The Information

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian at a company event in April. Photo by Bloomberg

Google Brass Set 2023 as Deadline to Beat Amazon, Microsoft in Cloud

By Nick Bastone, Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Dec 17, 2019 7:01am PST · 2 comments

The clock is ticking for Google Cloud.The Google unit, which sells computing services to big companies, is under pressure from top management to pass Amazon or Microsoft—currently first and second, respectively, in cloud market share—or risk losing funding. While the company has invested heavily in the business since last year,... The clock is ticking for Google Cloud.The Google unit, which sells computing services to big...

Illustration by Grant Kratzer

Amazon Learns a New Skill: Making Money From Alexa

By Priya Anand and Amir Efrati · Dec 16, 2019 7:00am PST

For most of Alexa’s five years in existence, Amazon has focused on making its voice assistant as ubiquitous as possible, putting it in everything from microwaves to wearable rings to its growing family of Echo devices. Now Amazon has a new focus for Alexa: making money from it. The company is exploring how it can profit from premium... For most of Alexa’s five years in existence, Amazon has focused on making its voice...

A WeWork office. Photo by Bloomberg

WeWork Trying to Unravel Office Lease Deals

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 12, 2019 10:01am PST · 1 comment

WeWork has tried to convey a semblance of strength in the midst of management upheaval and mass layoffs. It announced last week that it opened a record number of buildings in December, as coworking spaces long under construction were completed. But quietly, WeWork has been trying to shrink the number of buildings it leases even faster than is... WeWork has tried to convey a semblance of strength in the midst of management upheaval and mass...

TerraTrue COO Chris Handman (left) and CEO Jad Boutros. Photo by TerraTrue

Former Snap Executives Raise Funds for a ‘TurboTax for Privacy’

By Alex Heath · Dec 11, 2019 10:01am PST

TerraTrue COO Chris Handman (left) and CEO Jad Boutros. Photo by TerraTrue

Former Snap Executives Raise Funds for a ‘TurboTax for Privacy’

By Alex Heath · Dec 11, 2019 10:01am PST

Two former Snap executives have raised a first round of funding for a new startup building what they describe as a TurboTax for privacy. TerraTrue, created by former Snap chief security officer Jad Boutros and former general counsel Chris Handman, recently closed a $4.5 million round of seed funding led by Anthos Capital—a venture... Two former Snap executives have raised a first round of funding for a new startup building what...

Beijing headquarters of Kuaishou. Photo by AP

Tencent Nears $2 Billion Investment in Chinese Video App Kuaishou to Fight ByteDance

By Yunan Zhang and Wayne Ma · Dec 11, 2019 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Tencent is nearing a deal to invest another $2 billion in Kuaishou, creator of a popular short-video app by the same name that’s gained an especially strong following in China’s smaller cities and countryside, say people familiar with the matter. The investment is designed to counter the rise of ByteDance’s group of apps,... Tencent is nearing a deal to invest another $2 billion in Kuaishou, creator of a popular...

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in Vietnam at a conference in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook and Google Balance Booming Business with Censorship Pressure in Vietnam

By Wayne Ma · Dec 10, 2019 7:00am PST

When Facebook and Google want to strike ad deals in Vietnam, salespeople in Singapore get on a plane and fly to major cities like Ho Chi Minh City. They rent out rooms in five-star hotels for meetings with small retailers looking to sell around the world or big brands wanting to reach Vietnamese consumers. Vietnam is the most important market in... When Facebook and Google want to strike ad deals in Vietnam, salespeople in Singapore get on a...

An Uber self-driving car prototype in February 2018. Photo by AP

Uber Nears Deal for Self-Driving Car Simulation Startup

By Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2019 1:32pm PST

Uber is in advanced negotiations to acquire the team behind a small Silicon Valley-based startup, Foresight, that develops simulation software to help test self-driving car prototypes, said a person who has worked at Uber and has direct knowledge of the pending deal. The small deal, if completed, would aid Uber’s robo-taxi development... Uber is in advanced negotiations to acquire the team behind a small Silicon Valley-based startup,...

Magic Leap CEO and founder Rony Abovitz. Photo by Bloomberg

Dented Reality: Magic Leap Sees Slow Sales, Steep Losses

By Alex Heath · Dec 6, 2019 7:00am PST · 7 comments

Magic Leap CEO and founder Rony Abovitz. Photo by Bloomberg

Dented Reality: Magic Leap Sees Slow Sales, Steep Losses

By Alex Heath · Dec 6, 2019 7:00am PST · 7 comments

As Magic Leap neared the release of its first augmented reality headset in August 2018, the company’s founder and CEO Rony Abovitz had a bullish target, telling investors and colleagues in meetings that he wanted to sell at least one million units within the product’s first year, according to four people who repeatedly heard the goal... As Magic Leap neared the release of its first augmented reality headset in August 2018, the...

A DoorDash delivery person. Photo by Bloomberg

With Public Debut Looming, DoorDash Projected $450M 2019 Loss

By Amir Efrati · Dec 4, 2019 7:01am PST · 2 comments

DoorDash, an on-demand food delivery firm most recently valued at $12 billion which plans to go public next year, expects to lose $450 million this year—but it is faring better than its main rivals, such as Uber Eats.The financial picture—including projections that DoorDash’s net revenue will be between $900 million and about... DoorDash, an on-demand food delivery firm most recently valued at $12 billion which plans to go...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, shown in 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Silicon Valley Braces for Belt-Tightening

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 2, 2019 7:02am PST · 2 comments

At Airbnb’s board meeting two weeks ago, one topic took center stage: how to contain accelerating costs. It is a question that until relatively recently received scant attention inside Silicon Valley’s big-name startups. But a string of rejections by the public markets of some of the tech industry’s superstars has prompted... At Airbnb’s board meeting two weeks ago, one topic took center stage: how to contain...

ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok Owner ByteDance in Talks to Borrow $2 Billion From Banks

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Nov 27, 2019 8:31am PST

ByteDance, the Chinese company behind the wildly popular TikTok video app, is looking to borrow around $2 billion from banks, according to people familiar with the matter. The money would add to ByteDance’s war chest as TikTok challenges Facebook and Snapchat in the U.S. and other parts of the world. The latest fundraising comes as... ByteDance, the Chinese company behind the wildly popular TikTok video app, is looking to borrow...

Airbnb COO Belinda Johnson, who said on Friday she would leave. Photo by Bloomberg

Airbnb Lost $100 Million in Q2

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 22, 2019 3:12pm PST

Airbnb COO Belinda Johnson, who said on Friday she would leave. Photo by Bloomberg

Airbnb Lost $100 Million in Q2

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 22, 2019 3:12pm PST

Airbnb lost about $100 million before interest and taxes in the second quarter this year, a big swing from the profit of $10 million it made in the year-earlier period, according to financial information viewed by The Information. The loss, driven by higher marketing and administrative expenses, is the latest sign that Airbnb is investing... Airbnb lost about $100 million before interest and taxes in the second quarter this year, a big...

Fred Wilson, co-founder and partner at Union Square Ventures, in May. Photo by Bloomberg

Union Square Ventures Maintains Investing Edge, Returns Data Show

By Zoë Bernard · Nov 22, 2019 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Union Square Ventures earned its reputation as a top venture fund by making early bets on Twitter, Zynga and Tumblr. And in recent years, the firm has maintained its performance, remaining one of the top performing venture firms in the industry, internal data show.Three USV funds raised in 2012, 2014 and 2016 showed net internal rates of return... Union Square Ventures earned its reputation as a top venture fund by making early bets on...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg

Cisco Shuffles Cloud, Networking Groups as Rivals Loom

By Kevin McLaughlin · Nov 20, 2019 12:35pm PST

Cisco Systems is shaking up the leadership of its networking and cloud computing businesses as it seeks to better compete against rivals chipping away at its dominance, The Information has learned. The tech giant is combining its enterprise and data center networking units—which make equipment that helps companies shuttle data over... Cisco Systems is shaking up the leadership of its networking and cloud computing businesses as it...

Susanne Daniels. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Searching for TV Exec to Run Video Effort

By Jessica Toonkel, Beejoli Shah and Cory Weinberg · Nov 19, 2019 2:47pm PST

Airbnb is looking to hire an experienced entertainment executive to oversee its video programming efforts as it seeks to diversify into making TV shows, according to two people familiar with the situation. The talent search signals that the travel company is committed to expanding into entertainment.Airbnb has approached a wide range of people... Airbnb is looking to hire an experienced entertainment executive to oversee its video programming...

Fidelity’s Andy Boyd.

Fidelity Executive Who Backed Uber, WeWork, to Depart

By Kevin Dugan · Nov 18, 2019 2:31pm PST

Fidelity’s Andy Boyd.

Fidelity Executive Who Backed Uber, WeWork, to Depart

By Kevin Dugan · Nov 18, 2019 2:31pm PST

Andy Boyd, a top executive at Fidelity who oversaw billions of dollars in investments into some of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, is leaving the mutual fund company at the end of the year. Boyd, a 15-year veteran of Fidelity who has been head of the global equity capital markets group since 2013, made his name at the mutual... Andy Boyd, a top executive at Fidelity who oversaw billions of dollars in investments into some...

Monashees CEO Eric Acher. Photo by Bloomberg

VC Firm’s New $280M Fund Shows Growing Investor Interest in Latin America

By Juro Osawa · Nov 18, 2019 10:01am PST · 2 comments

Monashees, Brazil’s biggest venture capital firm, has raised a new $280 million fund from ultra-wealthy individuals in Latin America as well as U.S. and Asian institutional investors, according to people familiar with the matter. It is one of the biggest VC funds ever to be raised in Latin America, where local startups are attracting some... Monashees, Brazil’s biggest venture capital firm, has raised a new $280 million fund from...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Photos by Bloomberg

Amazon Quietly Scrapped Checking Account Plans

By Priya Anand and Kevin Dugan · Nov 15, 2019 12:37pm PST

This week, Google confirmed that it will soon offer checking accounts to its users. But one of the company’s biggest rivals—Amazon—doesn’t appear to be joining it with a similar product anytime soon. After exploring a partnership with banks early last year to offer an Amazon-branded checking account, Amazon quietly... This week, Google confirmed that it will soon offer checking accounts to its users. But one of...

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Technologies' consumer business, in September. Photo by Bloomberg

Huawei’s Google Problem Runs Deep

By Juro Osawa and Nick Bastone · Nov 14, 2019 7:02am PST · 2 comments

The world’s second largest smartphone maker is going to have a harder time divorcing Google than it thought. Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, has been scrambling for months to figure out how to sell its phones in international markets since U.S. sanctions blocked it from using Google’s mobile services. Huawei executives... The world’s second largest smartphone maker is going to have a harder time divorcing Google...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo: AP

Masayoshi Son, WeWork Execs to Meet as Decisions Loom

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 13, 2019 2:04pm PST

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo: AP

Masayoshi Son, WeWork Execs to Meet as Decisions Loom

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 13, 2019 2:04pm PST

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son plans to visit WeWork’s San Francisco office Thursday as the company’s senior leadership discusses decisions including potential layoffs of thousands of employees. The leadership team also is expected to consider a financial plan to present to the company’s board of directors in the coming weeks,... SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son plans to visit WeWork’s San Francisco office Thursday as the...