The Information

A Luckin coffee outlet in Beijing. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s Starbucks Rival Luckin Piles Up Losses Before IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Mar 1, 2019 6:31am PST · 4 comments

Luckin Coffee, China’s fast-growing Starbucks rival, has one thing in common with consumer tech companies going public in the U.S.: It has racked up hefty losses ahead of its planned public listing. The coffee delivery startup estimates that it lost some $232 million in 2018, its first year of operation, on revenue of $117 million,... Luckin Coffee, China’s fast-growing Starbucks rival, has one thing in common with consumer...

Turner president David Levy. Photo by Bloomberg

Top WarnerMedia Executives, Levy and Plepler, Are Out

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2019 2:30pm PST

Two of WarnerMedia’s highest ranking executives, Turner president David Levy and HBO CEO Richard Plepler, are leaving the company, according to two people familiar with the situation, apparent casualties of AT&T’s restructuring of the media company.Word of their exits comes days after the federal government lost its appeal... Two of WarnerMedia’s highest ranking executives, Turner president David Levy and HBO CEO...

A Drive.ai shuttle in Frisco, Texas last year. Photo by Drive.ai

Self-Driving Car Startup Drive.ai Seeks Potential Buyers

By Amir Efrati · Feb 28, 2019 1:09pm PST · 3 comments

One of the better known autonomous vehicle startups, Drive.ai, has been looking for a buyer. The firm hired investment bank Jefferies as an adviser and in recent weeks told bigger rivals it is interested in selling, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter and another briefed on the situation.Drive.ai is testing automated... One of the better known autonomous vehicle startups, Drive.ai, has been looking for a buyer. The...

Liz Gateley. Photo by AP.

Spotify Taps Lifetime Veteran to Help Build Podcasting Series

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2019 9:41am PST

Liz Gateley. Photo by AP.

Spotify Taps Lifetime Veteran to Help Build Podcasting Series

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 28, 2019 9:41am PST

Spotify has hired Lifetime’s former programming chief Liz Gateley to help expand its podcast offerings in comedy, music, sports, news and documentaries, two people familiar with the situation said.The previously unreported hiring of Ms. Gateley follows Spotify’s acquisitions earlier this month of podcast publisher Anchor and Gimlet... Spotify has hired Lifetime’s former programming chief Liz Gateley to help expand its...

Photo by Shutterstock

Top Mobile Game Developer Playrix Looking to Sell for $3 Billion

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Feb 27, 2019 5:38pm PST

Playrix Entertainment, the Russia-based developer of some of the world’s most popular mobile games, is on the market for more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. And a number of Chinese companies, including iDreamSky Technology and FunPlus, have inquired about buying it, the people said.Playrix makes Gardenscapes... Playrix Entertainment, the Russia-based developer of some of the world’s most popular...

Photo: AP

Google’s Ad Sales From China Are Booming

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Feb 27, 2019 6:31am PST

Google hasn't decided whether to return to China with a search engine and other tools that will meet censors’ demands, but the internet giant already has built a fast-growing business there. Google saw a huge upsurge in revenue from China last year, powered by a wave of Chinese tech companies buying ads outside China to promote... Google hasn't decided whether to return to China with a search engine and other tools that...

VMware's Pat Gelsinger, left, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella. Photos by Bloomberg.

Microsoft and VMware Working on Cloud Partnership

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 26, 2019 6:30am PST

Microsoft and VMware were once fierce rivals in the software business. But even as hostilities ceased in recent years, their business customers couldn’t use VMware’s most popular product inside Microsoft’s cloud computing service without a lot of technical work. That could be about to change. The two companies are jointly... Microsoft and VMware were once fierce rivals in the software business. But even as hostilities...

Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft Kicks Off Price War With Uber Ahead of IPOs

By Amir Efrati · Feb 25, 2019 4:56pm PST · 38 comments

Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft Kicks Off Price War With Uber Ahead of IPOs

By Amir Efrati · Feb 25, 2019 4:56pm PST · 38 comments

As Uber and Lyft prepare to go public, both companies are reviving an old and costly tactic to boost market share: discounts.Lyft, which is likely to be first to hit the public market, sharply ramped up discounts for riders in recent weeks, according to people close to both companies. The discounts covered as many as a third of its trips,... As Uber and Lyft prepare to go public, both companies are reviving an old and costly tactic to...

As AWS Use Soars, Companies Surprised by Cloud Bills

By Amir Efrati and Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 25, 2019 6:32am PST · 9 comments

Pinterest executives got a surprise during last year’s holiday season. Consumers were spending so much time using the online scrapbook that Pinterest’s computing bills on Amazon Web Services—the internet retailer’s cloud offering—had shot past their expectations. Pinterest, which had paid in advance for AWS’s... Pinterest executives got a surprise during last year’s holiday season. Consumers were...

Disney's office at the international TV sales market MIPCOM in Cannes, France in 2017. Photo by AP

To Make Way for Streaming, Disney Is Revamping Overseas TV Business

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Feb 21, 2019 6:31am PST · 1 comment

One of the big questions facing Walt Disney Co. as it prepares to launch its Disney+ streaming app is how aggressively will it retreat from selling TV shows and movies to other networks and streaming services, in favor of keeping everything on its own outlets. If recent signals from the company are any guide, Disney is going all in on its own... One of the big questions facing Walt Disney Co. as it prepares to launch its Disney+ streaming...

Ucommune founder Mao Daqing. Photo by Bloomberg.

Chinese WeWork Rival Ucommune Seeks $3 Billion Valuation in Nasdaq IPO

By Yunan Zhang · Feb 20, 2019 2:25am PST · 2 comments

Ucommune, WeWork’s biggest rival in China, is seeking a $3 billion valuation for a New York listing this year, as China’s economic slowdown makes it harder for many startups to raise money. Ucommune has hired investment banks Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase to work on an initial public offering in Nasdaq as early as the third quarter of... Ucommune, WeWork’s biggest rival in China, is seeking a $3 billion valuation for a New York...

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer group, presented the MateBook X Pro laptop in Barcelona last year.

How Huawei Targets Apple Trade Secrets

By Wayne Ma · Feb 18, 2019 6:30am PST · 1 comment

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer group, presented the MateBook X Pro laptop in Barcelona last year.

How Huawei Targets Apple Trade Secrets

By Wayne Ma · Feb 18, 2019 6:30am PST · 1 comment

As U.S. companies grow more concerned about efforts by Chinese firms to obtain their intellectual property, all eyes are on Huawei Technologies, which the U.S. government recently accused of stealing trade secrets. New reporting by The Information sheds light on Huawei’s tactics, which often have been aimed at one of the company’s... As U.S. companies grow more concerned about efforts by Chinese firms to obtain their intellectual...

Mamoon Hamid. Photo by Kleiner Perkins

The Investor Rebuilding Kleiner Perkins

By Zoë Bernard and Reed Albergotti · Feb 14, 2019 6:30am PST · 2 comments

A few years ago, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the storied venture capital firm known for blockbuster bets on Amazon and Google, was in a funk. The firm had lost some of its luster by missing out on early investments in social media, while its reputation was battered by a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former partner. To lead a... A few years ago, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the storied venture capital firm known for...

Cast of Epix's "Berlin Station" drama at a premiere in 2016. Photo by AP

MGM Looks for Epix Partner, Two Years After Buying Channel for $1 Billion

By Jessica Toonkel · Feb 12, 2019 10:26am PST

Movie studio MGM Holdings is looking for a strategic partner for its Epix cable channel, to help grow the business and gain access to more programming and distribution, according to two people familiar with the situation. The search comes less than two years after MGM paid nearly a billion dollars for control of Epix.MGM Chairman Kevin... Movie studio MGM Holdings is looking for a strategic partner for its Epix cable channel, to help...

Self-Driving Shuttles Advance in Cities, Raising Jobs Concerns

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 12, 2019 6:30am PST · 4 comments

Thomas Cute, a former bus driver, will be among the first to take a ride this spring in Providence, R.I.’s new, self-driving shuttle. He and other local bus drivers will survey how the small, driverless bus makes its way from the downtown train station, over the Woonasquatucket River, to a neighborhood where few public buses currently run.... Thomas Cute, a former bus driver, will be among the first to take a ride this spring in...

Scenes from Maya and the Three, Magic School Bus Rides Again, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures.

How Netflix Created a Boom in the Cartoon Industry

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Feb 6, 2019 6:31am PST · 2 comments

Scenes from Maya and the Three, Magic School Bus Rides Again, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures.

How Netflix Created a Boom in the Cartoon Industry

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Feb 6, 2019 6:31am PST · 2 comments

As the war between video streaming services heats up, the biggest battleground is being fought over cartoons like “Kung Fu Panda,” “Captain Underpants” and “Curious George.”Hoping to draw in families and children, services like Amazon, Apple, Hulu and especially Netflix are ordering so many new animated movies... As the war between video streaming services heats up, the biggest battleground is being fought...

India’s Oyo, Flush With SoftBank Money, Starts U.S. Expansion

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 5, 2019 10:01am PST · 2 comments

India’s Oyo Hotels and Homes, a $5 billion travel startup backed by SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital, has started to expand into the U.S., The Information has learned. The company, which is one of India’s largest private tech companies, manages a network of budget hotels in India, Indonesia and China, and faces a... India’s Oyo Hotels and Homes, a $5 billion travel startup backed by SoftBank’s Vision...

Photos by Bloomberg and AP

The Incredible Rise and Fall of China’s Bike Firm Ofo

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Feb 5, 2019 6:31am PST · 8 comments

There are bad tech businesses and very bad ones. And then there is Ofo.At the height of its growth in late 2017, the bicycle-rental startup had trucks driving around cities across China, dropping off brand-new yellow bikes continuously throughout the day for customers to use. Each bike cost Ofo nearly $100. They were meant to last two years.... There are bad tech businesses and very bad ones. And then there is Ofo.At the height of its...

Apple's HomePod. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Siri Leader is Out

By Aaron Tilley and Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 1, 2019 2:21pm PST · 2 comments

The Apple executive responsible for overseeing Siri for the past seven years recently left that role, said five people with knowledge of the change.Bill Stasior, who was recruited from Amazon in 2012 to lead Siri after two of the technology’s creators left Apple, is no longer heading the voice assistant group, though he remains at Apple,... The Apple executive responsible for overseeing Siri for the past seven years recently left that...

Scooters belonging to Mexico's Grin. Photo: Carlos Felipe Pardo/Flickr

Latin American Scooter Startups Merge, Raise $150 Million

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 30, 2019 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Scooters belonging to Mexico's Grin. Photo: Carlos Felipe Pardo/Flickr

Latin American Scooter Startups Merge, Raise $150 Million

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 30, 2019 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Mexico City’s Grin and Sao Paulo’s Yellow, which each took in tens of millions of dollars from Silicon Valley investors to run scooter rental businesses last fall, have merged and raised $150 million in fresh capital, according to executives at both firms. The merger is the latest sign of consolidation in the electric scooter... Mexico City’s Grin and Sao Paulo’s Yellow, which each took in tens of millions of...