The Information

Henrique Dubugras, founder and co-CEO of Brex. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Brex’s Quarterly Revenue Growth Slows to 1%, Following Post-SVB Growth Spurt

By Mark Matousek · Nov 13, 2023 12:09pm PST

Almost no startup benefited more from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank than Brex, which saw a surge in deposits from young companies who use its credit card and cash management products. But that growth spurt has petered out in recent months, internal data reveal, putting more pressure on the company to ramp up its expense software... Almost no startup benefited more from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank than Brex, which saw a...

Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis, left, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, right. Photos by Getty

OpenAI’s New Weapon in Talent War With Google: $10 Million Pay Packages for Researchers

By Jon Victor · Nov 10, 2023 6:00am PST

The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an employee share sale that would nearly triple the startup’s valuation to more than $80 billion, its recruiters are courting top artificial intelligence employees at Google with millions of dollars and a message: Join us now to lock in a stock... The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer. As OpenAI proceeds with an...

Photo via Getty.

Deel Hits $400 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, as Rippling Rivalry Grows

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 9, 2023 12:47pm PST · 1 comment

Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual recurring revenue, a senior sales director at the startup said last month, up from a pace of $295 million in January. Deel’s growth shows how some enterprise software startups have been able to thrive during a pullback in business software spending.... Deel, a human resources startup last valued at $12 billion, has hit $400 million in annual...

Amazon Style's now-closed store in Glendale, Calif. in May 2022. Photo by Los Angeles Daily News via Getty.

Why Amazon’s Futuristic Fashion Stores Flopped

By Theo Wayt · Nov 9, 2023 6:00am PST · 6 comments

Amazon Style's now-closed store in Glendale, Calif. in May 2022. Photo by Los Angeles Daily News via Getty.

Why Amazon’s Futuristic Fashion Stores Flopped

By Theo Wayt · Nov 9, 2023 6:00am PST · 6 comments

When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a surprise visit to one of his company’s Style clothing stores in Glendale, Calif., this past August, he posed for selfies with workers while holding a pair of shopping bags. It seems he wasn’t impressed. Three months later, Amazon announced that the store, along with its other Style location in Ohio,... When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a surprise visit to one of his company’s Style clothing...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by AFP via Getty.

Snap Lays Off Product Managers as Spiegel Revamps Workforce

By Erin Woo · Nov 8, 2023 2:06pm PST · 1 comment

Snap has laid off nearly 20 product managers, the latest shakeup at the social app after several top departures over the last three months. Separately, Snap’s longtime vice president of engineering, Nima Khajehnouri, told employees earlier this week that he was leaving. His last day at the company will be Dec. 1, a Snap... Snap has laid off nearly 20 product managers, the latest shakeup at the social app after...

Juliet de Baubigny, left. Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Image for Fortune.

Juliet de Baubigny Joins BDT & MSD Partners as Part of Its Tech Push

By Lauren Tara LaCapra · Nov 8, 2023 8:29am PST · 2 comments

Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more than 20 years spent developing deep ties with founders across Silicon Valley and Europe, first at Kleiner Perkins and then as a co-founder of Bond Capital, the venture capital veteran is joining BDT & MSD Partners to ramp up its presence in the... Juliet de Baubigny is ready for what she calls “act three” of her career. After more...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Banks Ran Their Safest IPO Playbooks This Year. Investors Say It Backfired.

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 8, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

It seemed like a surefire way to juice investor demand in a tough market: Instacart lined up a group of existing and new investors, ranging from Sequoia Capital to Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, to buy up to $400 million, or 60% of the stock it planned to sell in its September initial public offering. In the days leading up to the IPO,... It seemed like a surefire way to juice investor demand in a tough market: Instacart lined up a...

Apartment listing photo via Zeus Living.

Airbnb-Backed Real Estate Startup Zeus Living Is Shutting Down

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 7, 2023 1:41pm PST · 2 comments

Apartment listing photo via Zeus Living.

Airbnb-Backed Real Estate Startup Zeus Living Is Shutting Down

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 7, 2023 1:41pm PST · 2 comments

Zeus Living, a property management startup that raised $150 million from tech investors, is “winding down operations,” the firm told landlords this week. The shutdown is the latest blow to a real estate tech sector struggling because of rising interest rates. Zeus leased homes and apartments, furnished them and then sublet them to... Zeus Living, a property management startup that raised $150 million from tech investors, is...

Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue Management. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coatue Cuts Value of OpenSea Stake by 90% as Fund’s Returns Sag

By Kate Clark · Nov 7, 2023 12:41pm PST · 3 comments

One of OpenSea’s biggest investors has marked down by 90% its stake in the struggling non-fungible-token marketplace, implying that the former crypto darling is now valued at $1.4 billion or less on paper. Coatue Management, a New York–based hedge and venture fund, slashed the value of its $120 million stake in the company to $13... One of OpenSea’s biggest investors has marked down by 90% its stake in the struggling...

Art from Mike Sullivan

American AI Startups Quietly Raise Money From Top Chinese VC Firms, Including Sequoia Capital China

By Juro Osawa · Nov 7, 2023 10:25am PST · 1 comment

Major Chinese venture capital firms are quietly investing in American artificial intelligence startups, undeterred by growing concerns from U.S. officials about Chinese involvement in local technology firms. For example, Sequoia Capital China, the biggest VC firm by assets in mainland China, recently invested in UTA, or Universal Travel... Major Chinese venture capital firms are quietly investing in American artificial intelligence...

Photo by Getty.

Shein Hires TikTok’s Top U.S. Logistics Exec

By Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2023 7:37am PST · 4 comments

Shein has hired TikTok owner ByteDance’s top U.S. logistics executive, Wei “Andy” Huang, to lead its fulfillment and logistics operations. The hiring is a big win for the China-founded fast-fashion giant as it tries to edge out TikTok in the online shopping arena. The hiring is also a sign of Shein’s ambitions to compete... Shein has hired TikTok owner ByteDance’s top U.S. logistics executive, Wei...

Photo via Getty.

Supply Chain Unicorns Say: We’re Not the Next Convoy

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Photo via Getty.

Supply Chain Unicorns Say: We’re Not the Next Convoy

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Nov 7, 2023 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Trucking startup Convoy abruptly shut down last month, while freight forwarder Flexport’s revenue has cratered. Other supply chain unicorns are now trying to prove they will have a different fate. Previously unreported financial data for three other major supply chain startups, including Project44 and Cart.com, show all of them are on... Trucking startup Convoy abruptly shut down last month, while freight forwarder Flexport’s...

Tom Bernthal and Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Ex-Meta COO Sandberg Sets Up Venture Investment Firm with Husband

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 2, 2023 12:43pm PDT · 2 comments

Sheryl Sandberg, the longtime former chief operating officer at Meta Platforms, and her husband Tom Bernthal have started an investment firm to fund businesses in various sectors, according to a spokesperson for Sandberg. An internationally recognized figure, Sandberg often was the public face of the Facebook parent company before leaving last... Sheryl Sandberg, the longtime former chief operating officer at Meta Platforms, and her husband...

CEO of X Intervened to Get Hitler Post Taken Down

By Kaya Yurieff and Erin Woo · Nov 2, 2023 12:13pm PDT · 6 comments

Last weekend, staffers at X grew increasingly upset after a Pakistani senator posted a photo of Adolf Hitler on the service with the text “at least now the world know, why he did, what he did,” in reference to the Holocaust. Over the course of several hours, the post drew about a million views, as well as complaints from several... Last weekend, staffers at X grew increasingly upset after a Pakistani senator posted a photo of...

Photo by Harry Murphy via Getty.

Flexport Buys Shuttered Trucking Startup Convoy’s Technology

By Theo Wayt, Ann Gehan and Maria Heeter · Nov 1, 2023 12:25pm PDT · 1 comment

Flexport has reached a deal to buy the technology of shuttered trucking startup Convoy, as Flexport doubles down on its U.S. trucking ambitions even as it grapples with its own business slump. Convoy, once valued at $3.8 billion, shut down in October after failing to find a buyer or raise fresh capital. Convoy CEO Dan Lewis will join... Flexport has reached a deal to buy the technology of shuttered trucking startup Convoy, as...

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey speaks in Laguna Beach, Calif. on October 16, 2023.

Anduril’s Luckey Warns of ‘No Mercy’ After Suing Startup Launched by Alums

By Margaux MacColl and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 1, 2023 11:37am PDT · 2 comments

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey speaks in Laguna Beach, Calif. on October 16, 2023.

Anduril’s Luckey Warns of ‘No Mercy’ After Suing Startup Launched by Alums

By Margaux MacColl and Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 1, 2023 11:37am PDT · 2 comments

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey issued a warning to his staff last month: If he believes current or former employees are stealing confidential information from the nearly 2,200-worker defense tech startup, he will “show no mercy.” Luckey sent the Slack message, a screenshot of which The Information viewed, after the $8.5... Anduril founder Palmer Luckey issued a warning to his staff last month: If he believes current or...

Photo by Getty.

Inside TikTok’s Livestream Expansion: Tipping Contests, Creator Support

By Erin Woo · Nov 1, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

A young man with a shaved head and leather jacket bounces up and down in New York’s Union Square, chanting “TGIF” as viewers send him a stream of tips costing a few cents each. For more than an hour, he reacts to each tip as it comes in, shouting about a “glizzy” when a viewer sends him a hot dog, bobbing endlessly... A young man with a shaved head and leather jacket bounces up and down in New York’s Union...

Art by Shane Burke

Fire Sales Sweep the Creator Economy as Startups Struggle

By Kaya Yurieff · Oct 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Fire-sale prices for startups. Investors hung out to dry. Founders pulling the rip cord even when they’ve still got cash left in the bank. The harsh realities facing creator economy startups are getting even harsher, prompting a stampede of founders looking for exits as they struggle to find growth and funding for their businesses. So far... Fire-sale prices for startups. Investors hung out to dry. Founders pulling the rip cord even when...

Art by Clark Miller.

Inside the War Between Square and Cash App at Dorsey’s Block

By Mark Matousek · Oct 30, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

As CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey was widely panned for his hands-off style, seen as contributing to the company’s uneven growth and slow-to-evolve culture, which paved the way for last year’s takeover by Elon Musk. Dorsey’s other public company, Block, originally known as Square, has a whole different problem: Its divisions feud... As CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey was widely panned for his hands-off style, seen as contributing to...

Left to right: Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril; Ryan and Brandon Tseng, co-founders of Shield AI. Photos via Getty, Shield AI and Anduril.

How Anduril Is Fueling VC’s Push Into Defense Tech

By Cory Weinberg, Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Oct 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Left to right: Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril; Ryan and Brandon Tseng, co-founders of Shield AI. Photos via Getty, Shield AI and Anduril.

How Anduril Is Fueling VC’s Push Into Defense Tech

By Cory Weinberg, Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Oct 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Anduril, the defense tech startup that says it’s trying to build the “Lockheed Martin of the 21st century,” laid out lofty goals to investors early last year. It set its sights on $1 billion in annual revenue by 2026, five times its expectation for $200 million of revenue in 2022. Achieving that ambition will be expensive.... Anduril, the defense tech startup that says it’s trying to build the “Lockheed Martin...