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

AppNexus CEO Brian O"Kelley. Photo by AP.

The Big Interview

AppNexus Tries to Bite at Google’s Heels

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 31, 2016 7:02am PDT

In the nine years since he founded ad-tech firm AppNexus, CEO Brian O’Kelley has established a reputation for blustery public pronouncements against the power wielded by digital ad-selling giants like Google. But until recently AppNexus didn’t have the weaponry in the form of digital ad selling software systems to be competitive with... In the nine years since he founded ad-tech firm AppNexus, CEO Brian O’Kelley has...

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by AP.

In Snub to Google, AT&T Looks to Sell Alternative Android Phone

By Amir Efrati · Mar 30, 2016 7:02am PDT · 11 comments

AT&T has recently discussed selling a smartphone powered by an alternative version of Android, the operating system developed by Google, according to one person with direct knowledge and one person briefed about the talks. If the proposed phone sells, it could weaken Google’s control of Android in the U.S. and set back its efforts to... AT&T has recently discussed selling a smartphone powered by an alternative version of...

Information Score = More Optimistic - Less Optimistic

Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Sentiment Towards Tech Improves

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

Sentiment among our subscribers towards tech, particularly private firms like Snapchat and Dropbox, improved markedly in the past month, according to our latest subscriber survey.The turnaround suggested that pessimism sparked at least partly by the market sell-off around the start of the year may be lifting. The survey also showed that optimism... Sentiment among our subscribers towards tech, particularly private firms like Snapchat and...

Wang Xiang. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Xiaomi’s New IP Guy

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 29, 2016 7:01am PDT

Wang Xiang. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Big Interview

Xiaomi’s New IP Guy

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 29, 2016 7:01am PDT

BEIJING—There’s no shortage of questions hanging over Xiaomi, one of the most highly valued—and in my opinion, one of the most ambitious—private companies on the planet. After vaulting to a leading position in the Chinese smartphone market, can it maintain its momentum as the country’s growth slows? Can it make... BEIJING—There’s no shortage of questions hanging over Xiaomi, one of the most highly...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Why Tech Needs Epic Failures

By Sam Lessin · Mar 28, 2016 10:00am PDT · 4 comments

If you were to read the headlines about big technology company launches over the last few years, things might look pretty bleak. There have been a lot of epic failures.Apple’s Watch, the Amazon’s Kindle Fire phone, Google’s repeated forays into social, Facebook’s Home, Paper, and Indian Free Basics initiative—they... If you were to read the headlines about big technology company launches over the last few years,...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Messenger Prepares In-Store Purchase Service

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 28, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to become a marketplace, including an unreleased feature that lets people use the app to buy things in stores.Other new features hinted at in the software include “secret conversations,” presumably a reference to encrypted chats, something now... Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 26, 2016 8:00am PDT

Happy Easter!What a week! We really got the tech world talking this week with a couple of blockbuster exclusives. Happy Easter!What a week! We really got the tech world talking this week with a couple of...

The Information’s 411 — Many Hats

By Tom Dotan · Mar 25, 2016 7:10pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Many Hats

By Tom Dotan · Mar 25, 2016 7:10pm PDT

Reed Albergotti comes on to discuss Nest and its struggles and what that says about the broader hardware industry.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Reed Albergotti comes on to discuss Nest and its struggles and what that says about the broader...

Travis Kalanick. Photo by Boao Forum for Asia.

Zuckerberg and Kalanick in China: Two Approaches

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 25, 2016 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

This week, two Silicon Valley titans buttered up Beijing. Mark Zuckerberg and Travis Kalanick worked two Chinese conferences, rubbing elbows with business and political leaders in an effort to open doors here. I heard Kalanick speak at Boao Forum—a Davos-like confab of government leaders in Hainan, where I participated in two panels with... This week, two Silicon Valley titans buttered up Beijing. Mark Zuckerberg and Travis Kalanick...

Tony Fadell. Photo by Flickr/LeWeb. Art by Jeff Greco.

Inside Tony Fadell’s Struggle to Build Nest

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 24, 2016 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

At a November all-hands meeting for engineers at Nest’s Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters, co-founder Matt Rogers said he was “losing sleep” over an exodus of staffers—roughly 70 in about six to 12 months, out of its workforce of roughly 1,000.Tony Fadell, the company’s CEO, interrupted, pointing out that many of... At a November all-hands meeting for engineers at Nest’s Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters,...

Tony Fadell. Photo by AP.

Four Nest/Google Products Still Under Wraps

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 24, 2016 7:00am PDT

In the two years since Nest was acquired by Google, the company hasn’t released a new hardware product, besides an updated version of a camera it inherited with the Dropcam acquisition. Yet several products are in development, many of which revolve around a home security system. If released, these products could further shake up the home... In the two years since Nest was acquired by Google, the company hasn’t released a new...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Apple’s Cloud Infrastructure Troubles

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · Mar 23, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Apple’s Cloud Infrastructure Troubles

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · Mar 23, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

Apple’s move to tap Google to handle parts of its iCloud traffic is a sign that the Cupertino company has failed to build its own cloud infrastructure despite years of work, say people with knowledge of the situation. The company is still years away from being able to completely leave its existing cloud vendors, which also include Amazon... Apple’s move to tap Google to handle parts of its iCloud traffic is a sign that the...

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

Asked and Answered

Our Views on Smart Devices, Saas Startups and More

By The Information Staff · Mar 22, 2016 2:48pm PDT · 3 comments

We’ve received a lot of questions lately from subscribers about the state of the smart-device market and developments in subscription software companies, among other subjects. As we’ve done before, we’re publishing our responses to subscriber questions we think are of broad interest. Other subjects covered include condition of... We’ve received a lot of questions lately from subscribers about the state of the...

Casper co-founder Philip Krim. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Where Supervoting Rights Go to the Extreme

By Alfred Lee · Mar 22, 2016 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

New data on voting rights at private tech firms reveals that more companies than previously thought grant insiders extra-powerful supervoting shares carrying 30 to 100 times as many votes as ordinary stock. The more-common version of supervoting shares in private tech carry just ten times as many votes as other classes.The most extreme example... New data on voting rights at private tech firms reveals that more companies than previously...

Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Salesforce Shook Up Product Marketing

By Steve Nellis · Mar 21, 2016 10:38am PDT

Salesforce has grown rapidly through a blizzard of nearly three dozen acquisitions, to create seven cloud businesses that offer everything from sales tracking to marketing campaigns and analytics. But Salesforce has yet to figure out how to package together these offerings to drive higher sales from individual customers. That clear’s from... Salesforce has grown rapidly through a blizzard of nearly three dozen acquisitions, to create...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Holdouts: The People in Media Who Get Tech

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Mar 21, 2016 7:02am PDT · 9 comments

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Holdouts: The People in Media Who Get Tech

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Mar 21, 2016 7:02am PDT · 9 comments

It’s never been easy for media companies to attract and retain the best digital talent, given the richer opportunities that beckon in Silicon Valley. It hasn’t helped that media companies have spent years debating whether to build digital products that could cause short-term harm to the traditional businesses. Indeed, while working... It’s never been easy for media companies to attract and retain the best digital talent,...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 19, 2016 8:01am PDT

Good Morning! Take heart, spring is almost here. And we had a bumper crop of exclusives this week. Good Morning! Take heart, spring is almost here. And we had a bumper crop of exclusives this...

Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg

Yahoo, Facebook in Ad Partnership Talks Over Tumblr

By Amir Efrati · Mar 18, 2016 11:23am PDT · 2 comments

Yahoo is considering letting Facebook sell ads within the Tumblr mobile app, splitting the revenue with Yahoo, in hopes of getting more ad revenue from the microblogging network, say people at both companies. Yahoo has been looking for ways to improve Tumblr's ad performance. Right now, only around 10% to 15% of Tumblr’s available... Yahoo is considering letting Facebook sell ads within the Tumblr mobile app, splitting the...

The Information’s 411 — Moral Hazards

By Tom Dotan · Mar 18, 2016 10:13am PDT

Cory joined as co-host on this week's episode and talked about why people in San Francisco's city government are addicted to encrypted messaging app Telegram. Tom explained why Snapchat's unusual vesting schedule isn't exactly employee friendlyYou can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Cory joined as co-host on this week's episode and talked about why people in San...

China: ‘A Country Full of Ubers’

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 18, 2016 7:01am PDT

China: ‘A Country Full of Ubers’

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 18, 2016 7:01am PDT

It’s not every day that you hear the line that Silicon Valley is too cautious. Yet the theme arose continuously this week as I met with a range of Chinese tech entrepreneurs and investors in Beijing. And it reveals much about the culture of Chinese technology companies, which still aren’t well understood in the West. Entrepreneur... It’s not every day that you hear the line that Silicon Valley is too cautious. Yet the...