The Information

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...

Benchmark partner Bill Gurley (left) and former CEO Travis Kalanick. Photos by Bloomberg.

Kalanick Took Steps to Regain Board Control at Uber

By Amir Efrati and Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 5, 2017 3:20pm PDT · 3 comments

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick recently asked some former colleagues, including early employees still at the company, whether they would support him in a potential shareholder battle, according to one person with direct knowledge of the effort and two people briefed about it. The requests were the latest indication that Mr. Kalanick has... Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick recently asked some former colleagues, including early employees...

SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son. Photo by Bloomberg.

At $45 Billion Price, SoftBank Talks Enflame Uber Tensions

By Jessica E. Lessin, Serena Saitto and Amir Efrati · Aug 4, 2017 1:10pm PDT · 2 comments

Three weeks ago, Benchmark partners Matt Cohler and Peter Fenton flew into Sun Valley, Idaho for a private meeting with Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, according to three people told about it. On the outskirts of the annual Allen & Co. media confab, the group tried to hammer out a deal for SoftBank to buy shares in Uber from existing investors... Three weeks ago, Benchmark partners Matt Cohler and Peter Fenton flew into Sun Valley, Idaho for...

Huawei's consumer electronics division chief Richard Yu at CES this January. Photo by Bloomberg.

Huawei Expected to Gain U.S. Foothold With AT&T

By Juro Osawa · Aug 4, 2017 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

AT&T has tentatively agreed to sell Huawei’s upcoming flagship smartphone in the U.S. in the first half of next year, people familiar with the matter said, allowing the Chinese company to battle Apple and Samsung in the U.S. for the first time.Huawei is the third-biggest smartphone maker in the world by market share and has lately... AT&T has tentatively agreed to sell Huawei’s upcoming flagship smartphone in the U.S....

Source: SEC filings

Online Lender Prosper Sees Valuation Plummet 70%

By Tom Dotan and Alfred Lee · Aug 3, 2017 2:36pm PDT · 1 comment

Source: SEC filings

Online Lender Prosper Sees Valuation Plummet 70%

By Tom Dotan and Alfred Lee · Aug 3, 2017 2:36pm PDT · 1 comment

Prosper, the second-largest online lending startup, is close to raising a new round of financing that will see its valuation cut by 70%, according to two people familiar with the matter. It is the latest sign of how the online lending industry has struggled after its rapid initial growth.The new financing round for around $50 million will value... Prosper, the second-largest online lending startup, is close to raising a new round of financing...

Google's cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.

Cisco, Google Team Up on ‘Goodzilla’ Cloud Project

By Kevin McLaughlin and Amir Efrati · Aug 3, 2017 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Cisco Systems and Google are working together to let companies that buy Cisco’s servers run online applications both in their private data centers and in Google’s public cloud, according to two people with knowledge of the plan. The joint effort is aimed at giving each company something it had been craving: for Cisco, access to more... Cisco Systems and Google are working together to let companies that buy Cisco’s servers run...

Sand Hill Road, where Greylock is based. Photo by Bloomberg.

Greylock COO Tom Frangione Left Firm After ‘Lapse of Judgment’

By Serena Saitto · Aug 2, 2017 3:19pm PDT · 15 comments

Greylock Partners COO Tom Frangione stepped down at the firm’s request last month, after Greylock “learned of some behavior which would represent a significant lapse of judgment,” a Greylock spokeswoman said.According to a person familiar with the situation, Mr. Frangione had an inappropriate relationship with an... Greylock Partners COO Tom Frangione stepped down at the firm’s request last month, after...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap in Talks to Buy Chinese Maker of Selfie Drones

By Yunan Zhang and Tom Dotan · Aug 1, 2017 12:32pm PDT · 4 comments

Snap is in talks to acquire Zero Zero Robotics, a Beijing-based maker of selfie drones, according to people familiar with the matter. If the deal goes through, it would mark a major expansion of Snap’s hardware ambitions as it seeks new ways to get users to share more pictures and videos.Zero Zero sells its $500 Hover Camera Passport Drone... Snap is in talks to acquire Zero Zero Robotics, a Beijing-based maker of selfie drones, according...

Sources: Second Measure and SEC filings. Charts by Mike Sullivan.

Data Suggest More Trouble Ahead for Blue Apron

By Alfred Lee · Jul 31, 2017 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

Sources: Second Measure and SEC filings. Charts by Mike Sullivan.

Data Suggest More Trouble Ahead for Blue Apron

By Alfred Lee · Jul 31, 2017 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

The looming Amazon-Whole Foods merger might not be Blue Apron’s biggest problem.The meal-kit provider is on track to see declines in sales and customers in the second quarter, according to credit card transaction data compiled by research firm Second Measure. The data might help explain why investors have heavily bet against Blue... The looming Amazon-Whole Foods merger might not be Blue Apron’s biggest problem.The...

Southeast Asia's online travel market is expected to more than quadruple to $90 billion by 2025 , driven in part by strong demand for low-cost flights. Photo by AP.

Expedia to Invest $350M in Indonesia’s Traveloka

By Juro Osawa · Jul 27, 2017 8:44am PDT · 1 comment

Expedia is investing about $350 million in Southeast Asia’s biggest local online travel portal, as the U.S. company tries to increase its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, people familiar with the matter said. Indonesia-based Traveloka, which operates in six countries in Southeast Asia, is raising a total of... Expedia is investing about $350 million in Southeast Asia’s biggest local online travel...

A Snap sign at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap’s General Counsel Stepping Down

By Tom Dotan · Jul 25, 2017 1:10pm PDT

Snap’s general counsel Chris Handman has stepped down, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Mr. Handman announced the news in an email to the company employees last week, saying that he was staying on as an advisor.Mr. Handman had been with the company since mid-2014, having joined after many years as a partner at Hogan... Snap’s general counsel Chris Handman has stepped down, citing a desire to spend more time...

AWS CEO Andy Jassy. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Considering New Cloud Service to Combat Google

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 20, 2017 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Executives at Amazon Web Services used to pride themselves on ignoring products offered by rivals like Microsoft and Google. Not anymore.AWS is considering developing a new cloud service based on a Google-created software tool called Kubernetes, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Used to run many applications at the same... Executives at Amazon Web Services used to pride themselves on ignoring products offered by rivals...

Toutiao's app on a smartphone. Photo by Mike Sullivan.

How a News Startup Caught China’s Tencent by Surprise

By Juro Osawa · Jul 19, 2017 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

Toutiao's app on a smartphone. Photo by Mike Sullivan.

How a News Startup Caught China’s Tencent by Surprise

By Juro Osawa · Jul 19, 2017 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

In a lush valley near the ancient Silk Road’s starting point in Western China, young farmer Wang Zheng checks his smartphone for chicken feed tips and egg prices. Mr. Wang is using a news app called Jinri Toutiao—“today’s headlines” in English—whose machine-learning algorithm feeds him personally tailored... In a lush valley near the ancient Silk Road’s starting point in Western China, young farmer...