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venture capital startups

VCs Could Exhaust ‘Dry Powder’ in a Year Unless They Slow Investing

By Kate Clark · April 9, 2020 7:00 AM PDT · 3 comments

Venture capital investors are flush with cash, but they may want to slow down their spending.U.S. venture firms have roughly $150 billion of funds available to invest in cash-starved startups, a little more than half of the $279 billion they have raised since 2014. That estimate of the VC industry’s “dry powder”—business... Venture capital investors are flush with cash, but they may want to slow down their spending.U.S....

Chart by Jesse Howe

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Cash-Rich Tech Giants Could Provide Alternative to Federal Loans

By Nick Bastone · April 7, 2020 11:47 AM PDT · 2 comments

The Small Business Administration has a $349 billion emergency fund to provide some relief to small businesses across the country hurt by the coronavirus. But a possible alternative source of funding for cash-strapped tech startups could be the tech giants, which between them have much more cash than the SBA.Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and... The Small Business Administration has a $349 billion emergency fund to provide some relief to...

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Airbnb Costs Under Microscope as Travel Shrinks

By Cory Weinberg · March 31, 2020 7:00 AM PDT · 3 comments

Airbnb shut down its marketing efforts last week, saving an estimated $800 million annually. But it likely will need to make more-substantial cost reductions across the board as the spread of coronavirus ravages its business. An analysis of Airbnb’s profit statements shows that the company spends much more on fixed costs—such as... Airbnb shut down its marketing efforts last week, saving an estimated $800 million annually. But...

Amazon’s Retail Power Could Grow During Pandemic

By Priya Anand and Ashley Gold · March 24, 2020 7:02 AM PDT

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Amazon’s Retail Power Could Grow During Pandemic

By Priya Anand and Ashley Gold · March 24, 2020 7:02 AM PDT

Amazon’s critics were worried about the company’s growing power in retail before the coronavirus pandemic. It may be even more powerful by the time the crisis is over. There’s a credible argument that the shutdown of many retail stores, along with a general anxiety about going out in public, could end up increasing... Amazon’s critics were worried about the company’s growing power in retail before the...

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Money Pit: Self-Driving Cars’ $16 Billion Cash Burn

By Amir Efrati · Feb. 5, 2020 7:01 AM PST · 12 comments

A group of 30 companies has spent at least $16 billion on developing fully self-driving cars over the past few years—and so far they have little, if any, revenue to show for it. But billions more will likely be needed before the technology is ready for primetime.Just three companies spent half of that money—Alphabet’s Waymo,... A group of 30 companies has spent at least $16 billion on developing fully self-driving cars over...

venture capital startups

Venture Capital’s New Normal: Outsized Checks and Unsolicited Offers

By Kate Clark · Feb. 4, 2020 10:01 AM PST · 2 comments

Last year, Papaya Global, a financial services business based in New York City and Tel Aviv, pitched investors on its hopes of raising $15 million to expand the business, according to a person familiar with the situation. But after talks with venture capital firm Insight Partners, Papaya ended up raising a $45 million Series A round from a group... Last year, Papaya Global, a financial services business based in New York City and Tel Aviv,...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress last October. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Is Already Paying a Regulatory Tax—in Its Stock Price

By Martin Peers · Jan. 27, 2020 10:00 AM PST · 1 comment

Washington’s antitrust investigations into big tech are probably years away from finishing. But already Facebook, at least, appears to be getting hit by a “regulatory tax” of at least $160 billion—on its stock price.The social networking giant is trading at the lowest valuation, relative to its earnings growth rate, of... Washington’s antitrust investigations into big tech are probably years away from finishing....

Where Slack Outspends Bigger Firms

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan. 9, 2020 10:01 AM PST · 4 comments

Where Slack Outspends Bigger Firms

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan. 9, 2020 10:01 AM PST · 4 comments

When it comes to tech companies arming themselves against competition, Slack may be hard to beat. At least, that is, when it comes to spending on research and development, the route to new product development. Slack spent the equivalent of 38% of its revenue on R&D in its first three quarters of last year, a percentage that was... When it comes to tech companies arming themselves against competition, Slack may be hard to beat....

Trump Visa Crackdown Hits Outsourcing Firms

By Wayne Ma · Dec. 5, 2019 10:08 AM PST · 4 comments

Tech outsourcing firms known for bringing workers from India to the U.S. have seen rejection rates for new skilled worker visas surge under the Trump administration, according to an analysis of U.S. government data.Most affected are companies such as Cognizant Technology Solutions, Capgemini America, Tech Mahindra, IBM and Tata Consultancy... Tech outsourcing firms known for bringing workers from India to the U.S. have seen rejection...

After Hiring Binges, Google, Facebook See Profits Per Employee Slide

By Nick Bastone · Nov. 21, 2019 7:01 AM PST · 1 comment

The two biggest internet advertising companies—Facebook and Alphabet, the parent of Google—have long been among the most profitable in tech. But after hiring binges, both companies have seen significant declines by one profit measure, net income per employee. Those are among the takeaways from an analysis... The two biggest internet advertising companies—Facebook and Alphabet, the parent of...

What Pinterest Could Learn From Facebook and Snap

What Pinterest Could Learn From Facebook and Snap

By Tom Dotan · Nov. 12, 2019 11:14 AM PST

Here’s a tip for Pinterest executives: Think about hiring some overseas ad sales people from Snap, Facebook or Twitter. Third quarter earnings from the four major social media companies—Facebook, Twitter, Snap and Pinterest—show that Pinterest by a wide margin trails the three others in how much money it makes off its... Here’s a tip for Pinterest executives: Think about hiring some overseas ad sales people...

Reality of Global Streaming Market May Fall Short of Forecasts

By Martin Peers · Nov. 5, 2019 10:09 AM PST · 3 comments

Reality of Global Streaming Market May Fall Short of Forecasts

By Martin Peers · Nov. 5, 2019 10:09 AM PST · 3 comments

If you believe all the projections from big entertainment companies and Wall Street analysts, the number of people globally signing up for one of the video streaming services from Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia and Netflix will reach roughly 600 million by the mid-2020s—nearly four times the number who now pay for Netflix alone. Throw in... If you believe all the projections from big entertainment companies and Wall Street analysts, the...

Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma at a promotional event for "Green Book" in Beijing earlier this year. Photo by AP

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What Trade War? Hollywood Movies Invade China

By Wayne Ma · Oct. 29, 2019 7:01 AM PDT · 1 comment

Although China is buying less food and tech from the U.S. because of the trade war, one U.S. import is still strong: Hollywood films. The number of foreign films imported into China has risen steadily over the past few years. The trend was most pronounced last year, when the total reached 124 compared to 108 in 2017. So far this year, the... Although China is buying less food and tech from the U.S. because of the trade war, one U.S....

What Wall Street’s Short-Selling Bets Say About Uber, Peloton, Zoom

By Carleton English · Oct. 18, 2019 7:01 AM PDT

Stock prices of Peloton Interactive, Uber and Zoom Video have further to fall, judging by big short-selling bets placed by investors in recent months, new data shows. It also reveals that investors have drastically scaled back short-selling bets on Lyft since the summer.The data is a reminder that the looming expiration of lockup restrictions... Stock prices of Peloton Interactive, Uber and Zoom Video have further to fall, judging by big...

Where Amazon Trails: Digital Payments

By Priya Anand · Oct. 16, 2019 12:03 PM PDT

Amazon grew into the most powerful online retailer in part by making it effortless for shoppers to buy things with one click. An Amazon effort to become the payment system for other retailers has mostly bombed, though, despite modest improvements in its market position in recent years, new data shows.The good news for Amazon Pay—as the... Amazon grew into the most powerful online retailer in part by making it effortless for shoppers...

A Reality Check for Microsoft’s Surface Business

By Nick Wingfield · Oct. 10, 2019 7:01 AM PDT · 3 comments

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A Reality Check for Microsoft’s Surface Business

By Nick Wingfield · Oct. 10, 2019 7:01 AM PDT · 3 comments

Last week, Microsoft held what has become an annual event for the company, a fall showcase for its latest Surface devices. The widespread praise that greeted the new products was a pinch-yourself moment for those of us old enough to remember when Microsoft didn’t make computers and was often blasted for its bad design taste. But... Last week, Microsoft held what has become an annual event for the company, a fall showcase for...

The Secret Weapon in the Streaming Wars

By Beejoli Shah · Sept. 30, 2019 7:00 AM PDT · 5 comments

If the success of a streaming service were to be purely determined by its cache of popular old TV shows, Disney would be hard to beat. Its recent purchase of Fox’s TV studio means it owns more of the most popular TV shows from the past couple of decades than anyone else, according to an analysis by The Information. But almost as strong... If the success of a streaming service were to be purely determined by its cache of popular old TV...

Troubled IPOs Raise Questions for Future Deals

By Carleton English · Sept. 27, 2019 9:21 AM PDT

What was expected to be a bumper year for tech IPOs has turned sour.The sharp drop in Peloton Interactive shares on the stock’s opening day Thursday, the same day Endeavor canceled its IPO and a week after WeWork postponed its offering, confirmed what Uber and Lyft discovered this past spring—public market investors are wary of... What was expected to be a bumper year for tech IPOs has turned sour.The sharp drop in Peloton...

In India, Many Internet Users, but Little Ad Revenue

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Sept. 10, 2019 7:02 AM PDT · 4 comments

India, home to 1.3 billion people, offers a temptingly huge target for global tech companies: one of the world’s fastest growing economies and more than half a billion internet users, second only to China. American titans like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Walmart and Uber, as well as China’s ByteDance and Alibaba, are all trying to grab... India, home to 1.3 billion people, offers a temptingly huge target for global tech companies: one...

Founders Are Maintaining Less Ownership This IPO Season

By Ross Matican · Sept. 4, 2019 11:34 AM PDT · 5 comments

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Founders Are Maintaining Less Ownership This IPO Season

By Ross Matican · Sept. 4, 2019 11:34 AM PDT · 5 comments

Being a tech founder in 2019 isn’t what it was. Just ask Lyft’s John Zimmer and Logan Green.The two are the most extreme examples of how founders of companies going public this year did so with much smaller equity stakes than was the case for some of the better known tech companies in the past. That’s partly because tech firms... Being a tech founder in 2019 isn’t what it was. Just ask Lyft’s John Zimmer and Logan...

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