The Information

A Blade helicopter over New York Harbor. Image: Blade

‘Flying Over Traffic’: Short-Hop Services Multiply

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 19, 2019 6:31am PDT · 2 comments

Tired of bad traffic and have money to spare? A growing cadre of venture capital–backed startups are launching services to ferry people on short-distance trips by small planes and helicopters. Companies including Blade, Skyryse and BlackBird believe there is a growing market for short hops by air in places like the Bay Area, Los Angeles... Tired of bad traffic and have money to spare? A growing cadre of venture capital–backed...

An employee makes a bed at an Oyo-branded property in Bangalore, India. Photo: Bloomberg

Airbnb Mulls Big Investment in Indian Hotel Startup

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 18, 2019 1:26pm PDT

Airbnb is contemplating another big step into the hotel business, this time in India and China. The travel giant is in discussions to invest in Indian hotel management startup Oyo, two people familiar with the matter said. If completed, the investment would likely be in the $100 million to $200 million range, one of the people said. It comes... Airbnb is contemplating another big step into the hotel business, this time in India and China. ...

Bargain Shopping App Wish in Talks to Raise $300 Million

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Mar 18, 2019 12:08am PDT

Ecommerce startup Wish is in talks with private equity firm General Atlantic and other investors to raise about $300 million in a new funding round, people familiar with matter said.The fundraising, which hasn’t yet closed, values the San Francisco-based company at about $11 billion pre-money, higher than its previous valuation of $8.5... Ecommerce startup Wish is in talks with private equity firm General Atlantic and other investors...

A visitor to a Facebook stand at an exhibition in Shanghai last November. Photo by AP

Facebook’s Top Representative in China Leaves Firm

By Wayne Ma and Sarah Kuranda · Mar 15, 2019 4:09pm PDT

A visitor to a Facebook stand at an exhibition in Shanghai last November. Photo by AP

Facebook’s Top Representative in China Leaves Firm

By Wayne Ma and Sarah Kuranda · Mar 15, 2019 4:09pm PDT

Facebook’s chief representative in China left the company earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter, after a series of corporate missteps that led to a deterioration of relations between Facebook and the Chinese government.The previously unreported departure of Ivy Zhang leaves Facebook with one government affairs... Facebook’s chief representative in China left the company earlier this year, according to...

Bird scooters parked in Detroit. Photo: Bloomberg

Bird Lays Off Dozens of Employees

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 14, 2019 1:59pm PDT

Bird, the pioneer of the electric scooter sector, laid off 4% to 5% of its full-time staff on Thursday, in an effort to contain costs. About 40 employees of the roughly 900-person company were let go.The layoffs represent a comedown for a startup that flew to a $2 billion valuation last year within nine months of launching. The company helped... Bird, the pioneer of the electric scooter sector, laid off 4% to 5% of its full-time staff on...

Think Being an Apple Supplier Is a Boon? Not so Fast.

By Wayne Ma · Mar 14, 2019 6:31am PDT

As Apple goes, so go its suppliers—but worse. Share prices for top companies that make parts for Apple products declined far more than Apple’s own stock did last year, dropping by an average of 23% from the year before when compared with only 5% for Apple shares, according to an analysis by The Information. The same analysis shows... As Apple goes, so go its suppliers—but worse. Share prices for top companies that make...

John Giannandrea, now head of Apple's AI efforts, in 2017. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple Acquires Machine Learning Startup in Boost for AI Group

By Aaron Tilley · Mar 13, 2019 11:57am PDT

Apple has acquired Laserlike, a small Silicon Valley-based machine learning startup, which could help strengthen the company’s artificial intelligence efforts, including its Siri virtual assistant, The Information has learned. An Apple spokesperson confirmed the acquisition of the four-year-old startup, which was founded by three former... Apple has acquired Laserlike, a small Silicon Valley-based machine learning startup, which could...

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vice Looks to Raise Money After Rough Year

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 12, 2019 12:46pm PDT

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vice Looks to Raise Money After Rough Year

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 12, 2019 12:46pm PDT

Vice Media is looking to raise a new round of financing of up to $200 million, which the company hopes will give it enough cash to reach its goal of becoming profitable in the next 12 months, according to people familiar with the situation. The news of the search for funding, which could be through a mix a debt and equity, comes weeks after the... Vice Media is looking to raise a new round of financing of up to $200 million, which the company...

Waymo CEO John Krafcik speaks at a Google developer conference last May. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alphabet’s Waymo Seeks Outside Investors

By Amir Efrati · Mar 11, 2019 1:32pm PDT · 1 comment

Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car division has been seeking financing from outside investors, such as European automakers like Volkswagen, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The efforts suggest Alphabet wants to limit how much money it invests in the division, and show how valuable other parties believe it to be.... Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car division has been seeking financing from outside...

Lime CEO Toby Sun, left, and Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden. Photos by Bloomberg , Bird.

Lime Leapfrogs Bird in Scooter Race, at a Cost

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 11, 2019 6:31am PDT · 1 comment

The two companies leading the electric scooter craze have, until now, followed a similar formula: expand to new cities, rack up big losses, raise more money, expand again.But lately, the strategies pursued by Bird and Lime have diverged sharply. Bird has pared back growth, preferring to focus on getting profitable before expanding further, its... The two companies leading the electric scooter craze have, until now, followed a similar formula:...

Marie Kondo. Photo by AP

Tidy Guru Marie Kondo in VC Talks About Expansion

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 7, 2019 1:52pm PST · 1 comment

Marie Kondo, the Japanese tidying guru whose advice on cleaning up has made her a household name, is looking to take the next step. Her company, KonMari, has held early talks with venture firms about potentially raising up to $40 million for new business opportunities, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. A spokesperson for... Marie Kondo, the Japanese tidying guru whose advice on cleaning up has made her a household name,...

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s ByteDance Plans Slack Rival Even as Losses Mount

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2019 10:09am PST

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

China’s ByteDance Plans Slack Rival Even as Losses Mount

By Yunan Zhang and Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2019 10:09am PST

In 2017 ByteDance, owner of such popular apps as newsfeed service Toutiao, made a slim profit. Last year, after the costly launch of its video app TikTok outside of China, the company lost $1.2 billion, The Information has learned. Results of the expansion were mixed: TikTok has become widely used in India but not in the U.S., according to... In 2017 ByteDance, owner of such popular apps as newsfeed service Toutiao, made a slim profit....

Lime scooters in South Bend, Ind. Photo: AP

Two Top Policy Executives Departing Lime

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 5, 2019 3:51pm PST

The two top executives leading policy and government relations at scooter startup Lime are leaving, less than a year after they joined. The departures add to the turnover at the fast-growing company as it faces mounting safety problems and a need to win approval to expand into new cities.The two executives were big hires for two-year-old Lime... The two top executives leading policy and government relations at scooter startup Lime are...

Apple's Eddy Cue, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook at Sun Valley in Idaho. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney Weighs Distribution Deals for Streaming Service

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Mar 5, 2019 6:31am PST · 1 comment

As Disney nears an April public unveiling of its Disney+ streaming services for Wall Street analysts, some key questions—including whether to distribute through U.S. cable operators or companies like Apple—are still being hammered out.One worry is whether the service will work well from a technical perspective. With that in mind,... As Disney nears an April public unveiling of its Disney+ streaming services for Wall Street...

Parker Conrad. Photo by Bloomberg

Kleiner Perkins Expected to Lead Investment in Rippling

By Zoë Bernard · Mar 4, 2019 3:29pm PST

Venture capitalists pressured Parker Conrad to step down from his health insurance startup, Zenefits, after the company was found to have skirted insurance regulations. Now, three years later, Mr. Conrad is going back to them for funding for his new company, Rippling. The Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner Perkins is expected to be the... Venture capitalists pressured Parker Conrad to step down from his health insurance startup,...

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Startup Circle Seeking $250 Million in New Funding

By Jon Victor · Mar 2, 2019 9:58am PST

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Photo by Bloomberg

Crypto Startup Circle Seeking $250 Million in New Funding

By Jon Victor · Mar 2, 2019 9:58am PST

Circle, one of the biggest cryptocurrency startups in the U.S., is seeking to raise about $250 million in a combination of equity and debt, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans. If it succeeds, Circle would be the latest in a series of cryptocurrency firms to raise money as they grapple with the impact of the crash in the... Circle, one of the biggest cryptocurrency startups in the U.S., is seeking to raise about $250...

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...