The Information

Bill Gurley and Travis Kalanick. Photos by Bloomberg

How Kalanick-Gurley Tensions Shaped Uber of Today

By Amir Efrati · May 28, 2019 7:01am PDT

In the run-up to Uber’s IPO, the company presented a new face to Wall Street. Two relatively new executives, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and CFO Nelson Chai, appeared at investor meetings around the country. Former CEO Travis Kalanick wasn’t even on the stock exchange podium the day of the offering. But it was the relationship between Mr.... In the run-up to Uber’s IPO, the company presented a new face to Wall Street. Two...

Robinhood Financial CEO Baiju Bhatt at a conference last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Robinhood Nears Funding at Valuation Over $7 Billion

By Zoë Bernard · May 24, 2019 11:46am PDT

Robinhood Markets, a financial services firm that has won a following among millennials by offering free stock trades, is nearing the close of a funding round from existing investors at a valuation of between $7 billion and $8 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of its plans. That near term effort could be a prelude to a much... Robinhood Markets, a financial services firm that has won a following among millennials by...

A Walmart store in Shanghai. Photo by Bloomberg

Walmart Taps China’s Startups for Innovation

By Wayne Ma · May 23, 2019 7:01am PDT

Last year, a Chinese startup that makes ultra-thin blankets to keep shipments of food and drink cold got a big break: Walmart decided to use the blankets in its 30 e-commerce depots in China. The startup got the lucrative deal through a special Walmart program, known as Omega 8, which recruits Chinese tech firms to develop technology for the... Last year, a Chinese startup that makes ultra-thin blankets to keep shipments of food and drink...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Tech’s Low-Profile Unicorn Sells Juul Pods, Beer to College Students

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · May 22, 2019 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Illustration by Mike Sullivan.

Tech’s Low-Profile Unicorn Sells Juul Pods, Beer to College Students

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · May 22, 2019 10:01am PDT · 2 comments

Amid the cutthroat food-delivery wars, one hot startup has tried to stay under the radar to avoid alerting its rivals to its business model. But the word is getting out.GoPuff, a Philadelphia-based company that promises to deliver late-night beer, snacks and Juul pods to college students “when the party must go on,” appears to have... Amid the cutthroat food-delivery wars, one hot startup has tried to stay under the radar to avoid...

Huawei's consumer electronics chief Richard Yu. Photo by Bloomberg

Huawei Consumer Electronics Chief Braces for ‘Tough Time’

By Juro Osawa · May 21, 2019 9:02am PDT

When President Donald Trump decided to block Huawei’s access to U.S. technology last week, the Chinese company already had been developing its own chips and stockpiling parts from American suppliers to prepare for the worst. That clearly wasn’t enough. Huawei was broadsided by Google’s decision over the weekend to restrict its... When President Donald Trump decided to block Huawei’s access to U.S. technology last week,...

A collection of Google hardware devices. Photo by Bloomberg

Former Apple Chip Engineers Leave Google

By Aaron Tilley · May 20, 2019 10:02am PDT · 1 comment

A few years ago, Google began hiring Apple engineers responsible for developing a mobile chip that helped give iPhones and other devices a technical edge. But recently, some of those same engineers have left Google’s chip team, in a potential setback to its ambitions to build key ingredients in its own devices. Three chip... A few years ago, Google began hiring Apple engineers responsible for developing a mobile chip...

HashiCorp CEO Dave McJannet. Photo by HashiCorp

Cisco Held Preliminary Acquisition Talks With Cloud Startup HashiCorp

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 20, 2019 7:02am PDT

Cisco Systems held preliminary discussions recently with HashiCorp about an acquisition of the startup whose software manages applications running across multiple cloud providers, according to three people with direct knowledge of the talks. The talks, which took place over a month ago, don’t appear to have advanced very far though, with... Cisco Systems held preliminary discussions recently with HashiCorp about an acquisition of the...

Photo: Bloomberg

CBS Made Informal Offer to Acquire Starz

By Jessica Toonkel · May 17, 2019 10:48am PDT

Photo: Bloomberg

CBS Made Informal Offer to Acquire Starz

By Jessica Toonkel · May 17, 2019 10:48am PDT

CBS Corp. has expressed interest in acquiring cable channel Starz from Lions Gate Entertainment, according to four people familiar with the situation. CBS has been looking at the acquisition as a possible complement to Viacom, which CBS also is considering purchasing, said three of the people.Joseph Ianniello, the interim CEO of CBS, made an... CBS Corp. has expressed interest in acquiring cable channel Starz from Lions Gate Entertainment,...

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu. Photo by Bloomberg.

DoorDash Seeking Valuation of as Much as $12 Billion in Fundraising

By Amir Efrati · May 16, 2019 10:17pm PDT · 2 comments

DoorDash is finalizing a fundraising round likely to value the U.S. food delivery app between $10 billion and $12 billion after the investment, just three months after the company raised money at a $7 billion post-money valuation, said two people familiar with the matter. The talks suggest the disappointing IPOs of Uber and Lyft may not have... DoorDash is finalizing a fundraising round likely to value the U.S. food delivery app between $10...

Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Streaming Service Quibi Seeks Up to $1 Billion in New Funding

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · May 15, 2019 2:32pm PDT · 2 comments

Quibi, the mobile video streaming service headed by Hollywood and tech veterans Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, made headlines last year when it announced $1 billion in funding before it even launched a product. Now, with the service’s launch still many months away, Quibi is gearing up to raise even more.The company is currently... Quibi, the mobile video streaming service headed by Hollywood and tech veterans Jeffrey...

Illustration by J. Claeys

Behind the Intel-Apple Modem Divorce

By Aaron Tilley · May 15, 2019 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

Johny Srouji, the Apple executive in charge of building chips for the company’s devices, was fed up with Intel.It was early 2017 and Apple was preparing a new line of iPhones to be released the next year, but the Intel modem for the devices, known as the 7560, wasn’t working properly, according to two people with knowledge of the... Johny Srouji, the Apple executive in charge of building chips for the company’s devices,...

Hellobike bikes parked on a sidewalk in Shanghai. Photo: AP

Is China’s Bike Boom Over? Hellobike Says No

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · May 14, 2019 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Hellobike bikes parked on a sidewalk in Shanghai. Photo: AP

Is China’s Bike Boom Over? Hellobike Says No

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · May 14, 2019 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

The failed Chinese bicycle app Ofo, which burned through $1.5 billion in venture capital, convinced many investors that bike sharing is a horrible business. But Hellobike, backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Financial, is trying to prove the skeptics wrong as it looks to raise significant new funding. Hellobike is seeking a valuation of $4... The failed Chinese bicycle app Ofo, which burned through $1.5 billion in venture capital,...

John Stankey. Photo by Bloomberg.

WarnerMedia to Put Some Shows on Streaming Service First

By Jessica Toonkel and Beejoli Shah · May 13, 2019 10:52am PDT · 1 comment

Cable TV’s iron grip on the entertainment industry may be starting to loosen.AT&T’s WarnerMedia is planning to run new episodes of some of its popular cable shows—such as TNT’s “The Alienist”—first on its upcoming streaming service, before they debut on cable networks, say several people familiar... Cable TV’s iron grip on the entertainment industry may be starting to loosen....

A plant-based burger from Impossible Foods. Photo by Impossible Foods

Impossible Foods in Talks With Fast Food Chains, Sees Revenue Tripling in 2019

By Zoë Bernard · May 13, 2019 8:12am PDT · 1 comment

Impossible Foods, the hot Silicon Valley maker of plant-based burgers, predicts its revenue will more than triple this year and the company is in discussions with an array of fast food chains, including Little Caesars, about putting its vegetarian meats on their menus, according to documents viewed by The Information. The documents—part of... Impossible Foods, the hot Silicon Valley maker of plant-based burgers, predicts its revenue will...

A Huawei store. Photo by Bloomberg.

Huawei Targets Database Market in Challenge to Oracle

By Juro Osawa · May 10, 2019 2:49am PDT · 2 comments

China’s Huawei Technologies is about to make its biggest-ever attempt to expand into an area of enterprise software currently dominated by Western giants like Oracle, Microsoft and SAP. Huawei is planning to unveil its new cloud database product at an event scheduled for May 15 in Beijing, people familiar with the matter said. A Huawei... China’s Huawei Technologies is about to make its biggest-ever attempt to expand into an...

A Nuro self-driving delivery robot prototype in suburban Phoenix. Credit: Nuro

Uber Talks to SoftBank-Backed Nuro About Autonomous Food Delivery

By Amir Efrati · May 9, 2019 12:39pm PDT

A Nuro self-driving delivery robot prototype in suburban Phoenix. Credit: Nuro

Uber Talks to SoftBank-Backed Nuro About Autonomous Food Delivery

By Amir Efrati · May 9, 2019 12:39pm PDT

Uber has had discussions with SoftBank-backed self-driving vehicle developer Nuro about using Nuro vehicles to help automate Uber’s hot food delivery service Uber Eats, according to a confidential document reviewed by The Information. Such a deal could someday help Uber reduce losses on Uber Eats, a critical issue for investors as the... Uber has had discussions with SoftBank-backed self-driving vehicle developer Nuro about using...

Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe. Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Harassment Allegations Against Intercom CEO Sparked Departures

By Zoë Bernard · May 9, 2019 6:31am PDT · 1 comment

Eight years ago, a group of Irish entrepreneurs led by an ambitious leader, Eoghan McCabe, relocated their software startup, Intercom, from Dublin to San Francisco, aiming to make a splash on tech’s biggest stage. They succeeded, raising more than $240 million in funding from pedigreed venture capital firms and joining an elite class of... Eight years ago, a group of Irish entrepreneurs led by an ambitious leader, Eoghan McCabe,...

Uber CFO Nelson Chai. Photo by Uber.

Uber’s CFO in Spotlight Ahead of IPO

By Amir Efrati · May 8, 2019 7:00am PDT

In the past couple of months, in the run up to Uber's IPO this week, Uber employees on occasion have asked CFO Nelson Chai during internal meetings whether they should sell their shares once they’re able to, when lock-up restrictions lapse six months after the company goes public. Rather than exhort employees to hold onto their stock,... In the past couple of months, in the run up to Uber's IPO this week, Uber employees on...

Google’s New Plan to Challenge Amazon for Shoppers

By Priya Anand · May 3, 2019 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Google has struggled for years to build an online shopping business that can seriously compete with Amazon. Now, as Google’s prized advertising business faces a growing threat from Amazon, the search giant is planning new steps to bolster its shopping presence. Google is testing a new feature on its YouTube video service that displays... Google has struggled for years to build an online shopping business that can seriously compete...

Kevin Reilly, chief creative officer for WarnerMedia's new streaming service. Photo by AP

WarnerMedia Taps Lionsgate and Fox Execs for Streaming Service

By Beejoli Shah and Jessica Toonkel · May 2, 2019 1:32pm PDT

Kevin Reilly, chief creative officer for WarnerMedia's new streaming service. Photo by AP

WarnerMedia Taps Lionsgate and Fox Execs for Streaming Service

By Beejoli Shah and Jessica Toonkel · May 2, 2019 1:32pm PDT

AT&T’s WarnerMedia is ramping up hiring and programming efforts for its upcoming streaming service, as it prepares to go head to head with Netflix, Amazon and Disney. To help develop new shows for the service, WarnerMedia has hired Jennifer O’Connell, the former executive vice president of alternative programming at Lionsgate,... AT&T’s WarnerMedia is ramping up hiring and programming efforts for its upcoming...