The Information

Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz. Photo: AP

Eventbrite Tries to Maintain Its Luster

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · Mar 7, 2018 11:52am PST

Last fall, Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz made a big business bet to spend $200 million, the equivalent of the 12-year-old ticketing site’s revenue last year, to buy a competitor, Ticketfly, from Pandora. To do so, she had to raise $134 million in a previously unreported funding round, one that came with an unusual degree of concessions to... Last fall, Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz made a big business bet to spend $200 million, the...

The creators and stars of "McMafia" at a press event in January. Photo by AP.

Networks Taking a Gamble on Streaming Services

By Tom Dotan · Mar 6, 2018 10:31am PST

Cable channel AMC last week premiered a new series, “McMafia,” about the global underworld. In the past, cord-cutters who can’t watch AMC could have waited to catch the show on Hulu, where most AMC shows end up. But “McMafia” is headed for AMC’s subscription-streaming service, Sundance Now, a previously... Cable channel AMC last week premiered a new series, “McMafia,” about the global...

A Chrysler Pacifica hybrid outfitted with Waymo's self-driving technology, displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Photo by AP

Uber Seeks Deal for Waymo Cars

By Amir Efrati · Mar 5, 2018 10:15am PST · 2 comments

Now that the legal fight between Uber and Waymo is over, Uber wants to resurrect an old idea—partnering with Waymo to deploy self-driving cars, say people familiar with the situation.Since Dara Khosrowshahi became CEO last fall, Uber executives have signaled to Waymo a desire to allow Uber’s customers to ride in Waymo’s... Now that the legal fight between Uber and Waymo is over, Uber wants to resurrect an old...

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Talks to Katerra, Other Startups for On-Campus Apartments

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 28, 2018 11:53am PST · 2 comments

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Talks to Katerra, Other Startups for On-Campus Apartments

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 28, 2018 11:53am PST · 2 comments

Google is considering whether to hire one of an emerging group of construction startups to build thousands of apartments it is planning for employees and others in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a letter it sent to startups and real estate developers this month. If Google goes ahead, it would give a big lift to the startups, which... Google is considering whether to hire one of an emerging group of construction startups to build...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cisco Close to Picking New Global Sales Chief

By Kevin McLaughlin and Sarah Kuranda · Feb 21, 2018 11:28am PST

Two longtime Cisco sales executives are among the finalists to become the tech firm’s global sales chief, widely viewed internally as the number two position in the company, say people with knowledge of the matter. The executives are Alison Gleeson, who oversees sales to customers in the Americas, and Wendy Bahr, who manages Cisco’s... Two longtime Cisco sales executives are among the finalists to become the tech firm’s...

Photo: Bloomberg

Risks for Startups Taking Money From Amazon’s Alexa Fund

By Aaron Tilley and Priya Anand · Feb 20, 2018 7:02am PST

In mid-2016, Amazon.com made a $100 million offer to buy August Home, which makes locks that can be opened with an app, according to people familiar with the previously unreported offer. August had earlier released an app that worked with Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. More importantly, its technology allowed delivery people to easily... In mid-2016, Amazon.com made a $100 million offer to buy August Home, which makes locks that can...

Photo by Bloomberg

Uber Narrowed Loss in Q4: Full Financial Breakdown

By Amir Efrati · Feb 13, 2018 2:30pm PST

Uber is moving toward profitability.The ride-hailing firm reduced its fourth-quarter loss by 26% to $1.1 billion, compared with the third quarter, the company disclosed exclusively to The Information and its investors on Tuesday. The improvement, on 14% higher revenue of $11.1 billion, was a result of Uber better controlling costs such as... Uber is moving toward profitability.The ride-hailing firm reduced its fourth-quarter loss by 26%...

Amazon's Echo devices, powered by Alexa. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Is Becoming an AI Chip Maker, Speeding Alexa Responses

By Aaron Tilley · Feb 12, 2018 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Amazon's Echo devices, powered by Alexa. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Is Becoming an AI Chip Maker, Speeding Alexa Responses

By Aaron Tilley · Feb 12, 2018 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Amazon.com is developing a chip designed for artificial intelligence to work on the Echo and other hardware powered by Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant, says a person familiar with Amazon’s plans. The chip should allow Alexa-powered devices to respond more quickly to commands, by allowing more data processing to be handled on the... Amazon.com is developing a chip designed for artificial intelligence to work on the Echo and...

WeChat founder Allen Zhang speaking last month at a conference in Guangzhou, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

At Tencent, Tensions Rise Over the Future of WeChat

By Juro Osawa · Feb 8, 2018 7:01am PST · 3 comments

WeChat had just turned seven. At a luxury hotel in southern China last month, the anniversary party raged for workers at one of the world’s most popular apps. There were lucky draws. Some employees performed a Chinese rap. Allen Zhang, WeChat’s creator, gave everyone a personally engraved iPhone X. But beneath the glitter and fun,... WeChat had just turned seven. At a luxury hotel in southern China last month, the anniversary...

Google's hardware chief Rick Osterloh at a product launch last October. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google May Step Into Gaming With ‘Yeti’ Streaming Service

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Feb 7, 2018 7:01am PST · 2 comments

Google may be about to take its most serious steps to get into the videogame business. The company is developing a subscription-based game streaming service that could work either on Google’s Chromecast or possibly a Google-made console still being developed, according to people with knowledge of the project.The service, codenamed Yeti,... Google may be about to take its most serious steps to get into the videogame business. The...

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Photo by Bloomberg.

Spotify’s Q3 Revenue Points to Full Year Growth of 40%

By Alfred Lee · Feb 6, 2018 3:21pm PST

Spotify generated a billion euros ($1.2 billion) in revenue in the third quarter of 2017, according to two investors briefed on the numbers. That puts it on track for full year revenue of more than four billion euros, up about 40% from 2016. And it would continue a streak of fast growth as Spotify readies for one of the highest-valued tech... Spotify generated a billion euros ($1.2 billion) in revenue in the third quarter of 2017,...

Note: Share price is for preferred stock;
Sources: CoinMarketCap, Company filings, The Information reporting

Cryptocurrency Surge Raises Questions About Company Valuations

By Alfred Lee · Jan 31, 2018 10:50am PST · 1 comment

Note: Share price is for preferred stock;
Sources: CoinMarketCap, Company filings, The Information reporting

Cryptocurrency Surge Raises Questions About Company Valuations

By Alfred Lee · Jan 31, 2018 10:50am PST · 1 comment

Investors are finding yet another way to bet on the cryptocurrency boom: buying up stock in a well-known cryptocurrency company on private marketplaces.Investment funds and money managers for wealthy individuals have bid up shares of Ripple, the company behind the cryptocurrency XRP, to more than 10 times its previous price, valuing the private... Investors are finding yet another way to bet on the cryptocurrency boom: buying up stock in a...

Art by Javier Garcia

Amazon Says No to Ads on Alexa, Frustrating Sony

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 29, 2018 7:01am PST

Here’s a question for Amazon’s Alexa: Will running ads on the virtual assistant turn off users?The answer, according to Amazon, is yes. Last year, Sony Corp., maker of the Jeopardy game on Alexa, approached Amazon several times about running ads during the game, said a person with knowledge of the matter. But Amazon refused,... Here’s a question for Amazon’s Alexa: Will running ads on the virtual assistant turn...

A Lyft car. Photo by Bloomberg.

Lyft Investigates Allegation That Employees Abused Customer Data

By Amir Efrati · Jan 25, 2018 12:51pm PST · 2 comments

Lyft is investigating whether employees abused access to its customers’ data, a spokeswoman said on Thursday, after a current or former Lyft employee anonymously alleged online that some employees had tracked Lyft rides taken by their romantic partners and pulled information about celebrities such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.The... Lyft is investigating whether employees abused access to its customers’ data, a spokeswoman...

Source: Second Measure

Sun Basket Raising Money Amid Pressure on Meal Kit Startups

By Alfred Lee · Jan 24, 2018 11:32am PST · 1 comment

Since Blue Apron’s disappointing IPO last summer, meal kit delivery startups have been under pressure to sell or fold. But at least one smaller competitor, Sun Basket, is showing decent growth, according to credit card data. Now the firm is raising money—and offering big protections to investors to limit their risk.Sun Basket, which... Since Blue Apron’s disappointing IPO last summer, meal kit delivery startups have been...

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at a news conference announcing quarterly earnings late last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Looks to Raise Billions More Against Arm and Uber Stakes

By Juro Osawa · Jan 23, 2018 10:21pm PST

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at a news conference announcing quarterly earnings late last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

SoftBank Looks to Raise Billions More Against Arm and Uber Stakes

By Juro Osawa · Jan 23, 2018 10:21pm PST

SoftBank, which controls the $93 billion Vision Fund, wants to raise even more money. The Japanese investment giant is in talks with banks to raise as much as $5 billion in new debt by using its U.K. chip subsidiary Arm as collateral, according to people familiar with the matter. At the same time, SoftBank is also considering how it might use... SoftBank, which controls the $93 billion Vision Fund, wants to raise even more money. The...

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff. Photo by Flickr/Christopher Michel.

Smart Doorbell Maker Ring Raising Money at Close to $1 Billion Value

By Aaron Tilley, Serena Saitto and Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 23, 2018 4:09pm PST · 1 comment

Ring, a maker of camera-enabled doorbell products, is raising $160 million at a valuation of nearly $1 billion, nearly double from only a year ago, according to a securities filing and investors.The rapid rise reflects investor interest in smart home products, particularly doorbell cameras, which are useful for tracking package delivery and home... Ring, a maker of camera-enabled doorbell products, is raising $160 million at a valuation of...

Laurence Tosi and Brian Chesky. Photos by Bloomberg.

At Airbnb, Tensions Bubble Between Chesky and Tosi

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 23, 2018 12:01pm PST · 1 comment

When Airbnb was contemplating getting into the air travel business a year ago, CEO Brian Chesky considered launching an airline to reinvent the “actual experience of taking a plane,” according to a person familiar with the situation. CFO Laurence Tosi, a former Wall Street executive, thought it would be wiser to integrate with an... When Airbnb was contemplating getting into the air travel business a year ago, CEO Brian Chesky...

Wag's app. Photo by Bloomberg.

How SoftBank’s Interest Cost One Startup Other Potential Investors

By Serena Saitto · Jan 19, 2018 2:53pm PST

Late last year Wag, an app that helps people find dog walkers, was in talks to raise $100 million. SoftBank took a look but would only invest if the round was $300 million. Other investors, including NEA and Kleiner Perkins, felt that was too much money for the startup to raise and dropped out, say people involved in the deal. SoftBank still... Late last year Wag, an app that helps people find dog walkers, was in talks to raise $100...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Lays Off Two Dozen Employees

By Tom Dotan · Jan 18, 2018 1:21pm PST · 1 comment

Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Lays Off Two Dozen Employees

By Tom Dotan · Jan 18, 2018 1:21pm PST · 1 comment

Snap laid off around two dozen people in recent days, mostly in its content team, according to people close to the company. The staff cuts, which also affected people in several other departments, are the latest sign of how Snap is being cost-conscious amid struggles with slow user and revenue growth. Snap’s content team, which reports to... Snap laid off around two dozen people in recent days, mostly in its content team, according to...