tech and media players who are in between jobs, shows the full range of reasons top executives leave a post.Some, like Disney's Chief Operating Officer Tom Staggs and SoftBank’s Nikesh Arora thought they were next in line for a bigger... The latest installment of The Information’s Free Agents, which highlights prominent tech...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Sep 10, 2016 8:01am PDT

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Sep 10, 2016 8:01am PDT

Good Morning!There are no references to a headphone jack in this email. We, too, have courage. Good Morning!There are no references to a headphone jack in this email. We, too, have courage.

Uber's app open in Japan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Hires Tesla Mapping Leader

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 9, 2016 3:59pm PDT · 1 comment

The engineering manager who led digital mapping for Tesla Motors’ self-driving car system, Bill Chen, is moving to Uber.Mr. Chen, a former Apple Maps engineer, left Tesla last month after a two year stint, The Information previously reported. At Uber, he joins a sizable mapping team led by the former head of Google Maps, Brian McClendon.... The engineering manager who led digital mapping for Tesla Motors’ self-driving car system,...

The Information’s 411 — Transit of Last Resort

By Tom Dotan · Sep 9, 2016 1:56pm PDT

Stephen and Tom talk about Ford's purchase of Chariot, push notifications on Amazon Echo and what the 2017 IPO market looks like. Stephen and Tom talk about Ford's purchase of Chariot, push notifications on Amazon Echo and...

News is Not a Venture-Backed Business

By Jessica E. Lessin · Sep 9, 2016 7:02am PDT · 22 comments

Another week, another news site raising venture capital. Make that two. Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei’s new business and politics venture raised a $10 million series A from Lerer Hippeau Ventures and NBC. Cheddar, a video news network, raised $10 million more from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ribbit Capital and Comcast. Recently, Josh... Another week, another news site raising venture capital. Make that two. Politico co-founder Jim...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Debt Hurdles Facing Elon Musk

By Alfred Lee · Sep 8, 2016 11:33am PDT

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Debt Hurdles Facing Elon Musk

By Alfred Lee · Sep 8, 2016 11:33am PDT

It’s no secret Elon Musk may have bitten off more than he can chew by proposing a merger of Tesla and SolarCity, two debt-laden and money-losing companies he partly owns. Just how much of a bite is now clearer.Projections for both companies disclosed in a securities filing last week suggest the combined firm will have to raise around $5... It’s no secret Elon Musk may have bitten off more than he can chew by proposing a merger of...

Amazon's senior vice president for devices, David Limp. Photo by AP.

Amazon Preps Push Notifications for Alexa

By Steve Nellis · Sep 8, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

Amazon.com is planning to give its Alexa voice-activated assistant the ability to speak up— unprompted—with alerts from apps and gadgets, possibly this fall. It’s a change that could make the service much more useful and a feature developers long have asked for.Right now, users have to start conversations with Alexa, which... Amazon.com is planning to give its Alexa voice-activated assistant the ability to speak up—...

Snapchat CEO and co-founder Evan Spiegel, left, with co-founder and CTO Bobby Murphy. Photo by AP.

Snapchat Discussing IPO Filing with Bankers

By Jessica E. Lessin and Tom Dotan · Sep 7, 2016 10:52am PDT

Snapchat has been talking to investment bankers about filing for an IPO towards the end of this year or early in 2017, according to people the company has spoken to. That could put the company on track for a public offering next year, coming out ahead of other hotly anticipated private tech startups. Snapchat doesn't appear to have hired a... Snapchat has been talking to investment bankers about filing for an IPO towards the end of this...

Source: Airdna. Graphic by Peter Schulz.

Where Airbnb Gets to Play Full House

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

Airbnb has long attracted property owners seeking higher margins on short-term tourist rentals than long-term leases for city residents. But extreme cases are emerging in Airbnb’s latest hot spots for growth: Japanese cities.In June, around eight in 10 Airbnb listings in cities like Osaka and Tokyo were entire homes, up 6 percentage points... Airbnb has long attracted property owners seeking higher margins on short-term tourist rentals...

CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Startups Use Their Voice In Washington

By Steve Nellis · Sep 6, 2016 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Startups Use Their Voice In Washington

By Steve Nellis · Sep 6, 2016 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

When big tech firms like Google, Facebook, Amazon or Apple want to influence Washington, they’ve got myriad opportunities. Such companies spend millions a year on lobbying, while their executives can hold fundraisers for political candidates.For startups, without the resources of their bigger counterparts, the options are narrower. But... When big tech firms like Google, Facebook, Amazon or Apple want to influence Washington,...

Venture capitalist Davidi Gilo. Photo by J Street.

Investor Alleges Startup Faked Its Own Death

By Reed Albergotti · Sep 6, 2016 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Venture capitalist Davidi Gilo had given up on the $6.5 million his firm invested in the enterprise software company BackFlip, which shut down in early 2011. But seven months later, he alleged in a lawsuit, he discovered that BackFlip’s software and customers had been subsumed by Cisco Systems, with the help of BackFlip’s co-founder,... Venture capitalist Davidi Gilo had given up on the $6.5 million his firm invested in the...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

What Everyone Is Missing about Venture Returns

By Sam Lessin · Sep 5, 2016 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

It was interesting to watch the back and forth last week between the Wall Street Journal and Andreessen Horowitz about venture fund performance. The entire exchange seemed to miss entirely the reality of how LPs and founders value venture funds and the actual process by which funds aggregate and deploy capital.The WSJ made the point that the... It was interesting to watch the back and forth last week between the Wall Street Journal and...

Photo of Gary Johnson by Bloomberg.

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Sep 3, 2016 8:00am PDT

Happy Labor Day Weekend!If you're reading this, you're probably not at Burning Man. Or you are, and you’re getting nasty looks for pulling out your iPhone. Happy Labor Day Weekend!If you're reading this, you're probably not at Burning Man. Or...

The Information’s 411 — Outrunning the Bear

By Tom Dotan · Sep 2, 2016 12:38pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Outrunning the Bear

By Tom Dotan · Sep 2, 2016 12:38pm PDT

Tom and Amir talk about Lyft's future, the Uber-Alphabet drama and Uber's org chart. And Tom explains why food videos took over BuzzFeed. Tom and Amir talk about Lyft's future, the Uber-Alphabet drama and Uber's org chart....