The Surprise Fanatics for Meta’s VR Headset? Your Mom’s Facebook FriendsRead now

Pandemic Spawns Escape Communities Promising Self-Isolation—in a Group


A luxury villa in Los Angeles. A former ghost town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Entrepreneurs are planning ‘virus-free’ retreats, even as health experts raise questions about how safe they are.

One of the houses in a Northern California town that Jane Dinh plans to use for her escape community.
One of the houses in a Northern California town that Jane Dinh plans to use for her escape community.
March 29, 2020 4:47 PM PDT

After the coronavirus forced Jay Jideliov to send all the employees of his company, Callision, home to work, he began pondering how he would cope with a period of indefinite isolation in his Los Angeles home.

Jideliov’s answer was to create what he describes as a “virus-free retreat” called Harbor, which will house around 33 guests—paying several thousand dollars a month—in a luxury villa away from Los Angeles so that they can wait out the pandemic as a group. Guests will be screened for Covid-19 before being admitted so that they can freely participate in open mics, fireside chats, daily yoga and parties without worry of infection. “No masks required,” a website for Harbor promises. 

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Art from Mike Sullivan
Exclusive
American AI Startups Quietly Raise Money From Top Chinese VC Firms, Including Sequoia Capital China
Major Chinese venture capital firms are quietly investing in American artificial intelligence startups, undeterred by growing concerns from U.S.
Juliet de Baubigny, left. Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Image for Fortune.
Exclusive startups Finance
Juliet de Baubigny Joins BDT & MSD Partners as Part of Its Tech Push
Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more than 20 years spent developing deep ties with founders across Silicon Valley and Europe, first at Kleiner Perkins and then as a co-founder of Bond Capital, the venture capital veteran is joining BDT & MSD Partners to ramp up its presence in the tech sector.
Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis, left, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, right. Photos by Getty
Exclusive google ai
OpenAI’s New Weapon in Talent War With Google: $10 Million Pay Packages for Researchers
The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an employee share sale that would nearly triple the startup’s valuation to more than $80 billion, its recruiters are courting top artificial intelligence employees at Google with millions of dollars and a message: Join us now to lock in a stock package at the current valuation of $27 billion and benefit from the impending increase.
Photo by Getty.
AI Agenda ai
OpenAI’s ‘Extinction Event’ For Other AI Startups
Despite Elon Musk’s attempts to steal the spotlight , the AI community gave its undivided attention on Monday to OpenAI’s first-ever live event for developers and the press.
Photo via Getty.
Exclusive startups venture capital
Deel Hits $400 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, as Rippling Rivalry Grows
Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual recurring revenue, a senior sales director at the startup said last month, up from a pace of $295 million in January.
Org Charts entertainment
The People Running Disney As It Grapples With Streaming Revolution
The Walt Disney Co. has been a scene of near-constant reorganization for the past few years. And more of that is likely to come as Disney, along with other entertainment companies, tries to get the right structure in place to cope with changes in the industry caused by the rise of streaming video.