The Information

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston. Photo by Bloomberg.

Dropbox Mulls a Chat “Workspace”

By Steve Nellis · Mar 2, 2016 11:36am PST

Dropbox is working on a chat product, according to two people the company told about it.The product is likely to be a “workspace” where teams of people can collaborate on items stored in the main Dropbox application. It isn’t likely to take on chat programs like Slack and Yammer directly.The project has been in the works... Dropbox is working on a chat product, according to two people the company told about it.The...

Source: The Information Research. Chart by Peter Schulz.

Comparing Common Stock Valuations in Private Tech

By Alfred Lee · Feb 29, 2016 7:02am PST · 3 comments

Disclosures with California state regulators by several private tech firms have opened a window on one of tech’s best kept secrets: the precise 409A valuation put on their common stock and how close that number is to the value of preferred shares issued in fundraisings.A review by The Information of private tech filings shows a wide... Disclosures with California state regulators by several private tech firms have opened a window...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Hertz Investing in Luxe

By Amir Efrati · Feb 26, 2016 11:20am PST · 2 comments

Luxe, an on-demand parking startup, is raising tens of millions of dollars at a more than $100 million pre-money valuation. The Series B round is expected to be led by a strategic investor, Hertz, one of the country's top car-rental companies whose parent firm is worth $3.8 billion in the public market, according to people familiar with the... Luxe, an on-demand parking startup, is raising tens of millions of dollars at a more than $100...

Mark Zuckerberg at this week's Mobile World Congress. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Zuckerberg’s New Plan to Woo Telecom CEOs

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 24, 2016 11:39am PST

Mark Zuckerberg at this week's Mobile World Congress. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Zuckerberg’s New Plan to Woo Telecom CEOs

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 24, 2016 11:39am PST

BARCELONA—At a private dinner here Tuesday night, Mark Zuckerberg was frank with about ten CEOs from global phone companies sitting around the table: India’s ban of Facebook’s Free Basics mobile app was a big setback and a significant moment for a company not accustomed to regulatory blowback. Facebook’s CEO then turned... BARCELONA—At a private dinner here Tuesday night, Mark Zuckerberg was frank with about ten...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

The True Value of Yahoo Finance

By Amir Efrati · Feb 18, 2016 3:07pm PST · 4 comments

As potential buyers look at Yahoo’s assets, they may come to view Yahoo Finance as representing a meaningful percentage of the company’s enterprise value.Even as traffic to some of Yahoo’s core products has declined meaningfully in the past year, Yahoo Finance seems to be holding steady, internal data show. As potential buyers look at Yahoo’s assets, they may come to view Yahoo Finance as...

Salesforce's Tod Nielsen. Photo by Flickr/Luke Kilpatrick.

Salesforce’s Platform Chief to Depart

By Steve Nellis · Feb 17, 2016 4:15pm PST

Tod Nielsen, the Salesforce.com executive vice president who oversees the Heroku and Force.com app-building platforms, is leaving the company at the end of March, he confirmed.His departure could be a sign that Salesforce is rethinking its strategy towards Heroku and Force.com. Salesforce has struggled for years to harmonize the two platforms,... Tod Nielsen, the Salesforce.com executive vice president who oversees the Heroku and Force.com...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Death March of Yahoo’s Core Products

By Amir Efrati · Feb 17, 2016 7:00am PST · 8 comments

The number of people visiting Yahoo’s three most important products—Yahoo Mail, the Yahoo.com home page and Yahoo Search—on a daily basis declined meaningfully over the past year, according to confidential internal data. It’s a reminder of the deep challenges any potential buyer of Yahoo would face.Daily active users... The number of people visiting Yahoo’s three most important products—Yahoo Mail, the...

Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber, whose shares have been valued differently by different mutual funds. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside How Mutual Funds Value Private Tech

By Alfred Lee · Feb 11, 2016 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber, whose shares have been valued differently by different mutual funds. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside How Mutual Funds Value Private Tech

By Alfred Lee · Feb 11, 2016 7:00am PST · 1 comment

The sudden and sizable valuation markdowns of high-flying private companies like Snapchat, Dropbox and Zenefits by mutual fund investors has been one of the biggest stories in tech, sowing fears that the market is deflating. They’ve also caused consternation among founders, who have had to defend their companies’ earlier valuations... The sudden and sizable valuation markdowns of high-flying private companies like Snapchat,...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel speaks to journalist Ken Auletta. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Image.

Snapchat’s Push Against Branded Content

By Tom Dotan · Feb 10, 2016 7:01am PST · 6 comments

Last summer, when Bacardi wanted to do a social media campaign for its liqueur brand St-Germain, the company first turned to Snapchat.Bacardi’s media agency, Possible Worldwide, presented the idea of a series of Live Stories videos in the style of a peep show that featured “New Girl” actress Hannah Simone interacting with... Last summer, when Bacardi wanted to do a social media campaign for its liqueur brand St-Germain,...

GitHub product chief Kakul Srivastava. Photo by Flickr/Yahoo.

What Happened at GitHub

By Steve Nellis · Feb 4, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Underlying the exodus of several GitHub executives over the past few months has been a key strategic debate: whether the company should focus on the needs of its millions of users or a small group of companies that write big checks, say several people with knowledge of GitHub’s inner workings.It’s a debate with echoes in the... Underlying the exodus of several GitHub executives over the past few months has been a key...

Twitter COO Adam Bain. Photo by Flickr/Sportsfile.

The Good and Bad In Twitter’s Ad Business

By Amir Efrati · Feb 3, 2016 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Twitter’s active user growth in the fourth quarter of last year was disappointing to people inside the company, according to one person briefed on the figures. That suggests next week’s earnings aren’t likely to change gloomy investor attitudes toward the company.But Twitter’s advertising business isn’t a monolith.... Twitter’s active user growth in the fourth quarter of last year was disappointing to people...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Signals Apple-like Direction for Nexus Phones

By Amir Efrati · Feb 1, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Signals Apple-like Direction for Nexus Phones

By Amir Efrati · Feb 1, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his lieutenants have signaled to colleagues and outsiders that the company wants to take greater control over its program for making “Nexus” smartphones, which are powered by Google’s Android software. The change would effectively reduce the level of involvement of hardware partners that make the... Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his lieutenants have signaled to colleagues and outsiders that the...

Jack Dorsey. Photo by AP.

What’s Up at Twitter

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 31, 2016 5:27pm PST · 14 comments

It is hard to overstate how important the next 10 days are for Twitter, a Silicon Valley sensation turned soap opera that continues to garner more public fascination than its business probably warrants.CEO Jack Dorsey has been scrambling to announce several new board members alongside the company’s Feb. 10 earnings report, which is... It is hard to overstate how important the next 10 days are for Twitter, a Silicon Valley...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snapchat Eyes App Install Ads

By Tom Dotan · Jan 27, 2016 7:01am PST · 2 comments

As Snapchat faces down a big year, and a true test of its ability to create a sustainable business, the company may be dipping its toe into Facebook’s domain for mobile revenue: app install ads.Snapchat’s sales representatives have indicated in recent discussions with ad agencies it is considering selling app install ads, according... As Snapchat faces down a big year, and a true test of its ability to create a sustainable...

GitHub co-founder Chris Wanstrath. Photo by Bloomberg.

Executive Exodus at GitHub

By Steve Nellis · Jan 25, 2016 2:34pm PST

Nine executives have left GitHub in recent months, according to people briefed on the matter and public disclosures.GitHub makes software for tracking changes to open-source project code. It has raised $350 million from Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. Chief Information Officer Scott Chacon, head of corporate sales Brandon... Nine executives have left GitHub in recent months, according to people briefed on the matter and...

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos

Amazon’s Next Phone Play

By Amir Efrati · Jan 25, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos

Amazon’s Next Phone Play

By Amir Efrati · Jan 25, 2016 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Amazon.com is looking to cement tighter software partnerships with Android phone makers, its latest effort to get more customers for its services on smartphones, say people briefed on different aspects of the discussions at Amazon.Amazon has discussed working with phone brands at a “factory level” to integrate its services with... Amazon.com is looking to cement tighter software partnerships with Android phone makers, its...

A customer using Apple's Siri feature. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Interface Race in Artificial Intelligence

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 21, 2016 7:02am PST · 4 comments

Facebook and Google have poured money into getting artificial intelligence-powered messaging apps out the door, but the companies didn’t get one prize they wanted. Each expressed interest in acquiring the AI startup Viv Labs, founded by the developers of Apple’s Siri, people familiar with the discussions said.Viv rebuffed the... Facebook and Google have poured money into getting artificial intelligence-powered messaging apps...

Photo by Flickr/Dennis Crowley.

Foursquare Lets Employees Swap Out Underwater Options

By Alfred Lee · Jan 19, 2016 1:57pm PST · 2 comments

In the wake of its recent down round, Foursquare will allow any employee to convert out-of-the-money stock options into restricted stock units, or RSUs, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.The move, which will go into effect over the next few weeks, ensures employees will have stock of some value. Unlike options, which convert to stock at a certain... In the wake of its recent down round, Foursquare will allow any employee to convert...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Facebook’s Campaign to Convince You It Cares

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Jan 14, 2016 7:00am PST

In a recent regularly scheduled question-and-answer session for employees, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked about the company’s efforts to measure whether Facebook users believe the company “cares” about them. In particular, an employee asked whether the measure could be distorted by recently introduced... In a recent regularly scheduled question-and-answer session for employees, Facebook CEO Mark...

Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, the creators and stars of Smosh. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

Defy Media Contemplating a Sale

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2016 5:00am PST

Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, the creators and stars of Smosh. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

Defy Media Contemplating a Sale

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2016 5:00am PST

Online video firm Defy Media, a maker of comedic web videos mostly aimed at young men, is in discussions that could lead to either a capital raising or a sale, said a person close to the company.Any deal could give Defy, or any acquirer, much-needed extra scale with content and audiences, which is crucial for drawing advertising dollars. Even... Online video firm Defy Media, a maker of comedic web videos mostly aimed at young men, is in...