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

Credit: Matt Vascellaro

Software Engineers: The Scorecard

By Eric Newcomer · Jan 17, 2014 7:18am PST

Software engineers are high-value, high-priced hires for young technology companies. Many upstarts, therefore, struggle with how many software engineers they should hire and how quickly. Startups are known for having a high percentage of software engineers—and scrambling to compete for the high-caliber... Software engineers are high-value, high-priced hires for young technology companies....

By Matt Vascellaro · Jan 16, 2014 4:40pm PST

Technology Activists Turn to Software Veteran

By Katie Benner · Jan 16, 2014 10:25am PST

Activist investors have been taking on big names like Apple and Yahoo. But some prominent agitators are turning their attention to smaller fare. Daniel Loeb has built a sizable stake in Tibco Software, a Palo Alto-based company that makes a range of products, including software that lets retailers target shoppers. He and others eyeing Tibco see... Activist investors have been taking on big names like Apple and Yahoo. But some prominent...

Kampala, Uganda Credit: Todd Huffman

Google Goes Wireless in Race to Connect Africa

By Amir Efrati · Jan 15, 2014 5:11pm PST

Kampala, Uganda Credit: Todd Huffman

Google Goes Wireless in Race to Connect Africa

By Amir Efrati · Jan 15, 2014 5:11pm PST

Google is upping the ante in the race to deliver Internet to the developing world. In the process, it is vying with Facebook, Microsoft and others to strike partnerships with local telecom companies to try to bring new populations and revenue online. In a previously undisclosed move, Google has discussed plans to launch a wireless Internet... Google is upping the ante in the race to deliver Internet to the developing world. In the...

Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com

VCs Partying Like It's... 2004

By Amir Efrati · Jan 14, 2014 2:38pm PST

The IPO market is signaling that the technology boom has more runway. By several measures, the 2013 IPO market looked like 2004, which saw several big offerings including Google’s. The market held up for several years before the 2008 downturn. The IPO market is signaling that the technology boom has more runway. By several measures, the...

Nest Labs CEO Tony Fadell Credit: LeWeb

Nest’s Google Tie-Up Signals Hardware is Still Hard

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 14, 2014 12:29pm PST

Nest Labs’s decision to sell to Google rather than build its business alone should be a cautionary tale for the technology industry’s flood of hardware hopefuls. Of course, the $3.2 billion acquisition price is a generous amount for the three-year-old startup, which makes thermostats and smoke detectors that can be controlled... Nest Labs’s decision to sell to Google rather than build its business alone should be a...

Nest Labs CEO Tony Fadell Credit: LeWeb

Will Nest and Google Play Nice?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 13, 2014 3:02pm PST

Google’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest Labs ends one curious chapter for the smart thermostat maker. But it starts what’s likely to be a more wild ride. Since December, rumors have been flying around Silicon Valley that Nest was up for sale. Apple was frequently bandied about as an acquirer, likely because Nest co-founders... Google’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest Labs ends one curious chapter for the smart...

Investors Push Entrepreneurs to Wise Up to Washington

By Katie Benner · Jan 10, 2014 10:26am PST

Investors Push Entrepreneurs to Wise Up to Washington

By Katie Benner · Jan 10, 2014 10:26am PST

Investors want to fund startups with big ideas, the potential for astronomical returns and, now more than ever, good relationships with Washington D.C. Technology companies have intersected with regulators in the past. But most high-profile run-ins dealt with antitrust and privacy concerns, issues that rarely affect smaller companies. Now,... Investors want to fund startups with big ideas, the potential for astronomical returns and, now...

Why Tech Giants Care About Aereo

By Amir Efrati · Jan 9, 2014 12:06pm PST

A tiny startup that streams live TV on the Web may soon have its day before the U.S. Supreme Court. And the world’s largest technology companies are paying attention. Silicon Valley is lining up to support the controversial startup, Aereo, in part because technology companies want to possibly launch Aereo-like services themselves.... A tiny startup that streams live TV on the Web may soon have its day before the U.S. Supreme...

Recruiting’s Moneyball Moment

By Eric Newcomer · Jan 8, 2014 6:41pm PST

New data-crunching startups are turning recruiting software engineers into something akin to the Major League Baseball draft. Just as wealthy teams look for an edge by tracking data on players across the globe, technology companies are going to great lengths to identify top talent by tapping large databases of engineers. Some relatively new... New data-crunching startups are turning recruiting software engineers into something akin to the...

Shutterstock

Facing Shortage of Mobile Engineers, Companies Look Inward

By Eric Newcomer · Jan 8, 2014 8:33am PST

Technology companies are racing to hire more mobile engineers–and training their own when they come up short. Top engineers are relatively scarce in the technology industry. But mobile programming experts have become particularly difficult to recruit, companies say, just as consumers are gravitating to mobile services. These programmers... Technology companies are racing to hire more mobile engineers–and training their own when...

Source: Shutterstock

Technology’s Profit Picture

By Katie Benner · Jan 7, 2014 3:50pm PST

Source: Shutterstock

Technology’s Profit Picture

By Katie Benner · Jan 7, 2014 3:50pm PST

Profitability became the holy grail for tech investors after the last dotcom collapse, when people got burned for piling into companies that didn’t make a dime, and in some cases didn’t even generate revenue. Analysts proclaimed the sector in the midst of a healthy recovery in the mid-2000s partly because people favored the... Profitability became the holy grail for tech investors after the last dotcom collapse, when...

Bumps in the Road for Apple's iWatch

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 7, 2014 1:04pm PST

There’s been a parade of new smart TVs, toys and washing machines at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But this year’s most anticipated gadget is still MIA. That’s Apple’s iWatch. When Apple plans to start selling the device remains unclear. But a look behind the scenes shows a few apparent... There’s been a parade of new smart TVs, toys and washing machines at this week’s...

By Matt Vascellaro · Jan 7, 2014 12:40pm PST

Mark Fischer

A Patent Battle Silicon Valley Can’t Ignore

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 6, 2014 2:10pm PST

Technology companies are taking sides in a big legal debate taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court: Can software be patented? It’s a complicated question, but it boils down to whether software is an idea, like pure math, or processes that must run on a machine. If the latter, the law is clearer that it can be patented. Technology companies are taking sides in a big legal debate taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court:...

Terry Myerson, who oversees Microsoft's Windows Phone software, in 2012. Credit: Microsoft

Inside Microsoft’s Android Battle Plan

By Amir Efrati · Jan 6, 2014 7:23am PST

Terry Myerson, who oversees Microsoft's Windows Phone software, in 2012. Credit: Microsoft

Inside Microsoft’s Android Battle Plan

By Amir Efrati · Jan 6, 2014 7:23am PST

Behind closed doors, Microsoft recently considered unconventional tactics to shrink the competitive gap between its Windows Phone software and Google’s Android, which powers the vast majority of smartphones in the world. In one scenario, a smartphone buyer would be able to walk into a wireless carrier store, find a phone they like and only... Behind closed doors, Microsoft recently considered unconventional tactics to shrink the...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

What You Should Know About a Bitcoin Collapse

By Eric Newcomer · Jan 2, 2014 12:31pm PST

If it turns out that Bitcoin is a flash in the pan and the value of the cryptocurrency collapses, what would that look like? Who would get back some of the money they invested in Bitcoin and who would be left with nothing? What are the most likely events that would send the price spiraling downward? We posed these questions to academics and... If it turns out that Bitcoin is a flash in the pan and the value of the cryptocurrency collapses,...

The Information’s ‘Year’ in Review

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 1, 2014 11:22am PST

2013 lasted just 27 days at The Information, which we launched in December. But what a 27 days it was. We broke exclusive news about robots, phones and set-top boxes and told you why the developments mattered. We profiled under-the-radar investors, startup therapists and coaches rarely written about. We probed trends in... 2013 lasted just 27 days at The Information, which we launched in December. But what a 27...

Mozilla

Android Phone Makers’ Backup Plans Get an ‘F’

By Amir Efrati · Dec 31, 2013 8:30am PST

For years, Android handset makers have been trying to reduce their dependence on Google’s mobile software. So far, they get a failing grade. After years of leaning on Android to power almost all their smartphones, manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Sony and HTC are dipping their toes into alternatives from Microsoft, Mozilla and... For years, Android handset makers have been trying to reduce their dependence on Google’s...

Kārlis Dambrāns

Microsoft Phones Up Sony, ZTE For Mobile Boost

By Amir Efrati · Dec 31, 2013 8:30am PST

Kārlis Dambrāns

Microsoft Phones Up Sony, ZTE For Mobile Boost

By Amir Efrati · Dec 31, 2013 8:30am PST

Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system has struggled to make gains against Google and Apple. But it may soon get a shot in the arm from an old partner and rival: Sony. Sony, whose mobile unit has exclusively made smartphones powered by Google’s Android software for nearly four years, has considered launching a Windows... Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system has struggled to make gains against...