The Information

A smartphone app for Chinese auto information website Yiche.com, formerly called Bitauto.com, whose parent company is a big shareholder in Yixin. Photo by AP.

Tencent-backed Chinese Car-Financing Firm Plans $5 Billion IPO

By Juro Osawa · May 11, 2017 9:23am PDT

A Chinese online auto-financing marketplace backed by local tech giants Tencent, Baidu and JD.com, is planning a Hong Kong IPO that could value the company at nearly $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.Yixin Capital, a closely-held arm of U.S.-listed Chinese online car information portal Bitauto, could go public as early as the end... A Chinese online auto-financing marketplace backed by local tech giants Tencent, Baidu and...

Uber's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by AP.

Uber Fired Lawyers Amid Debate Over Data Retention Policy

By Amir Efrati · May 10, 2017 1:33pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber fired two in-house lawyers before New Year’s after an internal debate over a proposed change in Uber’s policy related to how long internal documents and other company data are retained, according to people briefed about the episode. The lawyers went outside the company to get advice from several law firms, a move Uber deemed a... Uber fired two in-house lawyers before New Year’s after an internal debate over a proposed...

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cisco’s Startup Shopping List

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 10, 2017 7:02am PDT

Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins’ corporate shopping spree shows no signs of ending. He has lately kicked the tires of several startups in storage, security and networking software, looking to upgrade Cisco’s product portfolio with new technology tied into cloud computing. The tire-kicking has led to at least one previously... Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins’ corporate shopping spree shows no signs of ending. He has...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Negotiating Big SF Office Expansion

By Cory Weinberg · May 8, 2017 10:57am PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Negotiating Big SF Office Expansion

By Cory Weinberg · May 8, 2017 10:57am PDT · 1 comment

Airbnb is deep in negotiations for what would be the biggest office lease in San Francisco this year, according to two people familiar with the matter. It would also make Airbnb one of the biggest office tenants in San Francisco, giving it room to grow as it heads toward a possible IPO next year.The company is in talks to lease at about 250,000... Airbnb is deep in negotiations for what would be the biggest office lease in San Francisco this...

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Bloomberg.

How BuzzFeed Is Betting on Tasty for IPO

By Tom Dotan · May 8, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

BuzzFeed is aiming for a 35% jump in revenue this year to around $350 million, as it tries to show investors that it can maintain strong growth while keeping costs low, according to two people familiar with the matter. Among sources of growth are its video ads business and e-commerce efforts like book sales, say people familiar with the... BuzzFeed is aiming for a 35% jump in revenue this year to around $350 million, as it tries to...

Google's Mountain View headquarters. Photo by AP.

Labor Board to Hear Employee Complaint Against Google

By Reed Albergotti · May 3, 2017 12:01pm PDT · 1 comment

A Google employee who complained to the National Labor Relations Board about the company’s confidentiality policies last year has won the first round of a case with broad implications for the tech industry.A regional director of the NLRB last Friday filed a complaint against Google, alleging the company’s rules against employees... A Google employee who complained to the National Labor Relations Board about the company’s...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alphabet Shutting Asian Service That Sped YouTube

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 3, 2017 9:08am PDT · 1 comment

Alphabet is shuttering Accelerator, a year old-service designed to speed streaming performance of popular YouTube videos in Asian countries with slow Internet access, according to a person who has worked on the project. Alphabet wants to focus on Google Station, a more recently developed effort meant to be introduced in more countries, said a... Alphabet is shuttering Accelerator, a year old-service designed to speed streaming performance of...

Microsoft executive Julie Larson-Green at a Microsoft developers conference in 2013. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft’s Larson-Green Takes a Step Back

By Eugene Kim · May 1, 2017 6:23pm PDT

Microsoft executive Julie Larson-Green at a Microsoft developers conference in 2013. Photo by Bloomberg.

Microsoft’s Larson-Green Takes a Step Back

By Eugene Kim · May 1, 2017 6:23pm PDT

Julie Larson-Green, a senior executive within Microsoft’s Office team who was once seen as a possible successor to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is leaving the team, citing health reasons, according to an internal email sent earlier last month. She will take on a broader position at the company, serving as the chief experience... Julie Larson-Green, a senior executive within Microsoft’s Office team who was once seen as...

Tencent president Martin Lau and CEO Ma Huateng. Photo by Bloomberg.

Tencent Finally Makes a Big Bet on Artificial Intelligence

By Juro Osawa · Apr 28, 2017 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Tencent, the company behind China’s largest social network and the world’s biggest online games business, always gets props for its products—but not necessarily for its cutting-edge tech. Now the juggernaut is taking steps to change that perception with a big push into AI.The owner of the WeChat messaging app will soon open an... Tencent, the company behind China’s largest social network and the world’s biggest...

Dropbox COO Dennis Woodside. Photo by Bloomberg.

Dropbox Sees Growth in Business Sales But Challenges Remain

By Eugene Kim · Apr 26, 2017 11:50am PDT

Dropbox appears to be making progress in its efforts to expand in the large-business market but executive departures may complicate its efforts.Patrick Heim, Dropbox’s former head of trust and security, stepped down in January to join a startup called ClearSky Security, according to his LinkedIn page. Mr. Heim, who previously served as the... Dropbox appears to be making progress in its efforts to expand in the large-business market but...

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom. Photo by Bloomberg.

Instagram’s Latest Growth Hacks

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 26, 2017 7:01am PDT

To take on Snapchat, Instagram has done more than just copy its features. It’s also heavily ramped up advertising on its parent site Facebook, and adopted other growth strategies long used by Facebook, such as sending more messages to users to get them to reopen the app. Instagram last year boosted digital ad spending by 30% to 40% to... To take on Snapchat, Instagram has done more than just copy its features. It’s also heavily...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Controversies Take a Toll on Uber’s Stock

By Alfred Lee · Apr 25, 2017 7:02am PDT

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Controversies Take a Toll on Uber’s Stock

By Alfred Lee · Apr 25, 2017 7:02am PDT

Investors have cut the price they’re willing to pay for Uber stock on the secondary market by about 15% in recent months to a level that values Uber at around $50 billion, according to a broker, a sign of how the recent onslaught of negative news has affected the company. Another broker said they had seen an uptick in the number of Uber... Investors have cut the price they’re willing to pay for Uber stock on the secondary market...

Uber drivers protesting against the company in New York last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Uber Will Combat Rising Driver Churn

By Amir Efrati · Apr 20, 2017 7:02am PDT · 19 comments

As Uber grapples with controversies over its workplace culture, CEO Travis Kalanick is considering a bevy of measures to tackle another enormous business challenge: the accelerating exodus of Uber drivers.The company is leaning toward allowing in-app tipping by riders, a longtime item on drivers’ wish list, say people involved with the... As Uber grapples with controversies over its workplace culture, CEO Travis Kalanick is...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Embracing Profits Even as Investment Grows

By Eugene Kim · Apr 13, 2017 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

The big question hanging over Amazon lately is whether it will continue to post decent profits or invest them in a series of new ventures. The answer, CEO Jeff Bezos and other senior managers indicated to investors recently, is that profits will remain important.In a previously unreported meeting held with a group of investors earlier this year,... The big question hanging over Amazon lately is whether it will continue to post decent profits or...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Top Secret “Hell” Program Exploited Lyft’s Vulnerability

By Amir Efrati · Apr 12, 2017 6:54pm PDT · 9 comments

As the ride-sharing market was exploding in the U.S. between 2014 and the early part 2016, Uber had an advantage over Lyft that helped Uber maintain its lead, The Information has learned. Thanks to a secret software-based effort within Uber called “Hell,” Uber could track how many Lyft drivers were available for new rides and where... As the ride-sharing market was exploding in the U.S. between 2014 and the early part 2016, Uber...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Inside the War Between Facebook and Snap

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Apr 11, 2017 7:00am PDT · 11 comments

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Inside the War Between Facebook and Snap

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Apr 11, 2017 7:00am PDT · 11 comments

The rivalry between Facebook and Snap reached a very public boiling point in recent weeks as Facebook ramped up its blitz to mimic Snapchat’s app. It’s even gotten a little nasty. There have been public shots like saucy anti-Facebook rants from Evan Spiegel’s fiancée, model Miranda Kerr, and jabs at Instagram by... The rivalry between Facebook and Snap reached a very public boiling point in recent weeks as...

Alphabet CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Plots New Hardware to Take on Echo

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 5, 2017 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

The battle between Alphabet and Amazon over the home assistant market is heating up. Google has been contemplating a big move to compete with Amazon’s Echo in hardware sales: releasing a version of its Google Home intelligent speaker with built-in mesh Wi-Fi networking, said a person with knowledge of the project. The battle between Alphabet and Amazon over the home assistant market is heating up. Google has...

Apple's campus. Photo by Flickr/Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño

Veteran Apple Designer Leaving

By Reed Albergotti · Apr 3, 2017 12:05pm PDT

Long time Apple industrial designer Christopher Stringer is leaving the company in another shakeup to Apple’s vaunted design team. Mr. Stringer, who was at Apple for 21 years, was involved in the first iPhones and iPads and has a rare semi-public profile. He was a key witness in Apple’s years-long legal case against Samsung,... Long time Apple industrial designer Christopher Stringer is leaving the company in another...

Photo by Flickr/Laineema

Nvidia Poaches Tesla Self-Driving Software Exec

By Amir Efrati · Mar 31, 2017 2:44pm PDT

The merry-go-round of self-driving car talent continues. David Nistér, a top member of the team at Tesla developing semi-autonomous driving features, known as "autopilot," has decamped for Nvidia, a maker of microchips for self-driving cars. Mr. Nistér, who joined Tesla in 2015, is considered to be one of the best... The merry-go-round of self-driving car talent continues. David Nistér, a top member of the...

Rizvi was the biggest investor in Twitter at the time of its IPO. Photo by Bloomberg.

Rizvi Scales Back

By Alfred Lee and Martin Peers · Mar 31, 2017 12:44pm PDT

Rizvi was the biggest investor in Twitter at the time of its IPO. Photo by Bloomberg.

Rizvi Scales Back

By Alfred Lee and Martin Peers · Mar 31, 2017 12:44pm PDT

One of the most prominent private equity investors in Silicon Valley, Rizvi Traverse, is pulling back.Rizvi has decided to stop investing money from outsiders and will convert into a “family office” used by Rizvi’s partners, according to Ben Kohn, a managing partner. One of the most prominent private equity investors in Silicon Valley, Rizvi Traverse, is pulling...