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

Source: 3oak

Is Online Gambling Ready for U.S. Moment?

By Eric Newcomer · Dec 18, 2013 12:55pm PST

Betable has a lot going against it. The company, which makes tools that let people wager real money in games, has scrapped its business plan once already. Now it’s trying to change a complacent gambling industry that has relied on the same games like poker and blackjack for generations. And the company is facing a patchwork of opaque,... Betable has a lot going against it. The company, which makes tools that let people wager real...

Jonas Bengtsson

Amid Ad Struggles, YouTube CEO Discussed Stepping Aside

By Amir Efrati · Dec 17, 2013 2:13pm PST

YouTube’s quest to lure more-lucrative videos and ads is struggling as a leadership change may be afoot. Recent initiatives such as the launch of new “channels” that YouTube helped fund have had mixed results for advertisers. Prices for premium ad space on the Google video site have been flat or falling this year, according to... YouTube’s quest to lure more-lucrative videos and ads is struggling as a leadership change...

Vernon Chan

Samsung Taps Apple Veterans for Retail Push

By Katie Benner and Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 17, 2013 7:29am PST

Forget the floating Google showrooms. When it comes to retail, Samsung Electronics is contemplating a bigger plunge. The South Korean company's U.S. telecom unit recently hired a senior Apple store designer, Tim Gudgel, as it ponders a deeper investment in U.S. retail, according to two people close to the company. Mr. Gudgel specializes in... Forget the floating Google showrooms. When it comes to retail, Samsung Electronics is...

Laurence Tucker

Google Trials Smart-Thermostat Service

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · Dec 16, 2013 1:57pm PST

Laurence Tucker

Google Trials Smart-Thermostat Service

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · Dec 16, 2013 1:57pm PST

Google is eyeing energy-use data, again. The company has been running a trial of Internet-connected home thermostats to help consumers monitor and adjust their energy use, according to two people told about the project. The program has been referred to as EnergySense, according to a document reviewed by The Information. Google has been... Google is eyeing energy-use data, again. The company has been running a trial of...

Will Thiel's Xero Bet Yield Next Microsoft?

By Katie Benner · Dec 16, 2013 8:44am PST

Why are bold-face investing names like Peter Thiel making a big bet on a tiny New Zealand accounting software company? Mr. Thiel’s Valar Ventures, along with Matrix Capital Management, have poured at least $150 million into Xero over the past two years, with a clutch of other funds joining them. Over that time the company’s... Why are bold-face investing names like Peter Thiel making a big bet on a tiny New Zealand...

Y Combinator Founder Jessica Livingston. Credit: Robert Scoble

When Founders Fight, They Call Jessica Livingston

By Eric Newcomer · Dec 13, 2013 8:17am PST

A disagreement erupted among the founders of TapIn.tv. Relationships among the four, all old friends, frayed. Work slowed. The Y Combinator-backed startup knew who to call. Not Paul Graham, the celebrated thinker behind Silicon Valley’s best-known incubator, nor any of the other YC partners. Like so many YC startups before them the... A disagreement erupted among the founders of TapIn.tv. Relationships among the four, all old...

Google's Trojan Horse in China: Android

By Amir Efrati · Dec 12, 2013 3:13pm PST

China has been viewed as a lost cause for Google ever since its services were hurt by government interference and strong domestic competitors. But Android is proving to be a significant backdoor into China for Google's Web services. The mobile software, which Google makes available to handset makers, powers the vast majority of... China has been viewed as a lost cause for Google ever since its services were hurt by government...

Lightspeed Venture Partners

Venture Firms’ Backdoor to Bitcoin

By Eric Newcomer · Dec 12, 2013 12:20pm PST

Lightspeed Venture Partners

Venture Firms’ Backdoor to Bitcoin

By Eric Newcomer · Dec 12, 2013 12:20pm PST

Venture capitalists investing in Bitcoin startups are grabbing a nice slice of Bitcoin too. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund and others are pouring tens of millions of dollars into startups that help people buy and sell bitcoins or use the digital currency to make purchases. The investments position the firms... Venture capitalists investing in Bitcoin startups are grabbing a nice slice of Bitcoin too. ...

How 'Deep Learning' Works at Apple, Beyond

By Amir Efrati · Dec 11, 2013 3:17pm PST

If you’ve found that Apple’s Siri voice search understands your voice a little better than she did two years ago, give some thanks to the geeks who helped her learn. Siri and other programs have benefited from a form of artificial intelligence called deep learning. If you’ve found that Apple’s Siri voice search understands your voice a little better...

Facebook, Google in ‘Deep Learning’ Arms Race

By Amir Efrati · Dec 11, 2013 3:14pm PST

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants are battling to acquire expertise in a once-obscure branch of artificial intelligence that’s improving speech recognition, online-ad targeting and other technologies. Their main problem: There isn’t enough talent. Only a handful of researchers can call themselves experts in the red-hot field... Facebook, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants are battling to acquire expertise in a...

Meet More of The Information’s Free Agents

By Amir Efrati · Dec 10, 2013 1:28pm PST

Yesterday we brought you the first installment of The Information's Free Agents, a feature about respected tech and media executives on the sidelines who may be looking for new opportunities.We recently spoke with the next group of Free Agents, which includes a 10-time CEO who's now a sharpshooter; a current adviser to... Yesterday we brought you the first installment of The Information's Free Agents, a feature...

By Matt Vascellaro · Dec 10, 2013 12:29pm PST

By Matt Vascellaro · Dec 10, 2013 12:29pm PST

A Tiger in Silicon Valley

A Tiger in Silicon Valley

By Katie Benner · Dec 10, 2013 9:32am PST

Lee Fixel, a partner at investment firm Tiger Global Management, is bringing Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Over the past few years, Mr. Fixel, a former emerging markets analyst based in New York, has become a go-to advisor in Silicon Valley and the technology industry. He's shared his global take on the industry with the likes of... Lee Fixel, a partner at investment firm Tiger Global Management, is bringing Wall Street to...

Meet The Information’s Free Agents

By Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2013 12:38pm PST

Businesses are only as good as their people, and in the technology and media industries, talent doesn’t often stay put for long.Clashing cultures, strong personalities and strategy shifts often send big names to the exits (see former Apple executive Scott Forstall and former Microsoft executive Steve Sinofsky in the list below). Even... Businesses are only as good as their people, and in the technology and media industries, talent...

Wikimedia Commons

Software Developers Wait on Wearables

By Eric Newcomer · Dec 9, 2013 9:34am PST

Amid all the buzz about wearable devices, something’s missing: software worth wearing. Tech giants including Google and Samsung, soon to be joined by Apple and Microsoft, have staked big bets on wearables as the next defining era of hardware. For these companies, the devices hold the lucrative promise of burrowing ever deeper into our... Amid all the buzz about wearable devices, something’s missing: software worth wearing. Tech...

Decoding Hagberg's Management Test

By Amir Efrati · Dec 6, 2013 4:43pm PST

Decoding Hagberg's Management Test

By Amir Efrati · Dec 6, 2013 4:43pm PST

I had never met Richard Hagberg, but that didn’t stop him from telling me I was too disorganized. “You’re low on order and planfulness," he said on a recent Skype video call. "You’ll be less efficient because you’re less organized than you need to be. I had never met Richard Hagberg, but that didn’t stop him from telling me I was too...

Louie Rochon

Analyze This: Silicon Valley’s Hottest Appointment

By Amir Efrati · Dec 6, 2013 4:41pm PST

Last year, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston called a shrink.He didn’t sit down on a sofa for talk therapy about his childhood. Instead, he filled out a 365-question survey and received 70 pages of charts and scores showing how his skills stacked up against other CEOs. Last year, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston called a shrink.He didn’t sit down on a sofa for...

Sam Churchill

Google’s Latest TV Takeover Attempt: ‘Nexus TV’

By Amir Efrati · Dec 6, 2013 1:20pm PST

The battle among technology companies to take over the living room is getting even more crowded. Google has been developing a “Nexus”-branded TV set-top box and could launch it in the first half of next year, according to people who have seen the device or were told about it. The battle among technology companies to take over the living room is getting even more crowded....

Square CEO Jack Dorsey. Credit: Brian Solis

Employee Stock Sales Boom, As Square Considers One at $5 Billion

By Jessica E. Lessin and Eric Newcomer · Dec 5, 2013 4:35pm PST

Across Silicon Valley, employees are cashing out. For years, the Valley's conventional wisdom has held that allowing employees to sell some stock before an initial public offering would reduce their drive and hurt retention. Sales began happening anyway, but behind employers' backs on the secondary markets. But there has been a... Across Silicon Valley, employees are cashing out. For years, the Valley's conventional wisdom...

Facebook's Deb Liu speaks at this year's Money 2020 conference in Las Vegas. Source: Facebook.

For New Payments Strategy, Facebook Turns to Old Focus

By Katie Benner · Dec 5, 2013 8:25am PST

Facebook's Deb Liu speaks at this year's Money 2020 conference in Las Vegas. Source: Facebook.

For New Payments Strategy, Facebook Turns to Old Focus

By Katie Benner · Dec 5, 2013 8:25am PST

As more companies jostle for a piece of the payments pie, Facebook has decided on an unlikely strategy: win by giving in. Visa and MasterCard are so dominant in payments that new entrants have struggled to compete. Most players piggyback on the credit card processors’ network. They typically charge merchants fees in addition to those... As more companies jostle for a piece of the payments pie, Facebook has decided on an unlikely...