The Information

WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Cathcart photo courtesy of Facebook; Zuckerberg photo: Bloomberg; Photo illustration: Mike Sullivan

Inside WhatsApp’s Retreat on Ads

By Alex Heath · Apr 23, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

After more than a year of preparation, WhatsApp was finally close to flipping the switch on advertising, kick-starting a plan to generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from one of Facebook’s crown jewels, which it had acquired for $22 billion six years earlier.Last fall, employees prepared to share details of the planned 2020... After more than a year of preparation, WhatsApp was finally close to flipping the switch on...

Symantec's former headquarters in Mountain View that Alphabet was expected to buy. Photo by AP

Alphabet Leads Tech Retreat on Real Estate Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 21, 2020 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Google’s parent company, among the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest property owners, is starting to pull back from its decadelong land grab.Alphabet in recent weeks has broken off talks to buy or lease more than 2 million square feet of office space in the Bay Area, including what would have been one of the largest ever real estate... Google’s parent company, among the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest property owners,...

A bike from Didi's Qingju bike-sharing service.

SoftBank, Legend Invest $150 Million in Didi Chuxing’s Bike-Sharing Unit

By Yunan Zhang · Apr 20, 2020 11:02am PDT

China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has raised $150 million from SoftBank and Legend Capital for its bike-sharing unit, Qingju. This is the first time it has raised money from outside investors for the business, according to people with direct knowledge of the deal.Media reports in recent days have suggested that Didi raised $1 billion... China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has raised $150 million from SoftBank and Legend...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Kalanick’s CloudKitchens, Ideal Bet for Pandemic, Hits Snags

By Amir Efrati · Apr 20, 2020 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder

Kalanick’s CloudKitchens, Ideal Bet for Pandemic, Hits Snags

By Amir Efrati · Apr 20, 2020 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

This should be Travis Kalanick’s moment.The Uber co-founder not only sold out of Uber ahead of the pandemic that has cratered that company’s ride-hailing business, but switched his money and energy to a real estate startup that leases space to restaurants for meal preparation. The firm, CloudKitchens, is well positioned to benefit... This should be Travis Kalanick’s moment.The Uber co-founder not only sold out of Uber ahead...

An AWS facility in Virginia. Photo by AP

AWS Holds the Line on Cloud Bills as Customers Ask for Relief

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Apr 17, 2020 10:54am PDT

Public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have had to cope with a surge in demand in recent weeks as huge numbers of people work from home. But the cloud providers are also facing requests from many customers for financial relief, while others are cutting their cloud spending.So far, AWS has been the least... Public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have had to...

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Photo by Bloomberg

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone Raising Money for New Venture Fund

By Kate Clark · Apr 16, 2020 3:41pm PDT · 2 comments

Biz Stone, who co-founded both Twitter and Medium, is raising capital for a new venture fund, setting a target of up to $200 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.Through the fund, Stone plans to make early-stage investments in startups focused on the future of health, work, wealth and play, and has already begun identifying... Biz Stone, who co-founded both Twitter and Medium, is raising capital for a new venture fund,...

Opendoor CEO Eric Wu. Photo: Bloomberg

Opendoor Lays Off About 600 Employees

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 15, 2020 10:48am PDT

Home-buying startup Opendoor laid off more than 600 employees Wednesday, one of the deepest cuts from a private tech firm since the coronavirus outbreak sent the economy into a tailspin. The layoffs amount to 35% of Opendoor’s staff, CEO Eric Wu said in a statement. The company halted home purchases last month, cutting off the... Home-buying startup Opendoor laid off more than 600 employees Wednesday, one of the deepest cuts...

A scene from the film "The Lovebirds". Photo by Paramount

Studios Look to Offload Movies to Netflix, Amazon

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 14, 2020 1:01pm PDT · 9 comments

A scene from the film "The Lovebirds". Photo by Paramount

Studios Look to Offload Movies to Netflix, Amazon

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 14, 2020 1:01pm PDT · 9 comments

Streaming services have suddenly become Hollywood studios’ new best friend.A wide array of film studios in recent weeks have tried to sell some of the movies they haven’t been able to show in theaters to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, according to multiple media executives. Hulu has received over 50... Streaming services have suddenly become Hollywood studios’ new best friend.A wide array of...

Silicon Valley Bank CEO Gregory Becker. Photo by Bloomberg

Silicon Valley Bank Struggles as Startups Rush for Government Loans

By Kate Clark · Apr 9, 2020 11:01am PDT · 2 comments

As the first set of entrepreneurs learned they would receive emergency loans administered through the federal Small Business Administration, many of those who had applied through Silicon Valley Bank were stuck trying to deal with glitches in the application process.The tech-focused bank had processed close to 5,000 applications to the... As the first set of entrepreneurs learned they would receive emergency loans administered through...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Projects Revenue Could Fall by Half This Year

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 8, 2020 11:59am PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb, reeling from the coronavirus’ spread, has projected that its revenue will plunge some 54% this year, people familiar with the matter said.In a scenario the company has shown investors, Airbnb’s revenue would fall to about $2.2 billion this year, from $4.8 billion in 2019. The scenario is preliminary, as no one knows how long... Airbnb, reeling from the coronavirus’ spread, has projected that its revenue will plunge...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in February. Photo by Bloomberg

Outbreak Strains Microsoft’s Cloud, but Issues Began Earlier for Customers

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Apr 8, 2020 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

As the Covid-19 outbreak prompted a surge in people using the internet, Microsoft late last month warned its customers that it was seeing so much usage of its cloud computing service, Azure, that it would have to give priority to first responders and health care organizations if Azure became overloaded. Days later, it said some free cloud... As the Covid-19 outbreak prompted a surge in people using the internet, Microsoft late last month...

The offices of venture firm Sequoia Capital on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. Photo by Bloomberg

Amid Downturn, Silicon Valley’s Balance of Power Shifts From Startups to VCs

By Kate Clark · Apr 3, 2020 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

The offices of venture firm Sequoia Capital on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. Photo by Bloomberg

Amid Downturn, Silicon Valley’s Balance of Power Shifts From Startups to VCs

By Kate Clark · Apr 3, 2020 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

For years, entrepreneurs have called the shots in Silicon Valley’s startup ecosystem as an abundance of capital chased a limited supply of good ideas. But in a matter of weeks, as businesses everywhere lurch to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, the pendulum has swung decidedly back toward venture capitalists. These investors say... For years, entrepreneurs have called the shots in Silicon Valley’s startup ecosystem as an...

An Uber vehicle in New York City in 2018. Photo: Bloomberg

Virus Cuts Uber, Lyft Ride Business by More Than 50%

By Amir Efrati · Apr 2, 2020 11:58am PDT · 2 comments

The ride-hailing businesses of Uber and Lyft have shrunk by more than half in recent weeks compared with a year ago as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to people at the companies with knowledge of the figures. The overall contraction could worsen for both companies as the pandemic’s toll grows and more people stay... The ride-hailing businesses of Uber and Lyft have shrunk by more than half in recent weeks...

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Photo by Bloomberg

YouTube Plans ‘Shorts’ to Rival TikTok

By Alex Heath and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 1, 2020 12:05pm PDT · 2 comments

YouTube is planning to release a rival to TikTok, the hugely popular video-sharing app, by the end of the year, according to two people familiar with the matter.YouTube is currently planning Shorts, its answer to TikTok, as a feature inside its existing mobile app. Shorts will include a feed of brief videos posted by users inside the... YouTube is planning to release a rival to TikTok, the hugely popular video-sharing app, by the...

Jonah Peretti, founder and chief executive officer of BuzzFeed. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon, Walmart Suspend Marketing Deals With Digital Media Firms

By Jessica Toonkel · Mar 31, 2020 3:08pm PDT · 3 comments

Publishers are bracing for a pullback in advertising amid the Covid-19 pandemic. And one big shoe has already dropped: Amazon and Walmart have temporarily suspended commerce marketing deals with digital media firms such as BuzzFeed, two people familiar with the situation said.Commerce marketing has become an increasingly important part of... Publishers are bracing for a pullback in advertising amid the Covid-19 pandemic. And one big shoe...

ZhenFund CEO Anna Fang. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s Venture Capitalists Start Making Deals, Amid Signs of Recovery

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 31, 2020 11:40am PDT

ZhenFund CEO Anna Fang. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s Venture Capitalists Start Making Deals, Amid Signs of Recovery

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 31, 2020 11:40am PDT

A global epidemic that’s forcing billions of people to work and study from home, or wear masks whenever they go out, might not seem like the ideal time to sell cosmetics. But in China, Perfect Diary, a four-year-old online makeup retailer selling items like brightly hued lip gloss and eyeliner, has been thriving. Perfect Diary’s... A global epidemic that’s forcing billions of people to work and study from home, or wear...

Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Photo by Bloomberg

How Apple Is Working From Home

By Nick Bastone and Wayne Ma · Mar 30, 2020 10:02am PDT · 5 comments

Normally, Apple’s hardware teams meet in person at the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters to review upcoming products, often bringing key components of their devices to show colleagues. But now that they are sidelined at home due to Covid-19, members of those teams are improvising new tactics for getting their work... Normally, Apple’s hardware teams meet in person at the company’s Cupertino,...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Strikes Deal for AR Displays, Squeezing Out Apple

By Alex Heath and Amir Efrati · Mar 30, 2020 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Facebook has struck a deal to buy all of the augmented reality displays made by British firm Plessey, as the social network looks to build AR glasses capable of overlaying virtual objects onto the real world. The deal could give Facebook an edge over Apple, which recently looked at buying Plessey, one of the few makers of AR displays, according... Facebook has struck a deal to buy all of the augmented reality displays made by British firm...

One of the houses in a Northern California town that Jane Dinh plans to use for her escape community.

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

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 29, 2020 4:47pm PDT · 8 comments

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... After the coronavirus forced Jay Jideliov to send all the employees of his company, Callision,...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb to Halt All Marketing, Most Hiring as Losses Mount

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 27, 2020 2:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb to Halt All Marketing, Most Hiring as Losses Mount

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 27, 2020 2:27pm PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb plans to halt all of its marketing, pause most hiring, and likely withhold employee bonuses as it tries to conserve cash amid a slide in bookings, CEO Brian Chesky told employees in a video conference call Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said.The steps are the first indication of how the company is planning to reduce costs to... Airbnb plans to halt all of its marketing, pause most hiring, and likely withhold employee...