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

Data via comScore, CrunchBase

Funding Doesn’t Buy Traffic for Media Companies

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Jun 4, 2015 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

Outside capital has been flowing into digital media companies, pumping up valuations and forcing media executives to question what future exits will look like. Outside capital has been flowing into digital media companies, pumping up valuations and forcing...

Vox CEO Jim Bankoff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Overpriced Digital Media Firms Could Face Reckoning

By Martin Peers and Tom Dotan · Jun 4, 2015 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

If there’s one field that would seem ripe for consolidation, it’s the one occupied by sites likes Business Insider, Mashable and The Verge. After years of investment by venture capitalists, wealthy families and media companies, there’s an overabundance of these digital quasi-news and entertainment sites. Meaningful profits, though, still seem... If there’s one field that would seem ripe for consolidation, it’s the one occupied by sites likes...

From left, AJ Brustein of Wonolo and Divya Bhat of Rickshaw. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Q&A

The Next Phase of On-Demand: Labor as a Service

By Steve Nellis · Jun 3, 2015 1:17pm PDT · 1 comment

As on-demand apps like Uber and Instacart grow, there’s one thing standing in their way: people. These companies work tirelessly to recruit and vet enough workers to meet spikes in demand and to keep them happy. A loyal and engaged labor pool is critical for industry leaders, like Uber, and losing a labor advantage is a big risk. (Hence, all the... As on-demand apps like Uber and Instacart grow, there’s one thing standing in their way: people....

Julia White, general manager of product marketing for Microsoft Office. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cloud Startups Chip Away at Excel’s Stronghold

By Steve Nellis · Jun 3, 2015 7:01am PDT

Julia White, general manager of product marketing for Microsoft Office. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cloud Startups Chip Away at Excel’s Stronghold

By Steve Nellis · Jun 3, 2015 7:01am PDT

John O’Connor of wealth management firm Rincon Advisors should be the model buyer for Microsoft Excel, the Redmond giant’s stalwart spreadsheet software. For a dozen years as a financial professional, Mr. O’Connor tapped the program for intricate company financial models, portfolio tracking and generating chart-filled reports for clients. But a... John O’Connor of wealth management firm Rincon Advisors should be the model buyer for Microsoft...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Credit: Bloomberg

Amazon Has Been Trying to Join Mobile Pay Party

By Amir Efrati · Jun 2, 2015 10:01am PDT

As more technology companies offer ways for people to pay for goods in stores by waving their phone or wrist, Amazon.com is still working on its strategy. The company has tried various ideas over the past year—introducing card-swiping terminals for small physical retailers and ways for consumers to store loyalty cards on their phone. The goal:... As more technology companies offer ways for people to pay for goods in stores by waving their...

Data via Datafox, Information research

How Much are Workers Worth to a Unicorn?

By Tom Dotan and Peter Schulz · Jun 2, 2015 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

There are many paths to becoming a startup worth a billion dollars, but to live up to those valuations companies eventually need to make money. One of the biggest factors standing in the way: headcount. The Information compared valuation-to-headcount ratios of big private startups that have been able to raise money at aggressive valuations. The... There are many paths to becoming a startup worth a billion dollars, but to live up to those...

Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Exclusive (Brief)

Jawbone Lays Off 20 Employees

By Reed Albergotti · Jun 1, 2015 2:50pm PDT · 4 comments

Jawbone, maker of fitness trackers, jettisoned roughly 20 employees or about 4 percent of its workforce on Monday, a month after it raised $300 million in financing from private equity firm BlackRock. A Jawbone spokesman called the layoffs part of an ongoing restructuring. “We try to find roles for people inside the organization,” he said. “... Jawbone, maker of fitness trackers, jettisoned roughly 20 employees or about 4 percent of its...

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s ‘Wild West’ May Be the Future of Peer-to-Peer Payments

By Tom Dotan · Jun 1, 2015 11:11am PDT

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s ‘Wild West’ May Be the Future of Peer-to-Peer Payments

By Tom Dotan · Jun 1, 2015 11:11am PDT

Peer-to-peer lending may be growing steadily in the U.S., but it’s truly taken off in China. And that is providing opportunities for U.S. venture capitalists and other startups willing to stomach a volatile marketplace. More than 2,300 services that allow consumers to get loans from individuals were operating in China at the end of 2014,... Peer-to-peer lending may be growing steadily in the U.S., but it’s truly taken off in China. And...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Pricing for Consumer Perception

By Sam Lessin · Jun 1, 2015 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

As Internet companies reach more deeply into the economy and our lives, they’re encountering a problem that has long afflicted other industries. When a person doesn’t understand how a service makes money, he tends to believe the worst. And it matters. In Silicon Valley, the issue of consumer trust is becoming more acute, and companies are... As Internet companies reach more deeply into the economy and our lives, they’re encountering a...

Apps Won’t Make the Apple Watch

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 29, 2015 8:04am PDT · 1 comment

This week Apple executive Jeff Williams made an announcement that had Apple fans cheering: technology for better Apple Watch apps is on the way. For those of you who haven’t played with an Apple Watch or read one of the myriad reviews, the third-party apps from thousands of developers like Evernote, Twitter and MLB are crummy. They aren’t very... This week Apple executive Jeff Williams made an announcement that had Apple fans cheering:...

The Information Fundraising Briefing

By The Information Staff · May 28, 2015 10:05am PDT

Postmates, which primarily delivers food from restaurants like Starbucks and Chipotle, is raising more than $50 million at a roughly $400 million valuation, which has essentially doubled since the start of the year, The Information has learned. The round is being led by hedge fund Tiger Global, and many old investors are also participating.... Postmates, which primarily delivers food from restaurants like Starbucks and Chipotle, is raising...

*Calculation: More Optimistic - Less Optimistic = The Information Score

Tough Month for Tech Companies

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 28, 2015 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

*Calculation: More Optimistic - Less Optimistic = The Information Score

Subscriber Survey

Tough Month for Tech Companies

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 28, 2015 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

Headlines can be deceiving, and the public tech markets can be unforgiving. Those are our takeaways from this month’s subscriber survey. Amid all this talk of cable bundle breaking, we drilled into your online video habits. It was no surprise that Netflix and Amazon Prime, which albeit offers more than video, were the most popular services. But... Headlines can be deceiving, and the public tech markets can be unforgiving. Those are our...

Microsoft's cloud chief Scott Guthrie. Photo by Bloomberg.

App Store Showdown Comes to the Cloud

By Steve Nellis · May 28, 2015 7:00am PDT

Every month, the core parts of cloud computing like storing and processing data get cheaper and more commoditized. That means that Microsoft and Google can’t rely on price cuts alone to take market share from Amazon Web Services, the longtime cloud leader that brought in $4.6 billion in revenue last year. Instead, they’re both experimenting with... Every month, the core parts of cloud computing like storing and processing data get cheaper and...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Q&A

Symphony CEO Aims To Drum Up Discord at Microsoft, Slack

By Steve Nellis · May 27, 2015 10:01am PDT

If you’ve heard of Symphony, the Palo Alto-based startup that raised $66 million last October from more than a dozen major banks, it’s probably as a possible instant messaging replacement for the service offered by Bloomberg, the financial data and news giant. Banks’ relationship with Bloomberg have been in the spotlight in the past two years... If you’ve heard of Symphony, the Palo Alto-based startup that raised $66 million last October...

A Google self-driving car. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Google May Not Win in Self-Driving Cars

By Amir Efrati · May 27, 2015 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Based on the mountains of press Google’s self-driving cars have received, one might think the company would have an insurmountable lead in developing the futuristic vehicles. But technological realities point to a much wider arms race in the years ahead between Google, Apple, Uber, Baidu and others. “This is a wide open field,” says Red... Based on the mountains of press Google’s self-driving cars have received, one might think the...

Data via Jana

Death by a Thousand Brands

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · May 26, 2015 10:01am PDT

Data via Jana

Death by a Thousand Brands

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · May 26, 2015 10:01am PDT

Local upstart and Chinese Android phone brands are gaining market share in emerging markets like India and Indonesia, new data suggest, at the expense of incumbents including Sony. The data were gathered from the app mCent and reflects the proportion of its users among different phone brands. mCent is one of India’s most popular apps and one... Local upstart and Chinese Android phone brands are gaining market share in emerging markets like...

Illustration by Jeff Greco. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Evanescence: How Snapchat’s CEO is Shaping His Empire

By Tom Dotan · May 26, 2015 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Evan Spiegel has perfected the art of keeping people guessing about his true nature and ambitions. It’s a fitting accomplishment for the co-founder of Snapchat, who’s building his budding tech empire on the belief that modern communication should be brief, private and fleeting. So far, advertisers and media partners have been willing to look... Evan Spiegel has perfected the art of keeping people guessing about his true nature and...

Private Tech Myths Cheat Sheet

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 22, 2015 8:25am PDT · 1 comment

It’s a supremely interesting—and confusing—time in private tech investing. Companies like Uber are poised to set record-breaking valuations of $50 billion-plus, and there are lots of high-performing private companies right behind them. But caution abounds. Companies are trying to justify valuations based on very fuzzy metrics. I recently heard... It’s a supremely interesting—and confusing—time in private tech investing. Companies like Uber...

Shutterfly CEO Jeffrey Housenbold. Photo by Bloomberg.

Shutterfly Offers Snapshot of Public Company Peril

By Martin Peers · May 21, 2015 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

There’s little debate that for small companies, being public can be a pain in the neck. The costs of complying with regulatory requirements are high; it can be tough for very small companies to attract Wall Street research and a lot of investors shy away from small stocks out of concern that trading isn’t liquid enough. That’s why there are so... There’s little debate that for small companies, being public can be a pain in the neck. The costs...

Tony Fadell, CEO of Google's Nest Labs

Google Developing ‘Brillo’ Software for Internet of Things

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · May 21, 2015 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Tony Fadell, CEO of Google's Nest Labs

Google Developing ‘Brillo’ Software for Internet of Things

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · May 21, 2015 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Google wants its software to power any electronic device that connects to the Internet, whether or not it has a digital screen. To that end, Google is working on technology that could run on low-powered devices, possibly with as few as 64 or 32 megabytes of random-access memory, according to people who have been briefed about the project. ... Google wants its software to power any electronic device that connects to the Internet, whether...