The Information

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. Photo by Bloomberg

AT&T Had Talks About Selling Crunchyroll

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · May 5, 2020 11:52am PDT · 1 comment

AT&T’s WarnerMedia has had discussions about selling Crunchyroll, a streaming service that specializes in Japanese anime, according to people familiar with the matter.Possible buyers include Sony, which owns a rival anime service called Funimation and which has had discussions with WarnerMedia in recent months. There are no active... AT&T’s WarnerMedia has had discussions about selling Crunchyroll, a streaming service...

Lime scooters in Gothenburg, Sweden, last year. Photo: AP

Uber in Talks to Lead $170 Million Lime Investment at Lower Valuation

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · May 4, 2020 4:52pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber is in talks to lead a $170 million financing in scooter rental firm Lime, whose business has dropped sharply amid the coronavirus pandemic, executives at the startup told investors last week. The potential deal would value Lime on paper at $510 million, after the proposed cash infusion, a 79% drop from its previous valuation.Uber already... Uber is in talks to lead a $170 million financing in scooter rental firm Lime, whose business has...

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, left, and Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom. Photos by Bloomberg

Google Engineers Flirted With a Zoom Acquisition—Before a Push to Beat It

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 4, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Not long ago, Google and Zoom Video Communications had cordial relations. In 2018, several thousand Google employees were using Zoom as an alternative to Google’s own videoconferencing product, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The popularity of Zoom within Google even prompted some Google Cloud engineers to discuss... Not long ago, Google and Zoom Video Communications had cordial relations. In 2018, several...

Apple Watch announcement in September 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

The ‘Old Dogs’ Who Build Apple Products

By Wayne Ma · Apr 30, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Apple Watch announcement in September 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

The ‘Old Dogs’ Who Build Apple Products

By Wayne Ma · Apr 30, 2020 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Apple can’t get enough of Mike Janicek. The firm needed him so much that he worked at the tech giant three times over four decades. First, in 1984, he worked as a contractor at an Apple keyboard and mouse factory. The second time, between 2002 and 2009, he supervised the manufacturing of connectors and cases. He rejoined a third time in... Apple can’t get enough of Mike Janicek. The firm needed him so much that he worked at the...

Uber CTO Thuan Pham. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Discusses Plan to Lay Off About 20% of Employees

By Amir Efrati · Apr 28, 2020 12:48pm PDT · 5 comments

Executives at Uber are discussing plans to cut around 20% of the company’s employees, as it copes with a sharp decline in its ride-hailing business due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Information has learned.Layoffs of that magnitude, which haven’t been finalized but could be announced in stages in the coming weeks, could result in... Executives at Uber are discussing plans to cut around 20% of the company’s employees, as it...

Yelitza Esteva, a contractor for Instacart, bagging groceries for an order in Florida this month. Photo by AP

Instacart Swings to First Profit as Pandemic Fuels Surge in Grocery Delivery

By Amir Efrati · Apr 27, 2020 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Instacart’s financial picture has been completely redrawn by the pandemic.In recent weeks, the online grocery delivery service has turned profitable for the first time ever, thanks to skyrocketing sales. Instacart sold about $700 million worth of groceries per week in the first two weeks of April, up 450% on sales in December, according to... Instacart’s financial picture has been completely redrawn by the pandemic.In recent weeks,...

Airtable CEO Howie Liu. Photo by Erin Beach

Airtable May Triple Valuation as Top Startups Attract Top Dollar, Even in Downturn

By Kate Clark · Apr 24, 2020 1:10pm PDT

As some startups implore venture capitalists for lifelines, others are negotiating deals at eye-popping valuations without offering so much as a pitch deck. Airtable, which makes cloud-based software for collaboration, has spoken to investors about raising at least $50 million in a round that would value the business at between $2.5 billion... As some startups implore venture capitalists for lifelines, others are negotiating deals at...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...