The Information

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Why Shopify Ditched Its Amazon-Like Delivery Dreams

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Jun 13, 2023 9:32am PDT · 2 comments

When Shopify last month announced the sale of its delivery operation, it was an abrupt reversal of a strategy to compete with Amazon it had spent four years and billions of dollars developing. Just six months earlier, for instance, top Shopify executives dismissed suggestions from logistics leaders that they scale back their investment to reduce... When Shopify last month announced the sale of its delivery operation, it was an abrupt reversal...

Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk

A Reckoning Arrives for Creator Economy Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 13, 2023 6:09am PDT · 4 comments

Two years ago, Dmitry Shapiro and Sean Thielen were so optimistic about the booming creator economy that they pivoted their startup to a new product: a simple tool called Koji that lets influencers more easily link to their online tip jars, merch and other services in their social media bios. Sure, there were already dozens of other startups... Two years ago, Dmitry Shapiro and Sean Thielen were so optimistic about the booming creator...

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TCV Raised 50% to 75% Less Than Planned For New Venture Fund

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jun 12, 2023 6:23pm PDT · 5 comments

TCV, a 28-year-old mainstay of the venture capital industry, has raised 50% to 75% less capital for its next flagship fund for private investments than the $5.5 billion target it set last year, according to new securities filings and a document compiled by one of TCV’s limited partners. The filing doesn’t clarify whether TCV is... TCV, a 28-year-old mainstay of the venture capital industry, has raised 50% to 75% less capital...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg

After Elon Musk Bashes Sacramento Data Centers, Tesla Gets One

By Erin Woo and Becky Peterson · Jun 12, 2023 3:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg

After Elon Musk Bashes Sacramento Data Centers, Tesla Gets One

By Erin Woo and Becky Peterson · Jun 12, 2023 3:38pm PDT · 1 comment

Last December, in a live event on Twitter, Elon Musk called Sacramento “possibly the worst place to have a data center,” complaining about the hot temperatures of California’s inland capital, where Twitter’s data centers once went down because a heat wave overwhelmed their equipment. Musk seems to have gotten comfortable... Last December, in a live event on Twitter, Elon Musk called Sacramento “possibly the worst...

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U.S. Investors Are Bailing Out of China Funds

By Juro Osawa · Jun 12, 2023 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Sequoia Capital’s decision this week to split off its China operations showed the impact of growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. But the political conflict has sparked a bigger and more important change: Suddenly, American capital has stopped flowing to Chinese venture capital and private equity funds en masse. The University... Sequoia Capital’s decision this week to split off its China operations showed the impact of...

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Sumo Logic Cuts Staff After Francisco Partners Takeover

By Paris Martineau and Maria Heeter · Jun 10, 2023 7:30am PDT · 8 comments

Data analytics software company Sumo Logic made widespread layoffs this week, according to people familiar with the matter and an email to staff viewed by The Information, less than a month after private equity firm Francisco Partners bought the company for $1.7 billion. The exact size of the cuts couldn’t be learned. Chief Executive Joe... Data analytics software company Sumo Logic made widespread layoffs this week, according to people...

Oracle co-founder talks to Elon Musk in Miami in May. Photo by Getty

Oracle’s Answer to the Microsoft-OpenAI Alliance: Cozying Up to Cohere

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 9, 2023 2:08pm PDT

Oracle has invested in Cohere, an artificial intelligence startup that competes with OpenAI, the startup said on Thursday. What Cohere didn’t say: Oracle plans to make the startup a centerpiece of its strategy to catch up to bigger cloud rivals that sell services powered by large-language models. Steve Miranda, a senior Oracle executive,... Oracle has invested in Cohere, an artificial intelligence startup that competes with OpenAI, the...

Marc Andreessen. Photo: Bloomberg.

Andreessen Horowitz Merges Fintech and Consumer Teams After Some Bets Fizzle

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Jun 9, 2023 12:32pm PDT · 1 comment

Marc Andreessen. Photo: Bloomberg.

Andreessen Horowitz Merges Fintech and Consumer Teams After Some Bets Fizzle

By Kate Clark and Erin Woo · Jun 9, 2023 12:32pm PDT · 1 comment

Andreessen Horowitz has combined its finance and consumer investment teams into one, merging what were two of the hottest pandemic-era investment categories that have since cooled. The investment firm’s leaders have encouraged the combined team, led by general partner Alex Rampell, to pursue artificial intelligence deals, two people... Andreessen Horowitz has combined its finance and consumer investment teams into one, merging what...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo: Getty

U.S. Federal Agencies Cut TikTok Ad Spending

By Sahil Patel and Erin Woo · Jun 9, 2023 11:40am PDT · 1 comment

Parts of the federal government are pulling back from advertising on TikTok, according to an advertising executive who works with government agencies, as the U.S. government restricts federal employees’ and contractors’ use of the app, a unit of China’s ByteDance. Last week, NASA, the Department of Defense and the General... Parts of the federal government are pulling back from advertising on TikTok, according to an...

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Inside the Culture Clash at JPMorgan and WePay

By Michael Roddan · Jun 9, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

When JPMorgan Chase struck a $400 million deal to buy WePay in late 2017, it pledged that the Bay Area fintech would become “Chase’s payments innovation incubator in Silicon Valley,” helping the country’s biggest bank compete with surging startups Stripe and Square and payments companies like PayPal. But it didn’t... When JPMorgan Chase struck a $400 million deal to buy WePay in late 2017, it pledged that the Bay...

Art from Unsplash

Rise of New Open-Source AI Model Sparks Startup Acquisition Talks

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Jun 8, 2023 1:58pm PDT · 3 comments

In recent weeks, open-source software funded by the United Arab Emirates burst on the artificial intelligence scene as one of the most promising challengers to proprietary large-language models developed by OpenAI and Google. The value of the UAE-backed software, known as Falcon, became clear when one of the key researchers behind it was... In recent weeks, open-source software funded by the United Arab Emirates burst on the artificial...

Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities. Photo by Bloomberg.

Wall Street Firm Citadel Securities Courts AI Startups for Trading Edge

By Jon Victor and Cory Weinberg · Jun 8, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities. Photo by Bloomberg.

Wall Street Firm Citadel Securities Courts AI Startups for Trading Edge

By Jon Victor and Cory Weinberg · Jun 8, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Citadel Securities, a prominent high-frequency trading firm, has told startup founders and investors it is looking to license software from artificial intelligence startups working on large-language models or to buy stakes in them, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations. The discussions highlight how interest in the latest... Citadel Securities, a prominent high-frequency trading firm, has told startup founders and...

Jonah Peretti. Photo by Getty.

BuzzFeed Considers Sale of Complex Networks

By Sahil Patel · Jun 7, 2023 12:08pm PDT

BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when going public in late 2021 for nearly $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The move, which follows a decline in Complex’s revenues over the past couple of years, is a sign of the challenges facing BuzzFeed, once a... BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when...

A Thursday Night Football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. Photo by Getty.

How Amazon Misread the NFL Ad Market

By Sahil Patel and Theo Wayt · Jun 7, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last summer, advertising representatives for a national pizza chain in the U.S. met with Amazon ad executives to negotiate a potential sponsorship deal for Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast of “Thursday Night Football.” Amazon executives asked the pizza chain for commitments of up to $12 million for the full season, double what... Last summer, advertising representatives for a national pizza chain in the U.S. met with Amazon...

CareRev co-founder Will Patterson stepped down as CEO last week. Art by Clark Miller

A Long, Strange Trip for the ‘Uber for Nurses’

By Paris Martineau · Jun 6, 2023 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work platform sometimes described as an “Uber for nurses”—he saw his company’s business surge during the pandemic as hospitals and clinics scrambled to find healthcare workers. In late 2020, he seized the moment by pitching investors over... Will Patterson was on a hot streak. As the co-founder and CEO of CareRev—a gig-work...

The Port of Los Angeles, where Next Trucking has a significant presence. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

Logistics Startup Next Trucking Tries to Sell Itself

By Maria Heeter · Jun 5, 2023 9:48am PDT · 2 comments

The Port of Los Angeles, where Next Trucking has a significant presence. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

Logistics Startup Next Trucking Tries to Sell Itself

By Maria Heeter · Jun 5, 2023 9:48am PDT · 2 comments

Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking sector, is trying to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter and a pitch deck reviewed by The Information. Next has enlisted the help of BG Strategic Advisors, a Florida-based boutique investment bank specializing in transportation... Sequoia Capital–backed logistics startup Next Trucking, facing a slowdown in the trucking...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo: Getty.

Microsoft Is Charging Some Office 365 Customers 40% Extra to Test AI Features

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 2, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features now face the hard part: getting customers to pay for the features, which are costly to operate. More than 600 of Microsoft’s largest customers, including Bank of America, Walmart, Ford and Accenture, are expected to test the AI features in... Microsoft and other software companies that recently launched artificial intelligence features...

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.

Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 1, 2023 3:36pm PDT

Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits. Privately held Instacart posted a 2% decline in the number of grocery orders it facilitated in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, according to people familiar with the matter. The number,... Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this...

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Meta Calls Employees Back to Office Three Days a Week

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 1, 2023 2:56pm PDT

Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week starting in September, according to a person familiar with the matter. The announcement, which has not been previously reported, marks the strictest policy change from the company since it embraced remote work during the pandemic. While tech companies... Meta Platforms has notified employees they will need to return to the office three days a week...

Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges

By Wayne Ma · May 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges

By Wayne Ma · May 31, 2023 6:00am PDT · 11 comments

If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent the company’s riskiest gamble on a new product since the iPhone. It will also test the company’s prowess in design and manufacturing like nothing before. The headset is the most complicated hardware product Apple has ever created due to... If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent...