The Information

Illustration by Scotty Reifsynder

Austin Emerges as a Hot Spot for Silicon Valley Investors

By Kate Clark · Sep 30, 2020 6:01am PDT · 5 comments

Austin’s startup scene is getting a jolt of new capital, this time from a wave of investors transplanted from Silicon Valley. Since March, Sapphire Ventures, Draper Associates, 8VC and Breyer Capital have either opened an Austin office, hired a local partner or are considering an outpost there. Austin’s lack of a state income tax,... Austin’s startup scene is getting a jolt of new capital, this time from a wave of investors...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg; illustration by Mike Sullivan

Infighting, ‘Busywork,’ Missed Warnings: How Uber Wasted $2.5 Billion on Self-Driving Cars

By Amir Efrati · Sep 28, 2020 6:02am PDT · 6 comments

After five years and an investment of around $2.5 billion, Uber’s effort to build a self-driving car has produced this: a car that can’t drive more than half a mile without encountering a problem. “The car doesn’t drive well” and “struggles with simple routes and simple maneuvers,” said a manager in the... After five years and an investment of around $2.5 billion, Uber’s effort to build a...

Facebook's head of Messenger, Stan Chudnovsky. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Facebook Opens New Fight With Apple Over Messaging

By Alex Heath · Sep 25, 2020 8:02am PDT

Facebook executives have sharply ramped up their criticism of Apple in recent months, contesting the iPhone maker’s restrictions on gaming apps and ad targeting, as well as its cut of in-app purchases. Now, emboldened by Apple software changes that suggest it is starting to bend, Facebook wants something else: the option to make its... Facebook executives have sharply ramped up their criticism of Apple in recent months, contesting...

Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Photo by Shutterstock.

Microsoft’s Changes to Business Software Terms Could Lift Its Cloud Service and Hurt AWS, Google

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 25, 2020 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Photo by Shutterstock.

Microsoft’s Changes to Business Software Terms Could Lift Its Cloud Service and Hurt AWS, Google

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 25, 2020 6:01am PDT · 1 comment

A change Microsoft made late last year to the terms of service for Microsoft 365, its cloud-based software that includes Word, PowerPoint and Outlook, could drive some companies that use Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud to Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, analysts said.Under the new terms, which Microsoft disclosed in August last year... A change Microsoft made late last year to the terms of service for Microsoft 365, its cloud-based...

Viacom CEO Bob Bakish. Photo by Bloomberg

ViacomCBS Probed Sexual Misconduct Allegation Against CEO Bob Bakish

By Jessica Toonkel · Sep 24, 2020 10:47am PDT

ViacomCBS has been investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct by its CEO, Bob Bakish, according to several people familiar with the situation. The investigation comes less than a year after Viacom merged with CBS, whose former CEO Les Moonves resigned after several women accused him of sexual harassment and intimidation, including forcibly... ViacomCBS has been investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct by its CEO, Bob Bakish,...

Amazon's Staten Island, N.Y. warehouse. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Quietly Expands Large-Scale Covid Testing Program for Warehouses

By Paris Martineau · Sep 24, 2020 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

After months of trials, Amazon’s program to test its warehouse workers for Covid-19 is ramping up.The e-commerce giant is now testing warehouse workers in at least 23 states for Covid using its own federally certified laboratories to process samples, The Information has learned. It’s part of a secretive Amazon initiative called... After months of trials, Amazon’s program to test its warehouse workers for Covid-19 is...

Better.com founder Vishal Garg. Image: Better.com

Better.com Seeks to Ride Refinancing Wave to a $4 Billion Valuation

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 23, 2020 12:31pm PDT

Low interest rates have prompted a record number of Americans to refinance their homes this spring. An online mortgage loan startup that has seen strong growth from the borrowing surge is now seeking new financing at a sharply higher valuation than at its last influx of cash a year ago.Better.com is nearing a deal to raise more than $100 million... Low interest rates have prompted a record number of Americans to refinance their homes this...

Oracle headquarters. Credit: Bloomberg

Is Oracle Biting Off More TikTok Than It Can Chew?

By Alex Heath · Sep 22, 2020 8:30pm PDT · 3 comments

Oracle headquarters. Credit: Bloomberg

Is Oracle Biting Off More TikTok Than It Can Chew?

By Alex Heath · Sep 22, 2020 8:30pm PDT · 3 comments

New details about a way Oracle envisions managing TikTok user data and rewriting the app, and how TikTok’s technology actually operates, underscore how hard it could be for Oracle to separate the app from its Chinese owner.At the same time, Oracle has held preliminary discussions with the U.K. government about protecting TikTok’s... New details about a way Oracle envisions managing TikTok user data and rewriting the app, and how...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

In Ironic Twist, Google’s Pro-Privacy Move Boosted U.S. Antitrust Probe

By Nick Bastone · Sep 18, 2020 6:01am PDT

Google has taken a lot of heat for violating people’s privacy. Now it could get in trouble for trying to protect it.When Google in January said it planned to follow Apple’s lead in increasing privacy protections by blocking most online advertising trackers, publishers of news and entertainment websites whose business relies on the... Google has taken a lot of heat for violating people’s privacy. Now it could get in trouble...

Tourists in Amsterdam. Photo: AP

Airbnb Opponents Take Fight to SEC Ahead of IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 17, 2020 6:02am PDT

Dozens of affordable housing groups and community organizations that have long accused Airbnb of exacerbating housing shortages are taking their grievances to U.S. financial regulators just as the short-term rental giant prepares to go public.In a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission viewed by The Information, the groups... Dozens of affordable housing groups and community organizations that have long accused Airbnb of...

Photo by Imaginechina via AP Images

ByteDance Rival Kuaishou Seeks $50 Billion Valuation in Hong Kong IPO

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Sep 16, 2020 8:50pm PDT · 1 comment

Chinese online video startup Kuaishou, TikTok owner ByteDance’s biggest domestic rival, is seeking an initial public offering in Hong Kong as early as this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Kuaishou, which was valued at $28 billion in its most recent funding round last year, is aiming for a valuation of $50 billion... Chinese online video startup Kuaishou, TikTok owner ByteDance’s biggest domestic rival, is...

Larry Ellison discussing Oracle Cloud on stage in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

With TikTok Deal, Oracle Could Gain Billion-Dollar Cloud Customer

By Amir Efrati · Sep 16, 2020 6:00am PDT

Larry Ellison discussing Oracle Cloud on stage in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg

With TikTok Deal, Oracle Could Gain Billion-Dollar Cloud Customer

By Amir Efrati · Sep 16, 2020 6:00am PDT

Oracle’s deal to act as TikTok’s new “trusted technology partner” could be worth more than $1 billion in potential revenue annually for Oracle’s cloud business in the coming years, according to previously undisclosed data viewed by The Information.Revenue from housing TikTok’s data on Oracle’s servers... Oracle’s deal to act as TikTok’s new “trusted technology partner” could...

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Photo by AP

Zoom Invests in Big Messaging Upgrade in Challenge to Slack

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 15, 2020 12:04pm PDT · 3 comments

Zoom Video Communications became a household name with a video conferencing service that has become a ubiquitous tool for businesses and students during the pandemic. Now Zoom is looking to seriously up its game in another important area: messaging. Zoom has been quietly working on a major upgrade to the messaging functions inside its video... Zoom Video Communications became a household name with a video conferencing service that has...

Photo by Bloomberg

Alibaba Eyes Stake in Online Jobs Classifieds Company Zhaopin

By Juro Osawa · Sep 15, 2020 3:53am PDT

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Zhaopin, one of China’s biggest recruitment sites, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba, whose online marketplaces serve as a platform for millions of Chinese businesses, also operates China’s biggest cloud computing services... Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in...

Photo: AP

Co-Living Startup HubHaus Plans to Shut Down

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 11, 2020 11:24am PDT · 1 comment

Executives at HubHaus, a venture capital–backed startup that manages shared homes, are taking steps to shut down the company after struggling to attract tenants and raise venture capital, three people familiar with the matter said. HubHaus has unsuccessfully shopped itself to a potential buyer in recent weeks, and also sought... Executives at HubHaus, a venture capital–backed startup that manages shared homes, are...

Roam Research co-founder Joshua Brown (l), co-founder and CEO Conor White-Sullivan, and Victoria Ledford, head of operations. Photo credit: Roam Research

A $200 Million Seed Valuation for Roam Shows Investor Frenzy for Note-Taking Apps

By Kate Clark · Sep 11, 2020 6:02am PDT · 7 comments

Roam Research co-founder Joshua Brown (l), co-founder and CEO Conor White-Sullivan, and Victoria Ledford, head of operations. Photo credit: Roam Research

A $200 Million Seed Valuation for Roam Shows Investor Frenzy for Note-Taking Apps

By Kate Clark · Sep 11, 2020 6:02am PDT · 7 comments

The shift to remote work has buoyed the valuations of several startups making productivity tools. The latest is Roam Research, which has raised $9 million at a valuation of $200 million, or about 25 times higher than the median valuation for seed rounds. Roam is tapping more than a dozen individuals and firms for the round, including Stripe... The shift to remote work has buoyed the valuations of several startups making productivity tools....

AWS executive Teresa Carlson speaking at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS Names New Global Sales Leader, Takes Aim at ‘Whales’

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 4, 2020 6:34am PDT

Amazon recently promoted two senior sales executives at its clouding computing unit as part of a broader push to get more large companies to use its services, The Information has learned.With the promotions, Amazon Web Services is divvying up the role previously held by Mike Clayville, a longtime sales chief who left in August for payments... Amazon recently promoted two senior sales executives at its clouding computing unit as part of a...

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks via videoconference during a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C.. Photo: Bloomberg.

Apple to Delay iOS Change Roiling Mobile Ad Market

By Alex Heath · Sep 3, 2020 9:03am PDT · 3 comments

Apple plans to delay the enforcement of a controversial change to its next mobile operating system that would upend how ads are targeted on iPhones and iPads, according to people familiar with the matter. The change in iOS 14, the next version of Apple’s mobile software, will require developers to ask users to share their device’s... Apple plans to delay the enforcement of a controversial change to its next mobile operating...

The actor Matthew Rhys, who plays the lead role in HBO's Perry Mason. Photo by HBO

How HBO Is Complicating WarnerMedia’s Ad-Based HBO Max Plans

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 3, 2020 6:01am PDT

As WarnerMedia plans the next phase of its streaming expansion—a low-cost version of HBO Max that runs ads—it is wrestling with an unusual challenge. It can’t run ads in new episodes of HBO shows, the best known part of its programming lineup, according to several people familiar with the situation.That’s largely a result... As WarnerMedia plans the next phase of its streaming expansion—a low-cost version of HBO...

Patrick Collison, CEO and co-founder of Stripe, left, and John Collison, president and co-founder of Stripe, in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg.

Venture Capitalists’ Newest Threat: Stripe

By Kate Clark · Sep 2, 2020 12:35pm PDT · 2 comments

Patrick Collison, CEO and co-founder of Stripe, left, and John Collison, president and co-founder of Stripe, in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg.

Venture Capitalists’ Newest Threat: Stripe

By Kate Clark · Sep 2, 2020 12:35pm PDT · 2 comments

Stripe has become one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent startups, valued at $36 billion thanks to its technology powering online purchases for clients like Target and Amazon. In the background, its founders have also been building another business: venture capital. Since 2017, the San Francisco–based company has invested in... Stripe has become one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent startups, valued at $36 billion...