The Information

A WeWork office in New York City. Photo: Bloomberg

Is WeWork Worth $47 Billion? Not Even Close, Say Some Investors

By Alfred Lee and Cory Weinberg · Jun 26, 2019 11:12am PDT · 7 comments

Office space firm WeWork, which could be the next big test of the IPO market, is often called a $47 billion company. But investors lately have signaled they think WeWork is worth only about half of that, as questions mount about whether the tech-fueled real estate startup can sustain its breakneck growth.WeWork’s stock on the secondary... Office space firm WeWork, which could be the next big test of the IPO market, is often called a...

Brandless co-founder and former CEO Tina Sharkey. Photo by Bloomberg

Inside the Turmoil at SoftBank-Backed Brandless

By Zoë Bernard · Jun 26, 2019 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Last March, when Tina Sharkey stepped down as CEO of Brandless—a maker of inexpensive foods and household items bearing generic labels like “Avocado Oil” and “Dog Shampoo and Conditioner”—she explained the move by saying she wanted to “wear fewer hats” at the company and focus instead on being its... Last March, when Tina Sharkey stepped down as CEO of Brandless—a maker of inexpensive foods...

ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

How ByteDance Founder Is Building a Global Tech Giant From China

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Jun 25, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

In the fall of 2014, a little-known Chinese entrepreneur named Zhang Yiming toured Silicon Valley, visiting the offices of Facebook, Tesla and Airbnb. One thing that struck Mr. Zhang, whose startup in Beijing was beginning to gain traction, was China’s growing influence. He met some Facebook and Twitter employees who loved Xiaomi phones,... In the fall of 2014, a little-known Chinese entrepreneur named Zhang Yiming toured Silicon...

Hulu CEO Randy Freer. Photo by Bloomberg

Hulu Tells TV Studios: Give Disney a Stake in Shows

By Beejoli Shah and Jessica Toonkel · Jun 21, 2019 11:27am PDT

Hulu CEO Randy Freer. Photo by Bloomberg

Hulu Tells TV Studios: Give Disney a Stake in Shows

By Beejoli Shah and Jessica Toonkel · Jun 21, 2019 11:27am PDT

In a sign of how Hulu’s programming decisions have shifted since Disney took control of the streaming service, Hulu executives have begun telling outside studios that Disney will likely have partial ownership in most shows Hulu buys, according to multiple studio executives and Hollywood agents. In recent weeks, Hulu executives have told... In a sign of how Hulu’s programming decisions have shifted since Disney took control of the...

An Uber self-driving car. Photo by AP

Uber Eyes Acquisition of Mighty AI for Self-Driving Car Effort

By Amir Efrati and Nick Wingfield · Jun 18, 2019 2:04pm PDT

Uber has held recent talks to buy Seattle-based Mighty AI, a startup that helps autonomous vehicle developers train their computer vision algorithms to better identify objects on the road, said three people briefed on the discussions.The potential deal is another sign of a looming shakeout in the self-driving car field, where companies have... Uber has held recent talks to buy Seattle-based Mighty AI, a startup that helps autonomous...

A broken Lime scooter in Washington, D.C., last year. Photo: AP

Scooter Breakdowns Weigh on Lime

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 18, 2019 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

At the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January, Lime showed off a new model of its electric scooter with thicker tires, color display screens between the handlebars and stronger aluminum to help the vehicles last longer. But months later, the custom-designed scooter, called Gen 3, is having problems of its own. The screens frequently crack or... At the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January, Lime showed off a new model of its electric...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

What’s Amazon’s Share of Retail? Depends Who You Ask

By Priya Anand · Jun 13, 2019 7:02am PDT

Critics who believe Amazon has gotten too big and powerful often quote estimates that the company accounts for nearly 50% of online sales in the U.S. But one widely cited source for that figure—the research firm eMarketer—recently revised Amazon’s market share estimate sharply downward after the ecommerce giant disclosed new... Critics who believe Amazon has gotten too big and powerful often quote estimates that the company...

Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg

Larry Ellison Returns to War (and Diaper Changing)

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg

Larry Ellison Returns to War (and Diaper Changing)

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Thomas Kurian, a high-profile former Oracle executive, left the software company last September, his peers at the database software company expected Oracle to replace him. But Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and chief technology officer, had other plans. Mr. Kurian had been leading Oracle’s response to a growing threat from... When Thomas Kurian, a high-profile former Oracle executive, left the software company last...

Apple CEO Tim Cook in March. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Discusses Acquisition of Intel’s German Modem Unit

By Aaron Tilley · Jun 11, 2019 3:37pm PDT

Apple is in talks to buy a key part of Intel’s smartphone modem business—its German operations—in a deal that could boost the iPhone maker’s plans to internally develop a modem for its devices, according to four people briefed on the discussions.The talks come as Intel considers selling its struggling modem business in... Apple is in talks to buy a key part of Intel’s smartphone modem business—its German...

Shania Twain, who will star in Lionsgate's upcoming movie "I Still Believe." Photo by AP

Lionsgate’s Hulu-FX Movie Deal Shows Change in TV Landscape

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 11, 2019 2:11pm PDT

In the latest sign of how streaming services are shaking up traditional TV, Disney’s majority-owned Hulu and fully owned cable channel FX have jointly bought the rights to show Lionsgate’s recently released movies starting next year, according to people familiar with the situation.FX and Hulu are buying rights now held by MGM’s... In the latest sign of how streaming services are shaking up traditional TV, Disney’s...

AI Hiring Frenzy Settles Down

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 11, 2019 10:00am PDT

The hiring boom in artificial intelligence research is finally slowing down. The frenzied competition for talent that drove the cost of hiring data scientists and AI researchers into the stratosphere appears to have sharply cooled. At both Alphabet and Microsoft, two of the biggest recruiters of AI talent, the growth rate of hiring for... The hiring boom in artificial intelligence research is finally slowing down. The frenzied...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo: Bloomberg

Uber CEO Shielded From Stock Drop by Options Repricing

By Alfred Lee and Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2019 7:00am PDT

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo: Bloomberg

Uber CEO Shielded From Stock Drop by Options Repricing

By Alfred Lee and Amir Efrati · Jun 11, 2019 7:00am PDT

Uber’s sluggish public market debut has meant losses for some investors. But CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is sitting on healthy paper gains, thanks to changes that were made to his stock options before the company went public. The exercise price of Mr. Khosrowshahi’s options was lowered to $33.65 per share by the company early last year,... Uber’s sluggish public market debut has meant losses for some investors. But CEO Dara...

An Uber autonomous vehicle testing in early 2018. Photo by AP

How Uber Wants Self-Driving Cars to Help Ride-Hailing Business

By Amir Efrati · Jun 7, 2019 7:01am PDT

Uber is among the robotaxi developers that have been trying to improve the way they measure software quality, to help prepare for the launch of commercial services. The company recently discussed tracking precisely where cars with its software appear to drive better than human drivers and where they won’t. Uber would then assign... Uber is among the robotaxi developers that have been trying to improve the way they measure...

Cruise president/CTO Kyle Vogt. Photo by Bloomberg

Cruise’s Secret ‘Apollo’ Robotaxi Milestones

By Amir Efrati · Jun 7, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

As Cruise set out in 2017 to verify the safety of its self-driving vehicles, it came up with a set of milestones to measure progress in its software development. These milestones, which measure the frequency and severity of safety incidents, offer a rare view of how autonomous vehicle developers judge the quality of their software, and the... As Cruise set out in 2017 to verify the safety of its self-driving vehicles, it came up with a...

A Cruise car driving in San Francisco. Photo by AP

Technical Glitches Plague Cruise, GM’s $19 Billion Self-Driving Car Unit

By Amir Efrati · Jun 7, 2019 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

In the middle of April, Honda Motor CEO Takahiro Hachigo hopped into a self-driving car prototype made by General Motors’ Cruise Automation for a demonstration ride. It didn’t go well. About 20 minutes in, the car’s software suddenly turned itself off even as the car kept moving. A man sitting behind the wheel—the backup... In the middle of April, Honda Motor CEO Takahiro Hachigo hopped into a self-driving car prototype...

A Drive.ai car on the road. Photo by Drive.ai

Apple Looks to Acquire Struggling Self-Driving Car Startup Drive.ai

By Amir Efrati and Alex Heath · Jun 5, 2019 7:53pm PDT

A Drive.ai car on the road. Photo by Drive.ai

Apple Looks to Acquire Struggling Self-Driving Car Startup Drive.ai

By Amir Efrati and Alex Heath · Jun 5, 2019 7:53pm PDT

Apple is in the process of acquiring a well-known but struggling self-driving shuttle firm, Drive.ai, for its engineering talent in order boost Apple’s own development of a self-driving vehicle system, according to two people briefed about the situation. The planned deal, described as an “acqui-hire” of the Silicon Valley firm... Apple is in the process of acquiring a well-known but struggling self-driving shuttle firm,...

David Marcus, the head of Facebook's cryptocurrency project. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook Plans Outside Foundation to Govern Cryptocurrency

By Alex Heath and Jon Victor · Jun 5, 2019 11:57am PDT · 2 comments

Facebook plans to cede control of its forthcoming cryptocurrency to outside backers, a move meant to encourage trust in the digital payment system and reassure financial regulators, The Information has learned.In recent months, the social network has courted dozens of financial institutions and other tech companies to join an independent... Facebook plans to cede control of its forthcoming cryptocurrency to outside backers, a move meant...

Cockroach Labs co-founders (from left): Peter Mattis, Spencer Kimball, and Ben Darnell. Photo by Cockroach Labs.

Cockroach Labs Stands Up to Amazon’s Open Source Offensive

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 4, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon Web Services, the online retail giant’s cloud computing unit, has recently ruffled feathers among open source software companies by using free code to create paid services of its own. Now, open source database startup Cockroach Labs, founded by three former Googlers, is hitting back.The next version of CockroachDB, the free database... Amazon Web Services, the online retail giant’s cloud computing unit, has recently ruffled...

A WeWork co-working space. Photo by Bloomberg

WeWork Finds Keeping Big Customers Can Be Hard

By Cory Weinberg · May 30, 2019 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

WeWork wants to be the office-space provider for big as well as small companies. But it is finding that bigger clients come with bigger expectations.Take Amazon. The e-commerce giant is one of WeWork’s biggest customers, occupying dozens of WeWork spaces around the world. But earlier this year, when it prepared to expand in Nashville,... WeWork wants to be the office-space provider for big as well as small companies. But it is...

Art by Danielle Davis

Studies Don’t Support Elon Musk’s Autopilot Safety Claims

By Matt Drange · May 29, 2019 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

Art by Danielle Davis

Studies Don’t Support Elon Musk’s Autopilot Safety Claims

By Matt Drange · May 29, 2019 7:01am PDT · 6 comments

For years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been making bold claims that the “Autopilot” feature that allows Tesla drivers to drive hands-free is safer than traditional driving. In 2016, for instance, he said that “half a million” people would be saved if Autopilot were more widely available. In 2017, Musk tweeted that the latest... For years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been making bold claims that the “Autopilot”...