The Information

An Amazon warehouse in Hyderabad, India. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Takes On Alibaba in India Payments Market

By Priya Anand · Sep 19, 2017 1:33pm PDT

Amazon has made inroads in India’s e-commerce market, taking share from rivals like Flipkart and Snapdeal. But future growth relies on Amazon succeeding in the highly competitive digital payments business—where it faces competition from the likes of Alibaba, SoftBank and even Google. The company in the last year ramped up Amazon Pay... Amazon has made inroads in India’s e-commerce market, taking share from rivals like...

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo: Bloomberg

Key Google Cloud Sales Executive to Depart

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 14, 2017 10:47am PDT

Bertrand Yansouni, a veteran sales executive who joined Google Cloud last November to help manage relationships with business partners, is leaving the company, according to three people familiar with the matter. His departure comes at a crucial time for Google Cloud as it seeks to get customers and make headway against rivals Amazon Web Services... Bertrand Yansouni, a veteran sales executive who joined Google Cloud last November to help manage...

Lyft CEO Logan Green. Photo: Bloomberg

Amid Upbeat Year, Lyft Explores International Expansion

By Amir Efrati · Sep 14, 2017 7:47am PDT · 3 comments

As Lyft begins a large-scale advertising campaign to try to continue gaining market share versus Uber in the U.S., its geographic ambition is rising.The company is expected to enter Canada as soon as the end of this year and, if things go well, could potentially move into Australia and New Zealand, according to three people who have been... As Lyft begins a large-scale advertising campaign to try to continue gaining market share versus...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo: Bloomberg

Cisco CEO Robbins Carves New Path

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 13, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo: Bloomberg

Cisco CEO Robbins Carves New Path

By Kevin McLaughlin · Sep 13, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

On his first day as CEO of Cisco, in July 2015, Chuck Robbins appointed a tech veteran, Zorawar “Biri” Singh, as CTO. It turned out to be a contentious appointment, irritating Mr. Robbins’ predecessor John Chambers, four senior executives close to Mr. Chambers as well as Cisco’s sales team, in part because of differences... On his first day as CEO of Cisco, in July 2015, Chuck Robbins appointed a tech veteran, Zorawar...

Uber's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by AP.

Uber’s Chief Legal Officer to Depart

By Amir Efrati · Sep 12, 2017 3:54pm PDT

Uber’s chief legal officer, Salle Yoo, is expected to leave the company in the near future, according to two people briefed about the matter. Her expected departure comes as Uber faces several criminal probes in past practices and an upcoming trial over trade-theft allegations made against the company by Waymo.Ms. Yoo is exiting nearly... Uber’s chief legal officer, Salle Yoo, is expected to leave the company in the near future,...

Mesosphere CEO Florian Leibert and Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photos: AP and Bloomberg

In Cloud Software Wars, Mesosphere Bows to Kubernetes

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Sep 6, 2017 9:16am PDT · 3 comments

Google appears to have won a long-running technology war in the corporate market.Mesosphere, a startup that makes software for managing applications in data centers, is surrendering to its main rival, Kubernetes, a Google-created software, according to two people with knowledge of Mesosphere’s plans. Mesosphere is soon expected to allow... Google appears to have won a long-running technology war in the corporate market.Mesosphere, a...

Pressure on meal-kit companies has increased the odds of partnerships with big grocers such as Safeway. Photo by Flickr/Mike Mozart.

Blue Apron Competitors Explore Sales to Grocers, Food Manufacturers

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 6, 2017 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Blue Apron’s disappointing IPO has hurt fundraising prospects for its myriad meal-kit competitors, while Amazon.com’s acquisition of Whole Foods has sent stocks tumbling for grocers. That has given grocery chains and meal-kit startups a larger appetite to combine forces, say industry experts and tech executives.Signs of consolidation... Blue Apron’s disappointing IPO has hurt fundraising prospects for its myriad meal-kit...

Mic CEO Chris Altchek. Photo by Flickr/Ole Bader.

News Site Mic Looks to Cable for Video Revenue

By Tom Dotan · Sep 5, 2017 1:51pm PDT · 2 comments

Mic CEO Chris Altchek. Photo by Flickr/Ole Bader.

News Site Mic Looks to Cable for Video Revenue

By Tom Dotan · Sep 5, 2017 1:51pm PDT · 2 comments

Millennial-focused news company Mic is hoping to be picked up by cable.The news site is in discussions with several companies that sell so-called “skinny” bundles of cable channels to offer a channel of Mic-produced videos, said people close to Mic. If successful, Mic would join Cheddar and Vice as new-media firms that have tapped... Millennial-focused news company Mic is hoping to be picked up by cable.The news site is in...

Daniel Graf, Jeff Holden and Liane Hornsey. Photos by Mr. Graf, Bloomberg and Uber.

Uber’s Secret HR War Looms for New CEO

By Amir Efrati · Aug 31, 2017 7:00am PDT · 3 comments

Uber’s top executives spent Tuesday evening at a hastily arranged dinner in San Francisco, gabbing and drinking with their new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. Several board members, including former CEO Travis Kalanick, also attended. On Wednesday, they were all smiles again at Mr. Khosrowshahi’s first all-hands meeting with Uber employees.... Uber’s top executives spent Tuesday evening at a hastily arranged dinner in San Francisco,...

Airbnb CFO Laurence Tosi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Joins Race for AI Talent

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 30, 2017 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

In a recent bidding war for an artificial intelligence startup, Facebook had an unexpected competitor: Airbnb. Earlier this summer the travel company offered to buy Ozlo, which built systems to understand people’s preferences for restaurants based on conversations, according to two people briefed on the matter. Airbnb eventually lost to... In a recent bidding war for an artificial intelligence startup, Facebook had an unexpected...

Amazon Studio chief Roy Price and Isa Hackett. Photos by AP

Amazon Investigated Studio Chief Roy Price Over Claim of Sexual Remarks

By Kim Masters · Aug 25, 2017 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Amazon.com investigated an allegation that the head of its TV and film studio, Roy Price, made unwanted sexual remarks to Isa Hackett, an important producer of one of its highest-profile shows, according to Ms. Hackett, other people with knowledge of the inquiry and communications viewed by The Information. Mr. Price allegedly made the remarks... Amazon.com investigated an allegation that the head of its TV and film studio, Roy Price, made...

Go-Jek CEO Nadiem Makarim. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s JD.com Invests in Indonesia’s Uber Rival Go-Jek

By Juro Osawa · Aug 24, 2017 8:59pm PDT

Go-Jek CEO Nadiem Makarim. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s JD.com Invests in Indonesia’s Uber Rival Go-Jek

By Juro Osawa · Aug 24, 2017 8:59pm PDT

Chinese online retailer JD.com has invested in Indonesian Uber rival Go-Jek, people familiar with the matter said, in a move that intensifies Southeast Asia’s already fierce ride-hailing war.JD made its investment as part of Go-Jek’s latest funding round which is expected to raise a total of roughly $1 billion from investors that... Chinese online retailer JD.com has invested in Indonesian Uber rival Go-Jek, people familiar with...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cisco Had Talks to Acquire Cloud Startup Turbonomic

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 23, 2017 4:26pm PDT · 1 comment

Cisco Systems recently had talks about the possible acquisition of Turbonomic, a startup that sells cloud management software. The acquisition of Turbonomic would give Cisco an edge over rivals like Hewlett Packard Enterprise in automation technology, which is becoming increasingly important for companies running applications in data centers and... Cisco Systems recently had talks about the possible acquisition of Turbonomic, a startup that...

An Uber self-driving car. Photo by Flickr/Zombieite

Uber Weighed Changes to Autonomous Vehicle Unit

By Amir Efrati · Aug 22, 2017 7:00am PDT

Uber recently debated internally whether to partner with a carmaker on self-driving car development, as a way of reducing costs and improving the prospects for its two-year old development effort, said a person with knowledge of the situation.The internal discussions were prompted by an unidentified carmaker approaching Uber this summer about... Uber recently debated internally whether to partner with a carmaker on self-driving car...

Illustration by Scotty Reifsnyder.

How SoftBank Is Reshaping Global Tech

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Aug 17, 2017 9:02am PDT · 5 comments

Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank is making a splash in Silicon Valley with its bid for a stake in Uber. But the Japanese company, propelled by its $93 billion Vision Fund, is already reshaping the global tech landscape and challenging U.S. giants.One key battleground is India, where SoftBank and its Chinese ally Alibaba are backing local startups... Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank is making a splash in Silicon Valley with its bid for a stake in...

Shiva Rajaraman. Photo by Shiva Rajaraman.

WeWork Hires Apple Executive to Oversee Products

By Alfred Lee · Aug 17, 2017 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

Shiva Rajaraman. Photo by Shiva Rajaraman.

WeWork Hires Apple Executive to Oversee Products

By Alfred Lee · Aug 17, 2017 6:01am PDT · 2 comments

WeWork has hired Shiva Rajaraman, a prominent tech executive who most recently served a short stint at Apple, as chief product officer. The hiring is aimed at boosting WeWork’s efforts to improve and expand its digital products.WeWork wants to add functions to the app that its tenants use for everything from job and event postings to... WeWork has hired Shiva Rajaraman, a prominent tech executive who most recently served a short...

Mark Cuban. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cuban Wants to Buy Back Broadcast.com Name for New Chat Venture

By Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 16, 2017 3:10pm PDT · 6 comments

Mark Cuban has taken steps to buy back the name of the firm that made him rich, Broadcast.com, so he can use it in his latest business venture, said a person familiar Mr. Cuban’s plans.The entrepreneur wants to build a Twitter-like conversational platform for people to use cryptocurrency tokens to pay to talk with public figures and other... Mark Cuban has taken steps to buy back the name of the firm that made him rich, Broadcast.com, so...

Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel, President Trump's two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, at the Senate hearing considering their nomination. Photo by AP.

Damore Faces Long Odds in Challenging Google on Firing

By Reed Albergotti · Aug 15, 2017 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Former Google software engineer James Damore has become a favorite of conservative voices on the internet in the past week, since he was fired for writing a memo that blamed in part biological differences for women’s underrepresentation in software engineering. But his chances of winning a labor complaint and getting reinstated are clouded... Former Google software engineer James Damore has become a favorite of conservative voices on the...

Until it suspended operations, parking app Luxe let customers order a valet to pick up and park their cars in San Francisco and a few other cities. Photo by Mike Sullivan

Volvo in Talks to Acquire Luxe Assets

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 14, 2017 12:24pm PDT · 3 comments

Volvo, the Chinese-owned car brand, has been in talks to acquire the assets and intellectual property of Luxe, the recently suspended on-demand parking valet app, according to two people with knowledge of the pending deal.The purchase price and the components of the proposed deal couldn’t be learned. Luxe had a private valuation of more... Volvo, the Chinese-owned car brand, has been in talks to acquire the assets and intellectual...

Earnest co-founder and CEO Louis Beryl. Photo by Bloomberg.

Online Lender Earnest Seeks to Raise $50 Million or Find Buyer

By Serena Saitto · Aug 8, 2017 10:49am PDT · 1 comment

Earnest co-founder and CEO Louis Beryl. Photo by Bloomberg.

Online Lender Earnest Seeks to Raise $50 Million or Find Buyer

By Serena Saitto · Aug 8, 2017 10:49am PDT · 1 comment

Earnest, the online lending startup, is seeking to raise $50 million in new equity as it simultaneously looks for a buyer, according to people familiar with the situation.The San Francisco-based company hired Barclays as an adviser to pursue the so-called “dual-track” process, the people said. One of the people confirmed a Bloomberg... Earnest, the online lending startup, is seeking to raise $50 million in new equity as it...