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Data Point

Below is a collection of every Data Point article by The Information.
Data Point
startups amazon

Satellite Internet Plans from SpaceX and Others Deserve a Pinch of Salt

By Becky Peterson · March 29, 2023 6:00 AM PDT
If satellite internet providers like SpaceX’s Starlink have their way, the skies are going to get a lot more crowded with their orbiting antennas in the coming years—so crowded that it’s worth exercising a bit more skepticism about how many will actually get off the ground. Just last Sunday, British internet company OneWeb... If satellite internet providers like SpaceX’s Starlink have their way, the skies are going...
Chart by Shane Burke.
Data Point

After Apple, Amazon May Face Pressure on Executive Pay This Year

By Mark Matousek · Jan. 19, 2023 6:00 AM PST
Apple may not be the only tech company to cut its CEO’s target compensation this year. Apple drew headlines last week when it announced a 40% cut to Tim Cook’s target pay this year. What was more interesting is that it attributed that cut to a big increase in shareholders voting against its executive compensation at its annual... Apple may not be the only tech company to cut its CEO’s target compensation this year. ...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point
markets

Stripe and Instacart Fare Poorly in Fidelity Value Markdowns

By Maria Heeter · Jan. 12, 2023 6:00 AM PST
Of all the private tech firms waiting to hit the public markets, Reddit and Discord look to stand the best chance of scoring the healthiest valuations. That’s based on where asset management firm Fidelity has been valuing its stakes in the companies. After an initial big markdown in the second quarter of 2022, when the stock market plunged... Of all the private tech firms waiting to hit the public markets, Reddit and Discord look to stand...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Electric Vehicle Startups Face Cash Crunch
By Mark Matousek · Nov. 30, 2022 6:16 AM PST · 2 comments
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point
electric vehicles

Electric Vehicle Startups Face Cash Crunch

By Mark Matousek · Nov. 30, 2022 6:16 AM PST · 2 comments
Startup makers of electric vehicles were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the SPAC party of 2020–21—and that fete is now well and truly in the hangover phase. At least a dozen EV startups have gone public since 2020, mostly by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, with grand ambitions to reinvent the way people and... Startup makers of electric vehicles were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the SPAC party of...
Data Point
google

Where Google Has Grown

By Jon Victor · Nov. 28, 2022 6:00 AM PST · 1 comment
Alphabet has doubled the headcount in its Google Cloud unit since early 2019, according to data obtained by The Information, outstripping Alphabet’s overall hiring growth. The rapid growth helps explain why Google Cloud’s losses continue to widen even as its revenue grows rapidly. Google’s hardware unit and YouTube also each... Alphabet has doubled the headcount in its Google Cloud unit since early 2019, according to data...
Chart by Shane Burke
Data Point
amazon facebook

Laid-Off Tech Workers With Visas Face Deadline but Job Openings Remain

By Mark Matousek · Nov. 21, 2022 9:01 AM PST
As recruiters fan out to try to grab the best workers Meta Platforms, Twitter, Amazon and other tech firms are laying off, one group of employees stands out as the easiest to hire: those on special visas who need to leave the U.S. if they don’t find another job in a few weeks. Tech companies for years have relied on people from overseas to... As recruiters fan out to try to grab the best workers Meta Platforms, Twitter, Amazon and other...
Data Point
markets startups

Nine Public Tech Companies Worth Less Than What VCs Originally Invested

By Akash Pasricha · Nov. 8, 2022 6:00 AM PST · 5 comments
At least nine tech companies that went public in the past three years—including Compass, Lyft, Oscar Health and The RealReal—are now worth less than the total amount of money they raised before going public. Let that sink in. The best example of that may be insurance tech firm Root. Venture capitalists including Tiger Global... At least nine tech companies that went public in the past three years—including Compass,...
As Shopify Battles E-Commerce Slowdown, Lending Emerges as a Bright Spot
By Ann Gehan · Nov. 7, 2022 6:00 AM PST
Data Point
e-commerce

As Shopify Battles E-Commerce Slowdown, Lending Emerges as a Bright Spot

By Ann Gehan · Nov. 7, 2022 6:00 AM PST
Shopify’s sales growth has evaporated over the past year as the boom in online spending sparked by the pandemic has dissipated. But the e-commerce software giant has focused on squeezing more money out of its existing merchants from the sale of other services. One notable way it’s doing that is by fronting money to cash-strapped... Shopify’s sales growth has evaporated over the past year as the boom in online spending...
Data Point
cloud amazon

Google’s Cloud Deals Hit a Wall

By Amir Efrati · Nov. 3, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 7 comments
Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts last week that some customers of Google’s cloud servers and productivity apps “are taking longer to decide, and some have committed to deals with shorter terms or smaller deal sizes, which we attribute to a more challenging [macroeconomic] environment.” That was an... Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts last week that some customers of...
Chart by Shane Burke.
Data Point
markets apple

Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet Grapple With Bond Investment Losses

By Akash Pasricha · Oct. 24, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments
The bond market’s historic sell-off this year, in response to rising interest rates, has been disastrous for retirees dependent on bonds for income. It’s been almost as bad for Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet, wiping out billions of dollars from the mountains of cash they’re sitting on. Worst hit is Apple, which reported that... The bond market’s historic sell-off this year, in response to rising interest rates, has...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point
markets

More Tech IPOs From 2021 Burn Cash Today Than 2019 and 2020 Debuts

By Akash Pasricha · Oct. 4, 2022 8:00 AM PDT · 3 comments
If you want more evidence of how much of last year’s IPO market was a bubble, here it is. Nearly two-thirds of tech companies that went public in 2021 are now burning cash, compared with less than half of companies that went public in 2019 and 2020. That means far more of the companies that hit the public markets in 2021 were businesses in... If you want more evidence of how much of last year’s IPO market was a bubble, here it is....
Tech IPOs in 2019 Are Up 38% While Those Since 2020 Have Fallen by About as Much
By Akash Pasricha · Sept. 26, 2022 8:51 AM PDT · 2 comments
Data Point
markets

Tech IPOs in 2019 Are Up 38% While Those Since 2020 Have Fallen by About as Much

By Akash Pasricha · Sept. 26, 2022 8:51 AM PDT · 2 comments
After the carnage in stock markets these past few months, you can’t really blame tech executives for rethinking the value of going public. Consider this: The median tech initial public offering since the start of 2020 has dropped 39% from the offering price. But another statistic may be more surprising. The median tech IPO from 2019 is up... After the carnage in stock markets these past few months, you can’t really blame tech...
Data Point
startups venture capital

Venture Firms’ $290 Billion ‘Dry Powder’ is About to Revive Startup Funding

By Kate Clark · Sept. 20, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 9 comments
Startup founders should expect a tidal wave of venture capital interest next year as a record level of dry powder pressures VC funds to step up their investment pace, according to a new analysis of these cash reserves. U.S. VC investors are sitting on $290 billion, including $162 billion reserved specifically for new investments, according to... Startup founders should expect a tidal wave of venture capital interest next year as a record...
Chart by Mike Sullivan.
Data Point
economy microsoft

How Snap’s Pandemic Hiring Frenzy Set It Up for Mass Layoffs

By Akash Pasricha · Aug. 31, 2022 9:49 AM PDT · 1 comment
Snap’s decision, announced Wednesday, to shrink its workforce 20% marks the biggest round of layoffs at a prominent internet ad firm so far in this downturn, at least in percentage terms. The cuts put Snap in the company of startups that went on overly optimistic hiring binges and crypto firms that got caught flat-footed by the crypto... Snap’s decision, announced Wednesday, to shrink its workforce 20% marks the biggest round...
Data Point
covid-19 e-commerce

Why Amazon Is Giving Employees Record Amounts of Stock, Even as It Trims Head Count

By Paris Martineau · Aug. 10, 2022 10:00 AM PDT · 4 comments
At a moment when Amazon’s overall workforce is shrinking, the company is awarding stock to employees at a record-breaking clip to keep top talent from heading for the exits. Amazon granted 138 million restricted stock units to employees in the second quarter, as the chart above shows—an 82% increase from the number of restricted... At a moment when Amazon’s overall workforce is shrinking, the company is awarding stock to...
Chart by Sarah Habershon.
Why Investors Value a BeReal User Double That of Snap
By Mahira Dayal and Kate Clark · Aug. 9, 2022 3:46 PM PDT · 1 comment
Chart by Sarah Habershon.
Data Point
facebook

Why Investors Value a BeReal User Double That of Snap

By Mahira Dayal and Kate Clark · Aug. 9, 2022 3:46 PM PDT · 1 comment
The siren song of a fast-growing social media network still holds investors spellbound. Take BeReal. The French social app, which once a day urges users to take and share a photo—wherever they are, regardless of what they’re doing—has become a breakout hit, particularly for people in their early 20s. Daily active users reached... The siren song of a fast-growing social media network still holds investors spellbound. Take...
Data Point
google facebook

Why Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai Are Worried About Productivity

By Stephen Council · Aug. 4, 2022 10:00 AM PDT · 17 comments
Executives at Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet are feeling the pressure, so they’re giving employees a kick in the pants. After years of rapid hiring, productivity at the tech giants is suffering, as revenue and free cash flow per employee decline. The reason for falling productivity: Both companies have continued... Executives at Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet are feeling the pressure,...
Data Point
crypto venture capital

The Metaverse Real Estate Boom Turns Into a Bust

By Aidan Ryan · Aug. 3, 2022 2:08 PM PDT · 9 comments
The metaverse is in the midst of a real estate meltdown. Sales volumes and average prices for virtual land have plunged this year, part of a broader slide in crypto and non-fungible token prices. Soaring interest in virtual property spawned an industry that mirrors traditional commercial real estate—buyers develop land by adding virtual... The metaverse is in the midst of a real estate meltdown. Sales volumes and average prices for...
Data Point
startups venture capital

Startups That Hired Rapidly Learn the Virtue of Slowing Down

By Mahira Dayal · July 26, 2022 12:50 PM PDT · 4 comments
Sometimes slow and steady does win the race. Startups that raised a lot of money during the boom years—and avoided spending sprees—now look smart as venture funding dries up. One measure of whether startups will be able to outlast the current downturn is how many people they’ve hired relative to how much money they’ve... Sometimes slow and steady does win the race. Startups that raised a lot of money during the boom...
Creator Economy Startup Funding Drops 60% From a Year Ago
By Mahira Dayal · July 6, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 4 comments
Data Point
startups venture capital

Creator Economy Startup Funding Drops 60% From a Year Ago

By Mahira Dayal · July 6, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 4 comments
Creator economy startups in the U.S. raised less than $700 million in venture funding in the second quarter of this year. That’s 26% less than the previous quarter and marks a fourth consecutive quarter of decline in venture investments tracked by The Information’s Creator Economy Database. The quarterly drop reflects a decline in... Creator economy startups in the U.S. raised less than $700 million in venture funding in the...