It's a classic 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' situation. Steve Levy wants to make his 'In The Plex' book worth buying, Wes Chan presumably wants som

It's a classic 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' situation. Steve Levy wants to make his 'In The Plex' book worth buying, Wes Chan presumably wants some positive exposure - so Wes Chan gives Steve Levy interesting information for the book that also happens to make him look good. I doubt this sort of trade-off even has to be voiced - it's just implicitly understood. Although in this case, I think the anecdote backfired - Chan seems really smart, but also somewhat manipulative.