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

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Gaining Edge Over YouTube for Some Video Ads

By Tom Dotan and Eric Newcomer · Oct 30, 2014 7:00am PDT

As Facebook continues to ramp up the presence of video in its News Feed, executives at ad agencies and brands have begun noticing a surprising trend: The first views for a new video tend to happen on Facebook rather than YouTube. The shift was strong enough for one media planning agency to rethink its client’s Super Bowl advertising... As Facebook continues to ramp up the presence of video in its News Feed, executives at ad...

Photo by Bloomberg.

New Wireless Plans Raise Questions for Carriers and Phone Makers

By Martin Peers · Oct 29, 2014 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

For years, U.S. cellular carriers have helped drive enormous demand for smartphones by heavily subsidizing retail prices of what would otherwise be costly devices. So what could happen to smartphone sales now that carriers are moving away from that approach? New plans introduced over the past year or so by most of the major carriers change the... For years, U.S. cellular carriers have helped drive enormous demand for smartphones by heavily...

Illustration by Matt Vascellaro.

Q&A

Hope and Headaches for Digital Health

By Steve Nellis · Oct 29, 2014 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Health care represents about 18 percent of the U.S. economy, and Malay Gandhi is trying to change it one $100,000 check at a time. Mr. Gandhi is the San Francisco managing director for Rock Health, a nonprofit incubator and seed funding provider that has invested in 50 digital health companies, including Doctor on Demand and Lift Labs, which... Health care represents about 18 percent of the U.S. economy, and Malay Gandhi is trying to change...

Source: CB Insights and eMarketer.

A Case for More Venture Investing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 28, 2014 10:56am PDT · 1 comment

Source: CB Insights and eMarketer.

A Case for More Venture Investing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 28, 2014 10:56am PDT · 1 comment

Here’s a riddle about the venture industry. VCs are raising gigantic funds, and valuations are climbing. But dollars invested haven't caught up. There are a lot of reasons for this, first and foremost the relatively small amount of supply, aka companies to invest in. It’s important to keep in mind amid growing questions about... Here’s a riddle about the venture industry. VCs are raising gigantic funds, and valuations...

Box CEO Aaron Levie. Photo by Bloomberg.

Investors Still Bullish on Enterprise Startups Despite Risks

By Steve Nellis · Oct 28, 2014 7:04am PDT

It’s a good time to be raising money as an enterprise startup. For the first three quarters of the year, U.S. venture funding for enterprise services increased 42 percent to $18.6 billion from $13 billion the same period a year ago, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. By contrast, venture funding for consumer information and media... It’s a good time to be raising money as an enterprise startup. For the first three quarters...

Illustration by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Growth: Design It, Buy It or Get Stuck

By Sam Lessin · Oct 27, 2014 11:05am PDT · 6 comments

Two classes of technology startups are doing well these days, pulling down enormous valuations and aggregating top talent in Silicon Valley. The first is applications that have strong self-reinforcing and highly scalable growth mechanisms. These are generally the messaging, photo and sticker-focused services that can at least theoretically... Two classes of technology startups are doing well these days, pulling down enormous valuations...

Apple CEO Tim Cook announcing Apple Pay. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Eyes New Uses for NFC Beyond iPhone Payments

By Amir Efrati · Oct 27, 2014 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Consumers are just starting to use Apple Pay to make purchases at cash registers and online stores. But Apple representatives have also talked to potential partners about using the technology behind Apple Pay for other sorts of transactions, including building security access and accepting tickets at public transit turnstiles. The Apple... Consumers are just starting to use Apple Pay to make purchases at cash registers and online...

On Valuations, Stop Looking at the Outliers

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 24, 2014 11:17am PDT

On Valuations, Stop Looking at the Outliers

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 24, 2014 11:17am PDT

Like most of you, I’ve been searching for some numbers to make sense of the private tech market, the dollars flowing in and the upward pressure on pricing. And while I haven’t devised one perfect indicator, I have concluded that the method many people are using to evaluate whether the market is overpriced is deeply flawed. ... Like most of you, I’ve been searching for some numbers to make sense of the private tech...

NBCUniversal Chief Steve Burke and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

TV Execs Should Learn Principle of Supply and Demand

By Martin Peers · Oct 24, 2014 7:00am PDT

Usually, the best way to drive down the value of a product is to flood the market with excess supply. Someone needs to explain that to the TV industry. Everyone from streaming video outlets like Netflix and Amazon to the most traditional cable channels are increasing spending on new TV shows. This surge of spending isn't likely to end well,... Usually, the best way to drive down the value of a product is to flood the market with excess...

Left to right, Amir Efrati, Luke Nosek, Mark Palatucci and Paul Duan.

The Information Events

Artificial Intelligence: The Challenges

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 23, 2014 11:39am PDT

“If humans can build an intelligent AI…” Enthusiasm for the notion that humans will create an artificial intelligence that can act and think like they do is running high across the tech industry. So, it was with some surprise that the experts whom The Information convened for a panel for subscribers on Wednesday expressed some doubts... “If humans can build an intelligent AI…” Enthusiasm for the notion that humans will...

Google's infrastructure chief, Urs Holzle.

Google Accelerates Cloud Offensive

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · Oct 23, 2014 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Google is getting serious about cloud services. For the past two years, the business of running applications for other customers in Google data centers appeared to be a low-priority hobby for the tech giant. But now, as Microsoft and Amazon race ahead, Google executives are prodding their engineers to make its public cloud as fast and powerful... Google is getting serious about cloud services. For the past two years, the business of running...

Illustration by Matt Vascellaro.

Netflix’s Hastings: Expect a ‘Slow, Steady Drift’ with Pay TV Bundle

By Martin Peers · Oct 22, 2014 12:01pm PDT

Illustration by Matt Vascellaro.

Q&A

Netflix’s Hastings: Expect a ‘Slow, Steady Drift’ with Pay TV Bundle

By Martin Peers · Oct 22, 2014 12:01pm PDT

If there’s any one individual most responsible for the upheaval now afflicting the television industry, it’s Reed Hastings, the chief executive and co-founder of Netflix. Having started life as a DVD rental business, Netflix has successfully pivoted to be the leading subscription video streaming service, with more than 36 million... If there’s any one individual most responsible for the upheaval now afflicting the...

Photo by Shutterstock.

How A Small Streaming Channel Struggles to Make Ends Meet

By Martin Peers · Oct 22, 2014 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

With a predominantly older audience of British television junkies, Acorn.TV is never going to threaten Netflix’s hold on mass market online video streaming. But the small streaming outlet is a fascinating case study in whether the online world can support niche channels as well as the pay television universe once did. Acorn.TV is a... With a predominantly older audience of British television junkies, Acorn.TV is never going to...

The Information reporting.

The Cost of Abandoning Contract Workers: An Example

By Tom Dotan · Oct 21, 2014 12:22pm PDT · 1 comment

If anything, the rise of app companies providing on-demand services has been a golden era for the contract worker model. The current group of venture-backed startups that offer consumers an array of services—from rides to house cleaning to food delivery—have all been built on fleets of independent contractors, driving from place to... If anything, the rise of app companies providing on-demand services has been a golden era for the...

A phone running Android One. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Combats Open-Source Android Smartphones

By Amir Efrati · Oct 21, 2014 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Google is taking steps to curtail the proliferation of smartphones powered by open-source Android, which left unchecked could threaten Google’s revenue from the mobile operating system. New data show that open-source Android devices, once thought to be prevalent only in China, may represent more than 30% of total Android smartphones in... Google is taking steps to curtail the proliferation of smartphones powered by open-source...

What I’ve Learned Since Leaving Facebook

By Sam Lessin · Oct 20, 2014 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Modest Proposals

What I’ve Learned Since Leaving Facebook

By Sam Lessin · Oct 20, 2014 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

I left Facebook six weeks ago, after working there for nearly four years. Working at Facebook is like working in a bubble. The company, like its peers in the tech industry, is highly effective at distributing everything from technology to food on-demand to make employees more efficient. So reentering the real world has afforded me the chance to... I left Facebook six weeks ago, after working there for nearly four years. Working at Facebook is...

Barry Silbert, founder of the Digital Currency Group. Photo by Associated Press.

Banks Freeze Out Bitcoin

By Eric Newcomer · Oct 20, 2014 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

With $40 million in investments, you’d think the bitcoin company Xapo would have an easy time finding a bank to hold all that money. But twice in the last year, banks have sent Xapo to the curb. “Here’s a cashiers check for all your cash, thank you for your business,” Xapo CEO Wences Casares recalls a U.S. bank telling... With $40 million in investments, you’d think the bitcoin company Xapo would have an easy...

Silicon Valley’s Frontman Problem

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 17, 2014 12:22pm PDT · 2 comments

Media interest in Silicon Valley is intensifying, often around a few vocal individuals. Marc Andreessen’s tweets about all matter of topics are being picked up by media outlets right and left. Every word out of Elon Musk, crazy or otherwise, spawns some (highly clickable) headlines. Peter Thiel’s remarks about Twitter management and pot hit a... Media interest in Silicon Valley is intensifying, often around a few vocal individuals. Marc...

HBO CEO Richard Plepler. Photo by Bloomberg.

HBO’s Online Pricing Trap

By Martin Peers · Oct 17, 2014 7:01am PDT

HBO’s broadband service looks doomed even before it starts. While HBO hasn’t disclosed details, pricing of the new broadband offering most likely won’t be less than HBO’s pay TV retail price of around $15 a month, according to a person familiar with the situation. That’s $6 more than the price of Netflix’s... HBO’s broadband service looks doomed even before it starts. While HBO hasn’t...

Sundar Pichai, the Google executive in charge of Android.

With Shades of Microsoft, Google’s Android Invites Antitrust Case

By Amir Efrati · Oct 16, 2014 11:44am PDT · 3 comments

Sundar Pichai, the Google executive in charge of Android.

With Shades of Microsoft, Google’s Android Invites Antitrust Case

By Amir Efrati · Oct 16, 2014 11:44am PDT · 3 comments

As European regulators continue their antitrust review of Google’s search engine, officials there have set their sights on the company’s Android mobile operating system, and it may only be a matter of time before their U.S. counterparts do too. A famous case provides a roadmap for how that might play out. Google’s handling of... As European regulators continue their antitrust review of Google’s search engine, officials...