The Information

Art by Mike Sullivan

Inside the Perfect Storm Battering the Amazon Aggregator Ecosystem

By Mark Di Stefano · May 31, 2022 6:00am PDT · 9 comments

In early January, around 40 e-commerce entrepreneurs from around the world gathered in deluxe villas in Cabo, Mexico. They flew in on the invitation of Thrasio—the biggest aggregator of businesses that sell on Amazon’s marketplace. Though the four-year-old startup’s planned public debut via a special purpose acquisition company... In early January, around 40 e-commerce entrepreneurs from around the world gathered in deluxe...

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg

To Combat Declining Staff Morale, FTC Chair Khan Lifts Public Speaking Ban as Deputy Issues Apology

By Josh Sisco · May 26, 2022 3:21pm PDT · 4 comments

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, facing mounting concerns among her 1,100-plus employees about the agency’s direction and her governing style, on Thursday walked back restrictions that prevented staff from participating in most conferences and other public events. In an apologetic email, Khan’s chief of staff, Jen Howard,... Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, facing mounting concerns among her 1,100-plus employees...

Photo by Bloomberg

A Top China VC Firm Struggles to Raise Funds After 10% Return, U.S. Investor Fears

By Juro Osawa · May 26, 2022 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

Despite a difficult climate for raising money, at least four top-tier Chinese venture capital firms set ambitious goals to raise billions of dollars this year from Western institutional investors. Some have already succeeded—but not all of them. Matrix Partners China, one of China’s most prolific early-stage VC firms and an early... Despite a difficult climate for raising money, at least four top-tier Chinese venture capital...

Roelof Botha, partner at Sequoia Capital. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Warns Founders of ‘Crucible Moment,’ Advises How to ‘Avoid the Death Spiral’

By Mark Di Stefano, Kate Clark and Nick Wingfield · May 24, 2022 5:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Roelof Botha, partner at Sequoia Capital. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Warns Founders of ‘Crucible Moment,’ Advises How to ‘Avoid the Death Spiral’

By Mark Di Stefano, Kate Clark and Nick Wingfield · May 24, 2022 5:17pm PDT · 2 comments

Sand Hill Road’s doomsayer-in-chief—Sequoia Capital—is back with a warning to its startup founders: Don’t expect a recovery from the current market downturn to happen quickly. Over the years, Sequoia, the venture firm behind Google, Apple and Airbnb, has developed a reputation as the tech industry’s Cassandra,... Sand Hill Road’s doomsayer-in-chief—Sequoia Capital—is back with a warning to...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Quietly Axed Millions of Square Feet of Warehouse Space

By Paris Martineau · May 24, 2022 11:42am PDT · 2 comments

Over the last three months, Amazon has canceled plans for nearly 10 million square feet of warehouse space, shelving plans for more than a dozen fulfillment centers and delivery facilities around the U.S. as the company wrestles with a costly space glut on the heels of the pandemic. The scope of the pullback, which is previously unreported,... Over the last three months, Amazon has canceled plans for nearly 10 million square feet of...

Dan Levitan, co-founder of Maveron. Photo by Maveron.

Consumer VC Firm Maveron Raises $225 Million Amid ‘Serious Paradigm Shift’

By Kate Clark · May 24, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Venture firm Maveron, whose well-timed investments in eBay and Drugstore.com helped it get through the 2000 dot-com bust with relative ease, had a tougher time during the financial crisis eight years later, when it was forced to downsize and narrow its focus to early-stage investing in consumer brands. That experience has prepared Maveron to... Venture firm Maveron, whose well-timed investments in eBay and Drugstore.com helped it get...

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Tests App for Employees to Grade Each Other During Meetings

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 23, 2022 12:02pm PDT · 6 comments

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading firm that garnered attention for banning salary negotiations and political speech among employees in recent years, is testing another practice that has raised eyebrows internally: asking employees to frequently rate each other. Some employees at the company have been using a real-time evaluation app invented by... Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading firm that garnered attention for banning salary negotiations...

(L-R) Jonathan Ive, Johny Srouji, Dan Riccio and Tim Cook. Photos by Bloomberg; Apple. Art by Mike Sullivan

Behind the Apple Design Decisions That Bogged Down Its Mixed-Reality Headset

By Wayne Ma · May 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

(L-R) Jonathan Ive, Johny Srouji, Dan Riccio and Tim Cook. Photos by Bloomberg; Apple. Art by Mike Sullivan

Behind the Apple Design Decisions That Bogged Down Its Mixed-Reality Headset

By Wayne Ma · May 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Apple’s executives had a critical design decision to make about the company’s riskiest product in years. It was 2019, and a growing team of Apple engineers had been working for more than three years on a headset that combined augmented and virtual reality capabilities. Now they had to figure out whether the mixed-reality headset... Apple’s executives had a critical design decision to make about the company’s...

Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase Global Inc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Coinbase Slashes Costs, Freezes Hiring Amid Crypto Crash

By Mark Matousek and Aidan Ryan · May 19, 2022 1:08pm PDT

Cryptocurrency trading firm Coinbase, whose revenue has shrunk amid a downturn in the sector, is pausing new business projects, freezing hiring for two weeks and aiming to slash its cloud spending on Amazon Web Services, among other cost-cutting measures, according to a pair of internal emails sent to employees this week and viewed by The... Cryptocurrency trading firm Coinbase, whose revenue has shrunk amid a downturn in the sector, is...

(L-R) Cameo CEO and founder Steven Galanis, and Cameo co-founders Devon Townsend and Martin Blencowe. Photo by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.

At Cameo, Boom Times Give Way to Sharp Sales Slowdown

By Kaya Yurieff · May 19, 2022 6:05am PDT

By the beginning of last year, six-year-old startup Cameo was on a tear. Pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020 had spurred demand for the personalized video messages celebrities sell on its website and app. Co-founder and CEO Steven Galanis was gearing up for a major expansion that would more than triple its workforce from pre-pandemic levels and ... By the beginning of last year, six-year-old startup Cameo was on a tear. Pandemic-induced...

Screengrab of Hovhannes Avoyan, CEO of PicsArt, via YouTube.

Picsart, a Photo-Editing Startup Backed By SoftBank, Cuts 8% of Workforce

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 17, 2022 1:39pm PDT · 4 comments

SoftBank-backed photo- and video-editing startup Picsart has laid off 90 employees, or around 8% of its workforce, a company spokesperson confirmed to The Information. Picsart is the latest tech firm to pull back on growth amid a turbulent time in the markets. Picsart is also at least the third SoftBank-backed firm to cut staff in recent weeks,... SoftBank-backed photo- and video-editing startup Picsart has laid off 90 employees, or around 8%...

Apple's Tim Cook (clockwise from top left), Bob Iger, Al Gore and Mike Rockwell. Images by Bloomberg, Shutterstock. Art by Mike Sullivan.

The Inside Story of Why Apple Bet Big on a Mixed-Reality Headset

By Wayne Ma · May 17, 2022 6:00am PDT · 10 comments

Apple's Tim Cook (clockwise from top left), Bob Iger, Al Gore and Mike Rockwell. Images by Bloomberg, Shutterstock. Art by Mike Sullivan.

The Inside Story of Why Apple Bet Big on a Mixed-Reality Headset

By Wayne Ma · May 17, 2022 6:00am PDT · 10 comments

In 2016, Apple’s board of directors gathered inside one of its buildings in Cupertino, Calif., for a glimpse into the company’s future. Former Vice President Al Gore, then–Disney CEO Bob Iger and other Apple board members walked from room to room, trying out prototype augmented and virtual reality devices and software. One of... In 2016, Apple’s board of directors gathered inside one of its buildings in Cupertino,...

Elizabeth Spaulding, CEO of Stitch Fix. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Stitch Fix Fumbled a Make-or-Break Pivot

By Malique Morris · May 16, 2022 6:05am PDT · 4 comments

Stitch Fix planned to revive sales growth by turning its original strategy on its head. Inside the company, there were warning signs that the effort would struggle. The retailer, which is best known for sending customers five-piece boxes of clothes and accessories picked out by stylists, hoped to broaden its appeal by using algorithms to... Stitch Fix planned to revive sales growth by turning its original strategy on its head. Inside...

IRL CEO and Co-founder Abraham Shafi. Art by Mike Sullivan

SoftBank-Backed Messaging App IRL Says It Has 20 Million Users. Some Employees Have Doubts About That

By Mark Matousek and Amir Efrati · May 12, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

IRL, a four year old social app, appears to be a fast-growing alternative to Facebook and messaging app Discord. It enables young people to chat in groups about shared interests, such as book clubs and sports, and to plan real-world events around those interests. In conversations with the press and IRL’s investors, CEO and co-founder... IRL, a four year old social app, appears to be a fast-growing alternative to Facebook and...

ByteDance's Douyin app on a smartphone. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok Parent Aims to Double E-Commerce Volume on China App to $240 Billion

By Juro Osawa, Shai Oster and Mark Di Stefano · May 11, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok has taken on Facebook and YouTube. Now it hopes to compete with Amazon as well. In China, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in recent years has turned its video app, Douyin, into a shopping powerhouse that has eroded the e-commerce dominance of Alibaba, China’s equivalent to Amazon. ByteDance this year aims to double the... TikTok has taken on Facebook and YouTube. Now it hopes to compete with Amazon as well. In China,...

Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager on Feb. 24, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

Chainalysis Valued at $8.6 Billion in GIC-Led Investment

By Kate Clark · May 10, 2022 4:42pm PDT · 1 comment

Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager on Feb. 24, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

Chainalysis Valued at $8.6 Billion in GIC-Led Investment

By Kate Clark · May 10, 2022 4:42pm PDT · 1 comment

Chainalysis, a startup that sells services to detect and track crypto fraud, has raised a new round at an $8.6 billion valuation, including the investment, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and an existing investor in the company, is leading the $170 million investment, the... Chainalysis, a startup that sells services to detect and track crypto fraud, has raised a new...

Shelly Blackburn. Screengrab via Cisco.

Cisco Overhauls Security Leadership After Top Exec Resigns

By Aaron Holmes · May 10, 2022 11:25am PDT · 1 comment

Shelly Blackburn, Cisco’s vice president of global security specialists and one of its longest-serving sales executives, is stepping down after more than 22 years at the company, she told colleagues this week. The announcement preceded a shake-up of its unit selling security software, which CEO Chuck Robbins has framed as a crucial part of... Shelly Blackburn, Cisco’s vice president of global security specialists and one of its...

GoPuff founders Yakir Gola, left, and Rafael Ilishayev. Photos by Getty, Bloomberg.

Gopuff Founders’ Ambitions Falter as Startup Bleeds Cash

By Berber Jin · May 10, 2022 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Delivery firm Gopuff emerged as one of the hits of the pandemic shutdowns, fetching a $15 billion valuation thanks to its network of couriers delivering snacks and convenience items like chips, Tylenol and laundry detergent. But in recent months, its 29-year-old founders have faced mounting setbacks. Last fall, discussions led by the founders... Delivery firm Gopuff emerged as one of the hits of the pandemic shutdowns, fetching a $15 billion...

Campbell Brown. Photo by AP.

Meta Rethinks News Partnerships as Priorities Shift

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Jessica Toonkel · May 9, 2022 2:21pm PDT · 3 comments

Meta Platforms is considering reducing the money it gives news organizations as it reevaluates the partnerships it struck over the past few years, according to people familiar with the matter. The reassessment comes as Meta looks to cut costs broadly and rethinks the value of including news in its flagship Facebook app. Meta’s... Meta Platforms is considering reducing the money it gives news organizations as it reevaluates...

Illustration by Josh Brill

A ‘Rough Year’ Ahead: Tech Companies Take Shelter as Downturn Looms

By Kate Clark · May 6, 2022 6:00am PDT

Illustration by Josh Brill

A ‘Rough Year’ Ahead: Tech Companies Take Shelter as Downturn Looms

By Kate Clark · May 6, 2022 6:00am PDT

Two years ago, Reef Technology was gearing up for a period of explosive growth. The operator of a network of ghost kitchens—spaces where meals are prepared independent of restaurants—raised $700 million from SoftBank and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund that year in a round that valued it over $2 billion. The company went on a... Two years ago, Reef Technology was gearing up for a period of explosive growth. The operator of a...