The Information

Oracle's former cloud chief Thomas Kurian. Photo by Bloomberg

Aborted VMware Deal Shows Oracle’s Cloud Struggles

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 22, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Oracle earlier this year held talks with VMware about a deal that would have allowed VMware’s computing, storage and networking software to run on Oracle’s cloud service, making Oracle more appealing for businesses already using VMware software in their data centers, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. But the talks... Oracle earlier this year held talks with VMware about a deal that would have allowed...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook on Hunt for Big Cybersecurity Acquisition

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Oct 21, 2018 10:10am PDT

In an effort to repair its tattered reputation around data protection, Facebook is stepping up efforts to acquire a major cybersecurity firm, according to four people familiar with the matter. Facebook has approached several security firms about an acquisition, two of the people said, although neither would identify the companies as discussions... In an effort to repair its tattered reputation around data protection, Facebook is stepping up...

PAX Labs CEO Bharat Vasan. Photo by PAX Labs

PAX Labs Boosts Legal, Policy Teams Ahead of Eventual IPO

By Nick Wingfield · Oct 18, 2018 7:02am PDT

The company behind a popular line of marijuana vaporizers is stepping up its lobbying, communications and policy efforts as it prepares for an eventual initial public offering.In recent weeks, PAX Labs—which makes a line of sleek devices for vaping cannabis in plant and oil forms—hired two technology industry veterans to help in... The company behind a popular line of marijuana vaporizers is stepping up its lobbying,...

WeChat founder Allen Zhang at a company event in China earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

Breaking WeChat’s Grip on China’s Social Networks

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Oct 16, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

WeChat founder Allen Zhang at a company event in China earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

Breaking WeChat’s Grip on China’s Social Networks

By Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Oct 16, 2018 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

Imagine if Facebook’s key lieutenants quit to launch a rival product. In China, something like that just happened. Two of the people who helped develop WeChat, the nearly universal chat app run by Tencent, recently created new social networks called Pop and Echo.It comes amid signs WeChat’s grip over social networking and media... Imagine if Facebook’s key lieutenants quit to launch a rival product. In China, something...

Airbnb, TripAdvisor and other companies are looking to build revenue from activities booking.

‘Experiences’ Market Remains Small for Airbnb, Rivals

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 12, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Airbnb’s years-long effort to crack the market for vacation tours and activities accelerated this year in what was known internally as the “summer of love.” After testing the service extensively, the company looked to grow its Experiences business rapidly, offering bar crawls, hat-making classes and other trip add-ons to more... Airbnb’s years-long effort to crack the market for vacation tours and activities...

A picking robot from Kindred Systems. Photo by Kindred Systems

Amazon Developing ‘Picking’ Robots for Warehouses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 11, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

When Amazon announced plans last week to bump the minimum wage for 250,000 employees to $15 an hour, it avoided a related, but sensitive topic: When might machines replace those workers, many of whom work in its warehouses? Amazon already uses robots to handle some jobs in its warehouses, known as fulfillment centers, but it has... When Amazon announced plans last week to bump the minimum wage for 250,000 employees to $15 an...

Harvard University. Photo: Bloomberg

Harvard, Stanford, MIT Endowments Invest in Crypto Funds

By Jon Victor · Oct 10, 2018 12:32pm PDT

The endowments of Harvard University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina have made investments into at least one cryptocurrency fund, a person familiar with the investments said, in a sign of the asset class’ growing acceptance among institutional investors.... The endowments of Harvard University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts...

Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and CEO of Slack. Photo: Bloomberg

Tech Founders Cede Some Power to Shareholders

By Alfred Lee · Oct 10, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and CEO of Slack. Photo: Bloomberg

Tech Founders Cede Some Power to Shareholders

By Alfred Lee · Oct 10, 2018 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Founders wield outsize influence over many of Silicon Valley’s most successful public companies through their shareholdings. But lately a growing number of tech firms are setting limits on founder power, partly in response to investor backlash.Messaging service Slack, which is expected to go public next year, adopted rules in December that... Founders wield outsize influence over many of Silicon Valley’s most successful public...

Photo: Bloomberg

Costco Has Considered Video Streaming Service for Executive Members

By Jessica Toonkel · Oct 9, 2018 2:56pm PDT

Costco Wholesale had preliminary discussions over the past few months about offering a video streaming service as a perk for its top-tier customers, according to three people with direct knowledge of the discussions.The retailer has talked to at least two providers of existing streaming services about the possibility of offering such a service... Costco Wholesale had preliminary discussions over the past few months about offering a video...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsynder

Inside Apple’s War on iPhone Fraud in China

By Wayne Ma · Oct 9, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Five years ago, Apple was forced to temporarily close what was then its only retail store in Shenzhen, China, after it was besieged by lines of hundreds of customers waiting to swap broken iPhones for new devices, according to two former Apple employees who were briefed about the matter. In May 2013, the Shenzhen store logged more than 2,000... Five years ago, Apple was forced to temporarily close what was then its only retail store in...

Todd Holmdahl, a corporate vice president with Microsoft's quantum computing project. Photo by Microsoft

Microsoft Quantum Project Grows With Ex-Qualcomm Engineers

By Aaron Tilley · Oct 8, 2018 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Microsoft’s efforts to build a futuristic computer based on quantum mechanics are getting a boost from former engineers of the chipmaker Qualcomm. Over the past few months, Microsoft has aggressively hired chip engineers from a struggling Qualcomm division devoted to building chips for the computers that power data centers, more so than... Microsoft’s efforts to build a futuristic computer based on quantum mechanics are getting a...

A local resident in Shanghai used a smartphone to have the QR code scanned through Tencent's WeChat Pay. Photo: AP

Tencent to Invest in Brazilian Fintech Startup at $4 Billion Valuation

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Oct 8, 2018 2:51am PDT · 1 comment

A local resident in Shanghai used a smartphone to have the QR code scanned through Tencent's WeChat Pay. Photo: AP

Tencent to Invest in Brazilian Fintech Startup at $4 Billion Valuation

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Oct 8, 2018 2:51am PDT · 1 comment

Chinese internet giant Tencent has agreed to invest about $200 million in Brazil’s Nubank, which offers virtual credit cards, in a deal that values the startup at around $4 billion, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent’s first investment in Brazil makes Nubank one of the most valuable startups in Latin America. It is the... Chinese internet giant Tencent has agreed to invest about $200 million in Brazil’s Nubank,...

Heather Lommatzsch’s Tesla Model S after crashing into the back of a fire truck in South Jordan, Utah, in May. Photo: South Jordan Police Department

Tesla Gives Mixed Messages on Hands-Free Driving

By Matt Drange · Oct 5, 2018 7:00am PDT · 7 comments

One of the most appealing features of Tesla’s cars is their ability to steer themselves. But the semi-autonomous “Autopilot” feature has been linked to a series of crashes, and increasingly is blamed for encouraging drivers to take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel.Tesla has responded by sending drivers... One of the most appealing features of Tesla’s cars is their ability to steer themselves....

Traveloka CFO Henry Hendrawan. Photo by Bloomberg

Asia Tech Gold Rush Boosts Travel Startup to $4 Billion Price Tag

By Juro Osawa · Oct 4, 2018 1:48am PDT · 2 comments

As U.S. and Asian tech giants pour billions of dollars into Southeast Asia, local startup valuations are soaring. Now, one of the region’s biggest online travel sites is in talks for a new funding round which would double its valuation to $4.1 billion, said a person familiar with the matter.Indonesia-based Traveloka, backed by Expedia of... As U.S. and Asian tech giants pour billions of dollars into Southeast Asia, local startup...

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Foreign Venture Capitalists Raising Large Funds for China

By Yunan Zhang · Oct 3, 2018 11:36am PDT · 1 comment

Even as China’s domestic investors struggle to raise cash, U.S. venture capitalists and other firms based outside of China are gathering record sums of money to invest in China. Morningside, an early backer of Xiaomi, the smartphone maker listed in Hong Kong, is raising $1 billion. GGV, which backed Alibaba and travel company Qunar.com, is... Even as China’s domestic investors struggle to raise cash, U.S. venture capitalists and...

Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart, at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Instacart Expected to Top $3 Billion in Orders This Year

By Priya Anand · Oct 3, 2018 7:01am PDT

Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart, at an event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Instacart Expected to Top $3 Billion in Orders This Year

By Priya Anand · Oct 3, 2018 7:01am PDT

Instacart is on track to surpass $3 billion in grocery orders this year, as the same-day delivery service expands the number of supermarkets it works with, The Information has learned. That figure would represent more than double its business from last year.The previously undisclosed figures show how Instacart has managed to thrive in the wake... Instacart is on track to surpass $3 billion in grocery orders this year, as the same-day delivery...

A Waymo self-driving van in Chandler, Ariz. Photo: Waymo

Waymo Collision Shows Flaws in Self-Driving Car Tests

By Amir Efrati · Oct 2, 2018 7:02am PDT · 8 comments

One morning in June, a self-driving car prototype developed by Alphabet’s Waymo unit drove itself northbound on the freeway not far from the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The Waymo vehicle, a white Chrysler Pacifica minivan, traveled on a route that the company uses to test different versions of autonomous vehicle... One morning in June, a self-driving car prototype developed by Alphabet’s Waymo unit drove...

SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son, at a news conference in Tokyo, in August. Photo: Bloomberg

SoftBank Asserts More Control Over Startups

By Alfred Lee · Oct 1, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

SoftBank is changing the tech landscape by investing massive amounts of money in startups. Increasingly, that money is coming with more strings attached.As it deploys its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund, the investing giant is negotiating deal terms that can go to great lengths to protect its returns and give it greater control over key... SoftBank is changing the tech landscape by investing massive amounts of money in startups....

Byedance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank in Talks to Invest in Bytedance

By Yunan Zhang · Sep 27, 2018 3:53am PDT · 3 comments

SoftBank and Primavera Capital are in talks to invest in Bytedance, the six-year-old startup behind news app Toutiao and other popular Chinese entertainment apps, which is raising money ahead of a possible initial public offering next year.The new round of financing could value Bytedance at as much as $75 billion, according to people familiar... SoftBank and Primavera Capital are in talks to invest in Bytedance, the six-year-old startup...

Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft Shows Financial Improvement Ahead of IPO Filing

By Amir Efrati · Sep 26, 2018 10:26am PDT

Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft Shows Financial Improvement Ahead of IPO Filing

By Amir Efrati · Sep 26, 2018 10:26am PDT

Lyft appears to be getting better at controlling its costs.The ride-hailing firm more than doubled revenue to $909 million in the first half of 2018 compared with a year earlier, according to a person with knowledge of the figures. But tighter control of expenses such as promotions for riders and technical infrastructure and networking meant the... Lyft appears to be getting better at controlling its costs.The ride-hailing firm more than...