The Information

GoPro CEO Nick Woodman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple Designer Jumps to GoPro

By Jessica E. Lessin and Reed Albergotti · Apr 13, 2016 7:28am PDT

A member of Apple's elite industrial design team, Danny Coster, is jumping ship, joining GoPro to head up a new hardware design group there.Mr. Coster worked for Apple since the early 1990s, including on products like the iPhone and the iPad wireless design. A member of Apple's elite industrial design team, Danny Coster, is jumping ship, joining...

An AwesomenessTV show on go90 called 'Guidance.' Photo by AwesomenessTV.

Verizon Hires NBCU Exec for go90

By Tom Dotan · Apr 7, 2016 12:37pm PDT

Verizon has hired digital media executive Chip Canter from NBCUniversal as general manager of its go90 video app, said two people familiar with the situation. Mr. Canter, who started at Verizon in recent weeks, will serve under Verizon’s head of consumer product Brian Angiolet. He comes to the company at a critical time for the video app... Verizon has hired digital media executive Chip Canter from NBCUniversal as general manager of its...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Dustin Rogers.

Facebook Struggles to Stop Decline in ‘Original’ Sharing

By Amir Efrati · Apr 7, 2016 7:01am PDT · 9 comments

Less than a year ago, leaders at Facebook convened to address a serious problem: people using the social network were posting fewer things about their personal lives for their friends to see, according to confidential company data about several types of content sharing that happen on Facebook, which was viewed by The Information.Thus began an... Less than a year ago, leaders at Facebook convened to address a serious problem: people using the...

Google's Clay Bavor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Sees AR, Not VR, as the Real Goal

By Amir Efrati · Apr 4, 2016 12:40pm PDT · 7 comments

Google's Clay Bavor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Sees AR, Not VR, as the Real Goal

By Amir Efrati · Apr 4, 2016 12:40pm PDT · 7 comments

At its developer conference in May, Google is expected to talk a lot about its plans for tailoring Android smartphones to virtual reality. But make no mistake: for Google, VR isn’t the ultimate prize—augmented reality is. Google leaders including CEO Sundar Pichai and Clay Bavor, who heads a newly formed VR unit at Google, have... At its developer conference in May, Google is expected to talk a lot about its plans for...

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by AP.

In Snub to Google, AT&T Looks to Sell Alternative Android Phone

By Amir Efrati · Mar 30, 2016 7:02am PDT · 11 comments

AT&T has recently discussed selling a smartphone powered by an alternative version of Android, the operating system developed by Google, according to one person with direct knowledge and one person briefed about the talks. If the proposed phone sells, it could weaken Google’s control of Android in the U.S. and set back its efforts to... AT&T has recently discussed selling a smartphone powered by an alternative version of...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Messenger Prepares In-Store Purchase Service

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Mar 28, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to become a marketplace, including an unreleased feature that lets people use the app to buy things in stores.Other new features hinted at in the software include “secret conversations,” presumably a reference to encrypted chats, something now... Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to...

Tony Fadell. Photo by Flickr/LeWeb. Art by Jeff Greco.

Inside Tony Fadell’s Struggle to Build Nest

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 24, 2016 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

At a November all-hands meeting for engineers at Nest’s Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters, co-founder Matt Rogers said he was “losing sleep” over an exodus of staffers—roughly 70 in about six to 12 months, out of its workforce of roughly 1,000.Tony Fadell, the company’s CEO, interrupted, pointing out that many of... At a November all-hands meeting for engineers at Nest’s Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters,...

Tony Fadell. Photo by AP.

Four Nest/Google Products Still Under Wraps

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 24, 2016 7:00am PDT

Tony Fadell. Photo by AP.

Four Nest/Google Products Still Under Wraps

By Reed Albergotti · Mar 24, 2016 7:00am PDT

In the two years since Nest was acquired by Google, the company hasn’t released a new hardware product, besides an updated version of a camera it inherited with the Dropcam acquisition. Yet several products are in development, many of which revolve around a home security system. If released, these products could further shake up the home... In the two years since Nest was acquired by Google, the company hasn’t released a new...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Apple’s Cloud Infrastructure Troubles

By Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis · Mar 23, 2016 7:01am PDT · 7 comments

Apple’s move to tap Google to handle parts of its iCloud traffic is a sign that the Cupertino company has failed to build its own cloud infrastructure despite years of work, say people with knowledge of the situation. The company is still years away from being able to completely leave its existing cloud vendors, which also include Amazon... Apple’s move to tap Google to handle parts of its iCloud traffic is a sign that the...

Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg

Yahoo, Facebook in Ad Partnership Talks Over Tumblr

By Amir Efrati · Mar 18, 2016 11:23am PDT · 2 comments

Yahoo is considering letting Facebook sell ads within the Tumblr mobile app, splitting the revenue with Yahoo, in hopes of getting more ad revenue from the microblogging network, say people at both companies. Yahoo has been looking for ways to improve Tumblr's ad performance. Right now, only around 10% to 15% of Tumblr’s available... Yahoo is considering letting Facebook sell ads within the Tumblr mobile app, splitting the...

Pete Cashmore. Photo by Bloomberg.

Time Warner Investing More in Mashable

By Tom Dotan · Mar 17, 2016 3:02pm PDT

Time Warner is pumping more money into Mashable, a millennial-focused tech and pop culture news site, according to two people familiar with the matter.The site has been on and off the market for several years and has been in acquisition discussions with Time Warner more than once, including late last year. Those discussions don't appear to... Time Warner is pumping more money into Mashable, a millennial-focused tech and pop culture news...

Evan Spiegel, left. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Image.

Loyalty Pays Off for Snapchat Employees

By Tom Dotan · Mar 17, 2016 7:02am PDT · 5 comments

Evan Spiegel, left. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Image.

Loyalty Pays Off for Snapchat Employees

By Tom Dotan · Mar 17, 2016 7:02am PDT · 5 comments

For Snapchat employees hoping to cash in on the startup’s $16 billion valuation, the company has offered them a firm message: don’t go anywhere.In a departure from the norm, Snapchat makes employees wait until the third and fourth year of employment for the bulk of their stock compensation to vest, say former employees and attorneys... For Snapchat employees hoping to cash in on the startup’s $16 billion valuation, the...

San Francisco City Hall. Photo by Flickr/Ken Lund.

How Telegram Offers Way Around Public Records Laws

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 16, 2016 3:20pm PDT · 1 comment

Here’s a new twist on governments’ tussles with technology companies over privacy: San Francisco legislators are using the ephemeral messaging app Telegram, which could allow them to sidestep public record disclosure laws.Several elected members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors are active users of the app, along with... Here’s a new twist on governments’ tussles with technology companies over privacy:...

A scene from "Clevver Now," a Defy Media show on go90. Photo by Defy Media.

Verizon’s Costly go90 Ad Spending Plans

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Mar 16, 2016 7:00am PDT

Verizon Communications planned to spend nearly $30 million to drive two million downloads of go90, its “mobile TV network” app, in the months before and after its launch last fall, according to a confidential marketing plan reviewed by The Information. On a per download basis, the marketing cost would be many times the amount paid by... Verizon Communications planned to spend nearly $30 million to drive two million downloads of...

Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield. Photo by Bloomberg.

Slack in Talks with Thrive Capital

By Steve Nellis and Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 8, 2016 4:48pm PST · 2 comments

Thrive Capital is in talks to take a big piece of Slack’s next funding round, according to people familiar with the situation.Slack could raise between $200 million to $250 million at a $3.6 billion pre-money valuation, according to a person briefed on the conversations. The talks remain ongoing and fluid. Thrive Capital is in talks to take a big piece of Slack’s next funding round, according to...

Photo by Flickr/Kansir.

Former Samsung Execs Headed to China’s LeEco

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Mar 8, 2016 11:43am PST

Photo by Flickr/Kansir.

Former Samsung Execs Headed to China’s LeEco

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Mar 8, 2016 11:43am PST

Two former Samsung executives in the U.S. are expected to join Chinese video streaming service and electronics manufacturer LeEco, previously known as LeTV, according to people familiar with the matter. Their hirings are part of a push by LeEco, sometimes called the Netflix of China, to establish a bigger presence in the U.S.The two are... Two former Samsung executives in the U.S. are expected to join Chinese video streaming service...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook Pulls Plug on Ad Software

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 7, 2016 7:01am PST

Last year, Facebook tested software that would represent a bold expansion of its display ads business beyond its own inventory, a move potentially worth billions in revenue. Using a demand-side platform, or a DSP, marketers would be able to use Facebook users’ identity data to bid on ad slots across the mobile and desktop Internet in real... Last year, Facebook tested software that would represent a bold expansion of its display ads...

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

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...