The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica E. Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica E. 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

The Information’s 411 — Airbnb’s Tiny Homes

By Tom Dotan · Mar 24, 2017 3:13pm PDT

Cory talks about Airbnb and Alphabet's ideas about investing in prefab homes. Kevin explores the most popular skills for the Amazon Echo. Cory talks about Airbnb and Alphabet's ideas about investing in prefab homes. Kevin explores...

Kasita CEO Jeff Wilson inside one of Kasita's prefabricated homes. Photo by Flickr/Nicolas Boullosa.

Airbnb, Alphabet Eye Homebuilding

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 24, 2017 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

Last year, employees in Airbnb’s experimental design studio explored ways of manufacturing small homes for people’s backyards, to provide extra space for guests. But the effort, which hasn’t previously been reported, was mostly scuttled for now, said a person with knowledge of the situation. Airbnb senior executives worried... Last year, employees in Airbnb’s experimental design studio explored ways of manufacturing...

Source: Betaworks

Amazon Wants Alexa to Play More Games

By Kevin McLaughlin and Mike Sullivan · Mar 23, 2017 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has decided that games are the killer app for Alexa.Mr. Bezos has told the team behind Amazon’s digital assistant to focus on getting more games for Alexa’s app store, according to a person who works with Amazon. Mr. Bezos believes games can make developers the most money, which is important for getting them... Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has decided that games are the killer app for Alexa.Mr. Bezos has told...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Lending Biz Growing—Within Limits

By Eugene Kim · Mar 22, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Lending Biz Growing—Within Limits

By Eugene Kim · Mar 22, 2017 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

For five years, Amazon.com has quietly been making small loans to a few of the merchants that sell on the e-commerce giant’s website. Now that little effort has become a decent-sized business.Amazon revealed recently that total outstanding loans to merchants had nearly doubled to $661 million on Dec. 31 from $337 million a year earlier.... For five years, Amazon.com has quietly been making small loans to a few of the merchants that...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

How Travis Kalanick’s Iron Grip Weakened Uber

By Amir Efrati · Mar 22, 2017 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Several months ago, at an Uber company staff meeting, an employee asked CEO Travis Kalanick about a regulatory matter in Southeast Asia. When Mr. Kalanick said he didn’t know about the issue, Uber’s top operations executive for Asia, Andrew MacDonald, spoke up to tell Mr. Kalanick he’d fill him in about it later. Mr. Kalanick... Several months ago, at an Uber company staff meeting, an employee asked CEO Travis Kalanick about...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Drops Employee Waiver for Pornography Suits

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 21, 2017 12:30pm PDT · 1 comment

Google will no longer require employees to waive their right to sue over pornography at work. The company changed its previous policy after an employee lawsuit alleged it violated labor laws. The Information brought the lawsuit to light last week.Google had previously required new employees to sign a form waiving their right to sue if they saw... Google will no longer require employees to waive their right to sue over pornography at work. The...

The onetime department store in Oakland now owned by Uber and under renovation. Photo by Flickr/Eugene Chan.

Tech’s Oakland Opportunity

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 21, 2017 10:54am PDT · 5 comments

Uber’s partial retrenchment from its future Oakland outpost appeared to be another example of the big tech companies spurning San Francisco’s eastern neighbor. Instead of relocating a few thousand employees to the building it acquired in 2015, Uber will instead have a few hundred there, at least initially. But it could work... Uber’s partial retrenchment from its future Oakland outpost appeared to be another...

Huawei's booth at the Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona. Photo by Bloomberg.

After Google Phone Fizzles, Huawei Turns to AT&T for U.S. Expansion

By Juro Osawa · Mar 21, 2017 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Huawei's booth at the Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona. Photo by Bloomberg.

After Google Phone Fizzles, Huawei Turns to AT&T for U.S. Expansion

By Juro Osawa · Mar 21, 2017 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Huawei, which is closing in on Apple and Samsung in smartphones, is making a fresh effort to sell its phones through a U.S. carrier. The smartphone maker is in the process of getting its homegrown Chinese mobile chipset accredited by AT&T in the U.S., an early but significant move in a market it has so far failed to crack, people familiar... Huawei, which is closing in on Apple and Samsung in smartphones, is making a fresh effort to sell...

Snap co-founders Robert Murphy and Evan Spiegel at the New York Stock Exchange on Snap's IPO day, with NYSE President Tom Farley. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap’s Big Tax Break

By Alfred Lee · Mar 20, 2017 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

The flurry of early interest in Snap’s IPO has passed and longstanding questions about the company's prospects now appear to be dominating trading. These include slow user growth and lack of profits, explaining why Snap stock is down more than 15% since the offering.But there is one positive that hasn’t received much attention:... The flurry of early interest in Snap’s IPO has passed and longstanding questions about the...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Who Pays for Redesigning Streets for Self-Driving Cars?

By Sam Lessin · Mar 20, 2017 7:00am PDT · 10 comments

In the abstract, self-driving cars should make traffic in cities better. In practice, I think self-driving cars will make traffic congestion far worse, requiring a fairly substantial redesign of the road systems in American cities.The short-term congestion and long-term time, expense and disruption of the required redesign of city roads present... In the abstract, self-driving cars should make traffic in cities better. In practice, I think...

Modest Conversations

Modest Conversations: Who Drives Corporate Benefits and Responsibility?

By Sam Lessin · Mar 19, 2017 5:56pm PDT · 1 comment

Andrew Kortina, my co-founder at Fin and a co-founder of Venmo, joins to share some musings about corporate responsibility and employee benefits. What drives company benefit programs—and the fairness of those programs? In a world where community organizations and traditional churches are in decline, have we overloaded the... Andrew Kortina, my co-founder at Fin and a co-founder of Venmo, joins to share some musings about...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 18, 2017 8:02am PDT

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 18, 2017 8:02am PDT

Good Morning!We’ve got our hands on Facebook executives’ March Madness picks. They closely resemble what Evan Spiegel picked last year. Good Morning!We’ve got our hands on Facebook executives’ March Madness picks. They...

The Information’s 411 — Burnt-out Shadows

By Tom Dotan · Mar 17, 2017 12:59pm PDT · 1 comment

Eugene makes his debut on the show to talk about Jeff Bezos' new "shadow." And Reed explores why Google makes employees waive their right to sue over workplace pornography. Eugene makes his debut on the show to talk about Jeff Bezos' new "shadow." And...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Employees Have to Waive Right to Sue on Pornography

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 17, 2017 10:39am PDT · 6 comments

Courts have long held that people can sue for sexual harassment if they see pornography at work. But at Google, employees are required to waive their right to sue on those grounds, according to a lawsuit. Google requires new employees to sign an “Adult Content Liability Release,” according to a court filing this week in the lawsuit,... Courts have long held that people can sue for sexual harassment if they see pornography at work....

Writers for "The Mindy Project," now on Hulu, at an event last September. Photo by AP.

Hulu Looking for Executive to Oversee Programming

By Tom Dotan · Mar 16, 2017 5:23pm PDT · 2 comments

Hulu is searching for a senior executive to oversee its programming, said two people familiar with the search, as the company prepares to expand with a new service of traditional cable channels in addition to its on-demand offering.The company has reached out to a number of high-level television executives for a position called chief content... Hulu is searching for a senior executive to oversee its programming, said two people familiar...

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

Can Twitter’s Lonely Bright Spot Keep Shining?

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

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

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

* 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...