The Information

David Marcus, head of blockchain for Facebook. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Revamps Libra Plans, Bowing to Regulators

By Alex Heath · Mar 3, 2020 1:15pm PST · 2 comments

Facebook is scaling back its ambitious plan to upend the global financial system with a new digital currency.Succumbing to pressure from regulators, Facebook has decided to offer its users digital versions of government-backed currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the euro, in addition to the proposed Libra token, according to three people... Facebook is scaling back its ambitious plan to upend the global financial system with a new...

Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy. Photo by Bloomberg

AWS Plans to Double Size of Sales Team as Microsoft Looms

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 2, 2020 7:01am PST

Amazon Web Services, faced with declining sales growth and mounting competition from Microsoft, plans to double the size of its current sales team this year, according to a person with direct knowledge and three people who have been briefed on the cloud provider’s plans. Part of the hiring spree, announced at a sales kickoff meeting... Amazon Web Services, faced with declining sales growth and mounting competition from Microsoft,...

Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiling a new line of iPads last year. Photo by AP

Apple Planning iPad Keyboard With Trackpad

By Wayne Ma · Feb 27, 2020 12:13pm PST · 1 comment

Apple is planning to release an iPad keyboard accessory later this year that will include a built-in trackpad, the latest step in its effort to position the tablet device as an alternative to laptop computers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Apple is preparing the keyboard for mass production, and one of its main... Apple is planning to release an iPad keyboard accessory later this year that will include a...

Oyo CEO Ritesh Agarwal. Photo by Bloomberg

How SoftBank-Backed Hotel Chain Oyo Lost Its Way in the U.S.

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 27, 2020 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Oyo CEO Ritesh Agarwal. Photo by Bloomberg

How SoftBank-Backed Hotel Chain Oyo Lost Its Way in the U.S.

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 27, 2020 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Oyo Rooms’ 26-year-old CEO Ritesh Agarwal spent Christmas 2018 driving around Texas, meeting with owners of budget motels near interstate highways. Flush with cash from SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the startup was looking to pay these motels for control of their marketing and sales—the same strategy that turned it into a hotel giant... Oyo Rooms’ 26-year-old CEO Ritesh Agarwal spent Christmas 2018 driving around Texas,...

Grab President Ming Maa. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber’s Old Rivals in Southeast Asia Hold Merger Talks

By Juro Osawa · Feb 24, 2020 12:14pm PST · 1 comment

Grab and Gojek, Southeast Asia’s two largest ride-hailing and food-delivery apps, valued at $14 billion and $9 billion respectively, are discussing a merger that would create one of the world’s most highly valued startups, people familiar with the talks said.A deal would be the latest step in a consolidation of the broader... Grab and Gojek, Southeast Asia’s two largest ride-hailing and food-delivery apps, valued at...

Art by Josh Brill

Meet ByteDance’s Biggest Homegrown Rival

By Yunan Zhang · Feb 21, 2020 10:01am PST · 1 comment

While China’s ByteDance and its TikTok video app are getting a lot of buzz in the U.S., a smaller rival called Kuaishou has quietly become one of the most highly valued tech startups in the world. Kuaishou (KWHY-shoh) has built a social network of more than 300 million daily active users in China—an audience three-quarters the... While China’s ByteDance and its TikTok video app are getting a lot of buzz in the U.S., a...

Clay Bavor, the head of virtual and augmented reality at Google. Photo by Bloomberg

As Apple and Facebook Embrace AR Fully, Google Takes It Slow

By Nick Bastone · Feb 14, 2020 7:00am PST

The leaders of Apple and Facebook have each described augmented reality as the next big thing in tech. Google, though, still seems to be figuring out its AR plans. In 2017, after Apple’s release of a software kit for building primitive AR experiences for mobile phones caught Google off guard, the company made an all-out sprint to match... The leaders of Apple and Facebook have each described augmented reality as the next big thing in...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Roku Tries Brinkmanship in the Streaming Wars

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 12, 2020 12:02pm PST · 3 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

Roku Tries Brinkmanship in the Streaming Wars

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 12, 2020 12:02pm PST · 3 comments

The streaming war between Disney and Netflix has captured the attention of investors, the media and viewers. But a lower-profile yet equally high-stakes battle is underway in the streaming video market—between entertainment companies and a new generation of gatekeepers. The players range from big tech giants like Amazon to smaller firms... The streaming war between Disney and Netflix has captured the attention of investors, the media...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank’s Global Vision Tested by China’s Uber for Trucks

By Juro Osawa · Feb 12, 2020 7:00am PST

In 2018, when SoftBank led a $1.9 billion investment in Chinese truck-hailing app Manbang, CEO Masayoshi Son urged the startup to go global, pointing to the worldwide success of his other bets, like Uber and Indian hotel chain Oyo, according to a person familiar with the matter. Two years later, Uber is struggling to cut losses and Oyo has... In 2018, when SoftBank led a $1.9 billion investment in Chinese truck-hailing app Manbang, CEO...

Jigsaw CEO Jared Cohen. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Swallows Another Alphabet Unit—Jigsaw

By Nick Bastone · Feb 10, 2020 3:53pm PST · 1 comment

Another arm of Alphabet, the holding company for Google and a collection of other businesses, has gone away. Within the past month, Alphabet quietly moved Jigsaw, a technology incubator that creates tools to curb online misinformation, harassment and other issues, under Google management, The Information has learned. It previously operated... Another arm of Alphabet, the holding company for Google and a collection of other businesses, has...

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Photo by Bloomberg

YouTube in Talks to Follow Amazon and Apple Into Video Subscriptions Market

By Jessica Toonkel and Alex Heath · Feb 10, 2020 2:31pm PST · 1 comment

YouTube is sending signals that it wants to become a destination site for every part of the TV universe. The Google-owned video giant is considering giving people the ability to sign up, through YouTube, for a wide range of subscription-streaming services run by entertainment companies, according to people familiar with the situation. YouTube... YouTube is sending signals that it wants to become a destination site for every part of the TV...

Inside the Vision Fund’s Civil War: Deal Conflicts, Leak Suspicions

By Amir Efrati and Cory Weinberg · Feb 7, 2020 11:48am PST

Inside the Vision Fund’s Civil War: Deal Conflicts, Leak Suspicions

By Amir Efrati and Cory Weinberg · Feb 7, 2020 11:48am PST

For three years, the technology world has been riveted by the seemingly endless cash pouring out of SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund into all manner of startups. The promise was to make a series of long-term bets on the potential of new services and technologies. But lately it’s become clear that at least some of the Vision... For three years, the technology world has been riveted by the seemingly endless cash pouring out...

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Considered Selling Streaming Tech Behind Twitch

By Priya Anand and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 6, 2020 10:01am PST

Twitch hasn’t turned into the advertising powerhouse Amazon might have expected when it bought the live-streaming gaming service in 2014. But Amazon may have found a new way to generate more revenue from Twitch—by selling its live-streaming technology to other companies.Amazon has considered launching a service based on... Twitch hasn’t turned into the advertising powerhouse Amazon might have expected when it...

Sequoia Capital's Konstantine Buhler (left), Josephine Chen, Shaun Maguire and Bogomil Balkansky. Photos by Sequoia; illustration by Mike Sullivan

Sequoia Expands Seed Investing Team as Rivals Loom

By Kate Clark · Feb 6, 2020 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Sequoia Capital, already one of the most influential venture capital firms in the world, is putting more boots on the ground to make sure it doesn’t miss out on the next big early-stage startups. In an unusually large expansion of its investing team, Sequoia has hired four new partners—Bogomil Balkansky, Konstantine Buhler,... Sequoia Capital, already one of the most influential venture capital firms in the world, is...

Nikolay Storonsky, CEO of Revolut, last August. Photo by Bloomberg

Financial Figures for Fintech Firm Show Soaring Demand for Digital Banking

By Zoë Bernard · Feb 5, 2020 1:07pm PST · 1 comment

Revolut, a financial technology company based in the U.K. whose backers include DST Global, told potential investors recently it expected revenues to soar to $3.37 billion in 2022 from $279 million in expected revenue for 2019, The Information has learned. Revolut also predicted it would turn its first full-year profit in 2022. The figures... Revolut, a financial technology company based in the U.K. whose backers include DST Global, told...

Casper CEO Philip Krim. Photo by Bloomberg.

Casper Pursued Private Fundraising Before IPO Filing

By Kevin Dugan · Feb 3, 2020 1:25pm PST

Casper CEO Philip Krim. Photo by Bloomberg.

Casper Pursued Private Fundraising Before IPO Filing

By Kevin Dugan · Feb 3, 2020 1:25pm PST

Direct-to-consumer mattress firm Casper was pursuing plans to privately raise up to $200 million until days before its early January filing to go public, say people familiar with the situation. The fundraising, if it had been completed, would have allowed Casper to stay private through 2020, the people said.People close to Casper say company... Direct-to-consumer mattress firm Casper was pursuing plans to privately raise up to $200 million...

An airport official in Thailand talking to people flying to Wuhan this week. Photo by AP

Huawei, Xiaomi Research Hubs Paralyzed by Virus Outbreak

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Jan 31, 2020 10:06am PST

Huawei’s leafy campus in Wuhan, a research center built for 8,000 workers, is usually bustling with engineers developing everything from laptops and smart TVs to optical chips. But now, the company’s sleek, modern buildings are almost empty. Wuhan, a manufacturing center 500 miles from Shanghai, has become the epicenter of the... Huawei’s leafy campus in Wuhan, a research center built for 8,000 workers, is usually...

Jessica Biel speaks at the premiere of Facebook Watch's "Limetown" last September. Photo by AP

Facebook Cuts Back on Original Programming for Watch Video

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Jan 29, 2020 10:09am PST

Facebook is refining the programming strategy for its Facebook Watch video service, pulling back on expensive original shows and sports rights.Facebook continues to increase its programming budget for Watch—it will rise to around $1.4 billion this year, from the company’s initial $1 billion budget in 2017, according to a person... Facebook is refining the programming strategy for its Facebook Watch video service, pulling back...

Apple CEO Tim Cook at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this month. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Ends AI Startup’s Work on ‘Project Maven’ After Acquisition

By Nick Wingfield and Ashley Gold · Jan 29, 2020 7:00am PST

Big technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google have jockeyed to secure lucrative contracts supplying their products and services to the military. Apple, though, has shown less interest in the market. And when it recently bought a startup that was working on a controversial Pentagon project, Apple ended that company’s work on... Big technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google have jockeyed to secure lucrative...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Developing New ‘Unified’ Communications App for Businesses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 28, 2020 1:05pm PST · 9 comments

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Developing New ‘Unified’ Communications App for Businesses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 28, 2020 1:05pm PST · 9 comments

Google is working on a mobile application for businesses that brings together the functions of several standalone apps the company already offers, including Gmail and its online storage service Drive. The move could help it compete more effectively with application suites from Microsoft and others, according to two people who have used the... Google is working on a mobile application for businesses that brings together the functions of...