The Information

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo by Bloomberg/Getty.

Databricks, After $380 Million Loss, in Talks to Raise More Cash

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Aug 16, 2023 12:59pm PDT · 8 comments

Enterprise software firm Databricks is in early discussions with investors for a new cash infusion, likely totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, as it looks to capitalize on the fervor over artificial intelligence, two people familiar with the matter said. The investment talks come as Databricks has moved closer to break-even, after losing a... Enterprise software firm Databricks is in early discussions with investors for a new cash...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in May. Photo via Getty

How Google is Planning to Beat OpenAI

By Jon Victor · Aug 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In April, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai took an unusual step: merging two large artificial intelligence teams—with distinct cultures and code—to catch up to and surpass OpenAI and other rivals. Now the test of that effort is coming, with hundreds of people scrambling to release a group of large machine-learning models—one of the... In April, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai took an unusual step: merging two large artificial...

From left: Kai-Fu Lee, Li Ruigang, Richard Zhijian Peng. Photos: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Venture Capital Firms Struggle to Raise Funds in China

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Aug 15, 2023 5:00am PDT · 2 comments

When CMC Capital, a Shanghai-based venture capital and private equity firm, started raising a new fund from global investors in 2021, its target size of more than $1 billion didn’t seem ambitious. The amount was only a tad more than the firm’s previous fund of $950 million. And CMC’s founder, Li Ruigang, is a well-known media... When CMC Capital, a Shanghai-based venture capital and private equity firm, started raising a new...

Cadre founder and CEO Ryan Williams. Photo by Getty

Yieldstreet Nears a Deal to Buy Real Estate Tech Startup Cadre

By Lauren Tara LaCapra, Kate Clark and Maria Heeter · Aug 14, 2023 2:56pm PDT

Cadre founder and CEO Ryan Williams. Photo by Getty

Yieldstreet Nears a Deal to Buy Real Estate Tech Startup Cadre

By Lauren Tara LaCapra, Kate Clark and Maria Heeter · Aug 14, 2023 2:56pm PDT

Asset manager Yieldstreet is near a deal to buy Cadre, a once-promising real estate investment firm whose value has fallen sharply in recent years, said people familiar with the situation. If the two sides finalize an agreement, it would be the latest sign that mergers and acquisitions activity among troubled startups is beginning to pick... Asset manager Yieldstreet is near a deal to buy Cadre, a once-promising real estate...

Artwork by Clark Miller. Gracias photo by Marco Bello/Bloomberg via Getty Images

How Antonio Gracias Became the Most Hardcore of Elon Musk’s Loyalists

By Becky Peterson · Aug 14, 2023 6:00am PDT

Early this year, as the interest costs from the $13 billion in loans Elon Musk took out to buy Twitter began weighing on his pocketbook, the billionaire turned for help to a longtime trusted partner. The investor, Antonio Gracias, head of Valor Equity Partners, got involved early in Musk’s effort last year to acquire Twitter, helping him... Early this year, as the interest costs from the $13 billion in loans Elon Musk took out to buy...

Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Without IPOs, Some Startup Workers Pay Steep Price to Get Cash

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 11, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Some Databricks employees and executives sitting on valuable stock options in the decade-old startup are considering going to extraordinary lengths to turn their private stakes into $30 million in cash. Investors say they have discussed a deal that would lend the employees money in exchange for a share in the proceeds of their stock if the... Some Databricks employees and executives sitting on valuable stock options in the decade-old...

ByteDance's Singapore office. Photo by Bloomberg.

ByteDance’s China Business Is Slowing, Putting Spotlight on TikTok

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Aug 10, 2023 9:13am PDT

ByteDance might be best known globally as the parent company of TikTok, but the bulk of its money comes from its home base of China, thanks to its Chinese video app Douyin. But previously unreported internal data shows that the tech giant’s red-hot pace of growth in China has slowed markedly, underscoring the importance of TikTok for the... ByteDance might be best known globally as the parent company of TikTok, but the bulk of its money...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Behind Meta’s ‘Made in USA’ AR Glasses: a Military-Grade Material

By Wayne Ma · Aug 10, 2023 6:00am PDT

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Behind Meta’s ‘Made in USA’ AR Glasses: a Military-Grade Material

By Wayne Ma · Aug 10, 2023 6:00am PDT

Meta Platforms plans to build only around a thousand units of the first generation of its augmented-reality glasses due out next year, a tiny batch that it will just use for internal development and to demonstrate the device to the public. And yet, to build the glasses, Meta is using a convoluted and expensive arrangement involving factories in... Meta Platforms plans to build only around a thousand units of the first generation of its...

Photo via Getty.

Amazon Offers Sellers AI Tool to Write Product Descriptions

By Theo Wayt · Aug 9, 2023 2:58pm PDT

Amazon is rolling out an artificial intelligence tool for sellers on its marketplace that will write copy for product listings, a company spokesperson confirmed, marking one of the first examples of Amazon integrating large-language models into its e-commerce business. While Amazon’s highest-profile AI tools are ones its cloud unit, Amazon... Amazon is rolling out an artificial intelligence tool for sellers on its marketplace that will...

Sandie Hawkins. Photo by Erin Beach.

TikTok Replaces Top Shopping Executive With Retail Veterans

By Erin Woo · Aug 8, 2023 11:30am PDT

TikTok has hired two retail veterans who worked at Amazon and Meta Platforms to help oversee its ambitious push to build a giant U.S. ecommerce business. At the same time, TikTok’s U.S. ecommerce general manager, Sandie Hawkins, is leaving the company, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The shakeup comes as... TikTok has hired two retail veterans who worked at Amazon and Meta Platforms to help oversee its...

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, left, and Apple CEO Tim Cook in Arizona in December. Photo by AP

How Apple Will Save Billions of Dollars on Chips for New iPhone

By Wayne Ma · Aug 7, 2023 8:00am PDT · 9 comments

When Apple’s next iPhone goes on sale in September, its upgraded core processor will be more powerful than that of any rival smartphone. That’s possible because of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes all of Apple’s custom chips. TSMC is using a new process to make smaller, faster and more power-efficient chips,... When Apple’s next iPhone goes on sale in September, its upgraded core processor will be...

Photo via Parade.

Gen Z Underwear Startup Nears Sale, Highlighting New Phase of Retail M&A

By Ann Gehan and Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 3, 2023 10:47am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Parade.

Gen Z Underwear Startup Nears Sale, Highlighting New Phase of Retail M&A

By Ann Gehan and Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 3, 2023 10:47am PDT · 1 comment

Gen Z–founded underwear startup Parade, a size- and gender-inclusive brand that built an avid fan base on Instagram and was valued at nearly $200 million last year, is nearing a deal to be acquired, according to three people familiar with the talks. The company recently held talks with lingerie manufacturer Ariela & Associates... Gen Z–founded underwear startup Parade, a size- and gender-inclusive brand that built an...

MoonPay's booth at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention in Miami. Photo by Getty.

How MoonPay Employees Missed Out on the Crypto Boom

By Aidan Ryan · Aug 3, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

As the crypto investing boom was reaching a fever pitch in 2021, crypto payment startup MoonPay—known for its flashy celebrity endorsements—was barreling toward a blockbuster fundraising. Investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management invested $555 million at a whopping $3.4 billion valuation in a deal that allowed... As the crypto investing boom was reaching a fever pitch in 2021, crypto payment startup...

Photo via Clutter.com.

Storage Startup Clutter, Running Out of Cash, Sells Itself at Steep Discount

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 2, 2023 10:56am PDT · 13 comments

Late last month, the CEO of storage and moving startup Clutter emailed some of the company’s investors to say the firm was in dire straits: Clutter, which had been valued at a reported $600 million in 2019 and garnered investments from SoftBank and Sequoia, had essentially run out of cash. To stay alive, it struck a deal to be sold for... Late last month, the CEO of storage and moving startup Clutter emailed some of the...

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance. Photo by AP.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Pushed to Shutter U.S. Exchange

By Aidan Ryan · Aug 1, 2023 3:40pm PDT

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao attempted to shut down the crypto exchange’s U.S. offshoot earlier this year, showing how far he was willing to go in order to protect the much larger global exchange amid mounting regulatory scrutiny, two people familiar with the matter told The Information. The Binance.US board of directors, for... Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao attempted to shut down the crypto exchange’s U.S....

NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube graphic during the 2023 NFL Draft on April 27. Photo by AP.

Hollywood’s Pain Is YouTube’s Advertising Gain

By Sahil Patel · Aug 1, 2023 12:45pm PDT · 3 comments

NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube graphic during the 2023 NFL Draft on April 27. Photo by AP.

Hollywood’s Pain Is YouTube’s Advertising Gain

By Sahil Patel · Aug 1, 2023 12:45pm PDT · 3 comments

The Hollywood labor strikes have proven a boon for YouTube, with Google’s video-streaming service luring television ad buyers who are worried about committing to traditional TV ads while actors and writers remain on the picket lines. That, combined with YouTube’s push into live sports with National Football League games starting in... The Hollywood labor strikes have proven a boon for YouTube, with Google’s video-streaming...

Photo by Getty.

Sequoia, Lightspeed Fund AI Startups in Frenzied Back-to-Back Deals

By Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 26, 2023 1:15pm PDT · 5 comments

Foundry Technologies, a startup that plans to rent servers to companies to run artificial intelligence software, is in talks to raise money at a valuation of $350 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. That might not sound surprising except for the fact Foundry was valued at around $50 million in its seed round... Foundry Technologies, a startup that plans to rent servers to companies to run artificial...

Photo by Getty.

Shein Makes an Aggressive Pitch to Woo U.S. Amazon Sellers

By Ann Gehan and Theo Wayt · Jul 26, 2023 12:37pm PDT

The world’s most valuable private e-commerce company is coming for Amazon on its home turf. Shein, the Singapore-based fast-fashion giant most recently valued in May at $66 billion, has won over millions of American shoppers by shipping $4 crop tops and $8 jeans directly from China. Now it’s pushing further into incumbents’... The world’s most valuable private e-commerce company is coming for Amazon on its home turf....

An OpenAI exhibit at Tel Aviv University on June 5. Photo by Getty.

OpenAI Hires Former Microsoft Lawyer to Oversee Publisher Negotiations

By Alex Perry and Nick Wingfield · Jul 26, 2023 11:59am PDT

OpenAI has hired a onetime Microsoft intellectual property lawyer, Tom Rubin, to oversee products, policy and partnerships, the company confirmed. His hiring means OpenAI has an intellectual property specialist in charge of negotiating deals with news publishers to license use of their material in training large-language models that run ChatGPT.... OpenAI has hired a onetime Microsoft intellectual property lawyer, Tom Rubin, to oversee...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Getty

Inside TikTok CEO’s Plan to Play Offense

By Erin Woo and Juro Osawa · Jul 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Getty

Inside TikTok CEO’s Plan to Play Offense

By Erin Woo and Juro Osawa · Jul 26, 2023 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

When the public face of TikTok’s management in the U.S.—V Pappas, TikTok’s chief operating officer—announced their departure last month, it marked the biggest shake-up in the top ranks of the popular short-form video app since its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, took over the job two years ago. To people inside TikTok, though, it... When the public face of TikTok’s management in the U.S.—V Pappas, TikTok’s...