The Information

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

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 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

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...

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. 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

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

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

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

(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

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 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...