the gunman was shot by police and is in critical condition. the restaurant employee shot by the gunman has died. police say all the hostages have been rescued. the white house press secretary fired back today at tennessee senator bob corker, who trust in -- questioned president trump's comments last week. >> it's a ridiculous and outrageous claim and does not dignify a response from this podium. nabila: the national hurricane center says that harvey has strengthened and is packing winds of over 80 miles per hour. it is forecast to get even stronger as it approaches the coast. the navy is calling off the search for sailors who went missing after that collision near singapore between the uss mccain and an oil tanker. they have identified the remains of one victim. a massachusetts hospital worker is the winner of last night's powerball. she said she was leaving work when she realized she had won.

it's the largest grand prize won by a single lottery ticket in u.s. history. global news, 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i'm nabila ahmed. "bloomberg technology" is next. ♪ i'm emily chang. this is "bloomberg technology." coming up, judgment day for the heir apparent of the samsung empire. we take a look at the major risks ahead for the company as a south korea court decides the jy lee. boxxt-generation tv set-top take on amazon and google. a new era officially begins monday at whole foods, when the brochure -- grover formerly --

grocer formally ties the knot with amazon. inst, a panel of judges seoul will deliver their final verdict friday on allegations that jay y. lee bribed a confident of that then-president -- confidant of the then-president to secure his hold on the samsung group. he has been held in detention since february. joining us now in washington, troy stangarone. and with us in new york, david kirkpatrick, to economy ceo -- techonomy ceo. what are you expecting when it comes down to the judge's ruling tomorrow? david: this is a really tough case. on the one hand, there isn't any him to anydence tying of the accused barbary -- bribery. it's hard to believe this would

have taken place without him having some knowledge of acquiescence. it's going to be close. whether he is found convicted or acquitted, we are likely to see an appeal one way or the other. emily: for our viewers in asia, this is actually happening today. it's friday in south korea. david, what's at stake for samsung here? david: it seems like, maybe surprisingly little. that's possibly one of the big surprises of this whole is owed -- whole episode. it's really stunning that sort of the big defense that lee has marshaled on his own behalf is that he really didn't know about much of anything and that this bribery, based on -- he just didn't understand it well enough to even imagine it could possibly be seen as bribery. in the course of that defense, he even portrayed him as not being even that connected or tied in, thinking about what's happening at the company or having any real power in determining its direction, which makes him out to be kind of a hapless, sorry citizen.

maybe it explains why the company is powering forward. emily: troy, what you make of that? jay y. lee's defense that he didn't know anything, he didn't understand. it makes him appear weak. does that impact his mandate to lead? troy: well, in terms of if he is acquitted and goes back, i don't think this will have any impact on his mandate to lead. basically, from a korean cultural perspective, he will be seen as the family air and the head of the company -- family heir and the editor of -- the head of the company. there could be truth in his defense, in that often times subordinates try to take and achieve objectives for the leadership without necessarily taking -- asking the leadership. he may not have known the details. there may be some validity to the defense. emily: interesting. david, do you think this will impact consumer loyalty at all, whether it's here in the u.s. or in south korea or globally? david: samsung is doing fantastically at the moment.

i don't think there's been any evidence whatsoever that it has. the key question for samsung is, how good are their products. they have some super important products coming up. people don't buy products based on -- uber might be an exception to this. in general, based on the behavior of the ceo. consumer -- american consumers are not at all aware of this. in korea, they seem to be more forgiving. samsung is so dominant, they can't do much about it anyway. i don't think it will have much effect on sales, ever. you talked about what would happen if he is not convicted. if he is convicted, what happens? troy: some of this will depend on some of the other trials. are four other samsung executives right now who are on trial. one of the key ones, he, in essence, was his mentor and a regent type figure. it will depend on if he's convicted as well.

also, it would depend on how the professional manager, specifically at samsung electronics, how empowered they are to take and move forward in terms of making their own decisions. emily: so, if he is convicted, jay y. lee in particular, do you expect he would actually serve time? troy: part of it will depend on how long the sentence is. if it's less than three years, the sentence could be suspended, in which case he may not spend another day in jail. if it's longer than three years, it can't be suspended. in the past, you had presidents who would part in the heads of shingles who went to jail -- the tods of groups who went jaeil -- jail. moon jae-in has been different. this case is proximate to him becoming president. he has put forward a vision for the economy that is more people-led. emily: it's interesting that

this is climaxing the same week that samsung is unveiling they note 8 phone, weeks before apple unveils its newest iphone. what do you make of the timing of all of this? david: that's probably more or less entirely coincidental, but i will say that i think samsung's future rides far more on how the note 8 is received than on what happens at the trial, on balance. the evidence for the time being seems to be this company has rectified its product issues in its mobile products and is likely to deliver an extremely impressive product that will continue giving apple a genuine competitor. i don't know if it's equivalent polity product -- quality product or will be seen as superior. some people do think samsung's products are superior, but this company is operating at an apple-like level in terms of quotes -- of quality at the consumer realm. that's what matters for their future. emily: troy, what's your

assessment on how much samsung actually needs jay y. lee and what he actually brings to the table? if he indeed returns and is , what does he actually bring to the company at this point, aside from being the heir apparent? troy: he has taken and helped them build better relationships with google and apple. he's been solid on the relationship side. that being said, he also wanted to move the company in a different direction, try and get into biopharmaceuticals. in terms of vision, he brings an important role. in terms of day-to-day operations, that was clearly being handled by other individuals. even if he was to be convicted, there is still the possibility that he or family make -- members could provide that vision and guidance and let professional managers take over. however this trial goes, samsung is probably well-placed no matter what. emily: it is certainly fascinating to watch.

troy stangarone, senior director at the korea economic institute of america, thanks so much. our guest host for the hour, david compactor -- kirkpatrick. there is new leadership at india's beleaguered software service east company -- services company infosys. they announced the departure of the board of directors and named a cofounder chairman. he is backed by a group of founders who want to take back control. last week, the ceo announced his departure after founders criticized his acquisition strategy and compensation. this group of company founders has clashed with the infosys board for most of the year. coming up, it is a bloomberg scoop. apple plans to announce a new and improved apple tv set-top box in september. we will bring you the details, next. bloomberg tech is live streaming on twitter. check us out weekdays at 5:00 p.m. in new york. this is bloomberg. ♪

gmly: disney has added chairman and chief executive officer mary barra to its board. barra's election is effective immediately and brings the total board membership to 12. barra helped gm adapt to the auto industry's changing technological environment. she also sits on the board of stanford university. now to a bloomberg scoop. apple is seeking to revive its video ambitions, planning to unveil an upgraded apple tv set-top box that can stream 4k video thanks to a faster processor. apple tv trails devices from roku, amazon, and google in the

u.s. set-top box market share. joining us, mark gurman, and still with us, our guest host for the hour, david kirkpatrick. what do you know? mark: we know apple is going to be announcing a new version of its apple tv set-top box in september, alongside the new iphones and lte apple watch. it will stream 4k video. emily: this is largely expected, right? mark: because we broke the news on it in february. it was testing the set-top box. now we are breaking the news that it's been announced. emily: we'll apple is spent -- we know apple is planning to spend $1 billion on original content. we have talked a long time about whether they had something more ambitious going on in the tv realm. is this their tb strategy? -- tv strategy? mark: i think it is. they are building upon it.

turning in the four k content -- 4k content. there's going to be some new live tv functionality they are adding, but there is no over-the-top bundle or anything like that happening. emily: no tv set? mark: no tv set, no screen. emily: what do you make of apple tv -- apple's tv plan, now that we see it more fully taking shape? david: i always like to defer to mark, as he's my guru on everything apple. emily: as he is ours. david: i don't see apple solving fundamental problems that consumers out there are trying out -- crying about. the are trying to horn in on other markets where others are dominant -- they are trying to horn in on other markets where others are dominant. is there really going to be a differentiated value over products that google and amazon and others already have in the marketplace, or is this just apple, more or less, trying to keep its revenues growing and

profits by horning into markets that already exist, that others are doing pretty well? which is not the kind of thing for which we have always revered apple. mark: it's great to see you again and talk to you about this. to your point, that's exactly right. this has been done before. it's been tried before. google has its 4k fromcast -- chromecast. is apple finally doing what all the other players in that same market have been doing, and i think that's partly why, what emily described about the apple tv not really gaining as much traction -- that's partly why. they are behind. they have not updated this thing within two years. google updates chromecast on almost an annual basis. you may have seen her iphone 8 graphics story -- our iphone 8 graphics story. you might see that with the 4k.

let's see if they do something a little bit better than the competition. emily: what about the idea that this tv set-top box could be a way for them to air these new shows they are spending money on exclusively? that, ifll, i guess the shows were good and had a lot of demand, that would work. they're coming from so far behind in tv production that there's a limit to how quickly money alone can allow you to achieve miracles, but let's face it. nobody has more money or capital availability than apple. if they decide to go whole hog into content and they were taught martial it only on their own devices -- were to marshal it only on their own devices, that would, over time, be a winning strategy, but it might be super expensive to execute. mark: you said that so well. this is not a problem you can just throw money at. there are some things in life and in the business world, if you have all the money in the

world, unlimited funds, it doesn't solve everything, and i think content is right there. this is typical apple, hiring lots of people, throwing money at a problem, but we don't know how it's going to end up. we saw that with apple mavs. they threw sold many resources -- so many resources at that, and it flopped. -- apple maps. threw so many resources at that, and it flopped. emily: a lot of the players in big original shows, the successes were not their first tries. potentially splitting off the pr division, even selling the whole division, even selling the whole company. what do you know? mark: google is doing their own hardware. htc is being priced out. emily: but vr is exploding right now. isn't this supposed to be the

future? mark: they can build a wall around vr. maybe this is the time to sell it, to start all over, to go for patents. let's see what they end up doing. emily: david, your take? david: the civ -- vibe has been considered the best vr viewer for a long time. their quality of products is great, but their brand is weak compared to the others, and i think they are going up against the world's toughest competitors. it didn't work. emily: we will keep watching and see if there's any progress there. mark gurman, thank you for the third or fourth day in a row, i believe, for joining us. david kirkpatrick, you are sticking with me. coming up, confused by how to invest in bitcoin? well, there might be some hope on the horizon. how investing in cryptocurrency might get a little less cryptic. this is bloomberg. ♪

emily: cyber crime is getting closer to its real-world counterpart, especially when it comes to block chain technology. have helpedms steal from over 30,000 people so far this year, according to a new study from a new york-based firm that analyzes online t-rex actions -- online transactions. all doom and gloom for people wanting to legally cash in on the cryptocurrency craze. bitcoin could be available to new investors in the form of an etf. the sec rejected an application by the winkle boss -- winklevoss twins earlier this year. what's changed now?

eric balchunas joins us. why is this a possibility now and not earlier this year? eric: two big reasons. first of all, this is from last march, when they were denied. two things happened. you now have the cboe announcing they are going to lift bitcoin futures -- list bitcoin futures and create a futures market. this etf's he has approved it -- the ctf see -- the ctfc has approved it. the second thing is the sec it self -- the trump administration sec.y becoming the the new front runner for the person to lead it is a lawyer from a firm which represents the winklevoss twins in their bid to get the etf bitcoin done. it can't hurt. i think the sec has shown a few things that look like they are a little more liberal than they

were a year ago. i think those two things are why you see renewed hope that there could be an etf. emily: what's the advantage of a bitcoin etf? does this mean bitcoin is going more mainstream, that more of us will have an opportunity to take advantage of it? eric: absolutely. mp3, are like the flexible, easy to access format. when you approve an etf for something, you are essentially making it ready for prime time. anybody with an etrade account can now buy it. the good news for investors is it's a lot easier than going and signing up for a bitcoin account on one of the exchanges. it's also good for bitcoin because it will open up a world of new investors. this is similar to what gld did with gold. dlg -- gld is now a $40 billion etf. coin etf etf -- the bit is modeled after it.

emily: david, obviously there's a lot of excitement happening and othercoin cryptocurrencies, yet still a lot of volatility, lack of regulation. how optimistic are you about this, david, as a more mainstream investment option? david: as a technology, i'm very excited and enthusiastic and convinced of the importance of bitcoin and all the block chain related things that surround it. as an investor, i'm still extremely cautious. my general feeling is, if you get too close to the planes, you might get burned. might getflames, you burned. anything that has gone up 350% in the last year already is not behaving in a normal, rational fashion. it feels more like mania. i like the idea of making it easier for people with regular money, not having to do all kinds of weird online transactions in order to get into these markets. but what you really will use bitcoins for that would justify

their valuation is still extremely unclear to me, and as the markets become more mainstream, people may start to focus in on what really is this thing, what is it good for. they may not figure that out. that could be bad. there are real security issues that could continue to surround this area. the more attention and money goes toward it, the more security efforts there are going to be to undermine it. i worry about a lot of aspects of the whole thing. emily: eric, how do you respond to this kind of skepticism when you hear it about the potential dangers? eric: it's logical. what he just said is exactly why the sec did not approve it. here's what i would say to that, though. the sec has approved etf's that are double the volatility of bitcoin. there is a triple leveraged junior gold miners'etf that could put bitcoin to shame. the idea that bitcoin is at least a wolf in wolves clothing. there are etf's that are a wolf in sheep's clothing.

there are some reasons to do it. the other thing is, at least an etf, you stand a good shot of getting a good deal. there is a product which is a closed-end fund trading at 100% premium. emily: ok. a wolf in wolf's clothing. i'm going to repeat that one. thanks for joining us, eric balchunas. david kirkpatrick, sticking with me. brexit negotiation set to begin in a few weeks and the u.k. government is sounding the alarm on a new issue that could have a huge impact on the tech industry. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪

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change the way you wifi. xfinity. the future of awesome. mark: i'm mark crumpton in new york. you are watching "bloomberg technology." the mayor of charleston, south carolina, says a hostage situation at a restaurant today is over. the gunman was shot by police

and is in critical condition. the restaurant employee shot by the gunman has died. police say all of the hostages were rescued. the white house press secretary says president trump and top republican lawmakers are mostly on the same page on several aspects of the party's agenda. that's despite reports of escalating tensions between the president and congressional republicans. despite the challenges facing nato, the secretary-general says terrorism should not be accepted as what he called the new normal. it's not only about what we do at home. beyondo about what we do our borders. mark: he added that nato remains committed to preventing afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. russia is preparing to hold what

could be its biggest military display since the cold war. the first wave of russian troops is scheduled to arrive in belarus this month. one of three locations for the " exercise.west '17 western officials estimate up to 100,000 military personnel could participate. at least 20 people are dead and several others missing in northeast brazil after a boat carrying more than 100 passengers went down in the city of salvador. the health department says 34 people are being treated for injuries. global news, 24 hours a day, powered by more than journalists 2700 and analysts in over 120 countries. i'm mark crumpton. this is bloomberg. friday morning in sydney. my colleague paul allen has a look at the markets. paul: strength on nikkei futures. the yen could move with the july cpi figures released in japan.

there might be-- wage gains and inflation. today,will be in focus expected to report an underlying profit of $1.3 billion, the second highest ever. watching news of a possible ultra long-haul route between sydney and new york, 18 hours, if you can handle it, that would be up and running by 2022. and a south korean court is set to rule on the fate of jay y. lee. i'm paul allen in sydney. more from "bloomberg technology" next. ♪ this is "bloomberg technology." i'm emily chang. britain risks damaging crucial

parts of its tech industry unless it can secure an unprecedented deal with the european union on data exchange after brexit. this, according to a government paper published thursday. the third round of brexit negotiations are due to begin next week. this, caroline hyde in london. take it away. caroline: thank you so much. i'm now joined by gerald grech, a ceo. interesting policy statement that we've got from the government ahead of their negotiations. status quote is what they want -- status quo is what they want. do you think they will get it? gerald: it's important that we get this right.

when you look at the data economy, the digital economy in overall, as a share of gdp, it's the highest in the world. 10% of its gdp comes from digital economy. of large digital businesses founded in europe are actually founded in the u.k. it's important for both the u.k. and the eu that they have a mate -- a mutually beneficial relationship going forward. caroline: the eu, the u.k., and the companies that you advise. what are they talking to you about at the moment? is it consistency they need, regulatory clarity? gerald: there are a number of things. access to finance. infrastructure. political leadership.

this is one we have seen announced today about data exchange between the eu and the u.k. when you look at investment, one of the things we are hearing is the role of the european investment fund, part of the european investment bank. startups need capital. they need growth capital. a number of companies rely on this. a significant amount of investments that we see going into the u.k. digital businesses are backed through the di at -- througher aletter if -- the eif. the good news is that almost 40% $1 billioncorns, valued companies in europe, are based in the u.k. eif is looking at positive

returns. so, that's one of the things we have been hearing. what role will the british government play in that? obviously, we have the british business bank. there have been calls and proposals put forward by the british government about setting up a national investment fund. so, it's very positive. that's because the british government has been doing a great job of actively listening to what startups and scale up -- scaleups want and consider important as we go through this negotiation with the eu, which is unprecedented in so many ways. caroline: talking about talent and access to talent. how much is the immigration question an open one as yet? do you think the governments are listening to you as to how to keep the borders open? gerald: talent is a big thing. access to talent is critical. i would put talent in two caps, ractinginteracting -- att

international founders, building products that people want. the number two is making sure that they are able to access the talent they need in order to grow their businesses. on the first point, we want to make sure that the narrative from the british government is as positive as possible, making sure we are open for business, and this is one of the best places to start and grow a digital business. we want to continue attracting as many international founders as possible. so far, that's looking good. they'ret we are seeing, doing their homework. they are considering other places like amsterdam, berlin, paris, but the regulatory environment is very positive, very conducive to starting a digital business. obviously, they want to make sure they are able to access the talent they need, junior developers, data scientists, user experience designers. so, we as an organization are one of the constant buddies of

the home office, the equivalent of homeland security in the u.s. we've seen a record amount of applications coming through. the record month was november, which coincides, coincidentally, with the u.s. election. we do get many queries from the u.s., south korea, china, russia. so, we've seen a 400% increase in the number of applications for the tech nation visa scheme. this is one of very few countries that has a dedicated visa scheme for tech talent. clearly, there are challenges, but we are making sure that we are smoothing that path to success. i've seen the spirit of the u.k. and london's tech ecosystem rising to the challenge. caroline: that's interesting. you think because the u.s. election more foreign entrepreneurs and more talent are coming to the united kingdom? gerald: data is showing that there is interest, increasing interest to coming to the u.k. but we clearly know that our

european friends are catching up in many ways, and that's a good thing. that's good for europe, and it's good for the european tech ecosystem. we just need to continue innovating, continue looking at what else doing need to put in place to make -- what else do we need to put in place to make sure u.k. is one of the great places to start and grow a digital business. tax advantages as you scale of business, as you start a business. what else -- intellectual property, ip reform. is that required? a national investment fund. least, expanding the tech nation visa's game -- visa scheme. these are things we in the community are looking at in conjunction with the british government. it's a positive time to review what works and what doesn't work, given the situation we are in. caroline: long made the continued negotiations go on. gerald grech, great to have him

here. emily, back to you in san francisco. emily: all right, caroline hyde in london, thanks so much. benchmark.nick and it's growing more heated as the two parties prepare to face off in court. benchmark has asked a judge to twok kalanick from filling board seats. meantime, a judge will hear arguments on whether benchmark can proceed to trial with its claims that talent nick -- that board intoped the giving him control of seats on august 30. what the integration with amazon and whole foods will look like. we will discuss the e giant's impact on the grocery space. this is bloomberg. ♪

emily: alibaba is closing in on amazon in a race to be the world's most valuable e-commerce company. company's total worth is just $7 billion shy of its u.s. rival. the gap has been narrowing quickly after amazon's latest quarterly results disappointed investors and alibaba's beat estimates. -- staining with the everything store, amazon ng with thel -- stayi everything store, amazon says it will start slashing prices. the move by amazon in flames and already raging price war in u.s. alreadys -- inflames an raging price were in u.s. groceries. competitors dropped on the news.

still with us from new york, david kirkpatrick, techonomy ceo, and our guest host in san -- techonomy ceo and our guest host. in san francisco, brad stone. what do we know will change for their customers? brad: i was surprised by the speed of which they completed the acquisition and the speed at which they are moving. they announced a new mission statement for whole foods, to make natural and organic foods affordable for everyone. not the whole foods mission statement as we know it, sort of known for its high prices. it talked about immigrating -- integrating amazon prime into sales and announced a price cut. opened the door, come on in, on things like vegetables, salmon, organic chicken. a pretty radical turn. they left a bookmark for future things they will do together, probably sell amazon devices in alle foods stores, adding

the whole foods merchandise, particularly the 365 degree white label brands onto amazon and amazon fresh and amazon prime pantry. there are moving pretty quickly. emily: i'm excited about the price cut on avocados. how does it impact whole foods' reputation as being a premium, wholesome product? david: on monday, i hope they have a lot of vegetables, salmon, and organic chicken, because those stores are going to be mobbed. even if the price cuts aren't that great, and i'd be curious how big brad thinks they might be, because he's the expert. i want to run to the store and buy cheaper, healthier food. there are massive implications about this move by amazon into the real, physical world, that i think we could talk about for days. emily: how big are the price that's going to be? brad -- are the price cuts going to be? brad: we don't know. i assume early on they will be fairly dramatic, because a lot of people will be paying

attention. we will see over time. whole foods has been in a little bit of a tailspin, losing customers. same-store sales traffic down quarter over quarter. amazon has the appetite to lose money. we'll see. i think this is a big bet for them. createy're also going to amazon-branded grocery stores. obviously, investing a lot in the distribution channel to the home. it's not the only bet they have on the supermarket category. emily: regulators have approved the deal. do you think regulators might become concerned with the growing dominance of amazon? brad: i was thinking this is the last free pass that amazon gets. there's already a lot of drama particularly from the trump administration,, worries about amazon, some of it politically motivated. at a certain point, all these big tech companies are going to be treated with a lot more skepticism. tomorrow, we are getting a resolution that -- in the jay y. lee case in south korea, which

is very political, and all about the discomfort that people have with these very large tech companies that are starting to really control everything. emily: david, i know you've been thinking a lot about this, the growing power of not just amazon, but facebook, google. at what point should the government increasingly step in? david: i think there are increasing rumblings in washington that that point is approaching rapidly. exec at how and why they should jump in is not clear. these companies -- exactly how and why they should jump in is not clear. these companies are dominant enterprises. how you resolve it is not clear, because they bring enormous benefits at the same time. i think amazon has to be careful. if they start really undercutting and really hurting some of the existing chains, maybe in the worst-case scenario, if the programmers of the world start -- the kroger's of the world start going bankrupt, which is not about to happen -- that could really hasten the

day when washington says, wait a minute, these guys are wreaking havoc online. what would be the dominant force at that point? consumers who love the low prices and say to government, no, don't touch these people, or will it be the rational idea that no enterprise ought to have this kind of power? i don't know the answer. emily: last question. we had a professor from nyu's school of business on yesterday, talking about the walmart-google tie up. he suggested they could actually catch up to amazon. brad: there are two aspects of that partnership. google took a google express, got rid of the membership fee, and added walmart products to the mix. better selection, but crime is a juggernaut -- but prime is a juggernaut. then adding the walmart products to the google home voice-activated device, also a lagging product.

you're taking a couple elements that both companies have struggled with, trying to tie them together. it's probably a partnership that needed to happen, but what's -- let's wait to see what kind of progress they make. emily: brad stone, thank you. david kirkpatrick, my guest host for the hour, thank you. coming up, new home sales take a dip in june. we hear from a ceo who is trying to make the mortgage process easier for first-time homebuyers. this is bloomberg. ♪

emily: softbankemily: is added -- at it again. aggressive global expansion plan for the co-working start up. softbank is sitting on a massive cash pile.

the valuation is said to have increased to about $20 billion after this latest investment from softbank, which would put it among the fifth most valuable tech startups. the u.s. housing market is cooling down to start the second half of 2017. new home sales tumbled in june more than 9% when compared to the previous month. the annual estimated pace -- before the dip, the estimate was expected to be 630,000 units sold for the year. the existing home sales market also saw a drop last month, following suit its lowest level -- falling to its lowest level since august of last year. join me, nima ghamsari, ceo of blend. you can talk about some of the broader trends we are seeing. what caused the downturn in home sales? nima: millennial are buying -- millennials are buying later than they had in previous generations. the process is so compensated

and difficult. emily: when it comes -- so complicated and difficult. emily: sales falling 9.4%. median sales prices up, but home sales falling 9.4% month over month. what are the broader trends? nima: broadly, as people are uncertain about rates going forward, they rush to refinance over the last few years, now they are settled in and waiting to see how the market shakes out before they make a big investment. prices have also gone up with home sales going down. emily: you mentioned millennials. they get a lot of flak for everything these days. what's interesting is this new arermation that millennials bypassing starter homes and going straight into lecturing homes -- luxury homes. how is that happening? nima: they're starting later in life. they're able to save more money. they want to get a better place they can live in for a longer p eriod of time. emily: when it comes to blend,

how do you streamline the process? nima: what was a paper-heavy process, accumulating a lot of documents, we take that online for existing financial institutions. we make that an online, consumer-friendly process where they can aggregate data instead of documents, then do everything online, all the way through signing. emily: how does that speed up the process? how much can that speed up the process? it's a very cumbersome process. nima: if you search google for buying a home and you start the search for that, the first three asults are "is scary," "is nightmare," "is terrible." with our process, we cut off days. we think we can make that better. emily: the competition to your business seems to be banks in general taking this whole process in-house. what's the incentive to work with you? nima: this is all we do as a

company. we build the software that can make the lending better. blend stands for better lending. bringt to bring can -- transparency into consumer finance. we are built to partner with banks, so they're willing to partner with us. emily: could streamline the process lead to an increase -- could streamlining the process lead to an increase in sales? nima: right now there are a lot of people who don't even know they have access to credit. the accessibility to credit is something that is a huge problem in the country right now and could be a lot better as we get a better understanding -- as consumers get a better understanding of what they can afford and what they should do for their finances. emily: what's your outlook on home sales for the second half of the year? nima: i think we will see it stay flat. over time, as we continue to take friction out of the system, we should expect more and more people to get involved in the housing market. emily: nima ghamsari, ceo of blend, thanks so much for joining us.

that does it for this edition of "bloomberg technology." we are live streaming on twitter. check us out weekdays at 5:00 p.m. in new york. that's all for now. this is bloomberg. ♪

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announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: bill gates and warren buffett are here. is chairman and ceo of berkshire hathaway. the two have famously been friends for more than 25 years. together they started the giving 0, they donate the bulk of their wealth to