The Information

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha, left, and Rubrik adviser and former Cisco CEO John Chambers. Photo by Bloomberg

Big Tech Firm Eyed Rubrik As Possible Acquisition

By Kevin McLaughlin and Zoë Bernard · Oct 1, 2019 2:24pm PDT · 1 comment

Rubrik, a startup backed by Silicon Valley luminaries that makes software for managing and recovering data, has had an approach from at least one large technology company about selling itself, according to one person with direct knowledge of the matter. The two companies held preliminary discussions that were underway sometime around... Rubrik, a startup backed by Silicon Valley luminaries that makes software for managing and...

A WeWork office in New York. Photo by Bloomberg

WeWork Puts Two More Businesses Up for Sale

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 1, 2019 1:33pm PDT · 1 comment

WeWork is putting two more recently acquired companies up for sale as it looks to raise cash, according to two people familiar with the matter. The latest on the block: Teem, which provides conference room scheduling software, and SpaceIQ, which makes workplace management software. WeWork bought Teem last fall for $94 million in cash, while... WeWork is putting two more recently acquired companies up for sale as it looks to raise cash,...

A Didi branch office in China. Photo by AP

Uber’s Stock Drop Weighs on Didi Chuxing’s Valuation

By Yunan Zhang, Shai Oster and Juro Osawa · Oct 1, 2019 7:01am PDT

Uber’s disappointing IPO and WeWork’s recent implosion are casting a shadow over another of SoftBank’s big bets: Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.Some of Didi’s existing shareholders are looking to sell their stakes on the secondary market at much lower prices than the company’s most recent $57 billion... Uber’s disappointing IPO and WeWork’s recent implosion are casting a shadow over...

A WeWork space in Tokyo. Photo by Bloomberg

As WeWork Rethinks Expansion, Landlords Hesitate on Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 27, 2019 10:47am PDT

A WeWork space in Tokyo. Photo by Bloomberg

As WeWork Rethinks Expansion, Landlords Hesitate on Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 27, 2019 10:47am PDT

Harvest Properties, an Oakland, Calif.–based property developer, has always been cautious about the risks of leasing space to WeWork. But in recent months it had overcome those concerns and—until this week—was close to striking its biggest deal yet with the co-working giant. Harvest was going to lease hundreds of thousands of... Harvest Properties, an Oakland, Calif.–based property developer, has always been cautious...

JR Rivers. Photo courtesy of Cumulus

AWS Taps Ex-Cisco Exec to Drive Networking Push

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 27, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In the latest sign of Amazon Web Services’s efforts to develop its own networking technology—used for routing data around the world—the cloud computing giant has hired a technology industry veteran who helped jumpstart the industry trend of do-it-yourself networking hardware. JR Rivers, a onetime Cisco executive who later... In the latest sign of Amazon Web Services’s efforts to develop its own networking...

Photo by Bloomberg

WeWork Puts Three Businesses Up for Sale

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 25, 2019 1:26pm PDT

WeWork will try to sell three companies it had acquired in the last few years that handle office cleaning services, group meetups and marketing services, according to two people familiar with the matter. It is a sign that the co-working space provider’s new management is moving aggressively to cut costs and raise cash.News of the proposed... WeWork will try to sell three companies it had acquired in the last few years that handle office...

WeWork's former CEO Adam Neumann and his wife Rebekah. Photo by AP

Neumann’s Downfall Upends WeWork’s Tight Leadership Circle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 25, 2019 1:03pm PDT

Adam Neumann ran WeWork as something of a family-and-friends affair. Of the 20 or so executives who reported to him, half a dozen were either family members or close friends, including his wife Rebekah. With his departure on Tuesday as CEO, the future of many of those close associates is now in doubt.Already his wife, who only recently was... Adam Neumann ran WeWork as something of a family-and-friends affair. Of the 20 or so executives...

A WeWork location in Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

WeWork, Bankers Have Discussed Laying Off One-Third of Workforce

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 24, 2019 9:34am PDT · 5 comments

A WeWork location in Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

WeWork, Bankers Have Discussed Laying Off One-Third of Workforce

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 24, 2019 9:34am PDT · 5 comments

As WeWork investors jousted over Adam Neumann’s future at the company he built, a parallel debate by WeWork executives and bankers has centered on just how deeply WeWork should cut costs to save its business.In recent days, a group of executives from WeWork’s parent company and bankers have been discussing ways to reduce costs,... As WeWork investors jousted over Adam Neumann’s future at the company he built, a parallel...

Inside Travis Kalanick’s ‘Bigger Than Uber’ Next Act

By Amir Efrati · Sep 23, 2019 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick’s newest startup is known as CloudKitchens. But a better name might be WeWork for Food. Operating through a small startup he bought last year, and supported by hundreds of millions of dollars in loan facilities arranged with Goldman Sachs and other banks, Kalanick in the past 18 months has snapped up or... Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick’s newest startup is known as CloudKitchens. But a better...

Facebook's Ime Archibong. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook’s App Factory Aims for Teens With Two New Apps

By Alex Heath · Sep 19, 2019 10:08am PDT

A new subsidiary of Facebook has quietly released two teen-oriented apps and tapped a veteran executive to lead the group behind them, The Information has learned.Ime Archibong, a high-profile executive at the company who previously led Facebook’s relationships with outside developers, recently changed roles to become head of New Product... A new subsidiary of Facebook has quietly released two teen-oriented apps and tapped a veteran...

As NBCUniversal Preps Streaming Service, Cable Firms Push Back

By Jessica Toonkel and Beejoli Shah · Sep 18, 2019 10:28am PDT · 1 comment

NBCUniversal’s planned entry into the streaming video market may prove costlier than it expected.When the Comcast-owned entertainment company in January unveiled plans to launch its own streaming service, it planned to differentiate the offering from rivals like Netflix and Disney+ by making the ad-supported service free to all cable and... NBCUniversal’s planned entry into the streaming video market may prove costlier than it...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Snap Courts Publishers for News Tab

By Alex Heath and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 17, 2019 12:57pm PDT · 1 comment

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg

Snap Courts Publishers for News Tab

By Alex Heath and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 17, 2019 12:57pm PDT · 1 comment

Snap is in early talks with media companies about powering a dedicated news section inside the Snapchat app, according to six people familiar with the talks.The planned news section represents a do-over of sorts for its efforts to present real-time, breaking news from a handful of trusted news partners. While news from those partners is... Snap is in early talks with media companies about powering a dedicated news section inside the...

Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz. Photo by Bloomberg

Andreessen Horowitz Returns Slip, According to Internal Data

By Zoë Bernard · Sep 16, 2019 7:02am PDT · 6 comments

One of Silicon Valley's best-known venture firms, Andreessen Horowitz, saw its performance slip significantly after the blockbuster results of its initial fund, internal data show, illustrating just how cutthroat venture capital has become as even big names struggle to deliver outsized returns. The funds the firm raised in 2010 and... One of Silicon Valley's best-known venture firms, Andreessen Horowitz, saw its performance...

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Photo by Bloomberg

Goldman Hires AWS Executive in Boost for Cloud Ambitions

By Kevin McLaughlin and Carleton English · Sep 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Goldman Sachs has hired a well-known executive from Amazon Web Services for a top tech role, the clearest signal yet that the bank wants to increase its use of public cloud services. Marco Argenti, who has spent the past six years at AWS as vice president of technology, is joining Goldman as co-chief information officer, succeeding Elisha... Goldman Sachs has hired a well-known executive from Amazon Web Services for a top tech role, the...

The entry of an Amazon Go store. Photo by Bloomberg

No ‘Go’ Soda Lines: Amazon’s Search for Ideal Cashierless Store

By Priya Anand · Sep 11, 2019 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

This summer, Amazon sought to answer a key question about its cashierless Go convenience stores: How small could it go?Employees at Amazon were seeking to determine the smallest possible size and design for a Go store in order to hit its target of $2 million in annual sales from each store, according to an internal analysis prepared in June and... This summer, Amazon sought to answer a key question about its cashierless Go convenience stores:...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Internal Facebook Memo Reveals Guidelines for Showcasing News

By Alex Heath and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 10, 2019 3:26pm PDT · 1 comment

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Internal Facebook Memo Reveals Guidelines for Showcasing News

By Alex Heath and Jessica Toonkel · Sep 10, 2019 3:26pm PDT · 1 comment

Facebook has said repeatedly that it isn’t in the journalism business, but a team of human editors responsible for an upcoming news initiative by the company will exercise significant control over the presentation of top stories, including judging them over their use of anonymous sources, according to internal guidelines seen by The... Facebook has said repeatedly that it isn’t in the journalism business, but a team of human...

An Amazon Go store in Seattle. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Forecast $639M for ‘Go’ Stores by 2020 but Openings Fall Short

By Priya Anand · Sep 9, 2019 7:01am PDT

Shortly after Amazon opened its first Amazon Go mini-mart to the public in Seattle last year, the company privately mapped out its ambitions for building more of the high-tech, cashierless stores. It projected that annual revenue from all Amazon Go stores would balloon from a mere $28 million in 2018 to as much as $639 million... Shortly after Amazon opened its first Amazon Go mini-mart to the public in Seattle last year, the...

David Rhodes. Photo by AP.

Spotify Taps Former CBS Exec to Help Expand News Offering

By Jessica Toonkel · Sep 6, 2019 12:46pm PDT

Spotify has tapped former CBS News President David Rhodes as a consultant to help drive an expansion into news programming, say people familiar with the situation. A news push is part of a broader ramp-up of Spotify’s podcast offerings to diversify the company’s revenue beyond music. Additionally, Spotify is looking to grow its... Spotify has tapped former CBS News President David Rhodes as a consultant to help drive an...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Change Causes Scramble Among Private Messaging App Makers

By Aaron Tilley · Sep 5, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

A change Apple is making to improve privacy in an upcoming version of its iPhone operating system has alarmed an unlikely group of software makers: developers of privacy-focused encrypted messaging apps. They warn the change, which is already available in public test versions of iOS 13, could end up undermining the privacy goals that prompted it... A change Apple is making to improve privacy in an upcoming version of its iPhone operating system...

A WeWork office in London in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Can WeWork Make Money? Marketing Costs Are One Obstacle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 4, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

A WeWork office in London in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Can WeWork Make Money? Marketing Costs Are One Obstacle

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 4, 2019 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

As WeWork’s losses have climbed, potential investors have scoured for signs that the company has a pathway to profitability. A key piece of that puzzle: Can WeWork reduce how much it spends to open each new office location? The company has tried to highlight signs that it is making progress on that front. “Net capex per... As WeWork’s losses have climbed, potential investors have scoured for signs that the...