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Sequoia Capital China chief Neil Shen. Credit: Fortune Live Media via Flickr

Sequoia Capital’s China Arm Raises $9 Billion, Exceeding Target

By Juro Osawa · Jul 4, 2022 10:26pm PDT

Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate is about to close $9 billion in fresh capital for four new funds, higher than its original target of more than $8 billion, according to two people familiar with the fundraising. The final amount could represent the biggest pool of capital ever raised by a single venture capital firm to bet on Chinese... Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate is about to close $9 billion in fresh capital for four...

Bessemer partners Jeremy Levine, left, and David Cowan. Photos by Jerry Yoon.

Bessemer Renounces VC Status, Following Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia

By Kate Clark · Jul 1, 2022 1:43pm PDT · 3 comments

Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest venture capital firms, is now a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulatory designation historically reserved for hedge funds and other asset managers will allow the VC firm to hold investments other than direct stakes in private... Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest venture capital firms, is now a registered...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2019

Microsoft Cloud Computing System Suffering From Global Shortage

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 1, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In March 2020, Microsoft’s Azure cloud buckled under the strain of companies around the world shifting to remote work, causing service outages and forcing some customers to wait to launch and update applications. Microsoft put a positive spin on the situation, characterizing it as a temporary issue that stemmed from the surging usage of... In March 2020, Microsoft’s Azure cloud buckled under the strain of companies around the...

Yoni Assia, chief executive officer of eToro Ltd. Photo: Bloomberg.

EToro to Abandon Deal to Go Public via SPAC Merger

By Maria Heeter · Jun 30, 2022 1:48pm PDT

Yoni Assia, chief executive officer of eToro Ltd. Photo: Bloomberg.

EToro to Abandon Deal to Go Public via SPAC Merger

By Maria Heeter · Jun 30, 2022 1:48pm PDT

Online brokerage EToro and the special purpose acquisition company that agreed to take it public are planning to let the deadline for their merger pass without closing the deal, according to a person familiar with the matter. EToro is joining other tech and media companies that have backed off SPAC deals that would take them public amid a tech... Online brokerage EToro and the special purpose acquisition company that agreed to take it public...

Nate CEO Albert Saniger. Art by Mike Sullivan

Coatue-Backed Shopping Startup Lays Off 20% of Staff After Exaggerating Tech Capabilities to Potential Investors

By Malique Morris · Jun 30, 2022 11:49am PDT · 1 comment

Shopping startup Nate, which touted its use of artificial intelligence–powered checkout technology while it was actually relying on overseas workers to power transactions, has laid off at least 30 of its nearly 150 employees, according to an employee who was at an internal meeting to inform the laid-off workers. The previously unreported... Shopping startup Nate, which touted its use of artificial intelligence–powered checkout...

Bloomberg Beta partner Roy Bahat. Photo: Roy Bahat.

Bloomberg VC Arm Adds $150 Million to Investing War Chest

By Kate Clark · Jun 30, 2022 10:00am PDT · 3 comments

Roy Bahat, head of venture firm Bloomberg Beta, has a sticker on his laptop that reads TTFM—a quippy acronym for “take the f–ing money.” It’s the advice Beta’s founding partners—Bahat, Karin Klein, a former SoftBank vice president, and James Cham, a former Bessemer Venture Partners vice... Roy Bahat, head of venture firm Bloomberg Beta, has a sticker on his laptop that reads...

Sequoia Capital global managing partner Doug Leone. Photo: Bloomberg

Sequoia Capital Targets $2.25 Billion for Two U.S. VC Funds

By Kate Clark · Jun 29, 2022 5:57pm PDT

Sequoia Capital, defying the tech market sell-off that’s chilled startup fundraising, is asking investors to commit money to two new U.S.-focused funds, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm behind Airbnb and DoorDash expects to dedicate $1.5 billion to a U.S. growth fund... Sequoia Capital, defying the tech market sell-off that’s chilled startup fundraising, is...

Tesla's Fremont factory, in a photo taken in May 2020.

At Tesla, Returning to the Office Creates New Problems

By Becky Peterson · Jun 27, 2022 6:00am PDT

Tesla's Fremont factory, in a photo taken in May 2020.

At Tesla, Returning to the Office Creates New Problems

By Becky Peterson · Jun 27, 2022 6:00am PDT

On the evening of June 8, speaking from Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif., Elon Musk addressed a few dozen of the electric car maker’s employees in person, and thousands more in a livestream. It was the first time Musk had spoken to the entire staff since announcing the prior week that all white-collar staff would be required to... On the evening of June 8, speaking from Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif., Elon Musk...

Carta CEO Henry Ward. Photo: Carta

Carta Has Had Talks to Acquire Vauban, a European AngelList-like Startup

By Erin Woo, Mahira Dayal and Becky Peterson · Jun 24, 2022 1:35pm PDT

Financial services startup Carta has been in talks to acquire Vauban, a London-based startup that provides software for raising venture capital funds and investing capital, according to two people familiar with the matter. Carta, which builds software for startups and investors to track their equity stakes, raised $500 million at a $7.4 billion... Financial services startup Carta has been in talks to acquire Vauban, a London-based startup that...

Jerry Seinfeld (left) and Ted Sarandos. Photo by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

A Netflix Slump Tests Sarandos’ Talent Savvy

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 21, 2022 6:00am PDT

In 2019, when comedian Mike Myers was pitching a new comedy series to Netflix, program executives at the company were skeptical. The onetime “Saturday Night Live” star hadn’t had a hit since the early 2000s and Netflix staffers worried a new series wouldn’t attract an audience, according to people familiar with the... In 2019, when comedian Mike Myers was pitching a new comedy series to Netflix, program executives...

From left, DataRobot executives Tom Levey, Dan Wright (CEO) and Damon Fletcher (CFO). Art by Mike Sullivan

As DataRobot Struggled, Executives Sold Private Shares at Peak Valuation

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 15, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Last year, five top executives at artificial intelligence software startup DataRobot collectively sold $32 million worth of shares to investors, according to confidential documents outlining the sales. The sales occurred after the company was privately valued at $6.3 billion in a funding round. The other 1,200 or so employees, some of whom had... Last year, five top executives at artificial intelligence software startup DataRobot collectively...

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Photo by Bloomberg.

Warner Bros Discovery to Cut as Much as 30% of Advertising Sales Force

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 14, 2022 12:54pm PDT

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Photo by Bloomberg.

Warner Bros Discovery to Cut as Much as 30% of Advertising Sales Force

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 14, 2022 12:54pm PDT

Warner Bros. Discovery will this week offer buyouts to members of its U.S. ad sales team, as part of a plan to shrink the global sales force by as much as 30%, according to people familiar with the situation. The buyouts are one of the first big cost-cutting steps taken since the formation of the company from Discovery’s acquisition of... Warner Bros. Discovery will this week offer buyouts to members of its U.S. ad sales team, as part...

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix Talks With Roku, Comcast About Getting Help on Ad Sales, Ad Tech

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 14, 2022 6:00am PDT

To jump into advertising, Netflix is getting a little help from its rivals. Executives from the streaming giant in recent weeks have met with representatives of both Roku and Comcast to discuss arrangements under which those companies would handle either the ad sales or the technical infrastructure for Netflix’s forthcoming ad-supported... To jump into advertising, Netflix is getting a little help from its rivals. Executives from the...

From left: Stripe's Patrick Collison, Mike Clayville and John Collison. Images via Stripe; YouTube. Art by Mike Sullivan

Stripe’s Growing Pains: A Payments Star Hits Snags in Push for Big Businesses

By Becky Peterson · Jun 13, 2022 6:00am PDT

Late last year, Stripe gave its employees an enticing new choice: They could either receive their annual bonuses in cash, as they had for years, or they could opt to take some of it as equity in the rocketing payments startup, which was then turning heads with a funding round that had valued it at $95 billion. But it told one group of Stripe... Late last year, Stripe gave its employees an enticing new choice: They could either receive their...

A person wearing Meta's Project Aria glasses, a research device for AR hardware development. Photo: Meta Platforms.

Meta Scales Back AR Glasses Plan Amid Reality Labs Shakeup

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 9, 2022 9:53am PDT · 3 comments

Meta Platforms has scaled back its plans to release a series of augmented reality glasses over the next several years as part of an effort to trim heavy investments it is making in its Reality Labs hardware and AR/VR division, employees were notified Wednesday. Meta has decided to not commercially release what was to be the first version of the... Meta Platforms has scaled back its plans to release a series of augmented reality glasses over...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Most Overvalued Cybersecurity Startups

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 8, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Most Overvalued Cybersecurity Startups

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 8, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Like other types of startups, cybersecurity software firms experienced a surge of investment and sky-high private valuations in recent years. Now that the party is beginning to peter out, security startups are bracing for a hangover. As valuations have fallen with the stock market slide and venture capital crunch, an array of startups face... Like other types of startups, cybersecurity software firms experienced a surge of investment and...

Nate CEO Albert Saniger. Art by Mike Sullivan

‘AI’ Shopping Startup Exaggerated Tech Capabilities to Potential Investors

By Malique Morris · Jun 6, 2022 6:00am PDT · 5 comments

Some startups are bold and original. And some, like Nate, had more modest goals: automatically filling out shoppers’ contact and payment information on retailers’ websites. In exchange for sparing them a minute or two of data entry on their phones, Nate charged shoppers $1 per transaction. But it struggled to turn even that vision... Some startups are bold and original. And some, like Nate, had more modest goals: automatically...

Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla

Bolt, Facing Challenges, Cuts Costs and Lowers Growth Target

By Erin Woo · Jun 3, 2022 7:35pm PDT · 1 comment

Bolt, a developer of online checkout software, became a symbol of overheated startup funding during the pandemic thanks to its $11 billion valuation—more than 300 times its revenue—as well as its outspoken co-founder, Ryan Breslow, and revelations that its most prominent customer was suing it over allegedly faulty technology. As... Bolt, a developer of online checkout software, became a symbol of overheated startup funding...

Vice Media's office in Amsterdam. Photo by Shutterstock.

Vice Media Makes Cost-Cutting Push as it Eyes Sale Options

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 2, 2022 12:02pm PDT

Vice Media is looking to cut costs and had brought in consultancy AlixPartners in recent weeks to help review its business as it explores a sale of its studio arm or the entire company, according to people familiar with the situation. The New York-based media company is slowing down hiring and cutting other costs to attain positive cash flow and... Vice Media is looking to cut costs and had brought in consultancy AlixPartners in recent weeks to...

Photo by iStock, Screengrabs of Viya (Taobao), Li Jiaqi (TikTok). Art by Haejin Park

Why China’s Influencers Are Losing Their Influence

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Jun 2, 2022 6:00am PDT

Photo by iStock, Screengrabs of Viya (Taobao), Li Jiaqi (TikTok). Art by Haejin Park

Why China’s Influencers Are Losing Their Influence

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Jun 2, 2022 6:00am PDT

China’s love affair with influencers is starting to cool. For years, the country’s internet users have been under the spell of online celebrities who promote all kinds of goods—makeup, automobiles, kitchen appliances—in livestreams, at times moving billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise in a single broadcast.... China’s love affair with influencers is starting to cool. For years, the country’s...