The Information

A poster for the Disney movie "Alice Through the Looking Glass" at a movie theater in Yichang in China in 2016. Photo by AP.

Hollywood Wins Concession From China, but Overall Deal Stalled

By Wayne Ma and Matt Pressberg · Jul 19, 2018 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

For more than a year, the U.S. has been negotiating with China to let Hollywood film studios expand their business in China. The U.S. made some progress late last year when, The Information has learned, Chinese officials tentatively agreed to an increase in the number of major Hollywood films that could be released annually to 44 from 34. But on... For more than a year, the U.S. has been negotiating with China to let Hollywood film studios...

Tom Gruber. Photo: Flickr/JD Lasica

Siri’s Last Remaining Cofounder Is Out at Apple

By Aaron Tilley and Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 18, 2018 6:59pm PDT · 1 comment

Tom Gruber, one of the original Siri cofounders, has left Apple, where he was recently the head of Siri’s Advanced Development group, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Apple’s head of search, Vipul Ved Prakash, has also left the company. An Apple spokeswoman confirmed both departures. Mr. Gruber is retiring and... Tom Gruber, one of the original Siri cofounders, has left Apple, where he was recently the head...

Visitors on the Great Wall of China. Photo by shankar s./Flickr

Airbnb Looks to Keep China Momentum

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 18, 2018 10:01am PDT

Airbnb’s increasing popularity with young Chinese travelers has made the country an important growth driver over the past year. Revenue from Airbnb’s China division is expected to climb by more than half to roughly $130 million this year, two people familiar with the matter said. While that growth rate is lower than last year’s... Airbnb’s increasing popularity with young Chinese travelers has made the country an...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Instagram’s Growing Bot Problem

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Jul 18, 2018 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Instagram’s Growing Bot Problem

By Reed Albergotti and Sarah Kuranda · Jul 18, 2018 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Instagram, which recently reached a billion users, might have as many as 95 million bots posing as real accounts on its platform, according to a new study conducted for The Information by the research firm Ghost Data.That tally is somewhat higher than in a similar study the research firm did in 2015. The increase is concerning, experts say,... Instagram, which recently reached a billion users, might have as many as 95 million bots posing...

Vudu's app on an iPhone. Photo by Bloomberg

Walmart Plots Rival to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video

By Jessica Toonkel, Tom Dotan and Priya Anand · Jul 17, 2018 10:32am PDT · 7 comments

Walmart is considering launching a subscription streaming video service to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, people familiar with the situation told The Information. Such a move could be enormously costly for the retailer but would demonstrate its determination to compete on multiple fronts with Amazon in particular.The Bentonville,... Walmart is considering launching a subscription streaming video service to compete with Netflix...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Photo: Bloomberg

In Reversal, Facebook Mulls Switch to Google Apps

By Kevin McLaughlin and Sarah Kuranda · Jul 17, 2018 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Facebook, which stopped using Google email and productivity applications inside the company a few years ago, is now mulling a switch back to the Google services for its employees, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Such a move would be an embarrassing setback for Microsoft, whose applications Facebook currently uses.If it... Facebook, which stopped using Google email and productivity applications inside the company a few...

Former Qualcomm executive chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs. Photo: Bloomberg

Behind Qualcomm’s Retreat From Data Center Business

By Aaron Tilley · Jul 16, 2018 10:02am PDT · 3 comments

Three years ago, Qualcomm mounted an attack on Intel in the market for server chips used in the highly profitable data center business. By June the effort was a shambles. As the company laid off hundreds of workers in the data center unit in North Carolina, a collection of tech giants—including Microsoft, Intel, Samsung and... Three years ago, Qualcomm mounted an attack on Intel in the market for server chips used in the...

An app tied to the World Cup launched after the tournament started because of a lengthy review by Facebook. Photo: AP

Facebook Scrutiny Slows Approval of Messenger Apps

By Sarah Kuranda · Jul 16, 2018 7:00am PDT

An app tied to the World Cup launched after the tournament started because of a lengthy review by Facebook. Photo: AP

Facebook Scrutiny Slows Approval of Messenger Apps

By Sarah Kuranda · Jul 16, 2018 7:00am PDT

Leading up to the World Cup, GameOn Technology built a Facebook Messenger app for getting scores and game highlights. But as the World Cup kicked off last month, the app was still on the sidelines, awaiting Facebook’s approval.GameOn isn’t alone. The Information spoke to nearly a dozen developers frustrated by significant recent... Leading up to the World Cup, GameOn Technology built a Facebook Messenger app for getting scores...

Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy at a company event last year. Photo: Bloomberg

Amazon Web Services Targets Cisco in Networking

By Wayne Ma and Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 13, 2018 10:03am PDT · 9 comments

Amazon Web Services already dominates the market for cloud services. Now, it is eyeing a part of the cloud business it doesn’t already control: the $14 billion global market for data center switches.AWS is considering selling its own networking switches for business customers—hardware devices that move traffic around networks,... Amazon Web Services already dominates the market for cloud services. Now, it is eyeing a part of...

Airbnb is one of numerous private companies facing expiring employee stock option grants. Photo: Bloomberg

Delayed IPOs Undercut Startup Employee Options

By Alfred Lee · Jul 13, 2018 7:02am PDT · 5 comments

When Airbnb assured employees last month that it aimed to go public before their stock grants expired, the company became the latest example of a private tech firm grappling with a once unheard-of problem. Tech companies are staying private longer than ever, but most employee stock grants aren’t designed to last quite so long. Stock... When Airbnb assured employees last month that it aimed to go public before their stock grants...

Photo: AP

China’s Huawei Plots AI Push With ‘Project Da Vinci’

By Juro Osawa and Aaron Tilley · Jul 12, 2018 10:16am PDT · 3 comments

Once a month, a top Huawei executive huddles with colleagues to talk about how to bring artificial intelligence into everything the Chinese tech giant makes, from telecom base stations and cloud data centers to devices like smartphones and surveillance cameras. The broad effort is code-named Project Da Vinci—referred to as Project D by... Once a month, a top Huawei executive huddles with colleagues to talk about how to bring...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Facebook Watch Is Struggling to Win Fans

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Jul 12, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Facebook Watch Is Struggling to Win Fans

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Jul 12, 2018 7:01am PDT · 5 comments

Facebook Watch, the company’s bid to dethrone YouTube, has had a shaky first year.In the months after Watch’s launch last August, the number of people who visited the social network’s new section every day to watch shows produced by ABC, A&E Networks, Discovery and other smaller media companies disappointed some show... Facebook Watch, the company’s bid to dethrone YouTube, has had a shaky first year.In the...

After Self-Driving Cars Get Billions, Trucks Get Second Look

By Amir Efrati · Jul 10, 2018 7:01am PDT

The self-driving truck market is getting more congested. Three new startups—including one whose existence hasn’t been disclosed before—are developing autonomous truck-related software. All three were founded by entrepreneurs with ties to Uber, which has seen turmoil in its autonomous vehicle unit.The companies are seeking to... The self-driving truck market is getting more congested. Three new startups—including one...

DeepMap co-founders Mark Wheeler, left, and James Wu. Photo: Bloomberg

Silicon Valley Mapping Startup Tries to Navigate Its Way Into China

By Yunan Zhang · Jul 9, 2018 10:01am PDT

DeepMap, founded by former Google mapping whizzes and backed by big-name Silicon Valley investors, is in talks to strengthen its ties to China with up to $60 million in fresh cash from Alibaba, Didi Chuxing and automaker BAIC Group, according to two people with direct knowledge of the fundraising.The Palo Alto, Calif., company, which makes... DeepMap, founded by former Google mapping whizzes and backed by big-name Silicon Valley...

Mike Sullivan

Once Worth $800 Million, Cloud Startup Crumbles

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 6, 2018 10:28am PDT

Flash storage provider Tintri was riding high heading into its initial public offering last spring. Tintri, already a favorite of Hollywood studio Dreamworks, had just landed the biggest customer deal in its history, with Bank of New York Mellon worth “tens of millions” of dollars, according to a former Tintri employee.... Flash storage provider Tintri was riding high heading into its initial public offering last...

Xiaopeng founder He Xiaopeng spoke at a conference in Beijing in April.

China’s Hot Electric Car Market Gets Jolt of Alibaba Money

By Juro Osawa · Jul 6, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Xiaopeng founder He Xiaopeng spoke at a conference in Beijing in April.

China’s Hot Electric Car Market Gets Jolt of Alibaba Money

By Juro Osawa · Jul 6, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

While Tesla struggles to meet investors’ expectations, its young Chinese counterparts are raising money at soaring valuations on hopes that China’s electric vehicle market will zoom ahead in the coming years. Xiaopeng Motors, backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, is in talks to raise $600 million to $700 million from Alibaba and other... While Tesla struggles to meet investors’ expectations, its young Chinese counterparts are...

Valerie Nygaard, product manager for Google, presented a demo of the Duplex program last month. Photo: AP

Google’s Controversial Voice Assistant Could Talk Its Way Into Call Centers

By Sarah Kuranda · Jul 5, 2018 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

At a developer conference in May, Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated how a cutting-edge, computer-generated voice assistant called Duplex could call up a restaurant or hair salon and make an appointment without the person on the other end ever realizing they were talking with a robot. The technology was as controversial as it was impressive,... At a developer conference in May, Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated how a cutting-edge,...

Oath CEO Tim Armstrong. Photo by Bloomberg

Armstrong Has Explored Options for Verizon’s Oath

By Jessica Toonkel · Jul 3, 2018 11:58am PDT

Oath CEO Tim Armstrong has been exploring strategic options for the digital media division, created from the combination of Yahoo and AOL, that could include buying the business out of Verizon, say people familiar with his thinking.There is no sign Mr. Armstrong and Verizon are currently discussing a buyout, however. Instead, executives at... Oath CEO Tim Armstrong has been exploring strategic options for the digital media division,...

A Juul e-cigarette device. Photo: AP

Tiger to Invest $600 Million in Juul as Valuation Climbs

By Alfred Lee · Jul 2, 2018 3:56pm PDT · 1 comment

Tiger Global Management has agreed to invest $600 million to lead a new fundraising round in fast-rising e-cigarette maker Juul, according to two people familiar with the matter. Investors in the round, which has yet to close, have agreed to put in a total of more than $1 billion at a post-round valuation of roughly $16 billion, the people said.... Tiger Global Management has agreed to invest $600 million to lead a new fundraising round in...

A Scoot moped. Photo by Scoot

In Scooter Wars, City Ties Might Level Playing Field

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 29, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

A Scoot moped. Photo by Scoot

In Scooter Wars, City Ties Might Level Playing Field

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 29, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

San Francisco officials are expected to decide within weeks which companies will win five coveted slots to operate electric scooters in the city. The more than a dozen contenders include Uber and Lyft, which have recently entered the scooter market, and Bird, Lime and Ofo, three transportation startups with billion-dollar valuations from venture... San Francisco officials are expected to decide within weeks which companies will win five coveted...