In the U.S., online consumer brands backed by venture capital, including Glossier, Everlane and Allbirds, are changing how people shop. These companies, and others like them, are getting traction by selling directly to consumers, using targeted digital advertising and mostly bypassing physical stores.

Now, a new breed of online Chinese brands is pulling from the U.S. direct-to-consumer ...

There are increasing signs that the U.S. economy may enter a recession in the months ahead. While a slowdown is by no means certain, if one does materialize, the technology and media industries won’t escape.

The modern U.S. technology economy has experienced two recessions in its relatively short existence: the 1999 dot-com bust, and the Great Recession that began in 2008. Both transformed the technology industry, killing off companies built on unsustainable models while forcing others to adjust to changing circumstances.

There are signs that a third recession is possible, and just like the last ...

Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have been making fun of each other on Twitter and Instagram practically since the platforms launched. Over the years, a few parody accounts have gained fame by skewering the VC universe with an edgy mix of performative politeness, obvious aphorisms and lofty-sounding recipes for creating wealth.

But recently more and more of these accounts have sprung up, a ...

The U.S. government is taking its first steps to launch far-reaching investigations into Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, hiring attorneys, economists and technology analysts as they examine whether the companies abused their powerful market positions to undermine competitors. 

The Justice Department has asked Congress for an additional $1.8 million for its antitrust division, and is in ...

Chinese online retailer JD.com is in talks with bankers to list shares of its online supermarket joint venture in the U.S. next May, looking to capitalize on the growth of China’s e-commerce sector, which is a bright spot in the country’s otherwise weakening economy.

Dada-JD Daojia, a joint venture controlled by JD.com and 10% owned by Walmart, which earlier sold its own China-based ...

Digital media publisher Axios is planning to enter a new business that includes selling software for helping companies create newsletters for their employees. The move comes at a moment when more media businesses are seeking to diversify their revenue through software sales.

Axios wants to sell the software, which it is beta testing, to communications and human resources departments at ...

Toptal, a service that connects companies with freelance software engineers, is a Silicon Valley success story. Founded in 2010, it soon attracted funding from well-known investors including Andreessen Horowitz and hired scores of employees who were promised stock if things went well and the company raised more money.

And things did go well. So well, in fact, that Toptal has grown at least 30% ...

BuzzFeed Chief Marketing Officer and commerce leader Ben Kaufman is stepping down from his position at the end of the year, a move that comes at a delicate time for the digital media company as it seeks to boost revenue and return to profit. 

Like many of its peers, BuzzFeed has been looking for new sources of revenue, after relying too heavily on Facebook for traffic and ad revenue. ...