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

‘Everforce’ and Other Tech M&A Predictions

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 8, 2014 11:45am PDT

Dear Subscribers, If you believe that we’re a few innings into some dramatic new technological developments (which I do) and that big tech companies are going to be eager to defend their turf (which I do), you’d be wise to predict more tech M&A, big and small. With that in mind, I set out over the past few weeks to ask around... Dear Subscribers, If you believe that we’re a few innings into some dramatic new...

Margo Georgiadis, Google's Americas sales chief. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Sales Leaders Vie for Top Post

By Amir Efrati · Aug 8, 2014 7:01am PDT

The race is on for one of the most important non-product jobs in tech: chief of sales and business development at Google. Nikesh Arora, who shocked much of Google’s 15,000-plus sales organization two weeks ago by announcing his departure from the position, leaves behind a critical job opening as the unit tackles new challenges like mobile... The race is on for one of the most important non-product jobs in tech: chief of sales and...

A user trying the Oculus Rift developer kit headset. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook in Talks with Hollywood on ‘Oculus Experiences’

By Tom Dotan · Aug 7, 2014 12:17pm PDT · 3 comments

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset’s first target market might have been video games—an obvious area of interest for new parent company Facebook. But it may soon go Hollywood too. In recent weeks, Facebook representatives have been meeting with executives at all the major film studios as well as with individual directors about... The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset’s first target market might have been video...

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

What’s a Subscription Software Company Worth?

By Katie Benner · Aug 7, 2014 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

What’s a Subscription Software Company Worth?

By Katie Benner · Aug 7, 2014 7:40am PDT · 3 comments

If you remember Enron, Worldcom and the dot-com 1.0 preference for eyeballs over revenue, you can understand why people are wary about the unfamiliar accounting metrics used to justify big valuations for subscription software companies. Salesforce.com, Jive Software, Dropbox and Evernote don’t need profits to be worth billions, the... If you remember Enron, Worldcom and the dot-com 1.0 preference for eyeballs over revenue, you can...

Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley. Illustration by Matthew Vascellaro.

Q&A

Why the App World is Breaking Apart

By Eric Newcomer · Aug 6, 2014 10:54am PDT · 4 comments

Facebook has unleashed a horde of standalone applications, including Messenger, Paper and Slingshot. Dropbox rolled out a cloud photo-storage app, called Carousel. Evernote has had some success with a suite of apps that are individually crafted to help people create documents of different kinds. These moves have spurred intense analysis of... Facebook has unleashed a horde of standalone applications, including Messenger, Paper and...

CrowdFlower CEO Lukas Biewald. Photo by Bloomberg.

Startups Look to Philippines for Low-Tech Help

By Eric Newcomer and Tom Dotan · Aug 6, 2014 7:03am PDT

The renovated San Francisco warehouse that serves as the headquarters of tech startup Thumbtack, replete with exposed timber and an inviting open kitchen, was all but empty one recent weekday afternoon. The company has raised $48.2 million from investors including Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management to build a local services company to... The renovated San Francisco warehouse that serves as the headquarters of tech startup Thumbtack,...

Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services. Photo courtesy of Fortune Brainstorm.

Big Test for Amazon as Cloud Competition Mounts

By Katie Benner · Aug 5, 2014 7:47am PDT · 3 comments

For the first time since it launched in 2006, Amazon Web Services is facing serious competition, mainly from Microsoft and Google. To stay ahead, Amazon will need to do much more than keep cutting prices. Developers and analysts say AWS needs to “go premium” faster and more effectively by rolling out new products and making... For the first time since it launched in 2006, Amazon Web Services is facing serious competition,...

Producer Veena Sud, Netflix's Cindy Holland, star Mireille Enos and Fox's David Madden. AP Photo.

Revival of ‘The Killing’ Shows Big Shift in TV Financing

By Tom Dotan · Aug 4, 2014 11:25am PDT

Producer Veena Sud, Netflix's Cindy Holland, star Mireille Enos and Fox's David Madden. AP Photo.

Revival of ‘The Killing’ Shows Big Shift in TV Financing

By Tom Dotan · Aug 4, 2014 11:25am PDT

On Friday, Netflix released what is being billed as the final season of the bleak murder mystery series “The Killing.” The show has a murky history of its own: it was cancelled after its second season on AMC, then picked up in a co-financing arrangement through Netflix and AMC, then cancelled again on AMC, only to be brought back... On Friday, Netflix released what is being billed as the final season of the bleak murder mystery...

Photo by Google.

Google’s Quick-Delivery Service Faces Cost Problem

By Amir Efrati · Aug 4, 2014 7:03am PDT · 2 comments

There’s no question Google’s foray into delivering goods to homes and offices, called Google Shopping Express, has been a hit with online shoppers who have tried it. But GSX, as it’s known inside of Google, remains in a precarious position even as it gets more funding and expands beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and... There’s no question Google’s foray into delivering goods to homes and offices, called...

Bankers’ Fate a Cautionary Tale for VCs

By Jessica Lessin · Aug 1, 2014 9:00am PDT · 10 comments

A well-known venture capitalist recently told me in passing that meeting with bankers wasn’t his thing. It’s a sentiment I hear often from investors who privately mutter that bankers aren’t good for much and certainly aren’t worth their many millions in fees. Bankers aren’t particularly popular anywhere.... A well-known venture capitalist recently told me in passing that meeting with bankers...

Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College. Illustration by Matthew Vascellaro.

Q&A

On a Mission to Change the Culture of Tech

By Jonathan Weber · Jul 31, 2014 12:04pm PDT · 4 comments

Harvey Mudd College, a small science and engineering school in Southern California, often lands at the very top of the rankings when it comes to the earnings of its graduates. The highly selective school has developed a unique curriculum that includes extensive liberal arts studies as well as a year-long “clinic” in which students work with a... Harvey Mudd College, a small science and engineering school in Southern California, often lands...

The New York Stock Exchange floor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Scarcity of Shares Driving Internet Stocks Higher

By Katie Benner · Jul 31, 2014 7:21am PDT

The New York Stock Exchange floor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Scarcity of Shares Driving Internet Stocks Higher

By Katie Benner · Jul 31, 2014 7:21am PDT

With the springtime selloff behind us, tech stocks suddenly seem like the bell of the public market ball. The Nasdaq gained 24% over the past year; Facebook soared 99% and Google notched a 32% gain. Even once-moribund Twitter is coming back to life, and bankers expect the Alibaba offering to be a blockbuster. But there are some subtle... With the springtime selloff behind us, tech stocks suddenly seem like the bell of the public...

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Senior Vice President Eddy Cue. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s TV Push Stalls as Partners Hesitate

By Jessica Lessin and Amir Efrati · Jul 30, 2014 11:18am PDT · 1 comment

Those waiting for Apple to start selling its long-discussed, all-in-one box for accessing live and on-demand television are going to have to keep waiting, The Information has learned. Apple engineers who are working on aspects of the device have been told by their bosses not to expect a launch this year and are working off timelines that assume... Those waiting for Apple to start selling its long-discussed, all-in-one box for accessing live...

Bitcoin investor Micky Malka. Photo by Bloomberg.

Bitcoin Gold Rush Draws Investors of Every Stripe

By Eric Newcomer · Jul 30, 2014 7:42am PDT

Complexity, uncertainty and the prospect of a huge killing is a perfect formula for unconventional investors—and so it’s no surprise that bitcoin has become an arena for all manner of opportunistic moneymen. Investment strategies, and the corresponding assumptions about how bitcoin will evolve, are all over the map. There are also a... Complexity, uncertainty and the prospect of a huge killing is a perfect formula for...

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. Photo by Bloomberg.

Twitter Shows Strength on Key Revenue Metric

By Katie Benner · Jul 29, 2014 6:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Twitter’s blowout earnings results on Tuesday raised expectations that it has the wherewithal to make real money, no matter how long it takes to grow the user base. But even as the microblogging service raised earnings guidance and saw its stock price soar 30% in after-hours trading, it didn’t say too much about how it would... Twitter’s blowout earnings results on Tuesday raised expectations that it has the...

Jason Kilar, former head of Hulu and founder of Vessel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Battle for Video Talent Poses New Test for YouTube

By Tom Dotan · Jul 29, 2014 7:17am PDT · 3 comments

Jason Kilar, former head of Hulu and founder of Vessel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Battle for Video Talent Poses New Test for YouTube

By Tom Dotan · Jul 29, 2014 7:17am PDT · 3 comments

The growing number of companies vying to become distributors of short-form video content is upping the ante for YouTube, even as the Google unit takes new steps to remain the favored platform for video producers. The latest competition comes from Vessel, the video streaming startup from former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar. Executives behind... The growing number of companies vying to become distributors of short-form video content is...

Rick Osterloh, chief operating office of Motorola. Photo by Bloomberg.

Surprise Turnaround for Motorola Ahead of Lenovo Merger

By Amir Efrati · Jul 28, 2014 12:35pm PDT

For nearly the whole time Google has owned Motorola Mobility, many mobile-industry executives considered the handset maker to be a lost cause. That sentiment has changed, both inside and outside of Google, which is selling Motorola to China-based Lenovo Group. Motorola could double phone sales this year, according to internal projections.... For nearly the whole time Google has owned Motorola Mobility, many mobile-industry executives...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Photo by Bloomberg.

Sector Spotlight

Emerging Bitcoin Industry Gets Crowded Fast

By Eric Newcomer · Jul 28, 2014 8:09am PDT · 8 comments

When the San Francisco-based Bitcoin startup Coinbase closed a $25 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz last December, it marked a coming of age for the digital currency. The price of a bitcoin had hit $1,000, and a fledgling industry that had long been populated with libertarian true-believers, a few committed techies and some... When the San Francisco-based Bitcoin startup Coinbase closed a $25 million funding round led by...

Messaging, the Block Chain and Other Next Big Things

By Jessica Lessin · Jul 25, 2014 11:39am PDT · 12 comments

My friend Jason Hirschhorn, the CEO of media aggregator REDEF, asked me to talk about trends I am seeing in the technology industry during a recent dinner we hosted for media and finance leaders in New York. These ideas aren’t fully baked, but they’re a taste of the under-the-radar themes I am hearing about around Silicon Valley.... My friend Jason Hirschhorn, the CEO of media aggregator REDEF, asked me to talk about trends I am...

Chris Daniels, head of Facebook's Internet.org. Photo by Jane Goldman.

With Internet.org, Facebook Looks to Do Well While Doing Good

By Eric Newcomer · Jul 25, 2014 9:35am PDT · 4 comments

Chris Daniels, head of Facebook's Internet.org. Photo by Jane Goldman.

With Internet.org, Facebook Looks to Do Well While Doing Good

By Eric Newcomer · Jul 25, 2014 9:35am PDT · 4 comments

A year ago, Facebook announced the formation of Internet.org, a “global partnership” aimed at spreading Internet connectivity in the developing world. The .org moniker and the lofty rhetoric suggested a philanthropic venture. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a February speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, referred... A year ago, Facebook announced the formation of Internet.org, a “global...